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What talents do you have?

7K views 102 replies 44 participants last post by  jwfuchs1 
#1 · (Edited)
Outside of our love of riding and the free exercise thereof, what other talents/hobbies do you have?

I like to do metal work, wood work, and I've learned how to do flooring projects. I've done a little remodeling in our home and replaced all the floors with carpet in the bedrooms (I hate cold floors in the morning), porcelain, ceramic tiles, engineered hardwood planks, and Italian pavers. The pavers were the last bit of flooring that remained to be done after replacing the double swing front doors. It's in a small foyer (thank goodness for it being small).
View attachment 503899

I moved the doorway that goes into the small office to the right and have to make and stain the trim yet. What made this so difficult was that on every side the pavers had to be cut. When I first started the remodeling, I bought a fairly expensive tile saw from MK Diamond. With the square footage of tile I had to place, I knew that buying the saw would be less expensive than hiring the labor from a contractor. Now that I'm done, I plan on selling the saw for about 1/2 of what I bought it; that makes it a bargain for me and for a flooring contractor.
 
#2 ·
@Phideaux Very cool, man. My oldest Brother is like that. I imagine doing a project like that floor is like therapy.
 
#37 ·
Thanks for the complement; it's greatly appreciated. I must say, it was stressful. The thin set that is mixed to bed the tiles has a working life of about 25 minutes; after that, it's hard to get the tiles to set down to the concrete without a lot of pressure on them which can lead to them breaking. I set a midline from the center of the doors to the near side opening. I set the right side first, then completed the left side the next day. That forced small adjustments in the gapping, but it turned out well. The near side edge tiles were left to be fitted on the third day, so they would be trimmed properly.

I was just reared with the work ethic of doing it yourself, if you could. That, and I'm a cheapskate!
 
#3 ·
Talents? Music : play a mean radio, Electronics : I can release the evil smoke.


I play piano, but haven't done so in a while. Replace all the plumbing in a house, (I HATE plumbing), Hunting and fishing have occupied a lot of my time before I took up riding. In fact, the fishing thing got a little fanatical. Don't really have any steady hobbies. Dabble in something if it interests me, then drop it after having done it.
 
#5 ·
... Hunting and fishing have occupied a lot of my time before I took up riding. In fact, the fishing thing got a little fanatical.
I was the same way with Golf. I was good. Really good! Then the accident happened. What could have been...
 
#4 ·
I can overexplain anything with little to no effort. Talents: I can sleep through anything - air turbulence, earthquakes, sex... I tend to think outside the box and one day I'll reinvent the wheel. But most of all, I am very good with my mind and my hands and can always figure out how to repair something, replace something or when to call someone else in to do it because I'm clueless.
 
#8 ·
I run all of the computers and servers at my office for my day job. I fix sewing machines for my wife’s business at night. I do all my own work on my bike. I used to sing in a band. I’ve done voice over work. Dabbled in music creation.
 
#9 ·
I can cook like you wouldn't believe. Attached are pics of a beef wellington, a tomato-basil focaccia, and an artisan rye-wheat sourdough. View attachment 503919 View attachment 503923 View attachment 503925

Also - and I hate to sound braggy about this -- I've been able to randomly select the cart with the most ****ed up wheels at any given supermarket every time I go for, like three decades or so. So I got that going for me. Gunga, gunga-galunga.
 
#10 ·
This may be a long list, but not intended as being braggadocios.
I like challenging myself to learn, and to do.

I can't do some of this anymore, and some not as good as I used too.

When I was four I had a large swing set and 3' deep swimming pool, and my folks thought it best to keep them apart for some reason.
I eventually learned to use the high diving board, and on the regular boards I could back flip and do 1-1/2 forward flips (when I was thin).
I could build a house from the foundation up, ceramic tile, real hardwood floors, Swedish finish one time...that stuff is Toxic, electric, roofing (cedar, asphalt, and modern metal), wood siding, and sweating copper pipe.
Built and refinished a few pieces of furniture for myself.
Taught myself to write in cursive when I was in Jr High.
Learned how to weld Tig, Mig, and stick.
Built a few engines. Built a few low budget street rods (German and American). Did a little body work, and rebuilt a couple transmissions one a 904 automatic, and the other a Honda 5 speed.
Sandblasting, painting (rattle can).
Always had an interest in cooking, but just for the family.
For fun I learned how to set up gears, pick posi unit, and rebuild rear ends. Ford 8.8, and front jeep Dana 30. Replaced and upgraded complete suspension.
Did a high-line fender modification ( a lot of work) to my jeep before sending it out for paint.
Skateboarded a little bit, broke both ankles at different times, quit skateboarding, snowboarded (freeride) a bunch (taught a few people), and mountain bike downhill.
BMX race (just for fun in my 40's), built BMX bikes from scratch for me and my girls. Loved learning how to manual over small doubles. Only fliped onto my back one time while manualing down a small hill. It hurt, and ended my day.
Built a model RC airplane, and after crashing it learned to fly RC with a RC simulator.
For my plane I built a led flasher on a bread board (with help from a Radio Shack book) a few years before you could just buy a flashing LED. I played around with the on timing and the off timing to get it just right.
I used to install high end car stereos and alarms back in the day so I've tore apart hundreds of cars and trucks and put them back together.
Recreational played trombone, baritone, drums, box and electric guitar, and tambourine.
I love all kinds of guns.
My Dad and me built black powder rifles (from a kit) when I was in High School.
I got my first shotgun when I was four so I've hunted and fished for a long time.
I had my own flat bottom boat (10hp) when I was 13, but never owned another even though I enjoyed it immensely.
Raced a little autocross for fun...once in a white 4 door Fairmont where I got compliments from the guys running the event.
Aggressively rode ATC three wheelers from an early age.
Played on motocross tracks, one was a fantastic nationals track that used to be out in a corn field near Troy Ohio. Never raced them though.
Focused my adult life on honing my car driving skills and being smooth and deliberate using double clutching, and heal toe. I was drifting before folks called it that.
I remember doing reverse 180's in my Mom's car on gravel roads until the fan chewed into the radiator.
I've jumped motorcycles, cars, and trucks on city streets and over a couple of raised railroad tracks as well.
Went to college a little later in life, and graduated second in my class.
Built 3 desktop computers from scratch, and dabbled around with combining scsi drives with sata drives back when storage and speed were both hard to get.
My long term Jeep project really needs to be finished so like I say every winter it'll get it done next spring. Something always seems to get a higher priority in the 3-4 months of good weather so it only gets worked on here and there.
I'm love riding my new Kodiak 700 Quad even though it's only a few miles here or there...about a 150 so far. I couldn't leave it stock either. LED turn signals, removed the left hand operated rear brake cable, PCV, HMF exhaust, modded air valve, modded air box and filter, made a PVC license plate holder with lower supports, added a bunch of heat shielding under the plastics, heated grips, winch, snow plow, hand guards with built in rear view mirrors, and rear cargo box. I'm already looking at new tires. :angel:
 
#30 ·
Taught myself to write in cursive when I was in Jr High.
Jr High? When I was in school they taught cursive in early grade school.
I think it was first or second grade. Of course that was 1951 or 52.
 
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#11 · (Edited)
I play guitar/bass and sing. Not as good as I used to, but I was in a few bands in the days of my youth. Largest event I ever played was the 1989 20th anniversary of Woodstock in front of 16,000 people. I guess that was my 15 minutes.

I love to tinker with things and fix things that are broken or poorly designed. I'm not the best at it but I've managed to come up with some pretty good fixes for things and I like figuring things out.

EDIT: Just came back to this thread and realized I typo'd 1998 as the year we played there. That was NOT correct. It was 1989.
 
#14 ·
I play guitar/bass and sing. Not as good as I used to, but I was in a few bands in the days of my youth. Largest event I ever played was the 1998 20th anniversary of Woodstock in front of 16,000 people. I guess that was my 15 minutes.

I love to tinker with things and fix things that are broken or poorly designed. I'm not the best at it but I've managed to come up with some pretty good fixes for things and I like figuring things out.
Kindred spirits! But never got past basement player. My dad inspired the Mr Fixit in me. And I have built from scratch and fixed more computers than I can count
 
#12 ·
Speaking of RC, I used to have a Miniature Aircraft 1005 Gasser helicopter. Blade span was 5 feet tip to tip powered by a 23-cc gasoline pull-start engine and weighed 13 lbs AUW (All Up Weight). The blades alone were $150.

Very unnerving to fly, it was very loud. 5-foot rotor blades spinning 1500 RPM. Not something to do to relax. Scared to do anything real fun with it because it's $1000 plus hanging in the air.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bPD3gCnxbcn6cTqc8
 
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#16 ·
Musically inept, can't sing, tone deaf, no natural rhythm. I can listen to a radio.

Most everything I can do is self taught.

Learned how to weld by buying an old Lincoln 225 stick welder & 30 or 40 lbs of different rods.
Welded stuff together then beat on it with a sledge till it broke then welded it again, over & over.

First automotive engine I rebuilt was a 283 Chevy, only took me three or four times to get it to run then a few more times to figure out why it didn't want to turn over (ring gap, bearing clearance) & smoked.

Learned how to carve in soap stone then bone, antler, horn, fossilized ivory & wood.
Made a living traveling & doing various shows for about 12 years.

Learned woodworking so I could build tables & displays for the show set up.
Needed stuff that was light weight, easy to pack & durable.
There was nothing available commercially so I designed & built it.
We still use them in our store today.

Hated computers & said I would never own one.
Now I'm the IT guy for our business keeping 6 computers running & networked.

My grand-pa told me: "If you never touch anything you'll never screw up BUT you'll never learn anything either".
 
#17 ·
Hated computers & said I would never own one.
Now I'm the IT guy for our business keeping 6 computers running & networked.
That's the way it works. I've always been a 'do learner', not a 'book learner'. I grew up taking all my toys apart. Went to a technical high school and took sheet metal for my shop. I thought wanted Machine Tool but I was talked out of it. I wish I had stuck with it. Worked at a butcher shop for 5 years, then was service manager for a camera shop. Got into the IT gig after that when someone needed some general support help with the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia in 2000. Been doing computer stuff ever since. I don't have a single IT certification to my name, but I got to install and configure a $17,000 SAN all by myself. 18 TB holding 60 VMs running on VMWare, still learning as I go. :)
 
#18 ·
Does a twisted sense of humor and a desire to make other's think and squirm at the same time count for anything?


I'm only asking for a friend. :FIREdevil:

Do love to cook, probably because I also love to eat.
It came in handy back in the college days. I did the cooking and the room mate(s) did the cleaning. I hate the cleaning part.
 
#34 ·
My mother used to play in a 50s-60s rock band called Time Machine in the late 80's. She's where I get my musical talent. Here's a photo of her playing at the New Haven Freakin' Coliseum (before they knocked it down)

New Haven Coliseum - Wikipedia

 
#36 ·
Must've been my dad's fault :D :D
 
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#38 ·
View attachment 504103 Took golf lessons spring of 81. When the weather was nice went riding.
Took scuba diving lessons winter of 84. Did open water certification. When weather was decent went riding.
Took skiing lessons winter of 90 in Utah. Bought a ski package. Finally learned to do something else when the weather wasn't conducive to riding.
 
#39 ·
Lets see I'm good at drinking alcohol and receiving speeding tickets.

I know how to wrench on most vehicles, but hate doing it in confined spaces like a two car garage or even on the street. I try to steer away from the the major jobs unless I have someone walk me thru it, because I don't want to spend the time and end up having to get it towed somewhere to be fixed properly.

I can break or take apart most items I come across it's putting them back together that usually falls short and I end up with extra parts.

Simple home repairs. Would like to learn how to do tile, flooring, laying brick, or anything else that would be require someone else to come out and do. The brick laying I'm gonna teach myself when I move into my new house by making a fire pit.

Hunting is another thing I love doing with my spare time, but now I'm 12 hours away from my farm so I doubt I'll make it this year.

I know how to cook but rarely do, because I end up having to eat the same meal for a week straight. I'm a fan of the one pan type meals and have made some pretty awesome ones before.
 
#40 ·
Grew up doing the hunting/fishing/trapping stuff. Fishing has always been at the top of my list. Was pretty descent in the tourney fishing on some local circuits and clubs.
Built our first end tables, nightstands, coffee table when the wife and I first got married. Still have the nightstands in our garage. Nothing fancy. Daughter now wants me to make "farmhouse " furniture for her. Couple of tables,etc..
Nowhere near the skill level, talent or ability as most of you on here but it keeps me happy and full of memories.
 
#52 ·
Built our first end tables, nightstands, coffee table when the wife and I first got married.
Made me laugh!!
My first wife & I built a few street/race cars together all had small block chevy's.
We always had a couple of projects going on either cars or bikes.
Xtra parts become furniture.
Bare blocks stood up on end with a glass top was the coffee table.
Pistons for ash trays, cam gears for coasters, heads for lamp stands, you get the picture.
Winter time I parked the Guzzi inside so it would start.

When we met new people she would invite them over to see our home that was decorated in: "Early Americana with Italian accents".
I could always tell how long the friendship would last by their reaction when they came over.
 
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