User Profile

Rob is adding factoids as he thinks of them.

Rob typically does not speak of himself in the third person.
Rob is making an exception.

Rob is a Capricorn.
Rob is a skeptic, so if you think the above means anything, we're going to have some fundamental disagreements.

Rob is an INTJ.
Rob has concerns that the MBTI model is too simplistic (and prone to idealizing one's responses), but unlike astrology it's at least reasonably self-determined.

Rob has taken the StrengthsFinder test:
Rob is deliberative, so expect thorough decisions, not quick ones.
Rob displays intellection, so give him things to think about and expect to hear about the things he already is.
Rob expects input, so give him information.
Rob takes responsibility, so he'll do what needs to be done.
Rob enjoys ideation, so he wants to figure out how everything is connected.

By way of explaining the mood icons, Rob likes foxes for some reason.
Rob is not a Furry (*shudder*), so don't ask.
Rob does not believe in vague and patronizing newage notions of "animal spirits" (see "Rob is a skeptic" above), so don't ask.
Rob recalls a great deal of his early childhood, and the Dr. Seuss books with foxes were his favorites. It stuck. Go figure.

Rob is a little bizarre. What of it?

Foxes making generally poor pets, Rob keeps birds.
Rob has a cockatiel named Frankie and an African Grey Parrot named Jasmine.
Rob likes parrots because they are very bright and have highly distinctive personalities. It's a little like having perpetual two-year-olds around the house, except you're legally allowed to lock them in cages.

Rob has begun learning to cook for himself.
Rob has sworn off fast food, and has stuck to this policy since Christmas of 2004.
Rob has lost in the neighborhood of ten pounds from this change alone.
Rob is learning from the popular Alton Brown school of culinary sciences.
Rob probably would never have bothered without AB's approach.
Rob still can't believe he actually owns a salad spinner.

Rob's family are from the Southeastern U.S. (mostly Georgia).
Rob was just never particularly compatible with that environment.
Rob took a dot-com job to get himself to the Bay Area, not vice-versa.
Rob has very little accent left.

Because Rob is a single male who cooks, keeps birds and moved to San Francisco, Rob suspects many of his southeastern family probably think he is gay.
No, Rob just sucks at meeting people (see INTJ link above).
Rob knows that, from his family's point of view, the truth is even worse (see next section).

Rob is an atheist (see "Rob is a skeptic" above).
Rob is not a militant atheist, except rarely in self-defense.
Rob will want to talk about your religion in abstract (philosophical, psychological, sociological) terms with which you may be uncomfortable.
Rob will want to talk about practically any subject in those terms, so don't feel singled out.
Feel free to tell Rob to back off.
Rob does avoid discussing religion with most of his family (see "mostly Georgia" above).

Rob is a libertarian with a small L.
Rob is not a Libertarian with a capital L.
Rob makes this distinction because the party won't grow up and stop acting like a third party.
Rob bases this judgment on their inability to field candidates who are willing to champion libertarian views within the system we've got instead of promising an ideological revolution.
Rob sums up: we're still going to have to pay taxes for the forseeable future. Get over it.
Rob believes most people are libertarians (small L) and don't even realize it -- they call it "socially liberal, fiscally conservative."
Rob thinks too few people have actually read John Stuart Mill.

Rob is also an active centrist, not to be confused with a fence-sitter.
Rob tends to find himself left-of-center these days, but this is because the center has moved.
Rob is quite certain that any political philosophy carried to its ideal extremes will be a disaster.
Rob interprets design of the U.S. system of government to promote conflict and obstructionism. This is a feature, not a bug.
Rob is frightened by easy consensus. When everyone agrees too easily, crazy extremist things begin happening.

Rob would vote for Jon Stewart running on the "stop, stop, stop hurting America" ticket.

Professionally, Rob is a programmer.
As a second choice, Rob would write professionally.
However, Rob generally prefers larger paychecks to smaller ones.
Rob doesn't think that requires any additional explanation.

Rob was a Computer Science major.
However, Rob mostly hung out with Philosophy majors and assorted riff-raff.
Basically, Rob tended to think other CS majors were poorly socialized self-aggrandizing jerks.
Coming from Rob this is really saying something.
Rob is still friends with many of said assorted riff-raff.

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