I play alto, soprano, and tenor saxophone. Before considering the computing sciences as a career, I entertained the notion of becoming a musician. However, I now play music for fun and relaxation, although not quite as often as I would like. Nowadays, I also tinker with MIDI modules and sequencing software.

I am involved in amateur radio, and hold a Technician's Class Licence. My call sign is KB2JTP. I also experiment with packet radio communication.

I also like to work with Legos. I enjoy working with the Lego Mindstorms System, an environment for experimenting with lego robotics. I was part of their beta test program for the RCX 1.0 Mindstorms Kit. I also subscribe to the Unofficial Lego Mindstorms mailing list.

I enjoy the occasional game of Doom3, Quake3, World Of Warcraft, Burnout Revenge, and Unreal. I also enjoy MUVR games such as Everquest, Asheron's Call, and Ultima Online. Such games are not only a fun way to interact with students, they also help reveal interesting research questions when studying virtual environments!!! Of course, it is even more fun to build games than just to play them!

I really enjoy classic television shows. Two of my favorites series are Secret Agent Man and The Prisoner. I also like Mamoru Oshii's Avalon (if you liked The Matrix, you might like this!), Master of the Flying Guillotine (Classic Kung-Fu!), any movie starring Bruce Campbell (such as Bubba Ho-Tep), and any Haiyo Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli animated movie (such as Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle). Of course, the Lord of the Rings trilogy goes without saying!

I enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy books. Some of my favorite authors include: Douglas Adams, Piers Anthony, Isaac Asimov, Robert Asprin, Stephen R. Donaldson, David Eddings, Raymond Feist, Barbara Hambly, Katherine Kurtz, Anne McCaffrey, Dennis McKiernan, Terry Pratchett, Joel Rosenberg, Fred Saberhagen, Christopher Stasheff, and, of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.

My favorite online comic is Sluggy Freelance. A close second is Megatokyo.

One of my friends, Christopher Fire, has been been involved in creating independent videos for some time now. As such, I am often called upon to help out. To date, I have been involved with several projects, including The Brothers Chance (a western), Silkworm (a World War II spy drama), and Bad Penny (a two-fisted, hard-boiled detective movie). I usually help with audio engineering, special effects, and non-linear editing. However, more often than not, I am also called upon to help with setup, filming, and occasional acting. My cameos often involves getting hit over the head with some heavy object. Some scenes from Brothers Chance are available online, along with images from one of the first matte paintings we ever did. Later, I developed some of my own projects including Perceptions, a non-linear video game told from differing "good-guy" and "bad guy" perspectives . I also created several advertising documentaries for the North Tonawanda Department of Youth, Recreation, and Parks, which won a New York State Recreation and Park Society award for media publication.