Interests

My current outdoor interests include hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, backpacking, and camping.  Unfortunately grad school keeps me from doing any of these as often as I'd like.  In the past I've also been interested in rock climbing and mountain biking, which, given enough time and money I would get into again.  In the future I'd like to learn to kayak and become a more avid cross-country skier.

My indoor interests (other than physics) include working on my mountain bike, weight lifting, playing Go, cooking, and spending time with my wife Nita.  

I've been known to read a novel or two.  Some of my favorites are "The Brothers Karamozov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, "1984" by George Orwell, and "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood.  When I read non-fiction it's mostly popular science and philosophy of science.  Topics that interest me most are the nature of spacetime, interpretations of quantum mechanics, anti-realism/realism debates in the philosophy of science, and the nature of scientific theories.

My musical tastes are bit scattered.  I like early 90's grunge bands (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden) as well as early 90's alternative rock (Pixies, The Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins, P J Harvey, Mazzy Star).  I've gone through phases when I listened to a lot of classical music (favorite composers include Mahler, Brahms, and Pärt) and opera (favorite being Wagner's Ring cycle).  I've also gone through phases when I listened to more folk or singer-songwriter stuff (Elliott Smith) and alt-country or bluegrass stuff (Neko Case, Gillian Welch).  I've never mastered a musical instrument, although in college I once started learning to play the (acoustic) guitar.  I gave it up when I became too busy with my studies.  Someday I'd like to learn to play the guitar and the harmonica.

Some of the little things in life that I enjoy include browsing used bookstores, used record stores, garage sales and yard sales, hanging out at coffee shops and cafés, sitting around a bonfire or campfire, grilling/bbq, and having a beer or two  (or three...) with friends.