#!/usr/bin/geek ť About Me

About me:

Your Host:	Steve Mermelstein
Occupation:	Photographer, iOS Developer, Ustream Admin, VT Photo Tours Guide, Photography Workshop Instructor, and community manager.
Interests and hobbies:	Landscape and wildlife photography, birding, nature, iPhone photography, localvore, espresso, looking for deals, cooking, twitter (follow me at: @vtphotog or @usrbingeek), scripting, programming, classic movies, antiques and auctions.
Birthplace:	South Florida
Current location:	Burlington, VT
Age:	45
Sex:	Male
Beliefs:	Agnostic
Heritage:	Jewish
Goal I would like to achieve this year:	Catch up on everything I have been putting off.
First thoughts after waking up:	Can't I sleep some more?
I would most like to visit:	Hong Kong and China
If possible, would spend everyday:	Photographing wildlife and landscapes
If I won the lottery:	Would buy a luxury motor coach to travel the US and Canada in style, a couple top of the line Apple iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Drobos, and all the photography gear I've always lusted over but couldn't justify buying (Nikon D4s, 600mm VR II, and Nikon D800 VR) but would basically still do the same things.
Favorite gadget:	iPad Air and iPhone 5S
Favorite possessions:	The Samsung NX30 with the Samsung NX 85mm f/1.4 Lens, Nikon D7100 with the Nikon 200-400mm f/4G AF-S SWM SIC ED IF VR II and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S lenses, and the Nikon D700 with the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S lenses.
Canon or Nikon:	It's not about the gear! But I'm already pretty well invested in Samsung and Nikon gear.
PC or Mac:	Mac!
Favorite Movies:	Dr. Strangelove, Gentleman's Agreement, Whatever Works, Marely and Me, The Gunfighter, The French Connection, Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Defiance, Lost in Translation, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Favorite TV Shows:	The Good Wife, The Wire, Parenthood, Nature, The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Closer, Monk, Top Chef, Veronica Mars, Stargate SG-1, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Simpsons, Real Time with Bill Maher
Favorite Music:	Goldfrapp, Journey, Nina Simone, Zero 7, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Vince Guaraldi, Sarah Vaughan, Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz
Favorite Quote:	It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt
Sing:	Only in the car.
Drink:	Practically never.
Smoke:	Never.
Swear:	I never stop.
Last meal:	Hong Kong style ginger and scallion beef or black pepper shrimp and fried rice.
Favorite local restaurant:	Gracies
Favorite restaurant anywhere:	Joe's Stone Crab, Miami, FL
Favorite pizza:	American Flatbread's Revolution Flatbread
Favorite burger:	Shelburne Farms smoked cheddar cheese and grilled onions on a Hardwick 80/20 ground beef.
Favorite desert:	Monument Farms ice cream
Favorite drink:	Iced venti caffč Americano
Favorite coffee:	None; only drink espresso.
Languages:	PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python, Java, JavaScript, AJAX, XML, XHMTL, CSS...oh wait, you mean spoken languages? Besides English, just a touch of French, Hebrew, and Yiddish.