Things I don't know anything about....

[Dookus]

at 42, I figure if I don't 'em by now, I probably never will:

Military ranks (I know Private is at the bottom, General at the top... the rest is a blur.)

Guns (I don't know a shotgun from a rifle, a pistol from a revolver, etc. etc.)

Electricity (my boyfriend is an electrical engineer by training. I don't know the difference between current and voltage, and I would never dream of wiring anything. He does it without even turning off the circuit breakers. Scares the fuck outta me.)

Football (I know the basic premise of the game - I know what a center is and what a quarterback is. Everything else is a mystery.)

Wines (anything over 10 bucks tastes fine to me, and half the stuff under 10 bucks is OK, too.)

Auto repair (I can jump-start a car. But it still scares me. Anything beyond that is scary. And that includes oil changes.)

Hamlet and King Lear (I've never read either one, nor seen any productions.)

Higher math (I can do (very) basic algebra, and just a few years ago finally "grokked" trigonometry. Never took calculus.)

Genetics (I just plain sucked at biology)

[MercutioATC]

1. At 36 (and male) my list is remarkably similar...

I know that Navy ranks and Army ranks conflict somehow, but I don't know the specifics.

I DO know guns, but that's from growing up in the country and working in law enforcement for 4 years.

I still think electricity is magic. I don't understand it and I don't want to. I can change switches and outlets, but that's simple. Frankly, electricity kinda scares me.

I don't follow football at all...NO sports, in fact. Don't know the rules, don't know the players, don't care.

I know wines...at least a little. I've had enough experience to know what I like, which is all that really matters to me.

I've actually replaced the alternator and fuel pump on my Porsche (no small task). That was extraordinary for me. Usually, I drop my cars off at the garage and say "Take care of it". I'm NOT handy with mechanical things.

Ashamed to admit it, but I'm not nearly as well-versed on literature as I'd like to be. Most of what I DID know, I've forgotten.

I am the original math idiot. Beyond the most basic algebra, I'm useless. Fortunately, I was right...I've never had a need for it as an adult.

Genetics??? Well with no math and no science, I'm thinking no genetics...I've really never thought about it.


On the other hand, I'm a decent cook (Italian family, it's inherited), I build my own computers (electricity might be "magic", but computers are pretty simple to slap together), and I seem to have a flair for getting under peoples' skin (just ask the mods...my removed posts tell the tale).

I'm learning photography and how to speak Italian...hopefully this will tip the balance in my favor ;)

[Sapphocrat]

2. This is almost scary...

42 (and female) here, and...

Military ranks: All I know is that in the Navy, captains have three bars on the shoulder, and they call the frilly things on an officer's hat "scrambled eggs."

Guns, I do know. I know a little about reloading, too, but not enough to actually do it without blowing myself up.

Electricity: I can rewire fixtures & switches, but beyond that, it is scary stuff.

Football: Hate it with a passion, but "know the basic premise of the game" -- only against my will.

Wines: Know a little, but I just order what I like (which is usually cheap anyway).

Auto repair: Can jump-start an engine, change a tire and an air filter, and fill the fluids. I know what it means to gap a spark plug, but I have no idea why spark plugs are necessary -- it has something to do with electricity. The internal-combustion engine is truly magical. I think cars are really run by elves or angels or something.

Shakespeare: Um, there are witches in one, and fairies in another. All I know of Hamlet is "To sleep, perchance to dream." Oh, and never say "MacBeth" in an actors' dressing room -- it's bad luck.

Higher math: Hell, I can barely do lower math. I don't even know what calc & trig are for. My dad, however, was a genius at that stuff.

Genetics: I've got the basics of dominant and recessive genes down, and know why mutations happen, but only because my sister was a genetics major, so it kind of rubbed off. DNA, however, makes no sense to me at all. I think DNA was invented by O.J.'s prosecutor.

Cooking: No sweat. Love it. No recipe needed, ever. (Italian here too -- maybe that's why.)

Computers: Hate messing around with hardware, but the guts don't scare me. Can replace just about anything on the inside. Never have built a machine from scratch, though.

Photography: Parents were award-winning photographers, so that's something I do know. Can develop my own film & prints in a darkroom. But never learned to process color.

The American Revolution: My education in the founding of the U.S. was sorely lacking (maybe because the nuns were all Irish), so I've been teaching myself, slowly.

How to diagram a sentence: A complete mystery.

Plastic: I'm not exactly sure what plastic really is.

How to read music: I've tried -- no aptitude. :(

Craps: Can't retain any more than something about hoping the guy with the dice doesn't hit a seven. I can rattle off what beats what in poker, and tell you exactly what kind of payout you can expect from a full house on just about every video-poker machine in existence. :D

[MercutioATC]

3. Ahhh, I forgot craps...

Had a blast playing in Vegas last year (I really went to see Mystere). Once you learn the rules (which aren't as difficult as they seem) it's a breeze.

Award-winning photographers? I'm jealous :) I aspire to shoot something that rates better than my walls or a website. I shoot for my friend's band ( www.slantzero.com ) and I had a great time in Costa Rica taking pictures of...well...everything. I bought my gear for the trip, and it was kinda fun getting out of a Jeep in the middle of the rainforest in the middle of a bunch of tourists with point-and-shoot cameras holding my D30 with the 100-400L IS and having them ask me if I worked for National Geographic :) ...I wish...

Oh, and I can't diagram a sentence, either...

[BlueCollar]

4. Navy Ranks

Enlisted Ranks

E-1 Seaman Recruit (SR)
E-2 Seaman Apprentice (SA)
E-3 Seaman (SN)
E-4 Petty Officer Third Class (PO3)
E-5 Petty Officer Second Class (PO2)
E-6 Petty Officer First Class (PO1)
E-7 Chief Petty Officer (CPO)
E-8 Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO)
E-9 Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO)

Commissioned Ranks

O-1 Ensign (Ens)
O-2 Lieutenant Junior Grade (LtJg)
O-3 Lieutenant (Lt)
O-4 Lieutenant Commander (LCdr)
O-5 Commander (Cdr)
O-6 Captain (Cpt)
O-7 Commodore (War time Rank only)
O-7Rear Admiral(RAdm)
O-8Vice Admiral (VAdm)
0-9 Admiral (Adm)
0-10 Fleet Admiral(FAdm)

I remember those from my time in the Navy, but was clueless about the other branches of service. Just saluted anything with metal on their shoulders...

[MercutioATC]

5. I think that was it...a Navy Captain outranks an Army Captain.

...or something...