OT- What is your OTHER obsession?
As we have seen from the recent roll call topic we have quite a diverse group here, and the obvious thing we have in common is our obsession with UM Football, MBB, etc. But is there anything else that you are really "into?" Pro Wrestling? Nascar? Hunting/fishing? Wine connoisseur? Knitting? Collecting anything? Running/cycling/triathalon? Grateful Deadhead?
And what is the most "dedicated" thing you do in its pursuit?
To start, I am really into analog music synthesizers and guitars- have a small music studio and a collection of gear. With regard to my guitar playing, I suck, but I suck REALLY LOUD. Every year I attend the NAMM Show (National Assoc. of Music Merchants) in Anaheim- which is not open to the general public, but you get to meet a lot of famous music people, pretty cool.
Invested in a startup vineyard. We are in year 2 and doing very well.
Interesting? How'd you get involved in this and where is it located?
Watched another startup grow and succeed and had friends that owned a farm and were very savvy in that market. She went to Cal Berkley to be trained. We hired French soil experts and French winemakers to assist.
what part of md
Nice. I've been to a few wineries in bmore county and Frederick. Live just over the border into pa. Looking fwd to trying Ur wine at some point.
Fishing
Stealing Fritos.
I would have guessed, "Creating Twitter Profiles off Message Board Avatars"
but I am really into space, wondering when disclosure will occur regarding intelligent ET life, and facinated with the necessity to end big oil reliance and emerging technologies that will help us save the planet, and those sorts of things.
I'm with you there. Still waiting for the answer to the Fermi Paradox
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You mean the Mayan Cockpockalips?
My wife was explaining that on an episode of that dumbass show "Ancient Aliens" they were discussing the Mayans creating a map of the stars and were hypothesizing that it was a "message to aliens"... I was like.. "What's the message? Here's what your sky looks like in reverse???"
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Yeah I tried watching that show once too. All I remember is that guy with the goofy hair insisting the moon's not only hollow, but actually a Death Star type of alien space station.
totally slaughters the whole subject. So do some of the internet goofballs. Best to take notice of the hundreds/thousands of high ranking, government and military observers (Generals, astronauts, CIA, Marines, nuclear missille silo operators, former heads of FAA, UK Defense Ministry, etc., etc.) giving direct statements about their observations on the subject. And duly taking notice of the uncountable artifacts of other evidence that are available for consideration, one can confidently conclude, we are not alone.
Right. It's the media preventing a massive chunk of the population from believing in alien visitation.
It couldn't possibly be that if there were aliens that visited here, their technology would be so advanced they would probably see us as cockroaches, wipe us out, and use our planet for resources then leave without thinking twice.
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We could really be utilizing wind power if not for Don Quixote lobbying against it.
I would buy the Tesla battery walls for the home, and top the crib with solar panels, but big oil has done a fine job of derailing that tech and its availability.
Selling on eBay and coaching baseball
Play baseball according to the rules of the 1860's. Might have seen Chris Rock recently poke fun at it, but it is a fun way to play the game and crate a "Living History" show for spectators. Been playing for six years, entering the third season with a club I started in W. Michigan.
if you've played against the House of David club. They've been playing 'vintage baseball' for a couple decades or more; I've watched a few of their games.
We did two years ago. Wasn't able to work out a date last year or this one. They're a pretty busy club and get a lot of requests for games, but we've discussed making something work next season. Really nice group of guys though and they have a nice home field.
I love cooking authentic BBQ. Ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken. I have 6 different smokers. All my sauces and rubs are made in house.
I'm looking forward to making my golf course tailgate debut later this year. I'll be serving smoked sausage and chicken for whoever wants some.
Same here. TBH, and this may seem weird, but I enjoy the art of smoking a lot more than I actually enjoy eating the food I make with it.
I have two smokers. Both are the cheap side fire box ones from Lowes but they do a very nice job. I cut trees out of fence rows for local farmers to get the wood I need and want. Then haul it and split it by hand. I have a shed to store the wood while it dries.
My favorite is brisket, but I also do the thanksgiving turkey on a smoker. Ribs, chicken, sausage, mac&cheez and almost anything else goes on the smoker when I fire it up.
My interests are diverse, but at the moment I am really into storytelling podcasts. Loved Serial.. Listening to old episodes of Snap Judgment lately. I dig the commercial free format and I like to stimulate my brain on my commute.
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Try This American Life, Start Up, and The Moth as well (if you haven't already).
I've been playing them since I was 5, and I collect retro games/consoles, play current gen games/consoles, and I even write for the gaming section of a website. I also frequent Pinball Pete's in Ann Arbor to get some old-school pinball and cabinet action (Galaga is my personal fav cabinet, with Addam's Family Pinball being the best pinball game ever made).
Women.
Rhonda Jones
I've got straight up food addiction. I don't go more than an hour without eating something unless I'm asleep.
Aviation and air shows. Been going to them all my life and they're also the reason why I got into photography (I shoot for the site that's in my signature). Just went to the Quad City Air Show this weekend in Davenport.
Quad City air show is great. Not that I've been to others but I can't imagine shows getting that much better. I'm from the area so I've gone many times! My mom gets the treat of watching them practice during the week leading up as they live just North of the airport.
Quad City air show is great. Not that I've been to others but I can't imagine shows getting that much better. I'm from the area so I've gone many times! My mom gets the treat of watching them practice during the week leading up as they live just North of the airport.
Golf, I really love to play golf.
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About 5 years ago I decided that I loved playing it way too much to suck at it and started getting serious about it. Since that time I have gone from essentially a hacker to around an 8 handicap by sheer work. I work at it in the summer like it is a second job.
Can't get enough of it.
I have been a 6.5-7.5 the last five years, it is really hard to shave strokes off my game now. But I love to hate it.
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My dad had a golf club in my hand the day I could walk. I play every day possible. Going through high school when I had all of the time in the world with no worries, I was a scratch golfer. Then college came along and my practice time went down considerably and my handicap got up to about 8. This is my first summer really getting back to it and practicing hard. I plan on getting my handicap back under 5 by the end of the summer. But we'll see. Beer is far too enjoyable most of the time to make it possible for me to shoot that low. Priorities
I was a scratch too until I discovered beer. Now I just aim for the one in the middle
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Women. I have a serious problem.
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nevermind
I coach softball. The most dedicated thing that I do is work hard at helping my players pursue their goals in the sport, and most of them want to play in college. That's what I push for. I want them to succeed.
I also love Olympic lifting. Right now I'm trying to drop a weight class so I can lift in the 69 kilo class. After college I let myself go quite a bit and I've had to work really hard to get back into shape. The most dedicated thing I do in this is eat right. I want a cheeseburger so bad, but I'll eat the salad instead.
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Music. I love listening to and analyzing music.
I'm not all that diverse in my interests and tend to be a billboard listener, but I constantly have songs playing in my head. I also really enjoy listening to songs over and over again and paying attention to the lyrics and what they actually mean (ex. We Are Young being about domestic violence).
I feel the same way about music. I know I've offended some people by saying that music is my religion. It's not just the song as a whole, or the lyrics, it is the tiny little components of a song I obsess over. The way the guitar sounds, or a certain snare sound. I just LOVE the sound or Wurlitzers, Fender Rhodes, and Moogs.
I would like to get my hands on some dj equipment soon. I've had a passion for that for many years. Not that lame, techno push button shit. I wish that I could've went around with my grandpa while he was still alive so I could learn the ropes from him.
I am a professional game programmer.
I quit my job as a chemical engineer after playing civ2 and a few other games and got my computer science degree.
Absolutely passionate about it. Playing as well as developing. I put a seriously depressing number of hours into ever quest and while I can't play like I did when I was young, I still make the time.
I have two giant bookcases in my cave filled with hundreds of pc games. Many are still in the shrink wrap as I have only so much play time.
I also can't function without playing basketball in the driveway several hours per week. I'd play every day but the achilles isn't as young as I'd like.
Sadly it's the Cleveland Browns & Cavaliers.
I honestly wish it was something more honorable like herion addiction or anything less stupid than that.
I suppose traveling, but I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with it. I just have lots of opportunities, and I'm definitely not rich. I'd guess I make considerably less than a large majority of the board, not counting students. I'll try to make a list of countries I've been to: Canada, Peru, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Some of those I've been to multiple times. I left out a couple that I don't think should count because I was there for such a short time. I plan on going to China and Mongolia this summer, and eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania) in the winter.
Place I'd most like to visit: Iran. Small sample size but literally everyone I've talked to who's been there said it was the best. So much history and culture and the most welcoming people in the world. Problem is Americans have to be on a guided tour at all times, and that's the least interesting and most expensive way to travel. But, I have heard it can really depend on your guide. Some are willing to give you more freedom to wander away for some time.
Golf.... not even close
I'm training for a 50k trail ultra. I'm pretty obsessed right now with training and nutrition because - a)I already paid the $100 registration fee and b) I told a bunch of people that I'm doing it. I've never ran anywhere close to this far before.