I'm James.

I'm a native Torontonian; I love living and being downtown.

I'm fascinated by technology, data (OkTrends is awesome), and trends. Information is powerful and there's so much of it everywhere these days. I also love design even though my sense of it is pretty rough.

Optimism guides me, despite all the challenges and struggles we hear about all over the world. Hope for a better world keeps me going. Environmentalism, equity, collaboration, and restorative justice are other concepts I value.

I'm a self-proclaimed existentialist, although I'm not particularly well-read in philosophy. I think my hope for the future, belief in individual liberty, and faith in the potential of people are all rooted here -- both the concept that we create our own values and meanings to life and that we forge our own destinies.

I work full-time as a technical consultant. Data warehousing, analytics, and automation. I love my work. Plus, working remotely / from home / wherever there's Internet is pretty awesome.

When not on the job, I'm usually still working: taking on pro bono contracts with charities as a web developer, and playing piano.

I would like to think I'm "making a difference" with my life. I would also like to think I will always be a learner.

- computer things
- finding activities I'm passionate about
- chatting in person
- reading Wikipedia!
- swimming and cycling
- playing computer games

(Have you noticed they have a couple of programming languages in the language section? Amuse du jour!)

- I smile and laugh a lot. (Being happy is fun?)
- Chances are, I'm probably lugging around a massive laptop bag in case work comes a-calling.

Books:
God's Debris, No Great Mischief, Heart of Darkness, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Movies:
Manufactured Landscapes, The Devil Wears Prada, Gattaca, The Fifth Element, anything from Miyazaki like Castle in the Sky, all those cute and fun Pixar movies like Up and Finding Nemo!

TV Shows:
CBC National, Star Trek: Voyager, Stargate Atlantis

Video Games:
Civilization, Mass Effect, all of those Sims titles (The Sims, SimCity, SimTower, etc.), indie games like Darwinia and Plants vs Zombies,

Music:
Sarah McLachlan, Kaskade, Something Corporate, Joe Hisaishi, Rachmaninov

Food:
Most foods. Except ginger. Apparently, I don't like the taste of ginger, pickled or otherwise.

- Technology (i.e. phone, computer, Internet, etc.)
- Stuffed animals (i.e. teddy bears, not that taxidermy stuff)
- Great food
- A well-tuned bicycle
- Music playing in the background
- A comfy bed

technology, my future, new places to explore and new things to learn, and how to be happier.

And why does OKC say I'm less romantic? Not true! =\

Working or volunteering until quite late, or going out with friends.

I always sleep with my stuffed animal. It's a round fuzzy bunny. I love fuzzy stuffed animals; I don't expect I will ever outgrow this.

I've intrigued you. Message away! There's nothing to lose, right?