You’ve read their books. You’ve probably even met them at conferences. But now, we’re revealing another side of our beloved SAS authors in this list of fun facts. Prepare to be surprised. Hint – one of the authors swims with sharks.
Tricia has over 100 jokes memorized - most in questionable taste. Two guys walk into a bar. You think the second one would have ducked.
When Bill was in high school he attended several art, photography, and journalism classes. But, he knew the computer field was catching on and would put him in a new field at a time of extreme growth. So, he flipped a coin and became a computer programmer. We’re glad it landed that side up!
Patricia has an interest in sled dog adventures and racing. She has even adopted a retired sled dog from a kennel in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan called Nature’s Kennel.
Chuck briefly taught grade school. He fell in love with teaching and the discovery moments that students get every day while learning. That experience prepared him for what he gets to do today both in the book and in his career.
Iain is a big football fan (that’s known as soccer for us Americans) and uses analytics in his spare time to help pick his fantasy football team.
She still laughs when she remembers how her husband compared macro quoting functions to Star Trek cloaking devices back in 1998 when she wrote the first edition of “SAS Macro Programming Made Easy”. A sentence that made this comparison was even put in the first edition!
Art enjoys backpacking and once hiked the John Muir Trail with his daughter. (Attaching mountain pic he sent)
Charlie is an avid fan of jazz music. Over the years, he’s had the privilege of seeing Dizzy Gillespie, Winton Marsalis, Spyro Gyro (Group), David Benoit, Ramsey Lewis, and Grover Washington Jr. (his jazz hero).
Ron is an avid scuba diver. His last trip was to Grand Turk, a tiny (four miles by seven miles) island part of the Turks and Caicos chain of islands. He actually worked on the problem sets for his latest book while on vacation -- but not while underwater!
Lora lived in Belgium and Israel for a few months while her husband was on sabbatical leave from his job at a university.
Lisa’s identical twin is a SAS programmer.
Jim graduated from West Point, lived in Germany for three years, and has nine grandchildren.
Matt’s favorite hobby is working on his house, which was built in 1855. Hopefully he has plenty of bedrooms – he’s expecting twins in March.
Prior to joining SAS, Curt was a book publisher in the fields of mathematics and statistics. Writing a book with SAS Press has let him experience the other, more creative, side of the process!
When Phil was 14 years old, he won two gold medals for 100m & 200m sprinting in the State Athletic Championships in Australia.
Sanjay loves to play musical instruments. If he can get his hands on one, he will try playing it! He’s already played the keyboard, violin, saxophone, flute, mandolin, ocarina and tabla (Indian drums). Next on his list -- accordion.
Julie used to roller derby for the Carolina Roller Girls as her alter-ego, Kiki Naface.
Kelly started her career as a pizza delivery driver. The price of a cheese pizza with delivery was $9.86, so people used to tip her $0.14 to make an even $10. Now, she always tips over 20%!
Derek plays jazz bass, and has performed on stage with three members of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Chuck Berry, Johnnie Johnson, and Earl Gibson of the Ink Spots.
Susan has unique ties to Star Trek. The fictional character Jean-Luc Picard was named after her very real great-uncle Jean Piccard, a scientist and explorer, who with his wife Jeanette ascended 57,579 feet into the stratosphere in 1934.
Kevin plays bass guitar and banjo. A couple years ago, he was in a rock band (as the bass player) that played a few nights of concerts in Kaluga, Russia.
22. Mia Stephens
Mia was born in Hollywood, CA. She also played Division I volleyball.
Gerhard’s favorite hobby is sailing, which comes through in some of his book examples and presentations.
Matt interprets American Sign Language at his church. In his spare time, he also enjoys brewing his own beer.
Richard is a thrill seeker. He frequently scuba dives on the wrecks in North Carolina where he often finds himself at arm’s length from sand tiger sharks. He’s also retrieved several fossil megalodon teeth in 100ft of water off the Carolina coast.
Bonus Fun Facts
It was hard to keep it to just 25 so we’re adding some bonus fun facts. These are a few of the SAS authors I’ve have the pleasure to know personally from working together. They even surprised me with these new details.
Goutam is passionate about playing competitive contract bridge. He even represented the state of Iowa in the U.S. bridge championships twice and won the National Teams Flight B title, 1988 in Boston, MA (when he was a graduate student at University of Iowa!).
Chris has three talented daughters -- he calls them the Hemedaughters. He also used to sing and dance in the SAS Show Choir, VocalMotion. JAZZ HANDS!
Rick sings and dances in a show choir. He has performed on stage throughout the Raleigh, NC area for 15 years.
What did you think was the most surprising fact? Share your comments below.
