My profession (which started as a hobby)

    I am Academic Support Specialist at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts.  What this entails, essentially, is supporting Wintel PCs and the software running on them, troubleshooting, consulting with faculty and staff about various related issues and training.  I have also taught computer related courses here and at another local college.  I started out decades ago as a math/physics teacher designing, as a hobby, special purpose computers (actually, digital rallye computers) and when Tandy brought out the original TRS-80 I got badly bitten by the PC bug.  Twenty or so computers later the hobby has become a profession.

 My hobby (which will NOT become a profession)

    Each of the images below links to a page with a larger and clearer version of the image and a brief paragraph about it.  The first two are pictures taken before the restoration work.  The last four are after.  The third is at the MG meet in Washington DC in 1994.   The mahogany work showing in the last two took an entire winter for me to do.  By far the greatest amount of time was spent on design and testing in pine.  The best part of the hobby is touring.  Click HERE to see route plans for some of the trips we have taken.

    The car in the pictures is a 1977 MGB.  I originally purchased it in April of 1990.  It was, actually, my second choice.  First choice was a brand new 5.0 litre Mustang convertible.  Since the MG was about $22,000 cheaper and I had two kids in college practicality won out and I'm glad it did.  The car, when purchased, had 78,000 miles on it and wasn't too pretty.  The rockers were rusty, there was Bondo in a number of places and the front end needed some work.  The engine ran strong so I figured that I'd gamble even though the guy selling it admitted that he was doing so because he was sick of sinking money into it.  For reasons of registration the car is in my wife's name.  She doesn't drive a standard but she LOVES to ride.  I love to drive.  We're a great team.
    In the first summer of use we put over 12,000 miles on it and spent a total of $1.50 in repair work (after I had the front end fixed).  A problem with the reverse lockout mechanism fixed itself.  Apparently the previous owner had taken all the hits.  I thought that this was great and asked the keeper of the budget (wife) about making it a bit prettier, figuring about $1,000 would do it.  She responded, "OK, would $3,000 be enough?"  There is no emoticon for the smile that hit my face at that point.
    Well, $4,600 later fenders, bonnet, boot, rocker panels (and interior sills), door skins etc. had been replaced and a paint job that still looks great 8 years later had been done (by a professional).  I replaced the entire interior myself.  Since then I have converted the ignition to electronic, the carb to a Weber down-draught, the exhaust to Ansa, the wheels to the alloys in the pictures above including Dunlop SP8000 tyres, the transmisison to overdrive, replaced the rear rubber bumper with a mint replacement ($80 at a junk yard, what a steal), had the seats completely rebuilt and cloth upholstered, replaced the hood (top)  and added the walnut steering wheel, mahogany dash (designed and made it myself) and interior trim.  The car has over 152,000 miles on it and has cost only about $600 in required repairs. I do not dare to add up the optionals.
    The car, Jessica is her name (after Jessica Rabbit), is no garage queen.  From April 1 to November 1 (or later some years), she is my daily transportation.  She has been to Prince Edward Island, Washington DC for the Big MG meet in 1994, Colonial Williamsburg and Skyline Drive.  I live in central Massachusetts and, on several occasions, my wife and I have gotten up early on a Saturday morning and driven to a wonderful little restaurant in Quebec for lunch.  We rallye frequently and autocross whenever possible.