I am big computer nerd. I make websites for a living, most recently for the New Yorker Magazine. Lately I've been working on a lot of art projects and teaching undergraduates as an adjunct.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am kind of skeptical of Airbnb, and I am curious to learn more about the social aspects of the couchsurfing crowd.

Interests

Art, movies, running, books, internet stuff. I am obsessed with my cat Beefra (whose name is pretty searchable).

• cats
• arts
• books
• festivals
• running
• technology
• movies
• blogging
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Books, Boards of Canada, Calexico, Django Reinhardt, Fela Kuti, Girl Talk, The Long Winters, Max Richter, The Mountain Goats, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, Yo La Tengo.

Moves: I have a Mubi subscription, and I tend to enjoy stuff from festivals & art house cinema. Favorites include Doctor Strangelove, The Conversation, The Big Lebowski, basically anything from the Cohen Brothers.

Books: a lot of non-fiction lately, the last fiction was Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood (which I hear is getting made into a TV series?). Most recent book: Astra Taylor's The People's Platform. Next up: To Our Friends by the Invisible Committee.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was the tech operator on one of those livestream interviews with Edward Snowden at New Yorker Festival (also Kim Dotcom and Ai Weiwei!)

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach software development to undergrads, and I'm generally a big proponent of sharing as much of what I've learned as possible. I've been blogging a lot lately on my website, phiffer.org.

What I Can Share with Hosts

An appreciation for conversation and humor.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, United States