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):


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:

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


Places to Visit


Information and Computer Science
University of California, Irvine CA 92697

Last modified: Thursday, 14 July 2005

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