About Me
In Short
A thirty-something software-developing, travel-loving, picture-taking, hyphen-using guy living in the world somewhere.
Ancient History
I was born abroad to two American parents, but moved to the U.S. while I was still a baby. The earliest city I remember is Phoenix, Arizona, where I lived until moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in ’87. I stayed there for two decades going to school, university, and work before moving to New York City. And, while I ♥ NY quite a bit, I eventually decided to pack up and relocate to Hong Kong — which is a wonderful place, although 我♥香港 doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
Schoolin’
Whenever asked about my university days, I answer with equal parts pride and shame that I attended UC Berkeley. The hardest part is not being able to tell people (without lying) that it’s not as crazy as it sounds—unfortunately, I think it’s probably crazier in reality than most people realize. I would need more than two hands to count the number of times I witnessed classes disrupted because a protest group occupied the lecture hall.
Like most college towns, there’s a strong distinction in Berkeley between the city and the campus. Of course, the people in both groups are, on average, completely nuts. Luckily, studying Computer Science is a pretty good way to insulate oneself from all that. In any case, no one who knows me well would suggest that Berkeley’s politics rubbed off on me.
The Daily Grind
I recently started a new job after spending a year not being allowed to work. Not being the resentful type, I happily spent that year traveling around here and there.
Before that, I worked on high-speed financial software at Tower Research. Even further back, I worked at Akamai on everything from core server software to desktop-based applications. I also did several internship stints, doing everything from economic research to helping improve training on the International Space Station.
On the Side
When not working, I spread my time on a number of time-wasting diversions. Travel and photography go together and take the top spot. There’s nothing quite like getting completely lost in an unfamiliar place where everyone speaks a language you don’t, and finding some way to make it all work out for the best.
I also enjoy throwing myself down snowy mountains. I’m a sub-par snowboarder, but an OK skier. Sledding can be fun, but takes too much darned work what with all that tramping up the hill. Now, if they installed ski lifts on sledding hills… Apparently, sledding lifts do exist now! “What a time to be alive.”
And, obviously, I spend some of my time in the world of web publishing, slaving away at this web site for your amusement. (Actually, that’s a bald-faced lie: I spend only a little time here and there on it, and it’s all for my own enjoyment.)