Okay, so this doesn't look like a real bio...

Greetings from San Diego -- land of boringly consistant weather. Yup, that's me behind those Raybans (circa 1994). And that's San Diego, California behind me -- actually one of the many marinas around the bay.

Well...let's see...I've been a clerical scullion for what seems an eternity (or, at least it seems like an eternity when you're doing work you loathe). Now I'm calling myself a Web geek these days -- go ahead, peruse my résumé. (I'm still hoping to also call myself a published writer one day.) Currently, I'm working a part-time onsite contracting gig at San Diego City College on the Math Mentor software project. I get to create Flash animations on a cool, fast Macintosh G4 all day. Sure beats talking to stockbrokers and the Department of Insurance day in, day out. Of course, I'm always looking for freelance Web work -- if anyone's interested: I'm inexpensive, creative and very fast.

I've been known to be somewhat curmudgeonly at times -- or rather, I like to think that I'm merely being sardonic. No, I don't chase after little children with a long stick, shouting, "Fry lechery, fry!" -- but I can wax sarcastic at a moment's notice. Just give me a reason. And I'm always looking for them.

Attack of the hungry lorikeets! Yep, just proffer a plastic cup 'o nectar and you're a bird-magnet. This was taken in 1994 at The San Diego Wild Animal Park. I had something like five birds on my arm -- a keeper came over to ask if I was "all right." Ummm...aren't they supposed to alight enmasse
on one's arm?

I'm a misanthrope, yet I'm fascinated by humanity in general. In other words, I'm a people-watcher. I visit the San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park not only to gaze at the furry/feathered fauna, but also to surreptitiously ogle the bi-pedal beings milling around.

I love playing word games -- especially with people who use double-negatives. When I hear such proletarian utterances, it's like fingernails across a chalkboard, a red flag to a bull (as well as other appropriate clichés). Sample conversation/wordplay:

Nitwit: "We don't use that form no more."

Me: "Oh...you mean: you don't use that form ANY more."

Nitwit: "Yeah, we don't use that form no more."

Me: "You no longer use that form."

Nitwit: (becoming irritated; probably thinks I'm either hard of hearing or an idiot) "I told you -- we don't use that form NO MORE!"

Okay, Nitwit didn't "get it." But it's a fun game -- try it some time.

But that's me. I obsessively edit my email before I click "send"; I cringe if there's even one typo in a USENET post I've sent. God help me if I spot a typo or an image error on any of my Web pages -- then it's "hurry-up-and -re-edit-HTML-then-upload-to-FTP-server-asap." I am a bit obsessive-compulsive -- but then, aren't we all? At least I recognize my neuroses. Hey, did I tell you I'm a writer...?

Hmmm...I wonder what I'm thinking? Oh, I know: "What the heck am I doing sticking my head through this hole?" Just a bit of Del Mar Fair silliness, circa 1986. (And yes, that's *brown* hair. Thank you for noticing.)

I suppose I should mention some of the things I enjoy, like...

...my Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo

...my computer . What can I say? I'm wired, man.

...Babylon 5 (The five year run is was too short. Alas, the best in tee-vee skiffy.)

...Star Trek: Enterprise (I miss Voyager, but I'm starting to warm up to this show. I'm impressed with Scott Bakula's performance as Capt. Jonathan Archer -- the character shows geniune wonder at the new discoveries.)

...X-Files (I've been an X-Filer from the beginning after seeing the pre-season promos for the 1992 season on Fox. I was hooked after watching the very first episode. Yes, I know the show has become 'long in the tooth' after almost a decade, but as long as it remains sufficiently 'spooky,' it'll still have my interest. For the record: I think Robert Patrick's Agent John Doggett is an excellent replacement for David Duchovny's Fox Mulder. So there!)

...CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (You have to admit, any show that would use The Who's 'Who Are You' as their theme song just has to be pretty cool. This is a show which proves there's at least one primetime program which will not leave you brain-dead. The cases are fascinating, clever and educational. The characters are believable and quirky. Watch it once, you're hooked forever.)

...Oh what the heck, I might as well mention a few more tee-vee favorites. I'm addicted to The Learning Channel (TLC) and The Discovery Channel (my primary reason for having cable...well...that and my super-fast Net connection). I've also recently become enamored of a program on the Sci-Fi Channel called Farscape -- if you enjoyed the originality of Babylon 5 and Crusade, you'll become addicted to this one quite quickly. (BTW, a great new Sci-Fi Channel show to check out: The Chronicle. Trust me, watch at least one show. Trust me.)

"Hmmmm, those little DRDs look rather tasty..." My favorite character on Farscape? A little 26-inch Hynerian named "Dominar Rygel XVI." He eats bugs, nasty-smelling carrion -- actually, there's little he won't eat. He's amusingly rude (yes, that's possible). He's too lazy to walk around on his own power, preferring instead to sit in a hover-chair (he will walk when he has to, mostly when he's aboard Moya, the living ship -- and only short distances...like...when he wants a snack...). He's a fussy meglomaniac -- and so fun to watch. (Best of all, he's voiced by the wonderfully sardonic Jonathan Hardy.)

...I love watching Judge Judy adroitly level "stoopid-stoopid-stoopid" people to quivering mush. You go, girl!

...visiting the San Diego Zoo (I have a membership).

...Attending science fiction conventions which focus primarily on literary SF. The latest cons attended have been Con-Dor (held yearly in San Diego) and Westercon 51 (San Diego, July '98). Yup, there are photos...

For more Con photos, visit

...music: alternative, jazz (traditional and contemporary), classic rock, R&B, hip-hop, reggae and classical (I especially love 17th and 18th century baroque). My favorite band of all time is Steely Dan -- I was hooked when I first heard "Do It Again" from their 1972 album Can't Buy A Thrill. Whoh -- sitars, I thought! I'm also a big fan of Earth, Wind & Fire, Clannad, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Sparks, Simple Minds, Sade* and Sting. I've got a huge, eclectic CD collection -- but these are the artists whose work I scour the earth for.

*BTW, that's pronounced SHAH-day, not SHAR-day -- despite what the liner notes say on her earlier albums. This correction is courtesy of Helen Folsade Adu herself.

...reading (literary fiction, science-fiction/fantasy, horror). I'm a "chain-reader" -- I always make sure I've got a book ready to read once I've finished the last one. I won't leave home without a book -- God forbid I should find myself in a situation where I must stand in line or sit in a waiting room staring dumbly into space, or forced to rifle through a pile of strangely juxtaposed magazines. Yes, I'm the quintessential bookworm. The writer I most admire is Harlan Ellison. (There will be no smirking or snickering.) The man is a genius -- anyone who can compose a story (a damn good one each time) while sitting and typing in a bookstore window gets my unequivocal admiration.

...I'm a cinema junkie. I've gotta see at least one film a week or I become surly.

...then there's that writing thing...uh, I did mention that didn't I? Must...stop...being...obsessive-compulsive...

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