Mad Skillz and Predilections: What are you good at?

[january2011]

This was probably compiled from a straw poll rather than robust research but it's as good a starting point as any:

 

Top 10 Highly-Desired Skills You Can Teach Yourself

 

 

• Which of these skills are already in your aresenal?
  

 

• Experts - What is the best online resource you've found to get from novice to advanced/expert level for that skill?
  

 

• Novices - What are your plans for improvement?
  

 

• Just for the fun of it - What do you enjoy doing that you aren't so good at, but do it anyway just because it makes you feel alive/happy/excited?
  

Edit: we don't have to stick to the list on the linked page, but answers like "nothing" and "sex" are probably not going to lead to a very productive discussion.

 

If anyone has a very obscure and unusual skill, do fill us in on the background to how you learnt that skill.

Edited April 28, 2012 by january2011

[january2011]

Okey dokey, I'll start:

 

Novice - I bought a bike over a year ago but other than a couple of lessons, I never took it out for a ride. I really want to do this when the weather warms up and perhaps get to the stage where I don't mind venturing out a bit further.

 

Just for the fun of it - I did a class in clay sculture from life a year or two ago and really enjoyed it. I was terrible at doing some of the features such as the hands but really enjoyed doing the torso. There was something very calming and therapeutic about moulding the clay.

 

Unusual - I can wiggle my ears voluntarily.

[ThaWholigan]

Over the course of my life I've taught myself a lot of things.

 

Expert: Piano - I taught myself to compose music on the piano very young (according to mum, about 3 years old ). I'm a little rusty at the moment, but I'm at an expert level I feel.

 

Rapping: I am definitely an expert in all areas of rapping except freestyling (not great battler either by my own admission). I am so competent that I'm confident I can actually teach people how to do it . Been doing it since 6 years old as a way of coping with speech therapy initially.

 

Music Production: I've been making beats since 12 years old on Fruityloops. Thats over 10 years .

 

 

Novice: Guitar/Bass. Picked up both while in college, still really bad at guitar because I don't have one yet, but I'm ok at the bass (don't have a bass either).

 

Acting - My dad does it, mum says I should do it, I might do so.

 

Singing - again, everyone says I should do it, so I'm thinking about doing it to add to the already growing list of musical abilities.

 

Aptitude - want to be able to learn things even quicker than I already do.

 

Making a website/programming - I'm OK at this, but it's boring and not something I particularly care for, but I would like to be good at it in case.

 

Martial Art - want to take one up for fitness, self defence and because I think it would be good for me overall.

 

 

Just For Fun: Football (soccer). I'm terrible at football, but I love playing it and watching it. I'm more of a tactical brain though.

 

Dancing. I want to learn how to dance, for various reasons.

 

 

 

Unusual gifts: relates to rapping but I can rap REALLY FAST. Like Busta Rhymes/Twista fast

[january2011]

Cool, lots of artistic and creative skills.

 

Websites/programming - a lot of sites are done in Wordpress these days - it's traditionally a blogging platform, but is great for smaller sites in particular. For HMTL and other web programming: HTML Goodies: The Ultimate HTML Resource

 

Martial arts - I suggest Tae Kwon Do, Hung Ga Kung Fu or Wing Chun. Go for a free introductory class just to see if you like the style and the teacher - some are more traditional and others are more sport/fitness-oriented.

 

Dancing - YouTube Videos!

 

Fast rapping - Ah, so you can do the Busta rap bit to this?

[ThaWholigan]

Cool, lots of artistic and creative skills.

 

Websites/programming - a lot of sites are done in Wordpress these days - it's traditionally a blogging platform, but is great for smaller sites in particular. For HMTL and other web programming: HTML Goodies: The Ultimate HTML Resource

 

Martial arts - I suggest Tae Kwon Do, Hung Ga Kung Fu or Wing Chun. Go for a free introductory class just to see if you like the style and the teacher - some are more traditional and others are more sport/fitness-oriented.

 

Dancing - YouTube Videos!

 

Fast rapping - Ah, so you can do the Busta rap bit to this?

I probably could, I'm not too familiar with that song, but I've rapped at a similar pace, and faster before. I tend to try and rap really big words aswell just to see if I can do them fast.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm thinking of doing Wing Chun and maybe cross-training with another art.

[FitChick]

2, 3, 7, 9, 10 with varying degrees of proficiency.

 

Poor january2011, missing her overseas boyfriend. Been there, done that! I know how you need to make the time go faster between visits. I feel your pain! (Ask him if he has a friend for me)

Edited April 29, 2012 by FitChick

[writergal]

Novice: 1, 7,9,10

 

Expert: 3,4

 

Just For Fun: 2,4,7,8,9

 

I have been learning Ewe-style African drumming for the past 12 years; proficiently playing on

,

, Sogos, Kaganus, Agbobas,

. I love drumming, basically! I participate in a regular drum circle like

and about 10 years ago regularly performed around my city as a group. But that part of the drum circle ebbs and flows.

 

I would like to master Wordpress' blog features so I could blog about drumming, post my creative writings, and blog about movies and theater.

 

I've thought about regularly teaching Ewe drum classes via schools like my drum instructor because I could easily make my bills and rent if I had 10-20 schools for the entire year. It's something I'm seriously looking into.

[Anela]

I used to write stories, when I was in school. I stopped when one of my teachers was impressed with one, and insisted on reading it in front of the class. I didn't like attention, and now I have no imagination for it.

 

Drawing, painting, and photography have always been interests of mine.

 

I studied astrology, and then moved on to the tarot.

 

I've learned about some herbs, homeopathic remedies and flower essences.

 

I learned new exercises, thanks to videos and dvd's that were either bought of me, borrowed from my sister, or from the library.

 

September 2010, and May 2011, I made my own runes out of clay, but I have yet to test them out. I don't know how to read runes.

 

I started to learn Italian, in 2001, with the intention of going to Italy for a few months, at some point (that hasn't happened yet).

 

I learned how to make web pages in 1997, but am not up on the latest stuff. I liked HTML Goodies, too.

 

I had dancing lessons as a kid, but not as many as I would have liked. I wanted to take swing dancing lessons, six years ago, but couldn't make it. I also thought about taking lessons in dog grooming, at the time.

 

I've made my own kefir, but screwed it up at some point - I forgot about the grains, and changing the milk, when I wasn't feeling well.

 

My sister has made her own soap, and lotions. I wanted to learn how to make them, as well. Candles, too. That's still on my list.

 

When I was eighteen, I taught myself how to use a word processor, and did most of the work on a book for someone who was selling something... unfortunately, they had their wife finish work on it, and only gave her the credit.

 

I sold a painting when I was nineteen, and really should never have stopped painting (although that painting wasn't so good, when I look back, the woman who bought it said it looked "spiritual").

 

My mother taught me to knit, crochet and sew. And I've helped Dad put up drywall (but I'm useless with a hammer). I want to learn how to use the power tools.

 

I experiment with juicing, smoothies and cooking. I've been reading about coconut lately, but got a little overwhelmed with the oil, so have backed off a bit.

 

I started to teach myself the piano, when I was a kid.

 

I can't think of anything special that I do. I've somehow banished a couple of illnesses as a kid, when I went into full panic mode. Verrucas disappeared when I didn't want to get them burned out - they were there that morning (and bad), but when I was on the table that evening, at the chiropodist, she said there was nothing there. The same thing happened with my tonsillitis problem, something that hit me four times per year, for ages. I got hysterical when the hospital said they had a bed for me, to removes my tonsils. I begged mum not to make me go in, and used my school trip to France as part of my excuse. I didn't have a problem after that.

 

Oh, and I've grown my own food. I'm still learning, but having fun doing so.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Anela

[JesseJames]

Expert: Cat whisperer

 

Above average: Pool

 

Average: keyboards, percussion, DAW, writing, and about a thousand others because I will move on to the next thing out of boredom

 

New: Wood turning on a lathe, making toys

 

Unusual: Premonition and deduction

 

Will never do: Weight lifting, rock climbing

 

 

A very good thing to remember is to anticipate, perform, and reflect. YouTube was good for the pool, jumping into a league and on a team with players that are absolutely some of the best, and some practice from time to time alone.

[Feelin Frisky]

I'm a expert at a field I had to create called cybernautics because no one has put it together yet in ways that make for that basis for culture and industrialization. Think of a cynernaut as a person as serious about cyberspace as an astronaught is about outer space. In order for the theories to be comprehensive I have also had to define a something called terranautics--terranauts differ from astronauts and cybernauts in that they develop a scientific detachment from terrestrial life and live almost as if explorers from another world on their home planet of Earth. A terranaut differs from a "scientist" in that scientists generally specialize in a limited number of sciences as a profession but often leave their work at the office as it were and assume all the trappings of "normal" people-including living a worldview based upon faith in the divine. A person who adopts a terranautic life-style learns to consiliate the sciences fluidly and journalizes his of her experience in terms of all the sciences--living a dualistc reality as a human being and a detached scientific oberserver of what we call "reality". A terranaut also recognizes that the metaphor we call cyberspace consititutes a new plane of reality in which many of the models of social, economic, ecological and political progress tradtionally carried on in terrestrial space demand cyberspatial alternative re-engineerings since the nature of reality is changed from one of people having to assemble in real space to get things done to one in which people remain in their locales and use the time they used to spend travelling to an assembly objectively to edcuate themselves so that technology-facilitated interplay is productive and decisive. This is but one set of principles that guide my creative media vision I hope to succed with as an artist/inventer entrepreneur. There is "power" in knowledge and I intended to define the fine details of exactly what and where the new power is. Laugh if you will but the level of detail I have been able to address in the 15 years since I had my moment of clarity that kicked of this qest to understand the deepest meanings of non-linear digital media is boundless.

 

My weakness is the ability to story-board the many illustration modules in which actors and or animated characters interact with each other and with the user to ensure the highest levels of understanding any educational and motivational system has ever delivered. I have ideas and metaphors and creative talent for script-writing but I'm terrible with drawing, and people who can draw and quickly storyboard (Alfred Hitckock was famous for this talent) are the ones most favored because time is money and drawing panes that tell a story by hand in no time exudes clarity of vision and leadership versus someone who can only describe things in prose. Oh for the fortune to find someone with this talent who needs someone with vision to realize a synergy in which together we can accomplsh what we would never do alone.

 

In other areas, I'm an intermediary guitarist, a better bass player with the chops to be a pro. I have a talent for "active" saltwater fishing--meaning I use only lures and never bait and know all the ins and outs of tidal creek fishing in which you "hunt" for fish and cast from shore. I beat the balls of the blues and stripers but release them all. I am aslo proud of my x-ray political vision where my own compass is completely mine and no part of me is inherited from anyone else. I don't "drink anyone's KoolAid" tyvm Dust. I'm a very good cook, a decentt handy man, have a good vocabulary and a kind heart. There is no cruetly or sadism in me. There's a bunch of stuff I'm poor at but I've already written too much and I doubt anyone will get this far so the hell with reaching for the rest of my shortcomings.

[wwwjd]

interesting post idea. an opportunity to self evaluate.

 

Expert: music writing, recording, production, singing, playing, motorcycle racing (MotoGP style stuff), computer/network technical support engineer - not the "gee, I think I'm a good hack" sort but the highly paid professional type that knows the BEST ways to do things and make it all work, and certified skydiving

 

Novice: video filming, editing, production, writing, acting, photography, exercise, planning on improving all of these with research and experience.

 

Just for fun: Video gaming, movie watching, music, motorcycling, travel, SCCA car racing

 

Planning to add Dancing classes to the mix soon.

 

It is interesting to layout interests in the way your thread asks. Helps me see my real priorities in life.

[Els]

Done 1, 2, sorta 3 (definitely not a 'pro' ), 4, 5, 6, and 9.

 

The thing about web design nowadays is that you don't really need to know how to 'code' (HTML isn't really code, but let's not get into that ) to do it. There are many advanced WYSIWYG (drag and drop, basically) editors now that allow you to get a fancy schmancy website up, even a dynamic PHP/flash-based one, without knowing the nitty gritty details of coding.