Unusual Hobbies (other than Roadgeekery)

[NE2]

I've just gotten into progressive rock

Thick as a Brick. End thread.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I've just gotten into progressive rock

Thick as a Brick. End thread.

Close To The Edge is better.

[geocachingpirate]

I've just gotten into progressive rock

Thick as a Brick. End thread.

Close To The Edge is better.

I'm listening to Close To The Edge currently, so I guess you lost NE2. I really was thinking about listening to Thick as a Brick though...

[Pete from Boston]

I've just gotten into progressive rock

Thick as a Brick. End thread.

The progressive in "Thick as a Brick" is that it blows your mind at 15 and sounds progressively sillier from then on.

[NE2]

Close To The Edge is better.

I don't disagree.

[Pete from Boston]

As I realized in the Strange Habits thread, finding excellent hot dog places is a pastime of mine, though admittedly one I pursued mostly before the inevitable metabolic slowdown of age started kicking in.

[hotdogPi]

As I realized in the Strange Habits thread, finding excellent hot dog places is a pastime of mine, though admittedly one I pursued mostly before the inevitable metabolic slowdown of age started kicking in.

There's one in the center of Salem, MA. It is near Ben & Jerry's and the Griffen Theater. (I forget the name of the hot dog place.)

[Pete from Boston]

Boston Hot Dog.  It's OK.

In your neck of the woods, try Lawton's if it's still there.  One of the few rippers in this region.

[cjk374]

Reading this list, it makes me feel like having a garden is unusual in this milieu.

My wife-to-be and I grew a garden last year (my 1st in almost 30 years).  We're gonna try another one this year once winter finally gets the hell outta here.

[Pete from Boston]

Reading this list, it makes me feel like having a garden is unusual in this milieu.

My wife-to-be and I grew a garden last year (my 1st in almost 30 years).  We're gonna try another one this year once winter finally gets the hell outta here.

Trying to make nature do your bidding is a lot like trying to manage human travel–complicated, frustrating, and futile, but irresistibly compelling.

[busman_49]

Freebrick, I qualify for most of your list as well...

    "I'm a pretty avid railfan and 'crossing-fan'. I'm probably more interested in crossing signals than the trains themselves..."
Me too.  I'm a little more into the infrastructure and trains than I used to be, but I'm still bigger into the signs & signals
    "I like looking at and collecting traffic lights as well"
Again, Same here.  I have a collection of 30 signals currently and have had plenty more pass through my hands over the years.  Signs too.
    "I also like looking at...and collecting fans."
I've had some weird obsession with fans from a very young age.  I strongly dislike the fact that 4-bladed ceiling fans (expecially in the 52" variety) are so hard to find anymore.  And some of the modern fans are so ugly
    "Another thing that I like to do is LEGOs and model railroading."
Back in my younger days, yes.  I can see my sons following in my footsteps, so that may be something I get back into for their sake.
    "I'm also somewhat of an urban explorer..."
I, too, like the old, unused, decrepit, and abandoned.  Roads, signage, buildings, you name it.  I won't go into abandoned buildings because I want to stay on the right side of the law, but all of that stuff fascinates me.  I like to stop and think about what those things and places looked like in their glory days.  I'll even document some current stuff if it happens to catch my eye, because you just never know.  Lately I've been getting into abandoned/repurposed retail stores.

About the only thing I have to add to that is that I have a strong interest in school buses.  I've taken thousands of photos of buses and am fortunate to have worked in school transportation for the last 14 years and was able to make it into a career.

[hbelkins]

I don't think growing a garden is an unusual hobby. My dad raised a huge garden for many years, up until about three years before he went to a nursing home and five years before he died. He grew several varieties of sweet corn, green beans, tomatoes, and all kinds of other things. In the past he had grown potatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, onions and a bunch of other vegetables. We never had to buy produce from the store because we had plenty either canned or in the freezer. I helped every year with the garden until I moved away, but I didn't inherit my dad's green thumb, nor his interest in raising a garden.

[J N Winkler]

I toy with the idea of setting up a herb and vegetable garden.  Some spices that it is useful to have access to, such as mint for tabbouleh, are quite expensive to buy at the supermarket.  Home-grown tomatoes in season also have a definite taste advantage over vine tomatoes purchased at the grocery store, which are typically imported from Mexico, and are crucial for fresh tomato dishes like Greek salad.  However, our garden is unfenced and the rabbits in the neighborhood really like mint and tomatoes.  Moreover, the other members of the family are more into ornamentals than growing food.

[kphoger]

End thread.

This never works.

I toy with the idea of setting up a herb and vegetable garden. 

My wife and I can't keep anything alive (except our children, fortunately).  Goldfish, herbs:  you name it, we kill it.

[Brandon]

End thread.

This never works.

Remember, he said "Thick as a Brick" just beforehand. 

[hbelkins]

I've just gotten into progressive rock

Thick as a Brick. End thread.

How does one define "progressive rock?"

A lot of people consider Rush to be progressive, but I'm not sure at what point their music turned the corner. It's true their music evolved, and there was a rather harsh turn between "Moving Pictures" and "Signals," or should that be "Permanent Waves" and "Moving Pictures?", but the evolution was less marked between each of their albums prior to "Permanent Waves."

[Desert Man]

OK, I don't know where to put this on the AAR, but I wanna share commercials from around the world.
(They happen to be in another language, bear with me, some of you may be familiar with these languages).

From Japan (2000s-10s), a few of them were very popular at one time on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FcYTprT5QI

From France (1980s), one had a tourist ad for Nord Pas-de-Calais, my Dad's home region: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmLkfgdVBCw

and from Chile (1980s) in South America, starts with a Miss Chile pageant contest draw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt1VY7HQt1s

[Desert Man]

Sorry for the double post...here are more commercials from around the world, these two are from former communist nations.

From the former East Germany of the Soviet bloc in the late 1960s (they watched West German/West Berlin TV over the airwaves).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfnODbvpwDY

And out of the Soviet Union in the 80s (actually from Russia)...has retro new wave beats. Cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzlzx8D4hYw

[kurumi]

I've just gotten into progressive rock

Thick as a Brick. End thread.

How does one define "progressive rock?"

A lot of people consider Rush to be progressive, but I'm not sure at what point their music turned the corner. It's true their music evolved, and there was a rather harsh turn between "Moving Pictures" and "Signals," or should that be "Permanent Waves" and "Moving Pictures?", but the evolution was less marked between each of their albums prior to "Permanent Waves."

"Power Windows" for me was the "What the hell happened to Rush?" album. Though in hindsight, it wasn't just Rush. Album-oriented rock as a radio format was dying, and it took prog down with it.

[hbelkins]

"Power Windows" for me was the "What the hell happened to Rush?" album. Though in hindsight, it wasn't just Rush. Album-oriented rock as a radio format was dying, and it took prog down with it.

Yeah, I can get that sentiment. "Signals" wasn't as much of a departure from "Moving Pictures" as "Power Windows" was from "Signals."

[Desert Man]

And the last post of my worldwide commercial show.

From 1980s South Africa (these are in English), so I got the continent of Africa covered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUHeE1aID80

And finally in North America, a French-language Canadian ad for Pepsi (2009).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQIK4Ksb4M

Pepsi and diet pepsi are said to outsell Coca-Cola or coke in Quebec...here's a diet pepsi ad (1985).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul-Sh1y2cS8

One more: Sailor Moon commercials from 1990s Japan (Sailor Stars, out of other editions).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONUVMin4QoE

[xcellntbuy]

I don't know if being really into Mustangs is considered unusual or not but that's my main hobby/obsession:




Gray one is mine, the blue one is my wife's. I spend a good part of my time moderating a Mustang related forum, not sure if I am allowed to mention the name of it here so I won't.


I am also heavily into motorsports (from a fans point of view, anyway). My yearly calender of time off from work is heavily centered on race dates. The Daytona 500, the Memorial Day weekend triple (Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, Coke 600) and the Southern 500 Weekend (now back on Labor Day weekend where it belongs) are sacred holidays in my house, LOL.

Although I am GM loyalist with a Corvette and a Firebird, you have my fullest respect and admiration.  Very nice!

[cpzilliacus]

Transitfanning, especially riding rail transit lines in cities far from Washington, D.C. (I seldom ride the Metro for an assortment of boring reasons).

My favorite transit systems in the world are probably London (for large-scale transit in a "world" city) and Stockholm (for having a great transit system in a metropolitan area that is only about a little above 2 million in population).

In the U.S., my favorite is probably San Diego, with a fun trolley system that has gotten pretty large.

[Dr Frankenstein]

And finally in North America, a French-language Canadian ad for Pepsi (2009).

This Pepsi ad basically covers the history of Quebec between the introduction of Pepsi in the province and the ad's airing (2009). Since the ad is in French and its contents need some local context to be understood, here's a translation and some annotations:

1934: Eddy Melançon takes the first Pepsi bottle out of the Montreal plant.
In '40: Women obtain the right to vote, and men, that of doing the dishes.
'52: The Great Mass of Saturday Night begins.
The next day: The Tremblays have a family dinner in Chicoutimi; it smells of tourtière all the way to Matane. [Tourtière is a Quebec local dish (a sort of meat pie) originating from Chicoutimi and traditionally consumed during the winter holidays; Matane is 160 miles east of Chicoutimi as the crow flies, but a 237-mile drive with a ferry across the St. Lawrence, or 381 miles with no ferry.]
'57: The Great Antonio proves us that everything is in the hair.
Over a decade: Education, electricity, Metro, Expo, and... (Charles de Gaulle: "Long live free Quebec!") [Education: The introduction of the CÉGEP, a free state-run college-level institution; Electricity: The construction of several large power dams in Northern Québec by state-run Hydro-Québec; Metro: Opening of the Montreal Metro just ahead of: Expo: "Man and His World", the 1967 Universal Exposition/World Fair in Montreal; De Gaulle: "Vive le Québec libre" is a wildly popular excerpt from the French President's speech at Expo 67.]
In '69: The Expos' first game. ("Good night, she's goooooone!") ["Bonsoir, elle est partie!" is commentator Rodger Brulotte's catchphrase.]
In '70: Everyone was gone! [Possibly a reference to hippies being high, or I'm missing something]
March 4, '71: The Storm of the Century. The snowbirds handle it well. [Opinion: I consider the 1998 storm to be more important and the actual storm of the century, but I might be biased because I lived right in the middle of the Dark Triangle and had no power for weeks.]
The age of majority becomes 18, the youth [uncertain French].
'77: Bill 101, we French! [A reference to the fact that Quebecers use the English word "French" to refer to French kisses.]
'78: Little René's haircut is all the rage.
'79: Youppi! [The Expos' mascot, who later became the Canadiens' mascot after the baseball team's move to Washington to become the Nationals]
In '84, it's the Meunier-mania. [Comedian Claude Meunier appeared in many Quebec market Pepsi ads]
At the same time, the Poutine War is fought. [Refers to the disputed claims of origin of the popular local dish between central Quebec cities Drummondville, Victoriaville and Warwick] (Excerpt from Quebec film The Dog Who Stopped The War: "War, war... that's not a reason to hurt each other!")
'86: We earn $4.35 an hour. [Minimum wage is introduced]
Meanwhile, the Queen, the Pope and even the Bonhomme salute Quebec!
In 2000, Pierced Rock remains... pierced.
2005: We Surf on the St. Lawrence. [Habitat 67 housing complex in the background]
2009: Mathieu buys a Pepsi and takes a big sip; man, you're already part of History and you'll change it for the better.
Here, it's Pepsi. ["Ici, c'est Pepsi" is their Quebec market slogan, referring to their local popularity over competitor Coca-Cola]

[Desert Man]

Now time to discuss an avid fascination with postal zip codes and telephone area codes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_Numbering_Plan_area_codes#700.E2.80.93799

Example of the super-long article enlisted them one by one, but take a shortcut to the 700's and here you find my 760 represents the California Desert and parts of the Inland Empire, Cal. and San Diego area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_California_area_codes

California has a total of 30-32(?) telephone area codes, the most of any state.

Formerly it was 213 since the area code system started after WWII (1945) when long distance calling service was pefected, then it was part of 714 (Orange County, San Diego and Riverside) in the 1960s and 70s and 619 (for San Diego) in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. In around 1990, the Riverside area got 909 and around 2000, it got 951 while 909 still is for the San Bernardino area.

760 is the largest area code in the contiguous US, while 907 of Alaska is the true largest and 780 for Canada covers the sparsely populated Arctic region (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut).