I'm a Buddhist, although philosophical rather than religious. I enjoy hiking, camping, martial arts, computer science and various forms of fantasy and science fiction literature. I am a published author and computer game developer.

Despite the "trekhead" profile moniker, I'm not a rabid Star Trek geek who goes to conventions in a costume. I simply use this handle because I spent a couple of years as the developer for Decipher's Star Trek game. Amusing job, that.

I just finished going back to university for a computer science degree, and now I'm looking to return to a career with code. Why did I wait so long to get it? 'cause like all good video-game programming geeks, I was hired out of college back in the '90s to work for a company - in this case, Interplay, on the game Fallout. I shuttled around game writing for a while and finally landed back in college to finish a serious degree and improve my job prospects.

Creative writing/storytelling. Computer programming. Kung fu.

Also, I acquired the chocolate cookie cooking gene from my mother. You should try one. Or two.

I have an amazing memory for minutiae.

(a) Books: I have a mix between fiction and non-fiction. In non-fiction, I enjoyed 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus; Three Great Economists; Guns, Germs, and Steel; and Against the Gods. In fiction, I like classical fantasy and science fiction such as Asimov's Robots-Empire-Foundation stories and the Books of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. I also just started reading China Mieville's Perdido Street Station and I enjoyed Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. I liked Vernor Vinge's The Peace War, but that's only natural since we're both computer scientists. Technically, the Economist is a magazine, not a book, but I have a subscription. I completed Cadillac Desert last year, which is a bit strident but still a must-read for anyone who lives in California.

(b) Movies: Mostly I enjoy science fiction (including social commentary/cautionary tales like the cheesy Logan's Run and Silent Running) and pseudo-documentary films like Schindler's List. I also like Kurosawa films. I have mixed results in the anime category; I tend to like more story-driven films, as contrasted with wacky hijinx.

(c) Music: If it's not country or rap, it's probably fine. My own collection is very KROQ - Enya, Peter Murphy, Alanis Morissette, Boingo, Peter Gabriel and more.

(d) Foods: I have a preference for Chinese food. I also enjoy Italian, some German, and what passes for Mexican-American. I can cook although I do so only rarely. (I do really good Mex-Amer enchiladas.)

Hygiene. Green space. Tea. Kung fu/Tai Chi. My computer! Uh . . . that's five. Maybe I'll update this later.

Economics, social justice, and speculative science.

In terms of economics, I'm just a hobbyist, but I've read enough Veblen and Schumpeter to have a slightly more informed point of view than your typical U.S. school product. I tend to cling to democratic socialist/green views, based both on observations and introspection. I'm up for debates about issues as long as you don't fall into the traps of bad rhetoric (like ad hominem or faulty extension) and you don't confuse faith with evidence.

In terms of social justice, I'm a terrible Buddhist because I always fall into the trap of social duty. "Leave the world better than you found it," as the saying goes.

In terms of speculative science, as a computer scientist and science fiction junkie, I like to think about what sort of neat things we might see in a year or a century.

Spending time with friends in a sociable setting. Or, studying. Sometimes writing.

It'll come to me at some point, I'm sure.

. . . actually, now is probably not a good time. I'll leave this profile active for now, but having just finished school, I'm looking for work. I was in a car accident recently, so no job and no car does not put me in a good space to be looking for that special someone. Maybe after something goes right . . .