What do you do?

[RubberDuck]

There are large number of interesting folk here on the GL. I often find myself reading one comment or another, and find myself thinking, "I wonder what this person does for a job, or what degree do they have, and/or where do your interests lie?

As I don't feel like sending you all a PM, I thought I'd make a thread for anyone to help me understand what makes you all tick. I'll go first.

I've studied Sport and Exercise Science: Exercise training & prescription at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
I also am starting to study the much more interesting Social and Behavioral Anthropology & Psychology, with a mind to one day get into personal Counselling.
I love different languages, accents, & cultures. I one day dream to be able to fluently speak Japanese, Russian, German, & Spanish.

I have a 10 year background in Martial arts, and have experience in Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Karate, & Jujitsu. (I like the science of the bio mechanics, not the beating people up. )

But, that's enough about me.

[Dragon Phoenix]

Engineering degree and PhD in Chemistry, a 28-year career with a large multinational company that took me to Singapore and France, took early retirement last year. and have been managing our own art gallery since then (married to a professional artist with international reputation since 2000).
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My photography:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artrock2006/

[Neo]

I graduated in 2008 with a BS in Physics with minors in Math and German from Fort Hays State University in Kansas (United States).

I'm currently working as an Assistant Program Director at an outdoor residential science education facility in California. I'm the swing-shift administrator, meaning I start at 1 pm and from 4:30 until 10 I'm the head honcho. I'm also the IT director and in charge of various equipment associated with our night activities. I do some occasional curriculum development and last year redesigned a simulation involving the disappearance of a science team at a research outpost.

I've been involved in informal space science education/public education since 2005. I have no plans to ever set foot in a real classroom because parents and school administrators are some of the dumbest people on the planet.

I have a rather extensive collection of video and board games. On occasion I brew beer. I enjoy Nerf wars and will probably start teaching archery this summer.
_________________
_{Ad Astra}

[Zag]

I earned a BS in Electrical Engineering/Computer Engineering in 1984 (Northeastern University), and have worked as a software engineer since. I'm currently working at StreamBase Systems, where I've been since Oct 2012. I have posted a puzzle of the week on a whiteboard every week since I've been there, all stolen from GL. People there think I'm a genius because I know the answers to all these puzzles. (Actually, I'm honest about which ones I solved when I first saw them, and which I didn't.)

I've been married for 28 years. My wife is now retired on disability (as of two and a half years ago), and has been in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy for the past 24 years. She has made a lot of quilts, many of which have won awards in quilt shows. You can see some of them here. I have designed the patterns for some of the quilts, so I get a little of the credit, but she is the genius with colors and the one who does all the hard work of sewing them.

We have two kids: a son, 27, who sometimes posts here as Zahariel; and a daughter, 25. No grandkids and no prospects of grandkids any time soon.

Our daughter is currently living with us, since her divorce from the heroin addict who totally f**ed up our lives until a year and a half ago when we finally threw him out. She has two dogs, added to our two dogs, and we have WAY TOO MUCH DOG in the house. (Actually, they're not that bad, but I always tell them that they are too much. The littlest one is my surrogate grandchild that I STILL don't have any of. Have I mentioned that already?)

I've lived in New England all my life; I currently live near the seacoast of New Hampshire.

[Neo]

NH? Damn, I was in Nashua several times the last couple years.

My mom has hinted at grandkids several times. I'm the oldest of 4. I keep telling her I'm only 27...
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_{Ad Astra}

[The Potter]

I finished a degree in mechanical engineering, bummed around graduate school, and learned I had a passion for pottery (link in signature). Right now I cheaply live off the house I sold by owner last October. US$820 for seven years!

I moved to New Zealand last December (Christchurch) and am currently unemployed. There was a chance that I was going to move to Wellington soon but suddenly I became unemployed with an interview on Tuesday!
Within the engineering world, I enjoy 3D CAD design/drafting.

There are not grandchildren in my family yet. I am really the best hope. I am the youngest (now 26), the only one who seems interested in getting a girlfriend, and shacking up with a kiwi is one way to move here

I have 11 years of competitive sport fencing (epee). I like beating people up.
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Artwork | Fractals | Don't ignore your dreams; don't work too much; say what you think; cultivate friendships; be happy.

[RubberDuck]

Dragon Phoenix
What lead you into your Engineering degree and PhD in Chemistry?
The first thing that comes to my mind with that combination is explosives.
Though I'm sure there is far more constructive means to it than that.

Neo
(I know where Kansas is, neither I, nor Dorothy are there.) Didn't you do a tour with the U.S Marines at some point and if not, then who am I thinking of? But it sounds like you have a lot on your plate. I have relatives that also do IT, and I am glad they do it and not me.

[The Potter]

I could help build a robot I suppose. I would feel comfortable designing the linkages (machining them if needed) and finding motors that would be suitable. I would leave the electronics and controls to someone else.

Well, I came across pottery in elementary school and high school art classes. I enjoyed it way back then. During my college years I let it all pass out of focused determination to get an engineering degree. After working a bit and then starting graduate school, I found myself with enough free time to take ceramics. After a few months I was spending quite a bit of time in the studio. I started wheel work the next fall and became pretty good at it about 1000 lbs of clay later. Last April-July I was doing it pretty much full time.

In New Zealand it would be much harder to have this discovery period. At UAF it cost me ~600 a semester for instruction and unlimited supplies and firings. So about ~1800 to become very good at the craft. Here I would have to pay for my own clay/firings: 500 kg of clay is ~$1000 and each firing is ~$100. I am not exactly sure how expensive classes are. Also paying as you go means more conservative usage.

Modern saber fencing is kinda lame and very hard on the knees. It is very fast and flashy and favours youth and agility. Most older fencers stick with epee because experience and precise distance and timing are more important than pure speed. Also the referee makes calls about right of way which can vary regionally.
Yes, the NZ top end is a notch lower compared with America. Which is a bit lower than Europe. The nearest fencing clubs are Taupo and Wellington.
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Artwork | Fractals | Don't ignore your dreams; don't work too much; say what you think; cultivate friendships; be happy.

[groza528]

[jadesmar]

I do embedded cryptography and upright bass.

[RubberDuck]

[Dragon Phoenix]

[The Potter]

There is a fencing club in Christchurch and a few others on the South Island.

I like DP's logic for getting a PhD. Not joining the army is an excellent motivational tool.
_________________
Artwork | Fractals | Don't ignore your dreams; don't work too much; say what you think; cultivate friendships; be happy.

[Jedo the Jedi]

[Macros]

Started studying History at uni in Newcastle, engerland, with the intention of moving on to teaching. Realised I hate children and wasn't going to class, dropped out after a few months, started working as a sparks mate.
started uni again in Belfast, studying property investment and development, still sparking jn my spare time, didn't quite make it over the finish line on that one either, so after a total of about 4 years in uni and a quite considerable debt on my back I decided academia wasn't for me, neither was any kind of office work, I enjoy being on site and working with my hands, so took up being an electrician full time, been doing that for ..... 5? Years now.
still enjoy my work, I'm good at it, and hope eventually to push on into a foreman position as I get older and don't fancy the hard work anymore.

feel slightly in adequate with all the master degrees floating around
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oh hello

[Death Mage]

After being one of the first members of the invite-only game making Alpha Squad (invited by both instructors) at UAT and graduating summa cum laude with a BS in software engineering/game programming I now work retail. It's very depressing.
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* These senseless ramblings brought to you by Insanity™. If you just can't figure the dang thing out, it must be Insanity™.
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[Gomez*]

I did an English literature and media studies degree with a minor in anthropology in London. Moved from there into teaching. Left the profession after a year because, like Macros, I realised I couldn't stand kids, which, apparently, rather goes against one of the main prerequisites of the job. I then moved into banking, and from there into insurance and am currently an underwriter for a large, London-based firm.

I went through a long and distinctly unpleasant period of illness in 2012 which saw me take six months off work, and from which I'm still recuperating. During my many stays in hospital I underwent dozens of different scans and was struck by how friendly, approachable, helpful, and downright inspirational the radiography staff were, and how much more bearable they made the whole ordeal. So inspired was I, in fact, that I've decided on a career change. I need to save up a fair bit of money first, but in 2015 or 2016, I plan to quit my job, return to uni, and study radiography. I'll be 35 by then, which strikes me as being a bit late for such a drastic change of direction, but I'm still massively looking forward to it.

My hobbies and interests include both reading and writing science-fiction, playing and composing for guitar, piano, and violin, long distance running (one of the worst things about my illness is I've totally lost all my stamina. I'm down from about 70 miles a week to less than 10), history (particularly the Victorian era), movies, and Doctor Who, about which I am unashamedly the biggest geek in England, and quite possibly the world. My girlfriend is big into cosplay, which I've always been a bit too shy for, to be honest, but she's persuaded me to go to this year's London comic con by suggesting I go as Colin Baker's Doctor to whom, in the right wig and without my glasses, I apparently bear a passing resemblance (can't see it myself, but whatever...). I've recently formed a covers band with a drummer friend of mine and his wife on vocals. We're gonna start playing gigs next month. Hopefully we won't suck. That's about it.

[Courk]

[Zag]

[jadesmar]

[groza528]

[Lepton*]

Jadesmar, great answer!
Groza, I bought a copy of Equinox, but it got lost in the local post so I haven't played yet. I'll try again when v2.0 comes out.
DP, I thought you were into lubricants... or is that just a hobby?
Zag, I'm glad to hear things have settled enough that the quantity of dogs at home is the biggest concern.
Neo, you job sounds fantastic. I guess the night activities include observing?

I've enjoyed reading these because of the updates on the lives of friends. I'll share too.

I have degrees in astrophysics and math and education, but dropped out of physics grad school in order to become a teacher, a career I love. I left Canada for Mongolia in 2007, and came to Latvia in 2011. I travel around Europe during breaks (ie: Prague last weekend, Italy next week) and think a lot about technology in education.

[Quailman]

[Gomez]

[Scurra]

[Death Mage]

A) Like those are the only two sci-fi serieses out there.
B) There's no shame in being a Trekkie.

Though I am looking forward to the 50th anniversary special.
_________________
* These senseless ramblings brought to you by Insanity™. If you just can't figure the dang thing out, it must be Insanity™.
[YOUR AD HERE!]

[bonanova]

I'm a retired engineer who spent 39 years, mainly doing research, for a well-known computer company that goes by three initials. Electrical engineering to be precise, but in a corner of that field that was really indistinguishable from physics. Aside from summer jobs during 10 years at university, it was the only paying job I've had. Twenty-two of those years were split between materials research and the (then) brand-new field of computer science. I have 25 or so publications, and my name is on 8 to 10 patents and another 25 or so patent publications - all owned by the company of course. For seven years I was editor-in-chief of their Journal of Research and Development, followed by 2 years in technical and administrative support of an internal Academy of Technology, an organization patterned after the national academies. My final eight years I spent developing and webmastering the company's intranet, and supporting internal and executive communications for the company's software group. It was a wonderful ride: four careers within the four walls of a single company.

Since retirement I'm researching family history and integrating the collection of written histories that I inherited from family members. I spend inordinate amounts of time on ancestry.com. I've filled in much of my mother's ten generations in America on both her father's and mother's side - back to the 1660s arrival in Boston from England. My father's side goes back only two generations to the late 1880s arrival from various parts of Scandinavia. They all were first settlers and homesteading land owners in North and South Dakota. Some of their personal stories are incredible.

I'm an admirer of Martin Gardner, particulary because he was the type of genius that communicated simply and clearly. His puzzles were couched in succinct and accurate descriptions like well-written computer code, that meshes with my own fields of science and communications.

Personally, I now live alone, have some amazing long-term friends, two sons and three grandchildren, all of whom give me opportuinity for great pride and frequent travel. My passions are my church and directing and perfoming choral music, both church and classical. I'm also a semi-serious amateur photographer.

Originally from Minneapolis (University of Minnesota) now living about 40 miles north of New York City.
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_{Vidi, vici, veni.}

[jadesmar]

[Mackay]

[MNOWAX]

I'm 28 years old, residing in upstate NY, Phelps, NY to be exact, ten miles away from two beautiful lakes.

I'm the oldest of three children, and have had an interesting line of professions. I have been working with computers since the age of six, I built my first PC at 13. In high school I got into an assisted living facility, and loved the work. I spent 6 years there working in health care while at first going to school for computer sciences ( lasted 2 semesters) then going for nursing (which lasted half a year). Got burned out of healthcare, and got out of it to pursue my first love of computers. I now have a mildly successful business fixing and building PCs as well as doing tutorials ( which surprisingly is in high demand in this area) and working side jobs to make ends meet.

My father died when I was 15, who was a mechanic and truck driver for many years. My brother has Autism, Bi-polar, and IED, and has been living at home for his entire life with my mother, my sister and I. Due to his behavior, We have had to have at least two family members with him at any one time.

I play poker, and M:tG. I play board, card, and video games for fun, as well as play guitar casually. I'm a game show nerd, but I enjoy all sorts of television shows ( most of the time we are stuck in the house, so we have a penchant for watching a lot of TV) I'm also a professional wrestling nerd, and have a radio show that is floating out there.

That is me in so many words.
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The Man The Myth The Legend
MNOWAX

[Dragon Phoenix]

[Jedo the Jedi]

Mackay, I like to think you've helped me improve myself. Thank you for the needed encouragement.

groza, at least Midland is a dry heat. I still don't envy you being there in the summer.

bonanova, has some of your work been performed by your church? I enjoy choral music, but I don't see it much in my conservative tradition.
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Paragon Tally: 18 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Neo]

RubberDuck: Not everybody knows where Kansas is, just trying to cover all my bases

No Marines for me. I did try to get into the US Naval Academy. I had two congressional appointments and academic acceptance, but the Navy decided they didn't like my medical records and I couldn't get a waiver. AcidFast is/was in the Army and has done a few tours in Iraq.

IT was not originally part of the job. It needed doing because we have 90ish computers on campus and a mess of a network spread out over 90+ acres. The person who has this job after me is going to hate me.

Lepton: Yup, lots of observing. I've got 20 telescopes, 45 binoculars, and two SBIG CCDs under my care.
_________________
_{Ad Astra}

[Quailman]

[Gomez]

[The Ragin' South Asian]

I have a BS in Economics from the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington. I still by the UW 5 years after graduation (I guess closer to 6. old.), largely because there's a bus to goes almost directly to my office.
I work at Intellectual Ventures. They just made this video about what we do here. I work with the "investment" piece they mention, as a market analyst.
In my spare time, I hang out and relax. A while ago I started Pizza Society, which meets about once a month to eat pizza. I'm frequently found at my neighborhood bar, trying to read.

[Scurra]

[itisally]

I live in Elmira, Oregon and I have lived in Oregon my whole life. Some may call it boring, but I call it stable. I am just a stones throw (literally) from the Oregon Country Fair, so Hippies invade every year.

I have a BS in Elementary Education from Western Oregon University with minors in Math and Science. I am currently working on a Masters in Education in Curriculum Development and Teaching from Northcentral University.

Having also found that parents are awful, I am currently teaching at Pioneer Pacific College. I love teaching adults because no one complains if I expect them to be personally responsible. I teach math, computer applications, college and career success courses, and have dabbled in teaching introductory writing classes.

Before this I worked for 4 years as a desktop publisher. A job I got because I was the only one in the office that knew how to run a Mac when the old desktop publisher got fired and I had taken one DTP class at the community college. I loved the challenge of that job. I have always worked well with deadlines.

My husband and I will be celebrating out 10th anniversary this year. We have 2 boys, 2 years old and 9 years old and we have 2 daughters from his previous relationships, 23 and 19. The 19 year old is engaged to a wonderful young man and we are expecting our first grandbaby in August.

In my spare time (ha!) I participate in Ren Faires and Pirate events. My husband and I are the head of a “fleet”. I love video games. Minecraft is at the top of my list right now as well as Star Wars. I read some, but not as much as I would like. I sew, mostly costumes for the pirates though. I also like drumming, belly dancing and fire dancing although I have gotten horribly out of practice with a toddler at the house.

When it comes to GL I normally feel way out of my league, but I keep hoping some of it will rub off on me.
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I could agree with you, but then we would both be wrong.

[Zag]

[Da Q*]

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.