About Me

I was born on 1983-08-23. I lived in Fair Lawn, NJ until after high school, which is about 15 minutes from New York City. I went to Yavneh Academy for elementary school and Frisch for high school. I then went to Israel for a year before starting college to do religious study, as is common in religious Jewish communities. I did my undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park where a year later I met my wife (Sarah). We got married after my Junior year and lived just off campus for the next 2 years.

We then lived in Silver Spring for 5 years where we tended to go to Young Israel Shomrai Emunah congregation. In my free time I managed hospitality for people who recently moved into the community.

In 2012, we realized a long-standing dream we both had of moving to Israel, though we are no less proud to remain Americans. We planned to move to Maale Adumim, but decided on Raanana so I could work at RSA.

I read Slashdot and Engadget. I enjoying modding my Android phones, of which I've owned too many to count. I'm a big fan of Pearl Jam. I have been to more than 20 of their shows, and have met Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready.

I consider myself a political moderate (doesn't everyone?); I lean conservative on fiscal issues and libertarian on social issues. At a high level, the things I hold most dear about our countries are free markets, democracy, transparency, reasonably limited government, meritocracy and liberty.

I love learning new things. I've cumulatively lost entire days of my life thanks to Wikipedia and the hyperlink. I consider myself well-rounded and an optimistic realist. I enjoy humor, and to that end enjoy The Onion, 30 Rock, Mitch Hedberg, The Office, Community, Parks and Rec, and others. I love finances and have written series that have been published elsewhere. When approached, I am always happy to "consult" for friends and implementing basic finance and investment strategies.

I have an easygoing personality, but am assertive when appropriate. I am confident, but try to remain humble. I am an optimist and try to appreciate everybody and everything.