Nathan Sanders : About

This picture is misleading. I only go hiking in the Tennessee Valley once a year when my parents drag me along. But this is also the only time people take pictures of me. Well, you can find more pictures of me taking part in group activities on Facebook.

I am a Ph D student at Indiana University. I study Computational Linguistics. I am starting on my dissertation, which will give methods for a computer to distinguish between the grammar of two dialects of some language. Check out my research page for a longer (but still simple) explanation, as well as papers and code I've written.

For the past three and a half years, my funding has come from Steve Chin's linguistic analysis of pediatric cochlear implant users. The project tracks kids that had cochlear implants at a very young age to see how they develop linguistically. I've applied my work on dialectometry to categorise the students by their pathologies.

I am a Christian. I try not to spend time worrying about rules, ceremonies and regulations and instead follow Jesus' example of helping people and pointing them to the truth. Check out the Bible if you want more details. The picture is from a trip my church group took to Texas to gut houses flooded by Hurricane Ike.

Aikido is about the only exercise I get. Its emphasis on peace, love and passive-aggressive behaviour fits well with my personality. It also lets me get my taste for tradition out of my system.

I play a lot of old video games. At first this was because of price ('free') and an inordinate interest in Japanese culture. Now it is because of price (although I have a higher threshold than 'free' now) and an interest in odd types of pop art. Check out the Vintage Gaming Club.

I actually haven't done any translation for several years. But this is what got me started with old video games. It also means I can read the video-game subset of Japanese. The part with "Bwa ha ha you have done well to come this far". I guess the AGTP is still the most active single source of translations.

My personal favourites are Calvin & Hobbes and Pogo. But I really enjoy Krazy Kat and Peanuts as well. You know, the classics. I read a lot of web comics these days since that seems to be where the art form is going. Check out Dinosaur Comics or The Comic Adventures of Left & Right.