the plankmeister's interweblet
The Plankmeister Himself.
So... here is me.
I'm 33, and I live in Copenhagen with my wonderful girlfriend Dorthe, and our two girls, Lili and Luna.
Lili is three and a half years old (going on 13), and Luna is almost 4 months old. This - of course - is as I write this on 12/06/2008.
I work as a web developer. Why not web designer? Because I'm not very good at design (Though I did quite well with this site, I think!). But when it comes to converting a design to actual mark-up/script/code... that's when I know what I'm doing :)
(Check out the Code section for some tasty tips!)
"But Plankmeister, what are you interested in?!" I hear you cry.
Computers. Web development. The abolition of Internet Explorer 6. Reading sci-fi. (And writing sci-fi short-stories. Planning a novel, too!) And - of course - spending time with my pseudo-wife and two lovely daughters.
Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen!
Copenhagen. Denmark. Scandinavia in general.
You gotta love it. Since I moved here in the summer of 2002, I've had my eyes opened to how a proper civilised society should be.
Compared to English society, Danish society is just light-years ahead. And it all boils down to a simple thing. Responsibility. Danes take responsibility, and are brought up to do so from birth.
Children go to a sort of nursery until they're about 3, where educated professionals (called "pædagoger") essentially teach the kids about social responsibility and empathy towards their peers. This trend continues in Kindergarten, where children remain until approximately 6 years of age.
In kindergarten, the kids only get a quite basic education in the final year; basic reading and writing. The rest of the time is basically given over to improving social skills so that kids learn to solve conflicts on their own without adult intervention.
These Nurseries and Kindergartens are government subsidised, and it costs about £270 and £120 per month (respectively) to have a child in one.
Think about that, all you English people reading this. £270/£120 per month, for trained professionals to essentially concentrate on giving your kids invaluable social skills that they'll use for the rest of their lives every day when they interact with people.
Unlike in England, where Nurseries/Kindergartens are usually privately run and cost sometimes as much as £1000 per month per child, and are run by people who've had no officially recognised training. In fact, a recent BBC Panorama undercover documentary discovered that upwards of 60% of these institutions employ people with no background check and no references.
Then, after 4 years of no social skills training, your kids are pushed into school, far to young, unable to properly concentrate, unable to solve their own conflicts without adult supervision, and made either hyperactive or submissive in the meantime.
These kids then grow up and are still unable to solve conflicts. And THAT is where England's social problem is seated.
All I can say is: Thank GOD I moved to Denmark. I'll never live in England again.
Denmark ROCKS.