Hey hey hey!!! Get that spotlight off me... No paparazzi are allowed here...
Believe it or not, most people know very little about me. Those who do know anything about are ones with whom I've traded PMs or gamed with.I generally prefer to keep it that way so when I'm gone, I'm not missed. I'm one of those people who can vanish in a crowd of two people. You could be looking right at me and still not see me. I've been accused of hiding in my own shadow. Doesn't work on my kids though for some reason.
I currently live in Norfolk VA. I got sent here by the Navy as an ET3 back on July 15th 1995, right after I got married. I was stationed aboard the USS Eisenhower (aka The Might Dyke or the USS Love Boat or USS Ike-atraz). I was supposed to stay for 3 years (gotta love spouse co-location rules changing that 4 year tour to a 3 year tour). But due to mis-treatment of me by my work center (improper working conditions, poor tools, etc), I developed a case of RSI (carpal tunnel in the wrist, cubital tunnel in the elbow) which subsequently removed me from the ship in Dec 1996.
I ended up spending the next year & a half at NOB Norfolk working in the Calibration Lab. On July 31st 1998, I got out of the Navy. I spent the next few years going back to school & working as ISP phone tech support. I was eventually laid off from that due to company financial problems. After that, I took up contract work. Pay was good, jobs were plentiful until 9/11.
In Feb 2004, I got lucky and got a network support/help desk position with Anteon Corporation. Pay isn't as good as the contract work, but it's 40 hours/week and a regular paycheck. The bennies aren't bad either.
If you've read through some of my post history, you'd already know that I have 3 daughters ages 8, 7, & 4. I've been married to my wife for 10 years (this coming July). We've got a nice camping trip planned for our 10th anniversary. It *won't* include the kids either
.
Hobbies? Hobbits? I've got them. I love to read. I read primarily fantasy & sci-fi. I love to watch Stargate (both shows). I do like Star Trek. I play computer games entirely too much. I've got consoles systems/games dating all the way back to the original Nintendo & Gameboy (along with N64, GC, XBox, PS, PS2, SNES). Over 80% of my games over all the systems including computers are RPGs of some sort or another.
I'm also a computer nut. I've gotten MCSE certified twice (WinNT4.0 & Win2k). I'll be doing that yet again for WinXP & Win2k3 soon. I even build my own computers as a side thing.
I do run my own webserver & domain (website is down though, I devote maybe an hour a month towards getting it back up. I really should put some effort into it). So if at some point someone needs some temporary hosting on a 4 megabit DSL line, PM me.
I haunt the forums quite a bit. I periodically lurk on Thistledown. I hang out here quite a bit and on the COH boards (official ones). I used to be the assistant site manager on ac.warcry.com. I stepped down from that to content/moderator there up until I more or less retired from AC. I was a mod for the TD board here for a while too.
I've not lived here in Norfolk all my life. I am originally from NW Ohio, specifically a little town called Liberty Center. I did graduate from there in 1993. Instead of doing high school there though, I went to a local vocational school and took their electronics course my junior & senior years. I've been all over the eastern half of the US except in the NE end (NE from PA).
The only reason I'm still in Norfolk is because when I got out of the Navy, my wife was still active duty until July 2004. Since I knew she was getting out at that point, I focused hard on getting a full time job last year. Oddly enough, when I truly need something, it falls into my lap at exactly the right time.
As for politics, I'm rather middle of the road. I don't really care for religious extremism. Extremists of any ilk are bad. I'm moderate in my views. I believe that homosexuality is wrong but I also accept that homosexuals are people too. I'm not one for war mongering but accept that war is a necessary evil at times. I'm very much a live & let live kind of person. As long your actions don't interfere with my rights and ability to live how I choose, I don't really care one way or another.
My wife, she's cool. She likes to play games, just not to the extent that I do. She accepts that she married a gamer. She's okay with that though. She knows that I'm not up to no good and that I'm safe at home rather than out on the town getting into trouble. Gives her peace of mind and me a lot of game play time. Win win situation IMO.
It was funny when we first met... within moments we knew what each other was thinking and feeling. I'm so glad that I told off the powers that be that women were evil, I was done with them, and wanted nothing to do with them. I should have ran when I heard the response "Oh really? We'll see about that".
I can't complain though. Life is good. I have 3 beautiful daughters whom I adore )even when they aggravate me to no end) and a loving wife that takes care of all my needs (and I hers).
All in all, it's all good. I have a great family, have plenty of fun, and when I'm bored I don't have to wait very long for something interesting to catch my eye.
I'll end this with some words of advice...
1. You have two ears & one mouth. Use what you have more of. You'll be surprised at what you'd miss otherwise.
2. The things that people don't say / leave out are just as telling if not moreso than what they do say.
3. That grey thing between the ears is not a spaceholder.
4. You don't have to outrun the bear, just trip the fool running with you.
5. If you see the bomb squad guy running away, try to keep up.
6. There are stupid people in this world. Just let natural selection take its course.
7. Two wrongs don't make a right.
8. Two wrongs can occasionally help the problem though
9. Three lefts do make a right, just one street earlier than you wanted.
10. Ldy-Savannah is cool. Just accept it.
-----signature-----
Retired: AC, 11/25/05.
CoH/V, Virtue Server, Global @darthmord
LoTRO, Meneldor, 65 Hunter, Gilborthal & others
"Bipartisanship: When Democrats and Republicans agree on the right way to stick it to the People." -Dorvinion
It is not the kiss of the whip, but the whispered word...
Awesome read for sure!