UWSAG talks to Larry Harrison
of Amateur Astronomy Awards

1. What got you started in website design?
   
    "I retired from the U.S. Navy after 25 years of service in 1993. In that I was too young to really retire, I accepted a position as a center director for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Right after this, I went to an annual on-campus meeting in which all directors and assistant directors attended. One of the talks that was available was the internet. The speaker demonstrated the internet. All I can say is that "I was hooked." My goal was to learn all I could of the internet and create a website for the center, and for my hobby ... genealogy. I went to the bookstore, and bought every book I could concerning the internet. In 1993 Netscape was not available. When Netscape did become available, the browser cost $99.00. It was free to use if one was connected to education. Well, I accomplished my goal. I was the first center to have a website. As time went on, I assisted other colleges/universities around me."
   
   
2. What do you hope to accomplish with your website?
   
   "I am hoping that through my awards program, I can encourage other websites to make their sites available to others. When I get to a site, and have to wait and wait, I leave to go somewhere else. I have a very fast computer system, but there are other people with still slower computer systems. These people deserve the right to view sites. There are people that are hindered due to the many handicaps. They also deserve the right to view sites. Look at the advertisement on television. What is the largest population not being advertised for? People of my age. Babyboomers. This group is growing larger and larger. Think of the money being lost by big businesses. I am hoping that my site will encourage others to think of the potential viewers."
   
   
3. What advice would you give other webmasters?
   
   "Without a purpose, web sites to me are useless. This is the most important part of a website. Without any purpose, the pages will never flow in a proper direction. You end up wasting all your energies. The website will always "be lost." One might as well tear pages from a book to be replaced in any order. The purpose guides you and, ultimately, your website."
   
   
4. What was the biggest problem you faced with your website?
   
   "My biggest problem in developing my awards program was not knowing what was expected of an awards site. All the instructions in developing an awards program was very general in detail. I knew what I desired. I soon learned that many sites had resources. Construction of my site was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. On top of that, each part of the awards program became a jigsaw puzzle. I had to be careful in that I was not copying another site. I almost quit ... gave up. But again, I am a determined person. I soon learned what was a good site from the other award sites. If one is determined, one will learn and go forward."
   
   
5. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
   
   "This is a very difficult question. If one ever had hindsight, you would know. I believe that I would have joined UWSAG sooner than I did. Other than that, I have always met my challenges, and one way or another solved them. Since having my awards program, I have hit the "stone walls." With the assistance of UWSAG members, the "walls" have crumbled."
   
   
6. What plans do you have for the future?
   
   "I would like to continue with my awards program. I am hoping that I have years of enjoyment. So far I have enjoyed every moment. I feel that by reviewing a site I am making that site even better. Maybe a day in the future, I would like to be a reviewer of sites for UWSAG or another large awards program. I love to learn. I think this would be fun. I do not know the process of doing this, but just maybe I will have the opportunity."
   
   
7. What else do you like to do?
   
   "At the present, I am a middle school teacher of social studies (120 sixth grade students). I will do this for a few more years. I am an editor for DMOZ.org with a responsibility for approximately 2,500 sites. I am an amateur astronomer with a love for astrophotography. Lastly, I own a webring called Astrophotography Tutorials. At this time, it has 63 members. All in all I believe the internet is great."