Music    My musical taste ranges from classical to hard rock, depending on my mood.  But I mostly listen to "Top 40" stuff . Mandy Moore, Avril Lavigne, Destiny's Child, Beyonce, Bon Jovi, Joss Stone, Michelle Branch, Jocelyn Enriquez, Alanis Morisette, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, No Doubt, Leanne Rimes, and TLC currently top my most listened to list.

My favorite music videos are Kelly Rowland's "Stole" (GREAT song; very sad video) and Kelly Clarkson's auto-biographical "Because of You". The only music videos in recent memory that have caused me to get emotional.

Another video I love that I think is just plain fun (and also highly controversial) is HARE RAM from the Indian movie BHOOL BHULIYAA. Indian music videos fascinate me. The culture is so conservative and traditional, yet their movies and music videos are quite often completely the opposite. If the girls in this video danced and dressed in real life in India the way it is portrayed on film, they would be banished for sure! Yet there are soooooooo many examples like this on TV, even in India! Just kissing in public is considered highly taboo, imagine if a girl & boy started dancing suggestively in public!

My favorite American songs (defined as songs I can play over and over and over again without getting tired of hearing!) include: Kelly Rowland "Stole"; Bowling For Soup "1985", Bon Jovi "Living In Sin", "Livin' on a Prayer", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "One Wild Night" and "It's My Life" (my generation's version of the Frank Sinatra classic); Beyonce "Crazy In Love", "Dangerously in Love", "Daddy" and "Naughty Girl"; Katy Perry - "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot'n'cold"; Miley Cyrus "Start All Over" and "7 Things"; Joss Stone "You Had Me", "Snakes & LAdders", "Jet Lag", "Security" and "Sleep Like a Child"; Bethany Dillon "Dreamer" (from the motion picture Dreamer); Hoobastank "The Reason"; Avril Lavigne "Sk8tr Boi" and "My Happy Ending"; Alicia Keys "Fallin'" and "A Woman's Worth"; Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know", "Forgiven", "You Learn" and "Ironic"; Leanne Rimes "Life Goes On", "How Do I Live" (any version), and "Tic-Toc"; BackStreet Boys "Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely", "Spanish Eyes" and "The Perfect Fan"; Britney Spears "(You Drive Me) Crazy", "Baby One More Time", "Sometimes", "Oops!...I Did It Again" and "Born To Make You Happy"; and Liz Phair "Why Can't I?".

My favorite Indian/Hindi songs include: "HARE RAM" (mentioned above); "Chak De"; "Dhadak Dhadak"; "My Dil Goes Mmmm"; "Maahi Ve"; "Kaal Dhamaal"; and the beautiful instrumental "Heartbeat" from the 2003 movie titled "Kal Ho Naa Ho".

My favorite music concerts would have to be Beyonce: Live at Wembley, Shania Twain: Up! Live in Chicago, and Bon Jovi Crush Tour.  

Technology   From computers to home automation to aviation to wireless communication systems.  When it comes to technology I'm fascinated by it all.  Do you have a question about technology?   Go ahead, try me.   Chances are I may already be familiar with the topic -- and of course, if not, I certainly will be interested in learning more myself!    To read my thoughts about technology as it pertains to business and parenting, check out my new Blog: http://JohnTheGeek.TechnologyMan.com/

Amateur Radio   What for me is the most ideal way to stay in touch with your friends and family while out and about.  Find out about the benefits of ham radio over CB 2-way radio.   Click here to learn more.

Pollution Free Energy  I do not consider myself a true environmentalist, but if I had to name the environmental issue that bugs me the most it would have to be air pollution. Automobiles I feel contribute significantly to this, possibly even more than industrial sources. It really pisses me off each time I pull up to the gasoline station to fill up my car, knowing I have no choice but to pay $2 or more a gallon  for fumes I dread breathing in, knowing fully well that those beautiful sunsets are the result of my car exhaust, and I will probably have some form of lung cancer as a result someday. Wouldn't it be nice if someone would invent a fuel that would be cheap to produce -- cheaper than gasoline -- and would be 100% pollution free (unlike those electric vehicles)? Well guess what? Someone has!    Click here to learn more. 

Investing   Stocks, options, futures, & commodities are my favorite ways to invest.   Mutual Funds and Bonds bore me. When it comes to stocks, I pay special attention to the technology sector, particularly in the areas of telecommunications, computers, internet, wireless, and consumer electronics.

TV    For a long time I wasn't watching much TV. Nowadays my schedule keeps me pretty busy, but I now have both a TIVO and a Windows Media Center Edition PC, so I have a large collection of recordings to watch on a rainy day. :) A decade ago, I used to be a diehard Party of Five fan; never missed a single episode. I also used to tune in religiously to the  Secret World of Alex Mack, until it's sudden end. The sudden 2-part finale was probably among that shows best episodes.  

I also used to tune in religiously to the Disney Channel for SpellBinder . but sadly it is no longer on the air either, at least not here in the U.S. The other sci-fi show I really enjoyed was Babylon 5 on the TNT network.

Must See TV used to play a big part of my weekly TV ritual. Past favorites have included Friends , ER, Law & Order, Carolyn In the City, and Suddenly Susan. Other past favorites included Dawson's Creek and Ally McBeal, but stopped watching all long before they went off the air. 

More recently my favorite shows included Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Medium, and The 4400. Today I don't miss a single episode of LOST, and my wife and I are both diehard NCIS fans! And as a subscriber to ZeeTV, my latest TV addiction is to Shree , a silly Indian soap opera about true love, marriage, and one obnoxious ghost. Yeah it's crazy silly, but entertaining too.

Probably the BEST series ever created was the short lived sci-fi series FireFly, and the subsequent movie version, Serenity. Whomever cancelled that show should be tortured a slow painful death. (not that I'm bitter!) That was a great show with a very clever plot line that sadly, we as the audience will never get to fully appreciate and discover what was ahead nor the backstories of each of the characters. All I can do now is enjoy what few episodes exist on DVD.   :) 

Household Projects    I like to think of myself as a tinkerer or sort of do-it-myselfer type.   I am good at electrical, security, telephone, computer, sprinkler/ irrigation, and home automation system installation and repair projects.  I also enjoy the occasional automotive project.  I am the type of person who prefers to just dive in and learn 'hands-on', refering to the instruction manual only as a last resort.  :)     My motto is: If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- but if it's already broke, hand me that screwdriver!