what does "jtheory" mean? Think of the j as a trajectory instead of a letter of the alphabet.  The dot sitting atop the apex of the path represents the goal.  The other end is where we start at the beginning of a new challenge. "The J Theory" simply states that to achieve our goal, we must start out by looking away from the target.  We must review previous efforts to reach similar goals, and refine our own plan based on the successes and shortcomings of those who came before us.  We need to take sufficient time to plan an approach that will be flexible enough to survive changes along the way.  Then - zoop - we swing on up and attain the desired result.  Like the perfect golf swing, Mister Executive. wait, was that whole explanation just a bunch of hokum you made up, just now? Well... yeah. I've never played golf.  To clarify: sure, you should think all the way through a problem before just sitting down and trying to code a solution, otherwise you waste a lot of time solving problems that have already been solved, in code that will turn out to be largely unneeded.  But... the "j" originally stood for Java™; I've been trying to think up a more generally applicable explanation now that I've broadened my skills over the years.  I don't want to seem like a craftsman with only one tool in his toolbox. I'll keep working on it.  I could just drop the name and start over, but simple domain names are so hard to find nowadays. Update: I snagged robwhelan.com when its former owner stopped using it and let the domain expire.  And somehow in 5 minutes I put up a placeholder website that looks better than jtheory.com...  perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. what kind of work do you do? I'm a software architect and developer.  I build websites, generally highly interactive.  I also build client-side applications.  I do nuts-and-bolts kind of work, not the "pretty pictures" bit; my graphic design skills are still fairly primitive (case in point: this website), but I do focus strongly on useability and a clean look. I have done a lot of work with Java (client- and server-side) -- it's been my primary development language since 1997, though I seem to be doing a decent amount of PHP scripting lately.  Most of my work is proprietary and not publically available, but you can check out some of my side projects if you're curious (see "creations" on the home page).  I'm playing with Macromedia Flash right now in my spare time -- if something interesting comes out of it (besides just the standard dancing eggplant), I'll post it here. who are you in real life? My name is Rob Whelan.  Am I the one you know?  Maybe (Pound Ridge, Fox Lane, Hamilton, NesTek, x-tier, NetSetGo, Chase-Pitkin, Ann Arbor, Carcassonne, Limoges region) but probably not.  Because there really are quite a lot of us in the world. I posted a photo below, if you're still unsure. I currently spend most of my time in the countryside south of Limoges, France, where my lovely wife Preeta and I tend to pass many days glued to our computers (I code; she writes - her first novel is available for pre-order!) but sometimes also get out to explore now and then. We know the names of many of our canine neighbors, at least, though we're way behind on the humans. shown, front to rear: molly the dog, me