ashleyh

Seen in retrospect, joining a local hacklab started by two software engineers some months after dropping out of
school had a great impact on me. Although I had previously been interested in programming, my greatest achievement before then was
to write a second degree equation solver. Those two engineers were also FOSS advocates: I soon
installed Debian GNU/Linux.

I began reading about and playing with the OS, network services, etc. It would not have gone any further if one of those
engineers had not introduced me to Python while returning from a hackmeeting in Madrid.

As a consequence, I began playing around with Python: I implemented Conway's Game of Life, a strategic board game called
Abalone, etc.  After a while, I discovered the Django web framework and began developing three or four little web pages.

ashleyh

I dropped out of high school when I was 16 years old, mainly because of typical teenager concerns. Some months later,
                                                      ^--- too informal? -----------------------^
two software engineers started a local software group that, in retrospect, had a great impact on me. Although I had
previously been interested in programming, my greatest achievement was to write a second degree equation solver. Those
                                           ^---------------------------------?--------------------------------^
two engineers were also open source advocates: it did not take me long before I installed Debian GNU/Linux.

I began reading about and playing with the OS, network services, etc. It would not have gone
any further if one of those engineers had not introduced me to Python while returning from a hackmeeting in Madrid.
                                                                                             ^---?-----^