I live in Sammamish Washington with my wonderful wife Christi our wonderful dogs Daisy and Makena, and an Evil Duck. The Evil Duck is really an umbrella cockatoo named Latte, but I've nicknamed him Evil Duck because he's awful smart and gets into a lot of trouble. I work for a software company managing a training curriculum development team.

Until I was 10 we lived in California, living in communes and school buses. I didn't appreciate it at the time but it was a great experience and helped me appreciate diversity as I grew older. To the right is a picture of me as a child with my Mom and Dad in Haight Ashbury. It's from the book "Hippy Hi" by Richard Crone.

Recently my mom found this footage in an old PBS Documentary called 20-Years Ago Today that actually has my Mom and Dad walking down the street in Haight Ashbury carrying me. I duplicated the clip with us in it and looped it a few times after the initial larger clip. You can right click on the link (Clip from the PBS Documentary)  and save it to your machine. It's a little less than 8mb. The lesson from this clip is that I will never be as cool as my parents were.

• Photography: I was never that in to film photography, but when digital got to the point where the quality was decent (1 megapixel), I started into digital photography. I've been doing it for years now, graduating to ever better cameras and increasing my skill by trial and error. For information on my photogear check out my gear page.
   
• Computers: I've loved computers since my dad got me interested in them in college. I'd played with them in high school, but didn't see much application for them. Dad introduced me to a PC with a 20MB hard drive as a sophomore in college and within a month I had my own. I am constantly on my computer, often editing photos, playing games, or (the majority of the time) working.
   
• Making Jewelry: When I was growing up in California my dad, who is an incredible artist, made jewelry, pottery, and painted. Health problems made him quit making jewelry but several years ago I found myself in a small store on San Juan Island that had trays and trays of Beads. Seeing them reminded me of simpler times and I found myself buying them and making bracelets and necklaces for friends and family. I've made hundreds of pieces and my designs have gone from funky to beautiful. I sell out of a store in Seattle as well as directly to individuals. Here's a page explaining my work.
   
• Being Outdoors:
  • Bicycling: My wife Christi got me into bicycling and I love it. We've done the Seattle to Portland ride a few times, and many spring and summer evenings will find us on the Sammamish River trail enjoying the views of the valley and wondering how the Tour de France riders climb the Alps and Pyrenees at speeds greater than we average on the flats.
  • Photo Walks: Christi is an avid runner, so on many weekends when she runs with friends I'll join her and take walks around Seattle, taking pictures and relaxing.
  • Kayaking: I don't get enough time to do this, but I have several little basic kayaks that we use in the San Juans, Sun River Oregon, and around the Puget Sound area.
  • Powerboarding: Christi got me an incredible powerboard for Christmas one year. It's a longboard skateboard with a powerful electric motor and battery underneath and a wireless remote control. The original does about 15-MPH and will go 8-10 miles before recharging, and she's since upgraded it on a birthday with one that does 20-MPH. When Christi runs I often skate around and hang out with her. Since the skateboard is powered I can spend all my time carving and it's an outstanding core and balance workout. Here's a cool video I shot while I was out on the board. Check them out at http://exkate.com