***** Are YOU Ready to be a GOD, too? ******
"What is more to me than myself?" Max Stirner, "The Ego and His Own."
"Take responsibility - or be a slave." Phil Osborn.
Vitals ... Keywords ... Bio ... Activism ... Spiritual Journey ... Principles ... Goals ... Projects ... Projections ... Work Experience
Vitals: Single, Unattached, Fairly Healthy, Very Strong, Super Fast, IQ ~ 145, using super nutrition since 1960's, background in philosophy, hard sciences, computers, psychology, journalism, political activism, photography, video, art.
Keywords: memetics, objectivism, anarchism, libertarianism, Georgism, land trusts, science fiction, uploading, the singularity, the Fermi Paradox, humanism, trans-humanism, life extension.
Bio:
Born 1948, Vermont. There until 1953, then moved to Rome, Georgia, site of three colleges and the car-theft capital of the world. (Used to be the bootleg capital of the world during prohibition; nice skills transfer there... 
) ^top^
Education: Star Student at East Rome HS, 1966. National Mathematics Award for Floyd County, GA. B.S., Major in Physics, U. GA, 1970. Postgrad in psychology, statistics and computer programming. Later studies at various research institutes in philosophy, economics, early-childhood education (Montessori). Many courses in graphics, animation and web design. ^top^
Activism: Active politically during college in Young Americans for Freedom until 1969, when the Nixonites kicked out the libertarians who had been running YAF (with totally illegal use of state troopers by then CA Governor Reagan to block libertarian members from participation at the YAF National Convention in California). Involved in anti-draft protests. Active supporting of civil rights movement (Otherwise my black girlfriend - 1970, Georgia (i.e., NOT safe) would've lynched me). ^top^
Started consuming mega-nutritional supplements ~1968, after reading Adele Davis's "Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit". By 1969, buying kilograms of vitamins from Black Market "Liza Dawn Enterprises." Joined Life Extension Foundation ~1980. Result: despite all manner of work or play injuries and massive stress for most of my life, I can physically outperform most 20-somethings at age 55. ^top^
Became anarchist, 1969, after reading . "The Market for Liberty", by Morris and Linda Tannehill. Helped establish the first Montessori School in Columbia, S. Carolina, the "College of Early Learning", 1972, in conjunction with the New Banner Institute, a private libertarian anarchist research and think tank. Served on Board of Directors and taught briefly in school. ^top^
Moved to California, 1976. Put on workshops on children's rights at various libertarian events. Organized first non-sectarian Home Schooling Conference on West Coast (with John Holt and a whole room of networked home computers), 1978, together with educational activist Cathy Levesque, founder of the "Keys to Learning" home schooling organization. Instigated what became the highly successful Watts Computer Gang Project, financed by Richard Pryor, coordinated out of Sheenway School, demonstrating the value of computer education with minority and low-income students, 1978. ^top^
Convinced Elliot Mintz, who reportedly invented talk radio in L.A. in the '60's, on the air at KPFK on Roy Tuckman's "Something's Happening," for the first time since 1971, to make the famous "Call to the American Embassy" in Teheran, 1978, as part of my plan to keep the U.S. out of war with Iran. (Plan succeeded.) ^top^
Conceived of plan to use a "land trust" to empower natives in Belize. Started preparing for implementing plan. ^top^
One week after putting on an income tax protest on April 15, 1979, in downtown Long Beach, suddenly arrested by Long Beach police and charged with "Loitering with Children." A year later, charges all dismissed and court record reads, "defendant exonerated." Cost to me: at least $50,000, and loss of opportunity of land trust. ^top^
Called in to KPFK and convinced Umberto Ortega, military chief of the Sandinistas, to adopt a strategy of smoke and mirrors (i.e., lying like dogs) to derail Reagan's rush to war in Nicaragua, 1980. (Plan succeeded.) ^top^
Wrote up set of ten proposals for KPFK, ~1982, designed to forstall future hostile takeovers of Pacifica by some radical fringe group. Included in proposals: proportional voting by station subscribers to elect station boards (!), and use of electronic media then available on cheap home computers to expand information availability and provide a base for organizing. Proposals ignored by station board.... ^top^
Began design of worldwide hypermedia information system aimed at democratizing information authoring and access, 1983. Implemented much of initial design based on Prolog in assembly language on Commodore 64. ^top^
Advised "Orange County Register" on implications for them of information revolution ~1983. Predicted World Wide Web in great detail - prediction still 99% accurate. ^top^
Organized independent home schooling conference in Orange County, 1985, featuring conference database designed by me.
Bought an Amiga computer and became local evangelist for same. ^top^
Advised local private schools on implementing computer-based curricula, through-out mid-80's. ^top^
Donated Amiga video editing computer system to Russian democracy activists in Leningrad, 1992, in conjunction with International Society for Individual Liberty ^top^
Provided Amiga computers and training to low-income home-schoolers in East L.A. through mid-90's. ^top^
Free-lance journalism covering cutting edge digital arts technology for various magazines and web news services from late '80's to present. ^top^
Speaker and panelist on various conference panels on virtual reality, computer-based learning, futurism and related subjects, from 1994 thru present. See a couple of my little reports here or here ^top^
Employment History:
Teaching: both junior high and Montessori pre-school in early '70's. ^top^
Various odd jobs: short-order cook, warehouseman, carpenter, taxi driver, etc., thru late '70's - 1991.
Computer education consultant, free-lance journalist, lecturer part-time from late '70's thru present.
Have worked full time for past 13 years as computer publisher and web designer in-house for Chinese security systems manufacturer. 850+ pages, all originally hand-coded by me, with almost unbelievably high rankings - like, 50 or more keywords on page one of a Google search!!. BTW, I also did 99% of the photos.
Now notice how much stuff no longer works on the site. NOT MY FAULT.
Management, in their unfailing efforts to undo any good piece of work, have virtually destroyed their own website just this past couple months, hiring an outside "professional" designer for likely big buck$, to "clean it up," without, of course, involving me in the project, and, after refusing to allow me to do anything to give it a modern style.
Those fluent in HTML may find it amusing to look at this "professional's" code, which bizarrely manages to break almost every fundamental, first-year-novice-coder rule in existence - like, no "ALT" tags on images - or, how about "let's just copy the metatags from the home page to every other page, even if none of the keywords appears there," or, since that was so easy, "now let's give every page the same title, and, if an image doesn't fit - STRETCH IT!!!." However, it did allow a member of management to build his power base, which is more important by far than making money. Check out the Spanish version of the site to see (mostly) my original work. ^top^
Projects: Major current project: Analysis of the "management" disaster that has emerged from the corporate nightmare worldwide. I use my own experiences, in addition to much research, to demonstrate just how the "corporation," by artificially limiting liability, has lead us straight to catastrophe.
Book title: "Working for the Enemy." ^top^
BTW, for an excellent view of a working alternative to the corporate structure, check out Mondragon, a $10-Billion industrial democracy, owned and run BY THE WORKERS!!! NO OUTSIDE INVESTMENT!!! NO DEBTS!!! THEIR OWN SOCIAL SERVICES, including hospitals, universities, medical coverage, etc., etc.,etc. All the socialist ideals achieved - by a buncha ANARCHISTs - or, at least that's the heritage they emerged from.... (And, yes, they too are legally a corporation... But the corruption of the legal system by its use to enforce social policy instead of restorative justice forces virtually all really successful business into the corporate fold.) ^top^
Personal stuff:
Favorite movies: "Brave Heart," "Dark City," "Lord of the Rings Trilogy," "Returner (recent Japanese SF)," "Vanilla Sky," "Seven Samuria," (more when I have time...) ^top^
Important influences: Ayn Rand (read "Atlas Shrugged" 1960, age 12), Nathaniel Brandon, Max Stirner, John Stuart Mill, Arthur Koestler, Morris and Linda Tannehil, Murray Rothbard, Robert Pirsig, Robert Heinlein, Vernor Vinge, Rafael Sabatini ("Scaramouche," age 12), Maria Montessori. ^top^
Favorite people: Rae Dawn Chong, Patricia Cornwell, Esther Dyson, Maria Montessori. ^top^
My philosophy: Do what you will, but harm none. No gods, devils, spooks, magic, telepathy, FTL (Faster Than Light travel), precognition, or time travel. Life is the standard of value, and love makes life worth living. Truth above all else. Reality is more than enough. Be happy. ^top^
My Struggle ... yeah, right.... Hey, I thought it was funny! Now picture this holiday card that I AM going to create, right after I learn to juggle... On the front cover, it shows Jehova as the kindly old man in the sky, stretching His hand out and down to lift up suffering humanity. The caption reads "Only believe in me, and I will grant you peace and life eternal in paradise."
Now imagine opening the card.... Inside, the scene stretches across both pages, HELL!!!!!, in lurid reds, with disemboweled victims hung on spikes, watching as rats eat their vitals, etc., and the Devil is standing with his pitchfork to the right side (appropriately), grinning down at the show, God standing right behind him (after all, He IS the Boss), with His hand on Satan's shoulder. The large flourescent red caption, written in dripping blood, reads simply, "OR ELSE...." ^top^
Hey, that was how I was raised as a Southern Baptist, folks. I was taught - and BELIEVED! - that if I had an "evil thought" or even just seriously doubted the HOLY SCRIPTURE, then God might just decide to make an example of me, and a bolt of lightning, God's HOLY FIRE, would cleanse the Earth of my sinful, disgusting presence.
This is what is known as a Meme!, folks. As in "Gene," but applied to ideas. One way to be a successful idea that manages to replicate itself in as many brains as possible, is to incorporate a deterant to forgetting or deleting or denying or doubting. So, you postulate an evil jerk who runs the universe. You're supposed to believe in this cosmic thug, without any proof, or else he will breaka ya legs - forever...
And if you DO believe? "Hey, you know we taka care of youse. A nica placa. You jus wait and see..."
Right. Hey, come to me first, ok. I'll just take your money and run. No everlasting torment. No chips in the head to speak to you in your dreams. You don't gotta read "Catcher in the Rye." And instead of trying to imagine playing harps forever at a monster toga party, you can imagine me in TJ, with two sweeties trying to crawl all over me as I sip a cold cervesas.
Now, bottom line, isn't that an improvement over God's deal?^top^
Fortunately, I recovered from the evil God meme. And I owe that recovery to my Aunt, who was an aspiring science fiction writer, and who owned a huge closet full of paperback sf. I was already an avid sf reader from age 8 on, but that summer spent at the family home in Massachusetts, away from my fanaticaly religious parents and the whole Georgia hothouse of SIN and DELIVERENCE, made my life take a radical turn for the better. Because... one of the books my Aunt owned was "Atlas Shrugged," by Ayn Rand, and that book is still the best single answer to all the various brands of religion and every manner of sacrificial con game that preys on kids and adults and enslaves their minds. ^top^
So, I began to be human....
What I want! More, better, $$$... More and better relationships. I would especially like to meet the right woman before I get too old and forget. (crossing my fingers...) ewtroisdfgpwoerhsf sorwhsfiophweropi .... oops, that! didn't work!
Reversing my age - which might actually happpen pretty soon even. (I can almost hear the sobs of despair as all the number one sons who expected to inherit it all, suddenly find that good old mom or dad are looking and acting like kids again.)
Surivivng the Big One, and finally having the perfect excuse for not reading the 2,000 or so books stacked everywhere!
Learning to juggle. I can throw things all over the place like crazy now, and my speed and coordination are phenomynal, given that I only started this whole phase of training at age 50, but I still haven't had the time to learn to juggle... Darn it.
What's Coming: The end of homo-sapiens - probably by 2050. Otherwise known as "the Singularity." We will design and build our immediate successors. (See "The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence,"
by Ray Kurzweil .) They will quickly build the next generation, and so on. If we plan it right on our puny human end, we will be carried along, and will learn what real intelligence is about. We will also doubtless finally find the answer to the "Fermi Paradox" - as in, "Where the heck IS everybody?"
Or, we could screw it up, and either completely self-destruct or find ourselves "terminated."
The choice is ours. Live a million or a billion years as virtual Gods - compared to where we are now - or be a forgotten footnote in evolution.
How to get there: to be continued....