So... after taking classes at UMass Amherst last fall (2001) and spring (2002), I still wasn't registered as part of the major I want, CSE (Computer System Engineering). After a bit of pushing I got all the paperwork to go through, and now I'm officially an engineering student at UMass Amherst. Finally! Classes, of course, suck. Though the electrical engineering ones are interesting, more or less.
I also now have a permanent place in Sunderland, MA -- yes, I'm a real person now. I own a house. Scary thought...
Despite being generally a poor correspondant, I do try to keep track of my friends, with moderate success. Since I've moved to Sunderland, it's gotten more difficult, since many of them still live in the Boston (MA) area. I also now have a LiveJournal, which helps things a little.
As to what I look like, I hope to have some decent pictures of myself available in the not so distant future. Until then, there's one (not very good) picturehere, and a description; about 6 feet, very curly brown hair, blue eyes, and the other standard features - nose, mouth, ears, and so on. Like I said, I hope to have more pictures up soon.
I suppose since people tend to put hobbies in this sort of thing, I may as well do the same; I juggle (poorly), I read (frequently), I've been known to play assorted RPGs (GURPS is my favourite), I spar (sword, mostly, though I've used staff and something like a tetsubo, which is essentially a 5 foot long spiked club), and I fight with my computer. The last actually takes most of my free time -- I run Linux (my current distribution of choice is debian, though I'd recommend SuSE for those who've never used unix before.
I occasionally stop by Harper's Tale, which is a MOO (on-line, multiplayer, virtual world. Text-based, like a MUD, but no combat) based on the Pern novels by Anne McCaffery. Over the past few years, though, I've lost interest, partly because it's been moving slowly further from the world outlined in the books. It's still a good place, though; go check it out! And if you run into a Harper Journeyman named Carik, say hello! A while ago some friends and I started up a new MOO of our own, called Laegaria. There's not much there, but you're welcome to stop in!
I also play/collect Warhammer miniatures, and play the game when I can. Warhammer is put out by Games Workshop - you can get to their web-site via the previous link. To read a bit more about my collection, follow this link.
On to the interesting stuff.. What am I interested in? What would I do, given infinite time and money? I think the only answer there is that I'd try to do a bit of everything: I love sailing, when I have the opportunity -- sadly, I've just moved about a hundred miles further from the ocean than I've ever lived, so my chances have gone down. Perhaps I'll take up kyaking, since I live right next to a river... I'd like to travel some more, although my interests are limited in that respect; mostly, I'd like to go spend a lot more time in Scotland. A number of my ancestors came from there, and I've been there twice; I can't wait to go back! I'm not sure I'll ever settle to doing just one thing; I get bored too easily, and I have too many different interests.
Musically speaking, it's easier to define what I don't like. I don't like rap, and I'm not especially fond of most hard rock or death metal. There are exceptions, and I've been forced to listen to one rap song(?) which I didn't hate. As to what I do like? Well, here's a sampling of what's in my cd/tape collection, which is usually spread across my desk, shelves, floor, and so on. It is, of course, a tiny fraction of what I've got. But I don't especially feel like typing in 90+ CDs, plus the 100 or so tapes I've still go lying around, so you'll just have to wonder.
If you want to know more about me, send me email and start a conversation! I make no guarantee that I'll respond promptly, but I'll almost certainly respond eventually.
I also collect quotes. If you have some good ones, mail 'em to me!
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