What are your special interests

Middle English and King Arthur.
I still need to learn well the former.
 
  • Films - Although I'm barely a notch above the average moviegoer, I do have an uncanny ability to remember directors, actors, producers, writers and composers (though that last one is easy now that every film is scored by either Clint Mansell or Hanz Zimmerman). I do run the gamut on classics, bad movies, 80's action, blaxploitation, science fiction, weird surreal shit, and more. I've long ago fallen out of love with horror, but I've still seen a lot of the classics, some of the "edge for the sake of edge" stuff, and old Japanese horror.
  • Music - I hate being that annoying stereotype who says "Oh I listen to everything", but I'd take my chances with the claim that I at least have one or two favorite artists for every genre I've come across (except maybe dubstep, but it has to be really fucking good to hold my attention for more than a minute). I went through a phase for several years where I tried to learn as many instruments as I could, but I may have stretched myself too thin to master any of them individually. My current holy grail is getting an all-silver alto sax, a good keyboard, and a top-of-the-line electronic drum kit (I've had to shelve my acoustic drums, sadly).
  • Textbooks - I love poring through old textbooks, and have managed to amass a collection large enough that I had to start storing them in a large locker in my attic. It helps that I know a handfull of people in education that can hand me off whatever they plan on throwing out. My last haul was mostly higher math stuff that goes way over my head most of the time, but I still try to flip through them.
  • Power tools - I was never really the home improvement type, but recent changes in my life forced me to learn about the kind of maintenence most people just pay someone for (replacing windows, installing toilets, sandblasting, roof repair, etc). Once I purchased a Dremel and it was over for me. Those things are like Barbies and M1 Garands: they have more accessories than any one person could possibly ever need. Now I have to keep buying bigger tool boxes just to store this stuff into. I currently have two main ones: one for general purpose tools, and another strictly for working with electronics.
  • Firearms - I don't own one, but I was raised by someone who was one of those "stock up on guns and ammo" types, and it rubbed off. I've been to ranges countless times, and I've handled most things that are legal to civilians. I've even taught people some of the more rigorous maintenance techniques (field stripping, where the oil goes, how to clear a jam, etc). I can waste an afternoon reading about manufacturing history, service records, ammo types, etc.
  • Obsolete tech - I will never understand my fascination with outdated technology, but I really love collecting and using hardware most people haven't thought about in years. ZIP, Minidisc, tape drives, Betamax, 5 inch floppy drives, those weird CD drives where you have to put the disc into an enclosure before slotting them in. I have so much, yet not enough. I could never get into vinyl though. Probably still triggered from helping a friend move and having to handle their heavy-as-fuck collection. Might get an 8-track some day.
  • Cryptology - Despite never having any use for it, I am in love with the idea of hiding data and information in plain sight. Recently I've been toying with a method found in a blog post to hide data inside of the sound of a basic pea whistle. That's the kind of boring crap I love.
  • Mythology - While I have close friends who are leagues above me when it comes to myths and legends, I still find it all fascinating. Especially rune lore and creation myths. I have an ever-growing collection of religious texts and stories of myth.
  • Conspiracy theories - I don't subscribe to any of them, but I love reading about them. Conspiracy theorists are some of my favorite types of lolcows, although it's aggravating as fuck when you run into one in real life. Still, it is wonderful the weird gymnastics people will go through to justify the random chaos of geopolitical occurrences as being concerted efforts of shadow people up to no good.
  • Role playing systems - I'm not very good at actually playing RPGs. Either that or I just keep getting grognard DMs. Either way, I still love reading player manuals and even imagining drawing up my own systems, although I don't have the kind of patience to follow through with that. I may catch the RPG bug to start playing again, but I tend to get really picky when encountering rules lawyers or people who try to roleplay my own character. Once upon a time I used to collect rulebooks, but that started getting way too expensive.
Honorable mentions: taking apart and repairing electronics, my depressingly growing video game collection, my classic literature collection, comic book character history, architecture, stationary, and audio technology (not an audiophile though). I've also recently been getting into ornithology and tailoring, although I'm currently terrible at both. I also know way too much about Warhammer 40,000 lore, WarStarDiabloCraft lore, Elder Scrolls lore, and the Metaled Gears.
No, I'm not enlightened by my own intelligence, I just have way too many hobbies.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: Grand Number of Pounds
I've been reading a lot of jeremiads lately, usually about the US education system, although the political system and youth culture also show up.
 
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