Here are some of my favorite activities and memorable experiences, which have nothing to do with computer science or how to make computers more intelligent. 

Ever since I moved to bay area, I have been under the spell of Argentine tango both the music and the dance. San Francisco and the surrounding area has a vibrant tango community. At any given day, there is often a choice among multiple milongas (tango parties, see Tango Mango for an authoritative list for bay area). My favorite milongas are el Valenciano and Amuse because they are small and intimate, Cell space, since it is modern, alternative, and innovative, and the monthly all-nighter at the Beat, because, well, it continues all night. My favorite tango event is San Francisco Tango Exchange (SFTX), where a diverse group of tango dancers and musicians come together to "deconstruct" tango.

Although Xchange mostly involves dancing, I believe this picture taken during a group discussion truly captures the spirit of the event. I love the diverse postures of the audience and the full-sized skeleton at the focus - Cellspace, SFTX 2007
 

I LOVE windsurfing. Alacati-Turkey is my favorite windsurfing location. While it provides consistent strong winds for advanced surfers, it also provides mild morning winds and a safe bay enclosing the surfing zone for beginners. I also windsurfed in Ann Arbor with the University of Michigan Sailing Club. Ann Arbor winds were, almost always, not quite good for windsurfing, but just before and after the winter, there was some chance of catching a small window between the time the tail of a thunderstorm passes by and the time all boats are grounded due to storm. Bay area seems to have great windsurfing opportunities that I am yet to explore.

Me and my brother Arda - Alacati 2002

I and my wife spent our honeymoon in Hawaii with a diving trip. Since we have completed our pool and theory training in Michigan (highly advised: Aquatic Adventures of Michigan), all we needed to get our PADI certificate was to dive at some excellent sites in Maui. We had a wonderful time thanks to Scuba Shack and our wonderful teacher Greg. I had never realized that our first shark encounter could be such a poetic experience (below). In later years, we had another lucky shark encounter where we shared a small cave with a good sized shark and a giant sea turtle. We felt very safe with more experienced divers around, maybe partially because the reef sharks have a smiley face when their mouths are closed.

USO (Unidentified swimming object) recognized as a shark by our instructor Greg, size between 30cm to 3m depending on who is telling the story - Maui, Molokini Crater

In the same trip, we went to Big Island, Hawaii where we tracked over lava terrain. We stayed at Arnott's Lodge which was organizing one of the few hiking trips getting close to flowing java (Volcano Park, Hawaii). We also drove (!) to the summit of Mauna Kea (4200m).

Lava Flow - hiking time: 2 hours, flow speed: slow - Big Island, Hawaii

Here are some other activities I enjoyed in the past: I was part of a nationally (Turkey) competitive volleyball team in high school. Nowadays, I only play recreationally with significantly reduced maximum jumping height and significantly increased reaction time. I also spent some time to learn Viennese waltz but those skills are overwritten by tango now. I also spent great times camping and tracking on some of the beautiful mountains of Turkey with Bogazici University Mountaineering Club.

I watched 1999 and 2006 full solar eclipses. My first eclipse experience was shockingly impressive.... The whole surrounding changed in a matter of seconds with a rush of wind, animal noises and darkness. A note: %99 eclipse is nothing like a full eclipse.