This site was created as a place for me to
publish articles and pictures about the things I enjoy in life. At the
moment I live in two places, a home outside of Chicago and an apartment in
Beijing. Sometimes it can be very difficult, and sometimes its very
rewarding. I hope this site is something that people will find interesting
and useful especially if you are planning on living in Beijing.
As the site develops I hope to bring the focus more towards my main
interests, woodworking, brewing and bicycling. 2012 and 2013 have been great
years for me on the fitness front now that I am back into cycling. Last year I
did almost a 1,000 miles in Beijing before returning to the U.S. I continue to
enjoy spending time in food and beverage while in Beijing and have had a great
time working with some very smart people there. 2014 is shaping up to be great
year with the goal of establishing a line of consistent, great quality beers and
food. On the woodworking side there are more guitars to be finished along
with some interesting new lathe work.
- Filet Mignon with Sweet Potato Tower and Purple Carrots An elegant dinner for two.
- Pretzels! Chewy, brown and awesome.
- Gourmet lemonades Enjoying some lemonade varieties.
- Herb Encrusted Turkey Breast I knocked out a nice turkey breast for dinner.
- Vegetarian Chili When its bitter cold vegetarian chili is awesome.
- Jalapeno Cheddar Bread A test run of a new bread recipe.
- Bacon Wrapped Squirrel I flew back home from Missouri carrying some fresh squirrels from the farm.
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 I design and fabricate
contemporary furniture and guitars using all types of hardwoods. Primarily I use
reclaimed North American hardwoods such as cherry, maple, walnut etc. I also
enjoy using some South American exotic woods. I find that I am influenced
strongly by Shaker traditions, but I enjoy all styles of furniture design.
Presently I reside in Beijing for about half the year and Chicago for the other
half so my time in the shop is limited to the summer months. |
I started my first business, Mindspear Technologies in 1995 shortly after the release of the Mosaic browser. I was doing
software sales and had slowly migrated over to the development side. From 2003 until 2008 I did multiple projects with a focus on sweepstakes development. Sweepstakes
are very high pressure, complicated projects that have no room for error. During this time I also developed a series of applications that powered one of
the largest automotive warranty companies in the United States. The last
projects were completed in 2008 and I left the United States to live in China.
I haven been very fortunate in life and met some very successful people. I have had the pleasure of working in a variety of industries and learning those
business models. I am always interested in what people are doing. If you are living in Beijing and would like to get together for a dinner or drink just send
me a contact.
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