The Swami's Other Interests

The Swami holds an Amateur Radio Operators License, Extra Class (dating from the olden days when you needed to be able to send and receive Morse Code at 20 WPM, and a General Radio Telephone Certificate with Ship Radar Endorsement from the Federal Communications Commission His hobbies include amateur radio, astronomy, and tinkering with computers. He is also a woodworker -- he's used a combination of these to build a ten inch computer coupled astronomical telescope for observing galaxies and other celestial objects.

While in the Fort Worth area, he was an active member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, where he taught sailing, power boating and advanced navigation courses. Back in the days before GPS, he learned celestial navigation skills, and he, his wife and family have enjoyed many sailing trips to the islands of the Caribbean.

He and his wife of over 37 years have 3 children, and 10 grandchildren at the time of this writing (mid 2003). One daughter and her family (husband and five children, and another grandson who visits in the summer) live with the Swami. The other daughter and her family (husband and four kids) live less than an hour away, and their son lives about two hours away.

The Swami has somewhat better than tourist grade language skills in German and Spanish, and was formerly conversant in Japanese and Brazilian Portugese, although those language skills have greatly atrophied in the 35+ years since they were intensively used.

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Hursley Park

Bletchley Park

Colossus

Flyover

The Swami and his wife have visited all 50 of the United States, as well as eight Canadian provinces and several Mexican states. In addition, they've visited five of the seven continents:

• 18 countries in Europe (England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain (and the Canary Islands), Switzerland (and Lichtenstein), Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic).

  While in England in 2002, the Swami visited Hursley Park, the home of IBM's CICS development laboratory, and Bletchley Park, the WW-II home site for the Allies' code breaking efforts, where the first electronic digital computer was developed. This picture shows some enthusiasts working on Colossus, which has been restored to operating condition. While in Bletchley Park, an several overflights were made by a formation of a Lancaster (the bomber), Spitfire and Hurricane (the Spit is on the left in the picture).

• 11 countries in South and Central America (Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico);
• 14 Caribbean island nations and territories (Bahamas, Haiti, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, St. Martin/St. Maarten, St. Barts, Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Barbados, Aruba and Curacao);
• 6 countries in Asia (Japan, Korea, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan);
• and one country in Africa, Morocco.

Watch this space for new destinations. In 2003, a trip through Sweden, Finland and Russia, including St. Petersburg and a long cruise on the Volga from Moscow to Volgograd (in WW II it was called Stalingrad) is planned.

Their family's joke is "Don't ask where, ask when!"