Hobbies & Diversions
I have others that I won't mention, but the following sampling can be
noted in mixed company:
- Reading -- Now
there's a real surprise. It turns out that my recreational reading
(the stuff I use to read myself to sleep) is science fiction. I prefer
the "hard" science fiction, the kind exemplified in the work
of folks such as Larry Niven, Greg Bear, and Arthur C. Clarke.
- Walking
-- One of the nice things about where I live is
that I can take long walks (if it's not hotter than the hinges of hell)
and regardless of the direction, I find interesting and changing vistas.
Eight blocks to the east is UT-Austin.
Two blocks to the west is Pease Park, and its trails can take you to Town
Lake without being involved with any automobile traffic. Ten blocks to
the southeast is the Texas capitol,
and with that place who needs a zoo?
- Gardening (not vegetable) -- I
enjoy trying to make things grow in the difficult soil I find in
my yard. The soil is about six inches of sorry "black gumbo"
soil that is root bound with the roots of live oak and elm trees. Then
comes the limestone. I end up growing a lot of English ivy, asiatic jasmine,
and the like. I do have several Texas mountain laurels. I planted several
about 10 years ago, and they're now beginning to reward me with their lovely
spring blooms. The same is true for a wisteria growing on the north
fence. There's a lot more, but folks who know about these things
don't need any more amplification, and the rest will be moving on by now.
- Trapping
-- I don't know that this is actually a hobby. It's what I've been forced
to by periodic visits made to my back yard by raccoons and possums. Yep,
in downtown Austin. After fencing the back yard and installing electrification
across the top, some of them still get through to dig like a bunch of armadillos,
so as a last resort I trap them when they get through and start digging.
I've lost track of the number who have gone to be with the great possum
and raccoon god in the sky via Austin Animal Control, but it's a bunch.
Of course there are the squirrels, but that's another story.
- Movies -- I enjoy movie
going and see most of the first-run mainstream films when they are released
(at the matinee price, of course). I also enjoy many (but not all)
of the non-mainstream films shown at places such as Dobie
Theatre and Village Cinema.