Ray Nicholus is from Chicago, Illinois but relocated to the Madison, Wisconsin area in 2004 to begin his career as a software developer after graduating magna cum laude from DePaul with a bachelor's degree in computer science. He began his career as a server-side developer, focusing on Java and C#. Later on, his focus shifted to front-end web application development, though he still enjoys back-end development, as well as a spirited discussion on HTTP specifications and conventions. He spends his free time contributing to and maintaining numerous open source software projects, learning about the law, and visiting Thailand with his family.