Welcome to my little slice of the web. Below is the brief synopsis of who I am, where I've been, and what I've done along the way. Proceeding in reverse chronological order...
I'm 26 years old, and I hail from a lovely little hamlet called Northport, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Currently I'm serving in the United States Navy. I'm an Electronics Technician Second Class (ET2), presently assigned to Reactor Controls Division on USS Memphis (SSN 691), homeported in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where we're undergoing an availability at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. I originally agreed to enlist in January of 2003, and officially came on active duty in May of that year. I completed Nuclear Field "A" School at the end of January 2004. I was the honorman of my NFAS class, and the good fortune continued in Nuclear Power School, from which I graduated in November 2004, finishing fourth out of a class of 340. That was followed by six months at Nuclear Power Training Unit in Ballston Spa, New York, training on an actual reactor plant, and qualifying as a Reactor Operator. I then reported to Groton, Connecticut, to meet Memphis; I officially joined her crew in September 2005, and my time aboard her has included part of a six-month deployment and two shorter "surge" deployments. Now I'm up here on the Seacoast, where we'll be until early next year. There's a bit more about my time in the Navy here.
While I waited to ship to boot camp I worked at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, one of the world's premier genetic research facilities. My work had absolutely nothing to do with any sort of biology. I did many varied tasks in the facilities department, which provides all manner of support to the scientific staff.
Before I decided to answer my country's call and "accelerate my life," I attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York for three years. The preceding link explains my time there in greater detail - as well as the reason why I didn't complete the course of study there.
Before Cornell was high school, specifically Northport High School. Much like NFAS, I had little trouble academically - but the social side was another story. This would be a good time to refer the reader to my long-defunct column, "Left-Field View", specifically from September 1998 to June 1999 - an as-it-happened account of that period.
That's really as far back as I'm inclined to go right now. Maybe if I get more time and a bit better memory I'll explore the formative years a little more.