Travels
I've seen 47 of the 50 United States (not Idaho, Montana, or Hawaii.) Some favorite things:
Everything in San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Buffalo, Atlanta, and San Antonio, and Lafayette Louisiana. Almost everything in New Orleans, Mobile, New York, Houston, Nashville, Knoxville, and Washington, DC.
I have done white water rafting the Grand Canyon, West Virginia's upper Gauley, and from the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska. Camping in the Great Smokies, on the Appalachian Trail, at Percy Quinn and Clear Springs in Mississippi.
International favorites include Canada: Nova Scotia, Quebec, Montreal, Vancouver; Istanbul: the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, and a real Turkish Bath at the Cagaloglu Hamami; the flower barges on Amsterdam's canals; Paris' Louvre and the Seine; London's Tower and theaters; Rhodes' old city wall; Austria: Salzburg and Vienna; Prague's Charles Bridge and opera house; Buda and Pest; Switzerland's Alps and gingerbread houses; Mexico: Cuernavaca, Temples of the Sun and Moon; climbing the Acropolis in Athens, the Coliseum in Rome, losing and finding the Plaza del Marco in Venice, a carriage ride in Florence; watching Catalans dance the Sardona, and Gaudi's frivolous buildings in Barcelona; bullfighting in Madrid; the Alcazar in Sevilla; and in Costa Rica: rafting the Reventazon, iguanas, sloths, monkeys, coati, strange birds, giant iridescent butterflies, wildly colored frogs and crabs in the national parks. And the great people we met in all these places.
My Family
This is a considerable topic, you'll have to go to their page... or if you really wanted to find out about OTHER Dawes families, go HERE.
Hobbies
Computers
I've enjoyed using computers at work since 1978. I started with the Radio Shack Model I, and have owned 8080, 16, 80, 86, 286, 386, 486, and Pentiums I, II, II, IV, and various Intel clones. Now I do a little web site design and hosting for very select clientele. See www.dawesbiz.net for details.
 Tropical Fish
In Virginia, I used to breed Angelfish: include Silver, Gold, Blacks, and German Blue Blushing - my last breeding pair are pictured at the right. My gear was mostly destroyed by the flood, but I have a few of the German Blues right now. See my really popular Web pages, the Angelfish Breeding FAQ.
Theater
Two decades ago I enjoyed parts in amateur versions of Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, and professionally in Carousel. Now my tours satisfy the urge to be on-stage.
Music
Favorites are Jacques Brel, Marion McPartland, Taj Mahal, Yanni, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, and just about everyone at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. I've enjoyed playing piano... poorly, harmonica, ukulele, banjo, mandolin, and a button accordion. I love to sing and whack away on my Dixie chrome banjo-uke, do Sweet Georgia Brown, the MTA Song and a hundred other oldies. By ear only, I can't read music.
Calligraphy
Pretty good cursive and uncial hands, though now I only do it to address envelopes. I would rather write with ink than a ball point.
Folk Dance
This activity is now a consuming passion once again. I do 'International Folk Dance", Irish set dancing, and Cajun dance most every week.
My current favorite folk dances are Les Noto's, Forgatos, Csardas, Hambo, Vossarul, Guzzeleme, Kujawiaks's and Mach!, plus many Greek, Turkish, Polish, Hungarian, Scottish, English, Bulgarian, French, Canadian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian dances. I designed a web page for my home group, the Crescent City International Dancers at www.folkdancers.net/ccid.
Unfavorite things
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Plain boiled squash.
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Long speeches. Five to ten minutes should do it.
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Guns, loud noises and clumsy machinery of any kind, car racing in particular.
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War and violence.
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Gossip.
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People who are sure they're right and someone else is wrong. Myself, when I've been sure that I was right...
Personal philosophy
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Rote work can be demeaning to the human spirit. I'll work like the dickens to eliminate it. On the other hand, some repetitive chores may be the best time to let my mind wander and think deep thoughts.
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What's wrong with the Internet is that not everyone is on it yet. And I pray daily for tolerance to spammers. As I filter out and delete 200 to 300 messages a day, I hope yours isn't among them.
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Data not shared are usually data wasted.
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What human endeavors are really worth doing? I'm sure about singing, dancing, entertaining, learning, educating, helping the needy, and giving others the chance to help me. Very little else.
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My own pleasurable survival is enhanced by assuring the pleasurable survival of others.
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don't mind hearing some repeats. Can walk pretty far. I like late hours, I can take a nap most anytime. Usually up by 9am, never go to bed before midnight.
