Obsessive hobbies....

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That is sapele pommele.
I think the name "Luther" is appropriate....maker of lutes....works with fine woods?

Actually luthier.

You do really gorgeous work. Love the rosewood.

I was looking at some really nice Padauk (love that wood!) recently for a top for my stereo stand, but it was not wide enough, and two panels would have had to be joined by biscuits, etc. But I have no woodworking skills or tools, so would have had to farm it out. Looked at the cost, and decided to buy records instead!
 
As if car racing wasn't enough, I had to get into the flight simulation arena.

I also broke down and got an Oculus Rift. The $350 Black Friday special was too much to resist.

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You've got a problem mark!!! :).

Have you seen the virtual reality Star Wars thing yet? :)
 
You've got a problem mark!!! :).

Have you seen the virtual reality Star Wars thing yet? :)

Not interested. So far I've played Robo Recall which was pretty fun. I'd say the Rift is pretty good. It could use a bit more resolution but otherwise does a respectable job. I was successfully immersed.

Let me add to that. Battlefront II is currently getting slammed for DLC micropayment issues and I'm not looking to lose my life to an online game.

I ran through a series in Dirt Rally and VR makes a HUGE difference. Having 3D perspective allowed me to judge corners much better and anticipate road irregularities etc.. I went from a typical 3-5th place to 1-2nd place on the stages. So it was very noticeable. However after 1 series my stomach needed a break. The worst was gunning reverse after sliding into a snow drift. My stomach did not like that at all. The visuals are fine, but seeing the world move and not feeling the G forces on your body is a bit weird.

Dirt Rally is considered "Intense" in terms of nausea. Others are Comfortable or Moderate. I didn't have any stomach issues with the comfortable or moderate titles I've tried so far.
 
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What is DLC micropayment issues?

Downloadable content for $$$$

Loot boxes ( gambling )

They used to have cosmetic non-play related items that people could pay real money for, but then they started adding content that you would pay for to buy better weapons, ships or ways to level up faster and that made it harder to play unless you continue to pay them for things.

BTW this is a whole world that I was completely unaware of until a few weeks ago.
The people in the gaming communities take this pretty seriously.

The following 5 min video explains what is going on with Star Wars Battlefront 2 and what appears to be a gamer revolt against their practices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=FgZ2ULNI6SA

I saw another one where someone actually measured the time they were spending to achieve experience points in a game and how they were throttled to a little as 4% of what they should be earning.

EA games which is currently the 1000lb gorrilla in the gaming community makes over half of its revenue from loot boxes and additional fees for downloadable content past the purchase price of a game. They found that there are "whales" or people that will buy anything and everything sometimes spending thousands. They were targeting people with addictive personalities and gambling addictions. Loot boxes contain random things. Sometimes something great and other times complete garbage.

The gaming community is completely riled up about this stuff.
 
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nah.....not really, I just think the kid is nuts ! ....... :rolleyes:

LOL! It's all about priorities and whether I'm spending money the way you would spend money :)

If I had just spent $50,000 on new speakers & amps etc. so that I could sit still for hours and hours listening to music, I would get compliments on my fine equipment. This is an audio forum, that is to be expected.

For $3,000 I have a sim car racing setup, a sim flying setup and a VR rig. My son is coming over more now, I'm learning about new user interfaces and experiencing something new. I'm having fun learning how to drive cars etc.. I also purchased equipment with solid resale value that I can get most of my money back when I'm done. I fully expect to sell much of this stuff off after I get my fill.

Granted I don't consider these investments like my wood working equipment which I expect to be using for decades, but sometimes it's good to do something a little different.

BTW I had a conversation with my son related to this. He just purchased an $800 video card even though he knows that there will be a new much more powerful series announced in 1st qtr 2018. In addition Bitcoin and Ethereum mining has driven the cost of graphs cards up since they were introduced, so he isn't even getting a decent price on this stuff. I see that as throwing money away. His current card is a very solid card and this new card buys him almost nothing. He'll be able to run slight faster frame rates, but the card will drop in value pretty quickly once the new cards are announced. Not only that he could probably spend the same money in a few months and have something much more powerful. I have to admit I'm disappointed that he didn't take my advice on this.

I've owned enough computer hardware over the years that I consider it all disposable. I try not to buy at the cutting edge and I replace computer hardware only when I have an immediate need.
 
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Mark, all in good humor.....all in good humor !

my wife thinks we're all nuts !!
 
Are gonna leave 'anything' for Santa to bring you ? !!
 
Are gonna leave 'anything' for Santa to bring you ? !!

No. Part of why I'm doing this is that I have some fallow time right now. I'm about to be covered up with work starting in January. I've still got work, but realistically I'm 25-50% billable right now and I've got time to play.
 
Since my rig moved to the basement and I have a bit more room, I picked up a car seat for it.

This came out of a VW Passat and it is a perfect fit for sim racing. It slides, reclines, has lumbar support and it has a seat height adjustment.
The bottom rails are also horizontal making them easy to mount. It was also $40 :)

Now I need to redesign both rigs and probably get some more plywood :)

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Nice seat, I like all the DIY you are doing. Good work.
 
Nice seat, I like all the DIY you are doing. Good work.

Thanks! The entire design changes with the new seat.

I've been read the riot act by my wife who thinks I'm playing too much these days. Actually she is very supportive and not a nag at all. She just gave me her idea of a reality check :)

In just a few weeks I'll be covered up with work and have the money aside for the big kitchen remodel she wants. She doesn't like how I stay busy when I'm not busy with work. She says I spend too much money when I'm bored.
 
Omg!! This is insane!! Lol. You need Dolby atmos w this. Haha.
 
Omg!! This is insane!! Lol. You need Dolby atmos w this. Haha.

The next step would be Sim Vibe.

I would mount left and right transducers under the seat to get road texture and feel when I'm sliding in the seat of my pants.

I could also add a transducer to my stick shift to feel the revs of the engine and one to my pedals for additional bumps and vibrations.

So I got it all setup in my basement and then put away my shop, had lunch, cleaned up and went down to try it out....
My alpha cat claimed the seat.

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BTW I was just playing the Oculus Rift with Dirt Rally on the Finland stages which get LOTS of air. My stomach didn't like that too much, but I felt like I was in the car. It was a little freaky.

I look down and see legs and feet pressing the clutch, brake, gas synchronized with my motion. The steering wheel lines up beautifully, I can look over at the co-pilot and see his notebook with notes on the course.

At one point a squirrel ran across the road in front of me and almost freaked me out :p
 
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