Profile

To lift autumn fur
   Is no
   Strength;
To see sun and moon
   Is no
   Perception;
To hear thunder
   Is no
   Quickness of hearing.

     -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The Master said, 'I set my heart on the way, base myself on virtue, lean upon benevolence for support and take my recreation in the arts.'

     -- Confucius, Analects

Act II, Scene II:

Hamlet:
I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

• Facebook, for social networking and idle time-wasting;


• Electricdog on Vox, my alternate blog;


• Kynreeve on Blogger, mainly about health and social issues;


• Schrödinger's Dog on MySpace, with my music, pictures, news, and occasional rampant egotism;


• Schrödinger's Dog on Jamglue, for more of my music;


• Tsunami Studios on YouTube, containing videos I've made and others I like;


• Last.fm, for music, networking, and the (very) occasional blog entry;


• My PS2 Linux developer profile, showing what I'm working on (if anything);


• Twitter and Pownce, for microblogs when I'm on the move and/or don't have easy net access;


• Various link-aggregating tools, including del.icio.us, Digg, and StumbleUpon;


• Goodreads to track what I'm reading, as well as reviews of what I've read;


• Iminta, which collects many of the above in one place, as does More Matter with Less Art, a metablog on Tumblr;


• ...and finally orkut, theoretically for networking and to meet new people, but I like (and use) this way less than Facebook.

About me

With the list of links out of the way, I'd like to write something more substantial about myself. Around 70% of my posts are publicly-readable, and I'm usually fairly up-front about things. My interests, below, are a fair reflection of what I'm into, though of course 150 is a rather limited number of things to express an interest in. As with anyone, I suppose, there are still some details I don't really want to reveal to the 'net at large, but still want to write about; for this reason, I have a number of filters in place for certain types of content. I'm always keen to meet new people, so don't feel you have to ask to add me to your flist -- but a quick hello would be welcome.

In which music = awesome

For me, music is vital; both listening to it and creating it. Pretty much all the time I'm listening to something, and I try and put out at least a track a month, often averaging more than that. Writing music is something which I've dabbled in for many years, but have only been seriously working on since around mid-2002. I have no special preference for how to create tracks, but I like to try and do things a bit differently, often using software that's not considered 'professional', or even on the PC at all; I've had good results from the PS1, PS2 and even the GBA and DS, reasoning that a good artist can produce quality work with even the simplest of tools.

My music collection is pretty eclectic, spanning many styles, and what I write is fairly varied too, though broadly falling within the boundaries of electronica; perhaps ironically, the majority of what I write is in the minority of what I listen to, genre-wise at least. I've had very little formal training, so the majority of my work is based on self-taught knowledge, though eventually I intend to learn more extensively about the use of professional-level software and equipment. Meanwhile, here's what I've been listening to in the last week orso (click the image for more details):

More media

Having studied photomedia at art college, I produce work in the fields of digital photography and photomanipulation, and have recently invested in some new cameras. I also experiment with machinima, and the results can be found at Tsunami Studios on YouTube; I intend to begin working with videography again at some point in the future, as the cameras I own are able to record digital video. As with my music, images and videos of my creation will be posted to this journal on an irregular basis, whenever they're complete. Pictures can also be found on Webshots and Picasa. Again, I'd be interested to collaborate on visual art projects, and I was involved to an extent in the Dream Machines workshops early this year.

In which no-one is surprised at electricdog being a gamer

Another major interest of mine is videogames. I have various systems old and new, and an extensive collection. That being said, I tend to be interested in more unusual games, and anything original or with a strong storyline often appeals to me; to my mind, I'd often prefer something novel with flaws, than something slick but formulaic. I'm primarily interested in survival-horror, RPG's, and strategy games, but I like something from almost all genres; I have a particular interest in puzzles, such as in the Myst series, and outside videogames in such things as Perplex City, to name but one example.

I try to keep up with the latest games tech -- though I've given up on having a totally up-to-date PC -- and I sometimes mod existing hardware to do things outside the specifications; most recently, I've extensively modified my PS2 with a net connection, hard drive, and portable monitor, along with a USB headset, keyboard, and mouse; I also have Linux installed on the machine, and intend to learn how to program it.

Although the PS2 is probably my favourite console, I have a love for retro stuff too, and I collect rare titles for the PS1. My most recent acquisition, hardware-wise, has been an Xbox 360; here's my GamerCard (click for more details -- the name comes from my old World of Warcraft character):

My 360voice blog

Stories

My interest in good stories also extends to films and books. Perhaps not surprisingly, I'm inclined towards sci-fi/fantasy books (though I read a lot of non-fiction these days -- most of which I list on Goodreads) and experimental/arthouse movies, particularly world cinema; again, anything with a degree of originality appeals to me. I'm a fan of anime, too; I tend towards the SF/mecha end of things, but anything with style and a good storyline can draw me in. I'm interested in new techniques in animation and like to see cutting-edge stuff, but at the same time I like the more old-school shows like Robotech and Escaflowne. I'm also interested in Alternate Reality Games (ARG's), and in stories that are told across a variety of media, such as .hack and its various spinoffs.

Spirituality

Finally, another thing that's very important to me is my spirituality, which is chiefly (if a little eclectically) Mahayana Buddhist but with some other elements added in; Taoism provides a secondary but still quite major aspect of my belief system. Additionally, I am learning to practice Reiki, and have an interest in other forms of healing, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and other complementary therapies, as well as the visionary practices of shamanism and animal spirituality. I read about this a lot, and write on the subject from time to time. While I'm firmly rooted in Buddhist belief, my view is staunchly non-sectarian -- I am a proponent of the Rimé Movement -- and I think interfaith dialogue is very important. To this end, I spend time at organised meetings with people of other beliefs semi-regularly; particularly notable amongst these is the Krishna Consciousness movement, and the Unitarians. I try to find the right balance between syncretism and eclecticism.

Related to this, I have an interest in various forms of divination, especially the I Ching; I've been working with this for around ten years now, and although I don't consider myself much of an expert, my knowledge of other systems is quite rudimentary in comparison.

And finally...

I'd like to end my profile with a couple of quotes from teachers that have particular importance to me. Firstly, from HH the XIVth Dalai Lama:

Religion can and should be used by any people or person who finds it beneficial. What is important for each seeker is to choose the religion which is most suitable to himself. However, I believe that the embracing of a particular religion like Buddhism does not mean the rejection of another religion or one's own community. In fact, it is important that those of you who have embraced Buddhism should not cut yourselves off from your own society; you should continue to live within your own community and with its members.

The spiritual path is not fun — better not begin it. If you must begin, then go all the way, because if you begin and quit, the unfinished business you have left behind begins to haunt you all the time. The path, as Suzuki Roshi mentions in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is like getting on to a train that you cannot get off; you ride it on and on and on.

The Master said, 'Do not worry because you have no official position. Worry about your qualifications. Do not worry because no-one appreciates your abilities. Seek to be worthy of appreciation.'

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