Keinall "K31" Caddle, aka Lord Granitor, is an accomplished weirdo who occasionally writes software. Other than that, he remains mostly a mystery, especially to his family, who have no idea why he spend so much time "on the computer".
He kindly agreed to this rare interview (conducted by his pencil, Glenn):
Glenn: So, what do you do with your computer that you can't do with me, punk? Pencils are great people. You should spend more time with them. Hint, Hint! [ Glenn has since left Kei... details linked. ]
Kei: Listen, you deplorable excuse for a piece of tree! Are you listening? I said, are you listening?
Glenn: Yes--
Kei: Shut up when I'm talking to you!
Glenn: But--
Kei: I said -- I said shut up! (thumps the desk threatenly).
[Kei smiles and his radiant expression reveals that he was only feighting anger]
Kei: Well, I work on HTML documents... which I find to be easier to read than the scribbles that I may write with pen or pencil. I am more comfortable with HTML than I am with particular word processor formats, as HTML is an open standard (well, esp. with the simplicity of my stuff), so I know I can always read back what I wrote. This is in contrast to the tons of information that I had to leave behind when I abandoned the C64 platform.
Glenn: So, why do you like computers?
Kei: Actually, I almost hate modern computers... in general, anything which can run Windows 9x, I have developed a predisdain for.
I have similar feelings about cars, which is why I'm learning to fly (although that mission is currently on pause for financial reasons).
Glenn: Why do you dislike modern computers?
Kei: Well, they tend to restrict my freedom. I like to be able to express myself... PC hardware is mostly closed, so I don't have a prayer of writing my own OS/OE to run on my box. PC system software is closed and expensive. PC productivity software is the same. The environment for PCs is somehow coupled to the system (this defies sensible system design logic, I believe... it makes no sense to me), so even if I could look past the instability of the underlying system, it is practically impossible to build a good-feeling environment on top of it.
Glenn: So, to make it short, PC hardware is no fun, Windows is expensive and no fun, and ... what about Linux?
Kei: Linux takes a lot of time an devotion... and it is only now that I've decided to go and study for a degree that I have some pockets of time opening up, I don't want to kill them all with one OS. I don't even like programming, it's just a means to an ends, I hope.
Glenn: What end?
Kei: Fun. Expression. My thousands of hours and dollars invested into building and programming computers has all been to cross the line from consumer to producer, but, in my native paradigm, I see it as expression rather than compliance. It is a for of rebellion... but so far, one which hasn't yielded the fruits of happiness that I yearn for. They have been fruits, but also, much frustration, and I wonder if it is really worth it...
Glenn: Do you have other hobbies?
Kei: I do now, but most are expensive in either time or money, which makes pursuing them a bit difficult. Reiki, Capoeira, Aviation, Jui-Jitsu... those are other hobbies of mine. My main one currently is expression, either in words and drawings (nothing publicly available), or in kode (such as this VM1 thingy).
Glenn: What exactly is VM1?
Kei: VM1 stands for Virtual Machine 1. However, it is more accurate to call VM1 a project to create experimental pico machines.
A pico machine is a cross between a scripting engine and a virtual machine, but designed to be embedded in a specific applicaiton on a specific platform. So its applicaiton is much smaller than that of a virtual machine such as the JAVA virtual machine, or even the UnrealScript engine. Pico machines are just a notch above metadata.
Glenn: What does SCR4 stand for?
Kei: Well, SCR2 stood for Secret Chip Release 2, because I packaged together a snapshot of my work for the ledgendary Master Chip ( http://c99.dyndns.org/ ) to see... but SCR4 doesn't actually stand for anything, it is mearly { SCR2 += 2 ; } i.e. what I did after the SCR2 release, including write this document.
Glenn: Any other comments?
Kei: "Romance is not a human trait, but, rather, a human disease, a plague upon the Earth".
More seriously, there is a growing tension between traditionalists and adventuresome people. The main reason why it hasn't come to a head is that the latter group tend to sidestep the former rather than go head to head... but keep persecuting geniuses with excessive dosages of Ritilan (or whatever), and the backlash... may not even be a backlash. The next generation will just be too stupid to advance society.
For the first time in history, it may actually be possible for he Earth to be inherited, not by those who were born into ownership, but by people who have the capacity to understand that all of man's knowledge, being from God, is an extension of the journey to mirror his creative ways.
Glenn: Um, I was hoping for a "Hi, mom" or something.
Kei: Well, that's part of my point... you're annoyed because I didn't act like a robot and follow some silly ritual. I dared to be honest, and incidentally, novel. Novelty is the stuff that men (humans) were made for. Rituals are for robots, men only acted like robots until we could invent them.
Glenn: Oh. Okay.
Kei: Splendid. The meek shall inherit the Earth.
K31. Friday, 7 Sept. 2001. Originally written on Sept. 2.