![[Scott Novotney]](/users/novotney/banner.gif)
I created this site many years ago to teach myself how to use HTML, just a short time before Internet became a household word. I learned about this new-fangled Internet thing through a couple of friends who were studying at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. While most of the information on this site is a little outdated and many of the links are dead, I haven't seen any reason to delete it yet.
Having a website gives me an opportunity to talk about myself in shameless excess. Since I don't often have that opportunity, I'll take advantage here.
So, who am I? I learn a little more about that each day and I actually seem to enjoy it. Who would have thought? Anyway, I'll spare the existential rhetoric and cover the standard things that most people seem to ask about such as work, hobbies, personality, et cetera. You might be disappointed (or surprised) that I don't really have any far-out manifestos for the world to read.
Regarding the work I do, most of the hours of my life are spent providing counseling. After completing my grad program in clinical psychology and spending the better part of a year in practicum at a Veterans Administration Medical Center, I decided to stick with the mental health field and I took a job that mainly involves facilitating outpatient counseling. I do some inpatient work at times and I occasionally do some personality testing and intelligence testing when needed. I also spend my fair share of time doing contracted psychological evaluations for DFC and Social Security to help folks get their Medicaid and disability income. The work is always rewarding and interesting, even though things like paperwork and managed care try to trample the life out of me on a daily basis.
As an undergrad and a grad student, I was involved in a lot of research. I did quite a bit of basic research on Alzheimer's Disease with Dr. Allen Butt, studying the involvement of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) and the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (a brain structure) in Alzheimer's. I also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Lambert Deckers, a researcher on the psychology of humor, whose latest book I helped to edit.
Currently, I am interested in the integration of mindfulness practices and psychotherapy.
When I'm not working, I'm usually listening to or playing music. Most of the time I listen to jazz, classical, blues, and some music under the umbrella of rock and alternative. I also like stride piano, ragtime, Celtic, bluegrass, and klezmer.
Lately, I've been listening to Leon Redbone, Mary Lou Williams, Regina Spektor, James P. Johnson, Fritz Kreisler, and [always] the Beatles. Over the last few years I've attended some great live performances by Itzhak Perlman, the Guarneri Quartet, White Stripes, James Brown, Marian McPartland, Leon Redbone, and James Ehnes.
My favorite jazz musicians are Marian McPartland and Dave Brubeck. I think they're among the most inventive improvisational jazz pianists/composers of all time. I had the pleasure of attending an outdoor concert in Grant Park (in downtown Chicago) a few years back featuring the Marian McPartland Trio. The concert was rained out, but those of us who stuck around until the rain stopped were invited to sit on the stage for our own personal concert.
When I have free time, I'm an amateur violinist. I've been lucky to have some fantastic teachers. I was self-taught until I started studying violin with Sharilyn Spicknall; I later studied with William Alan Davis. I was also able to have some lessons and masterclasses with Sherry Kloss while I was in grad school. Now, I'm fortunate to be studying again with Sharilyn Spicknall, one of my all-time favorite humans, on an as-needed basis. Even though I don't have enough time to put in the standard three to four hours of practice per day, I still play symphony orchestra gigs pretty regularly to keep myself from getting too rusty.
My favorite violinists are: Corey Cerovsek, Hilary Hahn, Aaron Rosand (a native Hoosier), Itzhak Perlman, Josef Gingold, and Fritz Kreisler. My favorite violin concerti include those by: Brahms, Dvorak, Elgar, Tchaikovsky, and Korngold.
Being in the field of psychology, I've always thought personality typing using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is pretty interesting. My personality type is INFJ. It seems to describe me pretty well. What's your personality type?
One of my FAVORITE things to do is to travel. I've been fortunate to have a few opportunities to visit friends and family all over Europe and the U.S. I've had great times visiting family in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and spending time with friends in Germany and Italy. Many thanks go out to Stana, Stano, Marika, Lukas, Babka (Maria), Jitka, Rodina Sarisska (the Sarissky family), Ed & Marion Gates, and the DiGiusti family for keeping me entertained and so well fed. Dakujem vam!
Because my culinary skills are mediocre at best, I like to dine out with friends whenever time and funds allow. Some of my favorite restaurants (in no particular order) are: