Some of my hobbies

Computers
First encountered a computer aged 10, at a school open day, right after seeing my first science fiction movie with robots-as-friends. I wanted to find out this thing worked and was instantly hooked. Then it turned out that there were classes in it at Mount Temple School, then Rathmines College and finally NIHE / DCU. Hey, who would have thought you could even get a job doing this…

Travel
See my Travel Journal section for more info on my travels…

Aikido
I took up Aikido in Dublin in 1991. Since then I have trained in Dojos (”schools”) in Ireland, Boston, Paris, Santa Cruz and San Francisco. After years of patchy studying around work deadlines, I’m finally getting my my act together, and started taking exams after all these years! And hey, even passed them! (yippee!) So I am now officially NOT a beginner “white” belt any more.

For more information on this non-violent, street practical self-defence, check out the following websites for the Dojos I attend in San Francisco, CA, Santa Cruz, CA and Dublin, Ireland.

Driving
For some people, driving a car is about convenience. For others its stressful and something to be avoided as much as possible. For others again its about overt power & ego. For me, its none of the above. I’ve no interest in 0-60 in a straight line in a flashy red convertible. BCSD and all that. Personally, I’m interested in controlled high precision driving - the more cluttered the environment, the more fun. Rally driving in Ireland always appealed, but I’ve never had the time, money or contacts to do that. And the movie “Ronin” still has some of the most stunning car driving scenes I’ve ever seen, in my opinion. In 1999, I attended a 2 day “Executive Protection” driving course just outside of Los Angeles. In 2005, I attended another more advanced week-long course in Florida with VPI International, part of Gryphon Security.Thanks for visiting, and take care

John.