Cracked Cauldron Spillings

John DeLaughter was born in Portland, OR. He lived there for two
weeks before deciding that he didn't like the weather, and moved his
family to Oklahoma. As a semi-native Okie, he naturally went to the
University of Oklahoma for both his B.S. (in Physics, 1985) and his
M.S. (in Geophysics, 1993). Between the two degrees, John worked as
an educator at Omniplex Science Museum, where he was better known
as "Professor M. Possible". After finishing his Master's thesis on
Oklahoma earthquakes (yes, they do have them), he moved to Chicago,
IL, to attend Northwestern University. He received a PhD.
(Geophysics) in 1998 for a tome entitled "Evolution Of The
Lithospheres Of Earth And Venus: Studies In Geoid, Topography And
Heat Flow" (his advisors firmly rejected "Adventures in Geophysics,
or The Geology of Interesting Places"). After graduation, he joined
Chevron (now ChevronTexaco), which has sent him to work in Indonesia,
Nigeria, Angola, Canada, California, and Louisiana. While in
Lousisiana, he earned an M.B.A. in International Business from the
University of New Orleans - and made a profit while doing so. He has
written 25 presentations and abstracts, 11 peer-reviewed articles,
and three books. He has studied whale calls in the Pacific, coronae
on Venus, volcanoes on Mars, the thermal budget of the Earth, seismic
attributes of Gulf of Mexico oil fields, the AVO response of West
African reservoirs, and the effect of leverage on profit ratios. He
enjoys cooking, reading, obscure rock bands, and sailing. He has been
the Cracked Cauldron's Finance Director since its incorporation.