Life experiences, family, and reflections
I grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin, where I earned the nickname “Mr. Bill” breaking Apple II copy protection as a teenager. At age 16, I attended the 1984 Nobel Conference at Gustavus Adolphus College, where talks by Daniel Dennett, Roger Schank, and Herbert Simon planted seeds about artificial intelligence that would shape my thinking for the next four decades.
I studied mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (BS, 1989), where five professors left a lasting mark: Berent Enç, Robert Penner, Anatole Beck, Mary Ellen Rudin, and Hiroaki Terao. The mathematical rigor I absorbed there remains the foundation of everything I build.
I'm blessed to be part of a blended family of six. My wife Michelle and I found each other after both experiencing profound loss — a connection our neighbors called “beshert” (meant to be). Together, we've created a loving home for our four children: Cassie (technical librarian), Blake (mobile/web developer), Robert (industrial automation), and Ashley (public policy student).
We split our time between Phoenix, Arizona in the winters and Minneapolis, Minnesota in the summers — the best of both worlds.
In 2011, I was diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma and given only a few months to live. Through experimental immunotherapy at the National Institutes of Health, I became one of the fortunate 25% who responded completely to treatment. I've now been cancer-free for over 14 years.
During this same period, I was caring for my first wife Jodi as she battled breast cancer and later leukemia. She passed away in March 2013. The experience of fighting for my own life while caring for hers transformed my perspective on what truly matters.
After surviving cancer, I committed to physical transformation. I returned to Life Time Fitness in 2013, adopted a ketogenic diet (losing 40 pounds), and built a daily yoga practice five times a week. In 2017, I completed a 365-mile bike ride across Israel — a journey that proved to me what was possible after everything I'd been through.
Beyond technology, I'm drawn to philosophy, ancient languages, and the intersection of timeless wisdom with modern life. I read Camus and Pascal in the original French and am learning Greek — driven by a love of places like Nafplio, where ancient history comes alive. Russian is next.
I'm an avid reader shaped by Hofstadter's “Gödel, Escher, Bach,” Dretske's “Knowledge and the Flow of Information,” and Hofstadter's “Metamagical Themas.” I enjoy photography, AI-generated art, cultural travel, fantasy baseball, and digital preservation.
My worldview is a Stoic-existentialist blend: Emerson's self-reliance, Camus' embrace of the absurd, Seneca's discipline, and Chesterton's Fence (understand why something exists before tearing it down). Grounded in Jewish faith with threads of Kabbalah and yoga woven through.
Cancer taught me that time is our most precious resource. After 40 years in technology, I'm focused on building things that matter — tools that serve humanity, education that preserves wisdom, and a legacy that honors both those we've lost and those who will come after us.
My guiding principle remains Keats: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”