What do you nerd out over?
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Old mechanical things.
The Japanese have a myth called tsukomogami. It's the idea that things get a soul after 100 years.
And while I don't believe that's technically true, per se. It's fundamentally based on something that I adore, and that's the fact that mechanical things all age individually and that it's something that we've lost with modern technology.
My go to examples are always typewriters and vintage camera lenses.
Each typewriter will age differently. Different keys will become sticky, it'll become misaligned in different places. They develop individual personalities as they get older. So much so that forensics can actually pinpoint when a specific typewriter typed a specific note.
In terms of camera lenses it's much the same thing. Different lenses will wear differently depending on what aperture/focal length, etc... that the photographer uses most often. Mold and discolouration between the glass elements will eventually form a unique look to a specific lense.
It's magical (to me) and something that I am sad that we are losing with modern consumer technology based on on "throw it away and get a new one".
Sorry. Longer than I intended. But you asked for it.
I’m super into mechanical watches for the reasons mentioned. Quartz (battery operated), not so much. But I’ve got a growing collection of mechanical watches and they’re some of my favourite possessions. Not because they’re flashy and make me look rich or whatever but because of the mechanisms inside.
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Pick one of the battery ecosystems and carry on. I bought a Ryobi starter set about 20 years ago when they were still using NiCad batteries. They switched to lithium ion batteries but kept the connector the same. I bought the new style batteries when my old batteries died. All the old tools work the same.
I believe Makita and DeWalt follow the same philosophy.
Harbor freight does not.
This is antithetical to the original proposition.
I bought a Ryobi sander with its battery and charger for $20 at a garage sale to do one small job, I have a bunch of Makita tools and batteries but it would be completely foolish to buy a new Makita sander for one job.
I have a greenworks battery system and love my electric lawn mower, but when the stupid edger finally broke, I didn't buy the same stupid tool that takes a giant 4AH battery because I'm tied into the system, I bought a lightweight Makita edger that shares the battery with my drill driver.
When I need cheap battery tools for one job, I buy Ryobi. When I'm upgrading, it's probably Makita.
When I needed to cut down a few damaged trees, I bought a wired chainsaw and a long extension cable.
If I just stuck to Makita because I have that battery system, I'd be sitting on thousands of dollars in Makita tools I'll use once a year at most.
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Ice, ice, baby! I love fancy ice. Have gear to make crystal clear big ice for whiskey, and also a countertop ice maker for what the kids call "the good ice".
It's just such a cheap upgrade to any drink.
what about beer
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Mechanics in nature.
There's a protein that's basically a tiny little mobile suite that literally walks along microtubules.
Some bacteria propel themselves with a literal electric motor.
Your ears are more something that belongs under the dashboard of a helicopter than something growing organically... they can literally detect an air-pressure change caused by a pin dropping on the other side of the room, by allowing that pressure to beat on a drum connected to a chain of bones that transmit pressure into a little snail that squirts little jets of fluid over a tiny little field of grass stuck to the inside of the snail shell, and depending on how much grass wiggles, it sends a jolt over to your brain as an interpretation of pitch. AND IT DOESN'T STOP THERE! Connected to that snail are three little hula-hoops made of bone, each oriented to a different plane, and also filled with tiny grass and fluid; and when you move your head along that specific plane, the tiny grass wiggles and that's how your brain knows which way you're moving / gives you a perception of balance.
There's a type of grasshopper with gears in its legs.
I love this shit.
yeah, that's pretty interesting. I would also argue that genetics and the way that information is processed and organized in the body is pretty interesting.
and what's also cool is that the body has such a consistent spatial layout. I.e. you could think that since genetics produce proteins, they only do a biochemical reaction, but not a mechanical reaction. Then what causes the geometric layout of the body to be so consistently shaped?
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Jokes aside, I am positive a Game of Thrones or Vikings-like tv show based on the birth of the Mexicas, then the expansion with finally the fall of the Aztecs would be brutally fantastic.
It's a cartoon but there's Onyx Equinox which is pretty cool and plays in mesoamerica.
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what about beer
I don't drink beer, but honestly down here I'd ice it too, and put it in an insulated cup. Anything that's supposed to be that cold won't stay cold except between the months of December and February.
Wine I like not iced, it's ok tepid, more important that it sits open awhile to aerate, and coffee and tea are good hot, so I guess not literally every drink. Love that fancy ice though!
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I don't drink beer, but honestly down here I'd ice it too, and put it in an insulated cup. Anything that's supposed to be that cold won't stay cold except between the months of December and February.
Wine I like not iced, it's ok tepid, more important that it sits open awhile to aerate, and coffee and tea are good hot, so I guess not literally every drink. Love that fancy ice though!
have you seen the death star ice ball
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have you seen the death star ice ball
Yes! And you just reminded me, I need to get started on skull ice for Halloween!
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Talk nerdy to me
Fabrics, pattern drafting, and sewing techniques. Historical clothing and corsetry. History, soooo much history. Religious movements, belief systems, and paradigms. Language, writing, and literature. Plants and gardening. Birds and bugs. Tea and tisanes. Houses, their interior systems and construction, renovating them, maintaining them, and hacking their unique quirks and issues.
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Talk nerdy to me
Cats. I probably argue too much with people about the "correct" descriptions of coat colors/patterns, as I really like learning about the genetics behind them. Lots of other cat related stuff too, such as diet & training/behavior.
