Does this man look like he's under much stress? If not, that's what retirement does for you. I recommend it.
I'm a Californian by birth, but have lived in Oregon since 1969. I did the bulk of my undergraduate work in Biology, Zoology, and Math at UCLA (although my degree ended up in Anthropology for reasons too complicated to explain on a website). I chose the University of Oregon as my PhD program, largely because they offered me the flexibility I wanted, and because they offered me "big bucks" to come there.
My PhD was in Physical Anthropology, with a specialization in primate morphometrics - the melding of geometry, computers, and anatomy. My teaching expertise is in human evolution, population genetics, evolutionary theory, statistical and computer methodologies in Physical Anthropology and the History of Evolutionary Theory. My special areas of research are in primate functional anatomy, forensic methodology, and computer applications in Anthropology. I have a paper just out on binary recursive partitioning as a technique for classifying fossil and modern apes. For those of you sufficiently motivated, here is a reprint of this paper, which appears in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, November 2002.
I came to PSU in the Fall of 1971 and retired having completed almost 31 full-time years on the faculty. I was Chairman of the Anthropology Department from January 1, 1983 until my retirement on August 31, 2002. In that capacity, I had the privilege of recruiting all current (and some former) members of the Anthropology faculty and staff. This is a luxury few Department Chairs ever get. In 1998-99, I was honored to received a John Eliot Allen Outstanding Teaching Award at PSU. On August 31, 2002, I completed my final day as a full-time faculty member and administrator, retiring to a more sedate life as statistical consultant, computer consultant, part-time Anthropology instructor, and "tennis" dad. I returned to PSU in the Fall 2003 to teach part-time. I'm teaching a course in the University Studies Program called "Cyborg Millennium" - part of the Freshman Inquiry series.
During my academic tenure, I have published over 55 articles, monographs, books, book chapters, and book reviews. Although I am retired, I continue to do research and publish in my research areas. My current research interest is in the area of pattern recognition.
My research has taken me to a lot of really special places. I've spent enough time in some of them (more than two months) that I count them as former places of residence. I've "lived" in London, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Leiden, Brussels/Tervuren, East and West Berlin, Lima (Peru), New York, Boston, Washington (DC), San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago. I spent nearly a month in Zagreb (when it was still Yugoslavia), and Barcelona. I've actually resided for a year or longer in Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, Eugene and Portland.
Hobbies: I write computer software for fun and profit (for those interested, I'm fluent in Pascal, C, and C++, and retain fluency in FORTRAN and BASIC from the "old days"). I like to bike when I have time. I also am passionate about wine and have a sizeable wine cellar full of yummy wines from California, France, and Italy. I also like beer, but am extremely picky about what I'll waste the calories on. My current passion is for microbrewed Porters. So far I've only found 3 I like. (Since no one will pay me for product-endorsements, I decline to name them here. Ask me if you're interested). I am also a voracious reader of mysteries and I am always happy to recommend offbeat authors to anyone who asks. My favorite authors are Robert Crais, James Lee Burke, Randy Wayne White, Walter Moseley, John D. MacDonald, David Lindsey, Linda Barnes, Marcia Muller, Carl Hiaasen, Karen Kijewski, Kinky Friedman, Rick Riordan, George Pelecanos, and Nevada Barr (Although I read Patricia Cornwell and Aaron Elkins mysteries, I'm not a "fan" of either. Kathy Reichs' books, on the other hand, are far less contrived and overwrought). As mysteries go, my highest recommendation goes for Bangkok 8, a subtle and nuanced mystery about the differences between American and Thai culture. John Burdette, its author, is dead on. I also recommend the following books for casual and professional reading: Darwin by Adrian Desmond and James Moore. This is probably the finest intellectual biography and social history I've ever read. I highly recommend it. For another perspective on Darwin, I also strongly recommend Janet Browne's masterful 2-volume biography of Darwin (Volume 1: Voyaging, and Volume 2: The Power of Place), the latter of which I'm finishing right now. For an appreciation of the moral ambiguity of spying and "intelligence work", I recommend An Absence of Light by David Lindsay. His latest book - The Rules of Silence - is a scary look into the abyss of high technology, kidnapping, and international money laundering. Carl Hiassen's Lucky You is a wonderfully funny book about Florida, lotteries, and scams. Robert Crais' Sunset Express makes me want to have Joe Pike as a friend, but his book LA Requiem underscores what a scary character Joe Pike really is. Finally, I recommend Dava Sobel's Longitude, a fascinating book about the discovery of "longitude" and the invention of a chronometer that kept accurate time while at sea - a major piece of the solution of the "longitude" problem. As we persist in these new and highly uncertain times, I invite you to read Stanley Karnow's Vietnam for some perspective. I like Florida-based mysteries and recently re-read 21 Travis McGee mysteries (in random order). Current masters of the Florida genre include Carl Hiassen, Randy Wayne White, Lawrence Shames, Tim Dorsey, and Carolina Garcia-Aquilera. Another favorite book is Cryptonomicon, a novel that weaves World War II military history with modern cryptography, by cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson. The next three books in Stephenson's series, Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World have me in their grip now. I have eclectic tastes in music. They run from opera (Donizetti) and classical (Brahms, Mozart, Paganini), to reggae (Bob Marley, of course, and Burning Spear), to "parrothead" music (Jimmy Buffett, Peter Mayer), to Irish/Celtic "blues" (Van Morrison), to Celtic "New Age" music (Night Noise), to country folk/rock crossover (Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Cowboy Junkies, Jerry Jeff Walker, JJ Cale, John Prine, Shawn Colvin, Natalie Merchant), a small amount of contemporary rock and roll (Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, The Band), pop/jazz/funk (Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, and Annie Lennox) and to the specific works of Mark Knopfler (as Dire Straits, the Notting Hillbillies, and solo - probably in reverse order) and Danny Elftman (as Oingo Boingo, and as music producer on sound tracks like Men in Black, Men in Black II, Spiderman, Spiderman II). Personal: We have two psychotic Burmese cats (whose pictures may someday grace these pages), three daughters (ages 36, 27, and 12), and one granddaughter (aged 10). My wife is a physician who also has a PhD in Anthropology. My oldest daughter is a Public Health Nurse/Discharge Planner for a major health provider in Minnesota, my middle daughter holds degrees in Italian and International Business and is a Manager for a large international telecommunications company, and my youngest daughter is in middle school at a local private school. My wife and I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and traveling. We have traveled over most of the Western World many times. We spent June of 2002 and June 2003 in Kona, Hawaii. Alas, we spent most of late July and early August in San Francisco where my wife underwent reconstructive spine surgery at UC San Francisco - a medical center we'd recommend to anyone in need of medical care. After some very ugly and life-threatening complications (unrelated to the orthopedic surgery), my wife turned things around and is now recovering nicely at home. We were able to take a cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska in summer 2004, as well as enjoy our townhouse in Sunriver. Like Summer 2003, summer 2004 ended with my wife back at UC San Francisco Medical Center having parts of last summer's surgery "revised" - a polite word for fixing an area that didn't heal properly. We've decided that we'd rather be anywhere than in San Francisco - an unfortunate connection given the superb gastronomy and shopping SF has to offer.
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Most recent revision Wednesday, June 30, 2004