Bio: Nik Johnson

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Bio: Nik Johnson
24-Dec-2002 -- Susan Pichotta
 
For this week's Icetips News Network featured bio, we bring you: Jolly Old Saint Nik! Well, the Clarion version, anyway.
 
A former aircraft wing inspector and distillery VP, he certainly could qualify as a relative of St. Nick, now, couldn't he? He's worked in flying through the air (just like Mr. Claus), and certainly a distillery makes people happy (just like Mr. Claus). Well, OK, maybe a stretch, but it's still a great bio. And don't miss the picture at the end: Nik, Tom Hebenstreit, Jim Kane and Andrew Guidroz, all looking their best. (I don't pick 'em, I just print 'em! ;)
 
Who do you work for?
I incorporated as Computer Advisors, Inc. in 1986 and, wonder of wonders, it still pays the rent and supports all three employees.
 
What do you like best about what you do now?
It wasn't deliberate, but over the years things have sorted out so that I don't work with/for anyone I don't like. That's almost impossible to do in a large organziation. I also have a nice variety of clients, no two of which are in the same business. So it's hard to get bored.
 
What has been one of your biggest challenges in using Clarion?
Keeping up. We tend to think of Clarion as a specialized language aimed at database applications. But there are lots of folks out there pushing that envelope in lots of ways. Just about the time I think something's impossible, someone does it.
 
What has been one of your biggest challenges in business?
Getting the time records to the treasurer. When you're having fun solving problems, it's hard to keep up the paperwork which makes it possible to eat.
 
Do you use any computer languages besides Clarion?
No. I find it hard to be really good at more than one language at a time. Clarion lets me deliver what the client wants, at a price he can afford, and usually without having to resort to another language. I dabble now and then, but always come back to Clarion.
 
Clarion also seems to attract people who are interested in results. I used to say that if you asked the average programmer what he did he'd tell you about the size of his company's mainframe and the language(s) he uses, but it wouldn't occur to him to mention what he did to benefit the company. In general. Clarion folks seem to be broader than that, which makes them more fun to deal with -- or drink with, for that matter.
 
When did you start using Clarion?
I bought Clarion 1.0 (or was it 1.1?) in 1986, right after they dropped the dongle. It looked interesting from a distance and even better close up. When they combined a good IDE with code generation in version 2.0, I was off to the races and never looked back.
 
What's the coolest project(s) you've worked on using Clarion?
The simplest answer is that it's (always) the current one. I'm working with Tom Hebenstreit and Andy Stapleton on some tax reporting software with some very cool features and internal structures. But I've also simulated the operation of a coal mine (for budgeting and production planning purposes), written a system to track natural gas in pipelines (purchased in Louisiana in cubic feet and sold in Canada in gigajoules), and built a system to store specifications and provide production control for extruded plastic products (refrigerator gaskets and the like).
 
Have you done anything for a living other than software development?
I was a wing inspector and later a propulsion engineer at Grumman Aircraft in the fifties. At one point, half my income came from playing piano in Long Island gin mills on weekends. I also spent some time with Arthur Young and Company as a management consultant, mostly in law enforcement.
 
What do you like to do when you're not using Clarion?
Music, photography, reading, fishing, travel.
 
Married, children, grandchildren, other close family you want to mention?
Joyce and I were married on the first Saturday of May, 1959 in Valley Stream, NY. It wasn't until we moved to Louisville that I understood why so many people at our wedding reception were standing in line to use the telephone. Two beautiful daughters, two fine sons-in-law, two granddaughters and one grandson all live within 10 minutes of our home. My cup runneth over.
 
Where were you born?
Brooklyn, New York, the crown jewel of New York's boroughs.
 
Where do you live now?
Louisville, Kentucky
 


What's interesting about where you live?
Louisville is the home of Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. If you can't have fun here you probably can't have fun anywhere.
 
In 1975, twenty percent of the bourbon in the world was made in this county. (That's about a fifth.) Some of that production has moved out of time, but you still won't find many places with more varieties of corn on the back bar.
 
Louisville was also the site of the first commercial computer installation in the world -- a Univac I, Model 2 installed at GE's Appliance Park in the 1950's, so there have been more than a few interesting computer types to tell war stories with.
 
Have you lived any other interesting places?
New York and Washington are both interesting places. What was really interesting was that I got out of Washington, about the same time as Nixon did, without my being indicted for anything. Didn't need a pardon either.
 
Which person, from past or present, do you most admire and why?
There are too many to list, and it's impossible to pick a favorite. How do you compare the visceral magic of Beethoven, the sheer inventiveness of Charlie Parker, the feistiness of Harry Truman, the intellectual breadth of Jefferson, and the imagination of Ted Giesel?
 
There's also a fair-sized set of folks you haven't heard of, each of whom took the time to teach me, whether or not they were teachers by profession. Most of my heroes are in this group.
 
What is your favorite food?
All of them. I'm married to the best cook this side of the Alleghenies, and have never wanted for good eats.
 
What is your favorite drink?
Bourbon mostly, although I'll pass it up in a nanosecond for a good single malt. I choose my own bourbons. Having once been Vice President of a distillery, I fancy myself knowledgable in that area. But I've found that the best way to find a good single malt is to watch Stamos Fafalios and order whatever he orders.
 
What is your favorite type of music?
I'm partial to B's -- Bop, Beethoven, Bach, Basie, Bluegrass, Bill Evans. I can live without the R's -- Rock, Rap, Riberace.
 
What is your favorite book?
Winnie the Pooh. Everyone you'll ever meet is in there somewhere. I can't wait for my granddaughter to put on a couple more years so we can read it again together. Second choice: Catch 22.
 
If Clarion never existed, what do you think you would be doing at this time?
Solving whatever problems they'll pay me to solve, using whatever tools I can afford to apply. But I'm grateful to Bruce Barrington for conceiving Clarion, David Bayliss for reinventing it in a more elegant form, and Bob Zaunere for his pragmatic understanding of what we as users are trying to accomplish with it. Thanks to them, and a bunch of others, we don't really have to answer this question.