About

Steve Higgs

I'm just a 37 year old geek living in Peterborough, Ontario. Raised in a small village (Tara, Ontario), I eventually moved away to attend college in Peterborough and have been here ever since.

After graduating from the Web Developer program at Fleming College in 2005, I later found myself working both as a contract developer as well as teaching part-time in the very same program, helping others to understand the graphics technologies and programming languages used in the career.

I continue to work as a contract web developer and train folks in web development and web programming while enjoying my time creating artwork and forever learning about anything that catches my attention throughout the day.

Inspiration & Influences

Influences by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan have developed my intrigue in nature, science and culture, pushing me to learn more and explore the world we know and the universe we have only just begun to meet.

Other role models that have impacted my life are Penn Jillette and the late George Carlin who both endorse a world that celebrates the freedom of thought and expression; something I greatly admire.

Movies and TV shows that have really inspired me:

Contact (1997) explores our inner need to connect with others, our selves, and the universe, even how we might react to discovering we're not alone in the universe!

The Last Samurai (2003) introduced me to a feudal Japan (albeit in a rather romantic light) which (you may have noticed by my artwork) led me to study Japanese culture in great detail. To me, the film suggests that better knowing ourselves as well as our enemies, may in-fact lead us discovering that the differences are far less easy to spot than first assumed.

The Big Lebowski (1998) has become my go to favourite on a bad day. This film has so many great lines and so many awesome scenes. Honestly, it really inspires me to just take it easy. So much so that I found the official Dudeism website and became an ordained priest in the Church of Latter Day Dude! The Dude abides. :P

And of course, throughout my entire life, I've always found inspiration and wonder from Star Trek. Be it The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager or Enterprise, I was there watching every single episode always taking little mental notes. I mean, this was our future as far as I was concerned! Perhaps mankind's future will be more like that of the Firefly universe (another show I very much enjoyed!!) however, I've always found Star Trek to give me hope for a future where knowledge, exploration, diversity, and respect were all qualities held in high regard.

Hobbies and Interests

Computers:

Well you may have guessed this one eh? I've been using computers literally since I can remember. Sitting on my dad's knee trying to comprehend "Bad command or filename..." errors in DOS, apparently my mind would never quite shake that curiosity and interest to investigate and understand.

After building a computer from all the spare parts we had, and learning how one can create (programming, digital artwork, even 3D design...) and explore with a simple computer as the tool, I was hooked! To this day I do anything I can to convey this sense to those around me. I've tutored and taught in basic computer use, advanced web programming and much in between; I seem to have a real passion to help others use technology and perhaps to experience that same sense of "Hey, what if I try this...?"

Science and Sci-Fi:

As I mentioned above, I've been a huge science fiction fan my entire life primarily because of Star Trek. I grew up watching the crew of the Enterprise D explore the galaxy! This helped to develop the constant drive to discover new and interesting ideas, technologies and cultures.

With the vastness of our universe, I can't help but believe there must be other civilizations out there; the fact that there's so much more to the universe than we can even begin to comprehend is exhilarating. I love that science fiction gives us that chance to ask "what if...". I've never been able to shake that phrase from my vocabulary.

Martial Arts:

While it's been less of a passion recently, certainly in the past I found martial arts to bring me confidence, pride and a sense of serenity. I'm sure you can imagine that geeky little Steve growing up might have needed some confidence building. I found that confidence in the physical study of martial arts, in the study of its history and the culture that it comes from, and in the serenity it can help you to experience. I've taken classes in Kung-fu and Jujutsu which seem worlds apart haha, and I would certainly enjoy the chance to continue with other forms as the chance to do so is available.

Specifically though, I have always found the Samurai and their way of life, the Shaolin monks, and Buddhism intriguing. It seems that finding serenity as often as I can, has been and continues to be, one of the more important goals (for lack of a better word) in my life.

Art:

While I don't think I really draw or paint all that well, creating artwork on the computer to render scenes from my imagination or from movies has certainly been something I've enjoyed. I post much of what I create in the gallery section of my site.

I have also found a lot of inspiration in works of art by artists such as Van Gogh and M.C. Escher who often focused on structure and settings where depth (and the illusion of) can be played with in interesting ways.