Oppo, What Weird Things Are You An Expert On?

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/14/2016 at 19:29 • Filed to: KNOWLEDGE OPPO

After fighting my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! waaaaaaay too much to get a x64 system installed, not only did I claim victory, but installing windows 10 was such a breeze. As one of my finishing touches to finishing a computer install, I add a neat wallpaper. For my “Macindows”, I chose this lovely beauty: The EMD F59PH that was recently acquired by Chicago’s Metropolitan Rail (Metra).

CHOO CHOO MOTHERFUCKER

I have a crazy attachment to trains, cars, ships, and planes. Like seriously, just as much as I can tell you anything about smarts, I also know an incredible amount of history about the Antonov An-225 and even the near complete history of the RTA and Metra.

This got me thinking, what are Oppo’s interesting hobbies? I mean like, what things do you really know and love that most people tend not to? Are you really awesome at knitting? Underwater welding? :D

Bonus: x64 on x64! Finally!

DISCUSSION (65)

. . > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:37

I used to be really into WW2 planes back in middle school, I still have all the cool books I got back then.

Other than that in terms of things I know that many people don’t... hmmmm... I know what’s under my bed I guess? And what’s on the 2nd shelf above my desk? :D

TheHondaBro > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:40

Kinja'd!!!

Mercedes Streeter > TheHondaBro
04/14/2016 at 19:45

Is that Guilty Spark from Halo? :D But I LOVE spaaaaaaaaaace! Especially the Voyager Program. :)

Textured Soy Protein > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:45

I’m really good at quickly assembling pretty meals late at night when I come home from the gym .

interstate366, now In The Industry > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:46

Other than the Honda Prelude, I’m pretty knowledgeable at the history of roads and route numbers in Virginia and the history of businesses in my city in my lifetime.

El Rivinado > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:46

I’d say that guns are my weird thing, but considering that other Opponauts on here are gun enthusiasts, its not that weird. However, I always like learning new things about behind the scenes productions of TV shows, Movies, and Video games. The amount of times I’ve wasted on TvTropes in the trivia section looking up stuff under Troubled Production is crazy.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:48

It’s from Portal, a game you should play immediately on your Macindows machine.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:49

Basically everything about WW2 is fascinating to me. If I had the time and money I’d read all interesting books about the huge topic. Politics, technical aspects and so on.

Nibby > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:49

I’ve sold 3 Pentium II/III machines in the past month... all for over $100

TheHondaBro > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:49

It isn’t, but now that you mentioned it...

Kinja'd!!!

They do look a lot alike.

(I’m also a big Halo expert. I can tell you that the monitors’ front fascia is the Forerunner symbol for Reclaimer, which was Human. The monitors were originally Human beings.)

TheJWT > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:50

Despite how terrible it is, I know quite a bit about the NYC Subway. Not sure why but it’s always fascinated me.

thebigbossyboss > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:50

I am an expert on the now defunct (in a small part thanks to my work) Canadian Long Gun Registry.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:50

Sports, random trivia, video games, simple tech related things, i could probably tell you every good place to eat in north jersey/manhattan/brooklyn too.

Mercedes Streeter > Nibby
04/14/2016 at 19:51

Waaaaaaa? How!?!? :D

Mercedes Streeter > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/14/2016 at 19:52

But but, not about Honda Integras? :(

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:53

Well i saw “weird” things and being an expert on a car on a car blog doesn’t count imo.

Birddog > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:53

My uncle worked for EMD for 35 years in Countryside. I got a lot of exposure to Locos behind the scenes when I was a kid.

My oddball expertise pretty much majors in 3 wheelers from 1970-87 and minors in vintage dirt bikes like Maico, Bultaco, CZ and such.

f86sabre > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:57

Not a hobby, but some people consider me an expert on the repair of commercial aircraft. They ask me to speak at conferences occasionally. I will be talking in front of about 300-500 people in a week. It makes me chuckle.

Like most guys from my generation I know more about Star Wars than is healthy.

Since we race it in the 24 Hours of LeMons I now know way more about the 1991 Ford Escort than I would like.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:58

Probably WW2 era tanks/weaponry. I’ve just always loved the different tanks and how they compare with each other.

BloodlessWeevil > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 19:58

Not a hobby, but I am an expert on automotive emissions and related diagnostics/regulations. In another life I was an architectural draftsman, weird zoning laws were par for the course.

I’m also a motorcycle riding, gun toting hillbilly... those are definitely hobbies, no one is willing to pay me for that kind of stuff.

RoadsterRevolution(wants a Range Rover Classic) > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:04

Real estate, real estate statistics, economics.

RoadsterRevolution(wants a Range Rover Classic) > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:11

I also collect books, my house is half library, and I study philosophy.

twochevrons > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:13

I love accumulating ‘useless’ information, and tend to obsess over my interests to the point of ending up with abnormal levels of expertise in weird things. To name a few:

Carburettors and mechanical fuel injection systems, especially those used in British cars.

Vintage Bang and Olufsen hifi equipment (no way I can afford the modern stuff, and even the vintage stuff is spendy unless you do what I did and fix up broken ones).

The wonderfully weird computers made by Acorn in the ‘80s and ‘90s. You may not have heard of them, but they were the A in the ARM processor that’s almost certainly in your mobile phone.

Really old computer hardware and software. I own a copy of the programmer’s manual for the 1949 EDSAC, and have written programs for it (although only really simple ones; the instruction set could only be described as perverse).

The history of technology and industry, and their interaction with labour relations and social change. I actually minored in this field, with a couple of truly inspirational professors, and was very close to going to graduate school for it.

Cold War era civil defense programs and structures; CONELRAD, the incredibly chilling Protect and Survive PSAs, continuity-of-government plans, fallout shelters, early-warning systems, that kind of thing. It’s kind of ruined the Fallout series of games for me, not because they’re inaccurate, but because much of it is so close to what did or could have happened.

Chariotoflove > Nibby
04/14/2016 at 20:15

Shame on you.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:16

Well, my first degree is in physical anthropology so I know a lot about hominid evolution, physiology, culture etc. I know about Datsuns too. I did targeting intelligence in the military/DIA so I can do that, which is fairly unusual.

Chariotoflove > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:16

I’m made guacamole last year, and saved the pits. I’ve been nursing two young avocado trees ever since. They’re getting big. Someone tried to buy one off me, but I ain’t sellin’

Mercedes Streeter > twochevrons
04/14/2016 at 20:17

HOLY LEVELS OF AWESOME!!! Tell me more about the Acorns! :D

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:19

Tandy computers. Obscure shit about 2000 Buick LeSabres. Used to be super into trains, but all we have around here are SD40/SD40-2s and Dash 9s, which is super lame. Still have Microsoft Train Simulator with approximately four billion mods kicking around on one of my old 80GB hard drives I had in my XP Pentium III box. Good times...

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nibby
04/14/2016 at 20:19

Why would you rip off those poor people? XD

Nibby > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
04/14/2016 at 20:21

Go on eBay and look how much these things are going for.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nibby
04/14/2016 at 20:22

Y THO.

WHY.

THOUGH.

GOD DAMN IT I HAD LIKE EIGHT OF THOSE FUCKERS SITTING AROUND.

Nibby > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:23

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-GX1-D…

Not mine, but you get the idea.

Nibby > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
04/14/2016 at 20:27

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-GX1-D…

twochevrons > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:34

Well, for a start, their hardware designs displayed levels of genius on a par with Steve Wozniak’s work on the Apple II. Lots of clever tricks to get more out of less. The story that I like the most was about how when they got the very first prototype ARM processor back from the fab, they hooked it up, and it worked perfectly the first time, but wasn’t drawing any current from the power supply. Turned out that the motherboard was faulty, and wasn’t supplying power to the processor, but it was still happily running on leakage from the logic circuits connected to it! Also, the person responsible for all that, Sophie Wilson, is a trans woman, a fact that is treated with a wonderfully matter-of-fact “why would that bother anybody?” attitude by those in the know.

Acorn built the iconic BBC Model B computer, which was ubiquitous in UK and New Zealand schools in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, kind of like the Apple II in the US. The version of BASIC that Acorn used (also designed by Wilson) was miles ahead of any other version of BASIC, offering proper function calls, a well-optimised math library, easy access to the hardware, and other niceties that made it actually quite pleasant to use.

Finally, their later ARM-based systems were blisteringly quick (for the time, at least), and ran a rather unique OS called RISC OS, that while very reminiscent of the early Mac OS, was exceptionally friendly to power users, offered real multitasking, and generally had a lot going for it, although its UI was eccentric to say the least. One of the coolest things about it, though, is that it has a ridiculously well documented and easy to use ABI, and it’s actually pretty trivial to write GUI applications in pure assembly.

If you’re curious, you can actually run RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi. It’s definitely an acquired taste, and you’ve got to keep in mind that it hasn’t seen any real development since Acorn folded in the mid ‘90s, but it was a wonderful trip down memory lane to boot my Pi into the OS that pretty much defined my first experiences with computers.

Nibbles > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:36

I’m an expert at smoking. I can smoke any meat. Actually I’m just a good all around cook but I lurve me some smoke. People come from hundreds of miles away (literally) for my smoked burgers.

I can identify, and provide random trivia about, nearly every vehicle on American roads.

I’m also apparently a PowerShell expert. I’ve impressed my superiors to the point of being given an engineer title and being fast-tracked toward architect. I taught myself on my spare time as a hobby :)

For a “hobby” I guess, I do crosswords. Four or five a day on average.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:39

“Expert” might be a stretch on this one, but i have been doing full tear-down rebuilds of bicycles (1965-onward) since I was 13, so 21 years. I keep my need for tinkering going by working on neighbor’s and friend’s bikes all for the cost of parts. I may charge beer for labor if it’s a really nasty job, like getting a bike that has been behind a shed for 12 years back in working order. I’m pretty proud of my work most of the time, but I’m especially pleased with the work I did on the “his and hers” set of vintage Schwinn Suburbans for my In-laws.

Kinja'd!!!

It’s a one-year color (1976) of Chestnut. They still have the decals from the bike shop that sold them, I was very careful to make sure that stayed with them. Prior to cleaning:

Kinja'd!!!

twochevrons > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:41

Also, there was a rather wonderful TV drama a couple of years ago covering the story of the BBC Microcomputer Project, and the conflict between Acorn (who eventually won the contract) and Sinclair, who were the other giant of pre-Wintel British computing. Well worth a watch, even if just for the fact that it has Martin Freeman in it, before he really got famous.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 20:53

I know way too much about a vast number of subjects that I have no damned reason to know. I took a class on IPC level soldering and the guy kept going “I’ve never seen this done.” And I just kept going “I have, and I did it more than once."

Birddog > PotbellyJoe and 42 others
04/14/2016 at 20:59

Damn! My parents had those exact bikes when I was a kid! They just tossed them to the curb in the early 80s.

Vintage Schwinns are awesome.

Birddog > Nibbles
04/14/2016 at 21:02

Everybody that Smokes considers themselves an expert on Smoking.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 21:17

I do some Lego stuff. Other than that, not much.

Nibbles > Birddog
04/14/2016 at 21:22

I’m not that guy who throws chips in a box and propane-smokes. I’m not the guy who indirects in his hibachi (though that’s how I started so many years ago)

I’m the guy that prepares days in advance and will start at 2:00 AM to get the perfect smoke. My food has been awarded and I’m not joking about people crossing state lines for a burger. Also, Nibbles Recommends - Thanksgiving Edition

Birddog > Nibbles
04/14/2016 at 21:32

I’m liking Nibbles! My Brisket usually involves a 2am start and a week is a good amount of prep time. I haven’t been awarded yet but I’ve had people drive from Chicago to Davenport for pulled pork and ribs, I promise they weren’t coming for my sunny personality. I just finished restoring a seriously abused Char Griller smoker but haven’t broken it in yet. I have actually cut down the trees I needed for smoking wood.

We may need a BBQlopnik this summer.

Nibbles > Birddog
04/14/2016 at 21:36

CharGrillers are great smokers. My wife got me a new smoker this Christmas (not a CharGriller) and I have held my tongue each time it’s brought up because it pales in comparison to my old heap. Maybe its kinda like old cars, nostalgia and whatnot, but that heap of cast outperforms this newfangled technology all day.

If you’re ever out Denver way, hit me up. I’ll make you some grub :)

By the way, ever smoked lobster tail? HO LEE SHIT.

GE90man > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 21:37

airplanes, hence my username GE90

soccer cleats

smartphones- sort of

cars (obviously)

I'm sure there's more, can't think of any now

In a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than you > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 22:18

PLANES

CARS

POLITICS

COMPUTER SPECS

(How high is

Birddog > Nibbles
04/14/2016 at 22:23

This CG I have history with.

Short story. I bought it new and used the heck out of it. Literally brought the neighborhood together. Got divorced and had to liquidate so I gave it to a close friend that just got married. Friend used it as a fire pit for 8 years.. Friend passed away. Widow contacts me and asks if I want it back. Yes. It took an hour to chisel out all of the ash. It survived though! Thankfully CG still makes replacement parts!

I have a resume in with an HVAC company in Denver oddly. If I make it out there I’ll look you up! If you find yourself in the Chicago area same deal is open!

wafflesnfalafel > Mercedes Streeter
04/14/2016 at 22:25

nice pic of that F59 - interesting it has the different, “chunkier” cab. We have F59s with the roundier cabs on the Amtrak Cascades out here and unpowered rebuilt F40's on the back as control units.

smobgirl > Nibbles
04/14/2016 at 22:29

I nominate your place for a Denver Oppo gathering!

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > thebigbossyboss
04/14/2016 at 22:32

I hated that with a fury.

smobgirl > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/14/2016 at 22:33

Did you ever do anything with forensic anthro? I always found it fascinating and took a couple classes but a med school bill with an anthropology paycheck seemed like a bad idea.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Birddog
04/14/2016 at 22:45

And getting expensive. I was offered $800 for the pair when I was done. I declined, but the guy was ready to spend.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > smobgirl
04/14/2016 at 22:53

I did take the intro class from guy the FBI etc.. calls when they find a car or plane that wasn’t discovered for a bit..... I am much more comfortable with the ones that have been dead for much much much longer! His binders of photos are not for the faint.

smobgirl > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/14/2016 at 23:03

Definitely. It's a little easier for me to stomach dead people than people who are living but look like they shouldn't be, though. The science is so fascinating...but yes, not for the faint at all.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > smobgirl
04/14/2016 at 23:07

I mean like a car that ran off the road into the forest, nobody found it for like two weeks. Animals chewed on the family.... I was in the Marine Corps later, I got used to a lot, but in college that was pretty bad.

Nibbles > smobgirl
04/14/2016 at 23:09

I’d love to; I’ve considered it before. We’re tearing apart the landscape this spring/summer though - new driveway (and possible garage), redoing both front and back yards. Dunno if we’ll be in a position to host this year :\

Birddog > PotbellyJoe and 42 others
04/14/2016 at 23:11

Jeez. That makes me want to troll CL for bikes now. I can only handle one vice at a time!

smobgirl > Nibbles
04/14/2016 at 23:20

Sounds like my place, except with my poor planning those tasks will end up taking years.

smobgirl > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/14/2016 at 23:23

Fair enough. Actually military injuries are what I was thinking of when referring to people who shouldn’t still be alive. I couldn’t deal with that sort of trauma as a doctor or medic - even the thought of it makes me ill.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Birddog
04/14/2016 at 23:30

Here’s the breakdown. A “mint” one despite paint damage:

http://cnj.craigslist.org/bik/5498294749…

Or a pair that needs work:

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/bik/5482434267…

Keep in mind the pairs sell for a ton if they match and are clean.

But it’s listings like this one that make you a ton of money, if you know the right buyers, also the 1979 should have the front-freewheel on them which is a pain in the ass, but there’s novelty to it:

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/bik/5487239711…

Birddog > PotbellyJoe and 42 others
04/14/2016 at 23:48

Holy shnit!

I’m going to search for one of my first bikes.. I’d love to find an original Predator or Scrambler. I bet it ends in tears.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > smobgirl
04/14/2016 at 23:49

Yeah it takes getting used to, most everyone looses their lunch a few times. Unfortunately horrible things are par for the course. They send Recon in and shit is going to get ugly.

Flyboy is FAA certified insane > Mercedes Streeter
04/15/2016 at 00:24

I was that kid, too. I could tell you anything you wanted to know about how the fuel injection worked on a 300SL but I’d fail my humanities assignments. Actually, I still do.

I would consider myslef an expert on remote control vehicles. Like, all of them.

Kinja'd!!!

That 3.3cc (yes, CC) makes 1.5HP at 35,000 rpm.

thebigbossyboss > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
04/15/2016 at 12:34

Hope you marked your electoral ballots accordingly. There was only one party that consistently stood up to the registry and eventually, got rid of it.

Danger > Mercedes Streeter
04/15/2016 at 14:53

Industrial Ultrasound technology. Specifically using Ultrasonic Guided Waves to inspect piping. One of 30 people in the world doing it. Didn’t even know it existed, now I’m immersed in it. It literally relates to almost nothing else in my life haha.