My Interests
If it was not obvious by the other pages here, I am quite interested in Jeeps. They are a lot of fun, even if they are cold, wet, and noisy. My Jeep is like a work in progress: it is so basic that you can do a lot of cool stuff to it without worrying about cosmetics. It is a rolling laboratory of functionality of design and optimization of space. There is just not enough room to load it up with stuff, and everything you put in had better be able to stand the elements! It has several personalities: it sits up like a pickup truck, but is only 5 feet wide. It rides like a buckboard on the road (you feel every bump not once, but twice!), but it is smooth and silent when you're creeping around in the woods, and feels no bigger than a snowmobile when you fold the windshield down offroad.
I also spend a lot of time on my computer (not necessarily on the internet). It is an oldie but a goodie, the original Macintosh LC (68020 CPU). To keep with the times, I have expanded it several times; the RAM went from 2 to 4 and now 10 Mb. The hard drive went from a 40 to a 160, and now a Quantum 540 Lightning SCSI-2. It has run everything from system 6.0.8 to 7.1, and I am considering going to 7.5. It has a 28.8 v.34 modem on it, and prints to the original StyleWriter (with a StyleWriter II driver for greyscale). I sold my motorcycle to get it when I was at USM, and now it has such sentimental value that I can't sell it to get another one.
My other 'computer' is a little more sleek: an Apple Newton MessagePad 110 with a 2 Mb card. It has become almost as trusty a sidekick as my desktop Mac, and can't be beat as an organizational tool. I have patched it to send faxes using my generic 28.8, which is bigger than the Newton itself. As it is a tool (supposedly), I run mainly productivity apps like Action Agenda and Quickfigure Pro, but it also turns into a cool solitaire game on the road, even though it is a little more costly than a Gameboy. Besides, it wasn't a Gameboy or Casio B.O.S.S. that tipped off the Pentagon in Under Seige II!
My outdoors time, when I am not Jeeping, is usually spent underwater. I have been a scuba diver for several years, and spent two seasons as an urchin diver as well. You have not seen the coast of Maine until you have seen it underwater! It is impossible to describe the quantity of marine life in this area, as you seldom see anything more than a few periwinkles at the shoreline. In 3-6 feet of water you could literally reach down and touch any of about a dozen different kinds of sea creatures, ranging from anemones, sand dollars, hermit & other crabs, to sea urchins and even lobsters in the summer. Of course, not many people swim in the ocean up here because the water only reaches about 68 degrees.
Another hobby of mine is outdoor photography. My trusty sidekick is an old Nikon FA that has been dropped from a plane, doused in the ocean, and smashed into a brick wall. It is still going strong, as only a Nikon would. I got it when I was stationed at Fort Bragg, and it has gone everywhere with me since. My equipment includes a MD-12 motor drive, SB-15 flash, Zoom-Nikkor 35-70 mm, Vivitar 80-200mm, and the stock 50 mm. Nighttime shots are timed with a Gossen Luna-Pro, and the whole mess is housed in a Pelican case that has saved the equipment more times than I can count.
Having shot/developed/printed most B&W/Color film, my preference is now to shoot/develop Ektachrome EPP 100 and make Cibachrome prints. Nothing captures your attention like a Cibachrome print, and EPP 100 has incredible color that complements Cibachrome well. A print of mine (Marshall Point Light) won Best of Show at the Lobster Festival in 1992, and I have several that are part of the permanent collection at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where I first printed Cibachrome. Unfortunately, I have not been able to develop/print since leaving USM, because of a lack of equipment and space for a darkroom.
This being Maine, there are plenty of times when it is downright inconvenient to have outdoor and underwater hobbies (i.e spring, late fall, and winter). My indoor hobbies (besides the computer) are electronics and classical literature.
I held a Novice ham license in high school, but did not renew it when I went in the service.
My major in school was English, and there is still no substitute for a well-worn book. I read practically anything, but I enjoy Old English the most. I am presently (perpetually?) re-reading Beowulf in the original (Klaeber edition). I am also reading/translating the riddles of Cynewulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, mainly to keep from losing the ability to.
And then there's MUSIC.
This page was last updated on April 3, 1996.
This page has been accessed 4657 times.