Me!
I'm recently retired, student of Buddhism, science and philosophy, avid reader, seeker of Truth, single, ex-smoker, radical, writer, musician, counselor.


  What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

  The Tree of Knowledge is not the Tree of Life. --Lord Byron, "Faust"

  My interests include technology, the sciences, modern jazz, philosophy, Eastern thought, and the creative arts.

What I've Done:
Researched, authored and published the book, Overview of Siam Sterling Nielloware, 1st printing in 2002, currently (April, 2008) 1st printing of 2nd Edition.
Played jazz keyboard/piano in coffee houses in Boston and Florida
Worked 15 years for a Florida county government, focusing primarily on technical training and new employee orientation
Worked 5 years as Mental Health Case Manager and Human Resources Generalist at Manatee Glens Corporation (Florida)
Conducted Insight Workshops in both New Jersey and Florida
Worked 15 years as Counselor and Coordinator of the Trenton (NJ) Adult Learning Center

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I'm working on a variety of written works, both nonfiction and fiction. I live on the Florida Gulf Coast, in beautiful Sarasota. 
Now: (Click on each picture to view full size): My toys:

Comfortable living requires wise investments. Here are some helpful, well-organized links:

Click Here for The Finance Page: Resources for Investors
Click Here for my Blog:
Items of Interest

Current Goals:
To find old friends: Ted White, Sylvia, [Doug, George, Lonnie, Marilyn,] Nancy, Liz, [Phil, Joyce, Fran,] Frank Merrill
To keep in touch with old friends: Marcia, Rich & Joni, Susi, Tom, Steve K., Dae S., Carol W., and Kenn
To also keep in touch with my local friends, John Lawson, Rick, Oscar, and many others!
To stay close with relatives John (brother), David (nephew), and cousins Steve and Ira Lukens
To complete a variety of written works, music-related works, and associated projects

Music
Favorite Artists: Chick Corea, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Bird, Denny Zeitlin, Lenny Tristano, Clifford Brown, MJQ, Horace Silver, Bobby Timmons, Michael Urbaniak, Jean Luc Ponty
 Favorite Jazz: Coltrane's My Favorite Things / A Love Supreme, Chick Corea/Return to Forever
Favorite Classical: Debussy's Sacred and Profane Dances
Other Favorites: Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, Ravel's Introduction and Allegro,
Russian Easter Overture (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
Rock Favorites: Knights In White Satin, Light My Fire, Black Magic Woman, most ELP, Beatles, Stones


Buddhism

Introduction: There are many forms of Buddhism - Zen, Mahayana, Tibetan, Hinayana, Pure Land, etc. Each focuses on a facet of Buddha's teachings and life. My interest is in Mahayana and Zen, with emphasis on meditation and insight.

Favorite Quote (Though not Buddhist): "The Tree of Knowlege is not the Tree of Life"
Favorite Buddhist Riddle: What did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor?
"Make me one with everything."

Buddhist Four Noble Truths:
1 - There is suffering (almost everyone suffers),
2 - There is a cause to suffering; craving (wanting),
3 - There is a cure to suffering; stop craving (wanting),
4 - How to stop craving ("Many paths up the mountain")


Favorite Buddhist-related Book: Ram Dass, The Only Dance There Is
Related Interests: Buddhism and Psychology; Gestalt Therapy


Friends and Relatives

My Brother, John
He's a Finance Director and (possibly) a Master Chef

My Nephew, David He liked X-Men, Basketball, and Computer Games.
He graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University
Now, he's graduating from American Film Institute, with MFA in screenwriting!
David's Graduation in Los Angeles

My best friends, Rich and Joni. I've known Rich for 55 years and Joni for 42 (since their wedding)!

On their 42nd anniversary: Rich in his RV:

Me, with my lifelong friend, Marcia, top New York advertising/marketing exec:


Literature
Favorite Fiction: Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon
Inifnite Jest, by David Foster Wallace
(also) On The Road, and Maggie Cassidy (Jack Kerouac)
Favorite Non-Fiction: Godel, Escher,Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter
Favorite Bookstore: (in Sarasota, FL): Main Street Bookstore
Favorite Poets: Wallace Stevens, Allen Ginsberg


Antiques/Collectibles
Collector of unusual antiques, especially unusual clocks, antique books, magazines, maps, and other paper ephemera


Some recent pics of friends and family - Nephew Dave: Dave's Mother, Sue:

Gorgeous views from Sue's back porch:


I think that we ought to do all that we can to bring before the world the importance of the attitude that we are not going to believe a thing unless there is some reason to think that it is true. I know that that is thought to be very shocking. It is supposed that there are a lot of things that you ought to believe because good people believe them, and not because there is any reason for them. I do not take that view. I think anything that is worth believing must have some positive ground in its favor.
--Bertrand Russell

We are often highly sensitive to our own sufferings but oblivious to the pain of others. Buddhism teaches the importance of empathy, feeling the suffering of others as your own. A century based on respect for life will not be realized as long as this spirit is disregarded.
--Daisaku Ikeda

(And two quotes on friendship from an unlikely couple):

"I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine, encourage me to grow."
-Cher

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe

"I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. Here I am the Customs Agent. I am the Coast guard. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable"
-Alexander Shulgin

"It doesn't help to plead your case with the Law of Gravity."
--Me

"There is nothing more dangerous than blind faith, be it political or religious."
--Me

I'd call a place pure paradise
where families are loyal and strangers are nice
where the music is jazz and the season is fall.
Promise me that or nothing at all.
--Maya Angelou



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