My history:

I was born and raised in a small suburb just north of Philadelphia. Of course, this means I love cheesesteaks, hoagies, and all the Philly sports teams (especially the Flyers). I then went to Juniata College (which is in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania) where I double majored in mathematics and chemistry. After graduating, I moved to Santa Barbara, California, where I attended UCSB. I originally planned to get a Ph.D. in mathematics there, but soon got disenchanted. (Too much of the focus was on research and not teaching, in my opinion.) Luckily my advisor was understanding and helped get me involved in teaching at every level. While I enjoyed all the groups I taught, my favorite was the elementary school kids. So, after getting my M.A. in mathematics, I moved to San Diego to get my Ph.D. in mathematics and science education. [See the "What I'm doing with my life" sections for more details about this.]

I am currently finishing up my third year of graduate school in the mathematics and science education program at UCSD and SDSU. My current focus is on elementary school children and also pre- and in-service elementary school teachers. I am also currently working on a research project called Studying Teachers' Evolving Perspectives (STEP), where I get to interview teachers, code data, write research papers, and all the other fun academia stuff.

... staying up way past a normal human's bedtime and then either a) getting up at a "normal" hour and being good (as long as I get my afternoon nap), or b) sleeping in way late and starting the cycle all over again. :^)

... hearing only a few notes of any pop / rock song from '77 on and naming both the song title and the artist.

... explaining really hard or complex stuff in mathematics and science in an easy to understand and non-condescending way. (I think it comes from explaining concepts like infinity and black holes to little kids.)

... sudoku and crossword puzzles.

"I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like... Books, records, films -- these things matter. Call me shallow but it's the damn truth." - Rob Gordon, High Fidelity

Books:

I love reading. I used to read more often, but unfortunately I read so many article for my classes that reading for pleasure has become less of a joy. If I only could read ten things for the rest of my life, I guess I'd pick the following: 1984 by George Orwell, Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Lolita by Vladamir Nabakov, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, my collection of The Believer literary magazines, and my collection of Calvin and Hobbes books. Runner-up authors would include: Dave Eggers, John Hodgman, Nick Hornby, Franz Kafka, Jack Kerouac, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Shel Silverstein.

Movies:

I have three major genres of film that I enjoy, namely comedies (especially dark comedies), indie flicks, and classic black and white films. Some of my favourites include (in alphabetical order): Anchorman, Being John Malkovich, Brave Little Toaster, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Clerks, Donnie Darko, Goonies, High Fidelity, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Lola Runnt, Lost in Translation, North by Northwest, Reservoir Dogs, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and Tommy Boy.

Music:

Ah, you've found my weakness! I *love* music. Just a few of the bands I like are: They Might Be Giants, Tragically Hip, Afghan Whigs, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Odds, Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, Matthew Good Band, Tori Amos, R.E.M., Radiohead, Elvis Costello, Dandy Warhols, Live, Pixies, Gnarls Barkley, Twilight Singers, Pavement, Liz Phair, Lincoln, Violent Femmes, Ryan Adams, Ben Folds Five, Death Cab for Cutie, Talking Heads, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Michael Penn, Polaris, Decemberists, Beastie Boys, Gorillaz, Mono Puff, Hooverphonic, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Replacements, Modest Mouse, De La Soul, Arcade Fire, and many, many others.

Food:

I have to admit that I am at heart basically a meat and potatoes sort of guy. I'm not a big fan of vegetables or seafood, and I absolutely ABHOR peas. (I can't even stand the smell of them.) That being said, I still am fairly adventurous when it comes to trying new cuisine. I love trying new places to eat, from fancy upscale restaurants to little hole-in-the-wall places. Italian is probably my favorite type of cuisine (especially spaghetti in meat sauce), but I also love Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Indian, and South American. I'm an okay cook, and I'm always working to improve my skills. I'm best at cooking recipes passed down to me from my mom, but I have a few meals of my own too. I love cooking for others or having someone cook for me, as long as the person who didn't cook does the dishes. ;^)

The obvious answer here is 1) oxygen, 2) water, 3) food, 4) sleep, 5) shelter, and 6) clothing. However, those are very boring answers. A little while back, most of San Diego was on fire. Luckily, the area in which I lived only ever got under a suggested evacuation and never a mandatory one. During that time, I had to leave for a flight to Reno / Tahoe for a conference. Fearing that the house might be gone by the time I got back, I left the following items out for my roommates to grab and take with them in case they were told to evacuate:

1) Potbelly*
2) My birth certificate
3) My laptop
4) My photo albums
5) The book I wrote
6) The notes my former students wrote for me

Now, I am pretty sure I could live without those items, but those are the ones that mean the most to me. If I had to pick 6 things that I'd rather not live without, though, it'd be a different list. I'm not sure which would make the list, but candidates include a good feather pillow, a computer connected to the internet, bacon, little kids laughing, my mp3 collection, my hat (which everyone hates), a nice cold beer, fire, schadenfreude, and a sturdy box fan, among other things.

[* - Edit: I have recently been getting a lot of messages asking who or what "Potbelly" is. It is not a pig, my gut, or a stove created by Benjamin Franklin. He is a stuffed animal from my childhood that holds a lot of sentimental value (similar to Mr. Burns' Bobo).]

...naked people. Err, uh, no! No, I mean I think of good wholesome things! I mean, what kind of loser would say they think of naked people all the time, right? Right?! (Awkward.)

In all honesty, even though I am a "math ed guy", I rarely think about that stuff when I am not at work or in class. Sure, every now and then I try and think of a better way to teach kids or to help teachers, but once I come home I like to think of other things. Thus, you won't catch me "talking shop" too much. My thoughts generally range from politics* to weird music trivia**; from wondering how one might detect Canadian spies in our midst to what strategy I would use if I got to play Plinko on "The Price Is Right". I think about lots of other stuff too, as I am sure everyone does.

[* - For the record, I am a fairly hardcore liberal. That doesn't mean I hate on conservatives. One of my closest friends is very right wing, and while we disagree on politics, we get along just fine.

** - For example: everyone knows the first video on MTV was the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star", but few know the second video was Pat Benatar's "You'd Better Run".]

I don't know if this is "private", but it is a somewhat embarrassing story, so I hope it's good enough. I flew out to Tucson from SD with one of my project's two co-leaders Vicki. Now Vicki and I get along fine, except for the fact that she is generally quite serious, whereas I am generally never serious. This is not to say she doesn't have a sense of humor; she just is more businesslike than I could ever be. Anyhow, we flew on Southwest, which means you have to rush on to the plane to claim good seats. Vicki was apparently quite good at this. She beat me on board, but saved exit row seats for both of us. Once everyone was seated, the older (~50-55 years old) flight attendant came over to all of the people sitting in exit rows and gave the usual spiel. She then asked me (and ONLY me) the following: "Excuse me, sir, but are you over 15? You have to be older than 15 to sit in an exit row." I told her politely but firmly that I was indeed over 15, well over 15 in fact. She got slightly red faced and left us. Vicki then laughed hysterically, and rightfully so. Vicki and I then shared stories about when we had been mistaken for being younger than we really were. A few minutes pass, and just as we are taxiing to take off, the younger (~25-30 years old) flight attendant comes by and repeats the same spiel about sitting in an exit row. She then, I kid you not, asks me if I am over 15 because otherwise I cannot sit in the exit row. I turned to her, told her that yes I was over 15, and I am actually probably about the same age as she is.

::sigh:: So, of course, Vicki told this story to everyone in my office. Thus, when I returned to my office for the first time since the trip, I found a phone book on the chair of my desk. Next to it was a note saying "A booster seat for li'l Zig". I guess looking 15 is better than looking 45.