What are your other hobbies?

[Autumn]

I know the vast majority of the people here collect lava lamps. But, I know many of us do other things. I dont really tell people about my other hobbies, so I decided to share mine.

I like building things. Not just any thing but things that are computer powered. I have a computer in my car that I use for a head unit. As crazy as it sounds it works great. I have GPS, satellite radio, music, video, audio tuning software, and just about anything you can think to add to a computer for audio.

Right now my wires are a bit messy because I recently upgraded some stuff and have not gotten around to cleaning it up.

 

Instead of a typical unit I have a VGA touch screen.

Another thing I created was an arcade cabinet. The cabinet has almost every game console that a computer can properly emulate. NES, SNES, Sega Genecyst, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Naomi, Playstation, and several thousand arcade games using MAME. The whole system is powered by a typical desktop computer that was modified to work as arcade hardware. It is fully functional as an arcade machine, it can accept coins and it boots right up to the arcade software. The screen also rotates so you can play games like pacman,galaga, digdug, and lots of airplane shooters on a vertical screen. I never got around to installing a proper marquee, but I will some day. For right now there is a "test" one I printed out.

 

So what do you guys do when you arent looking for lamps?

[Jim]

I agree.

Erin said:

Beetle people are some of the nicest you'll find. 

[Erin]

Those are some sweet cheeks. But Jim that photo was supposed to be private. Shame on you. 

[Autumn]

I'm jealous of Jim's butt.

Erin said:

Those are some sweet cheeks. But Jim that photo was supposed to be private. Shame on you. 

[Jim]

I can crack open a walnut with my cheeks.  :-)

Autumn said:

I'm jealous of Jim's butt.

[T]

I like planting and growing things indoors and outdoors.  I have small butterfly garden outside along with other plants/bushes and houseplants inside.  I have wind chimes and windspinners they have movement like lava lamps and spinning garden daisies, retro and movement............ahhhh

[D Newnham]

Yeah, to think Tim Burton spends all that money on set design when he could just shoot a movie at Wizard's place.

Erin said:

Wizard, you should sell tickets to your room. I'd pay to get in...

[D Newnham]

Hmm, you buy old phone's, keyboards and lamps because the quality is better, but you also own an old beetle. Isn't that heading in the opposite direction?

I was disgusted with modern Chinese made rubber-dome computer keyboards (having used good mechanical keyboards since 1981) and now I use a 1984 IBM Model F buckling-spring keyboard. I have all the good mechanical keyboards I ever admired since the 80's. I don't own any keyboard made after 1990. (I previously used a 1987 Amiga 500 computer as my main computer up to 2008.)

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Now I'm disgusted with Chinese lava lamps.

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I also own a 1958 VW Beetle.

[D Newnham]

Ah yes, my Nissan Sunny and VW Polo have been poor substitutes for a Cord 812 Sportsman Coupe and an Aston V8 Vantage. Buying the Beetle instead of a 356A is a bit like buying a clay tablet and a stick instead of an I-Pad. My little car is packing up right now so who knows what classic I'll get next.

mr_a500 said:

Well I wanted a Porsche 356A, but I just didn't have the cash.

(Ferrari 250SWB, Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, Mercedes 300SL gull-wing and Lancia B20GT were other options that failed due to price)

D Newnham said:

Hmm, you buy old phone's, keyboards and lamps because the quality is better, but you also own an old beetle. Isn't that heading in the opposite direction?

[D Newnham]

Except the 356 didn't have an engine that sounds like a bag of spanners dropping down an air conditioning vent.

So I didn't want to choke the thread with photo's of my other interests, so I've made a folder of photo's,http://oozinggoo.ning.com/photo/album/listForOwner?screenName=0z55c... the one above is a ceramic dinosaur I made with nodding head and tail.

mr_a500 said:

Ha! Not quite. It's more like buying an iPod Nano instead of an iPad. The Porsche 356 was based on the Beetle and early versions used many Beetle parts. The design is very similar. The Porsche 356 was really just a "luxury version" of the Volkswagen Beetle.

D Newnham said:

Buying the Beetle instead of a 356A is a bit like buying a clay tablet and a stick instead of an I-Pad.

[lava luva ~ Tiffany]

this is a great thread! i love hearing about your other collections!

 

besides lamps i collect vintage glassware, appliances and housewares. pyrex, fireking, mixers, old castiron cookware,  percolators and anything vintage kitchen related in pink or turquoise. pyrex and lavas are my main collection obsessions at the moment. i also love to restore old junky things and make em look nice again.

you can see alot of it here in my flickr photo stream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52047146@N03/

 

 

[Keith]

[Keith]