Who, or what is Herne?

Herne is the public face that I display to the Internet.

The Internet is a scary place filled with many strange people who will often do strange things when you least expect it. Many people, especially the younger generation, will throw stuff up on the Internet without a single thought as to who (or what) is viewing it. Little do they know that the Internet is forever and things you post on the Internet often have the habit of coming back to haunt you at the most inopportune times.

I decided early in my online career that I would use a pseudonym to keep my private life private. I’ve had several nicknames over the years but I have been using “Herne” almost exclusively since around the time I started using the Internet about 13 or 14 years ago. Before becoming an Internet junkie, I spent a lot of time trolling, er frequenting electronic bulletin boards or what us old folks called the “BBS’es.”

Who is the man behind the name?

If you know the “real” me, or if for some reason you think you know me then I would appreciate it if you helped me reduce my “Internet footprint” and keep my private name private when dealing with my “public” image.

In the real world I play a middle-aged Canadian boy who has spent the last 10 years working for a Graphic Design firm that specializes in the scholastic textbook market. Before that I ran a printing press and did bindery services for a small printing company, and before that I was going through college (for the second time) in order to become a Forestry Technician. And in case anyone is wondering, I’ve been to college three times and I hold two diplomas. My first attempt at college, for Mechanical Engineering (CAD/CAM), ended in boredom.

Some people have accused me of having eclectic interests, although I think its just a nice way of saying that I’m really messed up, but I like to think of myself as a well-rounded individual with eccentric and often sardonic tendencies. On other fronts, I’ve been reading books since I was about 4 or 5—I first read The Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was about 8 or 9—and I’ve been fooling around with computers since the early 80’s. I also several other interests which include, but are not limited to, photography, travel, reading, writing, Design, and this little thing called the Internet.

What were my first toys?

The first computer I played with was a Commodore PET. Before using the PET I did some programming in FORTAN using paper punch cards. The first computer I owned was a Commodore 64, and a few years later I bought a Commodore Amiga 2000. Now I own a couple of flavours of PC running Windows XP and a Mac iBook (circa 2000) running OS X 10.3. At work I have a Mac G5 and with a 30″ cinema display.

I used to play Pong when it was a new thing, and I still love Lego.

We are the Herne. You will be assimilated.

And if you still want to know who Herne is, see the Wikipedia entry.