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.

[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

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

3) Duke Basketball

[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

[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?

[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.

[Jarhead]

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

[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

[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.

[riverside6]

I'll bite...

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

I have too many websites!