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?

[VintageK]

How awesome!  I love those!  That is the General Electric Teardrop! You push the buttons on the side and the toast flips out and over... soooo cool! I've been looking for one for years. I used to volunteer at a GE museum that had one and it took such restraint to not sneak it into my backpack haha.  The porthole/conveyor belt one is the Toast-O-Lator! I have one myself and it is definitely one of my favorites. My fav fav is the Sunbeam T-9 form 1939 with the glowing gemstone in the front and the upside down u shape. Such a great and well made toaster. I also have the toaster that is double the height of the usual type and drops the toast DOWNwards (made to avoid patents)  They are so freakin cool. Thanks for sharing these!

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Jim, Kyrle, I've wanted a working Toast-O-Lator for ever and ever...

Erin, Kyle is the person who NAMED the Apollo (and discovered the reasonable background for the name)

 

I mostly collect stuff. My main collections are:

Novelty lighting: Lava & glitter lamps, Aerolux bulbs (glowing neon figures), Balafire bulbs (filament swings wildly due to interference from a magnet), rotating motion lamps, gas discharge lights (plasma balls, lightning plates), fiber optics, and assorted oddball lamps.

Antique/unusual glassware: Neon tubes, Geissler tubes, lab glassware 'hand boilers' and drinking birds, etc.

Smoking pipes: Mainly meerschaums of all sorts and old, unusual corncobs, but also clay, briar, cherry, and some glass ones probably meant for green herbal contents if they're bizarre-looking enough.

Clocks: I'm nowhere near the serious collector Kyle is, and my collection pales, and Dr. WHAT!?, you've got some killer ones...! I pick up old cuckoo clocks, novelty 1-day German clocks such as the tiny plastic Grandfather clocks, and some more unusual ones (Gordon Bradt "Six-Man Clock", Kirsch-Hamilton "Aurora", and MasterCrafters Starlight, Eternalight and Action Starlight, Jefferson "Golden Hour", "Golden Helm" and "Suspense" 'mystery' clocks, etc.)

Vintage lighting fixtures and vintage 1970s and 1980s ceiling fans.

Vintage tiki torches (the all-metal ones)

Vintage electric door chimes: Anything from the mid-30s when commercial door chimes and doorbells (beyond the standard alarm-bell or buzzer types) hit the main consumer market, all the way into the 80s - I also collect old doorbell pushbuttons, and other signaling stuff like the antique electric servant paging systems.

Unusual old lawn sprinklers and fountain nozzles, mainly the Rain Jet rotary fountain jets.

[Jim]

Jonas - if you still want a Toast-O-Lator let me know.  I may be able to assist.  There is always a toaster seller at the flea market near my house.  I have his business card and can provide his contact information.  He does know his market worth, but I am quite sure he has several Toast-O-Lators.  Its just gonna sting a little.  ;-)

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Thanks, Jim, but I think Lava Lites will come first for now... Still gotta find that pesky Aladdins Lamp, the one and only Lava Lite my *mother* wants.

[Modulo '70]

I started off just collecting dead light bulbs!

[Modulo '70]

Beautiful objects. I appreciate these aesthetically.
Jim said:

I will snap some additional pics tomorrow.  She has shelving running loops around the kitchen with the best of her best toasters displayed.  The coolest thing is she has plugs for the majority and they all still work.  Below are a couple of her toasters.  One that I must capture is the one where the bread moves laterally through the toaster - includes a porthole in the middle so you can check the progress as the toast moves through the machine.

 

One of the absolute rarest ones out there.  Made, I believe, right around the Great Depression.  Very ornate, very pricey and considering the times, not too many sold.

A toaster this age that's never been used?  Iridescent porcelain and note the mica on the heating elements.  New as new can be.

VintageK said:

Jim I want to see photos!!!

[Jim]

Kick ass slug bug!!!  Have always wanted one, had the chance, but balked at the price above $10K.  Something about electric heat made it special somehow.  Some day...

[Gwen Williams]

I also collect Furby's (yeah those colorful gremlin looking things) and vintage paste jewelry.  I Live a pretty rockabilly life so most of the jewelry gets worn when i go to car shows and drive about in either my 66 Dart or on my 64 Vespa scooter. 

[WeeboTech]

FURBY's!! Love them!

[Gwen Williams]

it all started with my husband being nicknames Furby by some co workers, I just added another to my horde (hubby calls it that) yesterday, a Mardi Gras Furby!

[Erin]

BUG! I had a 2001 New Beetle and always wanted an old one. They are the coolest of the cool. Beetle people are some of the nicest you'll find. 

[Erin]

That's awesome. :) I've been very close to buying one before, but can't handle maintenance on two cars.