Outrageous Malfunction

For a long time (at least since 1994) I have held that I’m a little-”l” libertarian.
This is confusing for people I know who are self-identified as Republicans; if they
could just get me right on abortion and the war on drugs, they would be OK with me.
It’s also confusing for self-identified Democrats, since we’re only apart on taxes
and gun control, I should be an easy convert.

I support freedom and liberty. Neither major party supports this, so I don’t support
them. The war in Iraq? Making people free, I support it. The post-9/11 “homeland security”
crackdown? Taking away freedom, I don’t support it.

Bush won the election in 2000, either fairly or not. It’s important to me that he
doesn’t win the election in 2004, so I’ll vote for someone that lines up with what
I think is right - probably a big-’l” Libertarian. I refuse to hold my nose and vote; that’s childish. I vote for the person who will most advance liberty, and I hope you will too.

What’s interesting is this is classic liberalism. The term liberal has been co-opted by the reactionary left, much as conservative has been co-opted by the reactionary
right. A pox on both your houses.

I’m thankful I met Elizabeth; without her, I would not have the three kids I have now. From her I learned about betrayal, and that’s a very valuble gift indeed.

I met Joe on an airplane in Seattle; I was returning from an interview at Microsoft and he was returning home. I had known about Joe through the Microsoft Gun Club and had read his website about the Palouse; it was his living there working in Seattle that gave me a reason to move to Moscow. What’s odd was we didn’t meet until a few years later on that airplane. I took a leap introducing myself; he was wearing some gun-related hat and reading Modern Sniper & Home Decor magazine, so I figured I was right. We talked some about work and life, and I ended up interviewing at Chromium and working there for a few months. Over the few years we’ve known each other we’ve done a lot, mostly surrounding the Boomershoot and various related activities. We talk a lot and plot and plan; we’re similar in a lot of ways (risk-taking, stress-thriving, having kids (is that a product of the first two?); into guns and computers and explosives) but we’re also quite far apart in other ways (he has a wife, for one). I’m certain I would have been a lot worse off having taken the job at microsoft; for this, and a million other reasons, I’m thankful I met Joe.

I almost met Tom in Indiana (we grew up only 60 miles apart, and running in the same circles), but it wasn’t until a chance IRC session at Paul’s that we finally met. Tom is one of the coolest, smartest motherfuckers out there. He has introduced me to more music and movies that I never would have tried on my own, and I’ve led a richer life for it. He was the first of the group in Seattle to move to the Valley, and he hooked me up at Netcom when I needed out of Microsoft. Tom introduced me to Steve, who got me an interview at Sun where I met Ping Ping (Teodora Ngo) and Renzo. Netcom
and Sun really changed my life; I was making money for the first time and loving it. If Tom hadn’t provided me with the introductions and the couch, I would not have picked up the skills I have today. It’s not an understatement to say he’s the only reason I took a risk on the valley. I’m thankful I met Tom, and thankful that we’re still in contact today.

I’ll be short and sweet here: I met Tom over IRC, and I met Nugget, and I met a lot of other people (meetmap.com has the graph) and without IRC my life would have been poorer.

I met Lyle just a few years ago, and I’m really glad I did. He runs a couple of businesses and is smart as a whip; watching his handling of UltiMAK gave me a lot of faith in small businesses having a shot. Lyle beats on me about socialism and freedom, and he inspires me to beat on other people. Lyle is also willing to call bullshit on me and tell me when I mess up, and I’m really thankful for that. Lyle let me move into his spare trailer when I needed a place to live; he’s come out at crazy hours to fix stuff I broke; and he doesn’t worry about calling at two in the morning because he’s stuck in a ditch. We don’t do much together except talk; but that’s great. He’s also had me out to his house the last few years for turkey day and christmas dinner, which is cool. It’s somewhat like an orphan’s dinner, except I’m the only orphan. I don’t know a lot of single people up here to hang out with, and I don’t know that I would if I did. I’m thankful for having met Lyle.

I met Paul in seventh grade, and we’ve been as brothers ever since. Paul is better at handling people than I am, and I’ve learned a lot from watching him operate. Paul provided me with a lot of internal reflection, too; it was Paul who got me to look in the mirror and discard the racism I had grown into. Paul and I have done more shit, and seen more money, than any two motherfuckers I know. Paul has always been blunt with me, and that’s worth more than anything. I value people telling me when I mess up, and Paul has always been there to hand out the beat downs when I needed them. Paul has inspired me to do a lot of crazy shit; it was Paul who got me to interview at Microsoft when I was convinced I’d never make it there. Paul’s coming out in May for the Boomershoot, and I’m thankful for that.