CURRENT MISSION

Helping the Universe understand itself.

ABOUT ME

"...a man can do all things if he will."

I am a Renaissance man. I consider humans empowered, limitless in their capacities for development. I believe people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. A human being should be able to plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Only by keeping the mind in a state of learning and adapting can we find stimulation and happiness.

I believe that the universe is conscious in a way that we can never truly understand. It is engaged in a search for meaning. So it breaks itself apart, investing its own consciousness in every form of life. We are the universe trying to understand itself.

I'm passionate about life. My mind stays on the edge of sensory overload, both from within and without. Alternating between playful hyperactivity and lethargic, calculating seriousness. Not a split personality, and not without its utility. Everything has its place and time; different tools for different tasks.

I'm also an idealist. I believe a great day will come when we move from a thing-oriented to a people-oriented culture.

Ultimately, the best you can hope for in this life is that your delusions are benign and your compulsions have utility.

By the way, for those of you who give stock to Myers-Briggs personality types, I'm an INTP.

Interests

• insects
• culture
• design
• cooking
• investing

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
Milan Kundera, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Friedrich Nietzsche, Douglas Adams, Chuck Palahniuk, Carl Sagan, Karl Marx, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Howard Zinn

Movies:
Pi, Rainman, Kung Fu Hustle, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Shaun of the Dead, Synecdoche, New York, Hot Fuzz, Anchorman, Gladiator, Office Space, Waking Life, Life is Beautiful, Fight Club, No Country for Old Men, Memento, The Dark Knight, The Matrix, Star Wars, The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Paprika, Inception, The Big Lebowski, Dr. Strangelove, Skinned Deep, Bloodsport and a slew of hilariously bad movies.

Shows:
Stargate SG-1, Dexter, House, NOVA, The Office, Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, White Collar, Firefly

Music:
Thievery Corporation, Bonobo, Coldplay, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Bob Marley, A.R. Rahman, Ismail Darbar, Hendrix, RJD2, Radiohead, A Tribe Called Quest, System of a Down, Joao Gilberto, Nujabes, They Might Be Giants, Amon Tobin, Aphex Twin, Portishead, RATM, Violent Femmes, Beirut, Fela Kuti, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Gotan Project, Quantic, Boards of Canada, Massive Attack and so on. I love trip-hop/acid jazz. I've also recently found dubstep and am liking it. The Brits are years ahead of us in the creativity department.

My Last.fm

Video Games:
Super Smash Bros., Final Fantasy VII and X, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Kingdom Hearts I and II, Legend of Dragoon, Call of Duty series, FEAR, Half Life 1 & 2, All of the Mario games. Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Food:
Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern/Mediterranean