about Bruce
I made the site as I wanted to distribute my songs, and the photos and stories from the years I lived in Turkey, Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Russia.
I’m a 50-ish year old guy living in Birmingham U.K. I’ve a first-class degree in English literature, a career in education and setting up the computer book publishing house "glasshaus" behind me. I was member of the Web Standards Project‘s Accessibility Task Force . That doesn’t mean I’m a guru or great theoretician or designer, just that I’m a jobbing web developer with a firm belief that the web is a revolutionary communication mechanism and should be available to all.
My career history is on LinkTin. This site is a personal site and opinions expressed are my own and don’t represent my employers.. It is therefore © Bruce Lawson.
I love people, music, travelling, art and literature and have vaguely liberal/ lefty politics.
Here’s some unfascinating facts about me:
- I play guitar, "sing", and write songs. I love any genre of music, as long as it’s heartfelt and meant.
- I’ve been interested in computers since I was 15, and my physics teacher, Mr Partridge, let me take the school’s UK101 computer home in the summer holidays. I confess that I’m so geeky that I nostalgically recall coding games in 6502 assembler on a machine with an 8K operating system and 8K of RAM.
- I speak good Thai, OK Turkish and pretty crap English-education-system French. Ooh la la. (See?)
- I like everyone I’ve ever met (except for three people, which is a pretty good record, I think).
- I used to hate the USA, until I went there. Now I love it, but hate their government.
- I read Tarot cards. The Elemental Tarot is my deck of choice. I don’t believe in astrology, but you can categorise my personality as a 100% typical Scorpio.
- I was born in Aden, in communist South Yemen.
- I drink Guinness. It’s got lots of calories. For years I was skinny, now I’m a bit porky.
- Intellectually, I’m a vegetarian, but I love the taste of meat too much.
- I love kids and, if only I could support my family that way, I’d work with them. They make me laugh, and I them.
- I am cursed / blessed with the ability to see both sides of every argument. I usually believe both sides simultaneously, too – it is a curse.
- I never pay any attention to what people are wearing, unless it’s really extreme. Consequently, I never pay much attention to my own clothes, as long as they’re clean. Some people look great in whatever they wear; I could wear Armani and still look shite.
- If worrying were an Olympic Sport, I’d be in the England squad.
- I believe that nothing is sacred and nothing is too serious that it can’t be laughed at.
- I’m quite short and I don’t shave often or closely enough.
- I have a tattoo of Max from "Where The Wild Things Are" on my arm.
Here’s some comments from other people about me:
- Testimonial from the Viscount Christopher Leathers, for whom I worked in a government department 1995 – 96.
- "Bruce Lawson, erstwhile brand manager for glasshaus, especially deserves a tremendous round of applause" – The Web Standards Project.
- "We sadly note the passing of glasshaus … run by the passionately dedicated Bruce Lawson." – Jeffrey Zeldman.
- Isolani on the influence of glasshaus
- Interview with me about Web Accessibility by Ian Lloyd