Advertisement's Profile

Name: Bret H.
Location: BOULDER, CO
Member Since: 11/13/2005 11:02 AM ET
Last Login: 7/24/2008 9:02 PM ET
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Bret had to say...

I'm a software debugger working in the database industry, and a certified geek - I use a number of plastic totes in the basement arranged as a b-tree ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-tree ) to sort all the books I have posted by author. It works pretty well, but I tend to bring home books faster than I can sort and post them. There are a lot of great thrifts in my area with cheap books, so I pick up all kinds of books in as good condition as I can find (even ones I'd probably never read myself). PBS is great because it lets me trade those books for the books I really want.

I read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy. I also like a wide spectrum of technical subjects: how-to books, books on rural living, books on and about various languages and cultures (particularly Japan; I  lived there for several years), business books, economics, math, economics, ecology, metalworking, woodworking, etc. My wife is a social worker / college professor who particularly enjoys mysteries.

We both love reading, but we have almost no overlap in what we read. I've been collecting books since I was old enough to walk to the local secondhand store by myself; used to stuff my backpack with books until the seams were popping. I still have the first book that I really regarded as "mine" - Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury. I'm a fast reader, have read up to three books a day on vacation days.

I also enjoy board games such as Pirates Cove (http://www.piratescovegame.com) and Puerto Rico (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewitem.php3?gameid=3076), and am active with a live-action fantasy roleplaying group called the IFGS (www.ifgs.org).  In addition to gaming, my hobbies/interests include woodworkng, gardening, cooking, technology in general, artificial intelligence (esp. neural networks and genetic algorithms), and alternative energy in particular.  Current projects include a 7' parabolic solar concentrator, a Stirling engine, an electric bicycle, a wood gas generator, conversion of an old truck to use carbon monoxide as fuel, and building a better fly trap.

I live out in a rural area where I keep a few hundred thousand head of livestock (ok, ok, it isn't really that impressive - I'm a beekeeper with 4 hives, 30 chickens, three turkeys, two geese, two ducks, a horse, 2 cats, and an older male blue heeler and a new shepherd/retriever puppy, but the first round of bragging at stock shows is always a lot of fun).