Stream of conciousness. Go.

I am a grad student working on my robot which I love(the work, not the robot). I am more intelligent than most but know that does not neccesarily mean wiser. I am generally disctracted until I am consumed by something for a week. I am a believer in self discovery. the stream is traling off now(See, distracted). I like the great outdoors but have been disappointed by the non-beach florida I have seen. I miss the mountains of the Southwest and backpacking for days. I am fairly athletic for a nerd, fairly well read for an engineer, fairly progressive for a Texan, fairly cautious for a risk taking personality, fairly distracted for such a focused person. Sometimes I can feel grad school stripping away all that used to be 'well rounded'. I get along with my family but can go a month or more without talking to them. My clothes might not be the most stylish but they are clean. My computer is probably worth more than my car but they both work. I am a few close friends person not a social butterfly person. There. Stream of consiousness done.

I did spell check.

I make things. Creating an online profile that will make the angels weep. Not this one, this is just for practice. The short view: playing with my robot, walking my dog Buckaroo, Enjoying the ride. The medium view: Graduating, Gainful employment. The long view: This on is hazy. I have a few ideas.

Making stuff. Fixing things. Making some people laugh. People have told my I am easy to talk to and good at explaining complex stuff without sounding superior about it. I can fold a paper airplane better than you. Nerdy but true. Soccer.

How do I know this? Now I am going to be thinking about this for days. What does it say about me that I have not given this much thought before?

A)The Right Stuff, Anything by Chuck Palahniuk, Mastering Your Hidden Self, a Guide To to the Huna Way, Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Many more.

B) The Big Lebowski, Office Space, Fight Club, Buckaroo Banzai,Harold and Maude, Garden State.

C) Have you noticed people always list their trendy underground faves here but not the popular stuff? Who's buying all that John Mayer and Linkin Park anyway? We are all trying to be too cool for school. I have not been that into music lately but I have music phases. Now for my list: The classics(of rock), Thievery Corporation, Air, Massive Attack, Blues Traveler, the Beatles, Joe Satriani, and whatever Nic Harcourt tells me to listen to.

D) Southwestern Chicken at the Top. Cheese+salsa+seasoned chicken+jalipenos+corn based wrapping product in almost any combination.

I could go several ways with this. Days of the week(which do I get rid of?)? Maxwell's equations?(bad joke. If you don't get it, congrats, you might be well adjusted.)

I try not to be too attatched to material things*.
My path. Even if I can't see the end goal I know the general direction. The times I have felt myself wander off the path have been very unpleasant. I guess it comes down to hope.
My dog. He has been with me though my many travels, ocean to ocean. my close friends.
My Mac. No joke, my life runs through this machine.
The love of a good woman. I can do without(and have), though it is not my prefered state of affairs. A balanced life is always the goal.
Chapstick.

*by things I mean things that are not my computer.

Editors

• abbykitty

What people first notice about me. (Lately) The larger emergent properties resulting from the interactions of many smaller, simpler independent agents, resulting in complex and unpredictable behaviors(ie politics, relationships, global economics, simultaneous localization and mapping of 3d range data(don't ask), and life at every scale. It is the magical dance of the universe.

Your joking right? If I gave it all away now the fin would be over. I am currently giving Huna a serious look.

Your username(handle, whatever) does not contain the word 'gator'. It is a pet peeve.

Otherwise, I am open, as long as you are intelligent and compassionate. In my experience this implies 'liberal' but I try not to rely on how other people define that term.