Tom Elmer's Homepage

Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist....Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind....I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.
What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule [is] equally arduous in actual and intellectual life [...] It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy to live in solitude after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

"As Seen on TV"

I won an R&D 100 award! (Click the link to see more info.) For our patents, please go here and here.
I've uploaded a gallery of some of my photography on Wikitheus. Check it out.
Does anyone even read personal webpages anymore?

This page conforms to strict XHTML 1.0, therefore it makes heavy use of cascading style sheets (CSS). If there are problems with the page you may need to upgrade / downgrade your browser. (i.e. Netscape 4.x claimed to support css, but it just really screws up. An older version isn't affected and the latest version looks good...) Of course, this page still looks fine in Lynx :-)

These pages will be more focused on content, with an aim at simplicity in basic layout. (as opposed to the multiple backgrounds and frames of TE's Homepage v2.4 (1996-2000).) ('simplicity' is a bit of a misnomer, since it's actually more complex with the CSS... However, the CSS allows me to minimize bandwidth, while still keeping the artistic touch.)

"Who Are You?"

People have been asking me for a long time to pin my life down and classify who I am on my web page. I believe that the question 'Who am I?' is a question that can never be completely answered, but is a continual process of discovery. I have an insatiable curiosity and so many interests / hobbies that I've always been wary of locking myself down on 'paper'. (Just take a look at some of the stuff on my old philosophy page :-) All I can say is 'this is part of who I was at one time'.

Basic stats:
Name:	Thomas Wayne Elmer II
Names I have answered to:	Tometheus, T'Om, Shadow of Light, Father O'Riley, Fred, The Fat Prophet, Big Worm, Wally, Hey You, Yom (Once in a while I'll answer to Tom or Tommy, but that gets so confusing.)
Names credit card companies have used:	Tometheus T Elmer
Birth:	19740318, Ft. Leonardwood, MO (USA) (My mom always said she was in misery, but I just think she didn't know how to spell Missouri.) Born at 20:12CDT (01:12UTC) In 1974, due to the 'Oil Crisis', the US Congress expanded Daylight Saving Time to 10 months, so I was born in Daylight Saving Time. Now, DST starts in April, so my birthday is and will be in Standard Time, 19:12CST. (...and people wonder why I want to abolish DST / time zones :-) 2007 update: Thanks to another act of regress -- er congress, my birthday is finally back in DST. Hooray??
Description:	(see the pictures) Blue-gray eyes, brown hair, beard, glasses, third arm, seven tentacles, twelve eyes, and two buttons.
Sex:	Yes, please
Sexual preference:	More, please
Marital status:	My mop and I get along great. It's a great listener, just soaking in everything I say. Just throw a couple of cheap drinks at it and it's already wet. It's a lousy kisser though. Sometimes it strings me along too. At times I think it's secretly flirting with the neighbor's broom, but I can handle that.
Ancestry:	Irish, Scottish, Welsh, German, English, Chickasaw. How many generations should I go back? In the end, we're all Africans. (Unless you believe the Bible, in which case we're all Arabs.) Personally, I think I'm of Neandertal stock ;-) Of course, I'm the only person in the world who would understand that joke because I haven't finished writing that book yet, but alas... You know it's bad when you make inside jokes with yourself. Hush Tom! You don't want your visitors to think you're crazy! I am not! Huh? You're writing out loud again!
Occupation:	Computers, Reading... Oh,right! Occupation, not PREoccupation. see the My Work section below.
"What do you want?"	Computers, Books, to be emperor of Centauri Prime, you know, the usual. Here's my Wish List.
"What is your favorite color?"	Blue! No, BLAAaaaaaaaa.....

"What Are You Doing This Weekend?"

I think the best thing to describe my interests is 'eclectic'. I like to do so many things. I like art, science, philosophy, hiking, travel, etc, etc. You could probably sum up a lot by saying I'm a newness junkie. When my brain is at full tilt, I will often get bored with things easily, so I sometimes need to try something completely different for a little while just to be able to focus again. Future sections will be devoted to these interests:

My Art
drawing, photography, acting, writing (current project(s)), cooking is an art too :-)

Science and Technology
Physics (particularly astrophysics and nuclear Physics), archaeology/anthropology (mythology), computers / internet, observations of mutant clover specimens.
Since these webpages are more of an expression of my artistic side, not too much will likely go up on the science pages.

Turtles
The Turtle Lives! Turtles in myth and legend, turtles in art, my turtle shrine

Art and Literature
Books (some Quotes) , Storytellers (a.k.a. mythology), philosophy, music, theatre, (both real and fake - a.k.a. TV/movies), architecture, etc.

"But What Do You DO?"

Pictures of me
	Picture taken soon before I entered first grade (Muskogee, OK) Date: 1980?
	High school senior picture (Mesa Grande Academy, Calimesa, CA) Date: 199111 Photographer: House of Portraits Edited by James McNeill
	Department Picture 1995 (La Sierra University Physics Department) Date: 199510 Photographer: Dr. Ed Karlow
	We call this the 'Great Turtle Spirit Dance'. Taken on a trip around the US with Jana before she moved. I was just testing the waters of the Great Lakes :-) Date: 19970628 Where: Mackinac Bridge, MI Photographer: Jana Sochor
	Don't tell me!! I know what 2+2 is! I'll think of it soon! Joe was playing around with his new toy ... a digital camera. Taken at the Pizza Stop, Redlands, CA Date: 19971005 Photographer: Joe Maier

My Friends
	Dan 'outre' Burke I met him through James while I was at Mesa Grande Academy. Later we went to Honduras (San Pedro Sula) together. The Danical One is responsible for the name Tometheus. Blame him. Bow to the Danical One!!!! Muahahahahah :-) Dan is someone who would appreciate the frozen remains of the Kooks Museum Check for the real news at theonion.com. One of these days he will actually send me copies of the magazine he publishes...
	James 'BGTETAPOEFM' McNeill (Homepage) NAME YOUR GAME(tm) I met him at Mesa Grande Academy, in 1988. (Can you spot the non-computer programmer in this picture?) Married Mendi - 1998 Jul 05 Best Guy To Ever Type A Paper On Egyptology For Me
	Jana 'Sköldpaddsdyrkare' Sochor (Homepage) Met her at La Sierra University, 1992 What can I say? :-)
	Luke 'Elric' DuChaine I met him at Mesa Grande Academy, in 1990. Electronics Engeering Technology, ITT Technical Institute, 1994 Watch out for Shadows, they move, when you're not looking at them - Babylon 5
EmperorCam is no more	Magnus 'The Emperor' Ingmarsson (Homepage) I met him through Jana. Great guy. A little too much like me :-) Cognitive Science, The University of Linköping, Sweden o/~ In just seven days I can make you a maaan o/~ Did you hear the joke about Intel and Microsoft filing for bankruptcy?

Tom Elmer's Homepage v3.10

"Who Are You?"

"What Are You Doing This Weekend?"

"But What Do You DO?"

Pictures of me

My Friends

Family