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Things I do professionally:

• I teach courses in Electrical Engineering Technology at Mohawk Valley Community College. These include DC and AC circuit theory, linear semiconductor circuits (i.e., transistor theory), operational amplifiers, and programming courses. If you're in one of these courses, there are supplemental pages where you can get more info.
• I write instructional and informational material. This includes an electrical engineering technology text book and dozens of articles in the past 20 or so years for publications such as The C User's Journal, Amazing Computing, Amiga World, Modern Drummer, Electronic Musician, and others. Along with these are the user's manuals for software products such as Sample Wrench. I completed the second edition of my Operational Amplifiers and Linear Integrated Circuits text in 2001. There is a companion lab manual and the publisher has a companion web site. The text was recently translated and is now available in a Spanish language edition.
• I write software. This includes all of the software offered by dissidents. My main area of research interest is weird DSP (digital signal processing), primarily interesting and unique mutations of audio.
• At one time I used to design PA systems and loudspeakers, but I generally don't have time for that these days. If you're interested in audio, consider signing up for ET163 AudioTechnology if you're an electrical major or ET106 Science of Sound if you're not.
• I've done some hardware design on analog neural networks with Dr. John Gallagher of the Neural Dynamics and Control Group at Wright State University in Ohio.

Things I do for the love it:

• Almost anything with my wife (the rare exception includes moving furniture around the living room, but then that's hard-coded into most men's DNA who'd be happy to leave things as they are for the next 30 years so long as there's a recliner with a good view of the TV).
• Running. I prefer longer distances (10k and up). There are some nice races in the area I like to do, including the Summer Sizzle in June, the Boilermaker 15k in July, and the Falling Leaves 14k in September. I also like to do a few of the weekly Utica development runs (2 mile and 10k) which are held May through July. To get more info on running in Utica, check out the Utica Roadrunners site (currently, I am the club president). One thing I like about running is the lack of an "object". There is no ball, bat, net or goal, so the focus is entirely on the runners themselves. There are no complicated rules, referees or judges, and there can be a lot of personal drama. Besides, it's very healthy- being one of the most efficient ways for the average person to stay in shape. Click here for some recipes I like for training.
• Biking, kayaking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and similar muscle-powered endeavors.
• Reading. Lots of science-oriented material but quite a bit of history, politics, some philosophy as well, and particularly the nexus of these topics. I am a firm believer in the ideals of the Enlightenment and The Age of Reason, and what science can do (and has done) to further the human condition. More directly, I do not have a "world view" which invokes the supernatural. It is my opinion that if someone claims to have a "world view" that is hinged to some manner of religious dogma, then they are not open to all possibilities of explanation regarding the understanding of the universe. You might also call me a secular humanist and an atheist. That is, I have seen no evidence that ethics and morality are intrinsically tied to religiosity, nor that a supreme being(s) exists or is required to explain the operation of the universe.
• Music. "Music is the best" said Frank Zappa. (See below)
• Sometimes I like to draw. Like the cartoons seen below.

Some Funny Stuff and Some Serious Stuff

Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics
A little story on how semiconductors really work
A simple investigation into astrology
Some thoughts on the metric system
Some food recipes I made
But can Spock do this?

Music Stuff

To paraphrase Frank Zappa, I do not write music that is strictly commercial. This stuff would never get airplay but some people have expressed an interest in my electronic drumming. These drums look like and play like regular drums but they trigger sounds electronically. They can sound like acoustic drums or just about anything else. My kit is based around an expanded Roland TD-20 controller. I also use a MalletKAT keyboard percussion controller (kind of like an electronic marimba or vibraphone) which triggers a Kurzweil sound module. I use these because I can't afford nice percussion keyboards. Have you priced a symphonic marimba lately?? I also play bass guitar and occasionally plunk out a few chords on a normal piano-style keyboard. With very few exceptions, if it's not drums or bass, it's coming from the MalletKAT.

You can hear some of my music at my myspace page: www.myspace.com/jimfiore Below are a few examples (details at myspace):

Fun Is Where You Find It

Hoodie Too

Timmy Umbwebwe Lights A Candle

The Return Of Wayne Dangre

Running Stuff

Check the Utica Roadrunners bulletin board for road race schedules and info.

Here's my Boilermaker Training Plan for first-timers.

Want more running stuff? Check out the running section on my other site.

Some quotes I like...

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
    - Isaac Asimov

"Information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, wisdom is not truth."
    - Frank Zappa"

Begin with the possible and move gradually towards the impossible."
    - Robert Fripp

"Ask yourself, 'Can I give more?' The answer is usually 'Yes.'"
    - Paul Tergat (former world marathon record holder)

"Do what you fear and you shall conquer your fear."
    - Karen Schaffer

"My hovercraft is full of eels."
     - Monty Python

"There are people who believe that dinosaurs and men lived together. That they roamed the Earth at the same time. There are museums that children go to, in which they build dioramas to show them this. And what this is, purely and simply, is a clinical psychotic reaction. They are crazy. They are stone cold f*** nuts. I can't be kind about this, because these people are watching The Flintstones as if it were a documentary."
    - Lewis Black

Some links I like...

Road running in Utica: www.uticaroadrunners.org

The largest 15k road race in the country (right here in Utica): www.boilermaker.com

A great site for info on media and politics: www.mediamatters.org

Good stuff to know from the Department of Agriculture (Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion): www.usda.gov/cnpp

How much fat is in your lunch? The Center for Science in the Public Interest: www.cspinet.org

Reality checks anyone? www.skeptic.com

Richard Dawkins' site, including his Foundation for Reason and Science: www.richarddawkins.net

The Freedom From Religion Foundation: www.ffrf.org

The Secular Web, promoting a naturalistic view of the universe: www.infidels.org

Information on secular humanism: www.secularhumanism.org

Information on atheism: www.atheist.net

Discipline Global Mobile: Robert Fripp, King Crimson, et.al. www.disciplineglobalmobile.com

Drummer Bill Bruford's (Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks) site: www.billbruford.com

"Music is the Best". www.zappa.com

Warning: Excessive exposure to techno-tools can drastically increase your K_g (coefficient of geek-osity). The surgeon general hasn't said doody about this, but it might be a bad thing. On the other hand, it could be a good thing. Of course, there's always the possibilty that it will make no difference whatsoever. We simply don't know. Either way, you've been warned. Sort of.

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