- Joined
- Nov 7, 2008
- Messages
- 5,725
- Points
- 0
It occurs to me that after almost four years of membership here I don't think I've ever formally introduced myself, so here goes! I want this introduction to be honest, and really help people get to know more about me so I'm going to be frank throughout. No one should feel obligated to read this, feel free to ignore it.. but if you've ever felt that I am too harsh of a person, an "asshole" or whatever, you might find some insight into why I am the way I am by reading on.
The most important thing that this community should know about me is that I love lasers and I very much enjoy discussing them and sharing info with like-minded individuals, but generally I don't really like people much. This is not personal, there is no one here to single out, it's just that throughout my life people have annoyed me more often than not. I know it's not PC to be so blunt, but I don't really care since I find the very concept of PC to be nothing more than dishonesty disguised as "niceness". The thing that offsets this is the fact that many people have earned my respect in life. These people and my interactions with them make up life's silver lining which helps ease my cynical viewpoint. I am cynical, but my views have been fashioned by years of experience. I just feel that I should have said this right off the bat when I first joined as it may have helped some people understand me a bit better.
I have a very low tolerance for bullsh!t. When I see it, I feel compelled to confront it in an effort to take out the trash so to speak.. This is a trait that applies not only here on the web, but in my day to day life as well. One of the main problems with people (referring back to the previous paragraph) is that they are so often rife with bullsh!t. But I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, everyone sees their fair share of bullsh!t every day. In the real world, in day-to-day life, diplomacy is a priceless asset that helps us deal with bullsh!t with the least collateral damage, but it saps my energy and often leaves me feeling like problems are being left to fester and often grow worse. The nice thing about the internet, for me at least, is that here I don't ever have to put up with bullsh!t if I don't want to, I don't have to hold my tongue for diplomacy purposes. Here, I can call bullsh!t as I see it. I find this to be refreshing in a profound way.
These days, having been a member here for some time, I don't really feel that I've got anything to prove to anyone anymore. If my contributions are less frequent these days it's because I've got a lot on my plate in terms of work, family obligations.. I just don't have time for the experimentation and innovation that used to drive my existence in this community. I still enjoy sharing info and discussing lasers with other members of our community which is why I'm still here, but outside of laser show related work the hands on hobby stuff has mostly taken a back seat to life. I'm always happy to answer questions if I can, and help people learn (especially if they show initiative and do research on their own as well).
If you wind up feeling like you don't like me or my attitude, unfortunately it's of little concern to me. All I can offer you is the assurance that I rarely take issue with people who have not done something (IMO) to warrant the attention. Again, this is nothing personal towards anyone, these conduct policies of mine are applied universally. I've got no time in my life to worry about how people on the internet feel about me, whether what I post meets everyone's approval, etc.. I just don't care. All I care about is whether I believe that the points I make are solid and whether I am able to share any worthwhile information that I might have with the community. If you mistakenly think I do care how you feel about me and decide to troll me, I'll happily counter-post ridiculous garbage for as long as you want to play, as I find doing so somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Again, probably too blunt, but IMO there is nowhere NEAR enough bluntness in life these days anyway.
Also, I don't use smilies as much as I really should, so you'll probably never know what I'm really thinking or feeling :san:.
Apologies for the long post, but I just really felt that an introduction was very much overdue since often people seem confused by me and my online personality. It's not that I mind that people are often confused, but I thought it was a pretty simple thing to take the time to introduce myself. I hope that this somewhat late introduction removes some of that confusion from anyone who reads it.
The most important thing that this community should know about me is that I love lasers and I very much enjoy discussing them and sharing info with like-minded individuals, but generally I don't really like people much. This is not personal, there is no one here to single out, it's just that throughout my life people have annoyed me more often than not. I know it's not PC to be so blunt, but I don't really care since I find the very concept of PC to be nothing more than dishonesty disguised as "niceness". The thing that offsets this is the fact that many people have earned my respect in life. These people and my interactions with them make up life's silver lining which helps ease my cynical viewpoint. I am cynical, but my views have been fashioned by years of experience. I just feel that I should have said this right off the bat when I first joined as it may have helped some people understand me a bit better.
I have a very low tolerance for bullsh!t. When I see it, I feel compelled to confront it in an effort to take out the trash so to speak.. This is a trait that applies not only here on the web, but in my day to day life as well. One of the main problems with people (referring back to the previous paragraph) is that they are so often rife with bullsh!t. But I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, everyone sees their fair share of bullsh!t every day. In the real world, in day-to-day life, diplomacy is a priceless asset that helps us deal with bullsh!t with the least collateral damage, but it saps my energy and often leaves me feeling like problems are being left to fester and often grow worse. The nice thing about the internet, for me at least, is that here I don't ever have to put up with bullsh!t if I don't want to, I don't have to hold my tongue for diplomacy purposes. Here, I can call bullsh!t as I see it. I find this to be refreshing in a profound way.
These days, having been a member here for some time, I don't really feel that I've got anything to prove to anyone anymore. If my contributions are less frequent these days it's because I've got a lot on my plate in terms of work, family obligations.. I just don't have time for the experimentation and innovation that used to drive my existence in this community. I still enjoy sharing info and discussing lasers with other members of our community which is why I'm still here, but outside of laser show related work the hands on hobby stuff has mostly taken a back seat to life. I'm always happy to answer questions if I can, and help people learn (especially if they show initiative and do research on their own as well).
If you wind up feeling like you don't like me or my attitude, unfortunately it's of little concern to me. All I can offer you is the assurance that I rarely take issue with people who have not done something (IMO) to warrant the attention. Again, this is nothing personal towards anyone, these conduct policies of mine are applied universally. I've got no time in my life to worry about how people on the internet feel about me, whether what I post meets everyone's approval, etc.. I just don't care. All I care about is whether I believe that the points I make are solid and whether I am able to share any worthwhile information that I might have with the community. If you mistakenly think I do care how you feel about me and decide to troll me, I'll happily counter-post ridiculous garbage for as long as you want to play, as I find doing so somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Again, probably too blunt, but IMO there is nowhere NEAR enough bluntness in life these days anyway.
Also, I don't use smilies as much as I really should, so you'll probably never know what I'm really thinking or feeling :san:.
Apologies for the long post, but I just really felt that an introduction was very much overdue since often people seem confused by me and my online personality. It's not that I mind that people are often confused, but I thought it was a pretty simple thing to take the time to introduce myself. I hope that this somewhat late introduction removes some of that confusion from anyone who reads it.
Last edited:
