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[webny99]

A bit of a play on words here - what subjects do you feel you know quite a bit about and are confident in your knowledge because of first hand exposure in your area/region of the country? In particular, try to think of subjects that people in other parts of the country have probably heard of, but might know very little about: what do you enjoy telling visitors or doing with them that's unique to your area? Also note that this is meant to be related strictly to your geographic area, not subjects you may have studied or industries you are currently employed in unless they're area-specific. Hopefully, this will also be a chance for us to learn a bit more about other parts of the country and world.

For me, in upstate NY:

• Lake effect snow (we average close to 100" per season)
• Automatic car washes (cause of the worst traffic jams in the area!)
• Pizza (Italian influence in the area, tons of great local choices to compare & contrast, pairs well with next entry)
• Chicken wings (buffalo wings originated nearby, also tons of great local choices)
• Trash/garbage plates (originated in Rochester)
• Wegmans (grocery chain that originated in Rochester)
• Crossing the border (close proximity to Canada and have crossed many times)
• Tim Hortons (only half-serious, but western NY is one of few areas in the US where they're almost as prevalent as Dunkin')

Meanwhile, some areas where I lack expertise would include extreme weather other than snow (drought, hurricanes, tornadoes), most international cuisines, and traffic/congestion in general (a five minute delay is terrible around here!)
 

[Roadgeekteen]

Public Transportation being somewhat usable (not exclusive to Boston of course but for all the problems with the T it blows many other US cities out of the water).

[Rothman]

Something tells me that this thread will display more arrogance than expertise.

[Max Rockatansky]

Apparently driving weird Central California one lane mountain roads and finding abandoned highway alignments. 

As for everyone else, all anyone seems to talk about around here is Agriculture stuff.  I know very little about the subject myself.  Taco Trucks seem to be something Fresno gets better than anywhere else I’ve ever lived.

[kphoger]

Identifying bad drivers, especially truckers, in the Chicag..........................

[TheHighwayMan394]

Midwestern passive aggression
Juicy Lucy burgers

[Bruce]

Seattleites are better informed than most American cities on the following:

Teriyaki
American soccer
Driving in stop-and-go traffic up hilly streets
Hiking in congested areas
Ferries
The tech industry

[webny99]

Something tells me that this thread will display more arrogance than expertise.

That wasn't the intention, so hopefully not. It's more about identifying what subjects an area is highly informed on, not necessarily debating those subjects.

[SectorZ]

Something tells me that this thread will display more arrogance than expertise.

I think this forum is more immune from the Dunning-Kruger effect compared to the normal.

I do not claim any expertise on the accuracy of that sentiment.

[Roadgeekteen]

Seattleites are better informed than most American cities on the following:

Teriyaki
American soccer
Driving in stop-and-go traffic up hilly streets
Hiking in congested areas
Ferries
The tech industry

You are the first person ever in my life who has ever called soccer "American soccer". Unless you were talking about the MLS in particular.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I have lots of little disconnected 'islands' of knowledge about different stuff.

One side hobby I have is spotting radio towers, ID-ing them, and finding out if there's cameras on the towers from which I can get imagery. Lots of emailing and phone calls, some are happy to share, some not so much. I love 'long view' shots from these sites - one near me I can drive to, and see like 60 miles or so. The 'expertise' comes from using Google Earth, and knowing what high points are likely to have towers.

This has given me an alarming knowledge of where damn near everything a radio can receive in this area, transmits from.

[Scott5114]

Pretty much everyone in Oklahoma is assumed to have above-average knowledge of meteorology because of our extreme weather. Our TV meteorologists drop some pretty technical terminology during a severe weather event; the audience is expected to know the difference between a bow echo and a hook echo and what each of them indicate, the met will kick the Doppler into velocity mode periodically and point out a TVS without further elaboration, etc.

[mrsman]

Seattleites are better informed than most American cities on the following:

Teriyaki
American soccer
Driving in stop-and-go traffic up hilly streets
Hiking in congested areas
Ferries
The tech industry

You are the first person ever in my life who has ever called soccer "American soccer". Unless you were talking about the MLS in particular.

I know.  Definitely the term "American football" is necessary to distinguish NFL from "football" that almost every other country uses to refer to soccer, but the reverse is hardly ever used.

It's also interesting that the term football is used even in non-English languages like Spanish.  Why futbol and not pelota de pie?

[kphoger]

It's also interesting that the term football is used even in non-English languages like Spanish.  Why futbol and not pelota de pie?

At least in the part of Mexico I frequent, basketball is also 'básquetbol'.  Likewise, baseball is 'beisbol' or 'béisbol'.

But, to answer your question more generally, 'pelota' refers to the object, not the sport.  And, if it ever is used to refer to the sport itself, then it generally means baseball only–just as, in English, 'play ball' generally means baseball only.

[skluth]

It's not special here because a large percentage of this forum's members have the same ability, but I'm a walking/driving highway map even in many places I've never been. It's a lot less useful now because everyone has a GPS on their phones. But back in the day it was really useful when traveling because I could take back roads in places hundreds of miles from home and not worry about getting lost. I'm guessing at least half the forum has a similar story with their non-road geek friends and acquaintances.

I can also wipe out any Geography column on Jeopardy, far better than any of my friends, but that's also probably true for most on this forum.

[SectorZ]

Pretty much everyone in Oklahoma is assumed to have above-average knowledge of meteorology because of our extreme weather. Our TV meteorologists drop some pretty technical terminology during a severe weather event; the audience is expected to know the difference between a bow echo and a hook echo and what each of them indicate, the met will kick the Doppler into velocity mode periodically and point out a TVS without further elaboration, etc.

New England TV media tends to the same for us but for winter storm terminology, for example how you can see a rain/snow line on standard radar or how subtle wind direction changes in coastal storms can mean massive differences over short distances.

When they go into velocity mode on the handful of days it is needed here, they spend longer explaining what that mode is than they do with what it is trying to show. They don't even get into the weeds with things like echo tops.

[hbelkins]

If we're talking about regional issues or subjects, then obviously Kentucky politics and Appalachian culture.

[formulanone]

It's also interesting that the term football is used even in non-English languages like Spanish.  Why futbol and not pelota de pie?

At least in the part of Mexico I frequent, basketball is also 'básquetbol'.  Likewise, baseball is 'beisbol' or 'béisbol'.

But, to answer your question more generally, 'pelota' refers to the object, not the sport.  And, if it ever is used to refer to the sport itself, then it generally means baseball only–just as, in English, 'play ball' generally means baseball only.

It also sort of baffles me that most computing terms are either derivatives of English (which may have derived from Latin, as well), but "network" is red en Español.

[1]

It also sort of baffles me that most computing terms are either derivatives of English (which may have derived from Latin, as well), but "network" is red en Español.

"Red" was a physical net long before it was a network.

[JayhawkCO]

Foreign Geography/Travel
Colorado State Highways
Liquor/Beer/Wine

[formulanone]

It also sort of baffles me that most computing terms are either derivatives of English (which may have derived from Latin, as well), but "network" is red en Español.

"Red" was a physical net long before it was a network.

Yeah, and even more funny (to me) because we'd socially dropped the word "net" (as in "the net") in the last decade or so, which seemed to be short enough. I guess it's all there on the Internet nowadays.

I profess no special knowledge, but we haven't really had many members from South Florida/Miami here and if you want a dull  conversation about obscure Formula One stuff from fifty years ago...but you could look up most of that stuff if you really needed to. When it comes to the road stuff, I'm still learning new things.

I could probably give a good photography tutorial to beginners, but I also like to let everyone figure out their own style. I look at my own stuff and sometimes overjudge it (I'm my own best and worst critic), so I think it's crummy for me to give out unsolicited advice. Dozens of of people have given me great advice just from their photos, whether they knew it or not. And it's totally okay to look at my stuff and think it's boring trash.

[kphoger]

It also sort of baffles me that most computing terms are either derivatives of English (which may have derived from Latin, as well), but "network" is red en Español.

"Red" was a physical net long before it was a network.

Yeah, and even more funny (to me) because we'd socially dropped the word "net" (as in "the net") in the last decade or so, which seemed to be short enough. I guess it's all there on the Internet nowadays.

Theoretically at least, la red can also refer to the internet.  It might not be very common, though.  I've used the term in Mexico before, and people understood me, but that doesn't mean it's common.  Generally, when other people are talking to me about something online, they're using the phrase en el Face (on Facebook)–or, due to the rather unique nature of my trips to Mexico, en la plataforma (on the online platform).

[Big John]

I am not an expert. That is someone else's job.

[triplemultiplex]

If you want to test yourself on this, I recommend finding a bar near you that does a trivia night. Bring a couple friends and see how it goes.  After a few nights, you'll start to get a feel for how much expertise you have in a variety of topics.

Of course, I maybe only bring that up because that's something I am objectively good at: "Useless" trivia.

Apart from all this road shit, though, I consider myself strong in categories like...
geology
history
geography in general (not just road shit)
evolutionary biology
I could probably be your fishing guide for the upper Mississippi/Western Great Lakes/southern Hudson Bay drainages.
My pop culture expertise slants toward the sci-fi, Next Generation-era Star Trek in particular, and then just a random shot gun blast of shit heavily influenced by references in prime time animation like The Simpsons, South Park, Rick & Morty, Family Guy, etc.  Like for example, I saw a huge number of references to Citizen Kane through the lens of Springfield before I ever saw the movie itself.

I will also claim above average competence in some elements of human psychology, especially as it relates to how we delude ourselves or misinterpret the world around us.  SectorZ mentions the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and that's just one of the many cognitive biases and shortcomings I am well-versed in.  Not enough to always not fall into them myself, mind you, but enough to recognize when groups of people are being deluded by them, most of the time.  And when it's obvious, it's super frustrating.  Like how do you not call people "stupid" when they are so obviously falling the most basic logical tests for what comes out of their mouths or fingers?  But that's a huge digression that only applies to this community on rare occasions.   

[Henry]

In no particular order, my top five areas of expertise from childhood are:

• The various sports droughts endured by my local teams (when I was born, it had been 61 1/2 years since the Cubs won a World Series, 52 1/2 years since the White Sox won one, and nine years since the Blackhawks won a Stanley Cup)
• Jewel-Osco (popular grocery chain in Chicagoland)
• Expressways and Tollways
• Wicked winter weather
• The CTA bus and El Train systems