CudaWuda

The name that can be named is not the eternal name

I'm fairly new here, having just purchased a web cam. I can see now that I will eventually need to upgrade to one that has a sharper image, but for now this one will do.

If you happen to take a look at my cam, drop me a line just to say hello. I don't keep real regular hours, so it is hard to predict when I'll be on.

One of my interests is in choral singing. I am in two different groups and between the two end up performing in about 10 concerts each year. Two years ago I was even able to travel with one of the groups to NYC where we performed at Carnegie Hall with some other choral groups. If luck holds out I'll get to do that again next February.

Of course I also have an interest in computers. No games though. Mostly I play around with mp3 files, I experiment with different programming techniques and I'm starting work on my own web site (which isn't ready for anyone else to see at the moment). I've been a programmer for quite some time now and if I listed all of the languages that I have learned in the process it would fill the page - besides, you'd find it very boring if you do not have a similar interest.

I would like to believe that I could meet some new friends through camarades, but I've also learned that holding my breath while waiting would not be a good use of my time. Still, if you see me on some time you could always hit the chat button.

Now for some of my strange wanderings.

Religion. Not for me. I do like some of the idea of Taoism and Zen, but it is really a very casual interest. Religion and I do not get along because religious people tend to want to tell me how to live my life. No thanks. I'll just point my nose in a direction I pick and start my own journey of a thousand miles with a single step.

Politics. Tend towards the liberal. I think for myself rather than only echoing the thoughts of others. Not that I am a tree-hugger or out the save the whales, but I am opposed to the close-mindedness that accompanies conservatism.

Intellectual interests. I like to read about history. Not just traditional histories though - sometimes I read books by radical authors who point out the problems with traditional history. History is not just a matter knowing what events occurred because the context in which they occur are also important. Much of what we think we know about history is often a watered down interpretation by authors who are mostly interested in selling the books that they write and they know what is palatable to the general public.

Interesting things in my life. I grew up in Pennsylvania. Spent seven years in the US Navy where I had tours in the Phillipines and Spain. Went to college at Colorado State University. Worked for the CIA from 1981-1992 but left when I discovered that it placed a limit on how much money I could make (the private sector pays much better). I have been married once, but am currently in the "single but looking category" (again, I don't hold my breath).

Places outside the U.S. that I have been to in my lifetime: Phillipines, VietNam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Spain, England, Scotland, Italy, Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zaire, Chat, France. Of all of them Somalia and Spain were the most most memorable.

Ok, that is enough. I've bored you to tears for too long already. But before I go: Be kind to someone today. Maybe they will be kind to someone else before the end of the day.