Hear my confession.
The thing that has made me happiest this week is the restoration of my weather station.
Like, I know, right?
Yup. It brings me great joy to have an anemometer connected to the Internet. I like being able to look up the weather on Wunderground.com and know that the forecast for my zip code is 100% accurate TO MY GODDAMN PORCH.
This is not something young people should care about. Of course, I'm not young. But it's not something middle-aged people are supposed to care about, either. I oughtta be 65 with a Volvo, a fly rod, a Costco pack of metamucil and a prescription for my high blood pressure. I should not be able to touch a skateboard with one hand and my weather server with the other.
Yeah. Weather server. I have a computer that does nothing but upload the weather to the Internet. Well, that, and download pictures of weather from space.
Yeah. I pay $10 a year for "high-res clouds." I guess we all have our in-game purchases, mine just reek of Geritol.
So. Either I'm faking this whole "under 40" thing and I haven't realized it, or there are others with hobbies that are beyond geeky, they're positively geriatric. No, knitting doesn't count. Knitting is hip now.
There's gotta be some goddamn hipster out there that loves Bingo.
You've framed this all wrong. See, I too care about the weather a bit too much. I paid twenty dollars for this weather app on my phone and considered it a steal: http://radarscope.tv/products/ But why did I do this and why do I care? Is it because I'm old? Fuck no. I need the absolute highest resolution, up to date, and comprehensive weather information at my fingertips because I ride a motherfuckin motorcycle. Fast. Every drop of rain on the road could mean the difference between life and death the way I roll. Every driver squinting towards me into the sun as they turn right onto the road in front of me heading East at dusk is a potentially blind slab of steel dropping itself into my path. Every sudden dip in the temperature could mean the difference between making it home and getting stranded. I love weather because I live on the edge. Don't you own a motorcycle? You could totally use this reason too. Full disclosure, I ride a Harley so I don't really live on the edge at all. They are so slow. Sucks to get rained on though. That part is true at least.
The framing would be a lie, though. I mean, I live in SoCal. And I'm riding unless it's raining, which it does maybe six times a year. I need a weather station like I need a hole in the head. It ain't about need. And I mean, I live in SoCal. They'll fucking kill me anyway, it's not like they need a lame-ass excuse like weather.
Good morning! It's almost noon here. I'm almost sure that everyone has a quirk / oddity that would put them in the 'what are you, my granpa?' category. I mean just look at that. I have a ton of vinyl and I'm not even a hipster. I have them because I really like the audio quality, the fragile feeling. Granted, it's more people-in-their-fifties than cranky old dudes but still, everyone acts old every now and then, just as we act playful like children sometimes. Either that or you're screwed, man.So. Either I'm faking this whole "under 40" thing and I haven't realized it, or there are others with hobbies that are beyond geeky, they're positively geriatric.
I don't know. I think vinyl might count as in the "hip now" category by KB standards. I have about 100 records myself. You could call me a hipster if you wanted. I honestly think the label has faded in both weight and "significance" - you don't hear people talking about hipsters any more, or at least I don't - the focus has turned to the "millenials." Also, I definitely have that Simon & Garfunkel album. Of my 100 records, only 10% (or yes, exactly 10) are "modern" music/releases. 70-80% of it is classic rock - Who, Creedence, Stones, Beatles, etc - and then there's a bit of classical in there too just to confuse everyone. I love my records. Sadly I don't have a nice enough turntable/set-up to play them all the time, but it's on my "upgrade if my bonus is big enough" list. As for me - I have played Bingo twice in the past three weeks with a group of friends. It's bar bingo though, not money-bingo at a fire station, so I'm not sure if that counts. (Prizes include pint glasses and cheap sex toys.) Some of my friends and I have developed a fun habit over the years, where we "remember" and wax poetic about things from the old days that we are not actually old enough to have experienced. The big one is "Remember when you could smoke on airplanes?" but we mix these references up, as we can.
Vinyl is so lovely. I don't really have a nice setup but my Sennheisers can convey the music beautifully. My dad introduced met to the Red and Blue albums and to The Wall and I've enjoyed many vinyls since then. He's a huge Who fan himself, so he was really happy when I found a rare live album for him. It's great what music can mean to people.Also, I definitely have that Simon & Garfunkel album. Of my 100 records, only 10% (or yes, exactly 10) are "modern" music/releases. 70-80% of it is classic rock - Who, Creedence, Stones, Beatles, etc - and then there's a bit of classical in there too just to confuse everyone. I love my records. Sadly I don't have a nice enough turntable/set-up to play them all the time, but it's on my "upgrade if my bonus is big enough" list.
We just moved too. I feel for you, it really is no fun. Hope you landed in a good spot and that it went smoothly. I was concerned about what my daughter would think and as it turned out she really hasn't been bothered by it at all. My wife and I are two fish out of water though.
The sad part: I had some vinyl. The record player blew up. I got the books on fixing record players - the amp blew up. I bought an RIAA preamp from Rane - had to have it shipped special from Europe because Rane stopped making it (no RoHS-approved components for some of the boards). It never worked. And then I spot-checked a half-dozen of my records and found them all as .flac on what.cd. Considering all I was going to do was rip them and denoise them anyway, it made very little sense to keep up the charade. Then I didn't download the flacs. That is my sense on vinyl - fun for the gear fetishism, but not at all about the music.
I think cassettes are more in the hip now category than vinyl. These days just about anyone and everyone is cashing in on records, and I love it. Classic rock records are great. It's always a good experience walking into a thrift store and seeing what awesome records from the 50s - 80s you can find for a couple of bucks each, and usually in good condition too.
Oh I know. Inspired by seeing this thread this morning. I'm usually in bed between 9 and 9:30 (EST, aka my time zone) almost every night. Even when I go out to the bar, it's not rare for me to retire by 10.
Oh, I want to see some of those weather from space pictures, that shit is cool -- even when there aren't any typhoons around. Do you have a public flickr or something? That might break your anonymity rule. Whatever, if you want to share, know that I want to see.
Wait, you're in Playa del Rey and you care about weather? I was about to say "I don't need local weather anymore because I live in West Hollywood". You're down the road from me (down Fairfax to La Cienega to La Tijera to Manchester Blvd, so four roads). I assume you need to know about ocean air details. I also hope you made that LED sweep clock yourself because it rocks.
Exactly. I don't need to know shit. I could throw a rock and hit LAX. You'd think if you needed to know about weather, you could probably trust their data. The weather station is actually a tawdry mix of sunk cost fallacy and scope creep. Naw, dude, that's legit. That's a Leitch-Harris UDC-5212. Great story behind it, too. Only thing cooler would be a Solari Udine Dator.Wait, you're in Playa del Rey and you care about weather?
I assume you need to know about ocean air details.
I also hope you made that LED sweep clock yourself because it rocks.
Neat. Another fun thing is guessing the city behind the light pollution on images like that. If Mexico City, San Diego etc are too easy, move on to Santa Fe, Salt Lake City, Vegas, and then on to OKC, Omaha, Fargo... EDIT: it should be noted that I am 21 years old. I was born to be a senior citizen.