List Your Specialist Subjects

[Robbert]

I can help with the following:
- Plattdeutsch
- Living abroad as a German (common stereotypes)
- Germany
- Israel
- Morocco
- Living and working with people with special needs
- Bilingualism / Code Mixing
- SLA / ESL
Please note, country-specific information relates to cultural aspects / current affairs.

[Becky P.]

I would like to toss my hat in the ring for offering my services to fellow writers.

Society has changed and evolved from what we know it as today, so knowing these item below maybe useful if you plan on using an earlier time frame:

I can offer first hand insight to being a birthmother in the 1980's
I can offer you first hand insight into adoption searches in New York State, OUTSIDE of NYC (NYC has it's own set of rules)
I can offer you insight into shady adoption lawyers and or black market adoptions.
I can offer you tips on how people search for adoptees/birthparents/biological families using the internet, and how some people have learned identities of adopted children (bio family members) by using contacts inside vital statistic offices.

Adoption search reunion from my own point of view and from other birth mothers that have been shared with me, over the years.

I can also point you to volunteer Search Angels to answer questions for specific states and time periods.

I can also give you first hand knowledge of being a forklift operator, both for production and for loading tractor trailers, and various manufacturing jobs.

I can get you information from my husband on: metals, welding, rigging heavy machinery, fabrication and the like. Also, being an Airman who held security detail on an airfield in the UK

Please feel free to message me here or by emailing me at aka.v.falkner@gmail.com

[Damian Foyle]

I can give some insight into following areas;
Istanbul, learning a foreign language, martial arts (muay thai mostly), engineering and manufacturing.

[Sasha_Delaney]

So. . . while I have a wide breadth of knowledge, it's pretty shallow on most subjects. In fact, many of the things I know about, you can probably find better information from other sources.

However, I may be able to provide valuable insight on the following subjects:

Drug-users and drug-dealers of various stripes; how they think, how they operate, and what effects the drugs have on their physical and mental states. Drug culture period.

Juggalos.

Homeless people and street-life.

Growing up in a large, tightly-knit, low-income family.

Living with a "survivor" mentality

These aren't the only things I know about; but like I said, these are things that I know enough about to be comfortable saying that I can give an EXPERT opinion.

[Sasha_Delaney]

Message me, or e-mail me @ wind_sage21@hotmail.com if you'd like detailed information for these subjects.

[MysteryRiter]

Well, I could be of use if you're a YA writer studying the mind of a teenage boy for your novel. I'm a teen and could answer a few basic questions but nothing too personal.

[LeylandCypress]

Originally Posted by KellyS.

Nice thread. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can add.

I know that I would like to see if anyone knows a lot about small-town (backwoods) life.

I live in a one stop light town of 300, with surrounding farms bring it up to maybe 1,000. I live in South Carolina, so you can include deep south.

[LeylandCypress]

I know quite a bit about herbology and organic gardening.
My husband knows dirt track racing, drag racing, and classic cars.

[WyrdeDragon]

Guess I'll weigh in here, if people are interested. I'll go with an earlier comment, that i too know a little bit about a lot of things. But for areas i'd be comfortable calling myself an expert:

20+ years working in industrial chemistry
Especially: paint (mostly aerospace, but general paint questions too), inks, specialty coatings, optical fibers, lab processes and procedures, safety protocols, handling/shipping/ transporting hazardous substances, emergency procedures.
[If you ever want to lose a lot of sleep, ask me about industrial accidents and what they can mean for the surrounding community. Also, the terrorism applications of triggering said incidents (my current job is on Home Sec's watch list)]

Worked as a County Health Inspector
Food store/ restaurant safety
Home inspections (mainly well/ septic work in rural or rural-ish communities)

10+ years High Preist of a pagan coven
Retiered, but willing to talk about anything pagan or religous-related

Recovering Catholic, including several years at Catholic schools

Raising genius kids with ADHD

Polyamory, especially from a practical standpoint

Dealing with alcoholism, addiction, or mental disorders in the family
Though my wife's the one with the training in addiction counciling

Oh, and anything on anime/ manga. If I don't know it, my kids do.

Those should be the big ones. I'll edit in more later, if I think of it. Otherwise, consider me a fount of useless trivia. And a person who'd love to help find any answers I don't know.

[PorterStarrByrd]

Sports officiatiing (Baseball, Basketball, Football)
Maple syrup making
Wafer (electronic devices) manufacture
Firing 16 inch guns
Small scale ice cream making
Food service operations (management)
Genealogy
Home wine and beer making
small scale rabbit farming
public speaking
some fishing and hunting
baseball history
Sandy, Oregon (that should draw a big crowd)
Salt water sport fishing off of the NJ coast
Arizona desert
Viet Nam era US Navy
Wyatt Earp (and brothers)
Ned Buntline
Plank on frame ship models
NW Huckleberries

[GillianColbert]

I am a trained Diamond Grader and certified graduate in Diamond knowledge from the Gemological Institute of America.

I own, train and foster Pitbulls and can help with clarity and information on the breed and the culture surrounding it.

I am also an MBA and former Vice President for Technology and can help out on issues that go into business.

Thanks!

[SummerSurf57]

I can help with a variety of subjects, including:
- Journalism
- Acting
- Singing
- Beauty
- Gymnastics
- Cheerleading
- Yearbooks

[Lseeber]

I'm a geologist, so if you have questions about rocks, volcanoes, etc. I might be able to help you.

I'm also slowly working on a masters in geochemistry, so I might be able to help with that stuff as well.

I also have about six years of taji quan training and I know about 40 Mandarin characters. Loads of other stupid stuff

Laura

[Overmuzed]

Computer programmer, web developer, stock and futures trader. Now, an aspiring writer wannabe

[Sea Witch]

What an interesting thread!

I could possibly help on topics related to the following:

quilting/needle arts
plants/orchids
dogs/dog training/dog behavior
aquariums
woodworking
grew up in Louisiana
lived in France for 6 years/fluent French
live in the Pacific Northwest now
cooking/French cooking
gifted children
ADD/ADHD
depression
MS
oil and gas business

[PeteMC]

My "stuff I know about and/or have a pile of reference books on" is as follows:

Working for a huge multinational technology company.
Supporting a loved one through cancer.
Chinese martial arts.
Taoism.
Wicca.
Modern Occultism (Hermetic / Ceremonial / Chaos).
Historical / Medieval Occultism (a bit, not so much).
Bodybuilding & Powerlifting.

[WordCount]

I can help on Science Fiction and Pop Culture! As well as information on Star Trek. I doubt anybody would need it, (especially with Memory Alpha and Beta out there) but if you need help, I'm here.

[kiwiviktor81]

I am a psychologist by profession, so I have insight into a wide manner of psychologically and psychiatrically challenged invividuals.

All I have 9 nears of barwork under my belt, and have lived and worked in Sweden and Germany for 3 years total.

Am I am 6'7" tall, so if want to write a character who is griping about his height I can well fill you in on some of the problems (and benefits).

[CalebJMalcom]

Generally I'm a research fiend and if you are having a problem finding info I would be happy to throw my madness into it with you. Things I know a lot about:

Herbalism - since my grandmother showed me my first healing plant at 12 I've been an avid researcher and practitioner.
Wild harvester - Basically the same thing. Since my grandmother showed me my first wild edibles at 12 I have researched and practiced sustainable wild harvesting of edible plants.
Poisonous plants of North America - This falls in with the ones above but I can also tell you how many poisonous plants taste.
Religious Studies- I've been independently studying religions since I could read and the last few years have been making a point to start collecting religious texts from religions around the world.
Native Americans- With a focus on South East tribes (part of my ancestry), Plains and some North East. This coming year I'll be researching West Coast tribes.

[logan9a]

There are some very interesting people who have posted on this thread.

I know a something of the following (though I am sure other individuals within this thread my equal or excel my knowledge). Disclaimer: I do not claim to have personally done or associated with anyone who has done or is planning to do any of the following activities. Any alleged knowledge purely seeped into my mind from osmosis.

Cold war spy/intelligence stuff
Occult studies
Firearms
Illegal activities such as: robbery, pick pocketing, lock bypassing (including bumping, bashing, picks), extortion, manipulation, kidnapping, etc.
Police activities (American only)
Deception (performing, detection)
Interrogation (excluding torture)
Being an international bum - living off of less than $30 per day and traveling around the world (though I haven't been everywhere...yet)
etc.

The one thing which I suspect I may know more about others on this board are LARP's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LARP Specifically, the NERO LARP (a fantasy genre) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NERO_International
I don't know if anyone will ever feel the burning need to find out more on that particular topic but I thought I'd throw it out there on the off chance.

Edit: I also know a lot about 'pen and paper tabletop role playing games' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabletop_role-playing_game

[AdamJohnSwenson]

Hi all,

wow, this thread is great. I can offer my services for:
Music related things, specifically electric guitar/bass drums, (I'm an electric guitarist and play in a band) recording, mixing live sounding
Minnesota! and Wisconsin!
Fishing Resorts up north
Photography
Some philosophy and theology (have degrees in those)

Awesome. I love this

[wishflower]

After reading through some of these posts I have to ask myself what I've been doing with my life! For whatever it's worth though, here are the things I'm comfortable advising others on:

Things photography related: equipment, photography school, working in darkrooms, old school processes (cyanotypes, van dykes, etc), different genres of photography, gallery shows (start to finish)... or anything else you can think up! ^_^

I've worked freelance shooting a wide variety of things... antiques, jewelry, jam, etc. I also interned at a major clothing company as a photographer, so can give you insight on what that's like. I've worked as a retoucher, a photo lab technician, and a photographer in a retail portrait studio (you know the type--JCPenney, Sears, Walmart--small, cheap studios. I wouldn't recommend this, by the way.) Umm... I can also help with invoicing for freelance work.

I've lived in rural Michigan and Pittsburgh. If you need insight on what it's like to transition from being a country mouse to a city mouse, I've got you covered. (I honestly had to learn how to take public transportation. I'd never been on a city bus before I was 21.)

Random other jobs:
**Waitress
**Corn detasseling (I wish I was joking.)
**Retail camera sales
**Ren faires
**Bagel smearer extraordinaire
I also worked at my college in the AV equipment cage, and the media center taking calls from faculty to fix projectors, TVs, and pretty much anything AV related.

Also, my best friend is transgendered. I've been with him through the entire transition process, so if there's anything you need to know about sex reassignment surgery, passing, coming out, or how such a transition impacts friends and family I can help with that, too.

I've also had dozens of roommates, and so have unique perspective on that situation too. I've had roomies hold me at knife point, but I've had the best roommates on the planet, too.

In a few months I'll be working on a cruise ship as a photographer. I'll update this then, in case anyone plans on setting their next murder mystery on a cruise ship in Hawaii :P

I think that's it for my limited knowledge. I'm more than happy to share though!

[CharacterInWhite]

I'd be delighted to consult on any of the following topics:

-Martial arts: Nine years of Taekwondo and a 2nd dan black belt before I "retired" (it was never really a "career"). Need words to describe a broken bone? How about the anxiety of facing a considerably more skilled opponent? Or perhaps you need to describe a relationship of respect and admiration between an instructor and his student? (I got both perspectives on that last one, as I spent the last three years of my "career" teaching as well as training.)

-Gender non-conformity: As a young boy I preferred baking, painting, "girly" cartoons, and had nothing but female friends until I was 10 years old. As a grown man I still prefer baking, the occasional romance novel, opera, fashion, and tomboyish women. I have a lot of experiences both good and bad concerning gender non-conformity, and I'm comfortable sharing some (if not all) of them.

-Gender equality or "sex-positivity": Tying in loosely with the above point, I've also done a lot of studies at University concerning rape culture, egalitarianism, and prejudice. Being surrounded by women on a daily basis probably fuelled this.

-Height based social ostracism: I'm not trying to earn pity points here, but I was bullied a lot in Junior High, not only for being "effeminate" but for being short. Yes, short (5'2" to be exact). Guys aren't supposed to be short, don't you know? If you need someone to describe what it feels like to be teased over a physical aspect that you can't control, look no further.

If you need a more mature outlook, I can still tell you that being a short guy garners plenty of discrimination in the "grown-up" world as well, though now I've got the back bone to tell people to shove it.

-Boy scouts: Or more specifically, hating boy scouts despite learning to appreciate some of their lessons later on in life. For example, I liked learning wilderness survival and that sharing leads to stronger friendships, but not that Christianity is the "right" religion to follow. On that note...

-Atheism & Freedom of Speech: I've meticulously studied morality and ethics in University from the perspective of an atheist--and I've arrived to the conclusion that being a "good" person does not have to involve a religion (and in many cases, shouldn't involve a religion). I love talking about this.

-Science!: My programs at University were all Science with a dab of Arts options (the aforementioned philosophy and women's studies in my case). I can shed some insight into the process of research, what it's like to work in a student's lab, what lectures are like, what the workload is like, etc. I can also describe some of my more eccentric or amusing professors if you need inspiration.

-Substance Abuse: Individuals who will remain unspecified have ruined their lives in front of me due to addictions and poor life decisions. If you want to know what that's like, I can help.

[ShaylaElla]

This is crazy. So many people, so many stories. I'll toss in a few things that I might be able to offer some insight on. Of course, how do I know if some random experience of mine might be worth listing. I'm great at harvesting wild chanterelle mushrooms...

Anyway, here's a few things I've experienced:
• Growing up in rural, central Canada.
• Teen substance use (not abuse, mind) pot & liquor
• Teen pregnancy & abortion
• Life in downtown Toronto - and the associated culture shock of moving from a small town...
• Graphic design, design history, web design, etc. You got design questions, typography questions, I can help!
• Calgary. I'm here, so ask away.

That's all... for now...

[LoneRider]

Here are my experiences:

- Military service (US Navy/US Army)
- Having attended a military school
- Near OCD interest in history (it goes by phases what historical era I tend to want to read about. Lately it's been British de-colonization from 1945 onward.
- Parachuted out of an airplane.
- Had the experience of going from couch potato to physically fit.