i was born to parents of indiana stock on august 16th, 1977 -- the day elvis died. my mother regained consciousness to hear nurses gasping at the news. to this day, my birthdays are haunted by jailhouse rock marathons on local UHF channels. i should stop, now, and take a moment to provide a bit of a framework for the whole thing. for me. my name is jeff eaton, which you may or may not know know. i'm a lanky-tall brown-haired geek with a penchant for wordplay and a love of all things creative. i eat up art, film, music, philosophy, and the poetry of well-optimized code. i am an only child. i turned twenty-one a month or two ago, and celebrated with pizza and a "veggie tales" video tapes. i know how to party. i was once asked what my goal in life was, and replied "to love." i write, i program, i design things, and i wonder about the future. i read and i listen and i rant and i flame and i rub my eyes and i sigh as i think. i live in a small suburban town near chicago, where some of the houses actually have stereotypical white picket fences. down the street there are apartments crowded with asian children talking in languages i wish i knew. i ride my mountain bike to work each day, an act that carries vague hints of coolness in my mind, not unlike hiro protagonist still using a sword when a gun is much more effective. cars may be faster, but they can't jump curbs in a pinch the way i can. in my basement, i have a gaggle of computers staring at me. i name each one -- mel the laptop, hrothgar the powermac, and juanita the pentium box. i'll write more as i have the time; if you're terminally curious, drop me a line. conversation is always welcome...     [ more to come as i get time. go back home. ]