The Bard's Interests & Hobbies

  Computers

Computers for me have always been a hobby. I too an active interest in the way back in 1985 when the personal Computer industry was still in its infancy. I bought a used Beltron 286 with a 20 meg hard drive, 640 kb of ram, and two 5 ¼" floppy drives! I took it apart and put it back together a dozen times or more and took it with me when I moved to Germany in 1989. I installed and learned Lotus 123, Word Perfect 4.2, Dbase III &IV, Quicken, and several games. In 1990 I purchased a brand new Gateway 2000 386 with Microsoft WindowsÒ 3.0 installed. This was something new and I learned all I could about Windows. Pretty soon people were coming to me if they didn’t know how to do this or that with Windows. When Windows 3.1 hit the street I eagerly bought a copy and installed it, and I have not looked back since.

Since the Gateway, I have owned a countless number of machines, most of which I have built myself. Right now I have six computers, including two laptops, which I use to learn Windows NT and NetWare. I have a Windows NT 4.0 mini network setup in my apartment, running the entire Microsoft BackOffice 2.5 suite, including Exchange server 5.5. In addition I have a DHCP server running which handles IP assignments to my various workstations. I am looking to build yet another system to put Windows NT Workstation on to act a my primary workstation—I am tired of Windows 98 and it unnerving habit of crashing when I am in the middle on something important. Visit the My Projects page if you want more details on what I am doing with it all.

Now I make my living out of what was once—and still is—my hobby, go figure!

  Drawing

I've been told I'm a pretty good artist, but I know I have a log way to go, before I can claim Monet’s fame. I am a two dimensional drawer, and have only recently discovered the 3rd dimension.  I have drawn since I was about 11 years old, mostly ships and planes and space ships I either copied from a drawing or pieced together from several different drawings.  Several years ago while at sea on a submarine with nothing but time on my hands, I drew a dragon free hand from a color drawing and must admit I didn't do too badly. I still have the drawing, and take it out every now and then just to look at it.  It was the last drawing I ever did on such a grand scale. I don't get to draw nearly as much as I used to and I must admit I miss it; it always helped me to relax. Never enough time these days for much of anything but work it seems!  When I finally do manage to get out from under, I will take it up again, and move to next level, which is painting...

Diving

I learned how to dive with my best friend Dave while stationed on Hawaii in 1991. It started as a whim really, but before I knew it I was a certified open water diver, diving almost every weekend! I made beach and boat approaches—the beach approaches were by far the hardest; I could never gauge how far off shore I swam once under the water. It could take 45 minutes to an hour to get back to shore! The deepest I ever dove was 95 feet, on top of an old wreck off the Hawaiian coast. I dove the wreck twice and each time saw something different; a shark on one occasion, a moray eel, a school of stingray’s swimming along the ocean bottom. It’s a different world down there, one in which I should strife to capture in verse one day.

Hiking

I have a passion for the out doors, be it hiking, sailing, or just having a picnic on a hillside over looking a lake.  I first took up hiking while living in Turkey.  My companion and I hiked, backpacks strapped to our backs, all over Western Turkey and the Greek Isle of Rhodes during one three week period in the summer of 1984.  I will scan and post some pictures as soon as I sort them out.   I got a way from it for a while when I moved to Virginia, but took it up again when I moved to Hawaii in 1991.  In Hawaii I was either diving or hiking every weekend.    There were so many places to hike on Oahu, so many in fact that I didn't get a chance to hike the other islands!  It's a great way to keep in shape and I miss it allot; there are not too many places to go hiking in Chicago! I have assembled quite an assortment of backpacks over they years—one for every occasion. I must admit I only use Jansport, because they stand up to abuse so well, not to mention that they are warranted for life.

Model Building

Now this is something I haven't done in years, but enjoyed very much. I still have numerous unfinished kits of all types in my garage that I've bought with the intention of building, but never get around to. I carry them with me every time I move rather than give them away, or throw them out, and one day when I am settled for good, I will build them all. I like to build warships, combat planes, and the ships from Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica (no cars please), and I must admit that I'm not half bad, or wasn’t in my day.  Eventually, like my drawing I will take it up again full time.

    Photography

In my travels I have take a wide assortment of photos none of which I have arranged in anything approaching order. This is a task I have assigned myself in the coming months. I own and use a Nikon 4000ns auto-focus camera, which I love. But I need to make an investment in new lens; specifically a fish eye, and wide-angle/panoramic lens. I really could have used the latter on a recent trip to the Virginia mountains; the scenery was breathtaking. I am experimenting with out of focus shots and extreme close-ups. I guess in the future I will take a photography class or two, but for now I am winging it and having fun!

Politics

You have the pleasure of visiting the Web Site of the first Black American President (well maybe). It’s a goal I have set for myself. I am not active in politics, but hold a number of strong opinions on what is right and wrong with the country, along with what I believe are common sense intelligent solutions. But, for right now I'm too busy making a living to do much more than write about it all. I will attempt to address some of these issues in the Editor’s Page—watch for it to open soon.

Reading

I am now, and have always been a veracious reader.    I have been known to go through a novel a week, when I used to read every night.  When I do read for fun I enjoy just about anything as long as it's well written.  I started reading the collective works of Dickens while out the sea one year and he, along with Shakespeare and WEB Debois stand out in my mind as the greatest authors of all time. I also read a large variety of magazines, from Money to PC Computing, from Fortune to Playboy—and yes I do read the articles! I love to spend Sundays at the local Borders (when I get the chance), reading the morning away. I love the atmosphere of the place; its like a library only it smells a lot better. 

Singing

Growing up, singing was a real passion for me, which continues to this day; I recently received a standing ovation at the company Christmas party for my rendition of Silent Night. I used to have a real high voice not unlike Philip Bailey of my favorite group Earth, Wind & Fire, but I lost it in Navy boot camp some 17 years ago. Despite that, I still sound pretty good and love to sing to Boyz II Men, or just about anyone for that matter; I just can't hit those high notes like I used to. I've thought long and not so hard about trying to make singing a career, but who has the time.    Been told I have a pretty good sounding announcer’s voice too and I've always wanted to break into the voice over business, but--see above. I’ve heard that the book reading business is a multi-million, even billion dollar business and growing; something to look into to.

Writing

I've always had a fondness for writing, and I discovered a passion for fictional writing that I really can't explain; maybe it's my love of the English language, or my run-a-way imagination.   Whatever it is, I think it's here to stay! I was writing technical papers and political editorials, but on a trip to Paris in August 1996, I decided to try my hand at short stories and actually managed to write a couple. Since that trip, I've not had as much time as I'd like to write, but I have managed to produce a few short stories and numerous poems and sonnets.  I have compiled a sample of my poetry and sonnets in the Poets’ Enclave, and will soon open the Reading Room to showcase some of my short stories. Please feel free to send me your work and I will post it as well.