Hello all,
Glad to join the community. I'm a professor for Penn State up here in Erie, PA. We have a dedicated undergraduate college that does a pretty good job of keeping class sizes low, research opportunities and the like.
I was trained in a lab where my advisor smoked a pipe. Never had anything more than his one pipe (probably dime-store bought) and his big tub of "Captain Black". I worked for him for almost 10 years. It was after a few years of cigars when out with my friends (during the cigar resurgence in the late 90s) that I realized, "why not a pipe"? As I was writing my thesis, I used to fire up a bowl or Aston or CAO and it became a relaxing, enjoyable endeavor. He retired and even after the smoking bans in the building, no one could bring themselves to make him stop in his own office. To this day he shows up (emeritus) to his old office with the pipe and tub of the Captain.
Now I enjoy my pipes (nothing extraordinary in artisanship or price) 3-4 times a week outside watching my kids play or sitting on the riding mower. My wife loves the aroma.