Unfortunately, I am becoming an expert at sick elderly people and how to help them.

I have been a successful parent. I hope that counts for something.

I know a lot about screenwriting and how to cook a delicious salmon that will get you laid.

@Vunessuh Um, could I get that recipe? Quickly?

@Vunessuh I may have to ask the question ” Does anyone have a recipe that will get me laid.” :D

This is funny. When I was in SF visiting the Aussies and Tim we were walking to the Exploratorium talking about the Fluther Salons and trying to think up what our “Ask me about…” cards would say. I couldn’t pick one really good ones, but I think I came up with stuff like being an only child, or world travel. Someone (Tim? Ali?) suggested mine should say burritos. As much as I love burritos, I don’t claim to be an expert on them, especially since mine are usually filled with the same things every time. (Chicken super burrito, please.)
I got my degree in sociology. I’m no expert in the field, but I feel like I know more about it than the average person.
I’m a huge klutz. I think that makes me an expert in accidental injury.

Cake decorating. I’ve only been able to put my “expertise” (I feel so weird saying I’m an expert at anything) to use a couple of times here, so far.

I’m majoring in anthropology (have taken linguistic, cultural and biological anth courses), so I know quite a bit about it. I can also help out with screenprinting, woodcuts, and intaglio print questions.

And yeah, I’m a survivor, in multiple ways. Abusive alcoholic father, drug addicted mother, been through abandonment, other issues that I have yet to fully divulge here, and the suicide of my best friend. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to survive, but somehow I managed to do it anyway.

I’m sure there are other, very random and possibly weird things that I can help with, but those are the first things that came to mind.

Hmm… well nursing school and working as a nurse in a few different areas, being a military spouse, moving, raising children from birth to school-age (I may not be an expert, but I think I’ve done well), sending care packages, and being a child molestation and rape survivor.

Being on fluther really makes me feel inadequate, there are so many brilliant minds here. In life I am a jill-of-all trades, master of none. I have life experience..been there – done that kind of stuff. I would never profess to being an expert at anything but myself.

I am an expert at bull shitting. LOL
Then I think some may consider myself and expert in child rearing since my children have managed to do well and enter adulthood without any mental problems or scars and both have a fairly good sense of fair play, honesty, decency and affection and care for their fellow man.
Next , I suppose would be at cooking Puerto Rican dishes and some italian dishes and creole and american dishes.
Expert in some ailments that have befallen family members and ways to take care of them when traditional medications don’t seem to work.
Colitus, intestinal ills, eczema, rashes, asthma, female problems, allergies and gout to name a few.
Vitamins, skin care, hair care, nail care, (ok, general wellness of the human body).
Surviving military life, adjusting to new places, moving, and some minor computer stuff.
As, @Amwiser said, Jack of all trades, master of none.

@chyna @Dog It’s simple, really:

Step 1: get naked.
Step 2: cook salmon or call for take out and order the salmon.

Either way, the naked part really helps…for some reason. XD

I think I’m the only one with an investor relations background.

I’m also pretty good with math and I speak Spanish, Italian and (some very rusty) German, but that’s not unique.

————All- I am blown away at the responses!————
This is awesome!

Keep in mind that the term “expert” is loose. You don’t need to know everything on the subject. :D

Brains!

Ok. I’m an expert peanut butter cookie maker. I can make them without a recipe. My secret ingredient is a pinch of ground ginger. They are the bomb!

shhh….. I’ll only share it with Fluther

My field is English (with a keen interest in Children’s Literature; I recently found my annotated bibliography of 60+ picture and chapter books I compiled for a course) but I do not feel as though I can lay claim to being an expert of either.

I am quite knowledgeable about muppets, but don’t know whether this particular area is useful (or even interesting) to anyone on Fluther. But I’d be lying if I said I weren’t proud of it! This morning I posed a trivia question to both my siblings (“Which television special did Bean Bunny make his debut?”) and neither were able to guess correctly. They also rolled their eyes.

Bonus Trivia: Kathryn Mullen (who performed Mokey on Fraggle Rock) assisted Frank Oz in puppeteering Yoda during the original Star Wars trilogy.

@muppetish LMAO!! Thanks, nothing like a good laugh before retiring.

@muppetish Awesome!
Muppet trivia ftw!

I know web/graphic design.
I sadly know a lot about abuse.
I know a lot about relationships.
I’m pretty great with movie/music/celebrity knowledge.

Oh. I know a lot about New Jersey and pizza and Italian food and pizza and meatballs and spaghetti and yeah.

^^she also knows how cool it is to be a Denver Broncos fan. :D

I’m a linguistics buff. Not as advanced as some of the other linguistics buffs on here; I’m only a sophomore in college after all. But I really try to tackle as many grammar/linguistics questions as I can answer and I find I do just that. (I’m good with Latin, but honestly how often do Latin-related questions come up?) I’m also pretty knowledgeable about homosexuality and issues related to it.

@jonsblond HELLS YES <3

I’m an expert at procrastination

as i said recently in another question like this

Marine Biology. Namely coral reefs and deep sea life.
Im also pretty passionate about hallucinogens and the research of them.

<———Fish/Drug nerd

I do not consider myself an expert at anything.

On fluther, I help with cat questions, gender and sexuality, and mental health, mostly. I can give you my opinion about anything.

I’m very good at leaving things unfinis

What are the more unusual areas of expertise you have?

18th, 19th, and early 20th century European and American military uniforms. I also know a lot about post-mortem cabinet photography, African tribal headwear, Indian bladed weapons, and the philosophical schools of pragmatism, transcendentalism, and Nihilism.

Are you a history buff? If so what is your favorite era?

Hell yes I’m a history buff. My favorite “era” is from 1860 to 1959 or so. I also know way more about WWI and the Second Boer War than anyone my age should.

What have you studied? Have you studied law, medicine or the arts?

I’ve read a bit of constitutional law stuff. I have read medicine-related things, but I don’t really understand it that well. I never was good at biology. I’m going to a liberal arts school, and I’m an art minor, so I do know quite a bit about the arts. I can paint, draw, and sculpt, and I’m also an amateur potter and ceramicist.

What do you collect?

I collect guns & antique militaria, antique photographs and ephemera, antique and rare books, old cameras, and African tribal art, among other things.

Can you tell us about your collections and why you collect it?

I’m a huge history buff, and like it or not, war is one of the oldest human institutions. Guns especially, but also uniforms, letters, and gear gives me a tangible tie to the men and women who’s blood has shaped the world we live in today. I love antique photographs because they all tell a story and provide a window into the past. The same goes for books (no pun intended) and some of my rarer books are quite fascinating and even bizarre. I collect antique cameras because I’m a photography buff, and I actually use them. They are also very beautiful in their engineering. African tribal art is something I’ve been into since I was very young.

What are your hobbies?

Shooting, photography, painting, sculpting, writing, reading, camping, and survivalism.

Are you a fan? What are you a fan of? What trivia can you share that we might not know?

The lead singer of AFI is not gay.

Do you have life expertise? Are you a survivor? Have you fought the odds and succeeded?

I kicked depression and suicidal tendency’s ass by adopting a “fuck yeah, I’m a fucking badass” mentality. I basically told myself to stop being a pussy. It worked. Positive self-talk for the win.

What is it that you know that you are willing to share with the collective?

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. It is only rarely a penis.

Mine’s definitely inertial navigation. I’m currently building what should be the most advanced (and hopefully most accurate) open-source inertial navigation system in the world with my friend. Using gyros, accelerometers, magnetometers, GPS, static and differential pressure sensors it can compute an aircraft’s position and orientation including the wind vector in real-time.

Right now most of it is working and we’re just working on changing 2D wind into 3D wind estimation and estimating the difference between the true airspeed and the measure airspeed. We’re also potentially going to be switching from Euler angles to quaternions (if you thought imaginary numbers were insane, quaternions might give the Joker a run for his money). Right now I’m working on a tuning system that uses artificial intelligence. We’ve accounted for a lot of “gotchas” that trip up other open-source solutions, such as the change in air density as you go higher and your the speed at which the air is rushing over the plane diverges from the true speed you’re going. My friend and I are seeing if we can write up some of our unique work for publication and present it at the next AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) conference.

I know how to change your header on Tumblr.

@johnpowell Normally, that would be really impressive, but right after @timtrueman,‘s it’s really not. It is, however, hilarious.

First, I think we can all agree that the Paleozoic era was the best.

My expertises include my training in Google-fu and Wiki-fu, and intermediate level understanding of computers (and how to fix them). I still go to @johnpowell for Tumblr headers though.
I’ve got a lot of familiarity with the computer games I play, though none of them really get any questions asked about them on here.
If you’ve ever got a question about a guy who’s completely unfamiliar with social conventions or extroversion, I’m the guy to look to. I remember there was actually a question in which this expertise came in handy. I can’t find it though. Woe is me.
Other than that, I suppose it’s just my logic and cleverness that keeps me afloat.
Oh, and I’ve taken about a billion beginner-level classes at my college for all sorts of subjects. So I’m an expert in those. Accounting, engineering, oceanography, cinematography, you name it.

My interests (But not skills/expertises) are languages, astronomy, science-fiction films/television, Power/Symphonic/Prog metal, and industrial music.

The only thing I can claim I am a survivor of is this. And asthma.

I’m an avid reader, so I like to contribute to the book questions. I’m an artsy-craftsy kind of person, as well as a handy-woman who can build a bookshelf from scratch, so I help out in those areas if I can. I collect some odd shit… antique baby cups – pewter, silver, tin and enamel; the letter “N”, in any form; metal birds; and miniature chairs. The only one collect for a specific reason is the “N“s… I love typography, and my last name starts with an “N”. All the rest just sort of… happened. Something catches my eye, and the next thing I know, it’s a collection!

I have a lot of life experience, and a lot of survivor stories, so I might be a bit of an expert when it comes to human relations, weird diseases, sexual abuse, dealing with family members with mental illness, and my own depression/anxiety. I don’t know that I can really teach others about it adequately, but I am a living example that horrible stuff can be overcome.

Sweet holy moly, I bring the unigue ability to see logic apart from emotions which severly clouds it.

I’ll say international criminal law could be my unique contribution – I’ll say that my general expertise is based on my education in law, literature, and psychology (cognitive focus for the most part).

On fluther, I’ve learned to make a mean sandwich.

I am a public health student with an emphasis in epidemiology. I’m good with statistics and math. I work as a Neonatal Quality Improvement analyst. I use Microsoft Access and Excel daily. I’m a parent of a teenage boy. We openly discuss testicles, wet dreams and condoms. I am a member of the Baha’i Faith, of which I know quite a bit. I love to bake and vacuum. I prefer cleaning that can be done with a steam cleaner. I am a survivor of rape and emotional abuse. I am an expert on how difficult my parent’s divorce was for me as a five year-old. I have some experience with family members with addictions (alcohol, drug). I have been diagnosed with a number of mental health-related diagnoses, only a couple of which do I believe are true. I fight depression and anxiety daily. I am a wife. I love cats. I have dabbled a little with photography. I have made beaded jewelry and knit scarves. I have watched every episode of Lost at least once. I strictly enforce a 3-broom household (indoor, outdoor and cat litter).

I am expert at fishing, swimming, oh hell just about anything in or on the water, cooking, epoxy formulating (I know “oooooh”) Guitar Hero I and massage.

I can show you how to use your phone.

English is my number one expertise. It should be, considering I have a master’s degree in it.

I’ve seen just about every movie Bill Murray, Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Schwartzman and Paul Dano have been in; I’m basically an expert on them. I’ve seen all of Wes Anderson’s movies, too.

I’ve read everything by Noam Chomsky.

Addictions/obsessions/expertise: pumpkins, pizza, bagels, xkcd, torrents

I know a little about a lot, a lot about little.

I piddle in landscaping and gardening. I used to be more active in martial arts and salsa dancing and need to get back in to both of them. I know about how inappropriate it is for a pudgy, short, busty middle aged woman to take up rock climbing (and I do it anyway). I have a ridiculous number of song lyrics taking up space in my gray matter. I learn home improvement skills as I do them, and wish I had some of them before discovering my mistakes. Oh, and all of that stuff listed on my profile page.

@syz What’s that little you know a lot about?

@bob_ Veterinary medicine and Conservation Ecology. And exotic carnivore husbandry (not all exotic carnivores, but a good number).

I’ve loved reading everyone’s answers so far! I keep coming back and checking out this thread. I keep getting tempted to answer this myself, but I’m afraid it’s going to sound like I’m throwing a party for myself, which is not the case at all.

@J0E You should talk to this guy.

@MissAnthrope: Tell us!

This question scares the shit out of me. am I the only one? I bookmarked it, thinking I would have an answer by tomorrow. Tomorrow is here – my answer is not.

I see this question as, ‘what are you good for?’ I am turning this into some kind of existential exercise, which only makes things worse. What can I do, that couldn’t be done better by someone else? Nothing, really. I haven’t studied a specific topic enough to claim ‘expert’ knowledge. I don’t have collections or hobbies – they cost to much. I have a few areas of passion – film, tennis, giraffes, oceans, space… but a quick visit to each of their wiki pages (& maybe a documentary or two) would get you up to speed on what I know.

Is it possible to be an expert on wanting to live – just to enjoy the work of others? I don’t wake up each morning because I have something to get done that no one else could do. I get up because someone else has done that something, a million times better than I ever could.

I wake up because Craig Thompson’s Habibi is ready for publishing. I wake up because Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is released this year. I wake up because I want to hear The Weepies next album. I wake up because Frank Gehry has 23 building designs projected for the next few years. I wake up because ‘Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’ is wrapping up season 2 this week. I wake up because I want to know who the mother is, in How I Met Your Mother. I wake up because I want to see Novak Djokovic win his first U.S. Open. I wake up because Conan O’Brien’s show starts in 7 hours. I wake up because Shigeru Miyamoto is still producing titles. I wake up because Richard Linklater has three more years left, to complete a film that will have taken him 12 years to complete. I am woken up by the purpose of others.

I still haven’t found whatever it is, that I am supposed to be doing. What I was born to do. I guess for now, I am.an.expert string together a few hundred words of near-incoherent consciousness. Even then, Finnegans Wake has done that better than I.

I’m an expert on how to survive winters in upstate NY! I suspect Addirondeckwannabe is, too.

I’m the self-named resident Star Wars expert addict. I work for Dark Horse comics, too.

I know quite a bit about horses and their care. I lived with 60+ horses for most of my life.

I have 19 years of life experience that includes abuse, adoption, divorced parents, a severely disabled sister, multiple broken bones, drug abuse, suicide attempts, countless ER trips and just about anything else you can think of.

@Dr_Dredd Me too!!!

Off topic: We should have an upstate NY fluther gathering.

Zombies and horror movies. I don’t think it’s anything productive, but what can I say, it’s where I succeed. That, and drinking beer.

If zombies DO take over though, Fiddle Playing Creole Bastard is the only one I know of on here who won’t be running to me for survival.

Electricity, electrical circuits on industrial equipment, transformers and welding. Not much use on here. I’m also very knowledgable in paranormal phenomenom and I’m an amateur ghost hunter. No use on here either.

@Paradox Dont be so sure. Fluther has a huge range of questionsand I have seen ones inertial electricity ( I asked one about switches) and also paranormal phenomenon.

The thing I love most about the answers here is that I want to ask you all more about what you have written

From peanut butter cookies to inertial navigation- you all are like an amazing living library full of great stuff.

I have to write mine but am typing on an inferior device and it is too annoying to use. I will be back later.

@Paradox – if you’re only an amateur ghost hunter, how are you sure that they’re not the ones hunting you. ;-)

apologies…not sure if this is the appropriate time & place for this type of quip. I don’t expect all to answer, but I had to ask.

@chyna – Is it ever too late for people to start taking vitamins? After a certain age, are the effects no longer beneficial?

@jonsblond – What did no one tell you about parenthood, that came as a pleasant surprise?

@Vunessuh – When your first draft script goes beyond the 120 page ‘magical number’, what is the first thing you look for to cut out?

@Allie – They say that before kids have friends, they have family. Does an only child struggle with making friends when they enter the school system, because of the lack of similarly aged people in their upbringing?

@DrasticDreamer – What is the most common misconception about anthropology? Has majoring in anthropology changed how you view humankind?

@Seaofclouds – What is the one thing you can add to a care package that is guaranteed to make the recipient smile?

@AmWiser – You are a rare treasure. Some people go their whole lives without being an expert on who they are. Is there something you have yet to do & would like to?

@Pandora – Having raised kids to adulthood, you inevitably went through the phase where the words, “I hate you” are screamed through a slammed door. We all know of the phase, but when it finally happens, does it sting more than you thought? Is it difficult to not take it personal?

@bob_ – Did learning the three languages have any connection to your job in investor relations?

@nikipedia – How does an immune system under attack, affect the development of the brain?

@muppetish – What is the best example of having function follow form, in regards to how a muppet is designed & how the puppeteer operates it? (I know that the Big Bird puppet requires the puppeteer’s arm to always be held up, which is poor function design, but form looks great)

@chels – Widescreen computer monitors are now the norm, why are websites still created with a vertical layout, instead of a horizontal layout? Web design has catered to the mobile devices, why not widescreen desktop computing? Is it just something that sounds good in theory?

@DominicX – This may be of some interest to you. Enjoy. Let me know how you do – they get painfully difficult.

@DancingMind – What is your go-to activity for procrastination?

@uberbatman – How would a anglerfish react to small doses of LSD? :)

@psychocandy – What is the proper way to feed adult cats? How much & how often?

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – Tell me more about the post-mortem cabinet photography. When did you first hear of it & what about it peaked your interest?

@timtrueman – I read through your quip & I honestly don’t know what to ask you. I am in awe of what you are capable of.

@johnpowell – When I plug headphones into my iMac, the volume automatically increases to halfway on the volume slider. How can I avoid this/having my eardrums blown out?

@Sarcasm – First of all, the Precambrian era totally kicks the ass of the Paleozoic. What is it about Brink that you are looking forward to, that isn’t filling your need in current FPS’s?

@augustlan – Have you ever thought of combining your interest of books, crafts, & typography & take on rebinding old books? You could rebind an old favorite & decorate the binding with the letter ‘N’.

@Hypocrisy_Central – Having a hard time thinking of a question for you… so I’ll just say – I admire that quality. I remember in high school, a teacher once said this about writing essays, “Don’t choose a topic you are passionate about, because you will only argue with emotion.”

@iamthemob – I am not familiar with international crime law – what qualifies a case to be judged in the International Crime Court?

@Cupcake – Besides medication, is there something else I can do to help battle depression?

@Cruiser – If I have a long way to swim, which swimming stroke will yield great distance with low energy use?

@J0E – I don’t have a cell phone. Can you show me how to use a rotary phone?

@free_fallin – When making a fresh dough pizza, do you do anything to the crust for flavor/texture?

@syz – My golden retriever has several cysts on his chest. I am told they are harmless. But what should I keep an eye out for, to prevent something from getting worse?

@Dr_Dredd – I suspect upstate New York winters are similar to central Maine winters. Please, what are your survival tips?

@rangerr – I remember from a movie a long time ago, an exercise in a rehab center – the patients had to lift the foot of a horse up… is it really that difficult to do? Or can anyone – emotionally unstable or not, lift the leg & hoof off the ground?

@Symbeline – I haven’t seen a horror movie in several years. I found the quality of horror flicks to be in decline over the years. Can you recommend 3 titles (from the past 7 years) that are your favorites?

@Paradox – I have been telling people that their outlets have been installed upside down, for the longest time. Please tell me I am correct in saying that the ground wire should be on top (with hot & neutral slots being the bottom). Does it really matter?

I don’t think there is precedent, with someone asking 32 questions in a answer quip…don’t know if this will get flagged or not.

@rpmpseudonym A lot will depend on the stroke you have trained the most in. I am a freestyler and probably could go the greatest distance using a slow efficient crawl with minimal kicking involved. If I had to….once the endorphins kick in I could go for hours keeping a 1.2 MPH pace.

@rpmpseudonym Well it depends on the person. For my husband, a simple note saying I love him and miss him will make him smile. For the other soldiers, their favorite snack that they can’t get overseas will often do the trick, along with a note that let’s them know they are not forgotten about. Homemade cookies are always a hit too! :-)

@rpmpseudonym – the International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over acts that are considered a violation of international law of a non-civil nature – the equivalent of murder, rape, etc. in the criminal court. It is given specific jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes (like violations of the Geneva Conventions), crimes against humanity (crimes that are committed against a nations population on a massive scale), and the crime of aggression (which has only recently been defined). It is meant to be a tool to charge individuals with these acts instead of states – the acts are considered generally to be outside the capability of a state to perform and therefore the responsibility of the individual in the position.

But the ICC’s jurisdiction doesn’t cover the full range of what international criminal law is. There are drug-trade related violations, money laundering, and many other crimes that are prosecuted by states themselves. Further, the crimes covered by the ICC may be considered crimes of universal jurisdiction, which may be prosecuted by any country in the world. To be subject to the ICC, a country must also agree to its jurisdiction, which many (including the U.S.) haven’t. So, the crimes are prosecuted in state courts much more often than in the ICC.

@rpmpseudonym No. Spanish is my native language, and I learned English when I was very young. These are the two languages I use at work (I live in Mexico). German and Italian I learned for pleasure.

I think it is amazing that you took the time to construct so many pointed questioned :) And I hope the Jellies who have time to reply do so because I am curious to know many of the answers myself.

There are three main basic puppet forms used by muppeteers (with slight variations on each design to cater for specific creations): hand-rod, live-hands, and full-bodied.

Hand-Rod Muppets (think Kermit the Frog and Elmo) can either be half-bodied (cut off at the waist with a sleeve that covers the puppeteer’s arm) or full-bodied (if certain shots require the addition of legs and feet.) These puppets can be operated by single performers and require the use of both hands (one to move the puppet’s mouth and the other to control the arms using thin rods.) The design differs from single hand (where the puppet hand without an attached rod, usually the right as the majority of puppeteers are right-handed, is lax at the side) or dual-hand (which comes with a significant learning curve!)

The disadvantage is a lack of fluid arm movement. Kermit can flail his arms around, but he can only answer the phone if the director calls cut, attaches the phone to the puppet via some magical adhesive, and then rolls film again.

Live-Hands Muppets are always cut off at the waist and require two puppeteers for operation (the main performer controls the mouth and, usually, the left hand while the second performer controls the right hand.) As a result, the puppeteers need to really be in synch with one another to get the performance down correctly. A few puppets in this style include Fozzie, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.

The advantage to this style is that they have more realistic and fluid motion of the hands and arms. The disadvantage is that the puppet needs to be much bigger than hand-rod puppets to stay in proportion with the puppeteers’ arms and hands.

Full-Bodied Muppets are exactly what it says on the tin. They always appear impressive on screen, but they are not without their disadvantages. Big Bird, whom you mentioned in your question, is 8’2” and Bear of Bear of the Big Blue House fame, is 9’ ½”. It takes a lot of construction to make these puppets work: the puppeteer needs a way to see eye-level (in Carrol Spinney’s case with Big Bird, a screen is attached to the interior of the costume), control the facial mechanisms and motions with their dominant hand and one of the arms with their free hand, while the second arm is either controlled with mechanics or movement is added later. Impressive as heck, but cumbersome.

To directly answer your question of which puppet best demonstrates function following form, I propose the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show. He is a live-hands style puppet with a twist: instead of sleeves that end in gloves for the performer to wear, the puppeteers wear the sleeves and use their actual hands (which makes him the only muppet with eight fingers and two thumbs.) This enables the character to be far more interactive with his set (able to grab, throw, stroke, clap, snap, sprinkle ingredients – using live-hands in this manner is rather ingenious and suits the skit perfectly.)

Jim Henson was the main performer of Swedish Chef and Frank Oz performed the right hand. I can only imagine what rehearsals must have been like (how do you synchronize chucking whisks behind the character’s back?)

I realize that was way more information than necessary, but I so rarely get to write about this topic. Anyone further interested in How Muppets Work, I would recommend two videos: Of Muppets and Men and The Jim Henson Hour: Secrets of the Muppets.

@rpmpseudonym I would suspect nothing since they are probably lacking the proper brain receptors. Fish cant get high either.

@rpmpseudonym, I don’t really remember when I first heard about post-mortem photography. I’ve always had an interest in the bizarre, the offbeat, and the macabre, so it’s only natural that I enjoy creepy, and sometimes quirky photos of Victorian dead people. I own three, specifically, and paying attention to little details in them can tell you alot about the person’s life, family, and death.

@rpmpseudonym I find that my depression comes from negative self-talk and negative attribution. I have adopted a “when you can choose, choose good” approach. This involves choosing good food, good exercise, good outlook, assuming people have good intentions, focusing on the positive, etc.

It’s kind of along the same lines as @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard said… I wake up every morning ready to battle depression. I try to choose happy, healthy and good in every way.

It usually works.

@rpmpseudonym I start by trimming a lot of tails. I find scenes that I could have exited earlier and trim the fat up until that earliest point to move on to the next scene faster.
Sometimes I have the tendency to over-explain both in dialogue and action, so I’ll make sure my characters aren’t recapping information the audience already knows and I’ll also get rid of information in parentheses that tends to linger under dialogue to describe the way a character delivers a line or perhaps a gesture.
I work on shortening character behavior and rid of unnecessary adverbs.
I rarely include any camera direction and I give quick descriptions of any new characters and locations I introduce.
Thanks for asking. =)

@rpmpseudonym This is why I like you. It depends on the horse, really.
Some are easier to work with than others. That goes for just about everything, not just lifting the foot. Some horses will pick up their foot as soon as they see you have the hoof pick (used for cleaning the mud and poop! out of their hooves), some will lift up when you make the clicking command, some you have to struggle with, and some will do this to you if they don’t want their foot up.
It can be extremely difficult or it can be the easiest part about working with a horse. It just depends on the horse and their mood.

@rpmpseudonym My little secret ingredient is about a teaspoon of honey added to the dough. I also add a little olive oil as well. This is done while mixing it.

@rpmpseudonym One day, when I have more time, I’ll focus more on my artsy side. My long held dream is to create furniture, art, and home decor out of found objects and cast-offs, write about the process, and sell both the end results and the writing. Maybe book binding will come into play!

Thanks for taking the time to draw us all out like this. I’d say that’s a talent you can be proud of! :)

@rpmpseudonym Some good recent zombie flicks are The Horde, The Crazies (Not technically a ’‘zombie’’ movie, but close enough.) Planet Terror and…wait for it…Black Sheep! A movie about…zombie sheep. If you don’t mind a bit of the ridicule in your horror, this is awesome.
As for any horror movie from the past seven years I could name tons. I stayed with the zombie genre because that’s what I first answered with, so… I admit, it is a bit hard to find a decent modern zombie flick, but that’s just in my personal opinions rather than my opinions on the quality. (Classic shuffling zombies VS psycho sprinting zombies for example.)
I’m curious though, what do you dislike about today’s horror? I love it all, so it’s not to start anything, I would just like to know.

@rpmpseudonym I never had that problem. I’m a very outgoing person and never had trouble making friends. In fact, I’ve always had quite a lot of friends. Some closer than others, of course. I think for the most part it doesn’t have to do much with whether or not you have siblings, but with what kind of personality you have. If you’re shy (siblings or not), making friends is going to be harder than if you’re not. Me? Not shy.

@rpmpseudonym Actually my answer was tongue in cheek as I’ve had to take care of my elderly mother lately. But to answer your question, I don’t think it is ever too late to take vitamins. My grandmother who died this year at age 98 took a handful of vitamins a day, her entire life. She never really got sick until the last 3 years. Was it the vitamins? I will never know, but I take mine daily and hope to live long and healthy.

@rpmpseudonym I don’t really work with house wiring (I work with much higher voltages than inside of homes) but as far as I’m aware of there are no code requirements for which direction an outlet is installed. It’s all up to the electrician installing them. It is considered by some to be safer with the ground prong on top in case debris (say metal chips from a drill press) would fall and hit the nonenergized grounding prong instead of live voltage on one of the bottom prongs.

@rpmpseudonym I’d say the biggest misconception about anthropology is that people think it’s not scientific, which could not be further from the truth anymore. People tend to have this idea that whacked-out hippies spew random bullshit about life and human beings in general. I suppose I can understand why… Since anthropology is a lot newer than some other areas of expertise, and anthropology has absolutely had its ups and downs. In the very beginning, it was used for a lot of bad things (to “prove” why white people are superior, why women are inferior, etc.) Because of its negative origins, once people started wising up a bit, there was a massive shift in ideas and anthropologists wanted to counteract that perception – which is where the weirdo hippie ideas stem from. Also, the more people tried to prove certain things, the more they were actually proven wrong – which is another contributing factor to why anthropology changed so much. I’m rambling, sorry. But yes, I always encounter people who think anthropology is not legitimate, and it’s very saddening. There are so many different areas of anthropology (cultural, linguistic, biological, forensic, archaeology, etc, etc, etc) that there is no way it can not be considered scientific.

Majoring in it hasn’t really changed how I view humankind, but it has absolutely broadened my horizons to some degree. It’s my opinion that a certain kind of person is drawn to it, and I don’t believe everyone has what it takes. Not because they aren’t capable, but simply because they might not be interested. Those who lack compassion (or the desire to constantly learn and probe what it means – both physically, mentally and emotionally) to be a human being, would not be well-suited to many areas of anthropology. If you’re a cultural anthropologist studying in the field (a tribe in Africa, say), you have to be willing to open your world up – to leave your society, your ideals, your personal beliefs, behind. Anthropologists work as hard as they possibly can at not judging people outside of their own spheres of “normalcy”. God, I am rambling horribly tonight, forgive me. This is not as clear as I would have hoped. Anyway, I chose anthropology because there is not, has not been, and probably never will be a better fit for me. I was already suited for it when I happened to come across it. :) You can greatly help people and you solve many kinds of puzzles – two of my favorite things in the entire world.

Now I want to be an anthropologist.

Anthropology is fascinating and one of my favorite sciences. Taking Anthro 101 made me want to be an anthropologist, too. I aced it. :D

@augustlan It’s never too late! :)

@MissAnthrope I’m glad to hear someone had a positive experience, for once. You should be one, too. The world needs more anthropologists. :D Plus, the oath we have to take is just extremely damn cool and makes me feel important… Haha!

Also, reading these, how can anyone not think anthropology is completely awesome. :D

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Napoleonic era uniforms were pretty hot in my amateurish opinion.

@rpmpseudonym :: very simple fix. And sorry it took so long.

Preferences-> Sound -> Output

Set the normal volume you want your speakers at. Now plug in headphones and set the volume for headphones. It will recognize the difference depending on what you use.

http://i.imgur.com/py1q5.png

and http://i.imgur.com/TIrfu.png

respectively.

@mammal, I completely agree

Everybody looks better in costume. ;)

@DrasticDreamer yeah but i like Tom Harrison’s non academic, non scientific approach, no theory and purely observational.

@mammal Very interesting man, yes.

@mammal Actually, I would like to add something. You said ”but I like…”, when really there is no need for the “but”. At least in my opinion. Generally, because of how our society is set up, it takes an education to become an anthropologist. However, that is not to say that it is truly necessary. Any great anthropologist is going to be an anthropologist with or without an education. What I mean by that is a little hard for me to explain. They will do exactly as Tom Harrison did – they won’t care about their education, simply because they are interested in much, much more than “an education”. They are interested in life, on a broad and never ending scale. Good anthropologists are that way before they’ve ever even heard of the word “anthropology”, and they have insatiable curiosity and compassion. The great anthropologists are the people who seek to make the world a better place – for everyone. Formal education can help and hinder… But I definitely don’t think that every (cultural) anthropologist needs one. It’s something that’s just in some people. Unfortunately, in this society, you need a formal education to be taken seriously – which is a damn shame. (Could go off on another tangent about that, but I won’t).

Jesus. I need to join an anthropology forum or something. I’m sorry, everyone! I will try to stop rambling now. I’m just utterly in love with anthropology. XD

@DrasticDreamer i agree, although anthropology covers the human race in general, i find any study of the world’s `indigenous’ deeply traumatic and guilt ridden.

On a lighter note i’d like to develop a field that specializes in the study of anthropologists ;)

@DrasticDreamer Nothing to be sorry for… I’m finding it fascinating!

In what ways America and Europe are similar and different.

Okay as promised this is what I bring to Fluther.

I am a professional artist and license my work for wall art, greeting cards and other products.

Thus I know licensing, copyright. Painting, digital photo manipulation.

I spent much of my career trying to help homeless pets with my art. Thus I know about shelters, rescues, fundraising and how a cast aside pet can become the best friend of someone new. I also know the negative side of all this and won’t go there as expertise.

I majored in biology and love skeletons. I know a LOT about antiques and Victorian era living. I was raised in a house full of Victorian furniture often lit by kerosine lamps. My Dad works for the movie industry and decided to renovate our moder family tract home completely Victorian. From the movie sets that were broken down he would pull interesting woodwork out before the bulldozer ran it over and sent it to the dump. The house is amazing really. The house has been painted often by artists and featured in the local paper.

I am taking a break from Fluther. I need to concentrate on real life and making money or Santa will be handing out pictures of toys instead of toys and I will be rediscovering the joys of cup-o-noodles. :). Too bad I have no self control when it comes to Fluther. :Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Enjoy your holiday too @Dog, catch you on the flip side. Actually not a bad idea there

I don’t know a lot about one subject. I am a trivia fan (watched Jeopardy for 14+ years and I just turned 22 a week ago) and I know a lot of random garbage that rarely, if ever, comes in handy.

The one single thing I know about most is probably cameras. Especially film cameras. You spoke of collecting in your details section. I collect cameras. I have 12 right now, all but 2 are film cameras. And all but one are in working order (if I could only find good, cheap Polaroid or Instamatic film).

But I wouldn’t call myself an expert in cameras just yet. I know for a fact there are people right here on Fluther whose photographic knowledge dwarfs mine. I’m actively working on changing that, though.

My entire life, I’ve gone through bouts of obsessive learning about a particular subject. The subjects change every so often and have varied from survivalism to dinosaurs.

I love learning and helping people with that I’ve learned. And I look forward to doing this a lot more in my life.

Well I’m pretty much an expert in all subjects.

j/k
LOL

I use the internet for about everything, and some of the questions on here are so easy all I have to do is Google it and then copy/paste it or link to it. As to what I’M an expert at, I know a lot of math tricks, and I sometimes use my love of useless information to my advantage when answering questions where the useless information becomes useful. I also when I want to (and sometimes when I don’t) can be very ramble-y.

I am no expert for no one can fully know Him, but I feel if I were to be close to an expert in anything, that would be showing people how to escape the darkness and enter the Marvelous Light.

Let’s see if I can revive this question.

Over time our areas of expertise change… So please update your response or create a new one if you never saw this question. What do you bring to the collective?

Or maybe I should just ask the question again. Not sure…

My area of expertise is career searching and television. More than 10,000 hours.