this just in

This week I was ‘blog tagged’ by Avinash Kaushik and have decided to share a few facts about myself. I also need to tag 5 others. I’ll start by tagging Dylan Lewis. I met him at Emetrics and he is a very interesting guy.

Here goes…

1. I have thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian trail is a 2,167 mile hiking trail that starts at Springer Mountain, GA and ends at Katahdin, ME. On April 8, 2000 I started walking North from Springer Mountain with a woman I had known only 4 weeks. 5,000,000 steps, 183 days, 14 states and many blisters later we climbed Katahdin in Maine and completed our journey.

Needless to say this trip changed my entire life. Most notably, I fell in love with my companion, and she is now my wife. Everyone said we would either love each other or hate each other at the end of the trip. I’m glad it was the former.

2. I am a Rocket Scientist

Seriously, I am. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Aerospace engineering. I received my degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

To graduate, each student needs to complete a thesis called an MQP (Major Qualifying Project). I did my MQP with a brilliant young woman at the NASA Glenn Research Center, it was titled Sub-Kilowatt, Electrothermal Plasma Source Development. My partner and I studied the optimization of arcjets which are small thrusters used on satellites. How’s that for geeky? :)

3. I am a fanatical Red Sox fan

I grew up in Boston, MA and, like every good Bostonian, I am a fanatical Red Sox fan. I obsess over every player move, front office change and statistic. For example, this month I am IRATE that the Red Sox have changed the radio broadcast team. After 14 years Jerry Troupiano has been booted from the broadcast booth. Nice job guys!

But my relationship with the Red Sox is personal. Why? When I was growing up baseball was a family activity. We went to games almost every weekend and every game was quality family time. To me, the Red Sox will always be warm summer afternoons at Fenway Park with my family. I can smell the hot-dogs now….

4. I love the outdoors

Plain and simple. I love to hike, ski, canoe and fish.

5. I dig live music

I really got into music when I was in college. I started seeing this band called Phish. Me and some friends would travel from city to city (when we had time) and see as many Phish shows as possible. The band opened my eyes to many kinds of music including; Jazz, classical, bluegrass, etc. To me, it’s all about the creative energy between the musicians and the fans. That’s something you can only experience at a show.