Ahh... introductions.
*Stands up*
My name is Max and I'm an Escape Artists listener.
*Sits down*
I'm a college student, going for a B.Sc. in computer science.
I like scifi and fantasy, I've been reading it for as long as I can remember, and my mother tells me even a little longer than that.
I'm a proud geek. I have an internet tablet that I always carry around with me, and yes, I've hacked it. (Sort of. All the software is open source, so "hacked" is probably the wrong word. But I made it do things the vendor did not intend.)
I have two strong beliefs:
I believe in open source and freedom of information. I believe that there is no such thing as intellectual property, and that by sharing information with others we actually make our own ideas better, grander, and help to touch more people. The whole (in this case, any community of people that grew up around an idea, program, operating system, story, alternate and imaginative universe...) is far, far greater than the sum of its parts, and only narrow-minded and/or greedy people think otherwise. Of course the reciprocal of this is that we, as part of the community, need to help in any way, form or fashion that we can. It's not fair only to take (and unhealthy) you need to give too.
I also believe that the solution to most problems is to make a joke and lighten the atmosphere. I don't treat life as if it were a big joke, but I do find the funny part in every situation. (Of course, when seriousness and graveness are required I respect that)
That being said, I also like to dabble in everything. Anything that catches my fancy, I try.
Of course, there things I enjoy more than others. I very much like to cook, and I'm not afraid to try new things. They tell me I'm good at it, and I tend to agree.
I like to write. (Obviously, just look at how long this post is!) The thing is, I need a serious motivation to write anything more than 10,000 words. After some point I lose interest. But the stories still clamor to get out. So I write in fits and starts.
I very much enjoy computer work, and am teaching myself things that fall beyond the scope of my degree.
Anything else?
Yes.
I despise the whole Facebook/Twitter thing. I think that FB is an invitation to invade your own personal privacy and something that if done for the right reasons (like keeping in touch with people, but there are other ways...) then it is to be done carefully. Unfortunately most people fail to do so, and it hurts me. Watching self destructive behavior in otherwise (what I hope to be) rationally minded people is just painful.
And Twitter is just plain stupid.
Also, I probably should not have written this so late at night.
So that's me. In a nutshell.
Nutcase?