The Jargon File is a well-known concise description of hacker language and culture. It's been around a while and I've browsed it before, but I happened to stumble across it again today. Some of the content is a bit obscure since it dates back a couple decades or more. But perhaps the most fascinating and continually relevant section is the Portrait of J. Random Hacker. (You do know what a hacker is, right?) Many of the descriptions are eerily accurate when applied to myself -- much more than any horoscope could ever be. Until I read the Jargon File a few years ago, I didn't quite realize how much I conform to the nonconformist hacker nature.

Of course not everything can be completely on the mark. But there are a surprising number of striking examples, including...

Dress: "A substantial minority prefers 'outdoorsy' clothing"

I think around 90% of the clothing I wear comes from REI.

Sports: "Interest in spectator sports is low to non-existent; sports are something one does, not something one watches on TV."

Absolutely.

... "Ultimate Frisbee has become quite popular."

My favorite sport!

... "Martial arts in the hacker culture deserves special mention."

I've dabbled in a few martial arts and always wanted to do more. I've been planning for a couple years now to take up aikido more seriously, but I just don't have the time to add another frequent activity to my schedule.

Food: "Ethnic. Spicy. Oriental, esp. Chinese and most esp. Szechuan, Hunan, and Mandarin (hackers consider Cantonese vaguely déclassé). A visible minority of Southwestern and Pacific Coast hackers prefers Mexican."

Mmm... Mexican, Japanese, and Chinese food are indeed my favorites. But as it says, I never much cared for Cantonese (once I figured out the difference).

Communication: "Though hackers often have poor person-to-person communication skills, they are as a rule quite sensitive to nuances of language and very precise in their use of it."

I constantly find myself cringing when my co-workers (mostly the non-hacker ones of course) repeatedly miss-apply or miss-speak colloquial phrases. Some of them even grew up in this country so they should know better. And in some cases those misuses seem to catch on and grow into a widespread meme, annoying me to no end. Personally I almost always avoid silly colloquialisms and just say what I mean.

... "They are often better at writing than at speaking."

Well, I try. If my writing is bad, my speech must be horrid.

Personality: "Also, most hackers are ‘neophiles’, stimulated by and appreciative of novelty (especially intellectual novelty)."

Old stuff is obsolete. People who resist good changes for the sake of familiarity or pointless tradition annoy me.

... "Hackers are ‘control freaks’ in a way that has nothing to do with the usual coercive or authoritarian connotations of the term."

I insist on driving a stick-shift. I wired my house with programmable light switches.

Misc: "Hackers are more likely to have cats than dogs."

Check.

"Richer hackers drive spiffy RX-7s..."

Oops, an off-by-one error! Obviously the Jargon File needs to be updated for the current decade.

"... and then forget to have them washed."

Guilty.

---

Merlin made a new friend.

Last night around 1:30am I heard a loud ruckus in the vertical blinds of my back patio door. (Fortunately since it was a Saturday night I was still up -- in fact I'd just gotten home.) Usually this noise means Merlin has gotten excited because a neighborhood cat has come around to say hello. But this time, my Maine Coon met another kind of coon.

This was a very bold and curious raccoon, because he didn't back off at all when I came up to the window and started snapping pictures with the flash. At first, both cat and coon took aggressive stances, hissing and clawing at each other through the window. But after a few minutes, they sat down and just stared at each other for at least a half hour. Merlin even started purring!

Tulsa KOTV channel 6 aired a profile of OSSM a few days ago. Check it out online at kotv.com.

Things there have changed a lot since I was part of OSSM's fifth class, graduating in '96. At that time the campus had only the one remodeled old school building -- the new dorms, library, science building, gym, and surrounding iron fence were all added since. Instead, we had a twice-daily 45-minute bus ride and some freedom to roam the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Most students agree we had the better deal back then, since any kind of freedom is cherished by a teenager.

OSSM was an incredible experience for me. I never worked that hard in my life before or since, and probably never will again. It was interesting not only academically, but socially. What do you get when you take 150 extremely bright teenagers out of their mostly-rural Oklahoma towns, put them in a small bubble, and apply extreme stress for two years?

Looking back, it almost reminds me of a contrived reality TV show. There are some precocious personalities, quirky quiet types, big egos, and amazing talents, all in a competitive and very enclosed environment. All you need are cameras in every room... which they might actually have by now, as I hear the administration is getting more strict every year. Perhaps there's a fundraising opportunity? :)

Warning: these comics might make little sense to those without a Computer Science degree. But I find them hilarious.

• The Alice and Bob Affair
• Not Socially Optimal
• Commented!

Well, I was leaving a pretty good trail of bytes there, without a blog-free month for nearly a year and a half. And then apparently there came a time of Nothing Terribly Interesting Happening in Jason's Life.

You don't believe me? Well, I did go to Las Vegas around my birthday, just like last year. Puget Sound had a freak windstorm last month that felled a 90-foot tree onto my mailbox and left me (and a million others) without power for about 5 days -- but you knew about that already. 2007 arrived, but I expect most of you noticed that too. I still keep in shape with a lot of racquetball, occasional indoor soccer, and some very energetic swing dancing.

Don't misinterpret me here: I'm not bored. I'm just concerned you might be.