Traits · Backstory · Credo

Traits

The strengths and edges that helped shape the Masque Protocol.

✅ Insightful Understanding

You grasp deep emotional nuances, creating genuine connections with coworkers and clients. If empathy were a sport, I’d be a gold medalist… and the referee would probably cry too.

✅ Gentle Persuasion

Your empathetic communication helps you smoothly guide others toward consensus. I don't twist arms — I offer cookies until everyone agrees.

✅ Independent Thinking

You thrive when granted the freedom to innovate and explore ideas creatively.

✅ Quiet Determination

Understated persistence allows you to pursue meaningful goals without unnecessary conflict.

✅ Reflective Approach

Your thoughtful mindset ensures high-quality, meaningful outcomes in your projects.

✅ Authentic Presence

You create trust through honesty and openness, bringing sincerity into the workplace. And a great deal of natural humor: What you see is what you get — minus the parts that haven't had coffee yet.

Weaknesses

✅ Struggling with Pragmatism

Your idealistic expectations may hinder practical decision-making and achievable goals. I aim for the stars, but sometimes forget the ladder.

✅ Difficulty Networking

Self-promotion and professional interactions outside your comfort zone may leave you drained. Networking feels like speed dating for extroverts — I bring snacks instead.

❌ Reacting Personally to Criticism

Constructive feedback may trigger deep self-doubt, negatively affecting your confidence. This one is not an issue for me; I feel very fluent in emotions, so while I always feel anger and a desire for battle when receiving criticism, I have always felt that this resistance means I need to listen closely, since there may be a nugget of truth. Go ahead, fire away — I promise to dodge only the unhelpful bullets.

❇️ Overlooking Organization

Your spontaneous workflow style can cause difficulties in maintaining schedules and routines. This is cyclical for me. I find that I have periods where I want military order and precision, and periods where I want to simply focus on something for a long period of time without bothering with trivial things. Note that I always want to overlook the dirty dishes.

✅ Reluctant to Advocate

Your natural humility often prevents you from presenting your contributions effectively. My trumpet has a mute button permanently installed.

✳️ Drained by Routine

Repetitive or structured tasks demotivate and tire you, reducing overall productivity. I think this particular trait reveals why I am cyclical in terms of routine. Routine does drain me, but at a much slower rate than the average person of similar personality type. In other words, it may take days or even weeks for me to be drained by routine. In the same way it may take days or weeks for me to decide that my lack of order and organization is painful and needs to be rectified. In short, I can handle routine… for about three days before my brain stages a coup.

Backstory

From survival mode → to open source → to writing and growth.

I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, due to my dad’s career choices. I was reading 8th grade textbooks at age 4 and writing in architectural block printing at age 5, and over two years, ages 6 and 7, I read the entire contents of the city school’s libraries.

At age 12, my 4yo sister contracted aggressive leukemia, and for two years (until her passing), I was her primary caregiver, since my parents retreated into alcoholism. This frequently included four hour trips to St. Jude hospital in Memphis, TN for her treatments.

At age 14, I started working as an electronics repairmain in the late afternoons, evenings, and weekends, including being on call for weather emergencies (rain was hard on the phone company). This helped pay the mortgage and bills and keep food on the table. I was still maintaining straight A’s, lettering in football, baseball, and track, and maintaining an active ham radio presence.

Essentially, I had to create my own culture, because there literally was no time for anything else. I maxed out ACT, SAT, and National Merit exams, and had full-ride offers from Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and SMU, and full-ride with a generous stipend from the local college (UAH). Ultimately, I chose the college which best suited my family situation.

I guess you could say that the “culture of expediency and mercy” that I felt compelled to create shaped my personality more than anything else: I had no choice but to get top grades, use school time to stay fit (sports), work a full-time job at 14, and seek the most stable career options because nobody else in my family could care for themselves, let alone keep the family together. Basically, my childhood was a masterclass in survival mode — and I passed with honors and a coffee addiction.

Turning Point

I spent much of my twenties in the defense industry, working on WMD programs and learning the mechanics of power up close. By 30, I’d had enough — disgust pushed me to walk away. From then on, I committed to peace, love, and open source. That choice redirected my entire trajectory.

Open Source Years

I brushed elbows with many of the open-source greats, fought the editor wars on stage at a UniForum, and became an advocate for rawdogging Emacs. Those years taught me that creativity, community, and freedom trump secrecy and control.

Where I Am Now

Since then, I’ve settled into the role of technical, business, and personal growth writer — bringing the lessons of survival, depth, and play into everything I write. My work is about translation: between worlds, between temperaments, between who I am and what the moment demands. The Masque Protocol is simply the most recent expression of that lifelong pattern.

Credo

Operating principles I actually try to live—short, sharp, and a little cheeky.

• Say what you mean; because telepathy is still in beta testing.
• Be choosy with your media, because your brain thinks it’s real. Unless, of course, you’re watching someone paint happy little trees.
• Speak clearly, listen carefully, pay close attention; otherwise, you’ll end up in a conversation about quantum physics when you just asked for the time.
• Do what you love; life’s too short not to ply your craft. Just don’t expect it to pay the bills, unless your craft is printing money.
• Keep it simple; complex plans involve running, and who’s got the energy for that?
• Start small and build a little at a time; a mosaic is more beautiful than the finest concrete, and way less likely to get you sued for improper construction.
• Network; because who else will laugh at your “I’m not a robot” jokes?
• Be who you are; even a bent wire can carry a great light, especially in a modern art exhibit.
• Build for strength, not just speed; the hare may have had more Instagram followers, but the tortoise won the race.
• Hack; just remember, “try it and see” doesn’t apply to skydiving or lion taming.
• Under-promise and over-deliver; because everyone loves a surprise, especially when it’s not another birthday card.
• Divide and conquer; because life is essentially a giant game of strategy board games.
• Do one thing well; remember, unicorns are famous for just one horn.
• Use what you have; unless it’s a floppy disk, then maybe it’s time to upgrade.
• Use levers, not people; because people are terrible at being levers, they keep asking for coffee breaks.
• Release early, release often; otherwise, you’re just hoarding half-baked ideas, and there’s no market for those.
• Distrust all claims for the one true way; except for pizza, pizza is always the answer.
• Think ahead, but don’t worship your plans; all things are possible, except maybe skiing through a revolving door.
• Think big: you are the universe. And like any good universe, remember to occasionally expand beyond your current dimensions — just without the big bang.
• Abhor violence in all its forms, even contradicting others. Keep your peace, hold your tongue, and avoid turning into a debate club mascot.
• Practice the Prime Directive; unless you’re in a sci-fi movie, then totally ignore it.