Contact: Finding me in the virtual world…
Looking to get ahold of me for something? I’ve done my best to make it fairly easy. First off, there is the ever-popular email address. Admittedly, I’m sometimes a bit slower at responding to email than I probably should be, but it’s still a good option.
If you have a Jabber IM account (most commonly used through the Google Talk IM client, you can send me an instant message at username ‘michael.hanscom@gmail.com’. I’m not actively online very much anymore, but it can occasionally meet with success. Just don’t get overly depressed if I don’t respond within a few minutes (or months).
I also have accounts on a number of other online communities, websites, and social networking sites. You can get an aggregated view of my online activity at Friendfeed, Profilactic, or Retaggr, or you can go directly to my presence on any of the following sites: Amazon, del.icio.us, deviantART, digg, Disqus, Facebook, Flickr, Flixter, Goodreads, iLike, Last.fm, LibraryThing, LinkedIn, LiveJournal, Meetup, MySpace, Netflix, OkCupid, Plurk, Slashdot, Technorati, Tribe, Tumblr, Twitter, Upcoming, Vimeo, Vox, Wishlistr, Yahoo 360, YouTube, and possibly a few others I’ve forgotten about.
Biography: The man, the myth…me.
| www.flickr.com |
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, I was exiled to Alaska at the ripe old age of two when the military sent my family to Fairbanks, Alaska. A couple years later we managed to escape to the comparitively balmy climes of Anchorage, Alaska, and there I stayed for the next 26 years.
In the summer of 2001, I finally managed to run screaming from the frozen wastelands of the north, and ended up settling in Seattle, Washington. Seattle? But it rains all the time there, doesn’t it? Well, first off, not really — winters are wet, sure, but the summers here are gorgeous. Just don’t let the word get out. More importantly, though — the best thing about rain is that it means that it’s too warm to snow. And I’m quite okay with that.
After living in two different apartments in the lower First Hill area and two more (in the same complex) in the Northgate area since moving to Seattle, I now live with my girlfriend in Kent, just south of Seattle.
In many ways, as far as interests go, I’m the sterotypical geek — big into computers, science-fiction, Star Trek, and things of that nature. However, I’m ever thankful that I did finally realize that I had a personality of my own (and a fairly winning one, if I do say so myself) and, while still a bit on the introverted side, I can function quite easily in the real day-to-day world. It’s a good thing.
For better or for worse, I’m most (in)famous for being “the blogger that got fired from Microsoft” over a picture of Apple PowerMac G5s. All posts related to that little debacle can be found in the 15minutes (of fame) category archive, though the three most important are the picture, the day I was let go, and my wrapup a few days later.
Still have a burning desire to know more about me? Well, much can be discovered by reading through my weblog, or you’re certainly free to contact me through one of the methods available above.
Gimme! Because I’m never above stooping to blatant begging.
If you’re feeling particularly rich, generous, or — in the best of all possible worlds — both, I have Amazon wishlists available (categorized into Photography Bits, Print Media, Movies and Music, Electronic Gadgets and Gizmos, and Random Nifty Bits for the not easily classifiable stuff), and I’m more than willing to accept gifts. Or bribes, for that matter — dropping a few bucks into my PayPal tip jar would also be more than appreciated! Either way you look at it, it makes you feel good, because you’re giving me a reason to keep subjecting the world to my ramblings, and it makes me feel good, because I get more cool stuff. And I like stuff.
If you’re not feeling quite that generous, but still wouldn’t mind tossing the occasional penny or two my way, then there’s an easy solution to that, too. Just go shopping at Amazon by clicking this link. You won’t be charged anything extra, but I’ll get a few pennies of every sale for sending you to Amazon. Quick, painless, and everybody’s happy.
Technical Geekery
This site runs on WordPress, and is hosted by DreamHost, and my domain name is registered with Micromax Information Services, Ltd..
All pages should validate when checked with the World Wide Web Consortium’s HTML Validator and CSS Validator to ensure compliance with the XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2 standards. If they don’t, it’s probably because I forgot to escape an ampersand in some URL or another…or because I made a stupid mistake with my HTML code, though those (hopefully) will be few and far between.
The Archives: My own personal Wayback machine.
I’ve been playing with HTML for quite a few years now. Every so often over the years, I’ve actually been bright enough to make a quick copy of my website and archive it. These old sites are horridly outdated by today’s standards, but they’re fun for me to have around.
Curious enough to check out just how my design and web skills have evolved over the years? Feel free to wander through. Some links will work, some won’t — caveat emptor and all that.
February 27, 1996: Yup, you read that right — 1996. We’re talking seriously old-school here (“Netscape 2.0 Enhanced”, even). Looks best if you shrink the width of your browser window to just a bit wider than the graphics, as this was back when 640x480 was in wide useage.
February 14, 1997: One year later, and things have improved dramatically. This basic design would last through the next three archives, and while it’s a bit broken now, I still like the general idea. Featured one of the first incarnations of a Gigs Music Theatre site, though it’s just a single page here.
April 21, 1997: A few months later. A little less content, as I started to focus on expanding the Gig’s page. Design is the same (and is still slightly broken in modern browsers).
March 30, 1998: Another year goes by, and things are still pretty static. The design is the same (though by this point, it works in modern browsers). The Gig’s page has evolved into a full-fledged site by this point, though.
August 5, 2002: Whoops! Four years went by with no archiving. I’ve been kicking myself for this of late, as I was doing some hand-coded “blogging” back then that I don’t have copies of anymore. Still, at least I have this. By this point, the design has changed majorly, and I was using Movable Type to handle my weblogging.
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