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What are your obsessions?

SciFiGreg

Apparently it's common for Aspies to have unusually focused or niche interests so I figured I'd find out what other peoples interests are.

I'll go first.

Mine are:

  • Sci-Fi TV (Trek, Stargate, Babylon 5, The Expanse - Trek was my gateway drug, which I started watching at the age of 5. I even remember episode titles from a few seconds of viewing or starship registry numbers)
  • Trance & Progressive House music - not commercial bilge you hear played on the radio - underground stuff you'd hear at a proper club or event rather at your local meat market (I pretty much exclusively listen to these genres)
  • Cats (If I see one in the street I have to make friends, if it's a timid cat I have to try and win its trust - for some reason a friendly cat makes me super happy, perhaps I have toxoplasmosis)
  • The Simpsons
  • Technology (I work in IT support and am always using or fiddling with tech)
  • Science - I listen to a number of podcasts and find things like advances in genomics interesting
  • Religion - more specifically from the view of an atheist (me) - trying to understand how people are duped into believing such things from a neurological and psychological perspective (this stems from being raised by fundamentalist evangelical Christians, who've turned out to be massive hypocrites)
Parents

  • Some of my interests include:

    • Books, both physical and digital. I just can't help but collect and read them. I especially like old slightly tattered books.
    • Retro video games.
    • Anything nature related, but especially sharks and dinosaurs.
    • Antique or just old and useless knick knacks. Many of which I have found such as my collection of 1920's bottles which I found in a wood nearby my house.
    • Languages and how they developed throughout history.
    • Folklore and mythology as well as religion. Not that I believe any of it but just find it fascinating why others do.
    • Family history.
    • Photography.
    • Quantum physics

    There are probably some others I am forgetting

  • in reply to grendalsbane

    I quite like old computers - Had to keep a bunch of DEC PDP 11/23 and 11/73 running - the 11/73 only got retired in 2010. I've just bought an old Atari ST to go 'old school' with my synthesisers.

  • in reply to Plastic
    Plastic said:
    I've just bought an old Atari ST to go 'old school' with my synthesisers.

    Cubase on the ST was great. I don't really use outboards anymore. Hardware is more fun than software production though. I still have a few synths though. I have a Korg DW8000 and a Roland Juno Alpha 2. I still have my sampler too. I run a DAW now but the hands on feel of hardware is something I deeply miss! Which synths and outboards are you using?

  • in reply to Cloudy Mountains

    It seems they max-out all the tracks now to compete for attention and to try to be 'louder' than anthing else. That 'pumping' sound around the bass drum annoys me too - it's like old Dolby C without the eq switched in.

    Good news! My Atari arrived this morning - all works ok so I'm hooking my toys together right now. I'm using Gajits Sequencer One for MIDI control.

  • in reply to Plastic

    Octave Kitten, nice! I think you can get random effects from software but I'd say sometimes the process can be convoluted. Running separate LFO between effects and the synth is something that can yield some nice unexpected stuff. Not just plug and go though.

    There are still bands using that sparse production. I hate a whole track that has been compressed but running a nice crisp drum machine through compression can be interesting. That wall of sound thing sounds even worse with some of the sidechaining methods used now. I hear music where the whole track will collapse to let a kick drum in. It irritates me. It's like water in my ears everytime a kick comes in. I'm guessing you aren't a fan of "remastered" albums either! Loudness isn't everything!

  • in reply to Cloudy Mountains

    I've got a real odd bunch right now - Octave Kitten, Korg Poly 61, Casio CZ3000, Korg X3, Roland SK88, Roland S10, Zoom effects etc. They all do interesting things that playing with software doesn't. It's the odd, random 'real' sounds that software just doesn't give that I like.

    I like the old Depeche Mode and John Foxx sound - huge, clean, empty soundscapes where sounds are placed deliberately rather than the 'wall of sound' over-produced, compressed garbage that's been around for the last 20 years..

Reply
  • in reply to Cloudy Mountains

    I've got a real odd bunch right now - Octave Kitten, Korg Poly 61, Casio CZ3000, Korg X3, Roland SK88, Roland S10, Zoom effects etc. They all do interesting things that playing with software doesn't. It's the odd, random 'real' sounds that software just doesn't give that I like.

    I like the old Depeche Mode and John Foxx sound - huge, clean, empty soundscapes where sounds are placed deliberately rather than the 'wall of sound' over-produced, compressed garbage that's been around for the last 20 years..

Children
  • in reply to Cloudy Mountains

    It seems they max-out all the tracks now to compete for attention and to try to be 'louder' than anthing else. That 'pumping' sound around the bass drum annoys me too - it's like old Dolby C without the eq switched in.

    Good news! My Atari arrived this morning - all works ok so I'm hooking my toys together right now. I'm using Gajits Sequencer One for MIDI control.

  • in reply to Plastic

    Octave Kitten, nice! I think you can get random effects from software but I'd say sometimes the process can be convoluted. Running separate LFO between effects and the synth is something that can yield some nice unexpected stuff. Not just plug and go though.

    There are still bands using that sparse production. I hate a whole track that has been compressed but running a nice crisp drum machine through compression can be interesting. That wall of sound thing sounds even worse with some of the sidechaining methods used now. I hear music where the whole track will collapse to let a kick drum in. It irritates me. It's like water in my ears everytime a kick comes in. I'm guessing you aren't a fan of "remastered" albums either! Loudness isn't everything!