About Πολιορκητικα

Poliorketika refers to the Byzantine collection of the classic manuals on siege warfare (poliorcetics) which were updated and supplemented in the context of the tenth and early eleventh centuries.

“If army commanders carefully complete with logic and continuous diligence these siege machines, which have been selectively compiled for description and illustration, and always contemplate divine justice, they will easily capture cities, especially those of afar and themselves suffer nothing fatal from the God-damned enemy.” ~ Heron of Byzantium

However, since none of you particularly care about any of this and would probably much rather know something about the person responsible for this content, I shall attempt to provide you with a brief, yet semi-coherent introduction. While it is difficult to anticipate the kind of questions you might want to ask, I shall attempt to answer them none the less. If you haven’t been able to deduce the basics on your own, hopefully it won’t come as a great shock to learn that I am a human being (barely) of the male genre and while there are no clear-cut guidelines in such matters, it is fairly safe to call myself “middle-aged”. I’m a member of the “never-married” species, a subset of the “single” genus. Last time I checked, I had 46 non-mutated chromosomes and no children. Okay, the chromosome count was probably something you wouldn’t have asked.

You would be unable to deduce my career as a web developer from a chronological summary of my educational achievements. I am the proud owner of both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies. I’ve been designing and developing for the internet since the time you had to pay to use it by the minute. My very first website sported a silky purple background tile and an image of Darth Vader. It was truly glorious and I’ve been in love with the internet ever since.

I have a wide range of hobbies which I use to fill the non-reimbursed time of my waking state. I love to study languages and have a rudimentary working knowledge of both Russian and Japanese. I unfortunately also have the habit of confusing the two, sometimes using words from one language when I’m trying to speak the other, a skill I’m sure will prove very useful when the Russians and Japanese unite to overthrow the world. Also, I have recently begun the challenging task of teaching myself to play the cello. This is a daunting task not because I am a poor teacher, but it turns out to my surprise, I am a rather poor student. If the student would spend as much time practicing his cello as he spends playing Rock Band guitar, I would be one very proud teacher indeed.

Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to point out I also have the distinction of being singled out by God for inclusion in His family and a recipient of an inheritance in His kingdom. I have often questioned the wisdom of His selection as I have accomplished nothing close to warrant being worthy of such an honor, but it turns out only those who recognize their unworthiness are even considered. This distinction was made possible by a grant from Jesus Christ at the cost of His life and if my adoration of Him offends you in any way, I do not apologize. If you do not adore Him yourself, it is only because you haven’t met Him yet. If you would like to meet Him, I recommend opening a Bible and reading one of the Gospels. You could of course meet Him in any of the books contained in the Bible though you may have to look a bit harder.

If after all that, you still wish to know more about me, check out my Infrequently Asked Questions page and if that still isn’t enough, feel free to contact me directly.