Yes, that’s a pic of me drinking a beer on the top of an Adirondack peak. I’ve been told it’s unprofessional. People will see it and think that’s all I do: drink beer and climb mountains. And I must admit – it is a bit deceptive: I don’t climb that much.

I would update the photo, but looking unprofessional doesn’t matter so much any more. I retired last year and professional is the last thing I care to be. I’m enjoying being amateur. I played the French horn for a few months, but the cat stopped eating. Gardening, baking, and cooking up soothing body balms and savagely abrasive exfoliants for friends and relatives are among my interests. I dabble in short fiction, but I’m not sure it’s fiction. I think it’s thinly-veiled psychoanalysis. By someone not trained in the discipline. Unless you count a BA in Psychology, which you shouldn’t. Results are mixed.

Lately I’ve become somewhat of an expert (ok, an amateur expert) on disease-bearing ticks, Japanese knotweed, and weird fiction, which occupy much of my mind share these days. Occasionally accompanied by a nice hoppy craft IPA (ideally 8 ABV and 100 IBU).

And once in a great while I eke out a blog post or short story. Check back often!