CURRENT MISSION

Create a "New Clean Earth"

ABOUT ME

I live in Central NY near Ithaca with my wife and 2 yr old boy. We like good food and I like good wine and conversation. We have a guest room and a couch and may be willing to host, just not a hockey team..couples with a kid or two is probably cool though. Like meeting interesting people from other countries or other realities...crazy, but not too crazy is just fine.

I think my friends would say I tend to be a bit too idealistic for my own good...which is probably true. They would also say that I am a good companion for traveling and / or a long interesting discussion on a wide range of topics (over a couple bottles of wine). I think they would say that I am eager to help and often put them in touch with other people that I think they would connect well with; and that I like to stay in touch.

PHILOSOPHY

Invest in experience not the stock market! Be curious and learn from any and all. Use mental Judo on problems and find creative solutions...there is always a way to solve a problem, the only problem that can't be solved is the one you give up on.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just getting started on CS, but I love the idea of it and have recently made my first request for hosting up north where I am currently doing distance study.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hopefully soon!

Interests

My 2 year old boy and my family and friends. The pursuit and application of knowledge. The environment, clean technology, advocating for rationale and ethical approaches to the earth's many challenges...and helping the little guy beat the big guy...kind of the David and Goliath part of me!

• environment
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• walking
• technology
• traveling
• investing
• opera
• rock climbing
• hockey
• lakes

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

First trip to Europe in 1990 to Germany and side trips to Czechoslovakia (when it was still one country) and former E.Germany very soon after the fall of the USSR...quickly trying to take in all the wonderful differences from my limited experience of only knowing the west coast of the US to that point...first the differences of Europe already at that time so much more concerned with energy and water conservation and the environment; and seeing the former Eastern bloc within only a year of official change from being Soviet states...I found a kind of nostalgia for something that I had never experienced...I enjoyed the conversations with the people who were excited and concerned about change which they had never really had to deal with. I loved seeing the historic city centers, the traditions and cultures unique to each region and city. Best moments were walking on the lakes surrounding the palace in Potsdam Germany, getting lost driving around a very vacant feeling E. Berlin after midnight, buying an amazingly well crafted hat at a little store in Teplice, CZ; and jumping fences and climbing up the remnants of a tower overlooking the Dresden Opera House afraid we might get thrown in an E.Germany prison and elated by the view at the same time.

Arrival for the first time in NYC at the bus station in 1992 at 3am... A mixture of acidic cooking sausages, multiple people trying to help me with (or away with) my luggage...a mixture of fear with exhilaration and amazement of the immensity of the city...NYC has changed quite a bit from those days.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Hungary, Italy, United States