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For those seeking the executive summary, though, see below:

• Music! (listening: classical)
• Music! (playing: cello, euphonium)
• Science (as a way of understanding our physical world and ourselves)
• Technology (I still build my own computers from individually-purchased components)
• Books! (reading: sf, technical, misc)
• Odd puzzles (e.g. cryptic crosswords)
• Firearms (in particular: handguns -- a newly-started hobby)
• Anything involving a nice balance of mind and body
• Being paradoxical/odd

Background

My parents played a lot of classical and Chinese folk songs on the stereo when I was a kid, so it's not surprising that classical music became the sort of music I liked to listen to in my later years (this made me really popular among more "normal" teenagers, I assure you ).

I played the trumpet in 6th grade band, sucked at it, and switched to the euphonium (aka tenor tuba, aka baritone [though baritones and euphoniums actually belong to different instrument families, but never mind...]) in 7th grade where I did much, much better. I played the euphonium through high school and marching band. I didn't play anything for most of college, and discovered I really missed it, so my senior year in college I decided to start learning the cello. Today I'm continuing to take both cello and euphonium lessons, and I'm involved in 3 amateur chamber music groups. Yes, I love chamber music...

More recently I've taken some music composition courses (namely just "intro" and "species counterpoint"). I love contrapuntal music, even if attempting to understand [much less write] it makes my head explode. :) My most successful counterpoint composition to date has probably been "Melancholic Musings..." -- cello and piano in the key of F major (warm, but sad).

Likes and Dislikes, by Era

Baroque & Classical Era (1600-1820)

I'll pretty much enjoy listening to any music from the Baroque or Classical Era and my favorite composers (not just for this Era, but overall) include Giovanni Gabrelli, J. S. Bach, Mozart, Telemann, Marin Marais, and Corelli.

J. S. Bach is probably my ALL time favorite composer.

Romantic Era (1820-1900)

Pieces from the Romantic Era are a bit more hit or miss, perhaps because the music written during that time are more varied. I do tend to enjoy works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelsonn, and Schumann, but it isn't as much a sure thing as with my favorites.

"Modern?" Era (1900-onwards)

Modern music mostly leaves me out in cold, or at least mostly unenthused. There are some things that I like (typically from the early 1900s), but I can't even think of them off the top of my head at the moment. Definitely not in the same "enjoyment" category as the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Era works.

Other

Other points about my music preferences:

• Chamber Music (particularly those involving strings)
• French Horn pieces (love the timbre of the instrument)
• Not so big on opera itself, but I do like some of the music that goes with it.

I haven't really watched much TV at all since college. For the past many years, the time span between TV usage in my apartment could be measured in months (literally). I recently got rid of my TV set to make room for a new bookshelf. I figure if there's a series really worth watching, I can catch it on DVD. Fewer commercials, even. Yes, this means I miss out on all the celebri-crazes, gossip, and popular broadcast media culture fads. This suits me just fine.

Left to my own devices, I can be found wandering through the science-fiction and technical non-fiction sections of the bookstore (I love bookstores, too). I've also had phases where I was into the mystery, horror, and fantasy genres as well. However, my interest is primarily sf/technical.