Hi!

I'm Stephen, more commonly known as Tene.

I'm very laid-back and relaxed. I'm easy to talk to, and interested in meeting new people from all over. There aren't many parts of life that I take very seriously.

I prefer cool weather to warm. I love rain.

My most significant still-living hero is Eliezer Yudkowsky. I've been called evil by him, punched him without reasonable cause, and held his immortal soul in my hand. This would be a good topic to ask me about if you're interested in talking with me.

I am not a member of the Bayesian Conspiracy.

I'm poly, and I've been in a fairly serious LTR with washichiisai since about 2004, and a less serious LDR with someone else since about 2006. This is also a topic people commonly ask me about.

People often tell me that I'm much more introspective than they are.

I don't remember the majority of my life before I was about sixteen or so. I know the general plot, but can't really remember details. I find other people's vivid childhood memories to be fascinating. I occasionally have other memory problems, more or less at random.

I don't play many video games. I enjoy them, but I tend to get way too sucked in, so I usually avoid them.

Quoting rlpowell about me, "You seem to not come with the "how other people think" brain module, and to have had to construct your own mental models of other people from scratch. You've come out with models that work, which is unusual enough in and of itself, but you seem to have also, in contradiction to what usually happens to people without that module, ended up with a lot of real kindness and empathy for others. It's really cool."

I work for a linux training company. For work, I teach classes, write courseware, and work on automation and infrastructure for our other services.

Outside of work, I spend time with my girlfriend, I occasionally experiment with cooking, I do some programming for Perl 6 and Parrot, and I have casual interests in physics, rationality, and evolutionary psychology.

Right now I'm just trying to relax, enjoy life, and have fun. Sometime in 2010 or 2011, I plan to move out of Utah, maybe to San Francisco or Seattle next. Dunno yet.

Hugs. Cuddling. Forgetting. Self-awareness. Listening. Understanding. Caring.

If this is one of the first things you're reading about me, one of the first things you're noticing is that I'm making a statement here about people who first learn about me by reading something here.

Otherwise, I don't know anymore. You should meet me and then tell me what you first noticed about me.

I've enjoyed the writings of Eliezer Yudkowsky and Richard Feynman, but those (mostly) aren't fiction. I don't re-read books I've already read, and I go through books quickly, so I'll just list a few that come to mind.

Recently I've enjoyed Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Night Watch (The Russian novel, not Discworld, which I haven't read), many books by Lawrence Watt-Evans, many books by Vernor Vinge.

When I was a lot younger, I enjoyed Piers Anthony, Orson Scott Card, Terry Brooks, and whatever other Fantasy or Sci-Fi I could find.

Superhero Movies. Buffy. Angel. Firefly. Heroes. BSG. Dollhouse. Lie to Me. Breaking Bad. Big Love. Dexter. House. True Blood.

A cumulative list of unsorted music that I've liked at one time or another:
VNV Nation, Ayria, MC 900 Foot Jesus, Amanda Palmer, Seven Red Seven, Orbital, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, The Dresden Dolls, Underworld, Sneaker Pimps, Pain, Streetlight Manifesto, BOTAR, Apocalyptica, O Quam Tristis, Catch 22, Cake, AFI, Rx Bandits, Anti Flag, The Hippos, The Rentals, Tsunami Bomb, Bad Religion, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Brave Saint Saturn, Death Cab For Cutie, Flogging Molly, Mae, New Delhi FM, assorted electronica, ambient, techno, etc.

Potatoes. Curry. Vegetables. Fruit. Meat sometimes makes me uneasy. I often eat vegan, but I'm not very strict about it.

Life, the future, rationality, cognitive biases, assorted projects, whether work or personal, my girlfriends, friends, and family.

Relaxing at home. I don't go out much.

I'm irrationally afraid of closed shower curtains. Not a lot, just a bit more than there's any reason to be.

I'm often insecure about my appearance, and I worry quite a bit about making a good impression on new people I meet.

I really love my girlfriend. That's not exactly a secret, but it feels private and personal to me.

I'm often a rather private person, in that I don't feel inclined to share personal things with people who aren't interested, but if you ask me anything, I'll answer honestly.

... if I entertain you, or you think I'd be entertained by you. I like meeting new people. I'm very friendly, I promise.