Share Your Passions!

Wow, this one caught me off guard!

I have never heard of these things. Please do educate, what are Italian sword and sandals movies? What is shoegaze?

 

THIS IS SO SO GOOD!

Seriously, everything about this poem is really beautiful and eloquent. Amazing flow, my brain was very pleased with the rhythm. Amazing Steph!

 

Favourite genre - metal/rock and pretty much all sub genres of both.
I also really enjoy Classical, dub, eighties and nineties pop, country, blues, breakbeat, folk, jungle... tbh, I love music so damn much, that I find it hard not to enjoy most genres.

At the moment, I’m loving a bit of Faith No More, but I think a lot of that is wanting to sleep with the lead singer haha!

Oh girl same! I actually feel ill if I don’t go outdoors all day. I enjoy it so damn much. I can feel my soul dying if I’m stuck inside. I love grabbing the tent, gas cooker, and speaker, finding somewhere to go, and set up camp. Damn! If we lived closer, we could have camped out together.

Italy. I studied there, and because of that, my heart is there. I also absolutely love Germany, and Canada. What about you?

Geoffrey Abbot - he writes books on torture lol. I don’t read a lot of fiction, my books are mostly educational... very boring, I know. However, I’ve just finished reading Troy, Heroes, Mythos, by Stephen Fry. I do love folk stories too. And I have read a few Stephen King books. What’s your favourite of his?

You totally should! It takes a lot of time and money though. I went super fancy and put heating and a wet room in mine, cause I need to wash. Having a home on the road is the best. Again, it allows me to be in nature as much as possible.

That’s one of my offices. It was build in 1520. So proper old haha! Where about do you live? Are you in Europe or the US?

 

I can relate to that. This is the puzzle I just finished, and I'm really attached to it. I'm trying to figure out a way to frame it

 

I'm not sure I have a favorite... never thought about it. I guess the best story I have, one of the largest cactus I have, a Lophocereus of some kind, I traded for a $5 beer. A bum came up to me while I was on a local patio, and offered it in exchange for the beer. So, the whole night I hung out with the cactus and a new beer. At that time, it was about the size of my hand, now it’s bigger than I am.

 

I have never read Steven King, perhaps I will some day. I have a marine saltwater aquarium. I keep a Regal Tang, French Angel, Yellow Tang, two humbug damsel fish and two small sea wrasse also known as cleaner fish - they help to clean the other fish by eating parasites that cling to the gills and body. My tank is modest 4ft in length, so it's not a good idea to have too many fish in a tank this size, as keeping the water chemistry stable could be difficult.

Maintaining a marine aquarium is more challenging than a cold water and tropical freshwater aquarium. Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH levels, have to be closely monitored and kept within certain parameters, otherwise water quality will deteriorate and the fish will become ill and die. In addition to this, protein skimming and regular water changes, approximately 10% per week helps remove fish waste and keeps the fish and tank healthy. I like the challenge of keeping marine fish. I could go deeper and start a Reef tank which is stepping into the big league but I'm content with what I have, because I have a lot going on in my life.

An aquarium can be very relaxing and therapeutic to look at. There are plenty of videos on YouTube, that will advise on how to set up a marine, cold or tropical freshwater aquarium. Some of the people there have spectacular fish tanks.

Michael

 

Wow wow WOW! You and I would be fantastic adventure buddies if we lived close. I'm all the way over in the Pacific Northwest of the US.

I am also a fan of faith no more! I was just jamming out to everything's ruined in the car. My boyfriend has met 3/4 of the band. He is a lucky duck. We are metal heads too, we love any music by Maynard James Keenan. He is just incredible. We saw tool live a few days before the big shut down a year ago. It was a fantastic show. I also have a hard time not enjoying genres. I love everything from Michael Jackson to Metallica to Tears For Fears to Stone Temple Pilots, the Beatles, Alter Bridge, I love some good oldies, some R&B and I can't help but to love early 2000s pop/hip hop. It's all fantastic. My top artists are Tool, Pink Floyd, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle, and Primus.

Speaking of going outside, I am about to indulge in a nice afternoon walk the sun has come out--a treat!

I have never traveled much outside the US, I went to a ski resort in Canada with a buddy of mine in my younger days. I mostly just like exploring the Pacific Northwest and all its glory--the geography is incredibly diverse over here. Boyfriend and I are actually going cabin camping next week. As you can imagine I am ecstatic. I have always wanted to go to Italy. I have dreams of being there. Canada is great, I've had some psychedelic moments there.

Educational books are fantastic! I'd say my favorite Stephen King book is Pet Sematary, as it was the first one I read. Other than that, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a masterpiece, and his new book Elevation is a great short story. I feel like my tinnitus fits into his literary world for some reason.

You are definitely inspiring me to buy a van. Holy crap.

The oldest building in my town was built in 1850. It's practically brand new compared to the one you showed!

 

Hey man, that's the best plant story I've heard so far. A cactus and a beer??? What a score!

What's your secret with growing cacti? Do you have any special techniques?

 

Michael that is absolutely fantastic. I have always been immensely impressed by people who can keep a healthy saltwater tank going. I've researched a bit about nitrates/nitrites in a freshwater tank but never for saltwater, I imagine it only gets more complicated. I used to volunteer at my local aquarium and they had some incredible reef tanks--with a team of 10 professionals managing them (at least). Goes to show how much work it takes!

Did you get into marine fish to start, or did you have a freshwater tank before? What started your hobby? Thanks so much for sharing!

 

Believe it or not, my passion is in tinnitus. I am only a teenager right now so my knowledge on it is limited outside of personal experience and some research but I am hoping to become an ENT in the future to help others just like me.

 

Growing cacti in my experience, is almost counterintuitive to "regular" plants. I pot mine in a mixture of 40% vegetable potting soil, 40% playground sand, and 20% gravel. This makes the soil really porous, and lets water escape the soil quickly. To help with moisture evacuation, I only use naked terracota planters.

Cactus do not like soil that holds water, makes their roots rot, which quickly works its way into the stems, and kills them from the inside out. So, traditional potting soil and glazed pots are a huge no-no. Cactus are quick enough at absorbing water that they'll get plenty even from water quickly passing through the porous soil + planter.

In the winter months, I bring them inside, place them where they'll get some light exposure, and water them once a month. In the summer, I drag them all outside onto an uncovered patio once the temp here stays above 40deg F. I usually find a weekend where it's overcast, because believe it or not, cactus can get sunburned when coming right out from being indoors. Their location is typically in spots that will get direct sunlight throughout most of the day from spring until fall. From there, I leave them alone and let mother nature do its work. Each year, I see substantial growth.

Then, usually in October / November before the first frost, I cart them all back inside.

A few other things I don't do: I do not feed them or "enrich" the soil. What comes in the potting soil mix is enough for them to stay alive. Because of how a cactus grows, their roots will fill a terracotta pot and eventually crack it open. That means it's time for a bigger pot; that's the time to renew the soil and will offer them fresh nutrients. Then, rinse and repeat.

 

That is quite admirable. Good on you.

 

In my teens I kept a tropical freshwater aquarium and had it for many years, then progressed to marines as some people do. Keeping a marine aquarium is not difficult providing you take your time to gain experience. Some people are too hasty and want to keep exotic fish that are beautiful but extremely delicate and don't realize the skill that's required to maintain them. Unfortunately this lack of experience will undoubtedly result in the early demise of the fish, which will cause heartache and would have been expensive to purchase.

I always liked the sound and the look of water. Perhaps this prompted my interest in keeping fish. Now I live in Brighton, I am mesmerised every time I'm by the sea.

 

Are you sure we’re not the same person!!?? Are you like the American me??

I could not agree more with this. And I fricken love Circle, Floyd, Primus etc. Music wise we would 100% get on.

I cannot tell you how jealous I am that you live in the US. Like seriously - if you’ve read some of my other posts, you’ll see I bang on about it all the time. Your country and landscape is so damn diverse, that you don’t need to travel. Plus, appreciating what you have in your own back yard, is an awesome thing. So many people overlook what’s right in front of them.

I hope you both have a wicked time! I’m going away to a place called Exmoor next month. It’s what we call an area of outstanding beauty in the UK. It has loads of wild horses, dramatic coastline, forests, and a tonne of little old towns and villages. I never been before, so I’m super excited!

I have this book at home, but haven’t read it before. I’m going to dig it out and read it now. So thanks!

Dude! You must! It was simply the best thing I’ve ever done. I decided I wanted to be off grid because there was no way I was going to pay £1200 a month on rent and bills; and no way was I going to buy a crappy house in England for £237,000 plus (that’s the going rate in my area). So a van seemed and was a great idea. Absolutely no regrets. Plus, now I’m racking up enough savings that I can buy a house outright somewhere else - hopefully Italy. I would jump at the chance to live in the States, but unfortunately with my career, there’s not a great deal out there for me. such a shame.
What do you do work wise?

That’s hilarious! My bloody grandma is older than that!

I am so jealous. I bought a ticket to see them recently, but chickened out because of tinnitus, so I resold it. I’m still absolutely gutted that I did. :’(

 

I make great cinnamon rolls, although we go easier on the icing over here than they do in the US People also love my apple cinnamon cake. I love all kinds of Christmas cookies because they’re fun to bake with others and Christmas is my favorite time of the year!

The Imperial Harem by Leslie P. Peirce, which describes the inner workings of the Ottoman imperial harem and the hierarchy of female power. Very interesting, especially since it encompasses the sultanate of women.

The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives is a biography on one of my favorite historical figures, the second wife of Henry VIII who was later executed on false charges. Their marriage led to England’s break with Rome.

The Viking World by Stefan Brink and Neil Price is great because it’s a collection of essays. It’s pricey but unlike other works on the topics it’s very up to date so it’s worth it! The Saga of the Icelanders is also pretty cool to read. Norse Myths: A Guide to the Gods and Heroes by Carolyne Larrington is great if you’re interested in paganism.

Yeah, true! Before I caught COVID-19 I exercised four times a week, which gave me a little variety. Afterwards my doctor advised me not to do anything too strenuous for a while and now that I’m good to go again I find it hard to get back into the flow. Plus I’m pretty knackered after work these days.

 

I appreciate the level of growing that you went into. I feel I might have to buy a couple for my van. I used to have loads when I was younger.

 

I've got a coffee plant too, and unlike yours it doesn't look so great. I suspect it's got something to do with the correct amount of water. My other plants are all orchids who are happy to be doused once a week and I've already learned that my little coffee plant doesn't appreciate the same kind of treatment so I've been experimenting for months now. It would be great if you could give me a couple of pointers when it comes to proper coffee plant care

Thank you very much in advance,
Leila

 

Thank you for your kind comment!

Well I have next to no experience in taking care of plants, but this is a long term experiment of mine.

During the winter it looked a bit sad, but as we removed some dead leaves, replanted in a bigger pot, and as the sun started to shine it is much happier and new leaves are growing constantly. I basically touch the soil about once a day or so to check if it is dry, if so I water it gently, sometimes with some fertilizer. Nowadays, with sun, it gets watered about every other day actually. I also douse 2-3 times a week, but not during direct sunlight as it can hurt the leaves. Other than that, I don't do much.

I don't know if this is good advice, but my plant is alive and well, haha.

Hopefully it will bloom, and I'll get my once-a-year cup worth of home grown coffee.

 

The thing I'm most passionate about is writing. It's something I've been obsessed with for as long as I can remember. At the moment I'm putting together a little book of memoirs that a very sick young mother would like to gift to her children in case... which is a very humbling and moving experience.

I've done similar projects for others before but also wrote a lot of original literature over the course of the years.

Apart from that, I've always been a huge music enthusiast and love my TV shows. Unfortunately, hyperacusis put quite a bit of a damper on things, but I have good and bad days and on some of the good days a little bit of both can still be enjoyed

Oh, and there are my budgies, of course. I used to have eight but are down to two now. I've often though about giving them away because tinnitus and noisy birds can be quite the challenging combination but since they're 14 years old and won't be with me for much longer anyway I'm reluctant to do so.

 

This is actually great. When I was a teenager I stumbled across the (in)famous Riemann Hypothesis, probably the most famous open problem in Mathematics. The problem was tackled by some of the most brilliant minds that the human race has had, but nobody managed to crack it (yet). I was fascinated by these open problems, they drove my curiosity and my interest. Fast forward ten years: I have (of course) not solved the Riemann Hypothesis, but I am about to complete a PhD in Math where we tried to tackle other interesting problems.

Tinnitus might be the Riemann Hypothesis of medicine. The good news is that there are several examples of extremely hard mathematical problems that were eventually solved (cfr. the Poincaré's conjecture, for instance). Tinnitus will eventually be understood, too.

 

Haneke, Seidl, Petri, Lanthimos, Eggers and Bergman are some of my favourite filmmakers. Most people have never heard about them

 

@Jebbis, thank you for starting this thread. I have liked reading the interests that some members have. Although tinnitus can be problematic, it's pleasing to see that it hasn't stopped people doing what they want to do. Another interest I have, is in portable manual typewriters and have a small collection of three. I belong to a group where some members have over twenty. They are beautifully displayed and all of them are used.

These machines of a bygone age are making quite the comeback. Some say the allure of logging into Facebook, email or checking Twitter, can easily take up valuable time, when one should be getting on with writing. A typewriter can only do one task, write. There is no cut, copy and paste. The need to be constantly going over what you have written to edit is not available. Some believe this can interfere with the creative flow of writing.

 

Do post a picture of the van. Would love to see. I love watching shows about tiny homes and stuff.

 

It’s absolutely insane to me that there are people out there that understand math. I had quite a bit of tutoring back in high school, but even then, when math was still relatively simple for normal people I was struggling. Sometimes I wonder if I actually have dyscalculia, but a lot of other symptoms don’t really apply to me.

People who are good at math, you genuinely fascinate me.

 

I enjoy street photography. I'm fascinated with old buildings, store fronts, and remnants of "old" NYC, or any other city. When I'm lucky to find them, abandoned buildings. I love urban exploration! Though abandoned hotel swimming pools -- those filled with black-green water -- give me the heebie-jeebies.

 

Thank you @Stacken77 for your helpful advice. From the way you're describing it, I think my poor plant needs a lot more water than it's been getting. I was worried the opposite was the case because it's been showing the kind of reaction I get from my orchids when they get overwatered or I've forgotten to drain them properly.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply, and fingers crossed that my little plant will be showing signs of improvement soon!

 

High school math is probably taught in a bad way, high school math teachers are often mediocre bored (and boring) people. Math is a language that needs to be trained and understood; at some point you become fluent. I personally understand (well) only the "type" of Math belonging to my field of expertise. 99% of Math is gibberish to me. 99% of Math is gibberish for every mathematician.

 

If you search back through the ‘members photo album’, there’s a load in there that I posted a while back. However, the van has been redone, so I will send over some updated photos shortly

 

I read a few Stephen King books when I was younger, and you're inspiring me to return to his catalogue. Did you watch the TV series of Under The Dome? Did you love it, hate it or something in between? I've not read the book, the series started well but by the second season I found it both enjoyable and annoying in equal measure. Stephen King was a great admirer of the series The 100 on The CW channel, though they kind of ruined it in the final season, Game-of-Thrones style.

My favourite genre of book (and TV/movie) is science fiction. Favourite classic authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. I'm in the middle of a modern series by Jasper T. Scott called the Dark Space Universe which is pretty gripping. Best ever sci-fi TV show for me was a Canadian time-travel show called Continuum which got a 4-season run.

Music-wise my go-to genre is progressive rock. Bands like Rush, Yes, Genesis, Pure Reason Revolution, Neal Morse, Riverside, Van Der Graaf Generator and also from other genres Sigur Ros, Vangelis, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Biffy Clyro, King's X, Delirious, Needtobreathe, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa. I like many genres from folk to blues to classical to metal, which can often all be found within one prog rock epic.

I have played piano/keyboards in several bands on a semi-professional basis over the years, including sessions for BBC Radio plus playing on some of the biggest stages in Scotland to thousands of people.

I've taken up cycling again. Just been out on a great network of paths I've discovered near our house during lockdown, with my daughter. In my 20s I cycled the length of the Caledonian Canal in Scotland, taking in Inverness, Loch Ness, Fort William and Glen Coe. An unforgettable trip. I'm not planning anything more than a day trip for a while yet, till I get my cycling legs back.

I also enjoyed skiing in my younger days, but I never ventured outside of Scotland and I may be too "past it" (I'm 56) to take it up again. But we'll see how much improvement to my fitness I get from my cycling, and then who knows.

 

I am not a passionate person, but I will engage in vigorous measurebation to find out whether my possessions comply with their advertised specs. Be it audio...



...or imaging...



...I find it entertaining and rewarding to find out how gear performs.