Researcher
	"Gary Phillips, 27 years old, a Michigan computer programmer, started researching Kryptos last year, hours after learning about its Da Vinci Code connection. 'Once it pulls you in, you just can't stop thinking about it,' he says. Eventually, Mr. Phillips says, he let a struggling software business go under and took a construction job so he would have more time for solving Kryptos.  The quest to solve the fourth and final passage of Kryptos's message has spawned several Web sites -- including Mr. Phillips's -- as well as an online discussion group that has more than 500 members." - Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal: CIA Sculpture 'Kryptos' Draws Mystery Lovers (Friday, May 27,2005 Cover Story) http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05147/511693.stm Ok, I admit I'm a geek.  I learned to read from a couple TRS-80 CoCo books -- the good ol' Tandy.  I still remember dreaming of the day I'd be a professional computer programmer as I saved my Color-Basic codes on a special Radio Shack tape recorder.  Really, it was a toss-up between professional piano player and programmer.  Somewhere in the middle I was sure I'd be a corporate CEO or an agent for the CIA, but presently I'm transitioning into a more physically active career and am working on a psychological thriller screenplay entitled Unnatural Consequence.  My wife, a pet resort manager and passionate animal lover, insists I'm a nerd, and I've never known her to be wrong. I graduated from a private school as Salutatorian where I received a first-place medal for original piano composition in a state-wide competition.  I was also the primary piano player in our school choir and church.  I occasionally play for weddings and graduations in the flavor of Jim Brickman; I've been playing since I was 3.  For three consecutive years I also received first place in our high-school science fair, before graduating with an Associate of Arts in mathematics and computer science at North Central Michigan College on a Presidential Scholarship. Drawing is sporadic hobby of mine.  It usually takes me a day to draw a single picture, so I really have to be in my element to finish it.  I used to draw symbolic images or something abstract that had all sorts of hidden things upside-down or elongated that were only recognizable on an extreme tilt.  I've since discovered Brian Froud, a leading fantasy art expert, who has inspired me to rip off his work with my own twist.  I drew these in late 2003 with colored pencils on an 11" x 14" canvas. For fun I like to work on my web site, although occasionally I work for a local general contractor in construction to get back in shape and to get creative ideas flowing, but in the mean time I'm trying to crack Kryptos or beat my friends in a game of Mario Kart Double Dash. In 1999 I programmed the world's first virtual tour browser.  That piece was written entirely in Javascript.  A friend and I ran a small company for a couple years before selling the project off to a prominent real estate company in Michigan, who is using an improved version of the software to this day. Matrix Evolution is another corporation I headed up for a few years.  We were the first organization in Michigan to provide broker reciprocity services to real estate brokers in the state.  It was a hit that didn't last long with the unexpected competition.  Got a good idea?  Someone else will make it faster and cheaper.  In the end, this is great for the consumer.  I am learning through experience how to stay ahead of the marketing battle by trule providing a service that is better than anyone else's.  I have a tendency as a perfectionist to redo things and I am beginning to realize that sometimes the world doesn't expect perfection -- it expects quality and reliably.  I can do that.  A friend once told me I was entirely right-brained.  I'm ambidextrous, so who knows. Music is my passion.  Cold Play, Duncan Sheik, Linkin Park, Phill Collins, Evanescence, the Doors, Dave Matthews, Maroon 5, Collin Raye, Yanni, Enya, Breaking Benjamin... all amongst my repertoire of favorite pastime tunes.  Music is spiritual and powerful.  It keeps me going.  It's more than a universal language -- it's one of the few things that makes sense. Reading is generally a nighttime activity for me.  Books you could find on my shelf for perhaps not-so-obvious reasons are the Bible, Angels and Demons, Deception Point, Digital Fortress, The Da Vinci Code, The Hiram Key, The Rule of Four, The Celestine Prophecy, and countless computer-programming references.  With such an intense work load I generally place upon myself, though, I'm often caught watching Arrested Development, Seinfeld, The Others, Butterfly Effect, The Time Machine, or the Science or Discovery Channel when my wife isn't yelling at people on Animal Planet.  I'm a pretty big fan of Geico commercials. I'd like to think of myself as an inventor, although I haven't invented anything useful.  Efficiency, automation, and organization are my inspiration.  I have the blueprints of a hovercraft or space-crawler I've been working on since I was 12, based in part by the work of Professor Eric Laithwaite.  It's amazing what you can do with spinning masses, timed orientation, and leverage.  I know it sounds like science fiction, but airplanes and television were fiction a few generations ago.  I believe the technology is readily available and understood but would be detrimental to the world economy; why else do we not have miniature nuclear generators in our back yards as predicted by Popular Science magazine in the 50's?  Of course, synthetic carpeting was also a new invention and they were supposed to be self-cleaning on vibrating floors by now. On a final note, I love to research.  I'm into everything.  I'm a pattern sort of guy, so I notice when something is inconsistent or out of the ordinary.  Perhaps that is why I love puzzles and codes.  I especially like the idea that life is a solvable mystery.  Guys like Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci were like that.  Their imaginations got them somewhere.  Einstein believed in the power of science and Leonardo believed in the power of knowledge and preservation.  Both were mysterious in different ways. Now I want to show you something I discovered a while back after reading The Da Vinci Code.  I was looking at The Last Supper, trying to scope out the anomalies mentioned in the book, when I happened upon a curious symbol.  What I'm about to reveal has never been documented before as far as I know.  Once I show you this symbol, you will never see this painting the same way again.  No, it's not a dagger or Mary Magdalene.  It's not obvious until you are told it's there, and then you will never ever miss it again.  Its relevance in its location is unknown to me.  Perhaps some secret elite organization is aware of its presence and has been hiding the meaning.  Whatever the case, you heard it here first. I found the missing Holy Grail.  See it here. sincerely, Gary Phillips II > About: Contact Information > My Blog: Visions of Time