On Heterogeneous Mixtures

I was looking through my Facebook profile, in my usual narcissistic and extremely self-conscious way. Well, actually, I was adding this site to my profile so that people who actually care enough to look into what I do will reasonably be able to find it. But I noticed the "About You" section, which used to be more centrally located, and the collection of random ideas and references within. It reads, as of right now, as follows:

That's Ross the Boss to you.

BLACK TIE

Gibson EB-0, 1961 model

The Golden Winged Ship

"Nursery rhymes to a generation"

01189998819991197253

POTATO BACON BOMBS

Turbo encabulator master

...I prefer "eccentric".

And I thought that for once I'd dive into what each of these lines means...

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That's Ross the Boss to you.

Not meant to be arrogant at all. Just to be funny and introduce the idea that a lot of people know my quasi-nickname. While they won't often address me as such, it's a phrase that comes up occasionally, and it helps when introducing myself to offer up a cheeky little rhyming phrase.

BLACK TIE

A line from the ZZ Top song "Sharp Dressed Man". The specific line is this extremely low baritone repetition by what I assume was Dusty Hill. I was more intimately introduced to the song in Guitar Hero, where I grew to really love it. And that line just stuck out to me and still does. I suppose it's my Southern redneck masculinity calling.

Gibson EB-0, 1961 model

An actual guitar, but also a line from an episode of FLCL that I just find funny. And I do really like FLCL. There are a lot of silly random objects, themes, and ideas from that show that I enjoy referencing.

The Golden Winged Ship

Part of a line from the song "Castles Made of Sand" by Jimi Hendrix. The song is fairly clear in meaning. The last verse, though, has a more positive message, where a certain object stops someone from suicide. And on less heavy terms, I really want to be that for people. Not some shining, radiant naval vessel, but someone that at least improves other people's lives, makes them feel better about themselves, experience something new, or think in a different way.

"Nursery rhymes to a generation"

A line Edgar Wright used to his message to Nintendo to allow him to use Zelda music in Scott Pilgrim. I like it a lot, because it's extremely true. Chiptune as a genre exists almost entirely because of our collective affection for old games with limited sound-making capabilities.

01189998819991197253

A humorous sketch from the show The IT Crowd. I like British humor, and I believe this encapsulates it perfectly, including being hilarious.

POTATO BACON BOMBS

A specific line from a Patton Oswalt routine about the ferocious advertising that Black Angus started adopting. The idea of terrifying or challenging someone into eating at your establishment is way too funny. And Patton is one of my very favorite comedians. That video is not his best delivery of the bit, however.

Turbo encabulator master

The profession of expertise on the subject of a satirical video involving a metric fuckton of engineering terms. Sometimes I feel like I'm right in the middle of it all in my career. I'm never too sure of myself that I'm competent enough to be where I am. Also, hell, good science and engineering humor is hard to come by.

...I prefer "eccentric".

Something I thought up when I was making profiles a decade ago online. I had and still have quirks, and that was my way of pre-countering people who would call them out. I would at times do this to my detriment around antagonistic individuals, self-deprecating to the point of insignificance. Now I just find it a little funny.

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I've probably spent more time constructing my Facebook profile and online presence than most do. I'm probably far too preoccupied with how others perceive me than I need to be. But I don't get much intimate contact, in whatever form you might imagine that phrase to mean. So I put (most) everything about myself out there for people to see, always only if they wanted to. It's a quiet fantasy of mine that someone would look at my meticulously-constructed online identity, preferences, and output and think me interesting.

I'm not always so insecure and without self-esteem. It seems to wax and wane with what's going on around me. I feel that if I produced something creatively or just did something positive outside of work, it might make me feel a lot better. At least, if people cared about what I did. I can easily be proud of something I've created. But others liking it definitely helps!