Things you should know about me:
I was raised in the Napa Valley in California. I like wine, though I’m far from a wine snob. It turns out I’m also fond of beer, and the occasional whiskey sour.
I have a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Dartmouth College.
I worked for Microsoft Corporation, at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, for 26 years. 17 of those were in Microsoft Research, the basic and applied research arm of the company, which has labs in several places around the world.
After I left Microsoft, I created Seattle City Council Insight, where I wrote about Seattle City Hall from November 2015 until December 2021. I still a weekly “Long Reads” column for the South Seattle Emerald, and I am a frequent contributor to Post Alley.
Supporting excellence in academia is very important to me. I was on the Board of Trustees of Harvey Mudd College , and I am the Advancement Board of University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs.
I have two beautiful twin daughters, Elly and Xanda. I raised them as a single dad from when they were 5 years old until they went off to college. They are the joy of my life.
Most of the time I live in Seattle, Washington. When not there, I can usually be found in Friday Harbor, Washington.
I volunteer at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. If you see a guy in a khaki vest with a nametag that says “Kevin” then it’s probably me — please say hi. I’m also on the Board of Directors of the Zoo.
I love to cook. After my kids went off to college, I used my newly-found free time to take lessons here. It changed my life, and it made me wish I’d done it a long time ago.
About six years ago I took up playing the guitar. A side effect of this seems to be a newfound desire to accumulate guitars. I now have three four.
Good Morning, Kevin! This is very fascinating to listen to the birds, ferry and sounds of FH as I sip my morning coffee and be reading your I wonderful distractions! The video on the grouse was amusing!
Going to share your blog with friends.
Your new writing career is right for you. Congratulations! You made the correct decision!
Delightful. Zoo man…..
BTW….I adopted a cat from shelter…the love of my life. Nina. She looks Maine Coon. Please speak to her when you meet. Nina can be shy, cept with me.
Have a magical day….no other kind in FH!
Dear Kevin:
I enjoyed your analysis of Amazon’s taxes.
I teach as an adjunct in the tax LLM program at Georgetown Law School.
I am a retired tax partner from Ernst, where I specialized in M&A and then in accounting for income taxes.
I have performed a similar analysis on a list of 52 companies in the same situation.
Then I found your excellent description of Amazon.
If you have no objections I plan to use your article to help teach my course.
I also have twins (identicals) now adults, as well a 2 other children,
Best Regards
John Gunn