About
This website is about family, activites, hobbies, and other stuff.
This page has some static photos and other ramblings.
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.
Perspective
Both of us have careers in science and technology. Over 40 years we've been together, traveled, worked, raised kids, enjoyed hobbies, and supported each other.
This is worth 4 minutes of your time.
"I want you to believe that the universe is a vast random uncaring place in which our species, our world, has absolutely no significance. And I want you to believe that the only response is to make our own beauty and meaning, and to share it while we can."
"Where I came from" is the Universe. And one day, when I'm good and ready, I will go back. - Dr. Katherine (Katie) Mack, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication
Travel
Get outside your bubble and have a more informed view of the planet we live on and its inhabitants. There are places and people to enjoy and to learn from the experience. Italy, England, Singapore, Ireland, Virgin Islands, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Scotland, US, or where ever the spirit takes you, just go. Find the coffee shops, the gelato stands, or the open air bars and restaurants along the road less traveled - experience the diversity and the natural beauty on this blue speck in the cosmos we call home.
August 21, 2017, in the mountains close to Nantahala, North Carolina. A horrendous drive for an event that lasted only a few hours and worth every second. Indescribable experience. This was taken with a Canon Powershot camera - nothing fancy and no filters.
April 8, 2024, northeast of Memphis in Powhatan State Park in Powhatan, Arkansas for eclipse number two. A more leasurely drive for an event that lasted only a few hours and still worth every second. Just as stunning as the first. This was taken with a Nikon DSLR through high overhead thin clouds with no filters.
View of the mountains before the eclipse started.
Same view at total eclipse. The camera makes it look locally brighter than it was.
Amalfi, Italy. I believe the Italians get it right in so many ways. There are days I get up and wonder why I don't live here. Well, maybe Tuscany too.
Lookout Mountian, Tennessee at Point Park overlooking the Tennessee river and Chattanooga.
Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland. Looking over Old Town toward Edinburgh Castle. Other days I get up and wonder why I don't live here...
Former home of some of her long dead relatives. Castle Tioram, Loch Moidart, Scotland.
We took the train out of Edinburgh to Glasgow, changed to the West Highland Railway to Ft. William, rented a car, toured the area around Glencoe and Oban, then spent the night in Ballachulish. The next morning we crossed Nether Lochaber on the Corran ferry just north of Ballachulish and had an introduction to Scotland's single track roads on the way to Loch Moidart.
On our trip to the west side of Ireland, we took a boat trip out of Portmagee to a small island off the coast named Skellig Michael. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to a Gaelic Christian monastery from the 6th century. A popular destination, we made the reservation for the boat trip over 6 months in advance.
A trip to NYC to be a tourist. Two pictures that represent elements of our world at it's best and at it's worst. Stark reminders of our history.
He worked for so many years for a NYC company and couldn't guess how many days he's been there for work and never visited the many iconic locations in the city. The Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Ellis Island, and the World Trade Center site were great to experience as a tourist. We often overlook that which becomes a part of our routine.
Top picture is the Cruzan Rum factory on St. Croix, USVI. Bottom is the harbor at Christiansted from an open air bar/restaurant next to the bay. Just to the right of the boat Adventure is a sea plane landing. We took a boat out to Buck Island to snorkle the reefs while we were there.
Travel is about learning the local culture and making memories. Find your own adventure!
Sports Cars
He's into sports cars. Driving on race tracks, instructing new students, finding the twisties through the hills, or just crusing down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Going fast safely is both passion, pleasure, and immense gratification that each time you go on the track you strive to improve your skills and become better.
When one teaches, two learn. - Robert A. Heinlein
The first Porsche. A 2003 986 Boxster. We bought it as a 2 seat convertible to just cruise the back roads. He made it an autocross car and then a track car.
The current Porsche Cayman S. A transformation over time of adding lightness, better parts for suspension, brakes, and safety bits. And, yes, even the racecar needs a good cleaning and polish sometimes.
And as the car gets less highway driving friendly because of track seats and suspension, other toys must be acquired. Tow beast and open aluminum trailer.
The Cayenne is a pretty decent towing platform with the power of the diesel and the comfort of a vehicle made for travel.
The garages at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on a beautiful spring day.
Driving racecars can be so stressful... ;-)
Road Atlanta in the fall of 2019. The new Michelin tower is in the background and almost ready for the IMSA race the next weekend. Hanging out in the paddock with good friends. Such a great group of people at Peachstate PCA who put on a wonderful track event.
Other hobbies and things
Of course, playing mechanic for the racecar is a significant part of the "hobby". Basic maintenance is part of staying safe and keeping the car working as it should.
Due to the pandemic in 2020, I started virtual racing with some of my track friends. It allows a much more aggressive drive because repairing a mistake is a reset button. Not quite the real thing, but very enjoyable none the less. It even allows for an open beer for the driver.
Still virtual racing with friends. It seems to be a parallel to the slippery slope of real racing. Current sim rig with better parts...
Science and technology are our past and our future. Life is not a zero sum game where someone has to lose for another to win.
In our earliest ancestry, the technology is wood and stone and domestication of fire technology, but it’s absolutely technology. … We were technologists all the way back to the beginning. The idea that technology and science is something new, something unusual, and something some people say is not really human, is completely backwards. Technology is, if anything, the most characteristically human activity. - Carl Sagan
Cleaning out the basement, finding a bottle of wine you had forgotten hidden under a shelf, and it's excellent after 26 years in storage. Priceless!
We lived in this house for 31 years. Sold it to look for our next adventure. Memories to share for a lifetime.
A new adventure in our new house somewhat south of Baltimore. Maybe moving at a wee bit slower pace but still making memories. Pausing on the deck for a morning coffee after the move.
After a rather long hiatus, I've started playing golf again. Joined a local club and a group of friends for twice a week rounds. Sometimes reminded of the quote "Golf is a good walk spoiled", according to my iPhone I'm getting about a 6 mile walk per round. Not as adrenaline inducing as doing 150 MPH on a race track, but a great time all the same.
The Tennessee River just north of downtown Chattanooga. Riding my bike along the river front trail.
We were hunters and foragers. The frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the Earth, and the ocean, and the sky. The open road still softly calls. - Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
We hope to see you soon!