Welcome! I'm originally from Long Island and did my undergrad in upstate New York. It was COLD there, so I came to California! It's very nice to actually *see* the sun in the winter and be away from all the snow. I love pop cultury things and know way too much TV trivia for my own good. I was once told by a professor I was TAing for that I had "a Jack Black-like charm." I am definitely not a morning person and cannot hold even a semi-coherent thought until I have caffeinated myself thoroughly.

Sometimes, you can find me in any local coffee shop you walk into. This is either my superpower, or just an odd consequence of being a physicist. - Contributed by one of my best friends, Wegmans.

My blurb and life are a work in progress. (Bonus points if you can identify the source of this paraphrase.)

Currently, I am a graduate student in physics at UC Berkeley.

I have been a GSI [Berkeley fancy-talk for 'Teaching Assistant'] for a while and eventually want to be a teacher and write textbooks. I am now deep within my research and am 'All But Dissertation'!

This past fall, I taught a conceptual physics course to students at an Acupuncture school (AIMC here in Berkeley) and this spring, I am teaching a physics course at the UC Berkeley extension.

Remembering arcane trivia that will never have any use in my life. Not remembering people's names when I meet them in groups of more than three [which doesn't bode well for my students... I have yet to make it through a semester knowing all of my students names]. I've been working on my evil laugh, and it's coming along. I debuted it in public in front of my students just as they were about to start their final exam. They were... not amused.

"Man, how long is he just going to sit in this coffeeshop grading/reading the paper/doing the crossword? Give up the seat, buddy!" I honestly don't know what people first notice about me! If you have an impression from my pictures, or are one of the people on here who do actually know me, you should edit this section!

Books: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. Nick Hornby and Michael Chabon are always a good read. I love sci-fi, too. Arthur Clarke, Larry Niven, (if you get a chance, you really should read the short essay 'Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex' by Niven - It's a scientific analysis of why Superman can never be with Lois Lane), Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn. I picked up the first book in Borders and was instantly hooked. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. I still have copies of Jurassic Park and Contact which I've had since I was in middle school.

Movies: Contact, The Iron Giant, The Boondock Saints, Shaun of the Dead, anything written by Charlie Kaufman or Brad Bird, anything put out by Pixar. I enjoy going to see documentaries. One of my favorite things to do with friends is to go 'blind' into a movie. That is, one of us chooses, and the rest are denied any knowledge of what we are seeing, including being forced to look down when entering the theater. We only know which movie we are attending when the credits start to roll =). My favorite experience doing that was when my friend took me to see The Science of Sleep.

Music: Alanis Morissette, The Corrs, movie scores, general 90s.

TV: Anything by Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly), Lost, Arrested Development, Wonderfalls, etc. As for shows that aren't canceled, there's Futurama and Community. Cougar Town has been a really pleasant surprise (or should I put that in the 'private things' section?). I'm always looking for new fun shows, too. Currently working through Dexter. Have a suggestion? Send it my way!

Food: I like food.

Coffee

The New York Times (I need to start my morning with some alone time at a coffee shop with my coffee and my paper! Also, I like the crosswords), although since they raised it to $2.00 an issue, I'm mainly reading it online at home.

Music to listen to while I work.

Books to read.

A notepad and writing impliment of some sort [it's all I need to do my research].

Friends with off-kilter senses of humor.

Work. Ways of avoiding work. What to do tonight? What was I just doing? Names and plots for awful Sci-Fi Original Movies (such as 'Tornadopus', 'Space Zombies', and 'Crocodactyl'). It's hard to pin down one thing that I spend most of my time thinking about, really, my mind is all over the place.

I (not-so-) secretly aspire to create great physics art of some sort or another. Lots of ideas are floating around in my head, and hopefully I'll have time at some point to bring more to fruition.

Lately, I've just been gathering with my friends for some home-cooked dinner, tv/movies, and game night. Speaking of games, if you've never tried Quiddler, I highly recommend it.

One of my earliest memories is having a nightmare about the Yip Yips from Sesame Street.

Ever since being taken to Action Park as I child, I have had an immense dislike for amusement parks. July 2011 Update! Apparently, I was not the only one scarred by Action Park, as a recent article on Cracked.com (Most Terrifying Theme Park Rides) proves!

I like getting messages - don't be shy!