fdrake

I stumbled over Swap-bot from Postcrossing, and am interested in swapping cards & stamps rather than in making crafts. I'm fairly technical, so crafts don't come naturally to me.

I'm a computer programmer and a stamp & cover collector. I also have a university degree in architecture, though I've never practiced in that field, as well as a degree in computer science. I'm especially interested in postal material from southeast Asia (particularly Thailand!), Sri Lanka, Japan, France, and Bermuda. I enjoy going to stamp shows to find new material.

I enjoy reading science fiction & fantasy, mysteries & thrillers, and a bit of history from time to time. Time to read, of course, is hard to come by these days.

I shop at used bookstores when I get the chance, though that's pretty unusual (too many have closed, and I work too much to be able to get to the ones that are left). When I do find the time, I usually browse the cookbooks and histories more than fiction. I also make it an opportunity to hang out with my daughter when she can make time for her old man!

Bookstores with only new books don't get many visits unless I'm looking for something specific; there are too few left with an interesting variety of books.

Since I mentioned cookbooks....

Over the past year or so I've been teaching myself to cook Thai and Korean cuisines. I really enjoy spicy foods and some of the complex flavors found there.

I try to handle the cooking once or twice a week, and usually end up with leftover, since most of my family thinks it's too spicy for them. (I think a couple of them are just scared!)

I listen to a good bit of jazz, mostly "smooth" jazz from the 80s forward (Najee, Mindy Abair), and a bunch of the instrumental & electronic selections that were labelled "new age" just a few decades ago (Richard Burmer, Tangerine Dream, Ira Stein & Russel Walder). Add a lot of pop/rock, and singers like Feist & Alison Sudol, and... well, there's a lot of people who like all that. I guess I'm one of them.

Then there's the rest. Most of what I add to my collection these days has non-English lyrics (I only speak English), mostly Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai (including the best band in the whole world). Eastern European languages have been making inroads as well.

My wife tells me I have very weird listening habits, but I like my selections.