Some basic personal information on Steve Packard

Stephen Michael Packard Jr. was born to Stephen M. Packard Sr. and Eileen Joyce Packard on July 12, 1982 in Manhattan New York.  His family moved to North Haven Connecticut shortly after he was born.  He is the oldest of four children, with two brothers and one sister.

Steve is a third generation native born American, primarily of Irish ancestry. He is seven eighths Irish as all but one of his great grandparents were from Ireland.  The only non-Irish great grandparent is his paternal grandfather’s father, whose ancestry is English and from whom he received the Packard name.  His English heritage is old Massachusetts Protestant, which can be traced back to the Pilgrims.  So while most of his ancestors came to the US in the early part of the 20th century, his heritage in the Americas can be traced back to before the birth of the United States.  He remains close to his extended family, who still live in Ireland.

Steve’s connections to the third congressional district and to Connecticut run deep.  He first moved to North Haven at the age of one and spent his early childhood there.  His family would later move to Simsbury Connecticut and then to Clifton Park, New York, an upstate suburb of Albany.   Steve was educated in the public schools of New York and Connecticut.   He graduated from Shenendehowa High School, with honors, in 2000.  Shortly after, his family moved to Guilford Connecticut, the town he lived in until moving to Hamden in 2010.

Steve attended the University of Hartford, majoring in computer science, but did not complete the degree.  He also attended classes online and at community colleges.  He has obtained a number of technical certifications.

Steve has had a number of jobs over the years, most of them in the Information Technology field.   He has worked as a freelance and contract systems administrator, done website design and programing and as an e-marketing specialist.  He has also worked doing basic technical support and computer repair, which he described as a surprisingly rewarding experience because it offers the opportunity to help people solve their problems.

Steve has been involved in a number of important causes.  He has spent many hours volunteering at animal shelters, and has described himself as a dog lover, noting that some of his best friends have been dogs.   Since 2007 he has been heavily involved in the organized skepticism movement.   Skepticism has been described as the intersection of consumer protection and science education.   Steve’s involvement in skepticism has included advocacy against medical fraud, critical review of science policy, raising awareness of science-related issues in the public media and refuting commonly-held myths.

Since 2007, Steve has maintained his own website and blog, Depleted Cranium, a skeptically-oriented site offering commentary on science and “bad science” issues.

When it comes to leisure and hobbies, Steve has often stated that he’s “a bit of a nerd.”  He enjoys amateur science experimentation and homebrew projects.   Steve is a licensed ham radio operator, with the call sign KB1IPD.   He has also been involved in the hobbies of Tesla coil construction, satellite reception and other garage and backyard projects.  Steve also enjoys traveling, hiking and camping and SCUBA diving.

Steve is also a big fan of classic rock music.  His favorite bands are Led Zeppelin and The Who.  He enjoys classic movies and is an aviation and history buff.  He loves to read, but mostly sticks to non-fiction.  His favorite food is spaghetti.