Too many extracurricular activities, Max. Not enough studying.

about22
smokingdarthkaneI’m Kane Gruber (AKA “22″). I’m a musician, writer, comedian, graphic designer, technical support specialist, and actor.

I started this site in 2009 as a catch-all for the multitude of projects I’ve managed to embroil myself in, ranging from music, old-radio, writing, and even web design. I’ve been a blogger since January of 2000, on various sites, most prominently Courteous Miner and Ready Demolition. I’ve been online since 1994 and still have my first email address.

I’ve been featured in an article for Wired Magazine, been mentioned in a book (Do Fish Drink Water?), been on television (several commercials and the pilot for a series), acted on stage (most recently in 45 Seconds from Broadway for Tallahassee Little Theatre), produce a podcast or two (Ready Demolition and Nomcast), had my music played on the radio, was a radio news anchor (for WVFS - the Voice of Florida State), recorded music in a studio, narrated domestic violence victim advocacy training materials, performed stand-up comedy… I’ve dabbled in every medium I can think of except film (one day).

Order 50 is powered by Wordpress, which I have used for years. I’m not a developer (although I did create a Windows program to convert CMYK data into RGB called ColorPIMP), so I don’t have my own CMS, but maybe one day I’ll do just that.

Where Else Am I?

You can follow me on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, Vimeo.

You can contact me directly too, if you’d prefer.

Work

I’m a Product Specialist at Open Text, supporting eDocs DM. I previously worked at the company Open Text bought in 2006, Hummingbird, who owned DM.

I’ve worked in the past as a web designer, support technician, graphic designer, and a variety of other things. Most of the places I’ve worked no longer exist (to wit: Starlight Data Group, WeTrain Technologies, Computer 101) I think maybe a lesson or two came out of those experiences. The lesson being: never do for money what you wouldn’t love to do for free.

Up Close

I live with my wife in Tallahassee, Florida. I love movies and television, which is why I have an HDTV, 5.1 surroundsound system, and close to 500 titles in my DVD library. I love video games and recording music. My favorite movie directors are Kevin Smith and Wes Anderson. I love Star Wars movies (except The Clone Wars) and am very typical in my geekdom sometimes. I’m into Macs and Apple products in general, but I still use PCs and Windows regularly. I love New York City and consider it the Greatest City on the Face of the Earth. Luckily, so does my wife. One day, we hope to live there.

I have a son, Mikey, who I adore and currently lives with his mother. He’ll be 14 this April.

I have no degree whatsoever, but I have attended Tallahassee Community College. Luckily my life and work experience have served as one hell of an education. I hope to return to school and hopefully graduate with a degree in political science.

I’m from Willingboro, NJ, (just like Carl Lewis) and I’m a fan of various sports, especially baseball.

North American Sports Teams I root for:

Internationally, I tend to root for teams from or very near the regions/cities from which my ancestors came. here are the following teams I will root for, in various leagues around the world:

I’ve formed lifelong relationships with people I consider my family. My view is that family is who you choose and who chooses you, not whose blood you share. I do love some of my relatives, but I’ve had a hard time loving some particular ones. But if you are a close friend, you can be assured, I’ll do whatever I can for you, as you are one of my people.

I am an atheist. I am a strongly confident atheist who knows there is no god or anything supernatural. I came to this place after years of soul-searching (hey, no soul!) and contemplation. I stopped being a Christian after reading the Bible closely and studying church history.

I am also a lifelong liberal. My parents didn’t do a  lot of things right when raising me up, but they did teach me that community responsibility is as valuable as individual responsibility. Pay your taxes and remember: you ARE your brothers’ and sisters’ keeper.

Grubi? Chris? What’s up with the names?

First, about “Grubi”: in 1999, I was the prime minister of a micronation (the Kingdom of Talossa). I was leaving the post in May of that year, right around the time Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu was leaving his post as prime minister of Israel. A friend remarked “First Bibi, now Grubi?” I liked the nickname, so it stuck. It’s been my default user name online since. It’s even my license plate number. Alternate versions include Grubi-Wan.

Now, regarding “Chris Gruber”: currently (March 2009), I still am saddled with my birth name of Christopher Curtis Gruber. I’ve come to terms with my last name (even embracing it, as you can tell) and I’ve always been fond of my middle name. But I have long despised my first name. It’s incredibly common, sexually ambiguous, and has religious meaning… all things which do not describe me at all. If you are another Chris and you like the name, then awesome! More power to you. I give you all the goodwill that name may have generated for me. But the name isn’t me, at least not anymore. However, about a year ago, I decided to legally change my first name to Kane. It’s an Old Irish name that means “little battler” (trust me: that is much more appropriate for me than “bearer of Christ”). I’ve been asserting the name ever since, getting as many people as possible to refer to me as Kane as I can. I even made a video (and a follow-up) explaining this all in some detail. I apologize to everyone who, over the course of three-and-a-half decades got to know me as Chris, but this is me. And if you’ve always known me as Kane, then now you know a little more about how I got that name. I should, before the end of 2010, have my name legally changed.

Note

I basically ripped off this whole “About” format from Dan Benjamin, a fellow I don’t know, but whose work I respect. Thanks, Dan, for the inspiration. Also, this site is riddled with mature language. Don’t be shocked or surprised to find me cursing.

Popularity: 9% [?]