academics, coursework, concentration, and interests

I am John Brier. I'm concentrating in Internet Studies under IDS and minoring in Political Science. I like Internet Studies because it allows me to take courses with a broad range of topics that I am interested in. I take technical courses like Computer Science, Electronic Imaging etc and social science courses like Gender, Race, and Class in the Anthropology department. I am interested in technology and it's uses as well as social issues and politics. I don't necessarily have a thesis on how all these topics can be tied together but it is obvious that they interact and by looking at them together one could draw interesting conclusions. I am interested in social justice though I sometimes find it difficult not to be apathetic. I worry about the radical changes occuring on earth and their possible negative effects.

I am also a computer geek, running game servers, file servers, a computer gamer etc. I could probably be classified as an internet addict but it's only psychological, not physical so that's ok, right? I like using technology and configuring it yet at the same time I do not always jump at the opportunity to further intergrate it into my life. I like being human only at times. I do not want a bluetooth earpiece for my cell phone, though I can see that as a stepping stone toward bionic computer devices. My interest in technology and computers played a large role in my decision to choose the Internet Studies concentration as it included many things I was already interested in.

I also like Electronic Dance Music. I have been listening to techno, house, drum n bass, breaks etc. for about six years or so and it is my major musical genre of interest in addition to others. I like dancing to it and regularly travel to clubs to listen and dance to it. I also like to play ultimate frisbee and ride my road and mountain bikes.