I am a mountain boy at heart. I hate computers, but make my living by them. I am sometimes shy and sometimes forward, a little vulnerable, a little impenetrable. I take the long view and the scenic route. My mind is always in a low gear and my thoughts are always churning.

For a significant period of my life, I lived off the grid, in a cabin on top of a mountain. We carried the food in, composted the waste, and ran on solar and wind power. Though I live in cities now, I strive to live my life as if I were still on the mountain. I like making things from scratch though; like sourdough bread, homebrewed beer, photographs, guitars, telescopes, and tube amplifiers. I enjoy meeting new people, dispensing with the small-talk, and attempting to form deep connections.

For the past few years I've been working in the film industry using computers to make special-effects for movies. Kind of like Pixar, but a little different. I got this job after spending years studying the aerodynamics of bird flight. I quit that industry recently and spent a year traveling and Couchsurfing, mostly in Europe. It was incredible. Now I'm living in the Bay Area again and working on the next generation of 3D printing software for additive manufacturing.

PHILOSOPHY

To learn much and know little.

This is my philosophy:

"When you throw a stone into the water, it finds the quickest way to the bottom of the water. It is the same when Siddhartha has an aim, a goal. Siddhartha does nothing; he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he goes through the affairs of the world like the stone through the water, without doing anything, without bestirring himself; he is drawn and lets himself fall. He is drawn by his goal because he does not allow anything to enter his mind which opposes his goal...everyone can reach his goal, if he can think, wait and fast." -Herman Hesse

And also this:

"What it all comes down is that we are the sum of our efforts to change who we are. Identity is no museum piece sitting stock-still in a display case, but rather the endlessly astonishing synthesis of the contradictions of everyday life." - Eduardo Galeano

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For me, Couchsurfing is all about learning from each other. I hope I have a lot to offer, whether it is my perspective on life or a specific skill like cooking or guitar. And I certainly have a lot to learn from other surfers!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

First couchsurfed in Montreal to check out the jazz festival in 2007. Had a blast, and haven't looked back!

Interests

Mountains, valleys, bluegrass, green flashes, northern lights, southern rock, stargazing, bar hopping, summer ale, winter lager, deep powder, free heels, strong thighs, weak nuclear force, big cities, small towns, black crowes, white stripes, rolling stones, stone skipping, skinny dipping, rock climbing, tree hugging, photo taking, film making, bread baking, guitar playing, whiskey drinking and deep thinking.

• photography
• film making
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• baking
• drinking
• movies
• traveling
• drawing
• jazz
• guitar
• hiking
• camping
• rock climbing
• software
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
Black Crowes, Bob Dylan, The Faces, Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Gov't Mule, Black Keys, White Stripes, The Meters, Iron & Wine, Old Crow Medicine Show, Avett Brothers, Megafaun, Jeff Buckley, Sufjan Stevens, Tallest Man on Earth, Bon Iver, Phoenix, Florence and the Machine, Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne, Yonder Mountain String Band, and any kind of blues!

Movies:
Closer, Rushmore, Stranger than Fiction, Rules of Attraction, Eternal Sunshine, Lost in Translation, Before Sunrise, Amelie, Shortbus, The Squid and the Whale, Primer, Buffalo '66, Once, Melancholia

Books: Jonh Steinbeck, Gabriel García Márquez, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The River Why Into the Wild, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Ishmael

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have seen the northern lights while hiking 14 miles of alpine tundra at night. I've carried 100 lbs up a mountain. I've regularly cooked meals for 120 people. I've milked goats and picked peaches while WWOOFing. I swam in the Dead Sea and then walked a refugee camp in the West Bank. I've seen the sun rise from a carousel pony on a pirate ship in the Nevada desert. I've partied in New York and San Francisco, but mostly I just like sipping whiskey in the mountains.

Teach, Learn, Share

Cooking, guitar, photography, drawing!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Norway, Palestine, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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