What mundane thing do you quietly and intensely analyze?

[mix]

For me, it's cleaning corrals...completely in the moment, with a running commentary of my victories and defeats while shoveling shit.

[cbdo2007]

1. My job is analyzing data. My hobby is analyzing data :)

I listen to the radio while I analyze to help keep me focused.

[mix]

4. What type of data? nt

[cbdo2007]

6. for work - website traffic statistics and usage

for a social networking website.

for hobby - stock market prices and companies

[mix]

10. the patterns and flows must be interesting nt

[yankeepants]

2. Definitely cleaning horse stalls

I have been doing it for over 40 years and I still find it unbelievably satisfying in its simplicity, therapeutic and meditative components, physical activity, and the sensation of a job finished in the end.

[mix]

3. I keep the corrals cleaner than my house!

It's the best part of most days, something I look forward to doing. You described its effects well.

[Kali]

5. keeping in the livestock theme

I love to sit and study a big pen full of cattle and pair up the mammas and babies.

For those not familiar with the critters, if you pen up a bunch of cattle they will mill around and get all mixed up. In the old days of open range different owners' animals would get mixed together and when it came to branding time you needed to match up the calves with the correct mother cows or there might be trouble. Even in the present days a ranch may run more than one brand and the skill is still needed and even wiht just one brand it is a good habit to make sure everybody is paired.

I'm pretty good at watching the animals patiently (for hours!) and getting them matched in my notes or photos. The easiest way is to wait until "feeding times" and watch for nursing (sucking), but even in the middle parts of the day you can tell with study.

I do the same out driving around on the land or at waters. It's how you get to knwo your animals. It is REALLY boring for people that aren't into it. I used to hate it driving around with my Grampa because he would go into the whole genealogy and every event connected to every cow we saw. Now I do the same thing and that is one reason nobody in the family likes to go driving around with me anymore.

:rofl:

[yankeepants]

7. That is so cool

We used to raise horses and stand 4 stud horses so we got many mares and thier new foals in in the spring for breeding. I used to love to watch the social networking of the herd in the pasture. I can still recall many of them by name and their dams, sires etc.

On another topic that you may be familiar with, last year I rescued an Australian Cattle Dog--blue heeler-- and I am astounded at the instincts in this girl for "working cattle". Even while she never has actually done that her behavior around the horses is amazing now that we have modified it to no longer dangerous for horse or dog.

Ever own one?

[Kali]

8. Had a red heeler that somebody dumped at the end of our road

she was a great little dog if a bit nuts - as I understand they can be - yes instinctive back ankle biter, with a real need for a job/work. She was great for getting slow animals out of the brush when we drove cattle anywhere on horseback.

Now I have a mentally deficient catahoula cross and this new Mexican street dog that is wanting to heel a bit so I have been working her a little in the pens on foot, she gets to chasing too much out on the range and is easily distracted by little grey birds, of all the things to chase out there:rofl:

[mix]

9. I love those old stories too...hope you have a good spring.

:hi:

[Xipe Totec]

11. On the same vane, I'm fascinated by crowds entering and exiting the subway

The jockeying for position, the step foots, elbows, and willful distractions of crowds bent on being first out, and first in.

I'm particularly fascinated by old ladies who insist on sprinting to the escalator, so that everybody has to wait behind them.

[hunter]

13. That was my mom's uncle.

My grandma too. She'd been away from the ranch for fifty years but she could drop right back into the groove. As city kids my siblings and I were like :wtf: it's just another cow.

When my grandma was old and not quite altogether she would tell long stories very slowly about every horse she ever knew. She did that when my wife first met her. My wife was listening politely, bless her, and I was standing there frozen in terror thinking "Noooooooo......not again, not now....."

I suspect I'll be a similar burden to my grandkids, except I'll be rambling on about 6502 computer code. Atari 800 forever!

[riderinthestorm]

12. I hate cleaning paddocks AND stalls!!!

I can't believe anyone finds that meditative. I'm usually cursing and swallowing Aleve at the same time when forced to do it. The guy who cleans stalls for me makes the most of any employee on my farm, bar none, because I hate it that much (there's 40 stalls so it's backbreaking and takes him ALL day!)

If we're staying on a farm motif, I'd volunteer that studying hay is much more relaxing! Grass mix? How much alfalfa? Orchard, brome or bluegrass? Is that clover in there? Ah! Now that's infinitely less physically demanding!! I love it when the Wisconsin brokers want me to come look at their fields of grass ready to be cut. We just stand there and admire it for an hour or so....

I'll also confess that I can watch a horse walk, trot and canter forever. My husband can "feel" the most minute lameness under saddle - things that are just starting to brew. For me, it's watching that downward transition from canter to trot to spot "the skip", or evaluating exactly how far forward the overstride is, or whether the hind legs have folded evenly over the fence (hock issues if they're not), or whether they have that lovely bascule (and a tidy front end - $$$).

[mix]

15. I look forward to it and love my pitchfork/rake.

I've only gone through the whole haying process twice, hard work.

The movement of horses...a good cowhorse, both in the arena and working, I could contemplate that for hours...also I worked at a ranch for awhile and we, the wranglers, would have to move the horse herds from pasture to pasture every few weeks. We always did it in the morning just before sunrise, the 6 or 7 of us. We would have to spread out and ride alone to cover the canyons, meadows and draws. No matter where they were, the horses knew the next place we were taking them. Seeing over a hundred horses galloping across a ridge during a dusty sunrise was beautiful. I loved being alone with my horse watching until they passed.

[yankeepants]

28. I couldn't muck all day but I am with you on watching horses

All day, all night, observing and critiquing the movement of horse or horse and rider. Wish you were in my area. I have two 8 yo t-bred geldings on is a lawn ornament the other I am working in dressage. He's lovely but I need help. The woman I work with is great but she doesn't quite. . . get it.

[Forkboy]

14. Not killing people.

[mix]

16. How is that done? nt

[Forkboy]

17. I'm still working on it.

;)

[Mopar151]

18. Fasteners & hardware

Nuts, bolts, rivets, pins, keys, rings, collars, springs......

When you know what you're looking at, it's like the DaVinci Code for gearheads!




the lower case n is the manufacturer's mark for Nucor fasteners - US made, top shelf stuff.

Wanna see what junk looks like? http://www-group.slac.stanford.edu/oa/sci/boltlist2005.pdf

[mix]

22. The hardware store butcher shop grocery where I get my beer

has the most disorganized nuts and bolts section I have ever seen. Nothing is in is proper little drawer/box. It once took me 45 minutes to find 3 sets of nuts and bolts for the wheelbarrow.

[stuntcat]

30. +1

[Throd]

19. kerning

[mix]

20. interesting

from my dictionary:

Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): -ed/-ing/-s
Etymology: Middle English curnen, kernen, from (assumed) Old English cyrnen, from Old English corn -- more at CORN
intransitive verb, dialect England : to form kernels <good weather for the grain to kern>
transitive verb, dialect England : to form or set (as a crop of fruit) <trees that had kerned their best crop in years>

[Throd]

21. otherwise known as letterspacing

a sadly dying art

[mix]

23. Could you briefly explain it? nt

[Throd]

24. I work as a designer is the signage industry

Proper decisions in all things concerning lettering is important to me, often in a strange and obsessive way. The advent of the computer has been a boon in design, but it also allows people to crank out crap without understanding the basic rules of typography. When I see a sloppy layout in the PennySaver I don't pay it much mind, considering the source. But too often, I will see some national ad campaign in a major magazine where the letterspacing is completely jacked up. A capital "A" will be next to a capital "V" with all kinds of negative space around it (fuck you Copperplate), while the rest of the letters are randomly spaced or slammed together.

Also, yanking a regular typeface 25% doesn't make it extended and adding a heavy outline doesn't make it bold!

I am an angry, petty man.

[mix]

26. It's funny you wrote this, I have the same obsession, but on a minor scale.

I had never considered that there was word for it.

I totally notice the spacing between letters everywhere I am and whether or not they are balanced and complementary depending upon the desire effect.

The lettering and spacing of old documents also fascinate me.

[many a good man]

25. Intensely analyzed, NOTHING is mundane

In fact, many of the most mundane things imaginable are intensely interesting!

[mix]

27. I could not agree more.

[RandomThoughts]

29. Just redirect the river.

Duh.

[Rowdyboy]

31. Mowing and washing dishes are my favorite expressions of zen.....

Though I really don't analyze them that much....just intensely enjoy the harmony.