Computing
I use computers at work and at home as a tool and to learn. I use Windows and Linux on a daily basis. I can program in languages including C, C++, Java, JavaScript, and Perl and have developed various web sites including this one.
As well as my paid work, I am currently contributing to some open source projects and writing some Mozilla Firefox extensions.
Food
I like to dine out at restaurants when I can afford it. I enjoy lots of different foods, including Italian, Australian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, German, and Hungarian.
When I cook for myself, I cook a whole lot of different things, but my favorite things are stir fry, pizza, fish, and steak, because they're so quick and tasty.
Language
I learned German on a student exchange in Austria when I was 14.
I went back to Germany recently for the soccer world cup and it came back fairly quickly. I can now speak German almost fluently again.
In the next few years, I'd like to learn Spanish or Chinese.
Learning
I really like learning and keeping myself mentally alert. I am focusing most of my attention on improving my programming and systems administration skills to help my job.
One day I'd like to take a course in economics or linguistics.
Movies
I enjoy movies of most genres, but I really like dramas that make me think or empathize with the characters. I also like action and comedy. Some of my favorite movies are American Beauty, The English Patient, Fight Club, Life is Beautiful, Office Space, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Music
I really enjoy listening to music. Music has helped me thru some bad times, and entertained me on many a long trip.
I particularly like alternative and rock music.
My favorite bands include The Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Foo Fighters, Magic Dirt, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Muse, Nirvana, Placebo, Powderfinger, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair, U2, and The Whitlams.
The bands I've been listening to most this week are:
I played the piano for several years, but have fallen out of practise lately, as I no longer own a piano. I also like the guitar and drums.
Outdoors
I spent much of my youth in the Scouts, where we did a lot of camping. Unfortunately, I've not been camping much since.
Politics
I was The Greens candidate for the seat of Indi in the 2001 Australian Federal Election. It was a great experience that enabled me to learn more about myself, meet lots of people, and improve my public speaking skills.
A few years ago, I started to disagree with the Greens on some issues, particularly economics.
My current views seem to be closest to what the Liberal Party should be and what the Australian Democrats could be. I feel that the Liberal Party are moving too far to the right, and the Democrats are moving too far to the left!
The World's Smallest Political Quiz says I'm a libertarian. This has lead me to find out more about the Liberty and Democracy Party.
Reading
Despite not making much time to read, I love reading.
My favorite fiction genres are fantasy and comedy. My favorite authors include Bryce Courtenay, Stephen King, and Terry Pratchett.
I spend a lot of time reading technical books, and like reading non-fiction books, especially ones about history.
No recent books
Spelling
The English language has a very difficult spelling system. Having seen German and Spanish, where spelling is much easier, I would like to make English spelling easier too.
There's lots of proposals out there, but they would be a big change. Maybe we could just start by spelling the weirdest words the way you think they should be spelled, for example maybe just spell "friend" as "frend" of "Wednesday" as "Wensday"?
Sports
I exercise regularly at the gym.
I've played cricket, soccer, and tennis in the past, and plan on starting again when I can make the time.
I like to watch sports too, particularly cricket, soccer, and football.
Travel
My most recent trip was spending a month in Hong Kong and China.
You can read more about it on my blog.
For my next big trip, I hope to go to South Africa for the 2010 soccer world cup.