I won’t admit that I enjoy talking about myself, but I’m an expert on the subject and if you’re here you’re probably wondering who I am. So, here you go.
My name is Evan Hanson, and I’m a computer science student at the University of Wisconsin. I also work as a programmer and computer support staffer for the UW Center for Limnology and whoever else would like to hire me.
I grew up on a steady diet of Disney, Pokémon and Star Wars, in that order. Soccer took up an unhealthy amount of my childhood, as did Kick the Can, Doritos and Diablo II, to name a few.
Now, outside of school, I stay busy with a variety of things, from the standards like music, art, and film to more specific things like linux hackery, hobby programming and various DIY tinkerings.
I’m generally level-headed and content keeping to myself. I’m currently in a wonderful relationship with a wonderful girl.
Assuming things go as planned, I’ll finish my life living in a postmodernist home on the Swedish-Norwegian border, south of Oslo, where I’ll spend my days eating chocolate, drinking fine wine and watching Star Trek.
Here’s where I list with no real organization a bunch of things I like:
Coffee. Tea. Open-source software. Jazz music. Audrey Hepburn. Symmetry. Science. Ruby. Vim. Git. *nix. Jean Sibelius. Science fiction. Soccer. Games of strategy. Documentaries. Kurt Vonnegut. Dark chocolate. Bad puns. Hiking. Biking. Camping. More as I think of them.
Now, the more philosophical stuff…
I think simpler is almost always better. For any given system, there are limits of size and complexity, outside of which failure is inevitable. Human history bears this out, but this applies to both the natural world and the world of man. The former understands this.
I believe there are few absolutes. Life comes most often in shades of gray, and an attitude in denial of this is very often harmful.
Capitalism isn’t the answer. Neither is communism. In fact, we haven’t found the answer. The best we can do is fit somewhere in between.
I find religion ridiculous. Ridiculous is fine, mind you, until it infringes on the rights of others. Then, like anything else, it’s just evil.
I think everyone should take the time to get to know at least one part of the ecology around them. Be it the birds, trees, insects, flowers, whatever — learn it and its patterns. Getting to know one system will lead to a better understanding of the others and allow one to start to recognize the shapes and forms and relationships of what is otherwise an impossibly complex natural world.
America is broken, and it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to be able to fix it. I wish this weren’t the case, but it seems to me that somewhere between the year 1950 and the year 2000, willful ignorance replaced common sense in public office, and it doesn’t look like common sense is coming back.
Music is an important part of a healthy diet.
That’s all for now. More later.