finding your way around?

• the middle of it
• what's new?
• about me
• my software
• my recipes
• the turing tarpit
• var'aq -- program like a Klingon!
• see my resume
• see some links
• contact me

Who is that man, and why is he wasting my time with this?

This is my ego page, where I tell you everything you need to know about me. This information is current as of 12 January 2001.

A few statistics:

• Name: Brian Matthew David Connors. The "David" is optional, and I rarely use it.
• Birthdate: 5 November 1975 (adopted 16 January 1976)
• Height: 5'7" (1.7m)
• Weight: 220 lbs (100 kg)
• Sex: Not yet. Working on it. (And yes, I admit that in public sometimes.)
• Religion: Practicing Roman Catholic, minus a few frills.
• Place of Residence: Belmont, MA, USA. Been living here for 19 years.
• Education: Boston College, A&S '98 with a BSCS. Technically still a class short, but I can't afford to finish it right now.
• Occupation: Starbucks barista and resident coffee specialist, Starbucks #871 Belmont Center. (Though if you want to know what I want to do, see my resume.
• Marital Status: Missing and presumed single.
• Favorite Color: Fluctuates between aqua and vivid purple.
• Favorite Food: Barbecue, General Gau's Chicken, and anything off a Middle Eastern grill.
• Favorite Beer: I have many, but if I was stranded on a desert island with fifteen other people and I got to bring the keg, it would be Draught Guinness. With nitro-mix, please.
• Favorite Wine: Not a wine man, really, but I appreciate a nice Australian Shiraz. Nice and chocolaty.
• Favorite Other Alcoholic Beverage: Hard Cider. Incidentally, I just want to thank Kim Carberry of Allaire Software for turning me on to that -- wish I'd never met her but at least she has good taste in alcohol...
• Hobbies: Homebrewing. Cooking. Reading. Computers (web design and Perl hacking, mostly). I also play an impressively mediocre guitar. Those are the biggies; I pick hobbies up pretty easily, though.
• Turnons: Oh, wait. I'm no playmate. That's none of your bloody business.

Family

I am the son of Francis and Donna (Panasuk) Connors, both originally from Brighton, MA. My dad is an ex-cop for the town of Belmont and now works a couple of security jobs; my mom is currently retired from John Hancock Financial. I have one younger sister named Karen, who has a son named Xavyer, born in October 2001.

I am adopted (as is my sister), and celebrate both my birthday and my adoption anniversary. We have a dog named Princess who is a female Miniature Schnauzer; she was born in March of 1999 and we got her in June.

Education

My schooling is a crazyquilt of schools -- nine, from preschool to college...

• Preschool -- St. Mary's, Winchester, MA
• Kindergarten -- Mystic School, Winchester, MA (no longer exists)
• First and Second Grades -- Winn Brook School, Belmont, MA
• Third and Fourth Grades -- Jackson School, Newton, MA
• Fifth Grade -- Rosary Academy, Watertown, MA (no longer exists except as a preschool)
• Sixth and Seventh Grades -- Cambridge Montessori School, Cambridge, MA
• Eight through Tenth Grades -- Lexington Christian Academy, Lexington, MA
• Eleventh and Twelfth Grades -- Matignon High School, Cambridge, MA
• College -- Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA

What I Believe

I consider myself a pragmatic socialist. I believe very much in Open Source software, and consider the issue of "information wanting to be free" largely a matter of respecting the wishes of the artist/author/creator when it comes to a piece of music or art.

I am not a libertarian; while I understand the ideals behind said movement, I think their believers are deluding themselves into thinking that creating a "free-market" government will do anything except create an even less efficient version of what we already have. Politically, I am a registered independent with a general tendency to vote Democrat; I am socially liberal except on issues such as abortion. I am iffy about the death penalty and would vote against it should a referendum come up in Massachusetts.

I was, once, a believing Christian of the Roman Catholic persuasion. In the wake of the clergy sex scandal (a problem which, despite the Church's attempts to convince people otherwise, goes back centuries; even Voltaire and possibly Dante Alighieri wrote about it), however, I realized that the edifice I'd built my faith on had crumbled over the years and faith no longer held any meaning for me. I now define myself as agnostic-leaning-towards-atheist, though I still maintain quite an interest in religion nevertheless. I just don't ever expect to consider myself a believer ever again.

I also believe in science and reason; evolution exists because science has proven it does. I believe it is the height of arrogance, not to mention a slap in the face to God (at least if you believe), to hold up as "truth" that which has been discredited. God may have created the universe, but the evidence says that God was not necessary to do so.

Geek Stuff

I AM A GEEK.

I read Slashdot. I own a stuffed penguin. I own two functioning computers and at least a half a dozen broken or decommissioned ones.

I am a Linux user and a Mac user in roughly equal parts; I hack on my Linux box and draw and play games on my Mac. I am an active Windows hater and would very much like Microsoft to burn for their crimes.

Most of my geekery these days, however, is of the A/V club sort, and I hope one day to get paid for my television work, which I do as a community volunteer.