As a Theoretical Physicist I am motivated by the idea of modelling natural and man-made processes. Much of my work involves examining (what can be considered as) stochastic processes, and trying to derive as much information (however you would like to define information) about the process, without letting assumptions damage the intrinsic properties of the process itself.
Somewhere along the way I became a sports car enthusiast, something I now feel is intrinsic to the Ph.D lifestyle. I started with a 1.9 Z3 but moved to the 2.2L straight six, the difference is incredible, both in the car design and performance. Any pain suffered due to the stiff suspension disappears once you hit the moterway. Next stop a motorbike I guess.
In the early years one tends to be incredibly passionate about music, although this generally tends to fade once the practicalities of working life set in. I've made a concious effort to keep this from happening over the years. I studied the classical guiter in the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Somewhat unfortunately I dislike a great deal of classical guitar music (though not classical music in general), but its always been pieces like this and this that have kept me interested. I guess my favourite guitarist would have to be the 1930's swing/jazz virtuoso Django Reinhardt, upon which Woody Allen's film Sweet and Lowdown was roughly based. I also play in a/the jazz swing group known as Endwahl. Apart from a classical guitar I mainly play an Epiphone 335, and a Gitane (an acoustic Gypsy jazz guitar)
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