Contacting

Emails have to be obfuscated these days, because all spammers are pedophiles.

Email: ser@germane-software.com

Instant messaging via Jabber: seanerussell@gmail.com. And, no, I don't use my gmail for email.

Human Languages

I'm a native english speaker, and I used to be fluent in German (I can still hold my own, but I won't fool any Germans anymore). I can read French OK, and can write it with effort. I was, at one point, proficient in Esperanto.

Computer Languages

I'm proficient in Java and Ruby.

I can code in Haskell and BASH.

At one time, I was proficient in C, Perl, Apple ][ Basic, and 6502 Assembly

At one time, I could code in C++, Pascall, and Scheme.

And, although they aren't strictly languages, I'm a guru with XML and XSLT (although, I'm not Tim Bray).

Games

At one time, I was an AD&D nut. I mean, seriously. That's how I spent High School (well, when I wasn't in the computer lab). In later years, I spent more time playing Traveller, and I played at least one game in almost every game released in the 80's. I haven't played a roleplaying game in years, though.

I own a PlayStation 2, my first and only gaming console. I have a strong preference for FPS, and to a lesser degree, 3D isometric, games. I don't play sports games. I've been strongly tempted recently to buy an XBox 360, which will be the first real Microsoft product I've ever bought. Microsoft sucks, but Sony sucks pretty hard too, and have even more stupid proprietary business practices than MS, so I guess I can't win for losing. The WII is totally out of the picture; family games are fine for some people, but I'm not interested. I reserve my time on Real computers for programming, mass media consumption, writing, and Go and Chess (in that order).

Sports

I'm an avid alpine skier, hovering in the low-expert range. I ski blacks, but eschew moguls.

I've been studying Aikido for years, and took Kung Fu (different styles) for a total of four years. I have to save my knees for skiing, so I don't do Kung Fu any more.

I recently started studying Iaido.

Music

My tastes are pretty mainstream. I always like classical; baroque, chamber music, and the pompous orchestral music are favorite genres. Beethoven's 9th, the Brandenburg Concertos, and Pier Gynt are frequently played. I like some German and Italian operas.

For contemporary music, I've got a lot of Skinny Puppy, Laurie Anderson, Sarah McLaughlin, the Cranberries, Cocteau Twins, and Enya. Recently, I've been liking Lily Allen, Emiliana Torrini, and have been revisiting Primus. I don't indulge in heavy metal much, and I stay entirely away from country-western, rap, and hip-hop. I do like techno, but not for casual listening, and I have a broad collection of Tomita and Jene-Michele-Jarre.

Technology

All of the computers in our house (two laptops and one server) run Gentoo Linux, although I'm going to put Kubuntu on my wife's laptop when the HD fails (which is probably pretty soon) For the past three years, we've both been using laptops exclusively; I honestly don't see a need for a desktop system any longer. I plug in an ergonomic keyboard and a wireless mouse (Logitech Mx700, the best mouse ever), and I'm good to go. If I need to take my laptop with me, I unplug the USB hub and I'm off.

The best printer I've ever owned is a Brother HL-1650, although I have a Canon i9100 that I use for printing photos. I have an external USB HP dvd200e DVD writer, which I use constantly.

My pride and joy is my Canon EOS 10D, a prosumer digital camera that was peerless in its price range, although it has since been superceded by other Canon digital SLRs. I've currently got my sights set on a 5D, which has a full-frame CCD; since my eye tends toward black-and-white landscape photos, it would be a good choice.

I have a Palm Treo 650, which has been pretty decent. The best PDAs I've owned have all been Palms, although Palm's quality has been going down for the last several revisions, but I've been very happy with the phone/PDA combo. I will probably upgrade to the 680, unless Palm comes out with another, smaller, PalmOS based smartphone before I cave in.

I have a set of Bose Quiet Comfort II headsets, and I recommend that everybody run out and buy a pair. Now.