User:MCalamari

Introduction
I'm a registered civil engineer working for the State of California as a river forecaster. For years I was responsible for conducting numerical modeling simulations of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (which is a hot bed of water political activity). My current responsibilities include designing emergency response policies for the Delta, forecasting river flows for California and Nevada, and developing hydrology for any location within California for use in the operation and design of water projects. I got my degrees at Texas A&M University (BSCE) and University of California of Davis (MSCE) where I focused on water resources. My undergraduate honors thesis involved comparing the Palmer Drought Index with the SOI and Texas temperature and precipation records to develop any timeseries correlations between SOI and water supply. My MS Thesis, "Development and Use of Hydrologic Drought Risk for a La Nina based Forcing in a Simplified Climate Model", combined use of a general circulation model with a simple two-stage linear programming model in an attempt to optimize reservoir storage. As a professional engineer I've worked on hydrodynamic and water quality studies in support of the California State Water Project and local environmental issues relevant to the Delta smelt and other native fish species. I also enjoy water resources outreach activities, including going out and talking to the public about core issues related to water resources at local schools or the California State Fair as either a formal or informal representative of the State.

In addition to environmental and engineering related topics, I'm also an avid traveler, toy train and action figure collector, ambient and industrial music fan, a former violinist, science fiction fan, comic book reader, and softball/baseball enthusaist. When I find an album that I really like (or in cases where I am extremely disappointed in an album), I make a point to write reviews of the album. I also happen to be an election volunteer / poll worker, having worked in most state and local elections since 1998 and naturally I'm very interested in democratic elections. In high school and college I was active in Model United Nations programs, and still enjoy following international politics. I've been to the following countries:


 * United States
 * Canada
 * Japan
 * United Kingdom
 * Norway
 * the Netherlands
 * Germany
 * Belgium
 * France
 * Spain
 * Luxembourg
 * Switzerland
 * Liechtenstein

Wikipedia Milestones

 * 2006-02-18 -- created List of California Goth and Industrial Bands
 * 2006-03-17 -- significant additions to Gridlock (band)
 * 2006-03-18 -- created C/A/T
 * 2006-05-09 -- significant additions to California Department of Water Resources
 * 2006-05-12 -- created Stoplogs
 * 2006-05-19 -- created Reclamation district
 * 2006-05-30 -- significant reorganization fo San Joaquin River
 * 2006-05-31 -- created Unimpaired runoff
 * 2006-06-14 -- created Flood bypass
 * 2006-06-14 -- created Love Is Colder Than Death
 * 2006-06-26 -- created No Comment (album)
 * 2006-07-12 -- created Blacksun Festival
 * 2006-08-28 -- created Prikosnovenie
 * 2006-09-07 -- significant additions to Gornergratbahn
 * 2006-09-08 -- created Pendragon Records
 * 2006-09-11 -- significant contributions to Collection d'Arnell Andrea
 * 2006-09-12 -- significant contributions to Reverence
 * 2006-09-14 -- significant contributions to Vas
 * 2006-09-15 -- created Teignmouth
 * 2006-09-27 -- created Harvey Oren Banks
 * 2007-03-20 -- created Exposition, Eaux-Fortes et Méandres
 * 2007-04-19 -- significant contributions to Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
 * 2007-04-19 -- significant contributions to G. V. Loganathan
 * 2007-04-21 -- created Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management