[Current cast of characters] [Emeritus]

• Michael Austin - graduated with me in June of 97. Now working at Microsoft and apparently having a great time (see, I can appreciate different strokes!). Michael is clever with code, electronics, math, chess, go, kite-flying, and many other things. Sure to be the next top coder.

• Kate Campbell - I met Kate through the Caltech Ballroom Dance Club, which she is now the president of (go Kate!). Kate is good at everything she does, from cooking to listening to giving AGU talks to knitting... and, of course, dancing!

• Dr. Kim Cleland - she of the biting wit, fierce intelligence, and unbounded strength and determination. A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Kim also dances, loves Tolkien, once haunted The Haunt (but only on 80's Night), and has three very large cats.

• Wendy Garvin - my friend of many, many years. Redheaded, passionate, brilliant, and friend to animals, wayward humans, and computers. Wendy now works at Cisco and is making lots of money, which helps support her horse and cat habits.

• Dr. Amy McGovern - fellow AI and space enthusiast. I first met Amy in 1997 when I was visiting prospective graduate schools. We both attended i-SAIRAS and ICML in 2001. Amy is doing her part to make space exploration (and colonization?) a reality by starting her own company, lunabots. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and recently welcomed her first child, William, into the world!

• AAron Poe - one of my closest friends from GCHS, AAron made Spanish class fun by sharing Mellow Man Ace and speaking to me in French. We had a great time watching movies, playing with computers, and talking and joking around. He was also part of our high school D&D group. AAron was a treasured point of sanity during my wacko senior year. He went on to get a degree from USU and is currently doing fieldwork in Alaska. He married Chandra in October of 2001.

• Elizabeth Santoro, Esq. - elegant, talented, the queen of poise, with the ability to walk into any room and instantly command everyone's attention. Elizabeth is also one of the hands-down best chefs I am ever likely to know. She writes wonderfully entertaining letters (on real paper!) and always has the right word of advice to offer.

• Andy Sfekas - my most recent dance partner and my mathematical idealization (there can be no better term). Andy is witty, intense, and fearless. A graduate student in Economics, he never fails to have something intelligent or hilarious (sometimes both) to say. In addition to solving differential equations, he also sews his own clothing, knits, and has large amounts of cooking skill. Did I mention that he's an incredible dancer?

• Josh Steele - for the latter part of 2002 and most of 2003, Josh was located down the hall from me at APL. He is almost exactly my age and has a great sense of humor (despite his love of puns). He's always ready to tease me for using Pine or lamenting Microsoft Product X's lack of emacs keybindings. Josh recently welcomed his first child, Noah, into the world as well!

• Tim Stough - I first met Tim when he was a grad student at Purdue and working at JPL during my summer internship there in 1999. He gifted me with a genuine "Mars Parking Lot" sign from JPL, suggested some great places for hiking in Pasadena, and helped me locate the yeti when necessary. Now we both work at JPL!

• Donna Weimer - a professor at Juniata College and a good friend of mine. Donna is warm and caring, thoughtful and full of thought, clever, intelligent, and great fun to be around.

Neat people I no longer see as much as I'd like:

• Carson Bloomberg - graduated from Cornell in CS just before I met her (darn!). Carson is dedicated, passionate, and firm in her beliefs. Apprenticed to a Laurel in the SCA, she has a multitude of talents in embroidery, sewing, design, singing, and guitar playing.
• Holly Braithwaite - I met Holly on the U's Ballroom Dance team, where she provided the humor and sarcasm we often needed. She is vibrant, passionate, and intensely funny. She also designed my graduation announcements.
• Alyosha Efros - also graduated in 97 from the U. Amazingly brilliant. He went on to Berkeley for his grad studies and is now headed to CMU for a faculty position. Ice cream fiend.
• Jim Ezick - a trenchcoat-wearing member of my PhD class at Cornell working on interprocedural program analysis, Jim is also an awesome hockey goalie :) We collaborated on a project for CS 612. He gave me an awesome Mars ballcap (thanks Jim!) and never fails to have something amusing to say. He survived a stint as my officemate, too.
  
• Dan Klein - CS, Math, and Linguistics major at Cornell; graduated in 98. A truly brilliant mind. Also into dancing, karate, writing novels, and spirited discussions. Studied at Oxford for a year before finding himself at Stanford; he is now headed to Berkeley as an assistant professor (congrats!). Fan of Babylon 5 and most particularly of Kosh. The brother, perhaps, that I never had (we certainly bicker enough!). Watch out for his brain posse!
• Jim Koutsovasilis - one of the coolest guys in Australia. Jim and Pipa got married in 1997 and had a baby girl, Athena.
• Pipa Mickova - another CS/EE student from Australia and very brilliant. Working on a PhD in "Convolutional Codes" and is now married to Jim Koutsovasilis.
• Dr. Steven Milman - a graduate of Cornell's Medical School, Steven is also the most talented male dancer I've known. He taught me a little Russian, a lot of latin technique, and just generally is a lot of fun to be around.
• Rob Nelson - I met Rob several years ago, and haven't seen him in person for a long time, but I still remember his infectious laugh! Rob can make anyone feel at ease (probably because he himself never seems to feel awkward or uncomfortable!) and has an instinctive sympathetic streak.
• Matthew Riddle - a perennial master's student at the University of Melbourne, Matt lives in Australia with a cat named Mr. Squiggles. I cannot say enough good things about Matt's gentle maturity, which cohabits with an enduring love of good jokes and fun adventures.
• Nate Robins - That's Robins with one 'b'! Nate is an OpenGL God who has worked for E&S, PTC, and SGI. Graduated from the U of U in CS in 98. Bright and dynamic, Nate is also an excellent photographer (check out his website for proof!), always in search of the perfect sunset shot.
• Brian Tarricone - I knew him when he was an undergrad in CS (oops, I mean EE) at Cornell. Brian is computer-clever (of course), eminently reliable, and endearing.
• Jeff Vinocur - Jeff, now a medical student at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, is honestly dedicated to helping humanity. He sails boats, braids hair, multitasks at will, and reads all the right books. He helped set up and maintain the Cornell CS online submission system, volunteered in the emergency room, TA'd for CS 312 for seven semesters (!), and did research (both medical and computer science varieties). In his spare time, I think he managed to squeeze in actual courses at Cornell.
• Wes Weimer - a grad student in CS at Berkeley. Wes was my closest and dearest friend for a long time, and I continue to admire him for his blazing intelligence, his conviction, and his ability to hold fast to his values. Wes engages in several fun hobbies, such as playing bridge and Go, hiking in beautiful areas, visiting rocky seashores, and reading good sci-fi. He also enjoys a select subset of anime (representative samples: Escaflowne and Pokemon), walking quickly, and enhancing his favorite computer games.

Friends from high school (and before):

• Maria de la Cruz Alba Chacon (what a melodious name!) - my close friend during 8th and 9th grade, Cruz is now married and has a little daughter. She's got a quick wit and a fantastic sense of humor.
• Ben Collar - at one time, attended GCHS and the local debate team with me. Very smart, very cool, will certainly do great things in the near future.
• Alison Ellis - previously known as Alison Holland. I am not sure I would have made it through my senior year of high school without Alison. She was my trusted confidante and partner in (supposed) crime. Banned from the AP testing center, we made arrangements to take it elsewhere. It's a long story.
• Nick Leonard - a friend of mine from way back when I was in elementary school (but then he moved!). Nick has gone on to do a degree in Psychology and now works at United Airlines.
• Stacey Shestakov - at one time known as Stacey VanderVeen, Stacey was one of my closest friends in high school. She introduced me to Depeche Mode and the Dead Milkmen, endured a year as my debate partner, and offered me endless relationship advice :). We visited Moab Stonehenge, taught the debate class, and conducted numerous sleep deprivation experiments.
• Bradley (Taro) Swanson - It's been a rocky road at times, but we've known each other since seventh grade or so. Gifted with unusual amounts of charisma, Bradley is witty and eloquent. He was part of our D&D group in high school and used to exchange cryptograms with me. He got married in December, 2000. He is now a famous drug criminalist in California.
• Paul Welling - another close friend from high school, Paul graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School and has three children: Evelyn, Joshua, and Anya.