Interests

Besides the physics, I am interested in many areas but my favorites are:

Photography
Visit my Photo Gallery.
Climbing
You can find more here.
Computers
I use computers every day at my work, to communicate with my friends, for finding information on the Internet, to play games, to shop on-line, etc. By the year 2001, I used mostly Microsoft's operating systems (MS DOS, and various versions of MS Windows). However, the increasing frustration caused by systems' instability and "trial and error"-type management lead me to completely switch to Linux. What did I gain?
- Linux is free.
  
  Free means freedom. However, most of the software is available for free or for a small nominal fee. So you do not have to pay and agree with long EULA before you even try the software and see if it works as advertised. Here, you can download applications, test them, modify them if you like, etc. Did I mention that you can modify programs and the operation system itself? Right, the source code is freely available to check, improve and learn from it because Linux and huge amount of programs is developed under the GNU General Public License.
- Cost savings.
  
  I am not pushed by any corporation to costly upgrade my operating system whenever the company corrects a few bugs in it's programs. (When releasing the Windows 98, Microsoft claimed that it had corrected ~3000 bugs found in the Windows 95.) I do not pay for basic software as, for example, the operating system, text editors, email client, and many more. Linux is less demanding on hardware and that means further saved costs. Yes, I buy older (i.e, not the "hot" models) hardware and I am still more than satisfied with the processing power. For example, my current, as of spring 2003, computers are a desktop PC with the 400 MHz Pentium II processor serving as a gateway, firewall and an occasional workstation (there is plenty of devices connected to it as, for example, the LS2000 scanner, CD-RW, tape drive,...), and two Sony VAIO laptops, with the 400 and 800 MHz Pentium III processors, respectively.
- Increased task-effectivity.
  
  I grew up with the point and click GUI of MS Windows. It may be easier to start with (oh, don't take me wrong, you do have similar point and click GUIs on Linux too) but it becomes slow if you know what you are doing. And MS Windows do not provide another choice. Now in Linux, I am using more and more often the powerful command line interpreter and scripts to save time and to get rid of boring and degrading tasks like of clicking the mouse on the "OK" button at the right time.
- Reliability and security.
  
  No system crashes, no viruses, quick release of bug fixes and less number of security issues than on the MS Windows platform. Oh, and no more annoying computer restarts when you install new software or change its configuration.
Recommended reading:
- Pamela Jones discusses why Linux and Open Source are so successfull in the article How Not to Kill the Golden Goose.
- Volodymyr Vakhitov wrote an essay Why I want to give up Windows.
- 8 reasons to make the switch by Bill Bennett - a bit older article (1998) but still mostly valid.
Motorcycles

I have started riding a motorcycle in 2002 unless counting a few attempts on a moped as a teenager. To learn how to operate a motorcycle I took a rider training provided by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. The course taught me the basics to survive in the every-day traffic and now I am on my own :-) Well, not really because the friendly community of riders who meet at eSportbike.com helps a lot by sharing their experiences.

My first motorcycle was 1994 Kawasaki EX500 as you can see on the picture. The EX500 is a great learner's bike, very forgiving and still immensely enjoyable. However, the bike was destroyed, while parked, by some driver who hit it with a vehicle.

My next motorcycle was a green 2000 Kawasaki ZX-9R. At first I was intimidated by the 140hp engine but soon fell in love with the bike. Unfortunately on Saturday Mar 6, 2004 (only 3 weeks after I bought her ), three black guys stole my ZX-9R which was parked in front of my apartment building. One neighbor saw them pulling the bike into a light blue Plymouth caravan and then quickly driving away. Based on the witness account, the bike was stolen only about 30 minutes after I saw it for the last time (it happened around 5:30pm). I discovered the theft the next noon and reported everything to the police and insurance company.

The very next day, someone (probably one of the thieves) rode the bike in a residential neighborhood and crashed in a turn. Sadly, my poor bike burned to the pavement .

Next, I enjoyed several months on a red 2000 Kawasaki ZX-6R until it was stolen too. The thieves took it from the parking lot at my apartment building again in spite of being chained to my car. On the same night, thieves took also my neighbour's bike. I am so glad that I could finally move away from that place.

My current bike is a black 2003 Kawasaki ZX-636/6R.

Last modified: 2007-01-21