About Me

If you’re looking at this page, you’re wondering who I am.  Or at least, you’re wondering if I have anything witty to say about myself that might amuse you for a few moments.  That may or may not happen, but I’ll give it a shot.

I’m Dan Myers.  Some people call me Daniel, but I frown at them when they do.  Online I usually go by Heron, and if you call me that in real life I’ll probably respond instantly.  (Ah, the unintended effects of voice chat in video games.)  Heron is short for Heron Blademaster, which itself is derived from the Wheel of Time series.  Perhaps this image can illustrate:

In the Wheel of Time universe, one who has mastered the art of swordfighting is awarded a heron-marked sword as a token of one’s status as a blademaster.  I don’t know why I think I deserve it.  I guess we could call it a metaphor for my programming skills or something…

*Ahem*.  Anyway, without further ado, I present the standard “ten twelve things about me”:

1. I’m a 24-year-old computer programmer, currently living in Kent, Washington.  I work for a small web-based retailer you may have heard of.

2. I’m happily married to Corinne; we’ve been married since February 2007.  We have a daughter named Brooke who was born on March 30, 2009.  You can see pictures on my wife’s blog, and I’ve posted a few amusing pictures of Brooke myself.

3. I usually lean Republican.  However, I believe it important to support one’s country, even if “the other guy” wins an election; I support the Obama administration despite having voted for McCain, because that’s how the election process is supposed to work, for better or worse.  In any case, some of my rants on this blog will likely be vaguely political in nature, but they will rarely be partisan in nature – if I attack some proposed law or whatever, it will be because I disagree with the proposition, whether the person proposing it is Republican or Democrat.

4. I’m a Mormon.  Well actually it’s called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but people call it the “Mormon” Church.  I can often be found debating discussing religion on various forums.  Yes, I’ll answer your questions/comments/accusations about the LDS Church, but only via e-mail (dan –at– orderingdisorder –dot– com).

5. I served a two-year mission for the Church in the Dominican Republic from September 2004 to September 2006, where I gained an almost native proficiency at speaking Spanish.  I’m a little rusty now, since I rarely have reason to use the skill anymore, but I can still read Spanish without any issues.

6.  I graduated in April 2009 from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.  I was only three classes or so away from a minor in Spanish, but I figured it wouldn’t be much use in my line of work, and I didn’t want to go to school for another semester, so I decided against it.

7. I write science fiction and fantasy stories when the urge strikes me.  Someday I may post some of it here for your enjoyment.

8. Apart from writing, I’m an avid reader of sci-fi and fantasy stories, mostly series.  I’ve read the Wheel of Time four times, and the Shannara series twice.  Other series I’ve read and enjoyed include the Sword of Truth, Ender’s Game, the Belgariad, Lord of the Rings, and Mistborn.  I won’t even bother listing all the standalone books I’ve read.

9. I’m the creator of various SourceForge projects, a few of which are in a usable state.  I’m a big fan of open source software, and I prefer using open source software where possible (like WordPress).  I have Gentoo Linux installed.  But don’t worry, I’m not insane – I don’t shove it down people’s throats.  I even use (gasp) Windows, and I have a Mac too.

10. Speaking of Windows, the biggest reason I use it is to play video games.  (Linux suits most of my other uses quite well.)  Mostly I play Counter-Strike: Source, but I throw in some Left 4 Dead 2 once in a while.  I occasionally play RPGs like Fallout 3 and recently Dragon Age: Origins, and once in a while I go back to classics like Diablo II.  I fill in the gaps with random games like Plants vs Zombies.

11. I have chronic perpetual nausea.  It’s been essentially constant since around March 2008.  Doctors have no idea what’s going on.  Anti-nausea medication does nothing.  Anti-acid medicine does nothing.  Anti-anxiety medication does nothing.  Blood tests of all sorts look fine.  CT scans are clean.  It doesn’t seem to be related to food; physical activity sometimes makes it worse, sometimes doesn’t.  Laying down makes it worse sometimes; sometimes not.  You get the idea.  We’re getting to a point where the only option left is surgery.

12. I have a confused sense of taste when it comes to music.  If you were to watch my playlist at work, you’d see “Weird Al” Yankovic pop up most often.  I also enjoy (in alphabetic order as I glance at my library) Dashboard Confessional, Enya, Green Day, Linkin Park, Plain White Ts, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Secondhand Serenade, Something Corporate, and so on and so forth.

So now that you know all about me, leave me a comment to say hi, maybe with a link to your own blog