I live in Madison, WI. 20+ years ago my wife and I bought a house over the Internet, quit our jobs, moved our infant and toddler sons 2000 miles to Madison and never looked back. The Midwest is definitely our home now.

I work in Elmhurst, IL, but we still live in Madison. Every week or two I need to be in Elmhurst for a day or two, and rather than drive back to Madison it sure would be great to have a place to crash nearby.

Unrelated to work I have been all over the world and slept on a couch many times. I’ve also been to 48 states (so far) and slept in a few odd places along the way (ask me about Connecticut). Looking forward to getting back to the fun of hanging out with new people again.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I’m on couchsurfing currently because my work trips to the Chicago area are on me, and hotels (or Airbnbs) eat up all my extra money from the job. But in life I love to travel and meet people, and hanging out in homes is the best way. So why not!

Interests

Skiing, surfing, scuba. travel, eating interesting food, reading, (and playing guitar and writing, but I’ll be embarrassed to share). I can find middle C on a keyboard and bang a cow bell. My ideal job would be listening to music while reading books on my own time in a big city library. If you know anyone who pays money for that let me know :-). If you get a couple of drinks in me I will encourage people to start dancing.

• beer
• hiking
• skiing
• programming

Music, Movies, and Books

I have pretty broad taste in music and movies. I’m not into country music though (sorry! Maybe we can play Johnny Cash instead?). I have lots of playlists to share, from old Psychedelic to Classical to Pop to relatively current EDM. I’m a sucker for movies like Inception or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My favorite fiction book is probably Another Roadside Attraction. I mostly read non-fiction these days.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I’ve climbed Mt Whitney a few times, and one of those times I did it in half a day and then pedaled my bike to the bottom of Death Valley the second half of the day.

Teach, Learn, Share

Programming and skiing (although I realize we are unlikely to ski together, but you never know). I’m especially good with students who have never done something before. Let’s get you a new skill!

I can sometimes pull off a pretty good meal. My wife and kids think I make the best hamburgers in the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I like to do stuff like light construction-repair-painting. I can help you with that for an hour or two after work. Let me know if I should bring tools. I’m also a pretty good sounding board for your start up ideas. I knew a lot about computers and programming once upon a time, but these days I’m more likely to be managing others who do.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States