A Beautiful Mind?
     
Rick Dudgeon

Contact me

Age:
44

Sex:
Male, straight

Marital status:
Past: Yep
Present: Nope
Future: God knows

Kids:
Czarina, 23
William, 15
Brooklyn, 13

Sign:
Matthew 24

Motto:
It's not getting what you want. It's wanting what you get.

Home:
Santa Clara, California

From:
San Jose,
Sunnyvale,
Redwood City, and
Belmont, California

Occupation:
Software Engineer
Web Designer
Tutor

Alma Mater:
UC Berkeley

Majors:
Mathematics and
computer science

Interests:
good friends
the beach at night
movies
books
trivia
the internet

classic rock
Chicago
Sweet Relief
Steely Dan


baseball
NL Champion San Francisco Giants
arena football
AFL champion SJ Sabercats

Favorites:
Actor: Mel Gibson
Actress: Minnie Driver
Author: Orson Scott Card
Book: The Great Gatsby
Cuisine: Mexican
Food: Pizza
Group: Chicago
Movie: Highlander
Place: Yosemite
Singer: Leila
Song: Funeral for a Friend
TV show: Alias

I'm currently reading:
Alvin Journeyman
Orson Scott Card

Best movie out:
Crash

Hi! I'm Ricky D.
This site will tell you a little about myself and about the things that I'm interested in. Why should you care? Well, if we have anything in common (and maybe even if we don't), you may find something here that interests you also. If not, there are plenty of other places to surf.
Latest news I graduated from UC Berkeley in May of 2004 with a BA in mathematics and computer science. I'm presently working on building a private software engineering practice which includes programming, website design, and internet hosting.
A beautiful mind?
First of all, why the name? If you're looking for information on Sylvia Nasar's best selling biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind, or Ron Howard's Best Picture A Beautiful Mind based on the book, you've come to the wrong place. While I thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the movie, that's not why I chose this particular domain name. As an aspiring mathemetician, I do relate to Mr. Nash on a number of levels, though I don't share his genius nor quite his struggle with mental illness, at least not to the same degree in any case. So why the name? It might seem rather presumptuous. I don't mean it to be. I don't present it as an autobiographical description, but rather as a personal goal. I love to learn. I love to teach. And my goal is to make the best use possible of the truths that I learn.
I'm a nightowl.
The next thing you should know is that I'm a night person. That means that when you are comfortably in bed, I'm usually reading, studying, or sitting here at my computer. I like being a night person, but really don't have much choice in the matter, any more than you do if you are a day person. Being a night person has it's own special perks and it's own unique problems. If you are a night person, or you love someone who is, visit the online forum dedicated to addressing the issues facing night people, Night Writer Online Magazine.

I've always been a night person to some extent, but this was especially reinforced by my repeated tours of duty working swing or graveyard shift at the phone company. I've retired from the phone company (I'm not as old as that makes me sound) and am now work for myself as a software engineer. I chose to work for myself so that I could choose my own hours. I do most of my work (and all of my best work) late at night when most of my customers are sleeping.

Fun and Games
When I'm not in school, I frequently play NTN trivia at a restaurant called Spoons in Sunnyvale. If you stop in, tell the manager Ricky D sent you. Other things I do for fun are play online games, watch baseball, go to movies, and listen to live music. I've got some links related to some of my favorite activities. Please click on those that interest you.

Places to Go, People to See

  • Night people
  • Night Writer Online Magazine.
  • Night Owls support group
  • Free stuff Are you still paying for the internet? You don't have to. You might be surprised at all the free stuff that's out there. I'm constantly amazed at the free products and services that I find out there.
  • Music
  • Sweet Relief My favorite local band. Check them out!
  • Chicago My favorite band of all time. If you haven't heard them live, you haven't heard Chicago.
  • Baseball
  • San Francisco Giants
  • San Jose Giants
  • Fun and games
  • NTN Providers of trivia, one of my favorite past-times. You can play the sample games online, but it's really much more fun at a participating restaraunt or bar near you. It's most fun at a participating restaraunt or bar near me.
  • Decipher Home of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game.
  • Yahoo! Games In my opinion, the best place for playing head-to-head online games. I can often be found here playing cards, backgammon, or chess. They have the occasional technical glitch, but not as many as some of the other sites I've tried.
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