OK, I admit it. I have WAY too many interests. But I believe learning keeps you young. And movement! My activities include a quest to help people and to stay young (in spirit) as I age. I love to share my interests through teaching and advice.
Here is my list:
Family!
Current: Spending time with my best friend and wife of 36 years, 3 grown sons and their families, 7 little grandchildren, brother-in-laws and their wives, and 2 rowdy dogs.
Spoon and Character Carving
Current: Bringing the beauty out of the wood. Takes a good bit of my time as I carve most days. Fin Buddy details HERE. Spoon details HERE
Ice Hockey
Current: 33 years of weekly play in low-to-mid level adult hockey leagues.
Disc Golf
Current: Recreational level member of PDGA, occasional tournament. My favorite driver disc is the MVP Inertia because I don’t have much power.
Body Weight Lifting
Current: Strength training using pullups, pushups, dips, planks
Hiking
Current: Finding peaks and waterfalls in and near North Carolina. Day hiking segments of the Appalachian Trail and the Mountains to Sea Trail. Our favorites are around the Boone, NC areas. I try to leave a Fin Buddy for someone to find and love. When I go back, they are always gone!
Chainsaw
Current: Is it strange to like to cut up trees? Helping people clear wood for around 20 years. Immediate results and maybe find some good wood to carve! Full safety gear and only Stihl saws.
Dog Training
Current: The dogs are training me. Playing with 2 young dogs until they are more tired than me. They sometimes listen, so I pretend I trained them. See them HERE
Musician
Current: Novice harmonica player appreciated exclusively by all those under the age of 5. Learning the baritone ukulele. My fingers are too fat to play any other stringed instrument.
Ham Radio
Current: Extra Class (highest) license focused on HF, contesting, building packet radio nodes, electronic circuits, software, and custom node boxes. Ham radio is not just talking on the radio. The hobby entails scientific discovery, service to the public, and learning. There are lots of fun projects to build and use.
Tower Climbing
Current: I like to get high. I got my 53′ tower for my antennas and I’ve been removing and putting up towers since. My highest is 160′! Full safety inspection and safety gear keep it safe (as possible). I can’t do it without a ground crew, an experienced foreman, poles, pulleys, and rope.
Woodworking
Current: Design and construction of various boxes and scrolled items such as nameplates. See some HERE
Animation and Video Editing
Current: Novice video editing for entertainment and education focused on combining 3D characters, special effects, and real life video. See some HERE on YouTube.
Home Repair
Current: Slowly upgrading an old farm house that had 5 additions! Homesteading projects reusing scrap wood.
Motorcycling
Current: Owned and carefully ride many motorcycles, currently a 2017 BMW R1200RT I names “Hawkeye” with custom graphics I designed. I believe in training and try to ride where I am less likely to get hit. “Ride invisible”.
Small Boat Sailing
Current: I loved my Hobie Wave and Bravo catamarans. Now, I enjoy sailing a small trimaran (Hobie Tandem Island).
Kayaking
Current: Enjoy kayaking and paddleboarding on local lakes and the sound by the coast.
Design Engineering
Current: 3D modeling and subsequent construction of various items and structures such as boxes and docks. See HERE.
Target Shooting
Current: Proficient in all target shooting including High-Powered Rifles, 10m Air Rifle, Pistol, Archery, and Darts.
Blogging
Current: Blog posts on this site and life lessons posts on Medium.
How-to Videos
Soon: Creating how-to videos on spoon and character carving for beginners.
Boating
Recent: Fishing, Shrimping, and exploring on the NC coast.
Pinball
Recent: Repairing and playing vintage pinball, arcade, and pachinko machines
Software Development
Previous: App development using React Native, Expo, Express, Flask, JavaScript, JQuery, and Python on Raspberry Pi and desktop computers
Snow Skiing
Previous: Enjoy skiing and snowboarding
Water Skiing
Previous: Enjoyed water skiing, wake boarding, and barefooting
Vintage Cars
Previous: Owned and maintained a vintage London taxi, Land Rover Defender. Built a replica of a 66 Shelby Cobra in my garage. See them HERE
Bodyboarding
Previous: Riding large waves (hurricane swell)
Windsurfing
Previous: Novice windsurfer. Tip: It is difficult.
Soccer
Previous: Adult soccer league player in USAF Intramural and CASL teams
Sports as a youth
Previous: High school wrestling and never forgot how. Swim team and Dive team