My name is Rob, and I'm a speculative fiction writer, a webcomicer, a martial artist, a web geek, and burden on society. Ubuntu converted me to full-time Linux, and Mint won me away with Julia RC--I'll be making the actual switch the day of Julia's final release, but am considering LMDE after it has matured a bit.
I like cultural anthropology, Science Fiction, the sciences in general (my library includes Hawking, Feynman, and Kaku, among others), old fashioned paper-pencil-and-dice RPGs, and turn-based strategy games like Battle For Wesnoth and the Civ series. Thanks to my wife, I'm also becoming a Hockey fan (Go, Flyers!), a console Gamer (So far I've only played DragonQuest VIII and Persona 3, but I'm getting addicted.), and an anime/manga fan. (Serial Experiment Lane rocks.)
I've been (professionally) a soldier, a comedian, a webcomicer (the comic is on indefinite hiatus, though), an tabletop/LARP RPG developer (that was only semi-pro), a rock singer, a web columnist for the local paper, a webmonkey, a construction worker, a help line call center supervisor, a disk jockey/video jockey, manager of a sound, lighting, and SPFX company, and a food service worker, among other things. In other words, I've been semi-successful at a wide range of careers before crashing and burning at them. Contrary to popular belief, though, I have never been a deep-space mercenery.
I am currently a starving writer living with my gorgeous wife Shannon, an incredible artist with five years of fine arts and graphic design school under her belt. (I've no idea how they fit there.) Rumors of a romantic entanglement between myself, our cockatiel Sachi, and our two parakeets (Little Bird and Ayame) are a total fabrication. I mean, if nothing else, just imagine the physics and biology involved. Sheesh! Darn rumors.
I also run a small web host, which shall remain nameless lest I violate spam rules. It's more a hobby than a business, really--It doesn't even break even--and work part-time security for the University of Kansas.
In addition to all of the above, I help out with hosting and web geekery for AboutSF, a joint project of the University of Kansas, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and The Science Fiction Research Association.
Oh, and I'm old. I mean, really, really old. Like my name should probably be Oldy-Old McOldster. I'm a grandfather at 47 with three grown boys, making my 28-year-old wife a step-grandmother, as well as step-mother to my kids--one of whom is only four years younger than she is. (Since she's a ninjutsu stylist, my youngest refers to her as his "step-ninja.")
On the kinda down side, I have bipolar disorder and ADD, a head injury that affects my memory to various degrees depending on the day, and a spine injury that--among other things--decreases the mobility of my right arm--glad I can still usually type. I mention these not for sympathy, but because I believe that the only way to remove the stigma/pity reaction regarding such things is for those of us who deal with them to be open and matter-of-fact about them just as one would be open about having asthma or acid reflux. And it ain't all bad. For one thing, if I make a social faux pas, I can always claim it was because of the pain medication. And if I wax a little too verbose, like now, I can always blame it on being slightly manic--Which is... Um, kinda true right now. Heh!
So, anyway, hi, guys! You've already made me feel welcome in the Mint community, and I hope to get to know some of you better.
