CURRENT MISSION

Have a stupid amount of fun and gather lots of good stories to tell when i am an old man

ABOUT ME

I'm a PhD student studying history and religion and will finish in 2013. After that I have no idea what I will do, because this dissertation is what I think of as proactive procrastination - i.e. something worthwhile while I work out what I want to do next. Perhaps I will pursue an academic career for a while, but we'll see what happens. Maybe I will be sick of it and want to pursue writing and horticulture instead. Who knows...

I am a pretty energetic person who likes chatting, joking and telling/hearing stories. I don't like people who take themselves too seriously. I like people who are willing to chat and share stuff about themselves. I also like discussing serious topics about complex cultural issues, and I don't like it when people come to firm, oversimplified opinions. That really pisses me off, and it happens way too often.

I also love nature/outdoors, whether just walking through it or deliberately hanging out outside. I love camping and hiking, but I'm so busy that i don't get to do it anywhere near enough! I also love going to the beach, swiming, bike riding, etc.

And I love frisbee, it's such an awesome thing to do (whether ultimate or just muck around).

Like pretty much everyone I love music, and I most of my friends play in various bands around Sydney, which is lots of fun.

I also love sauna. I drove 2500km in 40 hrs to pick one up after we bought it on eBay, and it is one of my most glorious purchases ever. Having a sauna at your own house is a dream more people should strive toward... wake up and have a sweat, then hit the day feeling amazing - or get home and have a nice relaxing sauna to unwind before bed. Amazing.

Umm, i think that's a good enough sample of "about me". It's always hard to do these things.

PHILOSOPHY

I guess I sort of have one, but it I don't think it's the kind of thing that can be put into a sentence or two. Life's way too complicated for that! We can chat about it over a beer if you want.

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

plenty over the years but none through this website

兴趣

• writing
• beer
• working out
• sauna
• walking
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• communications
• history
• religion
• beaches

音乐、电影和书籍

Movies: I hate answering this question... I like films but don't get around to watching heaps due to work.

Music: Beatles, Battles, Beastie Boys, Coltrane, Miles Davis, Mogwai, Animal Shapes, Bright Eyes, Dylan, Hendrix, Stones, etc. I used to love black/death metal as a teenager, and while i don't really listen to it anymore I still have a soft spot for very hard music. I also like dancing to electonic stuff but don't really own any or know my way around the genre. But get me wasted and I'll dance around and really enjoy it.

Books: I read almost exclusively academic books at the moment as I have time for nothing else. Topics include religion, modern history, ancient history, political theory, history of technology (esp. history of writing and communications technologies), sociology, philosophy, etc.

I also love fiction books, but just have no time at this stage of my life. I dream about being able to get to the very large pile of random novels I have on my list... but as it currently stands my top novel ever read is Victor Hugo's Les Miserable. Amazing.

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

I broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Longest Handshake on Sep 21, 2009. We broke the record of 11hrs by shaking for 12hrs 34mins 56secs. It was awesome. See us breaking the record at 11hrs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FDR8RIAvFA (i'm in the red hat).

教，学，和分享

I could discusss the history of communications technologies and the role they have played in world history. That shit is off the hook!