Geeky Hippie

I started reading The Wheel of Time back in the summer of 1991 just after I graduated from High School while on a family road trip. I first picked up the books because I spotted the Darrell K Sweet cover art for The Great Hunt as I was passing the "New Book" shelf at my local library. I had grown up with so many books around the house featuring artwork by Sweet, and had read so many of the Xanth novels (and other Piers Anthony books with his artwork) that the style stood readily and caught my attention. So I stopped and took a look at the book, reading the description. It sounded interesting (me being a fantasy junkie and all) and seeing it was book #2 I went in search of number one and found it moments later in the stacks. That led to 20 some odd years of not-so-patiently waiting for the series to end while I theorized online on the old newsgroups and various websites (this one here, readandfindout.com and its predecessor wotmania.com as well as a few less well known places).

I've read many other fantasy series (of course I read Lord of the Rings, and have seen the movies countless times), and many many science fiction series as well. I've read a ton of the old "Legends" Star Wars novels (before the whole New Jedi Order thing kicked in at least, only got a couple books in on that and realised it sucked monkeybutt and quit reading SW totally until the modern day), and some of the newer stuff. I am one of those people that loved The Last Jedi as well as Solo: A Star Wars Story and am overall happy with the direction the Disney Star Wars is going. I also love Star Trek (though I have never once in my life read any Star Trek fiction, though I have read ST sourcebooks/handbooks/tech manuals). I am a lover of the Babylon 5 franchise as well as the Stargate franchise. And I'm a massive fan of Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica series (and yes, I also loved Caprica).

I am a former gamer, but of the real gaming, not that video gaming stuff. I've played various iterations of D&D and AD&D, Alpha Dawn, Boot Hill, Toon, Vampire the Masquerade (tabletop and LARP) and the Star Wars RPG (both the D6 game by West End Games and the d20 by Wizards of the Coast). I'm a recovering Magic the Gathering player (yes, I said recovering as that crap is an addiction), and a one time player of the original Star Wars CCG. I've tried playing the Wheel of Time CCG, but we never seemed to get it down (never had any luck with the Lord of the Rings game either). I still have all my cards from both of those, somewhere.

And in case you couldn't guess I like to smoke cannabis as often as possible, though I don't "wake and bake." I like to wait a couple hours after waking most days before my first toke of the bowl/joint, the primary exception being if I am camping or at a music festival (which is usually camping). I live in a state where weed is legal, so I don't worry about saying that to anyone. And besides, I rarely if ever poison my liver with alcohol, so I figure I deserve to catch a buzz how I choose, as long as it ain't hurting anyone and I'm not behind the wheel of a car.

I'm pretty easy going, a rather friendly chap. I am normally, usually, the nicest person you could possibly meet. Unless you cross me or show yourself to be a right evil bastard. At that point, well, all bets are off. I can be a judgemental bastard when it comes to a-holes who don't know how to treat others right. Or to people who are blatant (or even crypto-) racists or fascists. My tolerance for even mild racism is nearly non-existent. I don't tolerate sexists (whether misogynists or misandrists) nor do I tolerate homophobes or transphobes. And if you bully someone for something they cannot change or help, then you have made an enemy of me, and my hippie demeanor will drop away real quick. But if you steer clear of those transgressions, well we will get along quite well around parts like these!