I have been a woodworker for 30+ years having had most of the tools this shop has (except not as high a quality) and have built furniture, wooden doodads, as well as remodeling 2 kitchens and a bathroom (down to the studs).

I have also been a woodcarver on and off for 30+ years and am teaching new carvers in the Woodcarving SIG.

I was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up mostly on Long Island, but have had more than 30 addresses in my lifetime, having lived in New York, Maine, Massachusetts, California, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and now in South Carolina.

I spent my entire career in the nuclear field having been a reactor designer, startup test engineer, reactor safety inspector, reactor decommissioning Project Manager, and finally as the manager of the primary federal emergency response for nuclear accidents/counterterrorism in the 11 northeast states (NEST team for those in the know ...).

I was a volunteer in my local Fire Department and certified as an Advance EMT for 6 years. I also certified as a FIre Police Officer. I very much enjoyed giving back to the community.

Retired life has been great and I my wife of 40 years and I are trying to travel as often as we can. Our favorite place to visit (other than to see our 3 kids and 1 granddaughter) has been Europe. Some of the repeat trips we want to do are in Ireland, Iceland, and Brugges Belgium.