Short Bio

So I guess I need to write about me here…

Who the hell am I?

I am of Cherokee and Italian heritage, a very private person which is something I have become from years of working with computer security. I’m also very stubborn at times, but at the same time very supportive and protective of those I consider close to me. Known to be blunt and direct, Id much rather tell it like it is and be honest than to give someone the wrong idea by making something sound better than it might be.

What have I done in life?

I spent some time in the United States Marines and was awarded many medals and citations for my work and efforts both peacetime and in wartime. After that I worked for Universal Studios in Television Production Support, where I ran a department in charge of providing IT support to all of Universal network shows (Law & Order (all of em), Springer, Maury, Blind Date, Monk, Xena, basically everything that aired on the USA and SciFi channels as well as a lot of things that aired on NBC) as well as supported some of the feature productions doing the same type of thing (Bourne Identity, Meet the Parents, Bruce Almighty, etc) since both departments were similar and sometimes the feature department needed my expertise and experience on things. During my time at Universal I became known as a bit of a rogue, pretty much blazing my own path which worked pretty well I think on the production end of things but the corporate side took a bit of an issue with it. I’m not used to nor conform to the “institutional” type of environment where everyone drones on in useless meetings and only does things by the book. I’m a firm believer in doing whatever necessary to get the job done which sometimes means doing things that are a bit taboo at the time. Its a reputation that garnered respect from a lot of my peers and many superiors in my life but also made many enemies at the same time. People don’t like being upstaged or made to be seen as being unqualified, mostly in IT work really, its really cutthroat. Very territorial when you deal with other IT folks where they end up establishing their own domain of sorts and tend to weave a cloud of reputation and perception of themselves within their company and when someone inside or outside comes along that threatens to show how little they might know in either their field or any other related area, they become pretty hostile. My no bullshit attitude and work ethic tends to have the side effect of doing that and so while some peers and management above me love it cause the job gets done, others view me as a threat to their little self created world

My skills involve just about everything with technology. I’ve never been one to sit around and do just one thing, I always want to get involved with stuff, figure out how it works, learn how to fix it or make it better, etc. That’s one of the reasons that always made the technology industry and computers appeal to me. Its ever changing and doesn’t sit still, whereas most industries don’t change all that much in a short time, technology basically doubles itself every 6 months or so, making it always a challenge to keep up on things.

Whats with me and computer security? There’ve been rumors…

I don’t talk about my past much because much of the time its filled with some not so nice things. While I believe you can never get past your past and it defines who you are, dwelling on it doesn’t work positively for your future.

At any rate, yes, its true I was am still am to a heavy extent involved in computer security. The term that could best describe me is Hacker and I have been one much of my life. Much of the state of where computer security is in modern times is due to my efforts in the past (both good and bad) and my efforts today. That may seem like an arrogant statement to make to most, but I say that with none whatsoever as it is the truth. Things I have exposed, fixed, dare I say techniques and ideas I have invented in the field have propagated along and evolved sometimes with sometimes without me helping further the industry along. I did once take an active role in the computer security mainstream and attended many conferences, spoke on panels, talked to large audiences, etc, all in the effort to improve things overall. I also did a lot of it as a personal quest to try and untarnished the name of “hacker” as the media pretty much soiled it over the years and its become synonymous with evil and scary.

Is that WoW you play?

Indeed I play WoW which is probably one of the things that landed you here. To get right down to it, I am the GM of the guild <Twilight> on the US server Alexstrasza. Ive been doing that since March of 2006 and it’s been an educating journey to say the least, haha. There are definitely days that are great for me with it and some days I struggle with pushing on as its a lot of responsibility and pressure. I’ve been a leader in almost everything I’ve ever done, to include my time in the military, but I never had been placed in a position quite like this. I’d have to say honestly though that things have pretty much smoothed out in the last year or 2 in being a GM, not sure if its because I’ve adapted to the responsibility or what but it’s definitely less unpleasant for certain. I try my best, my every decision and action is always with the best of intentions for the guild in mind which doesn’t always go over as the most popular with everyone in the guild, but I try and sometimes the unpopular is the best choice.

As far as the game goes, this is my first MMO. When I was younger I heard of others playing D&D and eventually when MMOs came about like Everquest I looked at it, but at the time I had this really weird and misplaced concept that computers were for work and not gaming. I know, strange. Especially when you look at me now with a big ass Steam library and WoW almost each night, heh. I also was never into D&D for some reason, never honestly gave it a chance, but then never really tried it either, was just something that didn’t interest me at the time and truthfully still doesn’t.

I enjoy my Druid, despite Blizzard’s constant battle against my class and role in the Cataclysm expansion it seems. I like healing, well, do when it isn’t overly stressful (again, fuck you Blizz with Cataclysm healing). I’d have to say of all the expansions, Burning Crusade was probably my favorite. Since then its kind of been downhill and its sad to me because its a game I enjoyed so much. No intentions of course of quitting mind you, but damn if the latest direction of development in WoW hasn’t been pissing me off.