Art:
Every so often my intellectual exercises come close to art.  If turning a inspirational piece of geometrical reasoning into a fancy drawing only takes some extra shading, I’ll do it!  If turning a beautiful physics experiment into something you could hang in your living room requires switching up the pens here and there, I’ll do that too!  But I would not call myself an artist
Click the pictures to see corresponding pages.

Publication of my art:
The photo of the glory above right was displayed in "the atmosphere exposed" exhibit at the Boyden Gallery, St. Mary's College of Maryland. June 12-September 30, 2010 and will be displayed at the NSF from Jan-March 2012. See a photo of the NSF display here.

The book Art and Science of Spirals, includes a drawing from my harmonograph. September 2009.

Ropes: I love ropes, knots and their many applications.  So much so in fact that it gets its own page on my site.  Ask me how ropes are made. Some ways I use/have-used ropes: Rappelling off of high places (yes I have my own gear) Braiding bread (not as exciting as rappelling) Suspending pendulums (a favorite activity of mine), whether they be Foucault, Harmonograph, or other pendulums. Constructing real life catenary curves Making hammocks (although I've only made one) Light switches Coat racks Flossing ones teeth (no pictures)

Music:
I used to say that I can't really play the guitar, or piano . . . but I can fake it if there are no real musicians around. I still fake the piano but I have since gotten much better at guitar.

My mother taught me to play my hands like a flute. Ask me to play a song and I'll show you.

I can also play a few notes or whistles on basically any thin pipe. A few examples: PVC piping, soda cans, ziti and almost every single part of a pen.

Other:

Years of practice has made me quite an expert at rolling-up/stuffing sleeping bags very tightly.
 

Bonfires are a hobby of mine.

I know how to ride a bike which is pretty useful for getting around Boston.