Michael loved a lot of facets of life... but his favorite activity had to be gaming with his friends.

He started gaming early in his life (taught by his older brothers), but really gamed in earnest after his move to Austin as a young man.

One friend commented that Michael loved gaming because he loved complex systems... and I think that was true. But I also think that he loved being fully engaged with his imagination. Even better, he loved being engaged with the collective imagination of all those he was playing with.

Michael’s gaming friends brought great joy into Michael’s life. They were generous with their time and their companionship and this meant so much to him.

Like others in his family, MIchael was big fan of science fiction
in its many forms. Whether it was movies, books or television, Michael was really interested.

One of Michael’s colleagues talked about Michael’s broad interest in sci-fi in general and their shared interest in Star Trek in particular. He also recalled Michael’s ability to describe in a very compelling way movies or shows that really captured his attention.

For a little more than a decade Michael worked at the Learning Technology Center at the University of Texas. He enjoyed working with and helping the students, faculty and colleagues there.

Colleagues there commented on his patience, his thoughtfulness, his curiosity and his ability to put people at ease when working
with them.

When presented with a problem, he thought before he spoke.
In fact, you could see him thinking... the wheels working in his head... before he spoke. But when he spoke his solutions were often creative and generally right on the mark.

This work and his day-to-day interactions with his colleagues
here meant a great deal to Michael.