Brian, it’s good to hear that even at the administrative level, you guys find time for some fun. Swear, the hours you people put in …

I do however have other interests that when they come out at school, my students go “Really” you do that.

I would say that technology is the one thing that travels back and forth otherwise I enjoy working out. i have become a Crossfit junkie. Fly fishing, golfing and motorcycle riding, just not all at once also occupy my time (when I have some spare time, see the last paragraph)

Lately I have been into home improvement, so I now own a bunch of power tools ( no lost fingers yet).
And back from my days at SLV I enjoy playing any type of sport, however as my body ages it becomes harder each time.

Mostly though my main hobby is being an active father to my twins and a husband to my wife ( I know, kind of sappy) but that is where it lies.
That was fun. I don’t think I said school 2.0 anywhere (whoops)

Good idea for an entry, Dan. Thanks for writing it. This could get interesting.

Graham: I had guessed from your web banner you had some Photoshop chops. That’s fun that you brand your class. I might try that. Something small to toss on worksheet headers, watermarks in the background of slides, etc. And you’ve definitely caught the zeitgeist with ink blotches and a grunged look. The North American zeitgeist, anyway. You should check out Design Fruit sometime and Jason Gaylor’s collection of high-quality, free brushes. I used his foliage set extensively in that album there.

I’m a musician and that’s my big passion. I write songs as often as I can; I don’t record them anywhere near as often as I should. I can sit in a room all day and just listen to CDs. I could do the same playing an instrument. I love music and can’t imagine my life without it. I put together a CD for some friends a while back and the next one is always on the drawing board. Students freak out if they find out I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails fan. New album out in April, sweet. I’m waiting for US tour dates.

I throw my design sensibilities into everything. Christmas cards, handouts, CD covers, Web sites, letters, notes friends write, everything. I might suck at it, but I design things all the time. When leaning over your shoulder, I’m not just proofreading; I’m figuring out how the content can flow on the page better, how to make use of whitespace, whether or not that caption should be Georgia 18 bold expanded by 6 points (roughly, what, 2em?). I see design all around and try to bring those considerations into everything I create (have you noticed that the curly bracket — “{” — is making a comeback as a design element? look around on coffee cups, posters, commercials, CD covers…).

I’m also oddly into coding (thanks in large part to two pieces of blogging software), a far more mathematical pursuit than a liberal arts guy should enjoy as much as I do. It’s an art to pound an idea into reality and that’s what coding allows. Next Vista is a nonprofit I’m part of. I’m terribly excited to be involved with it on an ideological level, but I also love doing new things with the way that site works. About 8 months ago, I had no idea how I was going to make it work, yet there it is and it’s plugging away just fine. I get a thrill whenever something works that was an idea only a few hours ago and I’m constantly finding new ways to do that next thing I always wanted to do with the site.

Oh, and I’m also enrolled in Japanese 2 at a local community college with full intention of enrolling in Japanese 3 next quarter. No, I don’t watch anime or read any manga. My interest has always been a pure fascination with the language itself. It’s a blast!

That’s my alter ego.