CURRENT MISSION

Project Persephone - a space program for the rest of us: www.projectpersephone.org

ABOUT ME

Japanese inn operator, social entrepreneur, space travel enthusiast

PHILOSOPHY

Woody Allen said, 80% of success is showing up. No matter how you define success (unless it's "total social isolation"), you'll have to go places, do things there, and create trust by being trustworthy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm new to couchsurfing. I suppose I could use it to help fill rooms in my inn, but for now I'd rather use it go couchsurfing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Stayed at Wardaya College in Jakarta

Interests

space travel
political science
non-profit
kenya
uganda
ecuador
indonesia

• animal welfare
• electronics
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• trail running
• rock climbing
• business
• ecology
• entrepreneurship
• physics
• political science
• science
• tourism
• language exchange
• budget travel
• mountain climbing
• coins
• virtual reality
• robotics
• japanese
• javascript
• indonesia
• ngo
• project management
• space exploration
• information technology
• software development
• ecuador
• colombian food
• nonprofits
• specialty coffee
• computer graphics
• uganda
• event management
• behavioral economics
• website development
• kenya

Music, Movies, and Books

I like the more edgy, art-film type of movie, but I can be dragged to see Vin Diesel in something and thoroughly enjoy everthing except the interminable fist-fights. My musical tastes have been described as "hopelessly mired in the 80s," but now, all the good bands sound like bands from the 80s, so I'm glad I waited. I used to read a lot of Serious Literature novels. But now that I'm doing an NGO, almost everything in non-fiction related to my mission. This has made me either fascinating or very dull on a variety of topics, so feel free to cut me off if it's not a topic that fascinates you.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Personal altitude record so far: Pt. Lenana on Mt. Kenya. Champion gymnast at 9 years old for a California-wide competition. Joined 12 Silicon Valley startups without a dime to show for it, much less wealth. Free solo of Cathedral Peak in Yosemite. (OK, not that hard. But still.) 7 years at U.C. Berkeley and /still/ no degree!

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd like to meet people who have experience in what I want to do - not only the NGO stuff, but the business sidelines that can help keep me financially afloat until my NGO can pay me a salary (which is maybe never, but whatever.) Travel & tourism has been my bread and butter, so if you can talk about that, please do. Otherwise, a lot of my interests run to the technical and obscure. Orbital debris mitigation, anyone? How about the macroeconomics of microfinance? Hm, didn't think so. If there's a "generic American guy thing" I like to talk about, it's American politics. Apart from that, I'm not a generic American guy, so don't even go there.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can help you with English, some math, some Japanese.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Philippines, Singapore, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States