Life
![[Chris Smith]](images/self.png)
For those of you with nothing better to do, here are some details about me and my life.
I live in the United States, in Colorado Springs, CO, on the west side (but not quite in Manitou). It's just me and my dog, Ruby. We enjoy hiking quite a lot, and do a fair amount of it. I used to do a lot more skiing and rock climbing, but a knee injury in the spring of 2006 put a stop to it.
Here is a list of some other things I've done in my life that are at least somewhat worth mentioning.
- I created the Pikes Peak Homeschool Science Group in 2001. The PPHSG is an organization promoting science and math education for homeschoolers in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. Aside from some field trips and informal classes, its main function has been organizing a team for the Science Olympiad activity. In 2007, the PPHSG team placed 7th in the state of Colorado in this activity. I resigned the same year, in order to recover more time for other activities.
- I served as a steering committee member for the Pikes Peak Java Developer's Group, and frequently presented there for some time. I would link to the group's web site, except that it is now defunct.
- I am in the process of starting the Colorado Springs Programming Languages and Tools interest group, or C-SPLAT. Our first meeting is coming up on June 10, 2008.
- I belong to the Catholic Church, and was baptized into the Church in the Spring of 2003 at the age of 24. I've been involved in a number of endeavors related my faith. In particular, I had the pleasure of being involved with the JustFaith ministry for some time as a participant and a facilitator.
- I'm increasingly involved in political efforts. I'm currently serving as the Democratic Party precinct chair for my precinct. (My precincts is just a few city blocks in size; precincts are the smallest unit of organized political activity.) I've spent a lot of time volunteering for Barack Obama's campaign, and believe deeply in it. In the past, I also volunteered for John Morse's campaign for the Colorado State Senate.