Yuzo Kanomata's Interests and Hobbies

Sorry, I'll update this page at some point, just a bit too busy with an upcoming presentation to fix it up right now.

My friend Eli Charne survived the famous sinking of the MS Explorer in Antartica in November of 2007! I have spoken with him several times about the adventure and the situation could easily have turned tragic. Luckily everyone survived. His website Photobits.com has photos, a blog, and other information about the adventure. All I know is that I won't be booking travel to Antartica any time soon and certainly not with the company he chose!

As most of my friends know, I have had a fairly broad set of interests which I have enjoyed. My long history here at UCI has provided me with many chances to extend myself into areas I would not have ventured into on my own. Many things are possible, and I am glad to have had a chance to explore many paths. Read on to learn more about the things I have done and still do for the most part.

Academic

Well, my long torturous academic history has been one full of ups and downs. I like to think it was mostly a good thing (the path less taken), although I know it was not something that most people can understand.

An interesting thing to note is that number of successful people have followed the same path. I think my independence stems from the outlook I gained from Richard Feynman. I had a few lectures by him and he was amazing. He would not advise you on how to live, but he say that following your interests leads to understand thing more deeply than you would otherwise.

What I studied (short list):

• Physics -- I wanted to work on Neutrino Physics.
• Philosophy -- I wanted to be a Phenomonologist.
• Art History -- I wanted to be an expert on 2Oth Century American Art, 19th Century European Art, and Venetian Art.
• Computer Science -- I wanted to be a hypermedia expert.
• Ecology -- I wanted to work as a field biologist in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Sports

I raced for four season on the UCI Cycling Team. I raced both road and track. Cycling is a very dangerous sport and in the course of racing and training I suffered 3 concussions, 3 major fractures (pelvis, elbow, and wrist), and large number of soft tissue injuries. I have destroyed 2 bike frames, 4 wheels, and 6 helmets. (Not to mention the times I have been hit by cars.)

But for all the bad, I still love it. I miss my teammates and I miss training 10,000 miles a year. Collegiate cycling is also very special because you race against the same people every week and you're representing your school. This makes for a lot of comradarie. The conference UCI is in is the West Coast Cycling Conference of the NCCA, the National Collegiate Cycling Association. I also raced in the the USCF, the United States Cycling Federation, and trained under some USCF coaches and occasionally trained at the Olympic Velodrome.

The Best Races were:

• Mt. Baldy TT -- always in February, and always cold. 12% grade, snow falling, and the solitude of climbing alone. It's also a hoot to be watching the skiers and boarders (bundled up in their cars, and staring at you) passing you while you're riding like a maniac ( sweating like pig, gasping for air, in shorts and short sleeves, and dancing on the pedals).
• Glendora Mt. Road TT -- next weekend after Baldy, less elevation gain, and less steep but always a challenge.
• Jamul RR -- tough, tough climbs and 50mph decents. One year the chase motorcycle crashed because it could not hang on the same line we were on in the downhill hairpins. In cold winters the snow melt in the spring makes streams on the road -- frigid cold water makes you shiver to the bone but a very "cool" experience.

I also belong to Team@Internet, an international racing club made up of a lot of people from the old Usenet rec.bicycles.racing news group. It's a good group of highly skilled people. Very proffessional group.

Volunteer

I currently volunteer as a member of the Southern California Nordic Ski Patrol at Mt Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest. Our team has been recognized as the top nordic ski patrol 3 times by the National Ski Patrol. Our team is currently part of the California Office of Emergency Service's Winter SAR team.

I used volunteer my time as a member of Orange County Search and Rescue. Unfortunately, the team disbanded in 2004! Part of the reason was trying to fit in with Homeland Security and having an agency to partner with. We had partnered with the Forest Service to patrol in the Clevland Nation Forest, Trabuco Ranger Distict. We would get basic wild land fire training every year so we could provide ground support during a fire.

My biggest regret so far has been my inability to save my friend Bill Bretz's home while we worked in support of the USFS fighting the 2001 Alpine Fire.

I used to volunteer my time to build houses for Habitat for Humanity, but I am running out of free time to do it. It is a good thing to be involved with so I encourage any who may be interested.

I now volunteer as a Nordic Backcountry Ski Patroler for the Mt. Pinos Ski Patrol. It's hard work, but the people I am with are great. One summitted Everest and a number have been to the top of Denali.

Hobbies

I studied Art History (along with Computer Science) so I am a rather knowledgeable fellow on Venetian painters, 20th Century American Art, Greek and Roman Antiquities, and Impressionist artists. I am engaged in the debate on the attribution of Pastorale or Concerts champetres (Louvre, Paris). Most people nowadays think it's Titian, but I think it is closer to Giorgione. Funny thing about all this is that my department chair always thought I was better at sculpture analysis than painting or photography.

Speaking of photography, I try to stay active in a creative medium by shooting photos. I am most interested in people, but I tend not to get people to be subjects for me. I guess that's why I'm not a pro at this :-)

I like a bunch of outdoor activities like skiing, hiking, SCUBA, and kayaking. Wish I had time to do them more often :-(

Another hobbie which may be more of a sport (or obsession) is Rock Climbing, which I seem to training for at a rate of 4 nights a week! I am glad to have started it up back again after retiring from it a while back. I really enjoy the people I climb with now, and hope to continue to improve.

Friends

I have gotten to know a lot of people over time and I really feel proud to have come in contact with some outstanding people. I'll just list a bunch that come to mind: Julie Justus, Jim Kohlenberger, Kent Madson, Doug March, Babs Sandeen, Jakob and Eva Barden, Henrik Fragrell, D. Mason Kington, Karen Newman, Darby Ellison, Amy Sue Waldman, Alice Presley, Elizabetta Di Nitto, Neno Medvidovic, John Self, Jeffery Blevins, Heidi King, Margaret Mar, Lilly Wang, Peter Bowler, Amy Osajima, Wendy Kohatsu, Boons, Brooke Jacobs, Mary Inglish, Thomas Kistler, Eli Charne, Peter Kammer, Matt and Leann Crib, Dave DiGiorgio, Cecile, Peter De Barber, Urs Mader, Bill Bretz, Malcolm MacNiven, and Tammy McNulty.

I know I am missing a lot of people on the list, but if you knew just how plain good some of those listed are, then you wouldn't have watch a TV show called "Touched by and Angel" anymore because you would know that powerful goodness exists. Julie for instance used to work providing shelters for homeless families stuck on LA's skid row, and later worked on assisting impoverished families in Venice Beach.

Many of my friends are far away now, but I wish them all the best and hope that I can cultivate new relations which will be just as rewarding.

Fun Times

• With the folks from the Supercourse on a night out in Bishop -- a super group of kids, all very talented and very good people.
• Some shots from Khoi Nguyen on a trip to Death Valley.

Places to Visit

• Visit the Sun`s Java page. Java is the hotest thing going on in the programming world right now. A lot of hype, and hope for Java.
• Visit the Hughes Aircraft Company home page. I used to work on Sentinel, Fire-Finder, and SD projects at Hughes. I enjoyed working with some fine engineers -- especially "my people" from Fullerton. (Raytheon may own it, but Hughes Aircraft still holds a place in our hearts.)
• I like books, so I encourage you to read as many as you can. I think that books really do help to broaden your mind, so what better way to combat the "dumbing down of America." ( Theodore Roosevelt averaged reading 2 books a day as president! I think that we could defintely make time to read more in our lives.)

  UCI's Bookstore was a pioneer store on the web. Amazon and Barnes and Noble have spent millions in making their sites. UCI can't compete with those guys in terms of both buying power or computer power, so don't expect too much. It is a very nice store though.

• I have a few friends working at the Alzheimer's Clinic at UCI. It is properly titled the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, check out the site if you are interested.
• For those intrested in volunteer outdoor service organizations, one which I train with is the local, Southern California Nordic branch of the National Ski Patrol. The national page is here: National Ski Patrol. But a more useful site the Ski Patrol web-page which has more medical, safety, and avalanche information. Caveat, the site is oddly organized.

Last modified: Thursday, 14 July 2005

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