al's brief bio

I am a naturalist in the Victorian sense of the word - one who is curious about the phenomena around him, and who engages in active experimentation to investigate them. I have constructed or accumulated a wide variety of devices to investigate the unseen forces around us, including ultrasound, radiation, ultraviolet, and a wide range of radio frequencies.

My major field of study in college was anthropology (primary concentration in archaeology, with a secondary concentration in linguistics), with a minor in music.

My career path has taken me from professional archaeologist (my master's thesis, Prehistoric Fishweirs in Eastern North America, is online), to computer repair technician, to (currently) radio electronics technician in an electromagnetic interference lab.

1985-2000
archaeology

2000-2006
computer repair

2006-present
electromagnetic interference technician

I have a second career as a professional musician; you can visit my music page to read about the bands I'm in, view some videos, and check my touring schedule. I am also a dedicated amateur ethnomusicologist specializing in historic klezmer recordings. My latest project consisted of digitizing previously unknown open reel tapes documenting historic folk tunes from the Catskill Mountains of New York.

I live with my wife Marie and our cat Chloe in the hills outside Binghamton, New York in the northern Appalachian region. We are both avid stereo photographers, and we currently manage the Cranberry Coffeehouse, which has been Binghamton, New York's premiere live folk music venue for over 50 years.

My hobbies include electronics and radio-frequency monitoring. I am a licensed Amateur Extra-class amateur radio operator, and enjoy spending time in my workshop repairing, maintaining and constructing everything from electronic circuitry (especially vintage electronics) to musical instruments, including the purchase, restoration and sale of vintage electronics. I also enjoy time outdoors hiking, geocaching, foraging for wild plants and mushrooms, and cartography (generating hiking maps that include trails, topography, points of interest, property boundaries, etc.).

My philosophy of life is outlined in an essay I authored decades ago entitled "One Monist's Philosphy".

If you'd like to know anything more, and my web pages fail to elucidate it, feel free to contact me at allen@lutins.net.

back to al's home page