Way OT: What's your geek?
With only a few weeks left, and football news coming in still pretty slow, I'd like to start one of the last OT threads of the summer.
The Mgoblog community is a diverse, intelligent community, with lots of great interests. So my question, what is your geeky thing you are into? Can be games, books, movies, cars, historic timeframe, some collectible you are into.
Here are some of mine;
I played D&D growing up with friends and brothers. I actually highly recommend any parents with kids support this, as there is lots of story telling and character development in this gameplay. We actually were able to play some last year.
X-wing miniatures: Is a table top game with models where you simulate a dog fight between Star Wars space ships. I've recently gotten into this, and I'm currently obsessed
Reading: I've read a lot of books, but are probably not considered as nerdy or geeky as the popularity has grown. Ender's Game, X-wing series, A Song of Ice and Fire series (GoT), Harry Potter.
This can also apply to Michigan Football, as I'd consider WolverineDevotee, Mathlete, WolverineHistorian to have taken their fandom to geek status with the amount of knowledge and devotion they've made to their hobby.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
MAME is the only gaming I'm into... do you have that? Have you build a MAME cabinet?
August 13th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
I collect outdoor cooking equipment. Prefer wood and charcoal over gas. Have over 6 grills. Mostly made myself. Smoking large pieces of meat into deliciousness. Have my own smoker, this summer studying charcuterie. Smoked almost everything this summer. Also love riding my bike, camping, and any outdoor activity.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
None of that is nerdy. Awesome? Yes. Nerdy? No.
August 13th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
over 6?
sooo... 7? or 11 million?
August 13th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
9 grills that uses wood and charcoal. A reflector oven that uses charcoal. 2 smokers. I really want to build a walkin smoke house using a wood burning stove. And thinking building a grill that uses wood that you can cook a pig on, or use as a grill so that friends can cook their own steaks.
August 13th, 2015 at 10:45 AM ^
Jigsaw puzzles. I'm working on an 18000 piece one right now. Probably going to take me the rest of my life.
August 13th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
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August 13th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
I work really long hours, so I like to cook to unwind. Making fresh pasta, curing my own lox, homemade bo ssam, baking bread in the winter & pies in the summer. Candying citrus peel for Christmas stollen. It's hard to do in a tiny, NYC kitchen, but it makes me feel better after days of eating takeout.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
Michigan football/Mgoblog for me. I grew up with the Harry Potter series (I prefer the books) and Pokemon and I'm still into both as an adult. Game of Thrones is also a pretty big one in my life right now, but I have a feeling it will won't stay as long as the previous ones.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
Started with UO (think Nintendo had it?), then graduated to the actual online Ultima Online (was with Red Dragons; GM RedKiller was featured in some magazine back then for being the first to have his (our) own "player city"). This was back during the Glorious and Dread Lord days; back before pre-casting was nerfed (pre-cast explosion, equip your halberd of vanquishing, clank clank, unequip, spell resolves); when stat loss reds were exciting. Hythloth dungeon? Ugh. Name was Onslaught (forgot the name of the shard).
Then EverQuest when the main guilds all over the news were Fires of Heaven, AfterLife, and Legacy of Steel.
Dabbled with Asheron's Call after, then dove into World of Warcraft. In between played with LotR but..found my way back to World of Warcraft.
Otherwise, comic books.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
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August 13th, 2015 at 11:03 AM ^
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August 13th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
I never completely nerded out with anything, but I love the Star Wars movies, and Star Trek TOS.
I recently turned 30 and I still play video games, but the winters suck around here, am I supposed to just drink all day?
August 13th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
Lifting weights bro. Trying to abolish sleevery one curl at a time.
Also, I very much enjoy eating exotic foods/meats in particular. Who knew that Kangaroo would be so tasty?
Bulleit bourbon, if you haven't had it, you should definitely try it.
Also, any game from the Zelda series... They are all delightful.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
specifically sportscar racing...so much so, I run this website: http://nasportscar.com/
August 13th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
For a lot of things I'm mostly a dabbler and can't claim geek level knowledge but I do have a lot of interest:
I like Micro-brews and always enjoy drinking something local depending on the area I am in. Moving to Tennessee has been both good and bad here, the good is I get to discover new beers, the bad is that they aren't as good as Michigan beers and buying Michigan beer here is expensive.
I'm also starting to enjoy the craft distillery movement as I like Bourbon and my dad likes Gin and so we're both trying to find good distilleries in order to find new flavors of products. I can't go crazy with that as I don't drink much hard liquor so it's more about discovering 3 new ones a year(also known as what I can get away with buying without getting in trouble with my wife). So if anyone has any recommendations here I'm all ears.
Finally, I tend to enjoy reading more into whatever Dan Carlin highlights on Hardcore history, playing RPG's, and I read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi and have really gotten into the Urban fantasy genre like the Dresden files, rivers of London series, Felix Castor, and the Twenty Palace series. Other more Traditional fantasy authors I like are Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, and of course Martin(but I liked him before he was cool :)).
Was really into comic books and D&D in high school, but comics got too expensive(Although I had a brief renaissance with The Walking Dead, Fables, Ultimate Spiderman, and anything Star Wars by Ostrander and Duursema until each one lost narrative thrust) and my group of friends who played D&D and I have all scattered to the four winds.
August 13th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
As someone who has read basically every iteration of Spider-Man I do find myself coming back to the Ultimate version the most. The artwork and unique storytelling has captivated my inner 10 year old and it's just a fun read, much like the new 52 Flash run.
August 13th, 2015 at 5:00 PM ^
Loved the Bendis/Bagley version(Although Bagley was my favorite Spiderman artist of the early 90's even over McFarlane and Larsen). Once Immonen took over Ultimate I stopped reading as it just wasn't the same. A little bit like how Spiderman 2099 wasn't the same when Rick Leonardi left.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
I mean, who has time for any of these things, nevermind doing more than one!!
Between commuting and working, I'm out the door from 6am-8pm, not a lot of time for anything else. Once I come home, it's family time and hopefully a full night of sleep.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
Well, my time for these things is certainly not what it used to be, but I can carve it out. My commute doesn't sound as long as yours--I'm usually commuting and working from 9am-7pm. My one year old is in bed at 8:30, so it's usually after then.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
Lord of the Rings and Christian Apologetics
August 13th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
Video games - A lot of RPGs; currently replaying Witcher 3 and dabbling in Elder Scrolls Online.
Sci-Fi - Favorites include Doctor Who, Philip K. Dick novels, space horror movies like Event Horizon and Pandorum
Grant Morrison comic books - Will read anything he puts out, usually waiting for collected editions though; used to read a lot more comic books but not so much anymore.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
Have a collection of ~2000 Science Fiction / Fantasy books - mostly hardcover. Have not read all of them yet, but making progress. Original Dune series is my favorite. Currently reading the first 15 Oz books to my six year old son at bedtime every night. On Book # 13 right now - The Magic of Oz.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
Huge star wars, marvel fan.
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August 13th, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
Doc, I have never seen one episode of Game of Thrones, but would be interested in the books. How do the books compare to the tv series? Definitely have some interest in picking them up.
August 13th, 2015 at 1:53 PM ^
I think the consensus is that the books offer a much broader view of the GOT universe. Much (much, much, much) more detail with a much larger cast in the books than in the TV show. I think the TV show has done a good job of taking the best story lines and scenes, however, much of the detail is missing from what the books convey...it's a limitation of the medium (10 x 1 hours shows).
August 13th, 2015 at 4:51 PM ^
and this week got 3 months of HBO which includes HBO Go. I plan to watch the series in those 3 months hopefully. I'm looking forward to it. I'm suprised how quickly I got through all the books. I was just not a fan of Feast for Crows (I think). The last book was amazing though. So many revelations. The continuity of the series is really one of my favorite aspects of his writing. There are very few loose strings so far, which is amazing with how many story lines and characters he is juggling.
August 13th, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
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August 13th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
I'm a giant dork. Play D&D and other RPGs, play Magic: the Gathering (used to be heavily involved in the tournament scene, less so now), lots of video games, lots of sci fi and fantasy books and TV shows, comics, etc. Basically, 90% of "nerd hobbies", I'm into. I'm also into craft beer, but haven't taken the plunge into home brewing yet.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
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August 13th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^
D&D for sure, and it's evolved past that too. I'm definitely an RPG hobbyist at this point. I love not only D&D, but Dungeon World, FATE, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire (my current favorite), and others. I love GMing and spend a lot of time doing game prep and stuff like that as a creative release.
D&D and other RPGs have definitely become more ok in the mainstream, but only marginally - it's not necessarily taboo like it used to be, but is still about as geek as it gets, and it weirds a lot of people out. I keep my stuff hidden away in my room so it's not one of the first things people see when they meet me.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
Books, books, all the books. I'm on pace to read around 40 this year.
Oh, also, Michigan football.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
Almost forgot about Clash of Clans. Besides MgoBlog, this is probably my most frequently used app. I'm in a clan with some bros I grew up with and it's all pretty intense. And shameful.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
Star Wars, Star Trek, books (mostly modern American and Central/Western European history). I also love building model planes and ships.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
Big gamer. Got back into Eve recently, but most of my gaming takes place on my Xbox. Love all types of games. Finishing up Witcher, have Batman and Lego Jurrasic Park left to do. Outside of that I love my sci-fi movies/shows. Love Mr Robot, Continuum and Falling Skies as well as many others. Favorite movies include Grandmas Boy (for the nerd and humor), Transformers, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
I live in Atlanta and am planning to go to DragonCon in a few weeks. Been looking for a way into E3 and am thinking of doing ComicCon next year. My wife isn't into it like me, but she supports my nerdiness. I'm in IT for my career, so I'm surrounded by it daily.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
I was raised as and still am a Star Trek fanatic - I have many of the "technical manuals" that were put out through the years as well as the compendiums with notes regarding the series and movies as well. I even once built a recreation of the bridge of the USS Excelsior (as designed in ST VI) out of Legos merely because I was bored one Saturday.
Also, I am a huge fan of the SimCity franchise - I've played them all to death since the first one came out in 1989 and even have a usable copy of SimCity 2000 to this day which can be run through an interface to make it work on newer machines. I am similarly addicted to the Civilization series as well.
I have most of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 series on some form of media, and I am also a huge BBC nut - from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" through shows like "The Good Life" and "Yes, Minister" and all the way up to the current series of Doctor Who, if it has been on the BBC then I have likely watched most or all of the series.
There is more, but I am eating lunch.
August 13th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^
Building '59 Les Paul replicas and obsessing over the smallest details like the right species of maple, mahogany & rosewood, the right type of glue, the most authentic brand of nitrocellulous lacquer, etc... listening to sound clips of various pickups that are virtually identical for hours to find the *best* of the best, etc.
August 13th, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^
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August 13th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
I'm not a comic book guy or cosplayer or anything but I do have a very authentic Dark Knight Batman suit that I wear for Halloween and other events, including part of my bachelor party this weekend. My eyes can flash and glow and the armor can take quite beating. It's a lot of fun to wear and always gets lots of positive attention for how intense it looks.
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August 13th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
August 13th, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^
I like both the Martin and the Jordan series and frankly wonder if the best thing for ASOIAF might be what happened to Wheel of Time in that an outside writer coming in with a final outline finally put some discipline on the plot. The fact that they were able to get Sanderson for it was a coup, as he's a talented writer. It wasn't the same as Jordan, but it was getting to the point where I don't think Jordan could have ended the series on his own and frankly worried about Martin getting into the same predicament.