Hobbies

Asside from being a Computer Science professor, I have many other hobbies that I indulge in.

Music

I've played Euphonium since I was 5 years old. I've had the privilege to play both as an amateur and a professional. I've met and played with some of the top trumpet players in the world at an international Brass workshop. There I got to meet some of the greats such as Arturo Sandoval, Uan Rasey, Claude Gordon, Timofei Dokschitzer and many others. I am still playing, but certainly don't consider myself to be a professional anymore.

Snow Skiing

I had a great run skiing basically my whole life and still indulge. I'm not a Warren Miller wannabe, but I did make it up to 50 at 50. That is, 50 MPH at age 50.

SCUBA Diving

Started in College and completed my Century dive (100 dives) in the Bahamas 2024. I've got to say, the beaches and people in the out islands in the Bahamas are the best!

Private Pilot

After my Doctorate, my wife asked me what I wanted as a reward... I grew up part of my life on property that used to be a WWII training airport for P51 Pilots named Thunderbird B. In the back of the WWII hanger were 2 P51 Mustangs still in their original shipping crates. I always wanted to learn to fly since I was a kid, so naturally, I chose to learn to fly. Now, both my wife and I are private pilots.

White Water Rafting

My wife and I own Aire Tomcat Tandom rafts that we love to play on white water. Our highest achievement in this area is the Middle Ocoee river which we have run multiple times. I will say that swimming hell's hole was one of the worst, but only slightly worse than washer machine or table saw. Videos are on youtube (just not the me swimming part).

Moutain Biking

... Yeah, we've done that too. Winter Park, Keystone, and many other areas in California, Idaho, Washington and Arizona.

Rock Climbing

... Yeah, we've done that too. But not anymore (too old). In my younger years I climbed Pinnacle Peak (then just outside of Scottsdale, AZ - now a Park in Scottsdale). But we've done lots of climbing in Arizona, California (Joshua Tree National Park is my favorite) and in Texas.

Sailing

Recently we gave sailing a try and earned our bareboat certifcation. I don't claim to be a real expert on this, but we thoroughly enjoyed learning how to sail.