About me

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
How?
Why?

Who?

Kimmo Kulovesi by name, called “Arkku” by some and strange by most.
Born on September 3., 1980.
Graduated from Suutarilan lukio, spring 2000.
Nine months of military service in 2000–2001, most of which was spent in a closet listening for submarines that weren't there.
Since then (fall 2001) a student at the University of Helsinki, Department of Computer Science.
Currently I'm also employed part-time by the university, as a research assistant in the Biomine project. I make software for bioinformatics, mostly.

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What?

Languages: I'm proficient in at least: Finnish, English, C, Ruby, Eiffel, Java, XHTML, CSS, Objective-C, Awk and sh. I also know a bit of: Latin, PHP, Scheme, SQL, Python, C++, TCL, JavaScript and French. In the past I've dabbled in, but since forgotten: Swedish, Pascal, Basic, various minor programming/scripting languages. I'm seeking to learn more.
Music: All kinds, from classical to black metal and from rock'n'roll to psy-trance, as long as it feels good (or bad in a good way). Some favorites (in no particular order) include Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Bob Dylan, The Zombies, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Belle and Sebastian, The Smiths, 10,000 Maniacs, Fields of the Nephilim, Joy Division, Arcturus, Skyclad, Theatre of Tragedy, Cradle of Filth, James, The Cardigans, Camera Obscura, The Walkabouts, Yo La Tengo, Death Cab for Cutie, Carole King, Tori Amos, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Morrissey, Dido, Robbie Williams, Mary Black, Alanis Morissette, Claudine Longet, 'Blackmore's Night, Frou Frou'', Pain of Salvation, Gary Numan, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, Midnight Oil, Blondie, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kingston Wall, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Del Shannon, Sex Pistols, Covenant, KMFDM, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Trio Töykeät, Editus, Gotan Project, Ultra Bra, Ludwig van Beethoven, The Tiger Lillies, Indica (the finnish group) and others.
Movies: Again, almost all kinds. The “feel” of a movie is more important to me than plot details, but I do like clever plots, too. Some favorite movies at the time of writing include: Lost in Translation, Before Sunrise, The Royal Tenenbaums, Before Sunset, The Incredibles, The Shawshank Redemption, Amélie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fight Club, Starship Troopers, The Others, Chicago, Moulin Rouge!, The Iron Giant, Shrek 2, Hotaru no haka, Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, Rear Window, Top Secret!, High Fidelity, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, Pulp Fiction, American History X, Garden State, Memento, The Green Mile, Requiem for a Dream, The Trouble with Harry, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Love Song for Bobby Long, From Here to Eternity. Indeed.
Books: Textbooks aside, fantasy and books set in the past (the 1930's and earlier) are my favorites, as well as some science fiction. Unfortunately, I get so immersed in the books I'm reading that I can't start a book unless I have several days to spend just reading (I like to read fiction slowly, to visualize and look around the world it takes me to). My number one favorite fantasy books are George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun. I recommend these especially to people who think fantasy books are just silly tales for children. Ask me more about them, I like to force my views and Correct Opinions on others. ;>
Roleplaying: I've been involved in roleplaying (the traditional pen and paper variety) for most of my life. I'm currently relatively inactive as a player, though I do occassionally play with other old and tired roleplayers. As for the eternal debate about the best rules system, my favourite is “whatever lets me focus on the roleplaying, not the rules”. My favorite setting is by far HârnWorld, but I'm not that picky when I'm not GMing... Another setting that I have an unhealthy fondness for is Paranoia, and not just as a joke (which is what most others unfortunately seem to take it as).
Computers: I have many computers. Most of them are “obsolete“ hardware, like Sun and Silicon Graphics workstations of old. I find these “real” machines, even if obsolete, much more interesting than the modern PCs which appear to be designed just for any average person to use for average things in an average way and swear about occassionally.
Operating systems: I use Mac OS X as my primary operating system for the desktop, and Ubuntu and Debian GNU/Linux for most other purposes. Some computers also have more eccentric systems installed, like IRIX, Solaris or OpenBSD. I made the switch to Linux from the major operating system that dominates PC hardware due to inertia (flame intended), and soon found that I can do pretty much everything with free software. ¹ Meanwhile, OS X provides a very good graphical user interface and has several well-designed (rather than accidentally popular) non-free programs available for my sinister purposes. Yet, the underlying *nix system also grants me the power and freedom I'm accustomed to under GNU/Linux. (So, I win.)
Computer games: I don't really like modern computer games, but some relics from the past are pretty good (e.g. Digger, Star Control II, Monkey Island II). However, the only computer game I spend time playing these days is #sanapeli, which is a game on IRCNet (in Finnish only), involving acronyms and some really twisted (yet arguably nice) people. It might be hard to get accepted by the “in-group” of the channel, though, but do persevere if truly interested. We are not as bad as we seem at first.
Board games: Unlike computer games, I enjoy board games a great deal. My favourites are ones that are easy to learn (not too many rules to remember) and yet offer enough variation to hold my interest. Carcassonne is one favourite, though we may have played it way too much.
Television: I don't watch TV broadcasts. At all. However, I do enjoy some TV shows, which I watch at my own pace and leisure. My favourite is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No matter what you probably think about it or my reasons for watching it, I honestly think it is very clever and an extremely well-made show and the best entertainment ever on television. I actually do sometimes cheer the characters on and applaud and laugh out loud at events... Well, that's scary. Shows that I have a less frightening relationship with include Firefly, Gilmore Girls, Jeeves and Wooster, Battlestar Galactica, Rome, Frasier, How I Met Your Mother and Studio Julmahuvi.
Other activities: Currently I'm trying to learn play the piano and the guitar, which is proving a bit difficult since I'm very self-critical and have no musical background at all. Well, I'm going to stick with it, no matter how long it takes... If you have any tips or suitable sheet music to share, please do tell me. =)

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Where?

Currently living in Helsinki, Finland.
Some part of my web presence can also be found on my other website at arkku.com.
I also regularly post photographs on flickr.
My collection of boardgames is viewable on BoardGameGeek. Friends are welcome to suggest playing any of these.

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I seem to be a nocturnal being. Every time there's a chance for me to mess up my sleeping pattern into something very unconventional, I do so. I usually find myself most active at nighttime, and asleep for much of the daylight hours (when possible). I can still see my reflection in the mirror, however.

It's not that I really care about keeping “normal” hours—I do quite love the night, and do not wish to be parted from it. At night it's a different world, with less disturbances (“static” as I like to call it) and more “magic”. At night, everyone out there seems special, since they have a purpose, a reason to be—even if it's just some excuse for being up so late.

However, this rhythm is decidedly inconvenient for studying, working and socializing with diurnal people. So, at any given time I'm usually trying to adjust my sleeping pattern one way or the other.

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How?

My Myers-Briggs personality type is INTJ², which I seem to match quite closely. One description³ of the personality type says:

The most important thing to INTJs is their independence and being able to live according to their own standards.

I agree. I don't like to compromise my ways or, on a higher level, my ideal of the world, even if that means breaking norm or tradition by not choosing the accepted, or easy, way. Not that I think it is possible for me alone to “save the world”, or even that my way is universally correct (for indeed, I don't think that possible in the first place). Still, to paraphrase Angel⁴:

The world needs champions, people who live as though the world were as it should be, to show what it can be.

I strive to be such a champion, even if only in my world (which is often very different from the so-called real world). I often choose not to worry myself over issues of the real world that do not touch me personally. Indeed, it seems to me that one could worry incessantly about the many, many flaws in our world, to no avail. So, I rather focus on the little things that affect my everyday life, in hope that it makes the world a little more perfect, a little more magical and a little more inspiring. I do believe it is possible for one person to change the world—and that it's worthwhile to attempt to do so—even if it's just their own private little world that changes. Let others follow if they like it.

It is common for me to inhabit worlds other than the real one—in fact, most of my favourite pastimes are about worlds of imagination and possibility. Sometimes this is just simple escapism, but more importantly it is a search for ideas and ideals that I haven't found a way to reach in the real world.

Whatever ideas I encounter, in this world or others, I have a tendency to tear apart, to see if and how they work. Sometimes this makes it seem like I'm a closed-minded person and opposed to any new ideas presented before me. This is not so, but rather the opposite is true. In fact, I am always open to and interested in new ideas, but I must tug at the seams before I can decide if they are worth accepting and incorporating into my world. In doing so I may even argue fervently a point I don't actually support. This seems to infuriate some people to great extent. Pity.

Do not expect INTJs to actually care about how you view them. They already know that they are arrogant bastards with a morbid sense of humor. Telling them the obvious accomplishes nothing. ⁵

While my manner may sometimes seem arrogant and my comments biting, I don't usually take things at all that seriously. I may carry on silly little arguments for hours, or perform intricate analysis (sometimes involving the construction of specialized software for this purpose) on insignificant problems. None of that implies in any way that I have serious opinions on the matter, on way or the other. I often like to do it for sake of learning and amusement—mostly my own.

Despite my fondness of argument and discourse, I tend to be rather “shy” or withdrawn in many social situations, especially with people I don't know well. I need some time and perspective to make sense out of things, and tend to err on the side of caution when uncertain. I also have very little respect for established social rituals and other traditions, which further confuses both myself and others. However, at the risk of sounding repetitious, I don't take that too seriously—you'll get along with me a lot better if you don't either.

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Why?

Why not?

Possibilities are often more potent than reality. I often find reality disappointing, since the imagined possibilities tend to be, in a way, more magical. Of course, most of the magic is in the act of imagining it, rather than in what is being imagined. Certain knowledge cuts the uncertain threads of imagination, and leaves just the one thread of (perceived) reality. This poses for me something of a paradox, since I thrive in the worlds of imagination and possibilites, but also seek to organize my world into tidy little fragments of certainty. Therefore I'm always moving from one pursuit of skill or knowledge to the next, to keep the quest alive—sometimes at the cost of abandoning my earlier projects.

Possibilities are what dreams are made of.

I find it enthralling to explore all the little things that shape the world, or rather the web of possibilities. I may spend hours just following one thread of cumulative possibilities and and planning out my choices in that reality, often at the expense of things that are already part of the reality. Sometimes this pays off when I set out to turn this planned world into reality, but at least just as often I just set it aside—perhaps to return there later, when my reality is nudged in that direction again.

[1] - “Free” as in free speech, not as in zero price.
[2] - Introvert, Intuitive, Thinker, Judger
[3] - See personalitytype.com
[4] - Yes, Angel the vampire from TV. The meaning here is intended in my context, not the show's.
[5] - From “Dealing with INTJ's”

About me

Contents

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

How?

Why?