What are your hobbies/talents?

[Master Obit 527]

We're a fairly unusual bunch of people here, and there are a lot of genuinely fantastic people within. We don't seem to have a topic that really celebrates this, so I decided to make one that encapsulates our quirks.

 

Give your interesting hobbies and talents here. Lets get some discussion going.

 

Personally, I'm a bit of a sucker for things I can collect. Coins and banknotes have always been my first love, but I also have some rather more quirky collections, including:

- Official congratulations sent out by the monarch for birthdays/wedding anniversaries (links rather well with my research, my pride being a letter sent in 1932 to a lady turning 100)

- Antique registration certificates (predominantly death certificates) - my main fascination here being the beautiful cursive writing of registrars and the glimpse in to medical history that they offer

 

I guess my most unusual talent, if you can call it that, is that I can recognise a British coin, and the possible years of mintage, from the sound it makes when dropped on the ground. I've not actively practised this, but a lifetime of obsessing over coins means I can recognise their distinct sounds as a result of their metal compositions. I can also perform difficult calculations mentally, which I ascribe to autism (in fact, I guess you could ascribe all of the above to that...)

[Genfærd 432]

Very fascinating. Coin collecting is very interesting and your collection could be valueable in the future.

 

Sadly, I have no talents - I am actually terrible or mediocre at best, at what I do.

 

But I do like to study history, especially Mesoamerican region and ancient civilizations, which makes it very lucky that I am a history teacher and actually earn money based on my hobby.

 

 

[TQR 13,433]

I have perfect pitch. Can’t play any instruments though (other than drums).

 

I also have a racing license (ARDS Nat B level). I’ve done plenty of track days but only one actual competitive race.

 

I’m basically a master of wasting any talents I do have.

[Master Obit 527]

2 hours ago, TQR said:

I also have a racing license (ARDS Nat B level). I’ve done plenty of track days but only one actual competitive race.

This is interesting, exactly the content we want. I've no especial interest in watching very fast traffic, but I love when people actually pursue interests to this level. Looking up what this qualification is, it looks like a serious amount of work goes in to it!

[Charles De Gaulle 448]

I read a lot of leftist literature. Noam Chomsky, Mark Fisher and David Greabar are my favourites. I am a registered member of the socialist party in my country. 

 

I am quite included in the rave scene in my city. 

 

I am obsessed with international diplomacy and  different countries. I just find it all very interesting. My top ten countries are Ireland, Greece, Iran, Turkey, Algeria, Thailand, Brazil, USA, South Korea and Italy. Need to get around to visiting them some days.

 

I'm also a very amateur poetry writer and I have written a couple songs. None of which I'll share. Lots of them would center on battling depression. It started off as something my therapist recommended to help me connect with my emotions. Being doing that alot over the past year or so. 

[ladyfiona 2,267]

As someone who may be autistic and waiting for diagnosis I can get easily obsessed about certain things and this includes trying to perfect my skills.

 

Computer skills

 

My dad was work from home database software manager until retiring recently (or trying to). This means i've been surrounded by computers in the house since I was a child in the 90's (until I went to secondary school I thought everyone had 2-3 desktop computers in the house). He has made sure I have learnt how to touch type from a young age. I can't tell you word per minute, but I can type something without seeing the keyboard. It also means that I know basic coding.

 

I did an IT course at local college as well, but i'm not academic so it was a bit of a struggle.

 

Computer graphic design

 

Since a teenager in the early 00's where I joined forums I have loved making graphics, either for other people or for myself. I've taken a break for the moment because the software I loved doesn't work with this computer now and i'm refusing to buy Photoshop. I am learning how to use Photopea though.

 

Photography

 

I really want to get into photography but so much choice and cameras are expensive. I don't want to be a photographer with a phone though despite what my dad says.

 

Creative writing

 

I have a big creative mind and have written fanfic and original content. Also I roleplay on Tumblr and can easily write 8 paragraphs of a biography of a character in third person in half an hour. The issue with some of my creative works though is finishing or trying to write the middle section. I also can come up with 50 ideas in space of a week which is frustrating.

 

This is my creative writing folder on my computer

 

Spoiler

 

Under TV shows

 

 

 

Knowledge of useless facts

 

I wouldn't say it's useless. But instead of trying to...study for my GCSE's so I could get a good mark. I would learn things about history of Sci Fi or the Roman Empire etc. Who needs to know about percentages when I can research the history of Lord of the Rings. My knowledge of The Beatles is excellent.

 

I didn't want to know at school but I am really into Tudor history now. I like to watch any TV show which involves Henry VIII.

 

Other

 

I used to be quite good at Tennis as a child and even had private tennis lessons. Then for reasons which I guess was Autism not wanting to do it anymore. I stopped and went on to something else. I am still obsessed over the sport though.

 

I'm also a bit of a hoarder of things. So I get sentimental about objects and because there has been mentions of coin collecting on the forum recently. I now want to coin collect more. Things like that.

 

 

[Clorox Bleachman 2,172]

When I said the other week that I don't have hobbies, that wasn't entirely true. I don't have hobbies that are easy to explain.

 

I have thousands of War and Peace-length notes on my phone, because I'm allergic to PCs and spreadsheets. Geography, music, language, cars, the property market, deadpooling, everything.

 

In 2020 I bought a big map of Glasgow and decided to walk all 5,000 streets within the city boundaries, marking my progress with coloured pens. I completed it in late 2023 without being stabbed or even mildly threatened. I'm looking for the next adventure because it was great fun and I'm bored now.

 

I'm the owner of a Casio CTK-6200 keyboard and 3 acoustic guitars which I never play. The oldest guitar is 95 years old and made by Telesforo Julve in Valencia. The previous owner, recently deceased, was a member of a travelling band during WWII. He gave me it for free when I was his paperboy. I was told it's beyond repair so I'm holding onto it until it disintegrates or summat.

 

I'm really good at Mario Kart Wii but I developed an addiction so I had to stop gaming altogether.

 

Identifying songs quickly is my hidden talent. I keep applying for The Hit List because I'm convinced I'd wipe the floor with the competition.

[TQR 13,433]

Interesting thread so far, this!

 

I get the impression lots of us do a bit of writing here and there.

[ladyfiona 2,267]

31 minutes ago, Clorox Bleachman said:

In 2020 I bought a big map of Glasgow and decided to walk all 5,000 streets within the city boundaries, marking my progress with coloured pens. I completed it in late 2023 without being stabbed or even mildly threatened. I'm looking for the next adventure because it was great fun and I'm bored now.

 

This is screaming someothing GeoWizard would do. Ever thought about doing straight line missions?

[Clorox Bleachman 2,172]

20 minutes ago, ladyfiona said:

This is screaming someothing GeoWizard would do. Ever thought about doing straight line missions?

I've seen those videos! I enjoy hiking but those straight line walks don't look like fun. I'm a townie and feel most comfortable powerwalking around interwar housing schemes, as opposed to climbing over farmers' fences and being asked "can I help you?". I'm still trying to think of the next challenge, and ways of documenting it for the internet potentially.

[Death Impends 7,609]

My chief parlor trick for nearly 20 years now (and reflected by my DDP team name) is being able to name all the US presidents chronologically in under a minute

 

Learned functional Spanish for a job in an area with a large Spanish-speaking populace, tbh I still struggle with listening to others in Spanish and reading is far easier. Even though my current job doesn't need Spanish I refuse to let it rust, so I'll do a little practice each day.

 

I've been trying to expand my skills/knowledge in recent months actually. In school the grades system ultimately made me care about getting good grades rather than learning. And sadly not uncommon when trans/autistic, I had been in a personal stasis for a long time. I've only truly felt I was living in these past 2-3 years and I'm making up for lost time by kicking the living into overdrive. There's been to-dos I've had in mind (I want to learn the keyboard, though making room for one in my apartment is a puzzle), one of my big escapades in recent months is memorizing the countries, capitals, flags, where they're located, etc, and I've made major leaps and bounds in a short period of time.

 

I'm now irked that I didn't have this newfound knowledge when the ex leader of Tanzania died on leap day, as I so would've used "Dead as a Dodoma" as his DDP pun.

[The Immortal 575]

I'm no Einstein or Mozart. All my hobbies and talents are unusual or strange.

 

I can name every Formula 1 Champion in reverse order.

 

I have a surprising amount of knowledge on wars and battles. I'm talking everything from the Battle of Bannockburn to the Battle of Dai Do.

 

And it's not just wars and battles, but all things military such as operations, aircraft, ships and equipment used in different wars by different countries,. I doubt many people know what a Chauchat is (Spoiler: It's what Jayapataka would be if he were a gun, cause most of the time something or the other doesn't work.). Also military awards, ranks and so on.

 

I can also name most people and objects sent to space.

[Master Obit 527]

10 hours ago, Clorox Bleachman said:

In 2020 I bought a big map of Glasgow and decided to walk all 5,000 streets within the city boundaries, marking my progress with coloured pens. I completed it in late 2023 without being stabbed or even mildly threatened. I'm looking for the next adventure because it was great fun and I'm bored now.

Absolutely love this! Do you have a picture of the coloured map?

[Master Obit 527]

10 hours ago, ladyfiona said:

Knowledge of useless facts

 

I wouldn't say it's useless. But instead of trying to...study for my GCSE's so I could get a good mark. I would learn things about history of Sci Fi or the Roman Empire etc. Who needs to know about percentages when I can research the history of Lord of the Rings. My knowledge of The Beatles is excellent.

 

I didn't want to know at school but I am really into Tudor history now. I like to watch any TV show which involves Henry VIII.

 

Other

 

I used to be quite good at Tennis as a child and even had private tennis lessons. Then for reasons which I guess was Autism not wanting to do it anymore. I stopped and went on to something else. I am still obsessed over the sport though.

 

I'm also a bit of a hoarder of things. So I get sentimental about objects and because there has been mentions of coin collecting on the forum recently. I now want to coin collect more. Things like that.

 

 

This could have been typed by me. I have a daily routine of learning a new fact, which I then send to a bunch of people who are similarly enchanted. Yesterday's was that United Arab Emirates alternates between vowels and consonants (the longest country name to do so by some margin). I can spend over half an hour finding the perfect fact, disregarding hundreds before I found the one I'm going to use.

 

I also had tennis lessons, and still play. I'm a fairly adept player, and have won a few medals and a really nice trophy that I proudly keep in its box (because I'm far too paranoid about it breaking!)

 

You should definitely coin collect more!!

[Master Obit 527]

8 hours ago, Death Impends said:

My chief parlor trick for nearly 20 years now (and reflected by my DDP team name) is being able to name all the US presidents chronologically in under a minute

 

I can name them all, but not in under a minute. I can also do our monarchs from 1066 and their years of reign, as well as US states, state capitals, elements of the periodic table, and a bunch of other lists. They're very useful for Pointless.

[Death Impends 7,609]

2 hours ago, Master Obit said:

I can name them all, but not in under a minute. I can also do our monarchs from 1066 and their years of reign, as well as US states, state capitals, elements of the periodic table, and a bunch of other lists. They're very useful for Pointless.

 

I'm good at states and got up to task on capitals recently, albeit a map helps massively.

 

Elements are a to-do for me. Chronologically, monarchs at the moment I can only name the last two Well, I know George VI was before Libby, but wouldn't know when his reign started. But given how common royal names all are it probably wouldn't be too tough to memorize, despite the millennium's worth of history!

[Toast 15,394]

I can make a dimple appear and disappear in my left cheek without moving any other facial feature.

[wannamaker 1,186]

38 minutes ago, Death Impends said:

Chronologically, monarchs at the moment I can only name the last two Well, I know George VI was before Libby, but wouldn't know when his reign started. But given how common royal names all are it probably wouldn't be too tough to memorize, despite the millennium's worth of history!

 

Listen to the Horrible Histories Monarchs song, that's what I used to memorize them. (Although it is not complete since it starts with William the Conqueror and ignores Lady Jane Grey).

[En Passant 3,213]

I used to be able to fly a plane. Well, I probably still can, but the licence is long expired.

 

Absolutely zero talents of any description, I can do that Spock thing with my left hand but not my right, and that's about it. Utterly unskilled in any way beyond that.

[Bentrovato 1,060]

7 minutes ago, Toast said:

I can make a dimple appear and disappear in my left cheek without moving any other facial feature.

Upper or lower cheek?

[Toast 15,394]

4 minutes ago, Bentrovato said:

Upper or lower cheek?

 

The clue is in the word "other".  I knew someone would go there.

[Bentrovato 1,060]

32 minutes ago, Toast said:

 

The clue is in the word "other".  I knew someone would go there.

Knew or wish? Sorry. Someone  somewhere   ...................

[Summer in Transylvania 1,744]

4 hours ago, Master Obit said:

I can name them all, but not in under a minute. I can also do our monarchs from 1066 and their years of reign, as well as US states, state capitals, elements of the periodic table, and a bunch of other lists. They're very useful for Pointless.

I can, from memory, list all British/English/Wessex monarchs since 802, as well as the all the French ones since 751, including dates of birth, death, and reign (to the year). I'm generally rather mediocre otherwise, though.

[Toast 15,394]

49 minutes ago, Bentrovato said:

Knew or wish? Sorry. Someone  somewhere   ...................

 

Keep digging.

[Clorox Bleachman 2,172]

5 hours ago, Master Obit said:

Absolutely love this! Do you have a picture of the coloured map?

Tap to expand. I changed pen colour every 3 months.