I grew up in a small town in Tennessee, and I've lived in New York 11 years. What people say: "But you don't have an accent!" My career is science and engineering, but I'm not really a gadget person. Young me thought he would grow up to write or maybe draw comic books. I've been to 48 states. Before graduate school I worked in a smooth jazz club, even though I'm not really into that. Allergic to bullshit. In a good way.

Teaching, reading Ursula K Le Guin, and listening to Black Sabbath. Science-wise I get to do some cool stuff, but I don't talk about it too much. Lately I'm riding my bike a lot, seeing new places.

Public speaking. Ask my students, I'm great at it. Also supposedly I'm funny, but my friends might be lying.

My curly hair I think.

Do you know the band the Flaming Lips? Sometimes strangers stop me, not to ask me if I'm the Flaming Lips guy (because I'm too young), but to ask me if I know I look like him. Other people I seem to look like: Dennis Miller, Jeremy Davies, Jesus Christ, Rick Danko, 'This buddy of mine.'

Typical music might be Black Sabbath, Kathleen Edwards, Belle and Sebastian.

Favorite writers as a function of my age: 10: Stephen King; 15: William Gibson; 20: Harlan Ellison; 25: Stephen Crane; 30: James Joyce; 35: J.G. Ballard; Yesterday: Ursula K Le Guin

My favorite painting is La Vie from Picasso's blue period and I used to go sit in front of it all the time. Once I fell asleep there, and that was a great day.

Fall days,
Good people,
Dogs and cats I meet on the street,
Old paperback books,
Yacht Rock episode 10,
Ativan for flying

Whether or not I watered the plants

Three way tie: Meeting friends, reading in an old man bar, or using a particle accelerator to do experiments

I name the plants?

If you're a thoughtful type, an absurdist, a lover of 70s rock, you're into science, you like watching the chase scene in Bullitt, if there's something you'd like to tell me ... really there could be many reasons.