A-Amazing

I can't get this word out of my head. At UMR, the computer lab had AAmazing brand monitors on all of the computers. I can't forget this. Ugh. Whenever I think about the word amazing, it comes as A-A-Mazing.

Big Brother

My work computers are named miniluv and minitru, after the Ministry of Love and the Ministry of Truth in the book 1984. If I get more computers, I'll add more ministries.

Bubble Tea

I was introduced to Bubble Tea in about 1999 and fell in love with it. It's difficult to obtain outside of large cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Toronto, but I grab one whenever I can.

Coffee

I love coffee. I can drink decaf when needed, but prefer the kick of the regular. I am ALWAYS up for a coffee break. Just call me or even (and I'm showing my dorkiness here) email me. My blood runs brown.

Cooking

I cook. I'm told I cook well. The last experiment was a Singaporean lunch featuring 8 Chili Crabs and Mee Goreng. I had a lot of help, though.

Drugs

See coffee.

Family

Family is important to me. I have two brothers, one sister-in-law, one nephew, and two niece. Mom works in a Doctor's office and dad is a retired plumber, though he's still working part time as an estimator for a plumbing company. My older brother Shawn followed dad and is a plumber. My younger brother Paul got a BS in Engineering Managment from UMR and now works in an auto parts buyer/reseller. We call it the junkyard. My sister in law Stephanie is a nurse, but hasn't worked since being diagnosed with Leukemia (see Leukemia). Plus, the kids are a handful. I go back to see them all about twice a year.

General Motors

After I graduated from UMR the second time, I got a job with GM Truck in Pontiac, Michigan. It was your typical engineering job in a gargantuan corporation. I made a lot of good friends and had a lot of interesting experiences. While working at GM's Milford Proving Grounds, I was able to take the ADT, Advanced Driver Training. This is the course where you get to slide around the ice-like patch on black lake, a huge paved area used for some of their tests. At 55mph, the instructor put me into a skid and I had to steer out of it. It took me a couple of tries, but I got it. It's quite fun to be spinning around on ice at 55mph in a Pontiac Grand Prix. I also got to work in a truck assembly plant for 7 months. I asked to be placed in Silao, Mexico but ended up in Dayton, OH. Oh well. It was still a good time.

Helmet

Call me a dork, but I always wear my helmet while riding my bike. As a cyclist, I've seen many bad crashes. As an engineer, my brain is important to me. A friend of mine almost died from a bike wreck a couple years ago. His brain surgery photos can be seen here. (WARNING - blood and stuff)

Humidity

I'm from the midwest. I know what real humidity feels like. At its most humid, Santa Barbara is still not humid. Real humidity is when you walk out the door of the house and scream when you run into the wall of moisture. Real humidity is having to run your car's air conditioner on the wait to work - at 6:30am. Real humidity is breaking a sweat walking out to your car which is parked in the front driveway.

Leukemia

My sister in law was diagnosed with CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) in March 2004. It's a phone call that I hope nobody ever has to receive. Of course, if you're going to get Leukemia, CML is apparently the kind that you want. It's drug-treatable though not curable that way. See Remission.

Los Bike

Los Bike is a group of friends who attended the University of Missouri - Rolla anywhere from 1997 to 2001. Most were DJ's at UMR's student-run radio station, KMNR. Many also mountain (as well as road) bike. Los bike is still headquartered in St. Louis, MO, though many members live elsewhere. You can learn more about them from their very old web page here.

Madagascan Hissing Roaches

I inherited a pair of these from a former housemate. Sure, they're big, gross bugs, but they're kind of cool in a Kafka-esque sort of way. They had babies recently (around 40 of them). I don't know what I'm going to do with them. And yes, they do hiss. If you make them mad or disturb them, they expel air through the sides of their shells and make a hissing noise. Fun for parties. * I gave the roaches away in September 2005. I was all roached out.

Ninjas, Little Rubber

Little Rubber Ninjas are cool. You should get one. Ask me and I might be able to hook you up, depending on the daily catch.

Ph.D.

I am a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Barbara. It's no walk in the park, but I enjoy it. I hope I can graduate sometime soon.

Photography

In April 2002 I bought a Canon Powershot S330 Digital Camera. It still works. I love it. I've taken some pretty cool photos with it. I think the key is taking thousands of photos. By the laws of probability, some of them will come out well. The Mike Quinn photography theory is similar to the monkeys / typewriters / Shakespeare theory except mine has been proven. I guess that would make it more of a law.

Radio

I am a DJ at UCSB's radio station, KCSB. I do wednesday nights from 10pm to midnight. When in Missouri, I was a DJ for 5 years at KMNR. I used to be sort of a music snob, but now I just don't care.

Remission

My sister in law is in remission (as of 21 September 2004). Let's hear it for Cancer Research. Now go donate money. She's on Gleevec. It rocks.

Science

I am the Master of Science. So says my second diploma.

Shogun Warriors

For Halloween 1978 I was a shogun warrior. I'm pretty sure it was Mazinger. Someday I'll post a pic. The reason I remember this is because it's my earliest (I think) memory. It was pre-younger brother and my Grandpa Quinn was still alive. He died in August 1978, so I have very few memories of him. Anyway, my older brother, Shawn, was spiderman and I remember my grandpa said he liked Shawn's costume better because it wasn't as scary. I should dig out that phot the next time I'm in StL.

Volkswagen

I love old air-cooled Volkswagens. My first two cars were VW Beetles (1972 and 1967, respectively). I also owned a 1973 VW Thing for a few years, but it was in storage and I didn't really drive it too much. I had to sell it once I moved to Santa Barbara due to the expense. Someday I will own another, preferrably a beetle.

Yellow

In the Tour de France, the overall leader wears yellow. Lance Armstrong and Nike started the Wear Yellow campaign to raise money for cancer research. Perhaps you've seen people wearing the yellow wristbands. That's what it's all about. Live Strong.