About Me

Minnesota Grown
I love my state and the change of seasons (though I revert to gripping about the cold and snow around mid-February!). Minnesota's North Shore, northern forests and lakes are a national treasure, and just plain good for the soul.

Conservative Raised
My evangelical values tend to draw me to conservative viewpoints. I understand the complexities of life and personal challenges, having navigated 51 years of life thus far, and having met both along the way. I draw strength from a loving and personal God, and am still of the belief that there really is objective truth we can know, and standards of right and wrong that follow. I am encouraged daily by knowing that Jesus Christ is a "better sacrifice" who met my need, once and for all. While I am committed to my religious beliefs, I understand that others differ with equal conviction and integrity. Still, I see no wrong in working to ensure the directions of our body politic do not infringe upon my personal liberties and do not support policies that stand as an affront to the Judaeo-Christian values our country was founded upon.

Curious George
Even as a child I wanted to know how things worked. Pens were taken apart and never re-assembled. Sewing machines were explored, and brought piercing revelations! Popular Science was my favorite reading material. And thousands of ideas came and went on how the world could be improved by careful application of some new technology.

Computer Geek
And so, it will come as no surprise that when I got my first personal computer in 1991 to prepare for a return to college, that I found myself captivated by the never-ending opportunities to explore and problem solve, presented by hardware, software, and emerging electronic communications. I went back to college to pursue a degree in psychology, and ended up as a software quality assurance analyst. I have owned six personal PC's, the last two custom built (and I see no reason to return to the land of mass marketing). I own five registered domain names. I have designed and authored almost a half-dozen personal websites. And even though I work with computers 40 hours a week, I still find myself sitting before one after I get home to work on things such as digital photography and my photo-sharing website.

Absent-minded Professor
"Deep thoughts" might sound like a sketch on Saturday Night Live, but it has been part of my nature since boyhood. In junior high school I wrote a paper on birth-control and contraception that my teacher remarked, in spite of my lack of personal experience of the same, was well-reasoned and very insightful. When I was 19 I took my first formal classes in philosophy, and then embarked for several years on a personal journey through moral relativity, existentialism, and back to my faith again, after having experienced first hand the downside of egocentricity. I confess that my mind gravitates more to preoccupation with concepts and ideas, at the expense of being able to remember where I left my car keys, or whose birthday I just about forgot again (were it not for a phone call from my parents or my siblings).

All-around Good Guy
More than one of my closest friends have remarked that I am one of the most genuine, honest people they have known. And this is to me one of the most affirming of all complements. There is something in me that seeks truth, and seeks to live it out. I value transparency, and have learned to value vulnerability and humility even more in the context of relational safety.