This is a picture of me.
It's my belief that what's important about a person is not where they come from, what they do for a living, what they believe about God or life after death or what they look like. What's important is what's in their heart, and what they do to show it.
I just reread that and it sounds awful, but I believe it's true. I dislike talk of politics or religion but I have strong ideas about them. I enjoy debating ethics and have strong ideas about them too. (I don't like talking politics or religion because, too often, it becomes 'my beliefs vs. yours'.) I strongly believe that everyone, like me, has a right to their opinion and to voice their opinions (preferably in a way which does not offend others). Voltaire said, "I may not agree with your opinion, but I will fight to the death to defend your right to hold it." Or something like that. He was a smart guy, that Voltaire.
With freedom of opinion and freedom of speech *must* go tolerance. Otherwise violence will consume us all. Why should I care what someone else thinks will happen to him (and me) after we die? I believe differently. There are very few religions which officially preach that anyone who disagrees with them must die. Those religions generally die out pretty fast.
Any logical argument for the supremacy of one group of people or another doesn't hold water in any real sense. Besides which, a reasonable amount of tolerance is a survival
trait.
For even more debate on ethics and stuff like that, see my friend
Ant's Page.
The things that are important to me (apart from abstracts like truth and freedom and tolerance) are my family, my friends, my country, and my hobbies. Right now my family is myself and my wife. I've heard it said that you can't choose your relatives. And I've also heard that blood is thicker than water (and often thought, "So?"). The truth is that family are there for you when no one else is, so you should cherish them and not abuse them. If you're lucky, they're your friends too.
Your friends are the few people in the entire crowd that you've met in your life whom you like, who like you, and who you still know. Let's face it, for most of us they're not a big group. Don't waste them. I'd go a long, long way to help my friends if they needed me.
Patriotism, I've noticed, seems to be out of date. If you profess to love your country, people think you're a conservative goon. Well, look at it this way. The world is a harsh
place (don't fool yourself). Getting accepted as a citizen in any country these days is hard. And whatever good fortune you've had in your life, whatever peace you've enjoyed, is largely down to the society you live in, and the people who protect it - and are willing to risk death doing
so. I believe that if you reap the fruits of living in a particular country, you should be prepared to contribute to it - and this is never more true than when the country stands in need of defence. It's even a good reason to vote and to speak out on important issues - if you want a better place to live, make it better. Societies are improved by many individuals each
choosing to try and make it so.
As for my hobbies... well. I'm a fan of science fiction, space exploration, anime, comics, and role-playing.
Science Fiction has an undeserved reputation as "pop culture" rather than art. I say, not only is it art, but it is art that serves a purpose as no other kind of art does - it promotes
thinking about issues which have not yet come to be, but which may do so soon. It may serve as allegory for modern issues, allowing us to perceive them with new insight. It can be exciting, disturbing, uplifting, or serve as a warning. Science fiction authors have published concepts for things which have since come into being - the escalator, water bed, space shuttle, laser, and many thousands of other items which I can't remember right now. To tell the truth, though, I really just like it because I enjoy it.
Space exploration is unfortunately something I can't yet participate in. If I were a rocket scientist, maybe, but I ain't. It is, however, something I can support. Space exploration
is something which is important in ways most people don't imagine, and its huge costs often make it unpopular, especially in government where anyone who isn't promoting themselves as the new cyber-senator generally looks unfavourably on expensive technology with no immediate political
returns. Getting humanity a permanent, and expanding, foothold in space is a matter so important it is ultimately crucial to our survival as a species... but if you really are interested in why, pick up a copy of Playgrounds of the Mind, by Larry Niven, or read Jerry Pournelle's paper on the subject. If I wasn't already a believer, I would have been after reading that.
Anime is just plain good fun (for the uninitiated, it's cartoons from Japan). It used to be only for otaku (fans) but now I see it in video stores everywhere. It's become mainstream, but many people still think animation = kid stuff. Wrong. Hire Ghost in the Shell or Patlabor and find out how wrong. I discovered anime at my local comic shop and my anime videos still occupy the pride of place in my video case.
Comics are something I didn't really pay attention to as a kid. You could read The Phantom or Archie while waiting for your turn at the dentist, but it wasn't
really interesting. Or so I thought. In my teens I discovered the Uncanny X-Men, and I was lost. My tastes have changed a few times since then (well, I don't consider the X-Men worth buying any more) but comics remain new, vital, and powerful in a way books can't be, and convenient and expressive in a way movies can't be. Like anime, it ain't just for kids. And adult comics don't just mean "bad girl" stuff (bleah), they can be... hell, go buy one. Pick up a back issue of Strangers in Paradise or Dawn.
Role-Playing is something else I discovered in my teens. It wasn't famous in Australia then (or even infamous) but it was well-established in the US. I often wish I'd gotten in on the ground floor, as I do with the net. Tough. Anyway, role-playing permitted me to stretch my mind creatively and logically, and was a hell of a lot of fun. I introduced my friends to it, and more than ten years later, most of us still haven't quit. Like with comics and most things my tastes have changed, but it's different with role-playing, because unlike comics (where one year they can be classic, and the next use a shitty artist and a boring writer) once you buy the rules, you have the game. The adventures come from yourself, and can be all new and interesting every year. And as you get better, they do. I started on Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and though I play other things too now I still enjoy AD+D, using the battered old books I bought years ago.
I enjoy debate and conversation, so if you want to drop me a line about anything I've mentioned, feel free. I don't enjoy abuse and won't respond to it, so don't bother, but I'm happy to discuss different points of view.
For more stuff on role-playing, check out my Gaming Resources page.