Tom Maurstad
E-mail: tmaurstad@dallasnews.com

HOMETOWN: I was born in Washington, D.C., but my dad was in the Navy and moved all over the place. I've lived in Dallas most of my adult life.

EDUCATION/CAREER TRACK: University of Texas at Austin, then free-lancing while working at bookstores and waiting tables, then The Dallas Morning News.

MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE ON THE JOB: It's not a bolt-of-lightning moment or anything, but one of the funniest/weirdest/life-imitating-art experiences I've had was the time I was working on a story about improv comedy on TV and trying to set up an interview with Jeff Garlin, one of the producers and stars of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. He (finally) called me back at like 8 p.m. and left a voicemail saying he was sorry to miss me, blah-blah-blah, and then closed by saying, "If you want to talk give me a call on my cell phone at ..." and then he left MY phone number. I remember going into an obsessive, hair-splitting rant with my editor: "Did he really confuse his cell number with my work number or was it a clever way of blowing me off while sounding nice and helpful?" It was like a scene out of, you know, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: If I told you then it wouldn't be something people don't know about me anymore.

IF I HAD TWO SPARE HOURS, I WOULD: Finish my design of a fully functional artificial heart.

I AM ALWAYS ENTERTAINED BY: Eavesdropping on people at restaurants.