Biography of a G-Man

Computers, books, and video games were my foci in elementary school. I had a VIC-20 at home that I wrote BASIC programs for. I reinvented expert-systems to write a computer conversation program. It would ask you questions and reply based on your responses. I wanted to make the computer my friend.

The computer lab at school had a small network of 8088s. Before and after school I would play Organ Trail, Digger, Defender, and Puzzle and program in QBASIC. I also created digital art using a simple DOS painting program (2-bit color, choice of 2 pallets, basic line, shape, and pencil tools). Computers seemed magical to me and I loved getting my hands on them.

In fifth grade I was introduced to the Internet. I was chatting and sending e-mail and visiting Websites and doing it via tty (no AOL for me!). It was a new aspect to computers I had never imaged and I loved it. From age 11 to 13 I usually spent my daily 2 hours of Internet time in The Chatting Zone, a popular MUD in the early 90s. I logged on to chat with friends, build my home, and explore the world we were creating. It was a lot of fun and I'm sad that MUDs are losing their popularity in the graphical Internet era.

In addition to using computers, I read many young adult books about science and fantasy and the future. Every week I checked out a new book from the library. And if they didn't have what I wanted, I found it at bookfairs or in the bookstores and got my parents' to buy it. They probably wished I played a sport because it would have been cheaper.

I also played a lot of video games. My sisters' and I shared a Game Boy and a Super NES. Most Fridays we'd rent games from Blockbuster and spend Saturday and Sunday playing that week's game. We rented RPGs, puzzle games, platformers, and everything else. This continued through middle school but dwindled as I grew older.