About me

I am a geek.

'Geek' has different meanings to different people. Well I can say categorically that the pizza and cola consumed after 2am on coding projects hasn't gone to my weight - yet. I'm sure it will, if I keep going like this. I'm pretty much a sterotypical geek, complete with nerdy accent, but I really need to practice my American. Being exposed to American media still doesn't give you the right tongue.

Being a geek, to me, means being really intolerant of problems - and viewing the status quo as a collection of problems that nobody's got around to solving yet. Sound bad? In a lot of respects it is, but if it wasn't I'd have nothing to solve. So it's probably a good thing. A problem is just another opportunity to create a solution.

The first problem with solving problems is that if you have to solve them in one specific way it could be a lot of work. Open-mindedness is essential in problem solving. That's why my desk has a PC, Sun workstation, and iMac. A solution that only works on a VAX is pretty darn useless, right? The pro-Microsoft crowd can be frustrating at times, because they don't seem willing to consider alternative solutions. I'm not saying the Linux crowd are any better, but there's less of them, so they're not as scary.

I'm constantly on the lookout for smart, motivated people. I want to know you, and what you've done. I don't care if you're 11 or 101, and I'd rather meet somebody who's done something that I disagree with than somebody who's done nothing at all.
Geek paradise: me (left) in Silicon Valley, with Jennifer Walbank of UTS. Note the sun and warm weather, dammit. Oh, and to make clear that I'm not a woman, I've since grown a beard - but shaved if off - so I guess you'll just have to wonder, won't you?