My Hobbies

I do have some hobbies that aren't computer-related:

• Reading (science fiction, history, philosophy, and politics)
• Driving (well)
• Going to science-fiction conventions (several every year)
• A little amateur woodworking now and then

Frankly, most of my time is spent messing with computers­ designing them, using them, writing about them, whatever. I think that's pretty great, too. Computers are like brain amplifiers. Working to make computers better is like working to make people smarter... as Martha Stewart would say, it's a good thing.

My most significant hobby at the moment is photography. The old kind, with film. I thought I needed a hobby that didn't involve using a keyboard and mouse. After comparing all the latest whiz-bang autofocus/autoexposure 35mm SLRs, I bought a Pentax 67... a camera first introduced in 1969 and virtually unchanged since then. No automatic anything. It's huge and heavy and awkward to use, but it produces 6x7 cm negatives (4.5 times the size of 35mm) that look just awesome. Click to see the Pentax 67 with 300mm lens and extension tubes for long-distance macrophotography.