The facts:
My name is Gordon Byrnes. I’m 21, and currently a senior at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, majoring in History. I grew up in Juneau, Alaska — a beautiful but dark and eternally wet place. I’m not sure where I would call home right now. I’ve no plans to return to Alaska, but don’t see myself sticking around for long in Portland. We’ll see where life takes me.
This page is my attempt to reestablish a web presence after I let the old site languish. Right now, there isn’t a lot here. I’ve got a blog, which I’m going to focus mostly on the world of technology, simply because it’s easier to write when you have a topic… I’ve also got a link to my reasonably large photo gallery, mostly of my travels around the country and world (probably the most interesting thing here right now).
Things I like:
- Traveling. Can’t beat it. Closer to home, I’ve been through much of Alaska, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia. My family used to try and go to England every other year when I was growing up. In mainland Europe, I’ve also spent some time in Germany. In the summer of 2007, I spent three days in North Korea, the least visited, most isolated, repressive nation on earth. This was definitely the most amazing and surreal trip I’ve ever done. Definitely check out the DPRK photos and video in the gallery. On the same trip I also got to spend about a week in Beijing — a vibrant and amazing city (Though the air in the city could be mistaken for a chemical weapon, so be forewarned) and took a trip to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China — an absolutely gorgeous place (and it doesn’t burn when you inhale). Again, photo gallery. I’m hoping my next foreign adventure will be in Iran.
- The Outdoors. Cycling, hiking, climbing. I go a bit crazy if I can’t get out and about regularly, although College is not overly conducive to this.
- Reading. I’m not going to do a whole list here, but these days it’s mostly non-fiction — whatever gets recommended to me or catches my eye. When I’m in the mood for some light reading, I’m quite fond of Stephen King.
- Technology: Computers, gadgets, software, following the latest developments in the tech industry. It’s fun.
Why Celestial Frontiers?
Because picking a good domain name is hard. My site was originally on the domain lordofthecows.com (which I still own). It was quirky and catchy, and in my opinion, there is just something inherently funny about cows. Eventually I decided it was a bit too comical (about the time I faced putting a lordofthecows.com email address on job applications), and I should go with something a bit more dignified-sounding domain. I really don’t know why I went with Celestial Frontiers. Maybe because it’s neutral yet vaguely futuristic-sounding. I still like the logo from the old site:
Behold! The mighty circle cow!
Software
I used to do some Mac software development, but got out of it. An application of mine called Safari Enhancer (A web Browser enhancement for Safari) was pretty popular for a time, although has been discontinued for some time. If you came here looking for that app, I don’t make it available anymore, as it doesn’t work on the latest versions of the Mac OS. The old support materials are still available on the forums, should you be looking for them.