Was walking back late from lab and had the Austinian urge to keep walking. Dumped my stuff off at the apartment and paced around the nearby park- not the same as walking the tens of miles that Austin was fond of, but still a wonderful experience. The stars were so bright tonight, even with Chicago's light pollution. Breathtakingly beautiful crisp air, with each exhalation's smoke curling off into the night sky with the biting breeze. Can feel the cold lingering in your bones, but it feels good, knowing you have somewhere warm to return to. Miss you, Austin. 

While visiting with some friends in Albuquerque over winter break, we ended up playing a game of Scrabble. We of course couldn't play without talking about how good Austin was at Scrabble and Words with Friends online. Austin was tough to beat, because the game is a combination of vocabulary and strategy--perfect for Austin. You never felt bad about losing to Austin, though, because you always knew that he was all about the joy associated with playing the game with his friends, not about winning. I think these words games are a perfect testament to how Austin treated the ones he loved and to Austin's joy and love for fun.

I first "encountered" Austin while writing an Amazon review for the organic chemistry textbook I had just finished using in school; he had also written a review for the book, and I thought it was spot-on, so I decided to check out his other reviews. 
Over the next 15 mins or so, I thought to myself "this seems like a pretty cool, smart guy," and I wondered if he by chance went to my school (not many schools use the chemistry text we both reviewed). 
My google search eventually led me here, and I couldn't help but notice that in the picture of Austin at the ballpark, he seems to be wearing a watch he reviewed on Amazon - the second review of his that I read. It seems we both had the same "retro geek chic" style-sense in watches! While I never got to really know Austin (and it turns out we did not attend the same university), I feel like I got a small sense of him as a person through his reviews on Amazon. He came across as smart, funny, and very likable. Reading about him on this site, I think we would have gotten along well had we ever somehow met - our college majors were very similar, and we're both weather geeks, classical music enthusiasts, and lovers of the outdoors. 
It's a wonder to me and a testament to Austin that he still can manage to touch people. 
Thanks,
Chris