I am a doctoral student in the sociology department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The vast majority of my friends are "techies," and as a social scientist, I'm a bit of an outcast. I mitigate some of that by focusing my research attention on the effects of technology on and within society. While getting my master's degree in Criminal Justice at Grand Valley State University, I began to look at some of the laws protecting information and technology, and their social consequences. For my dissertation, I'd like to turn my attention specifically on hackers, hactivism, and global social movements. In my spare time I'm a big time gaming geek which I balance with my addiction to drag racing and canyon carving on my sport bike.