Finishing a PhD, landing a job, and achieving tenure require considerable drive and focus. Still, I like to consider my interests and activities relatively wide-ranging. The photo here shows an interesting hoodoo (erosional formation) I stumbled on in Arizona years ago, and I enjoy trying to capture some of the beauty of my field areas in my work.

Other interests include carpentry, where I am trying to overcome deficiencies in what I call the "three Ts" (time, tools, and talent) to fabricate furniture and other pieces around the house. I find that I greatly enjoy the intellectual and physical challenges of designing and executing wood projects, and am in the process of developing a fairly sizable workshop at home (and still have all 10 fingers!). Kristan and I enjoy working out together and I can often be found in Appalachian's noontime faculty/staff basketball game, where I am also deficient in talent, but have a good time. Among academics, I am a serious sports fan---I love college football, women's college basketball, and professional baseball. My allegiences to various teams are complex and rooted in my travels, but "home teams" I root for include any of Appalachian's teams, the UNM Lobos (especially their women's basketball team), the Miami Redhawks (nee' Redskins, and we're talking the real Miami, the one in Ohio), Ohio State Buckeyes, and Cincinnati Reds.