i could wax poetic about the value of friendship, what a priceless treasure it is, yadda yadda yammer yammer. but it would all be fluff. when it comes right down to it, these are people that i care about a lot and am fortunate to call my friends. to each one of them (and the folks I haven't had a chance to add yet), i luvvle* ya.
	presented in living technocolor, hi-fidelity stereo, and thoroughly randomized order...
	the sheena easton of animation and sound programming, aka nate words cannot express. nate and i have known each other since we were both wee little tykes, and deranged ones at that. both of us were homeschooled, which explains a lot, and we spent our formative years laughing our heads off at geek jokes, making wry comments to ruffians at the mccrone institute, and wishing ill on john saxon. nate is a programmer, a warrior-poet, a scottish monk, and a master of the flying-wedge barbarian attack. never let him get to your archers, i tell you! in the decade plus that i've known him, nate has become my best 'bud. now he's off in the wild and wooly land of california, writing optimized powerpc assembly code and trying to rebuild his plush monkey collection. he's as cool as they get: frnk frnk, nate!
	quinn mallory and sultry-voicemail-girl, aka michael and steph waaay back in the dim recesses of my net.memory, i stumbled onto an online roleplaying game called the nexus. unlike hack-and-slash dungeons and dragons clones, it was closer to improvisational acting in a sci-fi theme. just my cup of tea! the administrator of the game, a witty guy who went by the name 'quinn,' became a fast friend and we've been buds ever since. a few months later, his girlfriend steph jumped in; i got to know her as well, and i had the chance to watch a net.romance blossom into real life love and engagement. he, the anime lovin' scifi writer... she, the ani difranco hummin' UNIX head. it's been a pleasure getting to know both of them. just watch out for their cat. it likes to chew on noses.
	ant killer, aka vic what can i say? vic is another of my roleplay buds: my partner in angst and an inspiration in creativity. vic is the first person i ever met who captured what i call 'the caleb vibe': a combination of punkish independence, literate wit, and vulnerable honesty. a writer, a connoisseur of graphic novels, a movie critic... and a sly jokester as well. i'll pay you back for mason someday, you wag.
tragedy, aka alison. an online friend who's turned into a real life friend as well. in a word, she's cool. alison has given me great music advice, enlightened me about the mystery that is opera, and mauled me in checkers. tsk, tsk. there shall be a rematch! actress, singer, slinger of deep thoughts... alison is one of those wit-soaked reasons the net is still cool, the only member of the opposite sex who has called me 'babycakes' and lived to tell about it. soon she will be off in new york being professional and all -- no autographs, please, she's a busy woman. ;-) she is seen here posing with an unidentified stone lion that was too cool to pass up. 'nuff said. (um, sorry about stabbing you with that toothpick, it really was an accident...)
	the left side of the brain, aka david for a few months back in '97 on the hope station online game, david and i formed a single unified brain. it wasn't as scary as it sounds -- but it got out of hand when we started absorbing people into the collective. in any case, he's a genius with MOO code and C code and all kinds of code in between, an encouragement, a fellow lover of great scifi. a net.bud par excellence.
	the rmc irregulars, aka too many to list once upon a time there was a usenet group called rec.music.christian. the people there discussed many things, and occasionally even mentioned music! the mongoose found it, and said that it was good. it was a long time, however, before it said that mongoose was good. such is the way of usenet. i've bonded with the rmc gang, through flames and controversy and new releases and old musical reminisces and the like. though i rarely read the group anymore (it's far too active, alas), i manage to make it to the rmc picnic every year at the cornerstone festival. cyanide, matt, ed rock (the abbot of the moormc), beverday (debian hackwoman), clueless chuck pearson, jerry ray (he of the carman shirt), and many others have shaped my picture of the wacky and wonderful world that is the net. i'm glad i can call 'em my brothers and sisters in christ. (NEUROS! NEUROS!)
	tamster, the taminator, tameroonie. aka, tamela. a sister in christ and a partner in pondering, prayer, trials and encouragements. a fellow lover of the echoing green and a woman of uncommonly good taste in synthpop. anything box, ho! she introduced me to the musical stylings of chris rice, for which i am immensely thankful. i think she's trying to lure me out of my techno ghetto. ;-) tamela, among other talents, has a uniquely sample-worthy giggle. when i get a chance to upload it, you'll click here to hear it.
	the equipment and the band, aka jason and beck. two of my close compadres over the past couple of years. the architects behind the industrial-techno-noise group db:Sonica, they're also my fellow explorers in search of the world's best side dishes. (at present, the bavarian inn leads the 'shroom category by a wide margin. in the mozerella stick category, giordano's pizza in the chicago area is the current leader.) beck serves the contemplative vocalist slash guitarist; she claims to be hardcore, but the general consensus is that she doesn't have the inherent mean-ness to pull it off. deacon kontz dubbed her 'adore-a-core,' prompting a round of applause from all present save beck, who buried her head in her arms and groaned. jason is my anime-appreciatin', techno-lovin' wackiness-spreadin' partner in crime. god bless 'im. jason's not hardcore either. i have photos of him cuddling infants and kittens to prove it. don't believe him when he says they're retouched.
	china*blue, miri, dorcas & iona. aka maria, kathryn, deb, and... well, iona. [the snow people] my first ever home on the 'net (outside the toasty witless confines of america online) was a moo called snow. there i learned the strange ways of telnet and camped out in the black sun... over the years i've made some uberspiffy friends. kathryn, my fellow patron of the arts and a poet whose talent i can't express. maria, the listening ear and legal eagle extraordinare. iona! my fellow petra victim! deb! ever grappling with hardware and management, ever wry and compassionate. you're all treasures. never stop growing and hoping and dreaming and mooing.
	sailor moon, aka kristin if there's ever a person to talk to over a cup of coffee at 4am, it's her. a lover of great 80's music, a collector of john cusack movies, and a general all around spiff person. i still have the copy of 'scuffy the tugboat' she sent to cheer me up; i never did chew the bubblegum, though. she's another of my friends from the hope station online game, and a co-conspirator in the now-infamous angst incidentTM. she's currently cruising through her studies deep in the heart of iowa, on her way to stardom. hopefully she'll remember the little people when she makes it big.
capuccino girl, aka jenfur. one of my wacky pals from the chicagoland concert circuit; we cross paths at punk shows, sarah masen shows, and everything in between. seen here in 'cyberpunk molly' mode, and posing with her world-famous floatie. don't let the mountain-dew-addict act fool you; she's quite the poet.
	[ more to come as i get time. go back home. ]
	* luvv-le: a verb coined by the administration of the hope station: phoenix online game after grousing about the vagueness of the word 'love.' luvvle is, roughly, deep care and affection for a close friend. while not excluding romantic attraction, it is far deeper. it also makes a squoosy sound, not unlike a muppet being stepped on.