Hello. I’m Matthew Graybosch, originally from New York in the United States. When I can, I typically use the alias “starbreaker”. I’m a writer and musician by choice, a programmer by necessity, and a metalhead by the grace of the witch. You can reach me at contact@starbreaker.org.
You may have seen this introduction on my home page. That was the short version. Here’s the long one.
contents
work
I have a day job as a software developer. I currently work at Deloitte for my sins, but I’m looking for a better deal. I work mainly with Microsoft tech at my day job, but at home I prefer GNU/Linux and BSD.
writing
I’m the author of the novels Without Bloodshed and Silent Clarion, as well as short stories like “The Milgram Battery” and “Limited Liability”. You might even have read them. If not, they’re on my fiction page.
music
I play the viola and bass guitar, both poorly. I’m also learning to play the piano, but don’t expect me to put on a recital any time soon. I’m still getting the hang of playing with both hands.
hobbies
When I’m not working to further enrich the already wealthy, I operate this website, read randomly, work out with barbells, play ultraviolent Japanese video games, and generally have the stereo cranked too loud.
I built this website myself with a makefile and a few shell scripts that I wrote. If this doesn’t ring any bells, don’t worry; all it means is that I sometimes do things the hard way for no other reason than that I damned well can. I’ve been comfortable with command line interfaces my entire life, so it’s natural that I should make my own tools.
location
I live in central Pennsylvania with my wife, two cats, and a dog. Being a typical middle-aged American man, I don’t have any friends. But since I didn’t have friends growing up, either, I am better-prepared for solitude than most men my age.
pets
I’ve got a couple of cats and a dog.
My cats are named Smudge and Purrseus.
Smudge is named for a smudge of white on his nose; I suspect his father was a Maine Coon cat but I can’t prove it, and his mother was a tiny tortoiseshell cat. He’s still very active for his age, but he’s also a querulous coeurl.
Purrseus I named for his tendency to purr loudly at the slightest provocation and his fearlessness as a kitten. We got him out of my mother’s garden, where he had been separated from his mother too young and abandoned.
My dog is a rescue named Addie; we haven’t tried to change her name because she has problems enough as a trauma puppy. Her arrival in the household has turned Purrseus into a big pussy, but Smudge doesn’t take any shit and will hiss at her if she tries to climb into my lap.
politics
My politics are generally antiauthoritarian, and defined primarily by hostility toward self-righteous assholes regardless of ideology.
If that’s too esoteric for you, try listening to “We Hate Everyone” by Type O Negative until you get it.
religion
I’m an agnostic atheist. I don’t know if the gods are real, and I don’t believe in them, but I could be wrong. (This is not your cue to proselytize.)
If that’s too dull, try this: heavy metal is my religion, Lemmy is my god, and my god was killed by death.
identity
Whenever the subject of identity comes up I find myself suppressing an urge to paraphrase André Malraux: What
is a man? A miserable little pile of identities!
Nevertheless, some people find it helpful when others state their preferred pronouns because it makes them feel safer to do it themselves, so here’s the deal: I’m fine with male pronouns and the singular they. Use either at your discretion.
more…
If you’re still curious about me or determined to have a parasocial relationship with yet another opinionated asshole on the internet, you might gain further insight into me by reading my posts and fiction.