10 Things About Mr Gilder that You Most Likely Never Cared Enough to Know . . . but TOUGH!

There seems to be a big thrust of these “10 Things” list popping up on everyone’s C-blogs. I figured that I would throw my hat into the ring. Here are ten things that you may not know about me. Some of them you can get from reading the “about me” section on the side of my blog, but I’ll elaborate on them a bit here.



1) I have a luxurious mane of lustrous hair. I have not received a haircut since 2001, and I do not plan on it anytime soon. I am very much into heavy metal, and a good friend once said that if you want to be legit on the metal scene, there are only two ways to go in terms of hair; long or gone. I figure I’ll go bald naturally like my old man soon enough, so I’ll cling to what I’ve got while I have it.

2) I absolutely love fruit. I go nuts for fresh fruit, and any dish or dessert that contains it. I have a hopeless addiction to expensive organic juices. There is currently a $5 bottle of banana nectar in my fridge as we speak. It is delicious.

3) I am a definite cat person. I can deal with dogs, and I love my friends’ pooches, but I could simply never own one. I think a cat’s cold, calm, and independent demeanor syncs up a lot more with my own . . . plus I can’t stand the smell of dog-breath . . . and being licked grosses me out. I currently have two cats. One is named after princess Peach (because we found her as a stray outdoors, cowering from the rain in a large pipe), while the other is named Pico, after the defunct Sega game system for children.

4) I really enjoy working on models, and have real penchant for fine detail work. I have a glass case filled with completed Gundam models, and massive shelf of Zoids. I also have about $250 worth of Warhammer 40K miniatures gathering dust in a cabinet right now waiting to be painted. I just wish I could find the time to work on them.



5) Although the talent takes a backseat to writing for me, I can draw pretty well. I specialize in robots and power armor, but I do okay with figure work and portraiture too. I do hate working with color. Two of my designs for basic and high Samurai mecha are actually going to be featured in the print version of the Mecha Vs. Kaiju offshoot of the True20 book and dice role playing game.

6) Despite being a fairly functional adult, I am terrified of driving to unfamiliar places. Unless it is somewhere that I’ve been many, many times before, it takes a lot of convincing to get me to step out of the door without my trusty GPS. I don’t know what it is about getting lost, but it freezes me solid.

7) For all my love of games, I actually have an Interdisciplinary History/Government Degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pennsylvania. I specifically focused on East Asia in my studies. I’ve written on a variety of topics, from the role of Confucius’s teachings in shaping current Japanese policy, to post Soviet era demilitarization. I can elaborate on the works of Machiavelli about as well as I can Miyamoto.

8) My best friend James and I are tremendous fans of Traditional Board Games. We try to get together and game in a non-digital form at least a couple of times a month. Some of my favorites include Blockus, Arkham Horror, and obvious treats like Monopoly and Stratego. Currently, I have become enamored with The Settlers of Catan.

9) I have never been drunk, and I never intend on it. I do occasionally drink alcohol, but never to the point of excess, and always because I simply want to enjoy the beverage that I am drinking. I despise beer, and am absolutely disgusted by how culturally accepted the unchecked consumption of booze is today among my generation.

10) Although I am somewhat tech-savy in terms of games and electronics, I am hopelessly computer illiterate. That I manage to figure things out enough to make my Dtoid posts complete with bolded text and pictures is a miracle of amazing proportions. Whenever I need to buy added memory or a graphics card, I have to have my best friend over to pick the stuff out for me. Pathetic, I know.