During the winter I love to snowboard, summer time it's wake boarding. I like to work out but don't find time as often as I like... Another thing I really enjoy is target shooting, whenever my dad is in town he takes me to a range.
Whenever I decide to relax a good movie is usually my first choice. I've been to so many concerts that I'm starting to wonder how I still have perfect hearing... I'd say 75% of my awake time is spent listening to music (mostly for the instrumental part, lyrics mostly suck although a song comes along every once in awhile that blows me away).
I spend a lot of time just hanging out with friends, usually in someone's basement... Just talking. I prefer that to the "go out and find mindless entertainment method"... I spend a lot of time here on MySpace, trying to meet people who share my beliefs and also to keep in touch with "real-life" friends.
Computers. Nearly everything about them. Programming, Windows, Web Design, Yearbook Design (haha), Networking, you name it. I know I want to be a programmer and/or run a software company. It would be an understatement to say that it is my passion. I've done a pretty full-featured image editing program (way more than Paint, less than Photoshop), an Mp3/WMA tag tool, a map editor for a game, and a bunch of other little things.
And last but not least philosophy. I'm always reading a book about Objectivism or one that embodies its principles. It really enables you to truly enjoy life. Just to put it into perspective, I am devoted to Objectivism more than the average person is to their misc. religions (except Objectivism is based on rationality so it requires slightly more thought then blind faith).
Music
So many concerts...
8om
30 seconds to mars [2] [drumstick]
a day to remember
adair
agent sparx
aiden [2]
alesana
all that remains
amber pacific [2]
angles and airwaves
anti-flag
as i lay dying [3]
atreyu [4][drumstick]
august burns red
authority zero [2]
avenged sevenfold [3]
barcelona is ours
bayside
between the buried and me
billy talent
birthday massacre
bleeding alarm
bleeding through
blessthefall
blink-182
bloodsimple
brand new [2]
broke
buckner funken jazz band
bullet for my valentine [2]
cephalic carnage
a change of pace [2]
chiados [3]
chimaira
circa survive [2]
coldfusion
cute is what we aim for
cypris hill
darkest hour [2]
dead reckless
dead to fall
deadspeak
dear life
deftones
d'espairsray
dillinger escape plan
disturbed [2]
divine heresy
dredg
dr neptune
dualistics
emanuel
emery [3]
emmure
escape the fate
evaline
evergreen terrace
everybody else
every time i die [2]
fear before the march of flames
finch [2]
flogging molly
freefall
frequent sea
from autumn to ashes
from first to last [2]
gojira
greeley estates [3]
green day
gym class heros
halifax
haste the day [4]
hawthorne heights [2]
he is legend
hellogoodbye
hemlock
hidden in plain view
HIM
himsa
i am the avalanche
idiot pilot
in flames
jeffery star
jimmy eat world
kaddisfly
keating
killswitch engage
lacuna coil [2]
letterkills
letters from the front
a life once lost
linkin park
lostprophets [2]
maline and the sons of disaster
matchbook romance [2][drumstick]
meeses
meg and dia
men women and children
mewithoutYou
midnight to twelve
millionair
mindless self indulgence
mucc
mxpx
my child my bride
my american heart [2]
my chemical romance [3]
new found glory
no fair fights
nofx
norma jean [2]
oh sleeper
only thunder
open range frenzy
over it
paramore
patent pending
pelican
poison the well
pressure point
protest the hero [2]
quiet drive
red jumpsuit [3]
rise against [2]
rob zombie
rocket summer
rx bandits
saosin
saves the day
saving verona
say anything
scary kids scaring kids
senses fail [3]
silverstein
simple plan
single file [3]
snow patrol
spitaltap
a static lulluby [3]
still remains
story of the year [3]
street drum corps
sum 41
super blackmarket
take the crown
taking back sunday [2]
takota
the academy is... [2]
the actual
the bled
the briefs
the casualties
the cheap$kate$ [2]
the classic crime
the confession
the early november [2]
the exit
the explosion
the fold
the front
the matches [2]
the offspring
the showdown
the sleeping [2]
the smashup [2]
the sunstreak
the sword
the transient war
the unseen
the used
the vincent black shadow
this is hell
thrice [4]
thursday
tiger army
tokyo rose
trivium
underoath [3]
veda
viper:viper
a void
we are the fury
wednesday night heroes
whitechapel
wiskey rebels
Venues
9 fillmore
7 gothic
6 marquis
6 ogden
5 cervantes
3 bluebird
3 coors amphitheater
3 invesco parking lot
1 atzlan
1 black sheep
1 hodi's half note
1 magness arena
1 oriental
1 pepsi center
1 regis university
1 rock island
1 sox's place
1 stapleton mall parking lot
1 verizon wireless amphitheater
1 warehouse in WY
___ 54
Movies
All-Time-Favorites:
300
Iron Man
The Brave One
The Crow series
The Fountainhead
The Island
V for Vendetta
Television
Ancient Discoveries
CSI
Dexter
Dirty Jobs
How It's Made
Man vs Wild
Modern Marvels
Mythbusters
The Universe
Documentaries in general
Since college started and I have had an inordinate amount of homework, and because I have the tv on while doing said homework, I think I have seen everything ever shown on the Discovery and History Channel
Books
Currently Reading: SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
Books I have read and found worthwhile:
Philosophy:
Achilles, the Tortoise and the Objectivity of Mathematics
Anthem
Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics
Ayn Rand Answers
Calumet "K"
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
For the New Intellectual
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
James Bond and Philosophy
Letter to a Christian Nation
Libertarian Short Answers to Tough Questions
Markets Don't Fail!
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Philosophy Who Needs It?
Physicists Lost in Space
Return of the Primitive
The Art of Non-Fiction
The Ayn Rand Lexicon
The Ayn Rand Sampler
The Capitalist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto
The Concise Guide to Economics
The Early Ayn Rand
The Foreign Policy of Self Interest
The Fountainhead
The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution
The Night of January 16th
The Ominous Parallels
The Romantic Manifesto
The Virtue of Selfishness
The Voice of Reason
We the Living
What it Means to Be a Libertarian
Writing and Thinking
Technology:
Building the Ultimate Game PC
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures
Computer Program Design
Cryptoanalysis for Microcomputers
Extreme Programming Explained
Game Coding Complete
Game Programming with Visual Basic
How Computers Work
How Networks Work
Mastering VB.NET
Microsoft Visual Basic.NET Introductory Concepts and Techniques
Microsoft Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectX
Microsoft Windows Vista Unveiled
Practical Guidelines and Best Practices for Visual Basic and Visual C# Developers
Practical Visual Basic 6
Professional C#
Programming Visual Basic.NET
Reversing Secrets of Reverse Engineering
SQL in 10 Minutes
The Data Modeling Handbook
The Mythical Man-Month
Visual Basic.NET Language Reference
Visual Basic.NET Programmer's Cookbook
Visual Basic.NET Step By Step 2003
Visual Basic 6 For Dummies
Visual Basic 6 Weekend Crash Course
Visual Basic Graphics Programming
XNA Game Programming
History:
American Pageant
Founding Brothers
A History of the Modern World
The Myth of the Robber Barons
Science/Math:
Chaos: Making a New Science
Crypto
E=MC2
Flatland
Flatterland
Heroes
The Philosophers:
Ayn Rand, John Ridpath, Leonard Peikoff, Aristotle, Andrew Berstein, Alex Epstein (I had the opportunity to attend his class the summer of '07 and have dinner with him, he's a great guy)
The Creators:
James Jerome Hill (railroads), John D. Rockefeller (oil), Commodore Vanderbilt (steamships and railroads), JP Morgan (banking), Andrew Carnegie (steel). I've been reading biographies on these types of people and am sure to find other inspiring people as I go.
Chatfield High School
Littleton, COLORADO
Graduated: 2007
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Major: Computer Science/Math
Clubs: Snowboarding Club if they have it this year... :-/
"I will not run anyone's life - nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule or be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone - nor sacrifice anyone to myself."
--Ayn Rand ~ The Fountainhead
"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."
--Ayn Rand
"Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement."
--Ayn Rand ~ The Fountainhead
"Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joy ... Happiness is possible only to a rational man, the man who desires nothing but rational goals, seeks nothing but rational values and finds his joy in nothing but rational actions."
--Ayn Rand ~ The Virtue of Selfishness
Snowbaording is the most amazing thing in the world. I can’t get enough of it; I’ve been on week long trips where I’ve boarded everyday. I have an odd clothing style. That’s the only way I can describe it. My usual outfit would be a concert shirt, old jeans, my favorite belt, and some sort of Vans. Then other days it works out to be all black. I also have Quicksilver/letter jacket days. Then there’s the “emo” hoodie (minus the emo attitude of course). Just look at the pictures [preferably the ones where I'm not dressed as Wonder Woman]...
I have an odd sense of humor, I pick up on irony very easily, to the point where no one else usually does. I use sarcasm A LOT as well, always in a humorous way; it sometimes isn’t perceived that way though. I’m usually quite, I only talk when there is something to say, I completely despise “small-talk”. I take in pretty much everything that is said around me and am always judging (I don’t see how so many people view that as a bad thing, how else can you know a person?). I don’t sleep too much and spend a lot of time doing productive things – school, work, spending time with the people I care about, and my passion, computer programming. I make a lot of friends, just not many close ones. Most of the time I feel slightly removed from the friendships… It’s mainly because I haven’t found too many people on the same page as me.
I’m a very hard worker and once I decide something should be done, I do it. I've worked at Fowler Software Design LLC for over half a year now, I love it. I work mainly on the database backend for websites, deployment, reporting, and miscellaneous research.
I’m a very intelligent person, and sick of people that view that as a negative thing. Life at Chatfield was mind-numbingly boring (insightful article about public school). I can’t remember the last time I actually studied for anything. I spent most the day with my headphones on just thinking, usually not about the trivial topic in class that day. I am absolutely embarrassed by class “discussions”. I just stay quiet and observe now since whenever I do argue, I end up being talked over by the teacher or one of the teacher's minions [I'm not very loud and never get angry]. The conclusions always seem to be the same though “neither side is right nor wrong, we can’t prove anything”… what a joke!
Like I said, I’m extremely passionate about programming. I already know it’s what I want to do with myself. It just came naturally I guess from always working on puzzles as a little kid; only now the puzzles are slightly more complex : ). The main thing I like is image processing (think Photoshop filters).
I’m an Objectivist, plain and simple. This means that I use my mind and my mind only to make decisions (whether that decision is a moral one or more concrete). I keep feelings in their proper place, as a means to enjoy my life, not run it. The only thing that I expect of other people is for them to be rational, I don’t demand anything else of them, nor do I sacrifice myself to please them. I’m an extreme atheist, and I guide my life by strict morals (what’s this you say, morals without religion?!). I hate people who idolize savagery, I hate people who believe a flower or a cow is on equal or superior grounds then the human race, yet I also know that it’s irrational to mindlessly destroy/torture them. I absolutely despise abstract art, new age anything, “modern” referring to anything primal, etc. I think it is horrifically irrational to help/love/“listen” to those who don’t deserve to be helped/loved/listened to. The person you are helping has to value their life first. I value integrity, pride, productiveness, independence, rationality, creativity, in myself and other people.
I have yet to understand how people can believe in something that has no support from reality what-so-ever. It absolutely blows my mind… Someone can seem rational one second and then turn around and seriously talk about ghosts, a god, “energy”/life force, etc.
Politics-wise, I voted for the Objectivist in the last election. I was going to abstain but decided to vote for him instead, it was a gesture. I’m not a Republican (who attempt to control personal choices like drug use, consensual sex, abortion, scientific research, etc.) and I am not a Liberal (who attempt to place productive people into virtual slavery). I’m what you would call a Capitalist. The only proper function of government is to protect individual freedoms (by use of police/military against those you initiate force, and law courts to solve disputes). Any other function means someone gets special rights, which means someone else is forced to provide them. People oppose slavery, but they don’t seem to oppose a slavery in which you get to keep a little bit of your money instead of none (?).
Who I'd like to meet:
"Love is an expression and assertion of self-esteem, a response to one's own values in the person of another. One gains a profoundly personal, selfish joy from the mere existence of the person one loves. It is one's own personal, selfish happiness that one seeks, earns, and derives from love."
--Ayn Rand
That honestly sums it up very eloquently. I am looking for someone I can love. Love isn't something to give indiscriminately and without reason as several people in my life have insisted. I am looking for someone who not only can stand on their own, but won’t ask for any assistance in that regard. That is the only type of person that deserves love, can be loved, and can love someone else.
I don’t think it’s valid to exist for someone, but with them. I don’t want someone whose only expectation of me is to throw flowers and jewelry their way and expect me to woo them and call it a relationship. I want someone who is conscious of every choice they make and every action they perform. Nothing makes me sicker than the person who is driven by nothing, by whims. I don’t want someone who just accepts what ever enters into their meagerly little existence, I want someone who demands happiness and success in their life and achieves it.
I want someone who shares my values, plain and simple. That doesn't mean this person has to be an Objectivist, it means they have to love their life (and not just carry around a hand bag with that phrase plastered on the side).
On an unrelated note[:)], you should meet Jordan, she is pretty much amazing and kinda has my heart. I'm so fortunate to have met her ♥
"no god" new darkest hour song recorded live from a cellphone. the quality is not nearly as bad as other cellphone quality live videos. it has a weird intro, but it gets better.
also, someone took the liberty of starting a really week wiki page for "the eternal return" that didnt quite meet the standards for an unreleased album, so i beefed it up with a ton of neat facts so it wouldnt get deleted only to get recreated in a few weeks. if you have been following the band it might be stuff you already know. if not go check it out. i also found a higher quality cover art pic!
Where: Golden Triangle Neighborhood (by the Civic Center and Denver Arts Museum) Denver
Description: Get your tickets now @ www.westword.com, they're only $9.33! The Showcase includes Built to Spill, Meese, Fluid, & A Place to Bury Strangers with many more to be announced! The outdoor stage is all ages while the venues are 21+
Sweet man! You were always a billion times smarter than me hahaa. Yes, were moving to the springs a few days before my 18th birthday! (the begin. of june)
Ploy for Extinction is playing this Thursday 3/26 at Toad Tavern in Littleton. Come out and support local music! You can print out free tickets from our myspace photos page (my mobile uploads folder).
Wolpaw further describes the idea of using cake as the reward came about as "at the beginning of the Portal development process, we sat down as a group to decide what philosopher or school of philosophy our game would be based on. That was followed by about 15 minutes of silence and then someone mentioned that a lot of people like cake. "
