Heavy Metal, Computers (but I don't do windows so please don't ask me to help remove your spyware), and beer brewing/cider making/bread baking, and anything else I can think of to bring yeast slaves into the grip of my iron fist.
Music
Power metal, thrash metal, speed metal, traditional metal, progressive metal, progressive rock, doom metal, stoner rock, and yes, good ol' classic rock'n'roll. I'm not going to list bands, because there are just way too many of them. But you can check my AudioScrobbler Profile to get a rough overview of what I'm into.
Music somehow became pretty important to me. I have a little over a thousand CDs, I go to many local metal bands' shows (and I also follow a few local rock bands), I plan many of my out-of-town vacations around metal festivals.
But I'm purely on the demand side. When I think no one is around, and I get out my Gamma Ray karaoke CD, the world as we know it is imperiled. An evil wind blows in from a nameless quarter of the desert, dogs howl for miles around, the clouds darken from my foul blasphemy, and the dust from all the centuries' dead flutters, disturbed from its rest. Omnipotent forces that play unfathomable games in the void between galaxies, cover their ears and cringe in pain. They turn Their attention to our pathetic floating island, and briefly entertain the thought of crushing it like a bug, just to silence my abominable racket. Their mere gaze triggers solar flares, earthquakes, and realignment of the magnetic poles. It causes psychics in mental institutions to scream and pull their hair out in bloody clumps, and it makes cats all over the world arch their backs and hiss at the unseen menace.
Phil Zimmermann, for PGP. The courage he showed and sacrifice he endured when he stood up to the government for an important principle, will always be remembered. It's also cool that he won that battle (follow that link and read the last paragraph ("there are forces at work..") ten times, if you give a damn about anything political). If you've been following recent events, though (especially since September 2001) you'll know that we still have a war ahead. Once again, with his recent project, PRZ distinguishes himself.
Richard Stallman, for GNU, the GPL, LfPF, and related stuff. I used to think he was a paranoid crackpot, but then his ridiculously unrealistic unbelievably stupid predictions started coming true and suddenly didn't seem so stupid (even if they remained unbelievable ;-). This guy deserves more respect than he gets, and should be admired.
Theo de Raadt: Freedom has practical implications; it's not "merely" a "damned fool idealistic crusade." If you don't have source, how can you audit? There's a reason he doesn't like binary blobs and closed drivers, and there's a reasonOpenBSD has such an excellent track record in security, and those reasons are the same. It's not a coincidence!
Chris Montgomery, for Ogg Vorbis. This dude understands why we need unencumbered codecs, and then he put up and did the work. That it also turned out to be technically excellent (the best, IMHO), is icing on the cake.
H.P. Lovecraft: the guy had some ideas that just boggle the imagination. Literally awesome.
About me: My name is John. Since about 1982, I've gone by the name "Sloppy" on various messageboards. (I have also been called (but do not endorse) the names: Sloppy John, Tireless Head, Transition Man.)
I'm a computer nut (former Amiga refugee, now settled in the land of Gentoo penguins), metalhead, libertarian. I'm a newbie beer brewer, rapidly gaining proficiency.
Speak up, dammit! If there's background noise, music playing, or the room is full of conversation, then don't be afraid to yell. Years of loud music have taken their toll on my ears. If I just smile and nod, it's because I'm tired of saying "What? Pardon? Huh? Eh? Hmm?" To you young'uns, I say: "Earplugs. Get 'em while you still have something worth protecting."
Who I'd like to meet: I'm interested in meeting people who totally rock out and love the music. True heavy metal preferred, but anything that rocks, rocks. You know how that is.
Keysigners, oldschool hackers, cipherpunks, culture jammers, anyone who Big Brother might call "subversive."
Ok, I've had it! I no longer maintain my MySpace calendar; it screwed up one too many times. For now, if you want to know where the good shows (IMHO) are, check my You Can Still Rock in Albuquerque calendar at Google. (And if you happen to be on the Alibi LAN right now check this out (won't work for most people; sorry, be patient).)
Gavin Castleton is currently on tour with Taking Back Sunday, he and his trio will be gracing the 508 stage this FRIDAY.
w/ Baretta May (members from One For Hope and more..)
& Zack Freeman
..
Hey! You should come to the Launchpad this Saturday night to check out the SuperGiant tour kickoff show with Five Minute Sin, Ambient Trash and White Witch Canyon. 5MS takes the stage at around 9:30. This is one show you don't want to miss!
Hey!!! please vote for my band savage wizdom so we can play at cruefest. This is a really big deal. Bulletin this and send it to your friends. We really appreciate it. You have friday saturday and Sunday to vote. Click the link. http://www.94rock.com/pages/94MorningShow.html
Hey John vote for Ultimatum to play Crue Fest here in Albuquerque NM Next We Aug 5th. Just send an e mail to rainman@94rock.com tell him your voting for Ultimatum to play Crue Fest and for thier Song "Heart Of Metal". Thanks.
