User:Onexdata

My name is Nick Steele. I'm a 33 year old married white male middle-class web, applications and product designer currently living in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

My Background

I was home-schooled near Chicago, IL, USA. I grew up (while living with my parents) as a Catholic, then Jehovah's Witness and after turning 18 I stopped following any religion, but still research them. I got into computers when I was about 10 when my parents bought a Commodore 64 and I found out you could make it do anything you wanted it to. After a few weeks I realized BASIC was too slow to do what I was hoping for and discovered assembly language and hacking. I've been writing little utilities, bridges for systems and little ideas to make things work spiffier ever since.

I went to college for Business management and ethics law. I have written law management software, database and inventory control web apps and got heavy into AJAX and cloud computing as soon as it became a workable possibility. I've designed hundreds of websites for various businesses.

I like construction work and building. I am working to become a licensed electrician and plumber. I like building electronic circuits and built my own CNC milling machine which I use for circuit design and furniture.

I believe in open information sharing, helping others and learning about everything, that death is a disease not a certainty, and that money is not necessary or even a good thing for societies.

I love to draw, sculpt, and make stupid electronic music with my 4 children. I love to learn new things and enjoy being wrong because it means I have an opportunity to learn something more about something I obviously enjoyed blabbing about, and some times, it will shake up even my core understanding, and there is no feeling like that!

My Personality

I really like to learn. I prefer it over almost anything. I listen to lectures from the Teaching Company, The Modern Scholar and Princeton/Yale/etc. open education projects. I love research podcasts like stuff you should know and big think, and I love watching TED talks.

I like to research and confirm things to the point where I buy a high powered microscope, mass spectrometer and micro scale to get through a chemistry book. I get obsessed with things until I am out of basic questions. I try to do everything I can at least once.

I'm very mellow and nothing really bothers me except injustice, the Brady bunch and weak chowder.

Why you're reading this

I don't know? I enjoy Wikipedia and have been reading it since it's beginning. It has already changed the world and has surpassed anything almost anyone ever thought possible. I believe, like it's founder, that it will evolve into the first real collection of the sum-total of human knowledge.