Meet the Modders

First off, I refuse to give my real name, real age, and various peices of personal information. The most I will say about my age is that I am most certainly above twenty. On the forum, I am Ogedei the Mad or simply Ogedei, and that is all.

For the most part, I am naturally a solitary person - I can easily get along with most people (thus I'm not too socially awkward), but I lack any desire to look for "significant others." Usually I find myself associating myself with those significantly older than me or who have very intellectual interests. Oftentimes, I found myself too distant from those of my own generation.

Originally, I started as a Creative Writing major during my undergraduate years, but found East Asian culture too fascinating not simply because I am of East Asian heritage but also because it tends to be so misunderstood in the American imagination. And so I am for the most part an avid student of East Asian history and culture, but after living and working in Korea for two years, it ultimately was Korea that truly caught my attention. I'm getting into Classical Chinese (and can read and am attempting to translate a major text) and am continuously trying to improve my Korean langauge skills. Currently, I am about to complete a Master's and I am contemplating going on another Master's program, but this time in Korea and with a focus either on doing intensive studies on classical civilization or ethnographic studies of Korean folk practices.

Politically, I'm very much a Leftist. However, I have no real interest whatsoever in "preaching" my political perspective (especially not over the internet) although I once was an activist.

Religiously, I'm a combination of a Mahayana Buddhist and Daoist. Again, I have no real interest whatsoever in "preaching" my religious perspective.

As for interests, I used to be somewhat of a gamer, but then I started doing martial arts (Taekwondo for 7 years, Taijiquan Guangping Style for 4 years, Taijiquan Spear for 3 years, and Taijiquan Broadsword for 3 years), writing, and the Korean gayageum (a zither instrument). I very rarely spend much time on computer games these days, having "grown out of" many of them, but Civ3 is one of the very few games that I frequently go back to since it so fits my preference for things intellectual.
 
Hello, I am a 6'1, 225 lb Gemini male with brown hair and blue eyes. I enjoy playing guitar, listening to all forms of rock, and walks on the beach. :p

Well, if you couldn't figure it out by my CFC name, my name is Justin. I was born in San Diego, California, USA in 1975, but moved to Huntington Beach when I was 2, and stayed there for the next 22 years. I now live in Laguna Niguel, CA, about 30 miles south of HB, 60 miles north of SD.

I laughed when I read about Wyrm having that Tandy1000, as that was my first computer, too, and I do remember that Draw program. I've always been a gamer. I've played Civs 2, 3, and 4, SMAC(X), and various Civ copies over the years. This may come as a real shocker to some of you, but I've also always loved monster movies, especially Godzilla.

I won't go deep into my childhood, but suffice it to say I was ringleader of a group of mischievous kids in my neighborhood, but also bussed into the rich area of town to attend the GATE program, since my test scores were consistently as high as the tests could go. The rich kids didn't like the poor kid invading their turf, so fights were an almost daily thing for me until high school, when I attended a local school with my local buddies, and went from the poor nerd getting a swirly in the bathroom to the long-haired heavy metal hessian smoking... ahem, stuff... in the baseball dugout.

I ended up dropping out of college, 3 years into getting a Psychology degree, to focus on work. I went back a few years later to get a Programming degree, but ended up dropping out again when my employer offered to put me on an IT Training Program - paid. I was a Software Developer for less than 2 years, and in 2000 switched to being their Database Administrator.

It is at this employer that I met the woman that would eventually be my wife. We got married in 2005, and had our first daughter in 2007, our second in 2009. I love my wife dearly, and my girls are my primary focus and motivation in almost everything I do.

My career has really taken off the past few years, and I am very grateful to be this lucky in these times. The downside to that, of course, is the hours. I work 60-70 hours a week on average, peaking at about 110 some weeks. Currently I work for THE biggest bank in the US, a bank that I would never actually be a customer of. I probably wouldn't have joined them, but I was originally hired by a small American bank that was owned by ABN AMRO, a European bank, back in 2007. 3 months later, the Very Large American Bank bought us, and I stayed as that was when the economy crashed, and I had a 7 month old baby girl to worry about. So far, this has worked out pretty well.

Between this and the kids my modding time is pretty limited. Hence, I am probably known for grandiose ideas that never come to fruition. I joined this site in 2002, but was a lurker for a couple years, and actually was on Apolyton first. Civ3 has definitely become my favorite game of all time. I will finish Modzilla someday! :)

Politically, I tend to lean left, but it really depends on the issue. I like small government, personal freedom, am pro-environment, anti-abortion, and am against traditional war but completely for assassinating leaders of countries that would try to attack us. I believe in a tightly regulated, free market economy. Try and figure that out. :p I am registered to vote as an independent, non-partisan voter, and have been since 1997. Before that I was in the Reform, Green, Libertarian, and Democratic parties, then I just got disgusted with the lot of them and decided to go my own way.

Religiously, my mother and sister are devout Catholics, my father an Atheist, so I guess it makes sense that while I believe in God, I don't follow any specific religion. I've never talked religion in these forums... I used to doubt the existence of God, but in several dire times of need throughout my life, I did resort to praying as a last ditch effort, and against all odds, my prayers were answered, so that eventually has led me to believe there is someone watching out for us, although we are left to our own devices most of the time. I did go through all the Catechism classes and was confirmed into the Catholic Church when I was in High School, but the simple fact that the church believes that if you have the slightest doubt that Jesus was the Son Of God you will not be allowed in Heaven was enough for me to leave it. I believe in God, not sure about the rest, and I don't see how that matters. If you lead the life the Bible teaches you to lead that should be enough.

Well, I've said way more than I planned, so I guess I'll stop here. You should have a pretty good idea of who I am now :)
 
Hey all. Name is Tom, live in the US somewhere. Went to High School and went to College somewhere also. Have a job somewhere. I don't travel much, but have been to the Caribbean, Mexico, and about 5 out of the 50 states. I don't care to travel either, and all my travels were about a decade ago. Never finished College due to health problems, even though my grades were excellent; never was able to finish yet. Initially I was going into Computer Science, but have somewhat lost the great interest I used to have in it.

Politically, I am conservative. I am for right to life, personal responsibility and accountability, don't blame others for my own actions or wrongs, right to liberty and freedom, small government (big government causes more problems than solves), freedom of religion, not punishing people for economic success with outrageous taxes, etc.. Do support gov't regulations to keep business' in line and fair. I have and will vote democrat, republican, or independent... I don't listen to the crap bureaucrat's spit out of the hole in their head they call a mouth; I look at their past actions in office to determine what they really stand for and vote according to that.

As a kid, I was quite shy and quiet. In late high school, that disappeared and I became a crazy drunken party man. Fun at the time, but that few years led to more problems than I care to think about... and I don't drink anymore at all. Not to mention all the money I wasted buying beers and shots.

I used to be a Catholic, but no longer after the pope said something along the lines of: You must be a Catholic to be saved, or you are going to hell. I only dislike that pope though, have nothing against Catholics, most of my family is Catholic. Now I go to a non-denominational church, which I prefer much more since they solely talk and teach straight from the Bible; and they even have a live band each week. :band: I have taken many various religion studies courses at universities, which gave a glimpse into all the main religions of the world, but Christianity was the only thing to me that made any sense.. and I have always considered myself a somewhat objective person (I try to be at least); I prefer the truth over what just sounds good (even though the truth is usually not anything that brightens my day).

Gaming started with a C64 way back in the day, Atari 2600, 286, 486, and so on throughout the years. Doom was a game I was hooked on when it first came out. Doom 2 was even better. Played Tiger Woods Golf for a long time, but no more (Tiger Woods hit the strip club in between rounds side game? :cool:). Age of Wonders, Civ 3, Alpha Centauri, Diablo 2, and games of this sort are what hold my interest. Don't care for 1st person shooters anymore... can't stand games like GTA for more than a one-time 10 minute play.

To top it off... I don't have 9000 friends on facebook, and I probably won't know 9000 people in my whole life. I can't stand facebook, it ruins people's lives and even one of my friends almost lost his job because of Farmville and Happy Fish (or w/e it is called).

Alright, I've said my piece. And I'll leave it at that. Happy Modding! :goodjob:

Tom
 
Addition: I've played vidjamagames since I was able to stand and hold a Sega Genesis controller at the same time (around 1993-1994). Might sound sick, but, well, if I didn't I wouldn't be here. What's done's done, I guess.
 
I have enjoyed reading everyone's responses so far, and I have some comments that I will make at a later time.
I will briefly introduce myself now.

My name is Joshua. I have lived all my life in the small town of Cobourg in rural east-central Ontario. My main interests are architecture, astronomy, languages, hiking, history, philosophy, and psychology, among others. While my interests are many, my knowledge in each is small. I don't assign myself many labels, but I will say I am a Christian and an optimist. I like the outdoors, rainy days, animals, and silly love songs. My favourite television show is Star Trek and my favourite musician is Paul McCartney.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about me is that I love birds! :love:




I will discuss more in the future. :)
 
I have enjoyed reading everyone's responses so far, and I have some comments that I will make at a later time.
I will briefly introduce myself now.

My name is Joshua. I have lived all my life in the small town of Cobourg in rural east-central Ontario. My main interests are architecture, astronomy, languages, hiking, history, philosophy, and psychology, among others. While my interests are many, my knowledge in each is small. I don't assign myself many labels, but I will say I am a Christian and an optimist. I like the outdoors, rainy days, animals, and silly love songs. My favourite television show is Star Trek and my favourite musician is Paul McCartney.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about me is that I love birds! :love:

I will discuss more in the future. :)


Not fair RedAlert. We give paragraphs from the deep dark abyss of the foundations of our actual identities and you just give us a paragraph and a bird picture. ;)

[I like birds too. Just not rats-with-wings known as "pigeons." :p ]
 
born in virginia and raised in south jersey, just outside of philadelphia. moved down ashore after high school and now live a few minutes away from the beach in Atlantic County.

married w/ a 16 month old son.

i was never much of a computer person until the '00s. so no old school pc's or anything. did play a lot of atari, nintendo, and sega though over the years. playstation too. the Madden games were my bag (not so much anymore).

the game that really turned me onto to civ: Risk - used to love it as a kid and civ sort of took this classic board game to the electronic sphere, for me at least.

i have a few under grad degrees, one in education and another in history. came close to law school after degree #1 but chose education instead. been working at a law firm in south jersey for a bunch of years as a paralegal. trying to land a teaching job now. wish me luck.

poli sci and spanish minors too. was the only gringo in a few of my spanish classes :lol:

undergrad senior thesis: American Counter-Insurgency Efforts in the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902

huge baseball fan. played from age 6 to 18. center field, catcher and third base :) played gridiron football too in peewee and high school. cornerback and running back :cool:

used to play semi pro wiffle ball. for those not familiar with it, it's basically a plastic baseball w/ holes in it and the thing curves like crazy. it's more or less a backyard game for kids and it's an institution for american baseball fans.

i ski too. haven't been in a few years but i used to go all the time before i got married. love the adrenaline of standing at the top of the trail.

used to bridge jump as a teenager. there was this train bridge not far from where i grew up that crossed a tributary of the Delaware River. it was about 60 feet above the water and we used to jump off of it and into the water but only at high tide.

i like to travel although it is difficult now w/ the kid and work. used to go to florida every spring for the baseball exhibition season. clearwater beach, florida is bangin' :cool: once the kid is a little older, i'll return. nothin' like florida sunshine in march.

i've met a few cfc guys in person before: Whomp (awesome dude) and Rambuchan (another great guy).

went into college as a know-nothing democrat and got churned out as a moderate republican.

favorite media personalities: Bill O'Reilly, Howard Stern
favorite US President: TR
favorite baseball player: Chase Utley (hard one - Shane Victorino, Ryne Sandberg, Ryan Howard worth noting too)

i've got a huge collection of baseball cards and memorabilia. best part about having a son (as opposed to a daughter): i can bequeath my collection (and build it even more!) to him.

favorite music: 90s grunge probably - Alice in Chains, anything Layne Staley (rest his soul). Zeppelin of course, Metallica, and the like. old school rap from the 80s is cool too. Sinatra, Elvis, and some classical stuff as well. a pretty wide palette.

i like to cook, or used to. time is at a premium now. so no much time to be creative anymore (work and feeding a 1 yr old eats away at it).

used to bartend while in college (and before). can make the meanest margarita you've ever had :p

i enjoy a nice cigar from time to time.

love the beach. been going since i was a kid and i live about 10 minutes from it.

used to like betting on the 'ponies' (aka horse racing). once hit on a 72:1 longshot at the 2003 Preakness (it was thousands of dollars i won!)

i like to fish too :D fresh water: bass & catfish

i've got a green thumb also. grow my tomato plants from seed every year, tend to my strawberry garden, and i'm maniacal about my green lawn. will never let another man touch it or do work on it unless i'm physically incapacitated.

there's more but i won't bore you all!
 
Not fair RedAlert. We give paragraphs from the deep dark abyss of the foundations of our actual identities and you just give us a paragraph and a bird picture. ;)

[I like birds too. Just not rats-with-wings known as "pigeons." :p ]

I'm sorry for shortchanging you all. I was too busy with schoolwork to write anything more at that time. I'll try to make up for it in the future. :)
 
Howdy, I'm 34 years old, married to a wonderful wife and am the father of two wonderful daughters. My home is in southeastern Alberta, but I live in central Alberta (Canada). I'm an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and specialize in the intersection of environmental ethics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of culture. I'm not as prolific a writer as Plotinus, but my first book (an edited volume, not a monograph) should arrive on bookshelves in time for Christmas 2010. I'm an avid outdoorsman, and would gladly give up my urban-bound job and my computer games :)eek:) to pursue a life with family & friends in the great wide open (but that ain't going to happen, obviously).

My first computer was a Commodore 64, and ever since then I pined for an empire-building game I could play. SimCity was okay, but when I stumbled across Civ 1 in undergrad I about died and went to heaven. Civ2 was so much fun I'm still tempted to play it sometimes, especially my favourite Harlan Thompson mods/scenarios. I'll keep modding Civ3 until the cows come home, or until the machines of the future refuse to run it. Other games I've slowly gotten into are Slitherine games (thanks to Steph's conversions, actually), which cuts into my Civ3 time. I started with Chariots of War, moved on to Commander at War (WW2), and am now really enjoying Field of Glory. I've also just started a browser game called Tribal Wars, but it seems to have a pretty lame battle mechanic. Board games are also very enjoyable, including Axis & Allies Miniatures (which I'm starting to mod, even though I swore I wouldn't), Brittania, Star Wars Epic Duels, and I even finally got Die Sielder von Catan in English for Christmas. ;)

Since the Lord of the Mods, I haven't really done any modding that is of benefit to others on the forum -- I just work on my private mod, and engage in the heartwrenching task of deciding which of the cool new unit graphics can't be used! Maybe next time an out-of-date version of Poser goes on sale for cheap, I'll get into unit making...maybe.
 
Hi,
I propably should not post here because I'm not modder yet (however I started making one), I get into some subjects sometimes. But I've been here for some years, recognize some people, and after reading some stuff here I'll add some of me.

Surprisingly I have some things in common with Wyrmshadow (polish, aviation, nervous breakdown..)
But it started in 1977. Some day I was born. I was strange child, I didn't know it at the time tho. I learned everything very fast: didn't pay attention at school very much, yet I finished with prizes. I learned to play guitar in 1 week, after 2 I was playing classical pieces, some time after I was making my own. Had some talent for drawing/painting. After like one week of trying I was able to draw portraits, at school I always got high rates, won every art contest I participated in at that time, yet I never really put any effort in it, I just liked it.
I also got 'the thing' with flying, my father taking me to aircamps/fields since young age, as they were gliding with friends etc. Making aircraft models, playing computer simulations etc.
I even tried to get into polsih military flying school in Deblin. But they found something hidden in my eye that I dont get it to this time.

My first comp was Atari 65XE. And I started programming soon after I got it, writing simple programs in Basic, then some games. Years afters up to now I dropped programming as computers changed and only did us much as scripting.

We moved with familly to Canada, but after 1.5 years of hanging around I got back to Poland. So I finished regular high school and got myself into art university (painting/drawing).
Soon tho, I got discouraged and disapointed with reality of art school, as I found out there were lots of things not the way should be. I left it after some attempts to reveal to everyone flaws of some supposed teachings
(like I took someone elses work after it was analized/judged by the teacher, then put my name on it and gave it to the teacher again, then her judgement and analisys was different, I revealed it to everyone, she got speachless and throw me out) etc.

After that I got myself into journey seeking higher state of mind (with different kind of drugs). I also got interested in native american philosophy and survival. Went to Holland and spent some time learning there from someone, and living in forest for half year, hanging around with homeless people, and getting cash by almost-begging (selling homeless newspappers). I was officially homeless. Then I saved someones life in a public place and became local 'hero' with everyone bringing me food n stuff.

I got back to poland and experienced something you could call 'nervous-breakdown'. It was related-to-girlfriend experience. Yet I still dont understand it. I didnt know what was happening to me, I met strange people who could possibly help me, yet I was going all the way down and down. At some point I was nothing reminding the old guy I was. Unable to properly live I was trying to do something, anything. I ended up in Scotland working as carer in old-people house. It didn't really work well because I couldn't find any peace, so I left straight to India with friend who introduced me to Buddhism. There I've met tibetan masters like Dalai Lama and Karmapa, and I stayed for 2 years around them attending teachings and experiencing weird stuff.

Now I'm back in Poland and i'm unable to live proper social life, or work. I use internet/computer stuff to ocupy myself somehow, but I don't know what to do or I dont really think of it.
 
Might as well add myself :)

I'm 26, and I was born and raised in the new england area. I am also like others on this board, a Christian. I am interested mainly in History, and I enjoy literature and the arts. My favorite genres are science fiction, fantasy and historical.

I am recovering from a tough time in my life, but I hope to be back on track with my studies as soon as possible.
 
No way! so civ does change people. AAAAA!!!
 
I don't need to, you have seen me for years on my avatar.

Ditto. :)

And I haven't changed much - this pic is from November.



(Medieval hike in the woods)
 

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