CURRENT MISSION

Do a *lot of travelling while I've got the opportunity

ABOUT ME

I just finished hiking up the coast of California, and I met a tonne of great people via CouchSurfing. I've spent good chunks of time in China, Italy, England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. I think my three favorite cities in the world are Wellington NZ, Victoria BC, and Seattle WA, in that order, though Halifax is starting to move up the queue.

I like improvisational theatre, TED talks, anthropology, diet Pepsi, Mac computers, the color orange, clicky keyboards, good, solid furniture, Time magazine, and Aston Martins. I have a British-ish sense of humor, and am generally easy going.

I'm a video game developer. As you might guess, I'm a bit on the nerdy side. I am exceptionally good at charming both parents and strangers (and all combinations thereof).

I wear hobo gloves, even though they've been behind the style-curve for about a year. They're practical, and *I still think they look awesome. I stay in hostels, not hotels. I cried walking down the street listening to Stephen Fry read Harry Potter once. The first time I saw fireflies was when I was speaking at a computational geometry conference in Pisa. I like inventing new words. I have excellent table manners.

I smile a lot :)

PHILOSOPHY

Live by your word, learn from your mistakes, and take it easy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Thus far, mostly surfing, which has been fantastic :) Lots of good people, lots of fun times had. Hosted someone last year at our old place; we're still good friends.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Alan (my finance) and I have recently gotten into hosting, even though our apartment is tiny. It's been great fun thus far :)

As for surfing, it's my favorite way to travel! I love meeting new people, seeing new places.

Interests

Interests? Lessee...I travel, run, cycle (both trail and road), solve interesting problems, design clothing, read, and watch movies. I like going to live theatre, and wandering around downtown when it's chilly. I collect photos of interesting graffiti and trash bins. I spend too much time looking at Wikipedia.

• design
• coloring
• dieting
• running
• walking
• clothing
• movies
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• surfing
• anthropology
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
- The Picture of Dorian Grey (Wilde)
- Here Comes Everybody! (Shirky)
- The Princess Bride (William Goldman Edition)
- House of Leaves (Danielewski)
- The Design of Everyday Things (Norman)
- The James Bond series (Flemming)
- The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Wrede)
- Neil Gaiman in general
- Good Omens (Gaiman + Pratchett)
- The Harry Potter series (Rowling)
- Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics (Dubner + Levitt)

Movies:
- Kill Bill
- Princess Bride
- Planet Terror
- Pulp Fiction
- Lord of the Rings
- Star Trek
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Monty Python's Holy Grail

Television (I haven't had cable since I was a teenager, but...):
- Doctor Who
- Torchwood
- Top Gear
- Star Trek

Music:
- Sufjan Stevens
- Mike Oldfield
- Belle and Sebastian
- The Beatles
- R.E.M.
- Yann Tiersen
- Fatboy Slim
- Breezeblock Sessions
- Cake
- Underworld
- The Tragically Hip
- Lemon Jelly
- BT
- Wes Anderson Soundtracks
- Video Game OSTs and Remixes
- The Crystal Method
- The Chemical Brothers
- New Order

Video Games:
- Mass Effect 1&2 (2 is much, much better...trust me)
- Banjo Kazooie
- DKC for SNES
- FFVI, VII, IX, XII
- SMB 1, 2, 3
- Super Mario 64, Galaxy
- Uncharted 2
- GoW2
- CoD4, WaW2
- Katamari Damacy
- KQ 5, 6, 7
- SkyRoads
- FF Crystal Defenders
- Assasin's Creed 2
- PA: Rainslick Precipice of Darkness
- Shadow Complex
- Monkey Island
- Chrono Trigger
- Legend of the Mystical Ninja
- LoZ: Ocarina of Time
- Goldeneye, Perfect Dark
- Resident Evil 4
- Etc

Food:
Anything, really :) I love coffee, wine, cheese...etc. Food is good.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Mel Brooks once kissed me on the cheek.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have been a professional video game developer for a number of years now, most recently leading a team of more than 80 software quality engineers and testers. This has given me a...unique perspective on the whole thing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, China, Italy, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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