This page is a gamble based on the premise that you might be interested in who I am and why I maintain this site. Essentially it comprises a brief biography, though there are those who would call it an ‘about’ page, and some speculative rambling. I try not to think about it too much in an effort to avoid cliché.
Realistically, there is very little to write about. I’m an entirely unremarkable man with little to recommend further discussion beyond the ranting entries in my blog and an interest in the unusual. I have, however, never been one to act on recommendations or sage advice, much preferring to learn by bitter experience. So we start with a name.
My name is James, my real name that is; though out here in the badlands of the intertubes I go by many guises, as do we all. Nunoncastors is merely the eldest of many ‘nommes de net’ and, I suppose, the first face that the majority of people out here get to meet. There are others of course, but they’re seldom used, pseudonyms can be strange like that.
After all, why would a man named James, a man bereft of religious belief or compulsion, name himself nunoncastors and proceed to bear the mantle for over a decade? I’m not entirely sure, truth to be told, the name itself sprang from the air one drunken lunchtime at college and, half-formed and ravenous, grappled itself to me with hoops of iron, forever confusing those who, not unreasonably, assume that I’m actually a nun or, at the least, a woman.
The facts
Name: James
AKA: Martin, Seamus, Beardface, Jim
Age: 27
Location: Nottingham, UK
Gender: Male
Star sign: Virgo
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Two
Political leanings: Liberal Humanist
Religious Views: Atheist
The background
I, for my sins, am a Nottingham lad, born and bred. I’ve somehow managed to avoid the thick-sounding accent, a virtue I put down to being raised south of the river, and I tend not to indulge in the knife-crime and violence for which my city is now widely renowned. I fear this may preclude me from being ‘proper Nottn’m’, but it’s something that I can live with, much like my support of Notts County FC.
Work-wise I’m all about IT, a career that I drifted into by blagging and displaying a decent grasp of logical progression. I discovered too late that computer support roles, be they helpdesk or network administration, are utterly thankless in their nature and plagued by the machinations of idiots. I suspect that everyone feels like this about their job, it remains little comfort.
The interests
I have a few, I suppose. I quietly enjoy messing about with my computer on account of inherently nerdy tendencies and a general mistrust of sunlight and the outdoors*. Books, particularly classics, also occupy a great deal of my time possessed, as I am, of the opinion that reading is this world’s single most important indulgence and the reason why I hoard them.
Books aside, I’m a great fan of going to the theatre, secret doors and cycling. Cycling itself used to be a minor interest, now however, it serves as my primary means of transportation and as something fun to do on the weekend. There was a time, not all that long ago, when the idea of cycling nine miles to work would have caused me to baulk and shiver, but no longer, now it’s a distance barely worthy of note; exercise and all that.
My hunt for the ultimate Cajun chicken sandwich continues, along with my habit of collecting postcards and hats. We all have our foibles.
Then there’s history, a subject I find endlessly fascinating if too nebulous to properly get my head around. I’m rubbish with dates. I think my penchant for castles, wars and feats of derring-do rather hobbles the scope of my interest too, though a general rule of thumb is that anything featuring people acting beyond the supposed limits of human nature will grab my attention. Indeed, I’m forever in awe of what can be achieved through sheer bloody-minded determination, take Ernest Shackleton for example. Balls the size of mellons.
I’m a little eccentric, I guess, for I like wondering about the why’s and wherefore’s of the world and have a thing for cathedrals, the countryside and watching stars. I’ve no idea if they count as interests, but there you are.
And so to music, I love music. Everyone loves music, everyone who has ever lived. A statement is featured on every ‘about’ page ever written like some unspoken law. But it’s true. I’m yet to find another living person, with functioning ears, who doesn’t like music, they simply don’t exist. Just don’t talk to me about Country and Western.
Things also enjoyed by James: foreign language films, photography, history, literature, unusual graffiti, lunch, exciting hats, oddities, all sorts of other things, and skiing. You’d be better off asking really.
*This is a complete lie. I love being outdoors, even if I don’t like wearing shoes.
The site
As for the site itself… Well, I started writing this rubbish in order to remain sane, which sounds rather melodramatic – and indeed, who doesn’t like a bit of melodrama? – but is nonetheless true. A friend of mine likened the whole process to the emergency pressure valve on a steam tank whereby, instead of turning in on myself as in the past, I now spit out a diatribe and relax. In turn, this results in my being less vitriolic and bleak in the real world; a good thing, by all accounts, and a view with which I’m inclined to agree.
The concept that they were trying to express, doubtless, is that of catharsis, which is precisely what this site represents for me. Initially it was never really intended for other people to read, with the exception of friends, and it certainly wasn’t intended to garner an audience, it was simply something to focus on instead of all the hate and bile I seem to continuously produce and, indeed, somewhere to store it.
Despite this, people pop along now and again for a bit of a read, and that’s nice. I’ve no idea what interest the ramblings of an intractable bastard hold, but evidently there is something. In a roundabout way I appreciate that, and find it curiously gratifying.
Contact
Even a misanthropic bugger like myself likes to hear from people now and again. Not too often, obviously, but now and again.
Instant messaging
AIM: Top Secret! (ask)
ICQ: Also top secret.
MSN: Massively secret.
Yahoo: Less secret.
Google Talk: The most secret.
Gaming
Xfire: nunoncastors
Steam: [5punk] nunoncastors / nunoncastors
Social networking & Travel
Facebook: James - well, you’ll know if you’re supposed to.
TravBuddy: nunoncastors
Just don’t be a knob about it.
Latest Comments
RSS