Hoben Thomas's Personal Page

Hoben Thomas lives in State College, PA where he and his wife raised their two children. Both are Penn State graduates. Karen, an architecture major , practices architecture in New York City; Mark, an accounting major, is with MCI, soon to be Concert, in Washington DC.

What do I do for fun? I have a number of hobbies including photography and ham radio (WA3GXA) but in recent years I have not made time for these activities. Leisure time activities have largely been spent in Washington DC where summer Wolftrap performances are a favorite activity. I love classical music. That is one reason I enjoy spending time in Europe, particularly Germany. I very much enjoy concerts given in church settings, especially large cathedrals. In Germany cities of even modest size seem to always have church concerts to attend. My favorite composers are Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi and Beethoven. I also enjoy writing computer code, largely APL an old interpretative language , but still an extraordinarily useful one. I also enjoy writing manuscripts in TeX, a sophisticated computer type setting program. My interest in computer typesetting comes from my learning as a kid to set type in the old lead typesetting days. Currently, I am trying to learn more of the features of the mathematical software package, Macsyma. I enjoy cooking, and I have a number of favorite recipes. The following one I prepare perhaps once a week. It is based on a published recipe which appeared some years ago, but it has been so extensively modified I can claim it as my own.


Peal shrimp; devein if necessary. Spread out shrimp in bowl and liberally sprinkle with paprika; add crushed bay leaves and two or three shakes of red pepper. Boil water for paste, remove about 1/2 cup of boiled water per serving and desolve bouillon. In the mean time steam-cook broccoli, the microwave is best: don't over cook! On high heat in wok or frying pan saute´ in hot olive oil garlic for about 40 seconds, then add shrimp with spices, cooking quickly and turning each shrimp once; cook about 2 minutes or so. Add bouillion broth, and about 2-3 tablespoon or so of lemon juice, to suit taste. Keep warm, or simmer on low. Cook angel hair pasta 3 minutes or so, don't overcook! Drain. Portion the pasta into in large bowls preferably or dinner plates; top with shrimp and cooking liquid. Add ring of florets. Top with parmesan cheese and parsley, and serve. I usually have a vegetable salad and sliced fruit for dessert. I like sour dough french bread.