Current Wiki Projects/Stuff edit
I am currently putting a lot of my wiki effort into bringing the following articles up to Featured Article standards:
I patrol Recent Changes for vandalism and such.
I occasionally haunt and contribute to the discussions on Articles for Deletion as part of my ongoing effort to learn as much as I can about Wikipedia, the problems facing it, and what people around here think ought to go in this encyclopedia.
Past Wikiprojects edit
Pages I have created and integrated into the WP landscape:
Louis Delgrès (Help me expand this article!)
Rahula (back when I was an anon., and much of what is there now is other's wikipedians' work)
About me edit
I am a 21 year-old American from San Diego, California, specifically the suburb of Santee. I am male, caucasian, and more or less (probably less) middle-class.
I am currently a student of the University of San Diego School of Law, having recently graduated fromWashington and Lee University, where I obtained my Bachelor of Arts degrees in American History (emphasis on military history, particularly the American Revolution, American Civil War, and World War II) and Political Science. My home is Santee, California. My eventual dream is to become a judge. My legal interests are in American Constitutional Law and Criminal Law.
Academic Interests edit
Besides my primary areas of study noted above, I study Classical Greece, especially Athens c. 8th-3rd centuries, and Sparta, particularly in the reforms of Lycurgus. I also greatly enjoy the study of Plato and in particular I am interested in the character of the historical Socrates.
The French Revolution generally. In particular I am fascinated by the ongoing debate over the character of Maximilien Robespierre.
Philosophy generally. In addition to my interests in Socratic philosophy, I am particularly interested in modern utilitarian applications in political philosophy and the law. Further, I am concerned with the philosophy of science and its place in the modern world. Another area is in the more philosophical aspects of Buddhism. Finally, I am interested in the relatively untalked-about concept of the philosophy of Honor.
Non-Academic Interests edit
Fencing. I fence foil, and have done so for about seven years now.
Sailing. I sail Lasers out of Mission Bay when I'm home in San Diego.
Martial Arts. I hold Black Belt ranks or their equivalents in various martial arts, including Taekwondo, Kenpo, Judo, Bojutsu, Tonfajutsu, Iaijutsu, and Kenjutsu.
Video Games. I am interested as both a player and a critic.
I am a Little League Baseball umpire.
I am an amateur writer; I mostly dabble in two genres- paradoxically, these are Historical Fiction and Science Fiction, but the latter often tends to replicate historical events in science-fictive contexts.
I am a musician. I am accomplished on a wide variety of keyboard instruments, including the piano and xylophone-type instruments. I am also a marginally good singer. I combined these talents from 2002-2005 as the co-lead singer and keyboardist in a cover band known as the TTP Project, which covered songs by Radiohead and Garbage (I did the Radiohead parts, my female counterpart did Garbage), which are two of my favorite bands, along with Audioslave, Depeche Mode, Rage Against the Machine, The Dead 60s, Jimi Hendrix generally, Pink Floyd, some of the older No Doubt, some of the older Coldplay, and The Dandy Warhols. I am also a big fan of many varieties of Classical. Particularly, I'm a fan of Mozart and Rachmaninoff.
I am a magician. I mostly excel at advanced card effects, but dabble in a little bit of everything.
I am also (on a COMPLETELY unrelated note, mind you) an avid player of Poker, this along with Horse racing comprising my minor weakness for gambling, a necessary moral vice since I'm pretty square otherwise; I don't drink, smoke, use recreational drugs, all the things that the nice police officers who visited my elementary school told me not to do. Heh.
I play Chess. My USCF Elo rating strength is probably somewhere around 1650. I probably like the French Defence a little too much. My rating would be a lot better if I improved my opening theory and my "sharp" tactical sense- I am strong in positional battles, but perform poorly in crazy tactical situations and have trouble seeing combinations sometimes.
I used to be a boxer, but quit because I had long term concerns for my health. I ended up with a record of 12-2-0, with 7 KOs. One of the two losses was by KO, the other was by split decision.
I like horses, and enjoy countryside horseriding.
I am an erstwhile bartender, though I'm ironically also a teetotaler. Though I'm not currently employed in a bar, I still do the occasional informal bartending job, and maintain my personal library of over 2,000 drink recipes.
I have an extraordinarily warped sense of humor.
My favorite films include Amelie, Schindler's List, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Young Frankenstein, Thirteen Days, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.
My favorite books include the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Killer Angels, Cat's Cradle, Lincoln, and Max Brooks' irreplacable Zombie Survival Guide, essential for any citizen who wants to prepare for the inevitable zombie onslaught.
My role models are Abraham Lincoln, Louis Brandeis, Charles Evans Hughes, and my parents.