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In real life, I am an Associate
Professor in the Math and Computer Science Department at California University of Pennsylvania, with an
office on the third floor of the relatively new Eberly Science and Technology
building. My current teaching schedule
is shown below:
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Hubby
Bill -- read all about my #1
priority in life -- no, not work -- my husband Bill (aka Dr. William Roy Hall, Chemistry, Physics, and
Astronomy professor at CCAC South Campus,
now retired and living the good life). This icon looks a wee bit like Bill
(the wild white hair, you know, plus the chalk and the equations on the
blackboard) and it also looks a bit like Albert Einstein. Bill, though he
also did a stint at Princeton in QM, is cuter and has a much better
personality than Einstein, if I do say so myself. On |
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Genealogy -- My latest hobby, genealogy, is the one that is
the most time-consuming, the most frustrating, and yet the most rewarding.
The family
tree of my branch of the ELLMER family ("Ellmer" is my maiden
name), starts with my great-grandparents, who emigrated
from the Banat in 1907, and shows all their descendants. I have been
collecting similar data on each of my other three sets of great-grandparents,
but the going is very tough! Each of my grandparents was born in a different
locale in the old Austro-Hungarian empire between 1889 and 1898 (in places
that had both Hungarian and German names then, but have since changed
countries and changed names again!). My grandparents eventually emigrated to
Philadelphia during the years from 1907 to 1914 through the ports of
Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York (Ellis Island).
It took me the longest while to locate these places on maps of today given only the old Hungarian name! I think you can understand why this hobby is frustrating, but, oh so rewarding when you have been successful at tracking down the detail. My German and Hungarian language skills have improved (though I must admit that it wasn't too hard to improve my Hungarian since I was starting from scratch). And, I have found second and third cousins (through both my paternal grandmother's line and my paternal grandfather’s line) on the internet. But let me warn you all ... this hobby is extremely addicting!! |
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Mystery Fiction -- I have an extensive collection of mystery books
(2106 at last count), am an avid reader, and am always willing to provide a
commentary on my favorite authors, old and new. In early 2000, I discovered
the pleasures of listening to my favorite mystery books on unabridged on
audio cassette tape, during my hour-long commutes to and from work. Two hours
of "reading" per day while driving has been heavenly, and to date
I've acquired about 300 mystery and adventure audiobooks! I also watch as
many mysteries on |
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Star Trek & Star Wars & Babylon5 Collecting -- We have turned the upstairs of our 5 bedroom home into Star Wars, Star Trek, and Babylon 5 collectors heaven. Though the primary focus is on the smaller action figures, we also have ships, accessories, books, comics, and trading cards. |
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Gardening/Landscaping -- My summer gardening and landscaping efforts are always extensive ... just love to move 4+ yards of mulch and manure off my driveway at the start of each spring planting! The results are always a pleasure to view, thanks in part to my neighbor Catherine's helpful nature, gardening knowledge, and unfailing energy! |
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Crafts - I enjoy flower arranging, latch hook wall hangings, knitting (vests, sweaters, scarves and hats), plastic canvas, and I am finally beginning to feel much more comfortable with sewing now, and spend most of my "craft time" at the sewing machine. Students and colleagues have seen some of my end results in the many elastic-waist, ruffled skirts I have worn. |
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WWII History -- I am a World War II history buff, with a
primary focus on the ETO. I doubt there is a History Channel WWII show that I
haven't seen or a World War II non-fiction text that I haven't read or a |
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Movies: Bill and I enjoy reading about and watching movies (all genres) and have acquired quite a collection on VHS tape, laser disc, and DVD. I have been convinced that DVD is definitely the way to go ... just love all those extras like director's commentaries and scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor (also the "easter eggs" you can find). |
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Cooking -- Bill and I both could once have been considered overweight, but with Bill’s recent Type II diabetes diagnosis, life at chez Hall has taken on a different focus. I still love to cook and we still love to eat the results of my cooking, but now meals are prepared with a thorough knowledge of sugar, carbohydrate, and calorie content (with a special focus on the sugar content). The daily morning fasting blood sugar testing has become routine, and we’ve ascertained that if Bill’s sugar intake is no more than 80g per day, the next day FSB results will be in the range 90-105. |
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From the icons shown
below, can you guess what some of my other interests include? |
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Life is good here in Western Pennsylvania, a
location where the seasons are in constant change
...Spring...Summer...Fall...Winter...
Seasonal change, as illustrated by the graphic above, is
a constant reminder to me of just how much people do not control in this world,
no matter how powerful some people think they might be...
*All trademarks, sounds and pictures contained on this site
retain their original copyright
as owned by their respective production companies. No copyright infringement is
intended on this page or any of the subordinate pages.
© Copyright 1996-2008 by J.I.Hall
last
updated 12 August 2008