Sorry if this shows up twice for some reason. I don't see it in the CBlogs, so I'm hiding the previous one and reposting it.

1. My name is Brian, and I'm originally from Fort Lauderdale. I grew up with my parents, two sisters, and grandmother in a 3 bedroom house. We were "lower middle class", which translates as not quite poor. My family was in Newsweek one time because of it. I would only get two things a year... guess when? My birthday and Christmas, of course. I think that's why I started loving computers: They were the only thing that my father would bring home.



I do wish I was still there (Ft. Lauderdale, not that house) instead of Orlando. The only reason it's okay I'm up here is that I've met some awesome people, but it's a terrible town for doing anything. I really miss the shows and art culture in both Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and of course I'd love to live down there now that I've found D-toid.



2. My very first (and fondest) memory of gaming is sitting down at a tabletop Galaga machine and playing until my parents wouldn't give me any more money. It was at this little pizza place called Lou's Pizza, and my parents hung out with the owner all the time. Sadly, it is no longer there. I also remember seeing our country go to war in the first Gulf War on television there later on in life, and fearing for the life of my sister's friend. She came back. Yay.



3. I started working on computers when I was 5 (1982), when my father brought home a UNIX server with 2 terminals. Somehow we got it working and I can still see the orange screen in my nightmares.

4. I don't know anyone who loves computers as much as I do. I think it's Stockholm's Syndrome though, because no matter how badly they act, I still stick around. I now I have a job repairing them, and take utter joy in making them work again. I'm sick, I know.



5. Out of three dreams, I only followed one: That's playing live music. I'm not doing it right now because I'm giving it a bit of a rest and then going back out there with a new set. It's pretty awesome that I was able to play on the same stage as bands that I enjoyed seeing there. There's something magical about that. I never really got heavily into my artwork or writing literature. I used to love writing, but somewhere along the line it got fused with the writing of music and was never the same. I guess I could also say that I'd love to work with anyone in the Central Florida area on stuff... if anyone's interested... yeah.

6. I won awards for being teh smartz, and I hated it. When I was younger I was put in classes because I tested higher than everyone else. I now know that this was utterly wrong for me (and the other kids in this "gifted class"), since all it did was single me out as someone to give hell to. I was always a fairly large kid so I didn't get messed with physically too often, but I remember a lot of times just not being included in anything the "regular" kids were doing. How effed up is that? So when I hit high school, I did a 180 and started getting in trouble and generally not doing well in school on purpose. It's strange to be happier failing than achieving.



7. I stuttered like crazy until I was about 8 or 9 years old. Luckily I wasn't half as bad as the kids in the video above, but It made #6 even worse when it was happening. A stuttering geek? Hold on... a bespectacled stuttering geek? It's like hitting the trifecta of sucky childhood. I'm just lucky I had help to get over it early. I can't imagine dealing with it now.

8. I used to phreak a bit. I was quite good at it at the time. It was pretty much a way to whittle away the wee hours of the morning when I wouldn't sleep since I was up running my BBS. And yes, I had my own phone line when I was 8 because my parents couldn't get me off the modem. I even got to do that thing once where you bounced a phone call around the country and talked to yourself. It was fun.

9. I have a lot of trouble gaming with people online. This is probably something I should go into for the monthly musing, but while I'm extremely social as a person (who can play music on a stage and not be?) I somehow can't extend that into the online realm beyond posting and commenting here. Just going into an online game of Castle Crashers gave me fits since I didn't know anyone. I don't get it. I guess I just don't trust anyone I can't see. Call it Livephobia or something.

10 PRINT "HELLO"

There you go... hopefully some interesting and some just embarrassing insights you never wanted. Yay.