There are quite a few different things that catch my attention, but none hold it for very long. Many of my interests come in strong, short bursts, requiring my full attention, then quickly fade away in favor of a new or previous interest. Most of them come full circle, though. I find it rather difficult to focus on too many things at one time.
I do enjoy engaging conversation on many different topics, though most times you'll probably find me listening and observing rather than actually participating. I consider myself very passive and non-confrontational, and tend to shy away from topics that most people are very passionate about that tend to spawn heated debates... politics and religion immediately come to mind.
I love aircraft , astronomy , cats , comic books, guitars, music, and science fiction. I care almost nothing for professional sports... tennis being the exception. Some of the recreational activities that I like to participate in are disc golf , darts, pool, and paintball . I also have recently started to play the guitar again after quite a few years of inactivity (still trying to teach myself... an excrutiatingly slow process).
I also love just about anything to do with computers. I started learning Basic in '87 on a Commodore 128D (which I still have), one of the last, best, and most versatile 8-bit computers ever made by any manufacturer. GEOS was the first graphical OS that I remember using. SID tunes, SAM , Fast Hack'em , COMPUTE!'s Gazette type-in programs... ahh, memories.
Video games have probably been the biggest hobby of mine throughout my life, and discovering the wonderful world of emulation on the PC in '97 uncovered all kinds of possibilities as far as what's at my disposal. It triggered the nostalgic side of me that refuses to let go of the past, and it's been extremely fun reliving memories from that time. I have an immense collection of ROMs , disk and tape images, and chiptunes for game consoles and home computers dating back to the early '70s, and have just about every arcade game that was produced before 2002 (some people collect coins and stamps, I collect gaming history). A vast majority of the arcade games are from the early '80s, considered by many to be the "Golden Age" of arcades. If you're old enough to remember Starcade and the "Crash of '83" , you get bonus points! Plans have been in the works for quite some time to build my own arcade cabinet for that authentic feel .
I'd like to meet:
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened." - Douglas Adams
Music:
Recently played tracks (last.fm):
As far as music goes, my interests are fairly diverse. I like most every type of music, and will listen to just about anything. I must say, however, that I absolutely detest "gangsta" rap and most hip-hop, and I typically do not like country... although, I find it rather odd that I do listen to bluegrass and folk in spite of that. Go figure.
Among my favorite genres are progressive rock, metal, alternative, electronica, new-age, classical, and any variation/combination thereof.
Favorite artists (ie. would go out of my way to see perform live... again) include Rush, Dream Theater , Pink Floyd, Joe Satriani , and Steve Vai . If I had to choose an absolute favorite, no question... Rush . As with video games, I can look back and relate various points in my life to a song or album from many different artists, and I would have to say that Rush has provided the longest continuing soundtrack to my life growing up. No one else's work has quite simply spoken to me in a way that their music and lyrics have.
Movies:
Far, far too many favorites throughout the years to list them all. I simply love movies. Practically no genre is forbidden. I don't consider myself a critic by any means, but I know what I like, and I like just about anything. To me, there's just something about being able to sit down for a couple of hours and be magically transported elsewhere on a roller coaster of emotion. Get the adrenaline pumping, heart racing (or stopping), or tears flowing. Make me stand up and cheer, or make my knuckles white from gripping the armrest or remote too tightly. I don't care, bring it on. If something can move me that much, bravo!
I'm currently in the process of going through a recently acquired set of 150+ LaserDiscs I've added to my collection. For the younger generation out there, LaserDiscs are like really big DVDs... the size of vinyl records. What? You don't know what those are, either? :)
Television:
I spend a lot of time watching TV. I try not to limit myself to certain genres... it just happens, though. My favorites tend to lean heavily toward sci-fi, as well as action, drama, and suspense. However, great storytelling is what draws me in the most, so I will watch just about anything if it reaches out to me... but I absolutely draw the line at so-called "reality" shows. There are far too many of them, and all too often they come across as lame time slot filler because network executives don't know creative and original programming when they see it anymore (with rare exceptions). Besides, the last thing I want to do after a long day at work is come home and tune in to someone else's "problems". I get enough reality during the day.
Growing up in the '80s, a lot of my favorite TV series are still from that era, most of which are considered extremely cheesy, by today's standards... shows such as A-Team, Airwolf, Knight Rider (hey, I was a kid). I also have many fond memories being glued to the TV in the mornings watching Starblazers , Robotech , Voltron , Thunderbirds, Transformers (the original series), and GI Joe. It almost seems like it was yesterday...
Shows that I watch religiously include Lost , Battlestar Galactica (new and old), Heroes , Eureka , Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis , Doctor Who (again, new and old), 24 , and Grey's Anatomy . A couple that I watch if I get the chance to are Numb3rs and Medium. Some of the shows that I used to watch without fail but slowly lost interest in are Alias and The 4400 (the writing started to suffer as both progressed). I really miss X-Files and Quantum Leap. Also, I thought Sci-Fi's versions of Dune and Children of Dune were fantastic! A show that I didn't really give a chance at first but grew to love afterwards is Star Trek: Enterprise .
Favorites on the comedy front (in no particular order) are M*A*S*H, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, Southpark, Red Green, Benny Hill, Red Dwarf , Mr. Bean, Monty Python, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 .
When one of my favorite shows is not on, I'm usually tuned in to the Discovery Channel, History Channel, A&E, or Bravo (mainly for Inside the Actors Studio).
Last, but certainly not least... R.I.P. Firely (I hope the epicenter of the world's largest earthquake will be centered on Fox Broadcasting for the injustice to that masterpiece).
Books:
I don't read much, basically because I don't give myself the time to do so. It's not that I don't like reading... I just always seem to find something else to do, which is why I usually prefer unabridged audio books. I can listen to those and still do other things. Plus, they're fantastic on those long road trips back and forth to my hometown. Before I know it, 8 hours have passed like it's nothing!
Favorite authors would have to be Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman , Douglas Adams , R.A. Salvatore , Frank & Brian Herbert , Kevin J. Anderson , Timothy Zahn, Terry Brooks , James Patterson, Dan Brown... and Neil Peart (thoroughly enjoyed "The Masked Rider" and "Ghost Rider", and looking forward to finishing "Traveling Music" and "Roadshow" as soon as possible).
Also, for the old-school computer geeks out there (mainly Commodore fans), "On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore" is a fascinating read! Never forget the pioneers!
