Mineself - All About Me

Nathan Pralle - www.nathanpralle.com

PLACES TO GO:

Mineself
As a way of introduction, I'll present the following information about me in more detail than you will ever want to know. If there's something you don't see here that you're just burning to know about me, drop me a line and I'll try to oblige.

Name	Full: Nathan Edward Pralle. I was supposed to be "Andrew", but at birth, apparently I didn't look like one. My first name is simply chosen; my middle is my maternal grandfather's name. To my friends, I am just "Pralle". Wife -- "Nath". On talkers, Ribbon. Other places on the 'net, Tarsi or Tarsi210. "Tarsi" comes from "Tarnished Silence", one of my very early 'net monikers, that simply proved to be too long for practical use. These days I mostly eschew any form of pseudonym, so I'm found most places simply by saying, "Nathan Pralle"
Age	Birthday on September 20th, 1977 -- I'll let you do the math. I don't have any great, inspiring quips about age, getting older, or anything like that. All I can say is that it gets more interesting every year. That doesn't necessarily mean better. But life isn't always about better. I tend to be very pragmatic in this viewpoint.
Eyes	Interestingly enough, sometimes blue, sometimes grey. Usually grey, but when I'm excited, angry, or aroused, they're blue. I think it has to do somewhat with the blood flow to them, but...does it really matter?
Picture	Always nice to put a face with a name. I have several located here:
Location	Originally hailing from Hampton, IA, USA, currently residing in the quarter-horse burb of Sheffield, IA, USA. The bank closes at 3:30pm, the grocery store at 6:00pm, and the bar at 10:30. It's a wild time, let me tell ya. My wife and I just bought our first house. The Google Map for it is right here.
Employment	Currently employed at Cambrex Charles City in Charles City, IA, as the Systems Programmer. We are manufacturers of pharmaceutical APIs, the raw drugs that are the main ingredients in the pills and solutions you buy in the drugstore (minus the fillers, colors, etc.) We don't make the pills or syrup; rather, we make the drugs that wind up becoming pills or syrup at another company. I am a part of the IT team and therefore am responsible for keeping all computer and A/V systems running and maintained. In addition to this, I am responsible for programming any software projects needed, which comprises about 50% of my time right now.
Education	An alum of Hampton-Dumont Community Schools, graduated 5 of 94 in May 1996. Graduated May 21, 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Luther College in Decorah, IA. Minor in Philosophy, concentration in Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence with emphasis on neural nets and pattern recognition theories.
Wife	My sweetie is Yolanda Jacobs from Whyalla, South Australia. We originally met through mutual friends on the Internet and talked for ages on email, phone, and online chat. Finally met in June of 2001 and have been tight since. I made her my fianceé on December 29th, 2003 and my wife on February 28th, 2004. More information HERE.
Children	Our first attempt at children in 2006 resulted in (what we think was) twins and a miscarriage and a tubal pregnancy, both of which ripped us to pieces. However, after a year of healing and a good pregnancy, our first son, Keston Daelen Samuel Pralle was born on November 1st, 2007. He has his own page if you want more details.
Transportation	I currently have three cars. One is a burgandy 1996 3.5L V6 automatic Dodge Intrepid with about 180,000 miles on it. It currently is having problems with running and being useful. My wife's car is a 2007 3.8L V6 258hp, 258lb-ft, Galant Ralliart, bought July 27, 2007. Pictures: Front, Side, and Rear. My blog entry about it is here. It is glorious to drive but doesn't equal my old 2003 Mitsu Eclipse GTS that I had to trade in to get this one. My car is a 2008 Chevrolet Aveo LS. My blog entry about it is right here. I bought this one because I needed to get good gas mileage on my commute, and I've become rather fond of it. It's not exciting to drive or anything, but it works and works reliably, and gets between 30 and 35 mpg.
Life Ambitions	Everyone needs goals, I think, whether or not they're something you ever think about. These are those things I'm going to do in my life, come hell or high water, if I have anything to say about it. travel a LOT -- I want to see Europe really bad, and China, and Japan, and....well...everything. Why the heck not? It's out there...you only live once. Why not go see it? I've managed to see Australia already, that was great. I now have an incurable travelling bug. do some studies in AI (artificial intelligence) - More specifically, in areas of cognitive science related to philosophy of mind. This stuff simply fascinates me. complete my Ph.D. in Philosophy and teach at the college level -- I might go back for more computer science but I doubt it at the moment. It'll be philosophy ere I return to the classroom. I love CS, don't get me wrong. CS is what I do. Philosophy is what I am. It's what gives my life meaning, and in that sense, is more important. But you can guarantee computers will never leave my side. write a book - What about? I have no clue. Most likely some philosophy or another. get my pilot's license - Flying. Scares the living crap out of me and thrills me all at the same time. I figure it's my answer to that "bungee jumping" urge every human seems to have. I'm also an armchair airhead; I love everything to do with planes, especially commercial ones. I'm sure I'll add more as I think of them. Subject to change. Void where prohibited. No exchange or refunds.