Alan's

( formerly known as Yensid the Sorceror)

Latest web page 
me
  

(last updated March 8th, 2010)
Recent events:  

Whew! Basketball referee season is over, and softball umpire season is starting!

PWP keeps me busy.

The Rochester Movie Makers had a 72 hour competition in February. We got a random character, a random prop, and a random line of dialogue, and had to turn in a short film (6 minutes max) 72 hours later! I posted my entry on youtube.

 
Work::  

I provide desktop support for ~180 scientists and ~270 engineers and support staff. We support over 800 Windows PCs (WinXP, Win2k, WinNT, Win 98), 135 Sun stations and Sunrays, and some 25 Macs, and Linux systems.

I'm also "the network guy".

 

Current interests:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other things I've done:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Halloween - I think I have the concept for this Halloween!

Juggling - just basic 3 ball and 3 club. Something to do when it's nice out, or when camping.

Basketball - I referee for J.V. girls basketball.

Softball: I also umpire High School Varsity girls fast-pitch softball. I'm quite impressed with the velocity some girls throw!

Building things - see pics of my treehouse and Halloween props.

Running - Well, this was an interest in 2007, but not anymore. It's just too boring. My times here

NERO - LARP. It's D&D, but live action!

Magic. I am once again an active member of the Society of American Magicians. SAM

Geocaching. Pretty cool. There are hidden treasures all over, and, using a GPS, you can find them! Just type in a zip code in the box in the upper right corner and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Music. I play around with guitars (acoustic and electric) and I have a keyboard and drums. :-)

I'm in a Wii Rockband band called Hedgehog Affair. We've had some gigs in Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. We're hoping to get a video soon. :-)

 

I've visited 20 countries so far. It started when I backpacked for nine weeks through central Europe, where I....

Ran with the bulls in Pomplona, Spain, and watched a few bullfights. Some day I'll post my pictures and explanation of how that works.

Wore a toga in the Roman Coliseum, (you really learn how universal a Toga is! I'm in pictures in photo albums around the world!) and met the Pope in the Vatican. (Really!) I actually had to take a step back in order to get a picture of him.

Tanned on Mediterranean Islands Santorini and Ios. What a lifestyle here: Tan until it hurts, drink the pain away into the night, sleep in and then deal with the hangover by laying out in the sun where you tan until it hurts, drink the pain away into the night...

In Paris, I listened to the elegant organ in the Notre Dame Cathedral and climbed the Eiffel Tower.

Stood atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa and wandered the "streets" (canals) of Venice.

Was briefly detained by East German guards near the Berlin Wall in what was then East Germany. I couldn't understand German, so they let me go without an international incident. I think they were asking for cigarettes.

Wandered around the tiny principality of Liechtenstein.

Toured the concentration camp in Dachau (mind-boggling what humans do to other humans) and drank beer in the famous Hofbrauhaus. I was never a beer drinker until then.

Walked through Anne Frank's hidden living space in Amsterdam and tried space-cakes, as well as a tour of the Heineken brewery.

Wandered the streets of once-buried Pompeii. Fascinating!

Ate some weird things in what was then Yugoslavia.

Played in the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Climbed an Alp in Innsbruck, Austria and experienced the Hellbrunn Water Gardens. Salzburg was also a great town.

Tried to get into a casino in Monte Carlo - didn't have a Tux though. :-(

I was going to take a flight from Athens to Rome, TWA flight 847, but chose to take a boat instead. Good thing! It was a flight that got hijacked! Plus, being an American with a perceived Jewish name, well, read the story on the link.

I also......

Spent 7 days rafting down the Grand Canyon. I highly recommend Arizona River Runners. Check out my one-of-a-kind web site "Toilets of the Grand Canyon"!

Spent a few New Year's Eves in Times Square.

Climbed a few peaks in the Adirondacks (not anywhere near being a 46er though), and one in the Rockies. Algonquin, Wright, Iroquois, Boundary.

Spent a week in Jamaica, mon! I don't remember a lot about this trip, except the great snorkeling and the bad sunburn. :-)

My most recent trip was to Costa Rica (Nov '05) with my college buddy Art. I hadn't seen him in years, so we decided to meet in San Jose at 10:30PM with no reservations! We spent three days there, then went to Playa Jaco. We liked it so much there that we stayed the next eight days! We visited a volcano named Poas, kayaked, tried to surf, took a zip-line canopy tour, and rented motorcycles and went up and down the Pacific coast. Pictures will be posted when I get more time.

 

    (To Top)
My school Projects:   Project 1: This links to the main page for my research paper (my first web project!)
Project 2: This web site has improved design and embedded media (from project 1), such as sound and animation (check out the stock graph!)
Sources: This tells you where I got my images from and how I manipulated them.
Some of my friends:   Brett: He works in the computer support group with me. He's big into animation. Check out his pages!
Ken: He designed all the code for his web page, including learning java to make his animated self-portrait! I love it! That's Ken - juggling activities, while learning, and keeping his balance!
Larry: He's the only friend I have who's in the Guiness book of World Records. He's performed worldwide - even at the White House! His thriving business is found at balloonhq. A cool project he has done is Balloon Manor! Be sure to click on the Interactive Tour!
Stuart Home page for the Tenessee Titans - where my friend Stuart works! He's the Director of Sales and Operations! Thanks for getting me the "Go Anywhere pass"! It was cool being in the press box and on the field!

Pictures to check out:

 

 

 

Archives:

  
  • Pictures of my new house (September 2003)
  • The completion of my treehouse summer 2004.
  • Our trips in August 2004! Many cool things and pictures!
  • The music video (Lego) for a British band named Nadine and Charlie.is done! It's on You Tube.
  • Entry to my Halloween portal
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    Here are four pictures of me from previous Halloweens....

     

    Above is from 2003. To the right is from 2004.

    Below left is from 2005. Below right is from 2006.

    This is me in August 2006. :-)

     

    to top to current interests to school projects to picture section

     

    To send me mail, address it to yensid1 at rochester dot rr dot com