my hobbies
I try to stay busy with a number of hobbies. I intend to live forever!
bicyclist
I
love to ride. I used to ride a lot more, however, as it seems that I used to
have much more time! I am riding an old bike, a 1996
Giant
Boulder. I also maintain a website on Illinois bicycle trails called
BikeIllinois.
motorcyclist
I
have a motorcycle license, but currently don't have a place for a motorcycle.
That means I don't own one and only dream of the day I'll be able to drive away
on two wheels.
postcrossing
I
am a member of
Postcrossing,
a site which allows the exchange of postcards with people all over the world.
I use my Mailer's Postmark
Permit to hand-cancel these cards.
beer advocate
Being
half German, it should be obvious that I am a connoisseur of beer. I am
also a charter subscriber of
Beer Advocate, the
leading beer magazine here in the United Staes
amateur radio operator
This
year, I became a
General Class Amateur Radio operator. In addition to having a license
to use the ham frequencies, I am also a volunteer examiner and
Skywarn Storm Spotter.
I hope to become more active in this hobby as the year goes on and am looking to earn my extra class, the highest class of license, sometime in the next year.
fountain pen enthusiast
Before
the invention of ballpoint pens and bad handwriting, there was fountain pens.
I am an avid collector and user of fountain pens - using brands such as
Lamy,
Pelikan, and
Pilot. Part of the
hobby is learning about how writing was done in days gone by and I visit a
special forum, the
Fountain Pen Network, to learn more.
writer
Using
fountain pens isn't that fun without something to write. I am an avid
writer and advocate of writing letters.
web designer
Since my first website in 1996, I have spent many hours developing websites in HTML (like this), using CMS (such as Drupal), or blog software (such as Wordpress).
computer expert
I am fluent in a lot of things related to computers: Microsoft Windows (consumer and server), Linux, Unix, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Expression, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Acrobat, HTML, PHP, networking, voip, among others.
