With two young children I don't have a lot of spare time but I have managed to find time to pursue some entertaining hobbies.
One of my favorite pastimes is vintage computing. I currently have a collection of well over 100 vintage computers along with thousands of computer magazines and tons of other related ephemera as documented on my web site.
I also run the Vintage Computer Forums which is the best place on the net for people to share vintage computer knowledge and experience.
Since almost everything about this hobby is documented on my VC site I won't cover much here. But if you happen to have an old computer (usually pre-1982 although I am interested in some later items) lying around that you no longer want please consider donating it to me or another collector rather than having it crushed or dumped into a landfill!
Other vintage computing sites of interest include Bruce Damer's DigiBarn, Evan Koblentz dormant Technology Rewind and active MARCH pages, the Classic Computer Talk email list and a ton of others on my Vintage Computer Links page.
Back when I was in school I played chess a fair amount but was never very good. I didn't play for years after that but the itch recently took me again and I started playing - and learning - once again.
I can be found on Chess World as Filo. I'm still not very good but I like to play!
Back when I was very young (probably no more than 8 or 10) my father bought a yellow 1972 Corvette. I didn't know anything about cars back then so, to me, this thing was nothing but a loud, uncomfortable ride (and we did fit a family of 5 in it from time to time.)
Eventually I realized what cars were all about and, soon after, understood what a gem we had parked next to the driveway - for years. Unfortunately, because it spent its time outdoors in New York weather, the '72 was a bit of a mess by the time I got my license.
Fortunately, however, I had an income and the desire, although not the skill, to get the car rolling again. I enlisted some help from a co-worker and racing enthusiast and we managed to start the old beast up. It was still a mess, but it ran some of the time and I eventually got it all the way up to "semi-reliable" before a bad motor sidelined it for good.
But the bug was firmly implanted and, although Sunshine I was toast, Sunshine II was right around the corner.
By the time I made it out to UCLA I was itching for a Vette again. After all, what better way to cruise around in Sunny So-Cal? After a long search for the perfect car I stumbled upon one not at all like what I was looking for at Corvette Mike's in Anaheim. It was, however, lots like the one my dad had so, after a bit of negotiation, I bought the car.
That was in 1987 and I still have her and she's still in great shape! The picture below is my 2006 holiday card shot with the whole family stuffed into the two-seater.
I can be found on the Corvette Action Center Forums under my own name and I'm a charter member of Corvettes Anonymous. I also visit the Corvette Forum, Digital Corvettes and Corvette Valley, although much less frequently.
You can also find some good information at the Guide to Corvettes.
I've been a member of the National Corvette Restorer's Society for 20 years or so and I've been a member of the Northern California Chapter for the last 4 or 5. I'm also a member of Santa Clara Corvettes. I don't get to a lot of meets or meetings, but I have been to some!
I am also interested in shooting sports and firearms training as represented by Front Sight and other training institutions.