Profile

"It's as if his entire life and thought process is a professionally cultivated advertising blurb." - dragonmonkey

"Complex. Thought-provoking. Reminds me of a nice, smooth liquor." - kitiara

"Self-aggrandizement, wry cultural commentary, and the occasional laugh-out-loud moment. In that order." - jette

"I think you have an amazing talent for words, whatever you write, but I so enjoy the words from the heart. You write them beautifully." - Rasee

He's a real hoot to talk to. Tip: If you ever get to speak to him in realtime, say hello, then put your seatbelt on. Or just lay down on the floor so you don't waste time falling out of your chair. It also hurts less that way. As well, I recommend facial exercises a day or two in advance, so as to minimize the risk of cramping from prolonged ass-off laughing. - bride

I cannot help but smile every time I think of him. Wit sharper than any dagger, he is a dangerous character. He has a unique ability to delve inside a person and discover who they are from the inside. Our only safety is that he is kind, and conscientious with other people, and cares for the happiness of his friends. - kiad

You are living proof that there's a devil ... and that he likes you. Is there such thing an Asian devil? Like an anti-Buddha, a really skinny guy who hates everybody? - michaelduff

(in response to the question: "Can you even imagine such a thing as a Asian pimp?")
Actually, if I had to picture what an Asian Pimp would be like, it'd probably be someone like you. - candid

He's a life entrepreneur in the truest sense of the world. He's an insatiable reader. Excellent impersonator (and humorist -- see his Apple Switch Ad spoof). Thoughtful businessperson. Our conversation yesterday flowed smoothly from technology to relationships, from psychology to personal finance. Not only was I in the flow -- an hour and a half felt like a couple minutes -- I also had scribbled so many notes in my pad that later that night I thought to myself, "I could write 10 blog posts on all this stuff." - Ben Casnocha

Handle: 'pjammer'
Ht: 6'0
Wt: 185
Jacket Size: 42L
Enneagram: 8w7
Caliber of Choice: .45 ACP

Agitator, essayist, yuppie, subversive, perpetual student and corporate Tyler Durden.

I am: vegetarian/libertarian/extropian/ENTP.
Graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where I spent six years earning vocationally worthless degrees in physics and economics while trying to avoid the inevitable confrontation with reality that awaited me upon graduation.

I am:

- amateur triathlete
- former competitive rower (starboard-side, lightweight class)
- posessed with the indefatigable curiosity we all had as children, lost to many as they enter adolescence
- a freakishly effective listener/interviewer: people are unnerved at how easy it is to tell me secrets within days (or sometimes hours) of meeting me that they've kept from loved ones for years. My ex attributes this to what she described as a "disarmingly innocent presence." With this attribute, I would have made a good pastor/priest, except for the fact that I'm areligious; I would have made an effective 'psychic,' except for the fact that I find mysticism abhorrent, and I could have been an outstanding law-enforcement interrogator, except for the fact that I'm wanted in six countries under seventeen aliases for various acts of sabotage, political engineering and subversion.

Since graduating from college, I have:

- worked as a mergers & acquisitions analyst at a Wall Street investment-banking firm (consequently learning far more about financial modeling shortcuts in Microsoft Excel than I ever wanted)
- lived/worked in three different states and served a vocational stint in Asia
- dated a Playboy Playmate (True)
- raised my alcohol tolerance to a still-pathetic four drinks
- as a tourist, visited the DMZ border between North and South Korea ... one of the last relics of the Cold War
- still haven't found what I am looking for

At my best, I am:

- a fiercely loyal friend who will rally to those everyone else has abandoned
- a natural storyteller/entertainer, with an ear for clever use of language
- a cheerfully optimistic personal coach to people whose happiness I take an interest in protecting
- a master of creative improvisation (MacGuyver was my childhood television hero - and still is, in many ways)


Things I like:

- the cathartic sensation of a hot shower after a morning run
- the feel and smell of new books
- people with a passionate sense of curiosity and can still look at the world with childlike sense of wonder
- driving a stick-shift sport sedan down a winding road on a crisp autumn morning
- writing and receiving physical letters
- the sound of laughter

On balance, my days are good ones, occasionally punctuated with moments I want to preserve forever and moments I wish I could erase.

These are chronicles of a journey 30-odd years in the making ... and a sanctuary (of sorts) where I can rest my feet and hone my storyteller chops. Thoughtful comments are the ultimate form of flattery, and I count myself rich for the words readers offer in response to my musings.

Talk to me. You know you want to. :)

---

張敦楷

LiveJournal Trading Cards Permanent Account Edition pjammer User Number: 14765 Date Created:2000-09-1 Number of Posts: 633 A hurricane of energy and activity - eight-year-olds wired up on a litre of cola have a hard time keeping up. Strategist, opportunist, consigliere and (for those who can put up with him) loyal friend. Strengths: Inventive. Intense. Polymath. Fearlessly indifferent to social convention. Boundless energy. Weaknesses: Disorganized. Easily distracted. Prone to shallowness. Impulsive. Known to be blunt and tactless. Situationally lazy. Obsessive. Inexplicable love of horrible 80s hair bands and power-ballards. Special Skills: Improvisational skills par excellence. Capable of combining insights/tools from disparate professions to create working solutions from otherwise intractable situations. Graduate of the "Gordian Knot" school of problem-solving. Weapons: .357 Magnum S&W 627 .45 ACP SIG-Sauer P220 CRKT folding knife Attire: Monday -> Friday: Brooks Brothers, Ascot Chang, Robert Talbott, Hickey-Freeman Saturday/Sunday/Evenings: Mountain Hardware, corporate/promo t-shirts, jeans, running shorts, flak jacket.

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The hunter kills the wolf only in the stories that humans tell. Beasts have their own tales to weave.
We are not men, disguised as mere dogs. We are wolves, disguised as men.

- Hachiro Tobe, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly towards aristocratic forms. No government in history has ever been known to avoid this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, the government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class-whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy.

-Politics as a Repeat Phenomenon: Bene Gesserit Training Manual


Thereafter he walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road, and when he saw a tiny ant toiling by, he would step over it, so as not to harm it. The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything.

"You people with hearts," he said, "have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart, of course, I needn't mind so much."

- L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz