CURRENT MISSION

When life gives me lemons, I make lemonade, pour it in some vodka, and invite some friends over :)

ABOUT ME

I grew up in Saint Louis Park, MN, where I went through the public school system. I got my first job at the age of 16 doing network/server/web IT administration for a small business, which I held for almost five years. I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. Computer Science in three years, after which I started working for a ~2000-employee company doing software engineering.

In my spare time, I run a web-based business (since 2001), listen to music (live and recorded), hang out with friends, ride a bicycle and motorcycle (not at the same time :P), and get distracted with all kinds of other interests.

PHILOSOPHY

I strive to make decisions and take actions that I won't regret. Because of, or in conjunction with this, I tend to be very contemplative, and enjoy "solving" problems (or attempting to do so, anyway). I have difficulty accepting generosity/kindness from others, but am working to improve this. It's much easier for me to give than to receive. I like to believe that people are generally good, but, when asked, will pessimistically tell you that people are generally stupid and make poor decisions.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was told about CouchSurfing by a former college roommate/good friend. He's stayed on my couch many times, and recommended I sign up. It seems like a good cause to me, so here I am!

Interests

Music, biking, motorcycles, health, technology, morality, and anything that can be found on wikipedia.

• cooking
• wine
• running
• motorcycles
• technology
• traveling
• painting
• music
• cycling
• swimming
• business
• computer science
• engineering
• science
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Office Space, Primer, The Fountain, Batman Begins, The Matrix

Music: EDM (electronic), alternative rock, classical music, etc. See http://www.last.fm/user/omega_drh

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I hiked up (and back down) 3100' on a 6-mile round trip trail in Skagway, AK to the snow/glacier-fed Upper Dewy Lake, where I went for a swim ... and got back in time to shower and tie a genuine bow-tie for a formal dinner. [ http://www.p14nd4.com/gallery2/v/travel/2005-06-alaska/050613_2255_Day5_013.jpg.html ]

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm pretty knowledgeable about a number of geeky things ... software engineering, printing, audio encoding/compression, operating systems, linux, some computer hardware, networking, various protocols, some cell phone tech, etc. I also bought a house in 2008, so I know a bit about the home-buying and mortgage process. I know that [home] painting is excruciatingly boring. I can cook some things. I have very basic knowledge of wine pairing.

I like learning about EVERYTHING. Seriously. Try to prove me wrong :).