assertTrue is the professional blog of Luke Bayes and Ali Mills

Focus on the Future

Posted by Ali Mills Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:33:00 GMT

A friend just sent me the YouTube link Chris Hall, Ali Mills – Useless Wooden Toys 1990 New Deal. Wow, I’m on YouTube. Check it out:



The second skateboarder in that clip is me! That was seventeen years ago when I was a skateboarder (OK, I’m still a skateboarder, but now I happen to run, surf, boulder, spearfish, and code much more than I skateboard). I get a lot of credit (Ali Mills, first documented nollie kickflip) for one of the tricks I did in that video part, and that credit is one of my proudest accomplishments. Like all worthwhile things in life, that accomplishment came from a lot of preparation combined with a little luck. I was lucky enough to have been skateboarding at a time when invention and innovation were still pretty easy to do in the sport, and I was prepared enough to make the best of that time. Back then, I was skateboarding so much that I could make my skateboard do almost anything with a day of practice.

These days, I spend so much time writing code that I almost feel the same way about it…

To the point – I have a strong feeling that we’re at a time in application development history that’s comparable to skateboarding in the ‘90s. Right now, it’s still pretty easy to invent new ways of doing things and innovate on the old. There’s a lot of it going on (Web 2.0). As SWF developers, we’re at an advantage because the platform we’ve practiced with is optimized for this future.

Focus on the future, and accomplish something you’re proud of. Now’s a great time.

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  1. Nitai commented: Avatar Hi ali This is really great. I used to be a professional skateboarder myself and used to skate with Mike Valelly and Ed Templeton over in Huntigton Beach. I even had some session with "The Gonz" himself. Nowawdays I am just coding, but still keep my skate in the trunk of my car :-) Good reading from you..... Nitai
    Posted: about 11 hours later.
  2. alimills replied: Avatar Nitai, you should check out Chris Hall's new video Get Familiar. Gonz even has a part. Thanks for commenting!
    Posted: about 21 hours later.
  3. Russ commented: Avatar Haa, that's great, me and my friends use to watch that video over and over, it was one of the good one.
    Posted: 3 days later.
  4. alove replied: Avatar damn cool stuff man. you're still rock'in seventeen years later!
    Posted: 8 days later.
  5. alove commented: Avatar damn cool stuff man. you're still rock'in seventeen years later!
    Posted: 8 days later.
  6. Jason replied: Avatar Ali- I noticed you have footage from shaeffer court in that part--that is mindblowing for me because I never knew any spots in my town were in a video back then. Are you from Richmond? I started skating in 92 and Shaeffer Court was the "EMB" of Richmond, so to speak...
    Posted: 17 days later.
  7. Nate commented: Avatar Ali, I grew up skating Pulaski between 89-95 with all the boys you remember back then..Chris, Pepe, Andy, Eben, and so on. It was always cool to see you rollin thru town on your visits. You always had tricks that blew people's minds. That is cool to hear from you.
    Posted: 19 days later.
  8. alimills replied: Avatar Jason, I went to high school in Midlothian and lived there a couple years after. Shaeffer Court was my local spot! Just this week, I was talking to someone about skating Richmond. I was suggesting that he do the "run" when he goes. Is that still doable?
    Posted: 21 days later.
  9. alimills commented: Avatar Nate, I'm always stoked to hear from one of the Pulaski crew. Thanks for the comment. Back then, those fellas were like a second family and Pulaski like a second home. Pep was one of the best...
    Posted: 21 days later.
  10. chris h replied: Avatar what up ali? hollar ch www.getfam.com
    Posted: 28 days later.

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