Zentropy

I’m a 31 year old married white male living in the suburbs of Indianapolis. I’ve had a science and engineering streak a mile wide since I was a kid.

I graduated from Butler University in 2000 with a degree in physics. I wasn’t terribly excited about eight more years of school, and realized I didn’t have the dedication or skill it took to be successful in physics, so I decided to try my hand in programming. Programming had intrigued me for a long time, and when I first got my hands on a FORTRAN app that modeled globular star clusters, I knew it was my future.

I landed an entry level web development position right out of school. Of course, immediately thereafter the web 1.0 bubble burst, and I was out of a job. It took a couple months, but eventually I found a great job in Columbus, Ohio as a GIS (geographic information systems) programmer. Apparently they liked my linear algebra skills! After four good years, my wife and I had grown homesick for Indy, so we moved back in the spring of 2006. I’m currently employed as a software engineer at Leaf, helping create and maintain custom business applications.

I’m also a *bit* of a sports fanatic, having played football, baseball, and powerlifting in high school, and football in college. This blog will occasionally have a post on Notre Dame football, White Sox baseball, the Indianapolis Colts, or Butler University basketball.

I’m an avid guitar player, and currently own a Taylor 310CE, an Alvarez acoustic, and a Fender 12-string. I’ve also got an authentic didgeridoo that I brought back from a semester abroad in Australia, and a little djembe drum that my toddler son will one day be beating on endlessly. I tend towards jam bands and southern rock, and my iPod holds a ton of Widespread Panic, Allman Brothers, Umphrees McGee, Derek Trucks, DMB, and Govt Mule, as well as the obligatory Phish, Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin collections. However, I also enjoy the heavier side of rock and love classic Metallica, Alice in Chains, STP, Pantera, etc. These days Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, and Disturbed are in my regular rotation, just to bring me back down to earth after an extended 30 minute jamband improv. All the other stuff? Didn’t get into it…well, rap was cool until Tupac died, now it just sucks. Country is a little too over the top twangy and formulaic for my tastes, and R&B just bores me to tears.

My family is amazing. My wife is a fantastic mother and the most compassionate and thoughtful person I’ve ever met. She’d go to any length to help her family and friends, and works incredibly hard at everything she does. My son is an absolute trip. He’s two and he knows it. Into everything, reckless disregard for pain & danger, but unlike most two-year-olds is very sweet natured. Sure, he throws tantrums, but they’re pretty half-assed and he knows it. And he knows WE know it. He’s a ton of fun, and 100% little boy. Loves getting dirty and rough-housing more than anything else. Never walks; always runs. He’s going to be very difficult to keep up with as he grows up, but I like a challenge!

I recently got involved with a friend to start OutdoorBirdSupplies.com, an e-store specializing in birdwatching supplies and other, folksy, cracker-barrelly type goods. It’s kind of neat, as I’m learning a lot about this particular hobby and using my web and programming skills to help out.