Update on It Figures' LORI SHYBA

Update on It Figures' LORI SHYBA

Lori was a regular cast member for the It Figures tv show for many years. She taped the last series 18 with us out on the ridge above the Kananaskis River in the Alberta Rockies. There were some very cool mornings, and I remember her freezing before one show because we put her in shorts to show off her wonderful legs! For viewers who've been writing to ask what ever happened to her, here's an update on this lovely woman who was such an important part of the tv workout we all loved.

Can you tell us about how you keep fit nowadays? What is your current favorite exercise format?
I love to snowshoe and downhill ski in the winter. I hike and horseback ride all year round. I still love group exercise classes for fun and camaraderie and enjoy pressing free weights, especially with some good tunes on my iPod.

Is there any exercise you can no longer enjoy and really miss?
Like almost all my It Figures friends, I have given up on sprinting but still like to run from place to place when I have to get somewhere fast.

What research are you doing now in the field of performance and multimedia?
I have created a number of serious videogames which respond to social issues. One deals with world energy production and consumption and another, called The Booze Cruise, is a deterrent against drinking and driving. The Booze Cruise was recently licensed to the US Army to help troops returning from Iraq become acquainted with the danger and hazards of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

What kinds of classes are you teaching?
Currently I am teaching classes in History and Philosophy of Computing, Digital Rhetoric, Digital Imaging, and Human-Computer Interaction. I know it sounds pretty lofty, but we have fun making projects ranging from videogames to short films and interactive cinema. My students write research papers too, and maybe they don’t think that’s too much fun, but it’s par for the course at a top university.

What is your proudest accomplishment of the last decade?
I have raised my two boys Austin and Warwick to become fine talented young men. Austin is a photographer and filmmaker, and Warwick is a snowboard coach, training to become a helicopter pilot.

What is your greatest pleasure these days?
Like Renee, I travel quite a lot with my work to international research conferences. In the past few years I have traveled to Australia, Japan, Toronto, Vancouver, London U.K., Michigan, California and many other destinations.

What makes you happiest about our world today?
I’m tremendously optimistic about the morals and values of young people and their overall concern for environmentalism and love of the planet.

Have any advice you’d like to give other baby boomers?
From my experiences as a university professor, I’d like to say that we can share our memories in ways that do not make us seem like know-it-alls. Let the younger generations learn from their own experiments and successes.