Chris Mecklin's Personal Page
I've interspersed a lot of my favorite links in this little mini-autobiography of me. Half of them are probably dead by now, but I'm too lazy to check and change them. If there's something you want and the link doesn't work, try Google.
The picture above left is from the Wapiti Valley in
beautiful but dry and windy
northwestern Wyoming, between Yellowstone
National Park and Cody.
Although I was born just outside of Chicago (in Hammond, Indiana), I was raised in Wyoming near Cody. I graduated from Cody High School in 1987 and from the
University of Wyoming with a B.S. in mathematics
education in 1991.
Above right is an old picture of me with Mt. Rainier behind me, mostly obscured
by clouds (which is typical).
I then spent the next few years living and working in some of the most beautiful parts of the Rocky Mountains. I spent two summers and one winter at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. Then I moved to Summit County, Colorado and spent the next two years becoming a pretty decent skier and mountain biker, two activities that I enjoy very much, along with hiking and camping. I also spent one year living in Golden, Colorado, just west of Denver. At this point of my life, I was in quite good physical condition and in laughable intellectual condition.
I then became a graduate student and spent the next several years at the University of Northern Colorado. I was in the Department of Applied Statistics and Research Methods. I earned my M.S. in 1997 and my Ph.D. in 2000, both in applied statistics. Greeley, Colorado is a bit on the plains and smells of cattle. The time demands and expense associated with graduate study decreased the time I spent hiking, biking, and skiing. By the time my dissertation was completed, I was in quite good intellectual condition and laughable physical condition.
I have spent the 21st century as a faculty member in the Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics at Murray State University, located in really hot and humid west Kentucky. Appropriately I spend my working hours in Faculty Hall. I’m 19 years away from having my name added to the wall.
Sports
Yeah, I like sports. Guess what my favorite sport is? Yeah, it's soccer! I used to play a bit and still will kick the ball around whenever I have a chance. My favorite teams to follow are the U.S. National Team and the Colorado Rapids (MLS). I also enjoy most of the more traditionally North American sports. Roughly in order of my personal preference, I like NHL hockey, NFL football, NBA basketball, college football, college basketball, and major league baseball. Teams I root for include the Colorado Avalanche, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, the Colorado Rockies, and the Chicago Cubs, and the college teams of places that either gave me degrees or provide me with a paycheck (the University of Wyoming (Cowboys), University of Northern Colorado (Bears), and Murray State University (Racers).)
Music:
Yeah, I like to listen to music, too. I'm mainly a spectator here, since I quit playing the clarinet after my freshman year in high school.
My main taste in music leans towards rock and roll, particularly what is labeled as "alternative". I particularly enjoy grunge music from the early 90's from the Seattle area. It's a personal rule of mine that I never change the radio station if a Nirvana song is playing. Sublime was a band that did a great job of combining many styles of music that I like. I also enjoy some of the more "classic" rock from the late 60's and 70's (the stuff I was raised on as a small child), along with punk and new wave. I was a metalhead in high school, but I now am embarrassed that I was around during the heyday of the mullet. I also listen to some jazz (particularly Coltrane/Miles Davis) and reggae (mostly Marley). I’m not up much on 21st century music, though. The younger readers can ask their parents about these bands.
Books are also good things. I sometimes read books. Somewhat less often (unfortunately) I get to read books that do not pertain in anyway to statistics or other research. I read too many books with terms like "Markov Chain" or "Bayesian" in their titles.
My favorite authors (as of now) are probably Kerouac, Bukowski, and Abbey. I was born too late to be a beatnik, but I'm well on my way to being a cantankerous old man.
Games:
I like to play cards, particularly poker.
Poker is a good game for math geeks. I actually prefer other styles of poker besides Texas Hold’em. I only play for small stakes and I won’t
be seen playing poker on your TV anytime soon.
I like other games as well. Backgammom, Scrabble, Monopoly, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, etc. I’ll try pretty much any board game once.
As far as video games, I’m stuck in a time warp. I can’t handle anything more difficult than Pac-Man or Donkey Kong or Space Invaders (the younger readers can use Google to learn the history of these ancient obsolete games). Pong was fun as well.
Last Update: August 22, 2006 (updating is done at random intervals)