Introductions, especially electronic ones are generally painful processes. What I write here stands here for repeated evaluation. during a verbal introduction, anything that I may say, however bland, incorrect, or offensive, is transmuted into vapor as soon as i cease speaking and the listener moves my stupidity into the recesses of his memory. An electronic introduction is a completely different beast, my introduction here is thought out before it is committed to key-strokes. My words here are nearly palpable, they are especially palpable if my audience is reading this on a Braille capable monitor.

When it comes to computer science as a whole: I am not a savant, I am not gifted, I am not even affluent. This field of study is surprisingly disheartening for the uninitiated. In the study of history or the study of something like pottery, you expect peers to walk into the door with varying levels of previously acquired knowledge. In the Computer Science world ¹⁾ there seems to exist an unimaginably wide expanse of skill levels among my peers. This is both encouraging and frightening simultaneously.

I'm 28 years old, that is equivalent to 50 years of age if we lived one thousand years ago. I enjoy cellular respiration, partly because it keeps me alive. I also really like dinosaurs and stickers. Also, I'm here for the chicks.