Ask Lemmy

I am a computational chemist and biochemist. Ive been an insurance agent and worked in IT at the DOD, I am a masters Starcraft 2 player, Minecraft mod pack creator and Mod dev. Aside from English, there are 4 other languages that I understand well enough to be conversational. I have had some of my art featured in a museum. I am a mathemagician. I have tutored thousands of students in Math, chemistry, biology and physics. I built a spreadsheet that tracked 30+ parameters of 600+ foods that I used to help my mother with her kidney disease and me with diabetes. Her kidney disease has been stable for 5+ years and I dropped over 80 pounds in a year.

Take your pick.

So many things. Japan. Star Trek. 90's cartoons. Computers. Those are just a few.

I think I'm a general shop nerd. I like making things for myself from scratch. You'll find me in the kitchen, you'll find me in the wood shop. I own and operate a 3D printer I built. I suppose it fits a shut-in like myself.

Linux, custom vape mods, water cooling

Warhammer 40k

Baseball - its' history, I can go off on teams and players from a century ago.

Music - rock of nearly all genres, electronic, soul, jazz, blues, some classical and contemporary.

Cinema - I used to screen films for a local cultural center, everything from gritty psychedelic British crime thrillers like Performance to French new wave gems like Pickpocket, from classic Hindu cinema like Pather Panchali to twisted Japanese horror like Suicide Club, and anything in between.

Cosmology and Physics - a lifelong passion, I have some astronomer friends (there's an institute in my city) and can hold my own in conversation with them. Lately I've been getting a handle on things like Lorentz Transformations and Bell's Inequality Experiment (aka Quantum Entanglement).

Painting - the history of the medium, and although I prefer Modern Art, starting in the mid-19th century onwards, I can now navigate and appreciate the styles that have appeared through the centuries, say the differences between Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo.

EDIT: How did I forget Science Fiction?
I've read all of Isaac Asimov's stories on Foundation and the Galactic Empire, including some of the more obscure ones like "The Stars, Like Dust", "The Currents Of Space" and "Pebble In The Sky". Also, many of his standalone stories, such as "Nightfall" and "The Gods Themselves".
Hands down, Asimov is my favorite Sci Fi author, and I love the original "Foundation" trilogy like no other.

The first four books of Frank Herbert's "Dune" saga.
A whole bunch of Harlan Ellison's short stories.
Several of Philip K Dick's novels.
Throw some JG Ballard and William Gibson in there, for good measure.

Startrek

Absolutely random, useless trivia.

Honestly, I'm kinda afraid to think about it. There's a nonzero chance I have no in-depth nerdery. Aside from introspection, I'm not sure there's anything I really can consider myself knowledgable about. At least more than anyone who takes a cursory interest in anything.

Among other things I have gone a little overboard on: DIY electronics, robotics; jeep SJs (former), fountain pens and ink, watches, typewriters, vintage audio and media, rc cars and planes, four wheeling, firearms, espresso, photography, gardening. I have other hobbies I'm less nerdy about.

Web development; Rocket League; badminton; skateboarding; music; space, science and physics and stuff. Later in life, history. Well maybe not a nerd of history, just find it super fascinating. Also lately, Star Wars.

I have a Star Wars room in my house. I’ve been collecting since I was a kid, though not really collecting on purpose until I was older.

I still have lots of stuff from then and I read a lot of books regarding the history and politics of Star Wars (pre-Disney era).

Disregarding the toxicity that has become of the fanbase, I find it incredibly fascinating and scary how democracies turn into dictatorships.

I would probably say that I'm a nerd about animation. I love to see animated movies and see how they are made, be it 2D, 3D or stop motion. I also like to watch some lesser known movies. Some of my favorites are 9, Jack and the Cuckoo-clock heart and Mune: Guardian of the moon.

Paramotoring and Home Assistant consume much of my free time

Birds, photography and running

Firearms history and engineering. Interestingly the American companies Remington and New England Westing House made Russian contract Mosin Nagants rifles for military service with the tsarist Russian army.

Which is facially kind of odd when Russia and America have been at each other's throats for most of living memory.

Mead. It's such a simple recipe: Honey, water, yeast. Thats all you need to make a basic mead. Its so easy. Once you start researching more though, good lord. Ph balances, Sparkeloid v. Bentonite, fruit addition before, during, or after fermentation, Primary fermentation, secondary, racking. Don't even get me started on the chemical additives for stabilization, and sanitation. My kitchen becomes sterile operating room every time I do a brew. I've also got this dope refractometer that makes me feel like a goddamn scientist every time I use it.

Music and especially everything audiophile related. I got so many CDs at home, all ripped to .flac, and all of it is on my android Sony Walkman that I carry with me 24/7. Nothing beats listening to your favorite album through a pair of 1000$ earbuds while laying in bed, working or taking the bus.

I’m a software engineer who, for whatever reason, has trouble getting into sci fi and fantasy. I geek out about physics and history and my colleagues have frequently tried to get me into sci fi and fantasy things but unless it’s like Asimov or Vonnegut level, I get bored.

With history, I love non-military history. I will read anything about how normal people (or oppressed people) lived during times of peace but I find military history a little boring unless it’s really a turning point.

With physics, I’m very into cosmology and particle physics (to the point where I have fridge magnets of the standard model particles and a pillow with the CMB on it) but the practical side isn’t my thing. I would be a terrible civil engineer.

The Harmonized Tariff System that helps standardize international trade and Customs. It’s part of my job, but I kind of love it and get really into the Explanatory Notes and CROSS rulings.

If we’re talking fun stuff, Star Trek starship classes.