He "lives life in a way that most people cannot imagine."

May 18, 2007 12:44 PM

"IdeaFarm (tm) Associatesis an economic association for unselfish people. Its mission is to promote unselfish living by making life better for unselfish people. [...] The organizer is an economist and software developer. He is completing work on a new computer operating system that could destroy the Microsoft monopoly, create a new Internet safe enough for children and the elderly, and provide Associates with a new way to find work and sell products and services."
posted by Avenger (30 comments total)

The official flag of IdeaFarm (tm) City, Federal Constitutional Protectorate of the United States of America, [...] This flag depicts the eight foundation values of IdeaFarm (tm) City: Jesus (or Higher Power), strength, family, sustainability, liberty, profit, justice, and truth.

The flag was crafted by the organizer's younger daughter at age 16.
posted by Avenger at 12:48 PM on May 18, 2007

WTF? Operating system=2 jpgs?
Work= his CV/?

Is this a joke?
Flagged
posted by lalochezia at 12:49 PM on May 18, 2007

given the timecube tag, im assuming that it is.
posted by nihlton at 12:55 PM on May 18, 2007

hahah

His "operating system" Looks like something that would run on a c64. Is he aware of Linux?
posted by delmoi at 12:56 PM on May 18, 2007

Here are some pics of the "software cave" in which IdeaFarm (tm) Piggyback Distributed Operating System (IP-DOS (tm)) is being written. (The current objective is completion of the Presentation Subsystem.) The "cave" is the inside of the Nautilus! If you are a software development manager and your software engineers complain about their air conditioned work environment, show them these pics! The temperature inside the Nautilus exceeds 100 degrees on a sunny day. The solar power system is inadequate, so depletion of the battery bank and overloading of the engine alternator are constant problems! And then there are the interruptions by law enforcement at all hours of the day and night...

The Nautilus seems to be his car.

Man, wtf...
posted by delmoi at 12:59 PM on May 18, 2007

Presumably old people and children are at risk from an internet that is not composed of blurry Tron era graphics?
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:00 PM on May 18, 2007

Well lalochezia, if anything, i was impressed by his opinion that all of America's problems can be solved by a new operating system and people meeting for community luncheons every 8 days.

I mean, shoot, that beats transdimensional-4-day-harmoics any, er, day of the week.
posted by Avenger at 1:01 PM on May 18, 2007

He is completing work on a new computer operating system that could destroy the Microsoft monopoly,

Haha! Funny. Considering a whole fleet of Linux developers (many of whom are on the payroll of companies as pro developers, and some of whom aren't crazy), have been trying to do that, (sort of), for some 16 years now. Got some catching up to do there, eh?
posted by teece at 1:03 PM on May 18, 2007

Yes, but can linux compete with Tron?

I think not!
posted by Avenger at 1:07 PM on May 18, 2007

I have seen The Nautilus parked on El Camino Real in both Sunnyvale and Mountain View. I may have read some literature by this guy at some point, and I was under the impression that he was in some sort of custody battle:

1992: Successfully completed the mathematical and conceptual work needed to preserve the idea, and began to develop software to present the idea as an "electronic book". Business failure (contract software development). Bankruptcy. Arrested for spouse battery. Separated, against will, from wife and two children. Family destroyed by the intrusive power of the State of California. Enraged and frustrated by legal powerlessness as a husband and father, by the lack of cultural support for traditional gender roles within the family, and by his own defective formation as a man, became determined to "fix the problem" for his two daughters.

Um, yeah, good luck with that dude.
posted by sarahnade at 1:22 PM on May 18, 2007

Legal Name: Since 1999: Wo Of Ideafarm. 1954-1999 Jon Clyde Duringer^*

Kook of the Month Nomination of May 2007

"This kook has slowly been driving down El Camino Real in The SF Bay area over the last month or so in this old beat up shit bucket of a van with a HUGE sign SELFISH crossed out on top and IDEAFARM.COM on the side. Check out his web site... It rivals the Famed Helena Kobrin nomination of 1995.

He sleeps in his van... and parks at a new location every day on the street to get exposure for his site.

....Enjoy....Someone call Bellview...This kook needs a rubber room."

posted by ericb at 1:29 PM on May 18, 2007

Is this a joke?

given the timecube tag, im assuming that it is.

I'll go with it being real and the result of some emotional and/or psychological distress or illness.
posted by ericb at 1:33 PM on May 18, 2007

sorry. didnt notice timecube tag.

STUPID HUMANS!
posted by lalochezia at 1:36 PM on May 18, 2007

Fascinating:

He is completing work on a new computer operating system that could destroy the Microsoft monopoly

...

Future Benefits: Early enrollees will be rewarded financially, and when it is ready, IdeaFarm (tm) Piggyback Distributed Operating System for Windows (tm) will be provided to all Associates free of charge.
posted by blackberet at 1:47 PM on May 18, 2007

It's no joke, boys and girls. I've seen his van around Mountain View quite frequently for years. The van is real and just by looking at it you know it holds some top-notch crazy.

Sadly, this isn't the craziest vehicle I've seen in MV. I would love to take a pic of the crazy vegetarian woman's car but I never have my camera when I see her car.
posted by chairface at 1:50 PM on May 18, 2007

Associate Duties: Associates are required to participate actively enough to get to know other associates and be known by them. This is currently done by cooperating with the organizer. Eventually, Associates will meet locally every 8 days for dinner. Associates are never asked to do more than "lift a finger".

"Lift a finger," in this case, meaning "pay for dinner."
posted by katillathehun at 3:14 PM on May 18, 2007

His recruitment drive is proceeding at something less than a meteoric rate:

Number of Associates, excluding the organizer
(Current / Goal):

2 / 256

Current enrollments per day:

0

Days to launch, at current enrollment rate:

Not in your lifetime!

posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:41 PM on May 18, 2007

I don't know which is sadder - the fact that severely mentally ill people like this can't get the help they need, or the gallery of well-adjusted gawkers who can't seem to get their fill of mocking them.

I hate posts like this. Leave these poor sad people alone.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:48 PM on May 18, 2007 [7 favorites has favorites]

Yeah, you see this guy all the time (at least twice a week) in the Mountain View area. I hadn't ever quite made it to the site before. Pretty underwhelming, really... the car made it seem much more elaborate.
posted by wildcrdj at 5:03 PM on May 18, 2007

I don't know which is sadder - the fact that severely mentally ill people like this can't get the help they need, or the gallery of well-adjusted gawkers who can't seem to get their fill of mocking them.

Yes, but when they're adjusted enough to request regular PayPal donations, one has to wonder how ill they really are. That's not a hurrah for the gawkers (even if I am one), but this guy's situation might not be "sad" so much as "eccentric."
posted by katillathehun at 5:45 PM on May 18, 2007

ikkyu2, I didn't actually post this so that we could all have a good laugh at a mentally ill person's expense. Truth is, I agree with katillathehun and really don't think he's mentally ill.

The man is certainly out there. Living in his van, wanting to organize an entire philisophical movement around himself, coding an OS that seems to utilize Tron-esque vector graphics.

Odd? By our standards, yes. Insane? Eh.

I'd love to talk with him for a little while and find out more about what his "OS" can do. Maybe see if he plans to port WoW for it anytime soon.
posted by Avenger at 5:52 PM on May 18, 2007

I hope if I ever completely mentally lose it, that I have enough self-awareness to still be able to laugh at my own predicament. This guy sounds nuts, but in a barely functional sort of way. I think he's just trying to cling to some useful purpose while his world and family falls apart. I hope he succeeds in pulling himself back up on his feet.

ikkyu2, come on, laughter is the best medicine.
posted by BrotherCaine at 8:02 PM on May 18, 2007

I agree with katillathehun and really don't think he's mentally ill.

Have you read his Note to NSA Death Squad Directors and Self Appointed Assassins? He's as nutty as a fruitcake.

I prefer my paranoid loons to be at least coherent.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:46 PM on May 18, 2007

You do know that's a parody... right?
posted by katillathehun at 8:39 AM on May 19, 2007

One word: Unabomber.
posted by Marygwen at 4:19 PM on May 19, 2007

fwiw, wo'o ideafarm dude was a "popular" frootbat on the Well for a few years within the last few years...
posted by xian at 6:20 PM on May 19, 2007

No, katillathehun; I know the guy who runs that site personally - have known him for 15 years - and he is dead serious.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:42 AM on May 20, 2007

We drove by the guy yesterday. He parks himself in very prominent locations, usually along El Camino Real & Castro, near Downtown Mountain View.

The URL is registered to some address in Miami, FL, but he's around here all the time,

Avenger: Next time I see the van, I'll stop by and ask him about his OS if you'd like. ;)
posted by drstein at 8:08 PM on May 20, 2007

No, katillathehun; I know the guy who runs that site personally - have known him for 15 years - and he is dead serious.

Is aware his site is being linked as a parody all over the place?
posted by katillathehun at 3:47 PM on May 22, 2007

Yep.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:22 AM on May 24, 2007