My number one interest is amphibians - I'm an authority on little poison frogs from Madagascar called mantellas, but also focus on salamander evolution and mountain stream salamanders in particular. I write about, draw and photograph amphibians, though also other aspects of the natural world. When I'm not working on that, I study wine, cooking, special warfare and video game modding. I also play airsoft [military simulation, more realistic than paintball], though sadly seldom. If I'm not taking frog photos, odds are I'm working on code or paint job changes for a video game. To date I have only 4 magazine articles published, with photos and art, photos and input to one book, 4 translations approved for publication [from German], various translations from Russian and Italian, and photos displayed at New England Aquarium. And one cooking award I was once mistaken for a recording of Buddy Holly, though I am more likely to sing something in Hebrew [Erev shel shoshanim - no, I don't speak Hebrew, and I'm not Jewish] or Russian [Podmoskovnye vetchera or Katyusha - and I'm slowly learning Russian]. My Spanish and French are rusty and Italian and German are limited to reading scientific papers, generally with a dictionary handy. I've been known to get in front of the mike at Juliet's, but I wish there was Highwaymen or Blues Brothers version of Ghost Riders in the Sky, rather than Johnny Cash' abbreviated version. :P

Sounds like I have little time, though the opposite is true: if I didn't have so MUCH time, I wouldn't be able to commit so much to my interests. That said, I chase noone. Far too often I've encountered women who've said "you're hot" or "you're interesting" only to clam up and wait for me to chisel information out of them or to hand out the praise [when I have nothing to go on but their looks]. Sorry, but small talk just isn't my thing - I really need something of interest to focus on. If you're always busy and my schedule is always open, there's no way I'm going to be the one trying to shoehorn my way in. A bit negative; perhaps, but I have nothing, so I have nothing to lose :)

I'm fond of trips to the zoo and walks in the outdoors. My favorites are dinner, but that requires planning: I need 3 or 4 days to write recipes and start the prep work. Gourmet picnics at random locations in the mountains are nice, but not usually an option. An airsoft game would be fun too, and a...uh..."blast". The best, of course, would be turning rocks along a stream in Oregon, or Washington, or BC, or...not usually convenient, but possible some long weekends! Maybe a tour of BC wineries, with stops at good reptile or amphibian spots along the way
Now if only I had a car :S