What's your expertise?

[bird]

Let us try a thread where readers can try to summarize a true personal expertise or two that they have, regardless of source (academic, professional, or hobby, for example). Mine are going to be boring and narrow, so I hope other, more interesting folks will chime in. Here goes:

1. Legal liability issues arising from a common automobile sales practice known as "spot delivery." Spot delivery is when a dealer is arranging financing for a sale, but delivers the vehicle "on the spot" to the customer before financing is approved. Problems and lawsuits arise when financing falls through, and the dealer wants the car back.

2. Identification of common Warbler species by song, particularly identification based on an incomplete song, a note or two.

[Channing]

(1) Tax Law, corporate or state and local (still working on it, heading to get an LLM next year)

(2) Atlanta Braves Baseball 1991 - present

[Windsor]

1. Software development, particularly user interfaces for data entry intensive applications

2. Dog training - mostly agility but also obedience (as if my default photo wasn't a dead giveaway)

[allenmurray]

1. Coaching 8 - year old Little League Baseball.

2. Making authentic gumbo.

There are some professional things that I'm considered to be pretty good at, but in terms of real-world importance they pale in comparison to the above two.

[rthomas]

1. plants

2. gin

[MarineTwinsDad]

1. Third world literacy, especially in remote areas with smaller language groups. The language doesn't have to have been written down, but it helps if the people believe that reading isn't demonic. It does take ten years or so to really get things going well, before I can turn the program completely over to the people.

2. My favorite activity, by far, is simply being proud of my twin sons, both in the Marine Corps, one a flight crew chief at New River, the other in the Reserves while working his way through college. They turn 20 in May, after two years in the USMC.

[DevilAlumna]

Expertise is probably a stronger word than I'd use -- but I'm passionate about:

* All things tech-gadgety, particularly involving Windows Mobile devices;

* Bulldogs;

* SCUBA;

* Duke!

[wilson]

- 17th-century colonialism (especially English New World)
- Spades (card game)
- Cartoons (especially the evolution of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd)
- Crossword puzzles

[dukestheheat]

this may read out as a little superficial, but here goes, and i'm sorry if anyone is let down by the simplicity inherent to these statements of 'expertise', but true they are:

1) Sailing, (and soon to be kiteboarding if i don't kill myself first, probably in front of A LOT of people),

2) Investing, and

3) Looking at bikinis on the beach (just being totally honest)

dth.

[hurleyfor3]

(2) Atlanta Braves Baseball 1991 - present

Of course baseball didn't exist before bobby cox invented it in 1991, right?

[Channing]

Of course baseball didn't exist before bobby cox invented it in 1991, right?

baseball did, but I didnt really start following baseball intently until I was 9 years old. Sorry :)

[JasonEvans]

1. Coaching 8 - year old Little League Baseball.



That is so funny, I was going to list coaching 7 & 10-year old baseball/soccer as my specialities.

Most folks know I do journalism/news as a profession. I am also an entertainment/sports/pop culture trivia nut. If I ever get on that VH1 World Series of Pop Culture show, I'm taking first place ;)

-Jason "I haev been the phone-a-friend person for a couple folks who have been on Millionaire, but I've never gotten the call" Evans

[JasonEvans]

- Spades (card game)


Wilson, if you play Spades do you also play Bridge? I find Bridge to be a far superior and challenging game to Spades or Hearts. It takes a while to learn how to play it properly (especially the bidding-- even rudimentary bidding requires a lot of knowledge), but once you have you will not regret it.

--Jason "my oldest son has fallen in love with Bridge, though I fear the game is dying out" Evans

[feldspar]

1) Basketball rules and officiating

That's about it.

[Bostondevil]

Here's my list

1) All things theater. I'm a playwright myself and I've run a new play development group (Shadow Boxing Theatre Workshop) for the past 6 years. In addition to writing, I produce, direct, and on occasion, act. I also read scripts for more than one local theater company. Any Boston area folks want to come see my latest directing effort, next weekend at the Devanaughn, the Dragonfly Festival, http://www.devtheatre.com. The two I'm directing are first weekend, May 10-13.

2) Knitting.

3) I'm a pretty good card player, Bridge, gin, spades, you name it. OK, I've only played poker once but I was the big winner that night. And now, thanks to all the poker on TV, I know that a flush beats a straight.

ETA: Jason, my oldest son plays Bridge too. Too bad we can't get them together.

[wilson]

Wilson, if you play Spades do you also play Bridge? I find Bridge to be a far superior and challenging game to Spades or Hearts. It takes a while to learn how to play it properly (especially the bidding-- evenrudimentary bidding requires a lot of knowledge), but once you have you will not regret it.

--Jason "my oldest son has fallen in love with Bridge, though I fear the game is dying out" Evans

My dad has a bridge club that plays every two weeks, and I have been observing them for a number of years now. I have already informed him that, upon my return to Atlanta (in two days!), I want in the club as an alternate player. I am working on how to bid right now. I have been playing spades for long enough that I know I will be good with some practice and a better command of how bridge scoring works. I hope to be someone who helps keep the game from dying out.

[riverside6]

I'll bite...

1. Web Application Development (my latest site (http://www.dcpronline.com/demos/ipy))
2. Coaching baseball (North Wake Baseball Assoc - Go Cardinals!)
3. I'm a stathead through and through, as evident by my ACC Fantasy Basketball (http://www.scacchoops.com) Website.
4. Cubs Minor League System (http://www.mvn.com/milb-cubs)

I have too many websites!

[CMS2478]

I wouldn't call myself an expert but I enjoy:

1) Braves Baseball

2) Texas Hold'em

3) UFC

[JasonEvans]

Jason, my oldest son plays Bridge too. Too bad we can't get them together.

When my 10-year-old came home the other day and said, "Daddy, we learned Jacoby Transfers today" it brought a tear to my eye :D

-Jason

[MrBisonDevil]

* Developing & drawing new superheroes w/ interesting super powers (usually in corporate meetings).

* Financial modeling and creativity

* Inventing new drinks with Vodka

* Dancing

* Spades, Tonk & Bid Whist (all with the accompanied trash talking)

[rsvman]

1. Respiratory viruses, including basic and clinical aspects, vaccines, culturing methods, treatments, preventions, etc., etc., etc.

2. HIV and AIDS, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, etc.

3. Music composition, especially choral.

4. Choral conducting.

[wilson]

Forgot to mention another thing:

I know entirely too much about the Grateful Dead.

[The Gordog]

1. Mortgage Loan Data, how to deliver it to Freddie Mac, and the impact of variations in said data to the accuracy of our financial reporting.

2. Tolkien's Universe.

3. Italian food & wine.

[dbb03]

1. Make the greatest brownies in the world
2. hugging my 16 mo. old son
3. scrabble and rumikub
4. planning and researching vacations


and on the flip side, areas of ineptitude, include, but are not limited to:
1. cars and how they work
2. being handy around the house
3. handling matters of health insurance

[DUKIECB]

Here is my not so important list of things I know too much about:

1) Rollercoasters--I am a rollercoaster and thrillride nut having traveled pretty much anywhere I can just to ride a certain coaster. In particular, my favorite coaster designer is a company from Switzerland called B & M (Bolliger & Mabillard) which make the smoothest and most unbelievable steel rollercoasters in the world.

2) Sports junkie in general, however I too have a huge interest in the Braves, only missing a few games each year on the tube.

[Bostondevil]

Jason "I haev been the phone-a-friend person for a couple folks who have been on Millionaire, but I've never gotten the call" Evans

Where were you when I was actually on the show?!

My phone a friend, my husband, sadly did not know the answer and I went down guessing at $32,000. Don't regret taking a guess though. Do regret getting a current events question I couldn't answer. ;-)

Life is not fair, the person before me got "Who invented biofocals?" for her $32,000 question and if I'd been one person later, I would have won a half million, without using a lifeline, sigh.

Forgot trivial knowledge as one of my areas of expertise, just not current events so much.

Oh, silly nerdy hobby, I can say "I love you" in 45 different languages, give or take.

[wilson]

Where were you when I was actually on the show?!

My phone a friend, my husband, sadly did not know the answer and I went down guessing at $32,000. Don't regret taking a guess though. Do regret getting a current events question I couldn't answer. ;-)

Life is not fair, the person before me got "Who invented biofocals?" for her $32,000 question and if I'd been one person later, I would have won a half million, without using a lifeline, sigh.

Forgot trivial knowledge as one of my areas of expertise, just not current events so much.

Oh, silly nerdy hobby, I can say "I love you" in 45 different languages, give or take.

I'm gunning for Jeopardy in the near future...second-round audition on May 20. Sadly, Trebek allows no lifelines.

[devil84]

Don't know if this falls under expertise or obsessions, but here goes:

1) Visual FoxPro and automating Microsoft Office from Visual FoxPro and other languages.

2) Girl Scout Teen Advisor, specializing in helping teen girls lead large Camporees and Jamborees, and finding great, inexpensive crafts for teens.

3) Band Parent, specializing in listening to the percussion section.

4) Duke Basketball

- della

[Exiled_Devil]

I don't know about expertise (for reasons apparent in a moment) but here are things I know a lot about:

1. Adult Learning theory/corporate education - I am currently earning my doctorate in this, and have done extensive research in: Learning theory, communities of practice, informal learning at work, the nature of expertise and how experts learn, experiential learning, and social network analysis.

2. I'd call myself a low-level Fanboy, meaning I have a solid grasp on all things comic-book, fantasy and science fiction. (with a very deliberate gap in the Star Trek area).

3. Teaching strategy, leadership and coaching skills to managers and executives.

4. I have become the 'tech guy' for my family and friends, but it is more due to knowing 10% more than them and also #8 below.

5. Game design, learning theory and the intersection of the two - specifically how to design f2f and video games for training programs.

6. My wife says I 'know something about everything' - it may not be significant, but it isn't always trivial either.

7. Chen style taiji - I may not have expertise, but I have 5 years of practice in it and I really wan to have expertse.

8. I am a master at the Google. I can find more in-depth information about any given topic twice as fast as my friends and colleagues.

Exiled

[DukeUsul]

I have no expertise, I'm a consultant.

No seriously, I'm not an expert at anything. I'm one of those kinda good at everything, not an expert at anything guys.

So what am I at least somewhat good at or know a bit about?

- jazz saxophone
- Frank Herbert's Dune novels (hence the name)
- all things computery
- whisky

[captmojo]

I cook a mean ribeye steak. So good, as a matter of fact, we haven't been out to restaurants in a very long time and I'm requested to cook for others.

Pretty handy at freshwater fishing as well.

Anything else I know just enough to get in trouble.

[Jarhead]

Of course baseball didn't exist before bobby cox invented it in 1991, right?

Wait a minute... Bobby Cox had a guy named Joe Torre as a predecessor. What were they playing then? Cricket?

[Jarhead]

Take it from me, a Marine parent deserves the praise of all of us. Ooo-Rah, Marine Corps. Keep up the good work.

[tecumseh]

1) Eye stuff

2) Exercise stuff especially swimming and cycling

3) General Health Stuff speaking of which there is a pretty cool site
http://www.livingto100.com/

[hurleyfor3]

Serving as a warning to others.