S.KRAUSE

FAQ

1. Introduction
   1. What is a FAQ?
   2. Why a FAQ?
   3. What is in the FAQ?
   4. Isn’t this a bit too personal?
2. Basic Information
   1. What are the stats?
   2. Where have you lived?
   3. Where have you gone to school?
   4. What types of jobs have you had?
3. More Personal History
   1. What was your childhood like?
   2. What types of things did you do as a kid?
   3. What about more recently?
   4. What is your online history?
4. In More Detail
   1. How can one find out more about you?

---

1. Introduction

1.1 What is a FAQ?

FAQ stands for "Frequently Asked Questions."

1.2 Why a FAQ?

I used to have a RAQ—"Rarely Asked Quentions"—because I got neither enough visitors nor enough questions to put up a FAQ, so a RAQ had to do. However, recently I have received more questions, etc., so I figured it was time to change this to a FAQ. This FAQ simply consists of useless data about yours truly.

1.3 What is in the FAQ?

This FAQ contains so-called "public-domain" information about me. Beyond that, it includes information that, while not as easily available, is stuff I would gladly tell you if you asked. I will not post things such as my Social Security Number, my drivers license number, my passport number, and so on.

1.4 Isn’t this a bit too personal?

In 1996? No. In 2002? Yes. And in 2013 as "social media" reaches middle age? Probably not.

2. Basic Information

2.1 What are the stats?

• 6’4"/1.93m
• 195lbs./88kg (approx.)
• blond
• blue
• near-sighted (I wear glasses, not contacts)
• teeth: straight, no fillings, no cavities

2.2 Where have you lived?

Without giving out addresses and such:

• Pendleton, Oregon
• Meridian, Idaho
• Gifhorn, Germany
• Claremont, California
• Budapest, Hungary
• Marburg, Germany
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Berlin, Germany
• Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Rochester, New York

2.3 Where have you gone to school?

Not too many places; here’s the list:

• Mary McPherson Elementary School—Meridian, Idaho
• Lake Hazel Middle School—Boise, Idaho
• Meridian High School—Meridian, Idaho (graduated June 1993)
• Humbolt Gymnasium—Gifhorn, Germany
• Pomona College—Claremont, California (graduated May 1997)
• Technical University—Budapest, Hungary (or so says the transcript)
• Philipps Universität—Marburg, Germany
• University of Wisconsin, Madison—Madison, Wisconsin (M.A. May 1998)
• Humboldt Universität zu Berlin—Berlin, Germany

2.4 What types of jobs have you had?

This just explains the type of work I’ve done:

• I worked for about 7 years at Intermountain Animal Hospital in Meridian, Idaho (now Intermountain Pet Hospital). I went on farm calls; helped in surgery, and with lab work and routine exams; did janitorial work; did landscape work; did construction and renovation; and bucked bales of hay (oh yeah! much fun...)
• I worked one day (as a temp.) for BFI—you know, the garbage people. I rode on the back of a garbage truck through North Boise... hardest day of work in my life, I think (dressed in dark clothes, wearing heavy boots, in 90 degree weather with high humidity)
• Several weeks were spent temping for The Telephone Connection in Boise, Idaho. I laid cable, terminated connections, etc. Word of warning: firewalls are a bitch (and I don’t mean the computer type)
• In college I got paid to: research a computerized German dictionary/grammar; grade math assignments; tutor calculus; and babysit people in the language lab
• The German Dept. in Madison reazlized that I knew something about computers, so they hired me to develop and maintain their web site, consult their faculty, and trouble-shoot whatever the hell came up. [note: I no longer maintain their website]
• The International Brecht Society (IBS) hired me to be their "Technical Advisor" [note: I no longer maintain this site]
• I’ve done freelance web-design and translation (German to English) work. The pay can be pretty good ...
• I was a teaching assistant in the Dept. of German: I taught 1st through 4th semester German; I also held lectureships for 5th and 6th semester German (conversation and composition).
• I was the editorial assistant for the German literature and culture journal Monatshefte, and years later for the Journal of Asian Studies.
• I spent two years as an Instructor (the first year basically as 'Visiting Assistant Professor'; I was temporarily raised to 'graduate faculty' so I could sit on an M.A. thesis committee) at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I taught 1st through 4th semster language courses, along with Business German, German for graduate reading knowledge, a literature and culture survey (1800 to present), 20th-century literature in translation, and advanced undergrad and graduate literature seminars.

I’ve also managed to not get jobs. For example, Burger King rejected me, and Dairy Queen wouldn’t even give me an interview (either time that I applied). I had to turn down a bell-boy position in McCall, Idaho one summer because of a trip to Rhode Island for the inaugural World Scholar Athlete Games.

3. More Personal History

3.1 What was your childhood like?

I had a happy childhood. My parents were good to me, we had wonderful pets, I had great educational opportunities, and so on.

As for school itself, I liked it and I did well in it. My favorite grade was probably the 4th. I rarely got into trouble. Since I was the ‘big’ kid in school, people rarely picked on me, and I was never in any fights. I had a perfect attendance record through many of my years in school. Yes, I was—and am—a total and complete nerd/geek (evidence: voted most academic by my high school class).

3.2 What types of things did you do as a kid?

I didn’t play sports as a child until the 4th grade, when I started playing soccer at school. In the 5th grade I joined a team. I also played basketball that year (and in the 8th grade). One summer was spent playing tennis, but not much ever came out of it. I also spent a summer on a swim team—I still have the ribbons and such somewhere. I mostly did the butterfly and medley races. In the 8th grade I also did track and field—I started with the discus and 400m race; I moved up to the discus, shot-put, and 200m race. In Germany in high school I played for a local soccer club—the best team I had every played with up to that point. After high school I went to Rhode Island to compete in the World Scholar Athelete Games; I have yet to play with a better team.

At one point I was a Cub Scout, and later, a Boy Scout. I even went to camp one summer in McCall, Idaho. I used to enjoy it, even though while I was a Cub Scout our Den Mother picked on me because I had asthma. After a while in the Boy Scouts I realized that 1) our Troup wasn’t doing anything worthwhile (no leadership) and 2) I really didn’t believe in the institution itself, so I quit. Back around the 1st grade I started playing the piano, in the 6th grade I joined the school orchestra (for which the funding was eliminated the next year), where I played the violin, and I switched to the viola a year later and took private lessons for a few years. I wish I had worked harder at both instruments; I still have my viola, and someday I'll get my own piano.

I used to draw a lot, reading was—and still is—one of my favorite activities, and around the 6th grade I started writing. I even decided back then that I wanted to become a writer when I grew up. I still say "when I grow up". In elementary school I began with BASIC and LOGO, and now I prefer Python, though I'm fascinated by Lisp dialects. We had sheep, rabbits and cows when I was a kid, and a nice garden and orchard; now I settle for an herb garden in my kitchen window.

3.3 What about more recently?

After graduating from college, I went on to graduate school. I spent the 2005-2006 academic year in Berlin on a Fulbright Fellowship. I am still working to get that monkey off my back; my dissertation still haunts me, but I hope not for very much longer. It's on the topic of analogical reasoning in 18th-century German philosophical aesthetics ... it's a fascinating topic, and if you have a couple hours, I'd love to talk your ear off about it!

Adolescence and college were good to and for me. I went abroad as an exchange student in high school, and I went on two study abroad programs in college. If you are in high school or college, think about doing it (if you haven’t already), and if you are a parent with kids of the right age, think about encouraging them to get involved with study abroad and/or youth exchange. In college I also got to pursue fencing (for a short time)—a wonderful sport. Highly recommended.

These days I brew, cook, write, and work with Linux and other Unix-y things.

3.4 What is your online history

I started using computers back in 1983 (3rd grade), but I never had access to a modem or anything like that. In the spring of 1992 I went to CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, and saw lots of neat computer “stuff.” Then, in the fall of ’92 (back in Idaho) I got online (doing work for a teacher at first), mostly just sending and receiving e-mail. In the spring of ’93 I got my own account; I was an intern at the Idaho Legislature and I was working for the Learning Links network (in coordination with Idaho Public Television) as a sort of “internet journalist.” Four of us covered the goings-on at the legislature and posted reports to Learning Links.

Then came the "Eternal September"; in the fall of ’93 I went to college, got a college e-mail account, and had direct access to the Internet (via a shell account) for the first time. The rest is history ...

I never really got into MUDs and the like, but I still yearn for the days of TALK and PHONE. I read some news groups on occasion, and I enjoyed browsing with GOPHER. During my junior abroad in Europe the Internet—to stay in contact with friends—kept the phone bills low. In the spring of ’96 I wrote my first home-page (it stated: “This page is currently under deconstruction”). The next fall I finally got an ethernet connection in my dorm room, and had Netscape on my old 486. Oh yeah. That’s when I made my first “real” attempt at a home page, and since then I learned more standards-oriented HTML, then CSS, some PHP, a little JavaScript and a lot of Python, frameworks like Django, database backed solutions, and so on.

4. In More Detail

4.1 How can one find out more about you?

Read the rest of this site—that will give you some information. I doubt you’re terribly interested in me (there are more interesting personal pages out there), but if there is something you’re dying to know, you can always contact me and ask. Marketing types, spammers, etc., need not apply. However, if you’re hiring, please get in touch with me—especially if you’re paying a lot.

More later...