Employee Profile: RubbEd

Trachalio wrote:

When Boogle asked me to write this introduction, I was wondering what kinds of shade I could throw Dave's way. I couldn't think of a single thing, 'cause Dave's just too awesome of a guy. I know that's a common theme in these profile introductions, but it's true. He's a wonderful husband to Phoenix Rev. He's Canadian (everyone knows we Canadians kick ass). And he's a fantastic baritone in Men Alive.

Sometime in August of 2006, shortly after I joined GWJ, Dave sent me a private message:

Subject: Dropping a note

Hey there, man. I was flipping through your LJ and realized we have more than a few things in common:

- Both Canucks (I was born in Edmonton)
- Both gamers (yeah, I know, "duh," but still ... .)
- Both planning on picking up the Wii at launch
- Both Pi Kappa Phi
- Both '73 babies (you're older than me by about 3 months)
- Both have a soft spot for furry guys (yay bears!)

So, figured I'd say howdy to you for the hell of it.

Shortly before I joined GWJ, I'd assumed every gaming forum was full of homophobic, misogynistic "bros." Gamers With Jobs Radio changed that opinion, and I started hanging out here. But it was Dave who made me realize how special a place Gamers With Jobs was. His email helped show me that our community isn't anything like other forums; everyone is welcome here, no matter who you are.

Dave is also the first Goodjer I ever met in "real time." We were both in Phoenix at the same time, and spent a few hours on the patio of Deluxe Burger having the nerdiest of conversations. Warcraft, board games, Dungeons & Dragons, video games. If it was geeky, we probably talked about it. I made a good new friend that day. And while our schedules haven't overlapped since, I know we'll share another beer fueled nerd talk again soon.

So let us all raise a glass to Dave: our resident Yukon Cornelius, the most gingery of ginger Goodjers, and a damn fine friend.

Who the devil are you? (Tell us a little about yourself.)

My name isn't Ed, as many might assume. It's actually Dave, and I'm a 15-year-old trapped in the body of a 39-year-old. I'm originally from the cold dark recesses of Canada (Edmonton specifically), but I've lived in the States for most of my life, and the majority of that in California. Currently, I'm in south Orange County for those "in the know."

And before anyone asks, yes, I fancy myself a bit of an amateur comedian. If nothing else, I make myself laugh.

What are you supposed to be doing when you're reading GWJ? (Job? School?)

My job title was "Operations Learning Team Manager" for a homeowners' association management company, but the reality is that I taught people how to make their computer go "bing" at the right time, help them when it's not going "bing," and try to corral the IT department into fixing things when it went beyond my level of knowledge. Oh, and I managed our LMS and all of its material as well.

I know. Thrilling.

At the moment I'm fun-employed.

When you're not working or gaming, what do you do with your time? (Hobbies? Interests?)

I basically have three hobbies outside of work and gaming: reading, music, and smoking cigars. I'm a voracious reader of all things fantasy and sci-fi, with occasional forays into mystery and horror.

I love most forms of music, and can probably name at least one song in each major genre of which I'm a fan. However, the primary style of music I favor is a cappella, which I've been a fan of since I bought "Shut Up and Sing" by The Bobs my sophomore year of college.

The cigar thing is relatively recent, but it's a nice way for me to force myself to sit down, relax, and take things slowly, which is not something that comes naturally to me.

How about family? Kids? Pets? Particularly meaningful inanimate objects?

As noted in this thread, I'm married to Phoenix Rev on here. Yes, I'm gay. Yes, we're both bearded fat guys. If you've been around long enough, this should not shock you in the least.

If you haven't: Hi, nice to meet you! Please don't make me play Hunter in Left 4 Dead. It will not end well.

When and/or how did you get into gaming? (First system? First game? Influences/enablers?)

I grew up in the heyday of video gaming, and was first introduced to the concept via Pong and the Odyssey II that my parents bought me when I was 5 (K.C. Munchkin for the wiggidy-win!), but I also would visit my friends who had the Atari 2600 and play lots of Combat with them.

Yes, I'm a grey-beard gamer.

Why do you play games? Why haven't you outgrown them? (What keeps you interested in them?)

As noted previously, I'm basically a 15-year-old at heart. I love gaming because it provides me with an escape from a lot of the drudgery I put up with in the real world, and it allows me to mentally become these characters that I'm playing. Occasionally, it even provides a bit of catharsis by giving me a place to vent certain emotional needs. With multi-player games, it gives me the opportunity to occasionally vent a few holes in Quintin_Stone's body, and honestly, doesn't everyone want that?

What is your favorite game over the last year or so? Why?

I have such a huge pile it's not even funny, but I think that the game that has most captured my time and heart over the past year is Borderlands 2. I had a friend tell me that I should finish Borderlands 1 before I went into it, because of how the story-line works, but I'm glad I ignored him and jumped into Borderlands 2. It's a much better experience, the story-line is stronger, and frankly I'm just having a hell of a lot more fun.

What is your favorite game that you’re playing right now? Why?

Right now, oddly enough, I'm playing a lot of Lord of the Rings Online with Phoenix Rev. Somewhere along the line, it went from being a WoW-wannabe to being something really kind of fresh and interesting to me. Admittedly, being able to play the game with my husband is a big part of it, but even if he weren't, there's just something about being in that world and seeing how well it's been put together that's really grabbed my attention.

What first brought you to GWJ? What keeps you coming back?

Truth be told, I don't recall exactly what brought me here. I think I might have done a Google search for "adult gamers" after a bad pubby experience.

I keep coming back because of all the people I've had the chance to interact with and meet from the site. With a very small number of exceptions, everyone seems to be of the same mindset as I am with regards to gaming: There's no reason it can't be a fun part of your life, no matter how old you are.

Is there a particular forum on GWJ that you frequent/favor? Why?

As of late, I'm a bit quiet, but I read Everything Else and P&C the most. The latter because it's a good mental exercise and way to keep abreast of opinions that aren't necessarily your own. The former because it's silly, and I like silly.

What is the story behind your handle?
The original idea when I signed up was to come up with something different than my typical handle, Redbear. So, I thought about coming up with a variation on RBD (Red Bear Dave), and came up with Rubb Ed, thinking of a faux-Shakespearean pronunciation of the word "rubbed."

I've had my days where I've thought of asking to have it switched to Redbear, though, just so I don't have to explain that my name isn't Ed and why, but I think people would get very confused.

What is the story behind your tag? (i.e. the text below your forum name)

Well, being the first openly bearish guy on the board, despite users named Bear and Oso, I decided to go with Trachalio's suggestion of Ursa Major.

Is there an awesome question that you wish we would have asked? Well here’s your chance. Write both the question and the answer. (Note: If the question is particularly good, we may add it to the list of stock questions and you can smile with pride every time a future respondent chooses to answer it.)

Q: Name a Goodjer whom you've yet to meet but would love to, and why.
A: I have a handful of these folks, but I think the one whom I've admired from afar and would probably get the biggest kick out of meeting is Duckideva. There's just something about all of the adventures she's had, as well as her demeanor, that indicate the two of us would have a blast chatting and being silly.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our hard-hitting questions! Any last words?

There once was a man from Changdu,
Whose limericks stopped at line two.

There once was a man from Verdun,

Comments

The latter?

Great to meet you! Hanging out on that music DJ room web app thing was pretty fun. Is that still a thing? Also, how do you like the King's Singers?

Tanglebones wrote:

The latter?

Only if you're the one sneaking up on us.

Mixolyde wrote:

Great to meet you! Hanging out on that music DJ room web app thing was pretty fun. Is that still a thing? Also, how do you like the King's Singers?

I like them quite a bit, though I tend more towards contemporary groups than classical as a general rule of thumb. And I still do Turntable occasionally, though not anything close to regularly anymore.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Big ol' fuzzy bear hugs all around!

Central Alberta High Five!

Nice to meet ya, Dave!

Nevin73 wrote:

I am making a stand! I am a Nevin!

And I am a Xeknos! Solidarity!

Rubb Ed wrote:
MyBrainHz wrote:

When we play TF2, I call him Ed and he calls me Brian. Those aren't our actual names, but we answer to them anyway! And people still think those are our actual names! We're perpetuating our own myths of nomenclature!

IT'S ALL VERY PERPLEXING!

Well, let's be honest... in the middle of a firefight, which is easier to resolve:

"Ed!"
"What?"
"Go get that base!"
"Roger!"
"Huh?"
"Request vector, over."
"What?"
"Flight 2-0-9'er cleared for vector 324."
"We have clearance, Clarence."
"Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?"
"Tower's radio clearance, over!"
"That's Clarence Oveur. Over."
"Over."
"Roger."
"Huh?"
"Roger, over!"
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Who?"

Also, Edmonton-born high five!

Again, good job with the write-up Boogle.

Congratulations Rubb Ed. I knew virtually nothing about you before the employee profile but was delighted to discover that Yukon Cornelius is a fitting avatar for you. What is Men Alive though? I googled it and didn't come up with anything conclusive. I'm leaning towards acapella group.

Trachalio wrote:

our resident Yukon Cornelius, the most gingery of ginger Goodjers

I assumed Certis had that honor on lockdown. I think a lot of gaming communities have a disproportionately high number of red-haired gamers. Maybe it's the 'whole being in the sun ends poorly' thing that draws us to to the joysticks, mice, keyboards, racing-wheels, and power-gloves.

Rubb Ed wrote:
S0LIDARITY wrote:

Congratulations Rubb Ed. I knew virtually nothing about you before the employee profile but was delighted to discover that Yukon Cornelius is a fitting avatar for you. What is Men Alive though? I googled it and didn't come up with anything conclusive. I'm leaning towards acapella group.

Men Alive is the gay men's chorus for my neck of the world. Occasionally a cappella, but not like the groups I like (at least for the most part). They've also been responsible for me getting dressed in some of the most ridiculous costumes for numbers/shows. I've been the Cowardly Lion, the Mother Abbess (from Sound of Music), Elmer Fudd, a Liberace-esque dancer, and a Charlie Chaplin.

S0LIDARITY wrote:
Trachalio wrote:

our resident Yukon Cornelius, the most gingery of ginger Goodjers

I assumed Certis had that honor on lockdown. I think a lot of gaming communities have a disproportionately high number of red-haired gamers. Maybe it's the 'whole being in the sun ends poorly' thing that draws us to to the joysticks, mice, keyboards, racing-wheels, and power-gloves.

I think there's also the factor that, with some areas where red hair isn't unusual, us gingers get picked on a lot. I know that was the case for me growing up. As a result, I learned to keep myself occupied and entertained by myself, which led to a number of pretty geeky/nerdy activities growing up, gaming being in that category. Now I'm just trying to find a way to break into the industry and make some money doing the stuff I've enjoyed for so long. :D

I just don't understand this. I don't recall anyone from grade school or beyond making fun of "gingers." Also, one of the great lost loves of my life was a fiery red head. It might be why I am misplacing that lust onto Demi.

HedgeWizard wrote:

I just don't understand this. I don't recall anyone from grade school or beyond making fun of "gingers." Also, one of the great lost loves of my life was a fiery red head. It might be why I am healthily transferring that lust onto Demi.

FTFY.

Also, it seems like a recent development in the US, but maybe I just missed it. My mother-in-law says that it was the way of things back in Scotland when she was a kid (40s-60s).

Tanglebones wrote:
HedgeWizard wrote:

I just don't understand this. I don't recall anyone from grade school or beyond making fun of "gingers." Also, one of the great lost loves of my life was a fiery red head. It might be why I am healthily transferring that lust onto Demi.

FTFY.

Also, it seems like a recent development in the US, but maybe I just missed it. My mother-in-law says that it was the way of things back in Scotland when she was a kid (40s-60s).

Possibly, but I had a lot of friends in the red category and I assume I would have seen some of it. But I also know that my "class" from grade school to HS graduation was surprisingly friendly and tolerant compared to the years prior and after, and definitely compared to other schools.

HedgeWizard wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
HedgeWizard wrote:

I just don't understand this. I don't recall anyone from grade school or beyond making fun of "gingers." Also, one of the great lost loves of my life was a fiery red head. It might be why I am healthily transferring that lust onto Demi.

FTFY.

Also, it seems like a recent development in the US, but maybe I just missed it. My mother-in-law says that it was the way of things back in Scotland when she was a kid (40s-60s).

Possibly, but I had a lot of friends in the red category and I assume I would have seen some of it. But I also know that my "class" from grade school to HS graduation was surprisingly friendly and tolerant compared to the years prior and after, and definitely compared to other schools.

Once I got to high school, the teasing ended for me, but up until about 8th grade I was very literally the only redhead in my entire school, and I went to 4 schools between kindergarten and 7th, and then transferred again in 8th grade.

Wooo. This write up could not have happened to a better person.

Greybeard?! Man you better be pushing 40 to claim that.

I never had a negative attitude towards red heads until I visited GWJ. Thanks for teaching me the hate GWJ.

Strangeblades wrote:

Wooo. This write up could not have happened to a better person.

Greybeard?! Man you better be pushing 40 to claim that.

:old:

Ahem... recall the whole '73 baby bit?

2013 - 1973 = ?

boogle wrote:
MyBrainHz wrote:

When we play TF2, I call him Ed and he calls me Brian. Those aren't our actual names, but we answer to them anyway! And people still think those are our actual names! We're perpetuating our own myths of nomenclature!

IT'S ALL VERY PERPLEXING!

Dude, grump's kids call me boogle.
Weirds me the f*ck out.

This made me laugh!

plavonica wrote:

Excellent write up as usual. Nice beard man!

RubbEd is the nicest beard man!

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

These profiles are starting to mess with my head. Ed is Dave? Sally is a dude? I JUST DON'T KNOW YOU ANY MORE, GWJ.

boogle wrote:
MyBrainHz wrote:

When we play TF2, I call him Ed and he calls me Brian. Those aren't our actual names, but we answer to them anyway! And people still think those are our actual names! We're perpetuating our own myths of nomenclature!

IT'S ALL VERY PERPLEXING!

Dude, grump's kids call me boogle.
Weirds me the f*ck out.

Nevin73 wrote:

I am making a stand! I am a Nevin!

Xeknos wrote:

And I am a Xeknos! Solidarity!

My screen name is my name, it just happens to be the part of my name that no one knows how to pronounce.

Is there a particular forum on GWJ that you frequent/favor? Why?

As of late, I'm a bit quiet, but I read Everything Else and P&C the most. The latter because it's a good mental exercise and way to keep abreast of opinions that aren't necessarily your own. The former because it's silly, and I like silly.

This little tidbit made being a Secret Stanta for you rather difficult, but fortunately it seems to have worked out. It was interesting getting to try and research you and learn about a GWJer I otherwise might not have had many opportunities to get to know via the forums.

Congratulations on the profile.

Welcome to the front page!!! And you keep on brushin', good sir!!

Grats on the profile!

Another member of the '73 club here. We're going to be 40 this year?

Rubb Ed wrote:

Men Alive is the gay men's chorus for my neck of the world. Occasionally a cappella, but not like the groups I like (at least for the most part). They've also been responsible for me getting dressed in some of the most ridiculous costumes for numbers/shows. I've been the Cowardly Lion, the Mother Abbess (from Sound of Music), Elmer Fudd, a Liberace-esque dancer, and a Charlie Chaplin.

"A" Charlie Chaplin? As in more than one? Do tell.

boogle wrote:

Dude, grump's kids call me boogle.
Weirds me the f*ck out.

What would you prefer?

Dance number, multiple guys dressed as Charlie.

Nice read. Pretty entertaining guy, especially the secret Santa pictures.

Rubb Ed wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

Wooo. This write up could not have happened to a better person.

Greybeard?! Man you better be pushing 40 to claim that.

:old:

Ahem... recall the whole '73 baby bit?

2013 - 1973 = ?

:)

I ain't down wit yer math sonny. You sayin' wat I tink yer sayin' and you be fortee? Why, that just ain't right. Not right at all.

'73 ain't got nothin' on '71!

Congrats on the profile Dave. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy! Unless it was me.

You all know that RubbEd is on Facebook, where he shares such bon mots as:

As any good gay man should, I am drowning my sorrows in sourdough bread, wine, brie, and Downton Abbey.

Which made me laugh. Although, I've been known to drown my sorrows in bread, wine, and brie (haven't watched Downton Abbey), and I'm hetero, so it may not be enough to have your gay card renewed Dave.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

Congratulations Rubb Ed. I knew virtually nothing about you before the employee profile but was delighted to discover that Yukon Cornelius is a fitting avatar for you. What is Men Alive though? I googled it and didn't come up with anything conclusive. I'm leaning towards acapella group.

Men Alive is the gay men's chorus for my neck of the world. Occasionally a cappella, but not like the groups I like (at least for the most part). They've also been responsible for me getting dressed in some of the most ridiculous costumes for numbers/shows. I've been the Cowardly Lion, the Mother Abbess (from Sound of Music), Elmer Fudd, a Liberace-esque dancer, and a Charlie Chaplin.

S0LIDARITY wrote:
Trachalio wrote:

our resident Yukon Cornelius, the most gingery of ginger Goodjers

I assumed Certis had that honor on lockdown. I think a lot of gaming communities have a disproportionately high number of red-haired gamers. Maybe it's the 'whole being in the sun ends poorly' thing that draws us to to the joysticks, mice, keyboards, racing-wheels, and power-gloves.

I think there's also the factor that, with some areas where red hair isn't unusual, us gingers get picked on a lot. I know that was the case for me growing up. As a result, I learned to keep myself occupied and entertained by myself, which led to a number of pretty geeky/nerdy activities growing up, gaming being in that category. Now I'm just trying to find a way to break into the industry and make some money doing the stuff I've enjoyed for so long.

Fixed for wrong word

Grumpicus wrote:
boogle wrote:

Dude, grump's kids call me boogle.
Weirds me the f*ck out.

What would you prefer?

Nightwing

Congrats, Rubb!

Congrats on the profile. Never knew you were so passionate about dental hygiene.

This is where everyone is messing up.

You guys see a tooth brush, I see an inferior beard de-tangler, and the resultant frustration on Dave's face from poor end results!

Congrats on the profile from another '73er, looks to be a very popular vintage around these parts. I am also a monkey, and a boy.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

This is where everyone is messing up.

You guys see a tooth brush, I see an inferior beard de-tangler, and the resultant frustration on Dave's face from poor end results!

Congrats on the profile from another '73er, looks to be a very popular vintage around these parts. I am also a monkey, and a boy. ;)

I am offended that you might think I'd use such inferior tools for care of my lustrous hair!

Besides, I'm assuming you've not seen the photo that led to being flat-out told I'd better keep Yukon Cornelius as my icon:

IMAGE(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c289/fianceej/trucker.jpg)

Rubb Ed wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:

This is where everyone is messing up.

You guys see a tooth brush, I see an inferior beard de-tangler, and the resultant frustration on Dave's face from poor end results!

Congrats on the profile from another '73er, looks to be a very popular vintage around these parts. I am also a monkey, and a boy. ;)

I am offended that you might think I'd use such inferior tools for care of my lustrous hair!

Besides, I'm assuming you've not seen the photo that led to being flat-out told I'd better keep Yukon Cornelius as my icon:

IMAGE(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c289/fianceej/trucker.jpg)

That is awesome!