Photo by Wolfgang Krause
<record scratch…> Yeah, that was me. I thought I had it all figured out. Or I did until my career in electronics got derailed by accidentally landing a programming gig in college. It’s been software all the way down since then, in parallel with a list of hobbies that includes astronomy, cardiac signal processing, pen & ink, origami, piano, harmonica, semantics, linguistics, philately, mead brewing, beer judging (BJCP rank of “National”), electronics, 3D printing, deciphering ancient Sumerian cuneiform, XML, document engineering, chocolatiering, robotics, Tesla Coil design and construction, search engine technology, tabletop gaming, bookbinding, amateur radio, drawing and sketching, locksport, and when time allows, writing.
Sometimes I have trouble focusing on things. I’ve completed NaNoWriMo 4 out of 4 times, in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010, dates which I record here because otherwise I’d completely lose track of them.
OK, quite often I have trouble focusing on things. I find artificial deadlines shockingly effective.
I am situated on the Autism Spectrum, as are all sentient creatures. In particular, I am situated slightly off to the side of the large hump in the distribution that well-meaning people call “normal”. I prefer the term “neurotypical” (or NT) for these folks, for whom a significant chunk of their precious grey matter is set aside for processing social cues, rather than important things like Dr. Who or category theory.
If you ask me a question and I get a thoughtful look on my face, just hang on for a second–I’m processing and will answer. Sometimes I take things very literally. Small talk with me is probably going to be awkward. I will get overwhelmed in an environment with lots of noise, including visual noise. I do participate in hugs, but you probably need to give a very obvious cue. Diversity comes from around the edges, so if you hang out with me, either in person or online, I promise it will open your mind to new possibilities. Being off-center is my super power.
I graduated from the Viable Paradise workshop and self-publish short stories and novels. Go ahead, search on Amazon for “comp sci” (no quotes needed) and you’ll find some of my stories. Full details on on the Bibliography link on every page of this site. I occasionally write uncategorizable disturbing things, like Rainbow Fish fanfic/slashfic (published in WTF?!). There’s more where that came from. I’ve run a writing critique group at FOGcon, where I help out with Game Room programming.
If you’d like to read more from me–including free fiction, reviews, perspectives, and random geekitude–subscribe to my Geeks mailing list.
You can reach me via email at <myfirstname> @ micahjoel <dot> info, on the Codex writers’ forum, or @micahpedia on Twitter, as well as on Goodreads. You will not find much of me on Facebook. I do not speak for any group, political party, movement, or employer.
Legal Notices
micahjoel.info is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.