You probably have many questions. “Why?” or “What?” or even “How?” It’s entirely possible I might even manage to answer some of them.
I publish this blog (journal? website?) pseudonymously under the name Contrariwise. It’s one of many names I’ve gone by over many years, and I think it represents me well. I’m not trying to build a “brand” or be “authentic” (in the way that deserves the scare quotes), or any of the hundred other reasons most sane people would have a blog.
I’m trying to be me. Authentically. On the internet. Which is scary in an era where sometimes saying the wrong thing in the wrong way gets people calling your employer until you get fired. Or worse, for having said something once that is no longer the thing to say, and having it dug up as an excuse to excoriate you in the public square.
Not that I think I’m planning to say anything extremely cancelable, but that one can’t quite know what might become verboten in a decade.
There’s a better than good chance that something I happen to believe right now is actually wrong, and I would like to think that when I learn better, I’ll change my mind. More importantly, I think it’s important for there to be a record of me having changed my mind. People need to be able to change their mind. That means you might find an old post that represents what I thought or knew or thought I knew at that point. I would rather have the record of that thought and correct it with a new post than have to scrub any trace of that process from the internet, because that’s how we end up in a world where nobody thinks they can be themselves in the public square. None of that is good, or healthy.
Nevertheless, to mitigate the risk, I publish pseudonymously.
I also enjoy having a “handle” or “nickname” in the tradition of the ancient and wizened Internet Forebears. It’s not all about risk mitigation. I just think they’re neat.
My Profession
For the most part I think what I do for a living is the least interesting thing about me. I hope it’s the least interesting thing about you, too. I’ve talked about it a bit on https://thewizardly.com and a bit more on https://thegamemage.com. I’m a professional Computer Toucher, or what others might call a Shape Rotator. I make the technology do the beeps and the boops. But my true passion, and the place I started my career a thousand years ago, was as a video game developer, and it’s a home I aspire ever to return to.
My Interests
For most things I’m at least “ted talk” interested. Especially stuff I know I’d never do on my own. If you are extremely, passionately interested in something I have no experience with, that’s actually a plus. I would rather surround myself with a vibrant bouquet of heartfelt weirdos than seven exact clones of my own personal preferences.
Beyond that, here’s a non-authoritative unordered list of things I enjoy:
- Warhammers, both 40K and Sigmar
- Tabletop Role-Playing Games, both the playing and collection of
- Crochet
- Reading
- Food, both the cooking and eating of
- Video games, both the creation and playing of
- Stationery, pens, and inks
- Renaissance Faires
- Time management and personal productivity
- Cats
- My cats
- Probably also your cats
- Moths
- Mothman
- Music
So what’s with the weird categories?
Yes.
No but really what do they mean?
Exactly.
You’re impossible.
Thank you.
The important thing to know is that there exists a rubric by which all posts are judged before categories are applied. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a puzzle and a challenge, feel free to reach out at any time if you think you’ve solved it.
Disclaimer
This is a personal website. I am not a company, nor should you be. These are my views, thoughts, opinions, insights, and unhinged observances transmitted globally through the miracle of rocks we taught to think by shooting lightning at them real hard. It’s a miracle that any of it works. The author is a squishy bag of meat filled with water on a rock in an unpopular arm of a spiral galaxy in an uncool corner of the universe. He makes mistakes. He gets messy. And most importantly, he tries to learn and do better next time. Won’t you join him?