What with one thing and another (buying a new house, remodeling it, moving, and selling our ol house being among the least of the things that have occupied my attention over the past year) I haven't had much time for hobbies lately. Such as they are, though, here is a bit about them.
Which is a fancy way of saying that I read a lot. My fiction diet consists mostly of fantasy these days, for no deep reason. That's just what I've felt like reading. I used to be into military SF, but so much of it is so bad, and the fan scene surrounding it so ugly, that I don't read much of it anymore. I've also been catching up on some of the classics and various authors outside the SF genre ghetto.
If you want to catch up on your reading, but don't have much time, check out the Book-A-Minute SF/F site. Heck, check it out anyway, even though we both know you have plenty of time on your hands or you wouldn't be here.
I do some writing as well, though not so much lately. A bit of non-fiction -- a few articles -- is all I've ever sold, but I keep coming back to fiction. Short stories are a dying, and very tough, market, though, and a novel is a lot more work than people who've never written one would think. Finding the time has been a bitch. The ideas keep coming and teasing at me, though. I'm sure I'll fall victim to another novel here soon.
I guess I can finish out this section with a list of favorite authors. Off the top of my head, and in no particular order (my favorite book or author at a given moment is likely going to depend on what I feel like reading just then) we have:
Steve Brust, Roger Zelazny (RIP, Roger), David Drake, Glen Cook, George MacDonald Fraser, Harry Turtledove, Fritz Leiber (RIP, Fritz), John Meyers Meyers (RIP, John), William Sanders, Ernest Hemingway, and a bunch of others that don't come to mind right now. Check 'em out.
Oh, if you like an author's work, let him or her know. You can write to any author care of their publisher (address at the beginning of that book you just finished reading and liked so much), it doesn't take much effort and everyone likes to be told that they've done a good job. Don't write to tell her how she should have written a given book, though; the book's already written, in case you hadn't noticed from reading it and all, and it's a little late for editing. If you think you can do better, by all means do so.
Any of you who have read some of my rants and essays can probably guess that I might own a gun or two. The exact number and disposition of my guns is, of course, classified, but I can talk about them a little here.
My primary carry piece, the one I have on me much of the time, is an old 9mm Star Firestar. It's very heavy, and only holds seven rounds, but it's slim and compact, durable, and a very good shooter. I plan to replace it with something lighter, but finding a satisfactory substitute has been difficult. I want to stay with 9mm, but there aren't many 9mms that conceal well on my skinny frame. The Kahrs are the obvious answer, but I've tried the PM9 and was not that impressed. Very small and light, yes, but I did not shoot it very well. The ugly as sin Springfield XD Subcompact shoots much better from my hand, but it's a lot bigger and thicker than the Kahr. Only about the same size as my Firestar, though, and at least half a pound lighter. (Loaded, the Firestar pushes 34 ounces. Lug that around on your hip in 105F heat.)
My CZ75BD is probably my favorite pistol right now. Accurate, reliable as a hammer, and it fits my hand like it was made for it. Too heavy to carry on a regular basis, this is the one that gets dropped in the car for long trips and the like.
I have an assortment of serviceable rifles, but I am still in the market for a quality carbine for. . . social purposes. If I get a country place, as I would like to one of these days, I may be looking for a good long range rifle as well, The Mauser will fill that role, of course, but my old eyes aren't up to long range shooting over iron sights.
A grab bag of other things.
I drive a Mazda Miata, that right now is only slightly modified. Yes it is very small, thanks for noticing. (I guess I don't feel a need to compensate for any. . . inadequacy.) No, I don't worry about rolling over in it; I was taught to drive with all four wheels on the ground and I'm moderately good at it. And no I don't worry about being crushed by a truck, either. Let's face it; an 80,000 pound semi is going to crush any four wheeler it wants to, Miata or Explorer, it doesn't much matter. I can't move a lot of furniture, but it holds enough (me and one other person with excellent taste), and it's the most fun you can have in a car with all your clothes on.
I may have to break down and go back to a four-seater some time soon. I hope not, but one does what one must. The 2006 Miata does look pretty sweet, though.