Get to know the team: Bloc

February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM Posted by bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM in Get to know the team: Bloc | 46 Comments
Name: Bjoern Kristiansen
Age:  38
Location: Molde, Norway
Quote: or Favorite Quote: not really..but "stay positive" is a good motto.
Position: Lead Graphics Designer
Picture: see attachment

1. Do you have pets? No.
2. What is your favorite color? Black, but have been known to wear dark brown/blue occasionally.
3. What kind of music do you like? Dark techno/jazz/drum&bass: Amon Tobin, Jack Dangers, Meat Beat Manifesto are some favourites. Although some days more quiet ones like Dean can Dance, Sting, Enya..all depends on mood.
4. What do you do on your free time besides spending time on SMF? Try to do some swimming every week, and spend as much time as I can with my family..but otherwise its pretty much data. :)
5. What are your goals/dreams in life? Nowadays many small ones...but my main dream has always being able to work fulltime on graphics/code and live off it. So far that time hasn't come yet.
6. What got you involved in SMF? I started out with yabbSE several years ago for a parenting forum I co-run, and when SMF came along I started using that. Eventually I took the plunge and showed off some of the themes I had been making for it, and started spending more time on this site. I joined the team in 2005, and has never regretted it since. :) Its a great team and a awesome script.
7. Who do you admire? Why? Hm, I don't think I really have one special...although always been fascinated by the findings and ever-lasting persistance of Thor Heyerdahl.
8. Are you into sports?  If so which ones? Not really.
9. What is your dream job? See question 5.
10. What was your first screenname? My real name : Bjoern
11. Do you have any piercings? No
12. Are you a lefty/righty or ambidextrous? Pure righthanded.
13. Do you have any tattoo's?  If not do you wish/plan to get one? No, and not really.
14. Do you have any siblings?  If so how many of each. Yes, I do. 1 sister and 3 brothers.
15. What is your favorite website? Nowadays simplemachines.org and tinyportal.net ;D
16. Do you play computer games?  If so which ones? Not often, but when I do I like speed games. Need for Speed 5 is a alltime favourite.
17. Do you play video game consoles?  Which ones? Playstation2 is the only one, also there just car games...()
18. Are you married or planing to get married? Yes, I am married.
  a. If so do you have any kids? Yes
  b. How many kids? 3 of them - 2,4 and 6 years old by now.
19. How many languages do you speak?  If so which ones? Only 2 really, english and my native norwegian..but when in dire need, some german too. Understand written german better though.
20. Do you drink? Occasionally, mostly beer or vodka/rom.
21. Do you smoke? No, never had.
22. Did you play hookey from class? Yes. :) Not many, but they happened. 
22. Do you have a license? Yes
  a. Do you own a car? Yes, a big one to fit them all in. ;D
  b. Have you ever been stopped for speeding? Sadly I have had my share of speed tickets yes.
23. Do you obtain a good amount of sleep daily? Probably not, I usually sleep around 5 hours, and sometimes it catches up on me and then I can sleep around the clock. But lately I gotten used to it, so I wake up on the right time anyway. Alarmclocks helps.
24. How do you sleep? Like a rock according to my wife.
25. Have you ever been on an airplane? Yes, many times.
26. have you ever broken a bone? No, I am lucky in that respect.
27. Do you wear jewelry?  If so what jewelry do you wear? No.
28. How do you dress? Normal days: black t-shirts and black denim. When more "dressed up": one of my many dark brown/black shirts and black trousers...kind of one track track mind there.
29. How many keys are on your keyring? 4
30. What time do you go to bed?  What time do you wake up? oh, it can vary. Sometimes 1 am, other times 2-3 am. Most times up again at 7-8 am.
31. What's the freakiest thing you have done?  //Keep it clean. One or 2 things, but I think i will "keep it clean"..lets just say it was during my graduate days at high school ( or what resemble that in Norway )
32. Do you live alone? No, we are a family of 5 in this hourse.
33. How many hours a day do you spend in the computer? Far too many. At least 3-4.
34. How many hours a day do you spend in SMF? 1-2 maybe...got so many projects lately so I have to divide some. But I am in every day, often several times.
35. What is your favorite beverage? Coffee, Tea, Soda, Beer, other? Cola without doubt, but Earl Grey tea I also drink a lot.
36. What do you hate?  //It can be anything. When things don't work out that I have worked on for a long time. When my car breaks down and I got a million things to do. :P
37. What do you love?  //It can be anything also. When it miracously starts up again in just the right time... great movies, great meals.
38. What is your religion? I belong to the christian church, but don't practice it as much as i should probably.
39. What is your hair color? Dark blonde.
40. How tall are you? 5' 4''
41. How much do you weight? 140 pounds..probably a bit too much :P
42. What's the feature on SMF you can't live without?
  a. As an administrator? The whole admin section i guess, I am pretty much everywhere.
  b. As an end user? Without doubt: the "show new replies" and "unread posts".

Comments


jerm on February 04, 2006, 02:14:14 AM said
Quote from: Bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM
Position: Lead Graphics Designer
2. What is your favorite color? Black, but have been known to wear dark brown/blue occasionally.

eessh, that scares me. i was told one day that black wasn't a colour and it pissed me off :|

lol, anyways *starts it off*
how long have you been married?
what was the highest speeding ticket you got?
if you could go back in time, what would you change?(if anything)
out of all the themes you've created, which one are you most proud of?

bloc on February 04, 2006, 04:07:45 AM said
Well, regardless if black is a color or not, thats whats on my clothes...  8)

Quote from: electrohome88 on February 04, 2006, 02:14:14 AM
Quote from: Bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM
Position: Lead Graphics Designer
2. What is your favorite color? Black, but have been known to wear dark brown/blue occasionally.

eessh, that scares me. i was told one day that black wasn't a colour and it pissed me off :|

lol, anyways *starts it off*
how long have you been married?
I have been married almost 7 years.
Quote
what was the highest speeding ticket you got?
Luckily not very high...about 200$. 
Quote
if you could go back in time, what would you change?(if anything)
Hm, tough one..many things I reckon, but one thing I always regretted - not continuing the engineer education I started on. I was tired of school back then, and started working instead. In retrospect that would have made things different.
Quote
out of all the themes you've created, which one are you most proud of?
I would have to say Simplicity, that one was a real challenge.

Deaks on February 04, 2006, 07:05:04 AM said
if you had £1million  what would you spend it on?
if you had 3 wishes what would it be?
Out of all the themes what is your favorite?


BTW Black isnt a colour its a shade :p

Aaron on February 04, 2006, 07:06:48 AM said
Have you ever watched Star Trek or one of its spin-offs? If so, did you like it?

forsakenlad on February 04, 2006, 07:30:29 AM said
Are you having a difficulty managing the Design Team alone?

Tim on February 04, 2006, 09:57:32 AM said
What did you learn while being on the design team?

Prasad007 on February 04, 2006, 12:02:00 PM said
Wow my favorite SMF team developer :)
i wud first of all like to say that i love ur works
especially ur helios multi theme which im using in my site @ www.tech-ultimatum.uni.cc
and secondly ur wonderful Tiny Portal!! :)
keep up the gr8 work!! :)

my question:
what made you choose ur username 'bloc' ?

bloc on February 04, 2006, 12:05:23 PM said
Quote from: sloopz on February 04, 2006, 07:05:04 AM
if you had £1million  what would you spend it on?
oh, down-payment on the house, trust-savings for the kids...lots more I guess.
Quote
if you had 3 wishes what would it be?
The whatever-you-wish kind? then 1.) the world being a peaceful place 2.) my family staying in good health and 3.) SMF being the leading free forum script ;D   
Quote
Out of all the themes what is your favorite?

Themis. I enjoy using it, always has. Like the others too of course, but that one is always been something of a fav.
Quote

BTW Black isnt a colour its a shade :p
If you want to take the philosophical route it can be many things... ;)

bloc on February 04, 2006, 12:08:09 PM said
Quote from: Aäron on February 04, 2006, 07:06:48 AM
Have you ever watched Star Trek or one of its spin-offs? If so, did you like it?

Yes, I have. :) I liked the original and the Next generation series. After the first season of the latter I kind of fell of the wagon, but any good SF enthusiast needs to have at least seen a Star Trek episode/movie or two. Its a classic.

bloc on February 04, 2006, 12:26:13 PM said
Quote from: forsakenlad on February 04, 2006, 07:30:29 AM
Are you having a difficulty managing the Design Team alone?

I guess not. :) Things have turned out be that way by various circumstances, but I think it works ok.

QuoteWhat did you learn while being on the design team?

Having a more specific role to fill in the aid of getting SMF to be the best forum script one can make it. And getting to know a great bunch of people that devote considerable time and effort to the script and community - which is simply inspiring by itself. 


bloc on February 04, 2006, 12:29:46 PM said
Quote from: Prasad007 on February 04, 2006, 12:02:00 PM
Wow my favorite SMF team developer :)
i wud first of all like to say that i love ur works
especially ur helios multi theme which im using in my site @ www.tech-ultimatum.uni.cc
and secondly ur wonderful Tiny Portal!! :)
keep up the gr8 work!! :)

my question:
what made you choose ur username 'bloc' ?


Thank you. :)

"bloc" comes from a comic book character I was a fan of years ago. The fantastic four figure "the thing" or Ben Grimm, was strangely named "Bloc" when it first came out in Norway. I liked it then, and it never left me totally. Nowadays you could say "Bloc" also have another meaning as it resembles "block" - which is what TinyPortal is all about.

Aaron on February 04, 2006, 01:34:13 PM said
I have another question which I can't seem to answer myself: what the heck is on your avatar?! I figured it's some kind of creature, but what kind, I have no idea! ;D

dtm.exe on February 04, 2006, 01:37:07 PM said
Bloc, what exactly does the image in your avatar depict?  I can't quite make out what it's supposed to be :P.

Aaron on February 04, 2006, 01:38:30 PM said
Quote from: dtm.exe on February 04, 2006, 01:37:07 PM
Bloc, what exactly does the image in your avatar depict?  I can't quite make out what it's supposed to be :P.

Eh, Dan, that's exactly the question I asked just before yours. ;D

bloc on February 04, 2006, 01:39:07 PM said
Hehe, its actually a picture I made a long time ago..its "rocks with alien skin". See a couple of eyes in there? That is meant to be "the one that awoke"....I know, strange. :)

Tim on February 04, 2006, 01:43:22 PM said
Tables or CSS? ;D

forsakenlad on February 04, 2006, 01:47:33 PM said
Quote from: Bloc on February 04, 2006, 01:39:07 PM
Hehe, its actually a picture I made a long time ago..its "rocks with alien skin". See a couple of eyes in there? That is meant to be "the one that awoke"....I know, strange. :)

Well I thought that picture was an abstract drawing of a bear where your name comes from :)

bloc on February 04, 2006, 01:54:26 PM said
Quote from: Tim on February 04, 2006, 01:43:22 PM
Tables or CSS? ;D
Oh, I am a fan of both. :) Starting to learn slowly the world of css, but it won't solve every layout problem, sometimes only tables can make a specific theme come together.

But using this awesome new site theme as a beacon I am committing myself to use more css from now on. ;)


Quote from: forsakenlad on February 04, 2006, 01:47:33 PM
Quote from: Bloc on February 04, 2006, 01:39:07 PM
Hehe, its actually a picture I made a long time ago..its "rocks with alien skin". See a couple of eyes in there? That is meant to be "the one that awoke"....I know, strange. :)

Well I thought that picture was an abstract drawing of a bear where your name comes from :)
;D Yeah , "Bjoern" is "bear" in norwegian.

Thantos on February 04, 2006, 01:57:04 PM said
rofl I was reading bear as beer :P
Whats one thing that you wished SMF has but currently doesn't?

HoTmetal on February 04, 2006, 02:28:21 PM said
Quote from: Thantos on February 04, 2006, 01:57:04 PM
rofl I was reading bear as beer :P
Whats one thing that you wished SMF has but currently doesn't?

LOL me too.... It must be my body getting ready for the super bowl....lol


Bloc I love your theme Simplicity its simple & yet very detailed. I like how it lays out the forum in a slightly different manor....
Now for my question....

What is your favorite (non-bloc :D ) theme?? & why?

Deaks on February 04, 2006, 02:37:06 PM said
Quote from: rickc on February 04, 2006, 02:28:21 PM


What is your favorite (non-bloc :D ) theme?? & why?


Thats been asked :P

HoTmetal on February 04, 2006, 02:57:20 PM said
Quote from: sloopz on February 04, 2006, 02:37:06 PM
Quote from: rickc on February 04, 2006, 02:28:21 PM


What is your favorite (non-bloc :D ) theme?? & why?


Thats been asked :P


Um... no it hasn't. re-read the question... I agree, maybe I could of worded it a bit better..You asked asked Favorite theme & Bloc answered with a bloc theme. .... I'm asking favorite NON-BLOCK theme...Just want to know what theme's inspire him (aside from his own....)

bloc on February 04, 2006, 03:24:44 PM said
Quote from: Thantos on February 04, 2006, 01:57:04 PM
rofl I was reading bear as beer :P
Whats one thing that you wished SMF has but currently doesn't?
Some way of easily move a lot of members from one group to another...generally macro functions I guess.

Quote from: rickc on February 04, 2006, 02:28:21 PM
Quote from: Thantos on February 04, 2006, 01:57:04 PM
rofl I was reading bear as beer :P
Whats one thing that you wished SMF has but currently doesn't?

LOL me too.... It must be my body getting ready for the super bowl....lol


Bloc I love your theme Simplicity its simple & yet very detailed. I like how it lays out the forum in a slightly different manor....
Now for my question....

What is your favorite (non-bloc :D ) theme?? & why?


Saf theme by Forsakenlad. Its elegant and simplistic, clean lines and soft colors. :) I also liked Koni's Hi:ha theme, very innovative twist of the babylon theme, with great looking buttons.

Tim on February 04, 2006, 03:27:10 PM said
What sites do you visit daily, this site excluded

bloc on February 04, 2006, 03:38:46 PM said
http://www.tinyportal.net , news sites locally, 2 other forums I run/co-run and a lot of google. :) Mostly either php code-related or css/html related. Also often http://www.phpclasses.org and http://www.deviantart.com + http://shellcity.net

jerm on February 04, 2006, 05:07:57 PM said
i was gonna ask how you got the nickname bloc as well.. because
"Did you know.."
bloc is the name of a party in the canadian gov't.. they are actually a separatist party as well (i dont like them)
dum dum dum

Pause on February 04, 2006, 06:59:11 PM said
When you first discovered SMF, what were your initial thoughts about it?

bloc on February 04, 2006, 07:44:22 PM said
Quote from: Mattitude on February 04, 2006, 06:59:11 PM
When you first discovered SMF, what were your initial thoughts about it?
That it was rather anonymous :)

I mean, at least from the colorful YabbSE. But of course, when diving in and trying it out, it was just jaw-dropping. The speed..was just amazing. I had been using the dreaded YabbSE Supermod version up until then, so of course the difference was probably even bigger than with plain vanilla YabbSE.

dtm.exe on February 04, 2006, 10:57:40 PM said
Quote from: Aäron on February 04, 2006, 01:38:30 PM
Quote from: dtm.exe on February 04, 2006, 01:37:07 PM
Bloc, what exactly does the image in your avatar depict?  I can't quite make out what it's supposed to be :P.

Eh, Dan, that's exactly the question I asked just before yours. ;D

Didn't even bother to look, Aäron.  ;D :P

1MileCrash on February 04, 2006, 10:58:25 PM said
not a question, but i just thought i'd point out that you look alot like matthew perry..

Amacythe on February 04, 2006, 11:39:01 PM said
How do you juggle a 'real' job, a family, sleep, and still have time for SMF?

bloc on February 05, 2006, 06:32:45 AM said
Good question, amy... :) It can get tight sometimes, but of course some things need to come first regardless. I also try use the time effectively and don't close myself off to the rest of the family..that means more diversions for me, but it works better for everyone.

Prasad007 on February 05, 2006, 12:51:02 PM said
what do you like more: coding(like making TP) or graphic development(like making themes) ?
and have you ever done three-dimensional modelling and animation?

bloc on February 05, 2006, 08:03:26 PM said
Quote from: Prasad007 on February 05, 2006, 12:51:02 PM
what do you like more: coding(like making TP) or graphic development(like making themes) ?
and have you ever done three-dimensional modelling and animation?


I think like themes more.. ;), but coding, especially when doing new stuff, is also exciting.

No, 3d work I never been into..dabbled some with Terragen, but thats as far as it goes.

Sverre on February 05, 2006, 11:18:46 PM said
Quote from: Bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM
Name: Bjoern

Hmm... is that how the hip people in Molde spell it nowadays? :P

(I'm actually 1/4 romsdaling myself by the way)

How do you like living in Molde by the way, and how would you describe the city to someone who has never been there?

Quote from: Bloc on February 04, 2006, 03:38:46 PM
news sites locally

http://www.romsdals-budstikke.no?

Quote from: Bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM
37. What do you love?  //It can be anything also. When it miracously starts up again in just the right time... great movies, great meals.

What makes a great movie great to you? Some examples would be cool.

Where do you usually find inspiration for your themes, and does the ideas tend to come spontaneously to you or develop over time?

dtm.exe on February 06, 2006, 11:11:38 AM said
Just out of curiosity, do you like do play with blocks?  :P

Acf on February 06, 2006, 12:30:58 PM said
Quote from: Amacythe on February 04, 2006, 11:39:01 PM
How do you juggle a 'real' job, a family, sleep, and still have time for SMF?

Speaking about jobs... what do you do for a living?

e03179 on February 06, 2006, 03:07:21 PM said
Keep up with the good work, Bloc.

bloc on February 06, 2006, 08:24:40 PM said
Quote from: Sverre on February 05, 2006, 11:18:46 PM
Quote from: Bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM
Name: Bjoern

Hmm... is that how the hip people in Molde spell it nowadays? :P

(I'm actually 1/4 romsdaling myself by the way)
:) Just plain necessity..it looks better than Bjørn....actually I am not native Romsdaling. I moved 60 miles from Fredrikstad to Molde when i met my wife.
Quote

How do you like living in Molde by the way, and how would you describe the city to someone who has never been there?

Molde is a small city, football and jazz are the main focuspoint here..every year there is a jazz-fesitival where the city get real international for a week, with jazz legends often visiting. Herbie Hancock I have enjoyed a few times in concerts. Have zero interest in football though... :)

Quote
Quote from: Bloc on February 04, 2006, 03:38:46 PM
news sites locally

http://www.romsdals-budstikke.no?

yes. :) and of course the bigger norwegian sites..
Quote
Quote from: Bloc on February 03, 2006, 09:00:45 AM
37. What do you love?  //It can be anything also. When it miracously starts up again in just the right time... great movies, great meals.

What makes a great movie great to you? Some examples would be cool.
A great movie is a film that grabs you, either in story, emotions or pure effects. Almost anything in the SF genre really. Bladerunner is long-time classic, likewise Brazil and Lord of the Rings. Matrix are good. Or films like Seven, Silence of the lamb etc. Shrek 1 and 2 are great. :)
Quote
Where do you usually find inspiration for your themes, and does the ideas tend to come spontaneously to you or develop over time?

oh, its a mix..i sometimes just let things go their own way, other times set out with a specific idea. I did a lot of oilpaints before, so i think that "painting" aspect is still very present.

bloc on February 06, 2006, 08:25:43 PM said
Quote from: dtm.exe on February 06, 2006, 11:11:38 AM
Just out of curiosity, do you like do play with blocks?  :P

hehe..yeah, I think i do. ;D

bloc on February 06, 2006, 08:27:58 PM said
Quote from: ªcF on February 06, 2006, 12:30:58 PM
Quote from: Amacythe on February 04, 2006, 11:39:01 PM
How do you juggle a 'real' job, a family, sleep, and still have time for SMF?

Speaking about jobs... what do you do for a living?

I work in the lightning industry, assembling framework/parts for industrial lights and decor. Not what i want to work with really, but its a job.

bloc on February 06, 2006, 08:28:47 PM said
Quote from: e03179 on February 06, 2006, 03:07:21 PM
Keep up with the good work, Bloc.
Thanks. :)

Thantos on February 08, 2006, 05:43:05 PM said
Do you do any sketching of a theme or design prior to writing it?

bloc on February 08, 2006, 06:29:07 PM said
Yes, most of the time i either sketch something on paper, or just using Photoshop. Even css based things are good to do this way, since I can concentrate on the layout and not code. But always with an eye of whats possible in html/css..so I don't corner myself. :)

Dannii on February 08, 2006, 08:59:04 PM said
Quote from: Bloc on February 06, 2006, 08:27:58 PMI work in the lightning industry...
Don't we all want to work with the lightning! :D Like to think of yourself as a bit of Zeus hey?

Acf on February 10, 2006, 11:36:31 AM said
Quote from: eldacar on February 08, 2006, 08:59:04 PM
Quote from: Bloc on February 06, 2006, 08:27:58 PMI work in the lightning industry...
Don't we all want to work with the lightning! :D Like to think of yourself as a bit of Zeus hey?

Ohno first we have smilleys with whips  and now ones with thunderbolds :P
Advertisement: