About Me18 min read
Table of Contents
I. Free Xenon?
Curious to know where my online pseudonym and website name comes from? Well, you are in luck! I wrote a small post talking about it came from: Free Xenon?.
II. General Biography
A. Overview
I am a cisgendered, heterosexual, heteroromantic, monogamous neurodivergent (ADHD) male (he/him/his). I am happily married to a beautiful Belarussian and we live in a small house in south-central Wisconsin with our beautiful daughter.
- My Divergent faction would be Erudite.
- My Wizarding house would be either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff – I have tested equal for both.
- My Patronus would be a spicy chicken sandwich.
- In Game of Thrones I would definitely be from House Stark, but I would be one of the Starks that would have already died ingloriously off-screen just prior to the start of the book. =)
B. Introvert
On the Myers-Briggs Test I test as INTP. I am quite introverted and at any moment you see me I will most likely be lost in my thoughts and conversing with myself. A little too often my wife and daughter will both ask me who I am talking too. =O
In groups of people, I tend to quiet down significantly, but I can extrovert when needed – presentations, parties, etc. Plus, if you get me on a topic I am passionate about I can talk quite a bit.
I have recently added an About My Blog page.
C. ADHD Neurodivergent
I am a member of the Neurodivergent community with ADHD, anxiety, and some depression (Yea Climate Crisis!!!). =(
You can read about my ADHD Journey in this post My Journey into ADHD (2023).
D. Religion
I identify as an Agnostic Humanist, although according to the Dawkins Scale I am a Defacto Atheist. We have attended a Unitarian Universalist (UU) and Free Thought congregation.
You can see the Personal Creed I developed years ago to give you an idea what that means. The 4 following documents are the closest things I have to ‘religious‘ documents:
- 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace in Humanity (8P3H)
- Declaration of the Unified Rights of Humanity (DURH)
- Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth (UDRME)
I am an LGBT+P friendly ordained minister with the Universal Life Church and I am open to performing services. Here is my Ministry page if you want to learn more.
I am also a LGBT+P advocate. You can take a look at my writings regarding these topics here under Social Activism.
D. Politics
1. Overview
With my recent diagnosis for ADHD, I realize that my journey into politics has not just been 15 neurotypical human years, but my journey has been 15 hyper-focused ADHD years!!! It has also been suggested to someone close to me that maybe politics is My Calling which I cannot argue with. =)
I am agonizingly leftist and post what the US government considers radical extremist content due to being anti-capitalist, anti-war, and pro-environment; as well as supporting such issues as:
- Civil Rights
- Separation of Church and State
- LGBT+P Rights
- Universal Healthcare and Education
- Housing as a Human Right
- Ending All Wars
- Metrics:
- 24 Hour Clock
- Metric System
- ending Daylight Saving Time
- Calendar Reform
- Resource Based Economies:
- The Venus Project
- The Zeitgeist Movement
- Radical Sustainability
- Circular Economies
- Others
- Yoga
- Esperanto
Yes, I know… keep laughing. =) =P
I am a member of the Green Party and I supported Bernie Sanders for President both times, but I vote Green everywhere I can, especially for president, although in 2024 I am considering Claudia de la Cruz from a socialist party,
2. General Political Conversation
Twitch: I have streamed on Twitch where I talk radical leftist politics: Free Xenon @ Twitch, although in 2023 I have not really streamed at all due to being in a strange mental space.
Patreon: If you would like to support my writing, live streaming, and activist work then please stop by my Patreon project.
3. Interstellar New Deal
If you want to see what my policies might look like if I ran for office, then please check out an entire website dedicated to my policies:
4. Running for Baraboo School Board 2022
Here is my candidacy websites:
F. General Preferences
Computers, Web Development, Role Playing Games, Martial Arts, Traveling, Esperanto, Investing, Religion, Politics, Yoga, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Nerdy, Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Writing
G. Personal Profiles
III. General Interests
A. Travel
I have traveled around the world a little bit, both while in and out of the military, to the following countries: Spain, Italy, Israel, Greece, France, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, St. Martin N.A., Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Mexico, Canada, and Germany.
The most beautiful place that I have been is Prague, Czech Republic – their buildings are exquisite. I hope to visit China, and Japan some day. My wife and I both want to visit Paris, Rome, and Ireland together.
I have taken trips with friends and family to places around the United States like: Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Hoover Dam, Badlands National Park, the Statue of Liberty, Saguaro National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Disney World, Disneyland, Hershey Pennsylvania, and more.
B. Food
Italian, Mexican, or Traditional American although I generally avoid all three since have been trying to eat as healthy as I can – slowly adding vegetables into my diet, as well as much organic as I can. I would love to be a vegetarian, but I do not like vegetables so much. The struggle is real!! =)
C. Music
primarily pop, rock, 80’s Hair Metal, and a little metal
2 Cellos, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bruce Willis, Creed, Def Leppard, Disturbed, Enigma, Evanescence, Five Finger Death Punch, Goo Goo Dolls, Guns and Roses, Halestorm, Jeff Healey, Journey, Nickelback, Pat Benatar, Poison, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Queen, REO Speed Wagon, Scorpions, The Pretty Reckless, Third Eye Blind, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, White Snake
I have found that as I have grow older that my taste in music has become heavier. I am starting to look at Disturbed and Five Finger Death Punch having recently bought a bunch of their music. There is this Norwegian musician and producer, Leo Moracchioli, who does some amazing metal covers which I have bought. Leo’s cover of Adele’s Hello is amazing!
D. Television/Video Series
primarily sci-fi, fantasy, and nerdy
Agents of Shield, Altered Carbon (Netflix), Arrow, Big Bang Theory, Black Lightning (Netflix), Caprica, Cosmos, Daredevil (Netflix), Defiance, Doctor Who, Firefly, Fringe, Game of Thrones (HBO), Glee, Gotham, Heroes, House of the Dragon, Into the Badlands (Netflix), Jessica Jones (Netflix), Lost in Space (Netflix), Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), New Girl, Peggy Carter, Peripheral (Amazon), Ragnarock (Netflix), Sense8 (Netflix), Star Trek (original series, TNG), Star Trek: (Strange New Worlds, Discovery), Star Wars (Bad Batch, Rebels, The Clone Wars), Stranger Things (Netflix), Super Girl, Supernatural (Netflix), The Boys (Amazon), The Expanse (Amazon), The Flash, The Good Place (Netflix), The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix), The Magicians (Netflix), The Punisher (Netflix), The Witcher (Netflix), Van Helsing (Netflix), Warrior Nun (Netflix), Wednesday (Netflix)
I hate to admit it but American Idol, The Voice, and So You Think You Can Dance. I blame these fully on my wife.
E. News and Politics:
- AJ+, Francesca Fiorentini,
- Revolutionary Blackout Network (RBN)
- Abby Martin, Chris Hedges, Dr. Cornel West
- Professor Zenkus, Professor Jason Hickle
- Clare Daly and Mick Wallace (MEPs from Ireland)
- Michael Parenti, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky
- John Oliver, John Stewart, Cody Johnston (Some More News)
- Peter Joseph and Jacque Fresco
I have also started to stream on Twitch where talk radical leftist politics: Free Xenon @ Twitch.
F. Movies
primarily science fiction and action/adventure, with a splash of drama
300, 5th Element, Aladdin (Disney), Aliens, Angels and Demons, Army of Darkness, Avatar, Avengers (Marvel series and spin-offs), Braveheart, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Clash of the Titans (original), Contact, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Dances with Wolves, Dark City, Divergent (series), Enemy at the Gates, Finding Nemo, Event Horizon, Gladiator, Harry Potter (series), Hercules (Disney), Hunger Games, Indiana Jones, InterReflections (Peter Joseph), Interstellar, Ironman (Marvel), James Bond movies, Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) Labyrinth, Lethal Weapon (series), Lord of the Rings (series), Lost in Space (Netflix), Matrix, Monsters Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Pay It Forward, Pirates of the Caribbean, Primal Fear, Pulp Fiction, Rent, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Romeo and Juliet (Danes and Di Caprio), Romeo Must Die, Scent of a Woman, Serenity, Shawshank Redemption, Schindler’s List, Sister Act (series, don’t judge me =P ), Sixth Sense, Spiderman, Star Trek (original and new), Star Wars (IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX), The Da Vinci Code, The Fallout (HBO), The Lost Symbol, The Maze (series), The Princess Bride, The Usual Suspects, Toy Story, Troy, Unbreakable (+ Split and Glass), Wimbledon, X-Men
I don’t know how it happened, but the wife and I survived a Star Wars Marathon for the release of Episode 7 – a total of 7 movies and 23 hours including about 2 hours of driving. =)
The Joker is an amazing movie! Check out my post on: Themes, Messages, and Symbolism from the Movie “Joker”.
G. Sports/Activities
I have done martial arts (Shaolin Kempo Karate), racquetball, ping pong, tennis, and yoga.
I watch Green Bay Packer games when I get a chance, but that is about it.
I will also rarely watch tennis and billiards too.
H. Artists, Contemporary
mostly fantasy works
IV. Uploading to the Brainbow!
A. Education and Training
Right after high school I enlisted in the Navy for 6 years and was stationed on the U.S.S. Enterprise as a Reactor Operator/Electronics Technician during the Persian Gulf War.
I graduated with honors from the Herzing College of Technology with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems (CIS) and an A.S. in Computer Networking Technologies (CNT). I have also become a Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) from Human Factors International (HFI) in 2006.
For the first 6 years of my post college career (2003 – 2009) I worked as as Web Standards Based developer, dealing with such issues as Semantics, Separation of Layers, and Validation. The next 13 years (2009 – 2021) was spent as a Drupal Administrator, end user trainer, and accessibility advocate.
In this next phase of my professional career, I am in a heaven working for Western Governors University as their Digital Accessibility Expert, being able to finally embrace and dive into a long time passion of mine – accessibility.
As of this year (2022), I am a member of the International Association of Accessible Professionals (IAAP, Dec 2021) and I am also a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC, Mar 2022).
B. Books, Pleasure Reading
Check my Good Reads profile for more info on the books I have read.
primarily science fiction and fantasy
I have not done a whole lot of ‘pleasure reading’ in the last 10 years or so. In the last year I started reading the Harry Potter books to look them at from the stand point of learning how to write. I am on book 7. I have also started The Expanse series too.
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown), Harry Potter series, Heir to Empire trilogy (Timothy Zahn), Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien), Origin (Dan Brown), Robots Trilogy (Issac Asimov), Sword Dancer Trilogy (Jennifer Robberson), The Dark Elf Series (R.A. Salvatore), The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown), The Expanse (series), The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown), Thrawn trilogy (Timothy Zahn), Dungeons and Dragons as well as other RPG books.
C. Books, More Serious Books
Check my Good Reads profile for more info on the books I have read. I keep that pretty up to date
I have read books on politics, healthy living, real estate, investment, business management, religion, civil rights, constitutional law, economics, resource based economies, as well as evolutionary psychology and biology, sexuality and relationships, religious history, philosophy, theology, divine feminine theology and symbolism.
I just finished these 2 books the week of my birthday (Nov 2022):
- Moneyless Society: The Next Economic Evolution
- The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
- Every Life is on Fire: How Thermodynamics Explains the Origins of Living Things
D. Brain Drain
1. Kindle and Nook Books
I have many books on Kindle and Nook (over 2 years of non-stop reading).
I have also started tp listen to some audio books through Audible, mostly novels while I am on my walks.
2. YouTube and Netflix
I watch the following channels or programs:
I also just found out a about Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur (SFIA). This is an amazing YouTube channel discussing space, futurism, and related technology. They release one amazing video a week on Thursdays, so prepare to educate yourself on SFIA Thursdays!
3. The Great Courses
If you do not know about The Great Courses then please go there NOW!! I loves it. It is my precious.
Here is a list of some of the Great Courses I have listened to:
- Writing
- Biographies
- History and Religion
- Contemporary Social and Science
I have too many of these too. So much to learn… so little time!
V. Important Pursuits and Hobbies
A. Aspiring Writer
I desire to write fantasy, urban fantasy, solar punk, and science-fiction works. If you are interested you can see some of my older writings on this site through the writing category. I have tried my hand with some flash fiction. I also participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2013. and want to write novels, although… By the gods above! Plotting… is… HARD!!
My top 4 series to watch for writers are:
- Game of Thrones (HBO)
- Altered Carbon (Netflix)
- The Expanse (SyFy, Amazon)
- The Magicians (SyFy, Netflix)
- The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
All of these shows were conveniently based on a book series.
I also have my Fate Guides which could be used as a tool for writers.
B. Changing the World
I have pursued studying many topics for over a decade in order to try to figure out how and why our world is so messed up, and how to fix it. Many of my blog posts and my blog pages are aimed at just that. From talking about Resourced Based Economies, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and my 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace in Humanity to Calendar Reform, Esperanto, and Yoga, to all of the other crazy things I talk about here.
C. Gaming
1. RPG’s
I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars as well as a smidge of Alternity, The Expanse, GURPS, Shadowrun, Call of Cthulu and other RPG’s for over 25 years. I just fell in love with the FATE Core system! <3 Years ago I played Magic: the Gathering and Spellfire.
If you want to see my various posts, writings, and narratives for Role Playing Games check out that tag: RPG.
2. Other Table Top Games
For traditional cards games we primarily play: Rook and Euchre. For other card games we play Sushi Go and Exploding Kittens.
For board games I play: Axis and Allies, Carcassonne, Firefly, Othello, Pandemic, Risk (Dr. Who), Settlers of Catan, Tsuro.
I just had backed Kickstarter for the following 4X game: Laruna: Age of Kingdoms, but this seems to be locked into a lawsuit vs their Chinese manufacturer
3. Computer and Console
In the distant past I have played various consoles such as: Atari 2600, Nintendo, SNES, Playstation 1, 2, 3 and their many, many games, although I have had to pretty much end all console or computer gaming due to RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) in my wrist and forearms. (me sad panda)
I was playing Mech Warrior Online (MWO) and Star Wars: The Old Republic, but had to quit due to my arm issues. Currently, I am only playing a turn based strategy games such as:
- Mordheim: City of the Damned
- Battletech by Hair Brained Schemes (which was also a Kickstarter).
- Humankind – a 4x game
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns (Firaxis) – amazing
- Solasta: Crown of the Magister
- Warhammer 40k: Battlesector
- Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gates – Daemon Hunters
- Aliens: Dark Descent (Focus Entertainment, Jun 2023)
- Balder’s Gate III (Larian Studios Aug 2023) – Absolutely Stupendous! – won game of the year
- Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader (Dec 2023, Owlcat Games) – a lot of fun
Turn based games are about what my arms can handle. =(
I really want to play Cyberpunk 2077, but my hands would cry!!!
You must be logged in to post a comment.