Pronouns

He, Him, His I believe people when they tell me who they are.

Blog Name: 1-1

One. Dash. One. My URL because the three characters together resemble the letter H, in the way that leetspeak resembles written English.

I’m also using the signifier 1-1 as shorthand for the idea of one-to-one communication. I see the written medium as a relationship between an author and a reader. And I love that language can be charged in such a way that multiple correct interpretations can be implied at once. One of my heroes Alan Moore links the words grammar and grimoire. I agree with him.

Career

I work in technology because I like knowing how things work. Technology is a special interest. It’s a blessing that there’s an overlap in the Venn diagram of what I’m interested in and what can earn me a salary. I can be curious and explore a fascination while also memorizing things. Fortunately for me, this has proven to be useful to others. My career has allowed me broad latitude for experimentation and I have only recently understood what a privilege this has been. I enjoy that there is always more to know just as there are continually novel problems to solve. I won’t get to the end. I won’t know everything.

When I do my work well, technology recedes. My aim is for people to be less fearful and more able.

Interests

In my spare time I enjoy learning. Any two topics intersect in fascinating ways. I enjoy seeing new knowledge applied across disciplines.

I carry a coin in my pocket that says “Know Yourself.” This site is an effort to keep my writing skills strong and to learn as I write. The person revealed as I write is me.

I study the science behind and look at the evidence supporting topics that interest me. It’s a great way to shed dogma and false-but-cherished beliefs. I look for wow moments, when I can make new connections and form new understandings. Sometimes it’s about the world around me, and sometimes it’s about my inner world.

Unique applications of ideas open doors.

My Cœliac, my Diabetes and my Lymphocytic Colitis mean that I must evolve and learn new ways to be healthy while unlearning the use of food as a source of dopamine and for self-soothing.

Learning about ADHD, trauma, and neurodivergent culture continues to challenge me to better myself and helps me to allow myself to be more me.

I like Science Fiction, Fantasy, Cyberpunk, and vampires.

I exist in many fandoms: Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Tolkien, Pirates of the Carribbean, Big Lebowski, Merry Gentry, Anita Blake, Discovery of Witches, Lego

I love cameras, cars, watches, steam engines, stereo equipment, orreries and exciting combinations of energy and inertia.

I still buy music and movies and books. Music moves me. Movies and books transport me.

I enjoy maduro cigars. I haven’t tried pipe tobacco but I’m curious.

I enjoy añejo tequila, old scotch, and estate rum.

I adore coffee. Half-and-half or cream please. No sugar. Espresso is lovely.

I find symbolism compelling. I look for symbols and see them and attempt to understand the ways they encode meaning.

I am drawn to The Mystery.

Idealistic

I’m exhausted by dystopian entertainment and outrage news coverage. More than seven billion people on Earth get along pretty well every day. I don’t really watch the news anymore. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that I’ve had enough. What is happening is important, but so is what I can do.

I’m a techno-futurist and still a fan of an idea that when we work together we do incredible things despite incredible odds.

Change is hard, but I believe I can do better.

Love Languages

Music. It matters to me what you think of what I share with you. It’s very hard to connect with people this way because many kinds of music I love deeply aren’t often well received. Not a complaint, but something I have noticed and it is a sadness I feel deeply.

The Written Word. Words work for me. If I cannot have a 1-to-1 conversation with you in person, then I desire something that feels to me as deeply personal: like letters, or text messages. Phone calls are lovely after I have connected with you over the written word. Otherwise, making a phone call is an act that fills me with great anxiety.

Home

I have a little home and a little garden in St. Paul, MN – the land of Mni Sóta Makoce – that needs more of my attention.

My wife and daughter tolerate all of my quirks and love me anyway. For this, I am eternally grateful.