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& hobbies

I have a lot of free time, so I've taken up some hobbies over the years. I figured I'd discuss them a bit here, just in case I have them in common with someone else.

Book collecting -- I love collecting books. Absolutely love it. Never, ever let me loose in a discount book store. I go crazy. I collect all sorts of books -- rare, used, out-of-print, special editions, foreign language, etc. I also have a massive amount of "regular" paperbacks and hardcovers. I have some nearly complete collections, and I'm always looking for new collections to start looking for. I think my favorite would have to be my Oxford Press 1892 edition of MacBeth. It is almost perfectly intact. The only imperfections are a very tiny tear on the first liner page, and a slightly loose thread on the binding. I adore reading in general, but there's something really magical about holding an old, rare book in your hands.

Photography -- I've been taking pictures for as long as I can remember. That doesn't mean I'm very good at it, mind you, but I do enjoy it. About 3 years ago, my brother (a professional photographer) helped me start building my darkroom in the basement, but it still doesn't have any plumbing. I suppose I should work on that. If you're wondering what I shoot, I have a Nikon FM-10 and my digital camera is an Olympus D-380. I prefer black-and-whites, but color is great for certain things.

LiveJournal -- When I'm on-line, you'll usually find me at LiveJournal. I'm a priv in the Support area, which means I help other users with technical problems and other requests. It's surprisingly fun, so if you're a LiveJournal user, I recommend joining the Support team, or helping in some other way.

Travel -- My family and I have always been big on travelling, especially going on road trips. So far, I have been to 30 states, 4 countries, and Washington, DC. Driving is always better than flying, no matter what. I like to stop at every historical marker along the way and take a picture of it. Then, when I get home, I do research on the event or person commemorated by the marker, and pretty often I find that the markers are wrong or slightly off. (If you're interested in inaccuracies in historical markers, read Lies Across America, by James Loewen. It's one of my favorite books, and I take it with me whenever I travel.) I also collect a lot of travel guides, in hopes that someday I'll be able to go to the places they describe.


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