Who I Am

A Father

of two wonderful little boys, Carter (5) and Bennett (2)

All of the cliches are true. I’ve never cared more, learned more from, or been so thankful for anything in my entire life. For the forseeable future, they come first. Bottom line.

A Husband

to perhaps the most compassionate person in the world

I’m a dick. Seriously.

My wife is not. She’s warm, considerate, welcoming, and intolerant of intolerance.

In other words, she’s perfect.

A Scientist

I heart logic + predictions based on repeatable observations

I’m serious. Back in 1998, I was a doctoral student working on characterizing the signalling characteristics of the Trp64Arg polymorphism of the Beta-3 adrenergic receptor in Alan Shuldiner’s lab at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

I was never good at bench work — the real technical aspects of basic science research. I would do the same experiment the same way 5 times and get five significantly different results.

If you’re wondering, that means that I accomplished nothing for three years of my life.

Fuck that.

I currently hold a useless Master’s degree is biochemistry.

A Creative

I like making something out of nothing

There is something absolutely transcendental about creating something out of nothing. The ultimate expression of this is having children but any form of creation provides this connection.

I consider myself extremely luck to be able to express my creativity professionally. But it is, ultimately, in service of someone else…which it should be, frankly.

A Seeker of Truth

Testable facts are kinda hard to argue with

Throughout the course of human history, philosophy and religion were the only tools by which to explore and understand the fundamental nature of reality and our place within it.

Although each approach is profound in its own right, religious beliefs are as disparate as the cultures from which they originate. Yet, each wholeheartedly believes that their version is the ultimate truth. So much, in fact, that our planet has been in a near constant state of conflict due to this.

Isn’t the truth simply the truth? How can you fight over the truth?

Science provides use with the most reliable means to develop models of our reality. Our rate of technological advancement speaks deeply about the relationship between science and reality.