# Are you a Renaissance man/woman?



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

*From Wikipedia:*







Leonardo
_"The terms Renaissance man and, less commonly, ******************** universalis (Latin for "universal man" or "man of the world") are related and used to describe a person who is well educated or who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields."_

DaVinci supposedly knew most of what was known at the time and discovered just as much on his own.

I often wonder about people who do certain things. Things like woodworking. To be a woodworker you have to have a number of skills that are crossover skills in many other types of activities. You've got to be a mechanic, artistic, precise, creative, decent at some types of math, coordinated, have good spacial ability, to name a few. A woodworker is also a chess player or at least have some characteristics of a chess player. You've got to be able to see beyond step 1. In fact if step 99 is the finished product, you've got step 99 in your head before you start step 1. And you can probably see steps 2-98 as clearly as the step 1 you're working on. But if step 12 isn't what you expected you adjust to make it come into line and then move on.

So, any renaissance people here? Are you a Jack of many trades? Do you turn bowls but also play the cello in your spare time? I would expect that the group here are not typical of the general population. You've got more going on in your head at once than many other people simply because you happen to be the *type* of person who was drawn to an interest like woodworking.

So, anyone want to blow their own horn. This is a "you have permission to brag" forum topic. Let us know what else you dabble in. Be it musical or solving equations in your spare time. You may have a passion for fly fishing as an art or make designer boxer shorts. Let's hear and/or see some stuff that is not wood but just as impressive.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

So people can get the idea of this I'll post. I do lot's of stuff. I have a talent for teaching. I did it for 30 years. I built my own house, plumbing, wiring, etc. Lots of you do that. I also do this.








,







,









I paint and draw portraits for the fun of it.
Next….


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## hackman24 (Jun 1, 2009)

Hey, cool topic we get to brag?

1. Woodworker (Beginner.. working on it!)
2. Guitar Player, used to have my own band, before kids…
3. Computer Programmer/Builder, can do anything with a computer pretty much
4. *KILLER* at horseshoes, hillbilly golf, cornhole!
5. Graphic Designer, although i havent done it for years
6. Avid Texas Hold'em player (have won my fair share of tourneys)
7. Mechanic, although i dont enjoy it i will do it
8. Electrician, Plumber, Painter, Basically anything a home needs i can do…
9. I speak fluent spanish as well as english,

thats probably about it. i grew up on a farm in the country and you sure do learn a lot when you are the only one around to fix whats broke! It teaches you hard work and determination thats for sure

cheers, looking forward to everyone else's posts on this one


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Hackman, I expect we'll see a lot of lists similar to yours here. A rare breed huh? I play guitar; used to make them too, and the computer thing but only with Macs. I don't play much cards and can't learn another language to help me. Anyone good with women? Just kidding.


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## hackman24 (Jun 1, 2009)

i dont know about being good with a woman, but i must have been good at making kids LOL. i finally figured out what was causing it, though!


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## LocalMac (Jan 28, 2009)

woodworking
great painter/drawer
build/repair computers
plumbing
carpentry
play clarinet and viola
central processing tech (hospital)
leasing agent
combat lifesaver certified
book collector
can read 300+ words a minute
autocad proficient
wine and cigar enthusiast
IQ 120-127
Classic Underachiever!


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

woodworking
hockey
lacrosse
turning
19th school the country
advanced math student
pool shark


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## BTKS (Nov 30, 2008)

Hackman24, you nailed growing up on a farm. Often asked, "How do you know how to do that." Had to know, was out working when other were sitting in front of cartoons and other brain draining nonsense. May your chickens lay and the crops pay. BTKS


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## fotbr (Jul 1, 2009)

Woodworking and woodturning (pretty much a given here, right?)
Blacksmithing (although no current setup)
Chain mail (when I'm really bored)
Photography (including wedding photography, which I hate the stress of, and will only do for a few friends)
Welding (although not my favorite activity)
Piano (though not for a few years)
Violin (also not for a few years)
Guitar (current project)
Machinist (including some CNC work)
Foundry work (sand and lost-foam casting in aluminum, bronze, and steel)
B.Sc. Computer Science, and a minor in History (should have had a minor in math, but didn't feel like taking the two extra courses required)
Graphic Design (though its been a while)
CAD/CAM/CAE (worked with pretty much everything from Sketchup to Autocad to Unigraphics NX)
3D design (just for fun, 3DS and Maya)
Amateur radio operator (hopefully will be back on the air this winter)
I dabble in electronics and microcontrollers (still packed up from my last move though)
Pretty much anything around the house (plumbing, electrical work, landscaping, etc)
Gardening (missed this year because of a move)
Aquarium keeper (freshwater - saltwater is too much work)
Book collector (which isn't a lot of fun come moving day)
Beer snob (self explanatory, really)
Homebrewer (because its hard to be a beer snob in a small town with a choice of bud or bud light)
Scotch and Cigar enthusiast (Laphroaig is my current favorite, but hard to find. And the A.Fuente Hemingway is an excellent companion) 
Cook (Eating out is too expensive, pre-made stuff isn't very good. Which meant I had to find a woman who can cook, or learn. I took the less stressfull method and learned)
Have sailed competitively, now just recreationally (nothing beats the feeling of sailing)
Fish and hunt (although not much anymore, I've got too many other hobbies)
Sewing (yes, I have a machine, and can do more than just re-attach a button)

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I like to think I'm well rounded (and more than just my waistline). About the only thing I have no interest in is popular culture. Any "celebrity news" is an instant channel change or tv-off moment.


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## kiwisharyn (Jun 4, 2009)

Renaissance person maybe… although it doesn't have quite the same ring to it


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Kiwisharyn,

Renaissance person, Renaissance man, Renaissance woman. No it doesn't have the same ring. Isn't it strange though that the renaissance happened hundreds of years ago, "the age of enlightenment", yet something like 'renaissance person' sounds uncommon to the ear because our enlightenment of equality is fairly new and still evolving.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

woodworking instructor 5 years
oil/pencil art 30 years
realtor 8 years
Antique auto restorer 7 years
Motel owner 3 years
real estate investor 5 years
residential contractor 20 years
furniture/cabinet shop owner 20 years
Metal art 2 years
dog trainer 4 years
amateur photographer 30 years
book collector 30 years
tool collector 25 years
ceramic art 6 months
landscape design 20 years
furniture design 22 years
home inspector 5 years
calligrapher 5 years
High school volunteer instructor 3years
Set designer 3 years
senior service director 5 years
Kitchen and bath designer 8 years
hotel service director 3 years
Real estate sales trainer 5 years
all aspects of home building and repair.
Auto body repair including metal finishing and paddling lead
I'm sure if you add all this up it comes to 240 years but many of these things I've done during the same time period in my life

Daniel your art is fantastic


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

wood worker (sort of, more like sawdust and scrap wood maker 
emergency medical tech
GIS analyst
college instructor
master of arts (geography)
plumber
mechanic (diesel and gas)
welder
wee bit o' blacksmithing in days long gone by (hot metal looks very much like cold!)
photographer (did not like the stress of weddings and couldn't shoot enough to feed myself on the freelance side) Recently gave all my gear to my niece, a budding photographer starting her proffesional career
fishing (hmmmm like photography I can't seem to catch enough to feed myself LOL!)
reading
demolition w/explosives (hey,maybe this would help my fishing? LOL!)
quarrying
heavy equipment operator
bachelor of science (geography)
father (and all the specialities that means!)
inventing and telling children's stories (off the cuff bonfire type stuff, see above 
Sunday school teacher (again in days long past… but maybe again now that life has settled down somewhat)
3rd Degree Knight of Columbus
gardening
project manager
computer programming (HTML, AutoLISP, C, .net, AML Avenue and sure some others that I can't remember right now)
project management
web page creator (designer sounds too elegant for the primitive stuff I do compared to the incredible stuff I've seen from the folks here)
cycling
kayaking…not so much since the kids have arrived…anybody want to buy a River Runner? 
canoeing
camping ( two weeks until the next trip….yeah holidays!!!!...)


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

Woodworking - 40+ years, including
formal training in Japanese woodworking, western traditional methods, furniture restoration, and Appalachian rustic techniques


Okinawan martial arts - 40+ years


Music - 40+ years, including keyboards, harmonica, native flutes (American, African, Slovakian)


Writing - 30+ years, 4 books, 600+ freelance articles


College - degrees in Chemistry and Business


Veteran, Army Airborne


Consulting Business (business and technology) - 30+ years


Wood Finishes Formulator Consultant - 10+ years


Appalachian rustic furniture business (profitable!) - 10+ years


Hunting, fishing and gathering (Appalachian and Cherokee style) - lifetime


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