Steve Weiss's New Page

• Community Networks: I am a director and chair of the technical committee of the Huron Valley Community Network. We at HVCN want to put all of the community organizations in Washtenaw County on-line, and get them talking to each other. This is a huge civic networking project that makes progress slowly, but it is a very worthwhile cause, and if you are interested in helping, you should take a look and send some mail to us.
• Computer Conferencing: I am on the staff of Grex, a computer conferencing system right here in Ann Arbor, MI. Try it. It's free! Grex and HVCN (see below) both use the Backtalk program to provide web-based conferences. I am a co-author of that program.
• Computer Programming: Even though I do it for a living I can almost never get enough of it. I a definitely some kind of computer geek. Spefically, my Geek Code 2.1 is

  GCS/M/S/MU d++ H- s:- !g p3 au a++ w- v++ C+++$ UB/S/H/A+++$ P+ L- 3++ E- N++ K- W$ M++ V--$ po+ Y++ t++ 5 j@ R- G? tv- b+ D- B-- e++++ u++ h---- f+ r+++ n+++ y++++

• Cryptography: I am very interested mathematical algorithms and cryptography. I use Pretty Good Privacy (PGP).
• Humor. Well everyone likes humor, but for several years I have been sending funny things to my coworkers, and posting them on Grex. Here is a collection of the best of the humor list.
• Internet / World Wide Web: I am a big fan of the World Wide Web, and I have designed web sites for myself, Grex, HVCN, TMRC, MIT CLass of 1966 and others.
• Jewish Community: I am interested in service to the local Jewish Community. I am a member of the Beth Israel Men's Club and a director of The Ann Arbor Jewish Community Center (JCC).
• Photography: I took some photographs one of my favorite places, Eberwhite Woods, on the west side of Ann Arbor. I've also taken to sharing my vacation (see travel, below) pictures and travelogues on the web. Just click on the pictures tab, and have a look!
• Solitaire: I am a big fan of solitaire card games, although I hardly have time to play any more. I wrote a shareware version of my favorite solitaire game Spider for Macintosh computers.
• Spanish:When I took Spanish in High School, I really enjoyed it, but I never thought I would use it. Then after decades without contact with the language, I rediscovered it and began upgrading my reading a writing skills by handling Spanish email requests for Grex. After a few years of that, I began to try listening to it. At first using the cable channel, and now using internet radio. I hope one day to be able to practice speaking it. That will be the ultimate challenge.
• Sports: I love both to watch and play Volleyball. I used to play in the Ann Arbor co-rec "B" league on the "Spikers from Mars" team. (No, I was not reasponsible for the name of the team.) I hope to find enough time to play in the recreational league again soon. You can also occasionally find me on my mountain bike. I am an avid hockey, football, and soccer fan. Favorite teams: Michigan Wolverines (95-96 NCAA hockey champs and 1997 National Champions in Football!), Detroit Red Wings (Stanley Cup Winners in both 1996-97 and 1997-98!), the New Yok Jets (first up, now down, sigh), and the NY/NJ Metrostars (still waiting to go up).
• Trains: I love trains and model railroading. I was an active member of the Tech Model Railroad Club while at MIT. I was one of the original designers of the TMRC Web site. Besides model railroading, I learned a great deal about computers at TMRC. I also learned how to stay up all night before exams, playing Spider and Spacewar.
• Travel: My wife and I both love traveling. Now that our children are on their own, we can indulge ourselves with vacations that take us to interesting places. We started taking vacations again in 1997 with a trip to California, and have also been to the Four Corners section of the American West, the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington, and most recently to Hawaii. We take a lot of pictures (see photography, above). To share some of our best travel experiences, try reading our vacation travelogues (click on the pictures tab to find them).