Brief Bio
I was born and raised in Louisiana but now live in eastern Nebraska with my wife, Sajida. (No kids yet.) We were happily married on July 5th, 2005. I'm 29. I'm the oldest of six...yeah, typical Roman Catholic family. I no longer hold the religious beliefs with which I was raised, however. I am currently a doctoral candidate in political science "at" Louisiana State University. I don't get out much; I mostly stay at home and work on my dissertation (when I'm not reading fiction, shooting, surfing the net, blogging, or watching tv, of course). My main interests in fiction are science fiction and fantasy. I am a member of the Eastern Nebraska Gun Club and I try go shooting at the range a couple times a month. I only own two guns so far: a semi-auto pistol and a 20 gauge shotgun. I also own an assortment of knives and swords. Unfortunately, my wife does not yet understand the many reasons why I became a gun owner and am so interested in guns, weapons in general, and martial arts. I'll have to change that! As far as my political philosophy goes, I am a libertarian anarchist. To split hairs, my political philosophy most closely corresponds to neo-Aristotelian/quasi- Randian/libertarian (or free market) anarchism and my politico-economic views are those of the Austrian School of Economics. In fact, I despise politics and state'smen. Given that, you might find it odd that I would pursue a Ph.D. in political science, but you know the saying "know thine enemy," right? What will I do after I graduate with my Ph.D. (hopefully in May/August 2008)? I'll probably try to get a job at a private liberal arts college, teaching and doing research. I'd like to write op-ed pieces too, however, and speculative fiction.
Academic Education
- Ph.D. Political Science (LSU, expected December 2008)
Dissertation: Aristotelian Liberalism: An Inquiry into the Foundations of a Free and Flourishing Society
Fields: Political Philosophy/Theory, International Relations, Philosophy
Committee: Cecil Eubanks (Chair), James Stoner, Ellis Sandoz, Mark Schafer, Ian Crystal, Louis Day - M.A. Philosophy (LSU, December 2006)
- M.A. Political Science (LSU, August 2004)
- B.A. History (LSU, May 2002)
- B.A. Political Science (LSU, May 2002)
- McNeese State University (1997-1999)
Martial Training
Military Training/Experience/Awards
- Battalion Intelligence NCO, Sergeant (E-5), HHC 3rd/156th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, Louisiana Army National Guard, January 1996 to 2002. Also served as Environmental Compliance Officer and emergency Combat Lifesaver.
- Army Achievement Medal: For duties performed during summer Annual Training, 2001.
- Commandant’s List: Primary Leadership Development Course class of January 1999.
- Certificate of Commendation: For duties performed during summer Annual Training, 1997.
- Distinguished Graduate: United States Army Intelligence School, February 1997.
Non-Military Firearms Training
- Concealed Carry Handgun: Nebraska (Signal 88 Security, September 2007)
- Concealed Carry Handgun: Utah and Flordia (ShootingSafely.com, January 2008)
Martial Arts Training
- 1st Degree Black Belt: Songahm Taekwondo (American Taekwondo Association, 1997)
Hobbies & Interests
Favorite movie? Equilibrium. You have to see it. Favorite (fiction) books? There are so many. I suppose my favorite series are J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, and R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden novels. Other greats are: Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury; The Golden Age trilogy by John C. Wright; just about anything by Robert Heinlein. I'm working on my own personal library. ;o) I listen to a wide variety of music from classical and celtic to alternative, rock, and heavy metal. My favorite bands are Metallica, Tool (and A Perfect Circle), Joydrop, Garbage, Green Day, and Evanescence. Oh...and we mustn't forget They Might Be Giants. Oldies but goodies: Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest. Metallica's most recent cd (St. Anger) sucks, however.
An old hobby of mine that I haven't had much time or a group for in a while is roleplaying. I started roleplaying offline when I was twelve. I haven't had the time or a group to roleplay with for a while though. I roleplayed online for over 3 years; I began sometime in '97 but took a 3 year hiatus after a couple of years, began again in July '03 and have once more retired (Dec. '04) to focus my time on school and my wife and possibly some fiction writing somewhere down the line. I've played a large number of offline RPGs. To name a few: Dungeons & Dragons (all but 1st Ed. AD&D), Palladium/Rifts/Heroes Unlimited/Nightbane, GURPS, White Wolf: World of Darkness (Mage: The Ascension, Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade, Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Wraith: The Oblivion), Immortal, Star Wars (West Ends Games and the d20 version), Star Trek,... Ok, that's not a few, and I could go on, but I'll spare you. Needless to say, my favorite type of character to play is a mage. Rogues, agile fighters, and martial artists come next.
Images
Me, at the 2005 IHS Social Change Workshop for Graduate Students
Me, at the 2003 IHS Liberty & Society Summer Seminar
My wife, Sajida.
Sajida and I during our July 5th, 2005 wedding.
For more wedding pictures, see here.
Cartoon Geoff and Saj
Mises
University 2005: I'm in black on the far right.
Here's a list
of the people, including me, who passed the optional Mündliche
Prüfung (oral exam).