Astronomy
I’m somewhat of an amateur astronomer (heavy emphasis on amateur). A few years ago I went nuts and purchased a large (for me) 18″ Obsession Dobsonian reflector telescope. This thing is amazing with what you can see in the night sky. Of course, being a Dob it doesn’t have all the whiz-bang tracking technology and won’t automagically tell me what I’m looking at. That’s OK because I’ve always been an RTFB type of guy, so I simply look it up in a sky catalogue – it’s fun. All I know is when you plug in a wide-angle eyepiece into this thing and start panning the MilkyWay, well, if you are not inspired by the view, well, there is seriously something wrong with you. Even with a naked eye the night sky truly awesome when viewed well away from the light pollution of cities and towns. It is a downright shame that so many kids (and adults) today don’t even look up at the night sky. They read about stars and planets in school, but they may as well be as extinct as dinosaurs for all they could see even if they did look up. What I wouldn’t give to be a space traveler and witness such wonders beyond the bounds of our terrestrial home!
Music
My musical interests are somewhat varied. I’m an old timer, of sorts, (is 50+ old? I think so) so my age places me with a fondness for much of the rock music of the ’60s and ’70s. I grew up in Detroit, so some of my person favs are the music of Motown and Bob Seger. However, other favs are ELP, The Who and, of course, the Rolling Stones. In contrast to rock, I’m also a huge fan of symphonic muisic and opera. I’m a regular supporter of the local symphony orchestra, and try to get my kids interested in classical music. In recent years I’ve also become a fanatic of operatic performances, and usually try to attend 3-4 operas each season. I was thrilled a few years ago when I was able to get tickets to see the entire Wagner Ring cycle at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. What a feast for the eyes and ears – I’ll never forget it. In my other moods I like listening to Blues and occasionally Big Band music.
