Interests
Since a young age, I have had an interest in all things to do with computers, though primarily software and programming. I hope to go into affective computing. Please see my skills page for details on my computer skills. Right now I am studying computer science and working at the MIT Media Lab.
Martial Arts
I have done several different martial arts in my life, but right now I practice Aikido.
Magic: The Gathering
I play Magic at the Nerdly Hobbies Club at school and at gaming stores in the area. I primarily build decks that use some combination of blue, white, and black. I prefer to play standard.
Roleplay
I DM/GM for D&D and GURPS. I have also played some games from White Wolf in the past. I really enjoy creating worlds and characters to challenge the PCs. I have run small 3-person campaigns all the way up to head-DMing campaigns that need multiple DMs and sometimes having up to 12 players on my own at a time (and up to 20 in a campaign at once). Sometime I may DM for Wizards, but I prefer 3.5 far over 4.0.
Writing
I have always loved to write. I write everything from poetry to manga. Some common themes that I explore are human nature, passion, reality versus fantasy, and growth through failure and pain. I also enjoy putting some historically accurate elements into my stories. I am currently working on a webcomic called The Messengers of Fate. See the my creations pages and work page for more information.
Dog Training and Disability Advocacy
I have been training dogs since I was nine or ten. I take my dog, Nala, to visit people in nursing homes and hospitals as a therapy dog. I would like to eventually compete in obedience and train a service dog for myself. I also participate in disability advocacy on Service Dog Central, primarily based around service dogs.
Society for Creative Anachronism
I participate in the Society for Creative Anachronism as a medieval scholar and storyteller. This works well with my historical interests.
Video Games
I play a variety of video games from Pokemon to Rock Band to Spore to Unreal Tournament III to Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Basically, I play whatever takes my interest. For consoles, I have an Xbox 360, Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS Lite, Wii, and Alienware PC. I also run the Video Game Club at my school. We mainly play LAN games there and we have some groups in MMORPGs.
Reading
I am an avid reader and I love fantasy and sci-fi books. Some of my favorite authors include Mercedes Lackey, J.R.R. Tolkein, William Gibson, and Orson Scott Card. I also find books about utopias/dystopias fascinating.
Anime and Manga
I read and watch mostly shonen anime and manga. Other common genres include action, adventure, and sci-fi. I also watch and read some seinen. My favorite series are Serial Experiments Lain, Hunter x Hunter, .hack//Sign, and Denno Coil.
Sci-fi Shows and Movies
I follow several sci-fi series, including Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. I am also a huge fan of movies like The Matrix.
Other Games
I am interested in most geeky games. Munchkins, Shadows Over Camelot, Zombies!!!, and Illuminati are all other games that I play from time to time. I also have an Eldar army in Warhammer 40k.