VOGONS


Reply 20 of 39, by H3nrik V!

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My wife doesn't like it ... But as long as the door to my home office can close, she accepts it ... 🤣 it did raise the WAF a bit though, when I showed her I had installed "Lost Vikings" on a P200MMX, as she often talks about she played in her childhood 😎

As for spending money - we have shared economy except for an amount each, which we can spend on whatever we please solely for ourselves 😀

If it's dual it's kind of cool ... 😎

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Reply 21 of 39, by RetroPCCupboard

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H3nrik V! wrote on 2025-01-16, 09:27:

My wife doesn't like it ... But as long as the door to my home office can close, she accepts it ... 🤣 it did raise the WAF a bit though, when I showed her I had installed "Lost Vikings" on a P200MMX, as she often talks about she played in her childhood 😎

Lol. I tried that with the game Pharaoh that she told me she used to play. Whilst I think she was slightly interested, she didn't want to play as she knows how addicted she got to it. Strangely the most interest I got out of her, and indeed my daughter, was when I was going through my magazine cover CDs and found a full version of Catz 3. My 10yr old daughter had a blast playing with the cats and their toys, and my wife seemed to have a laugh watching her play on it.

Reply 22 of 39, by wierd_w

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I am the ultimate nerd, in that I have never had a significant other, and do not desire one.

However, the few times I have had a cat, they seemed to be rather jealous of my computer time, and kept biting the edges of my laptop screen... Sadly, I never found a way to stop them doing that. 😜

Reply 23 of 39, by Boohyaka

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my wife is not interested in the slightest, and just finds it cool that I have a home hobby that is not a money pit, is somewhat "smart" and lets me learn new things (mainly electronics and repair), and first of all brings me joy. I'm not out drinking, I'm not buying and driving expensive cars or base jumping in the Alps, I stay close and that's probably a big plus 😀 we both believe part of a successful relationship is sharing things, but also being happy with personal time while still being physically close. I'm happy to know she's in the next room reading a book or drawing while I'm recapping a board, and I can quickly go talk to her or just hug. And same for her. She often comes while I'm in my computer room, and will make a smartass comment like "wow just another big ass screen? like you don't have enough already?" or "I'm sure there's a picture of your room under "feng shui" in the dictionary" 😁

We're lucky to have a big house for 2, so I have my own office/study + a closet for storage. I keep things as tidy and contained as possible anyways. And she has a huge room in the basement for her own creative hobbies so she can't complain 😀 She will often join me when I have to go somewhere to grab a new item I bought online, and we'll search for something to do in the new area together - nice walk with the dog, some town or landmark visit, etc.. so we make it an opportunity to do something cool together in places we would probably never have visited otherwise.

Having typed all this, I realize now it may sound like some poorly written idealistic fanfiction xD but I swear it's all true. We have our challenges, difficulties and friction points like all couples, but my hobby is definitely not one of them. And overall, I do think I'm a lucky man. But it goes both ways - she's also a lucky woman. Having a good relationship is work, and I do my part.

Reply 24 of 39, by Mandrew

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TBH if my wife had a problem with my hobbies she wouldn't be my wife at all. Why would I want to spend the rest of my life with someone who hates what I do and what I am? Compatible personality was in my top 3 when I started dating seriously.
So she not only accepts my hobbies but also helps me get new things. She sometimes surprises me with retro hardware she found on marketplace and listens to my ramblings about some computer that's older than she is. I couldn't imagine it any other way, life is too short to make bad compromises.
I do the same for her and accept that she is a gym/health nut so it's all nice and balanced.

Reply 25 of 39, by H3nrik V!

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Boohyaka wrote on 2025-01-16, 11:19:

She will often join me when I have to go somewhere to grab a new item I bought online, and we'll search for something to do in the new area together - nice walk with the dog, some town or landmark visit, etc.. so we make it an opportunity to do something cool together in places we would probably never have visited otherwise.

Brilliant! My wife and I really enjoy road trips together, as we get a lot of together time with no disturbances. I'm gonna consider adding "picking up stuff and find a nice café for lunch" to our to-do list 😎

If it's dual it's kind of cool ... 😎

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Please use the "quote" option if asking questions to what I write - it will really up the chances of me noticing 😀

Reply 26 of 39, by analog_programmer

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RetroPCCupboard, why don't you tell her you've decided to change your hobby and you're going to sell all your old computer stuff to buy a sports bike? Then your wife will either beg you to stay with the old computers or will go into hysterics mode 🤣

from СМ630 to Ryzen gen. 3
engineer's five pennies: this world goes south since everything's run by financiers and economists
this isn't voice chat, yet some people, overusing online communications, "talk" and "hear voices"

Reply 27 of 39, by waterbeesje

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My wife calls me out of my mind every while, asks if i lost it and complaints about the few computers around here (30+ built plus spare parts, categorised by era in cabinets). Al of the kids seem to develop interests in the 'pile of junk' so im not standing alone 😜

Stuck at 10MHz...

Reply 28 of 39, by RetroPCCupboard

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Mandrew wrote on 2025-01-16, 12:25:

TBH if my wife had a problem with my hobbies she wouldn't be my wife at all. Why would I want to spend the rest of my life with someone who hates what I do and what I am? Compatible personality was in my top 3 when I started dating seriously.

I never said she hates what I do and what I am. I said she likes a modern clutter-free home and obviously bringing in 30yr old computer hardware is not compatible with that. She's not bothered about what I do in my office, as nobody but me needs to see it. But, as I said earlier, I have currently got some things stored in places that they shouldn't be (outside of my office room). She shares the house with me, so I don't think it unreasonable for her to have an opinion on what goes into it.

I was interested how others cope with the challenge of collecting PC parts and what impact that has on others in the household. Most people have a limited amount of storage, but the temptation to collect and experiment with different combinations of hardware is high. I was sure that I couldn't be the only person struggling to contain the items.

Mandrew wrote on 2025-01-16, 12:25:

So she not only accepts my hobbies but also helps me get new things. She sometimes surprises me with retro hardware she found on marketplace and listens to my ramblings about some computer that's older than she is. I couldn't imagine it any other way, life is too short to make bad compromises.
I do the same for her and accept that she is a gym/health nut so it's all nice and balanced.

So does my wife. She has no interest in gaming, but she still bought me a wireless game controller for Christmas last year. But if she's not interested in old computers or retro gaming then I think that's fair enough. Honestly, most people that I know aren't interested either. It seems to be quite a niche interest. At least where I live it is.

analog_programmer wrote on 2025-01-16, 13:29:

RetroPCCupboard, why don't you tell her you've decided to change your hobby and you're going to sell all your old computer stuff to buy a sports bike? Then your wife will either beg you to stay with the old computers or will go into hysterics mode 🤣

Haha. She'd prefer me to get a sports bike, as that would be a benefit to my health (assuming I don't have a bad crash!).

Reply 29 of 39, by analog_programmer

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RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-16, 14:25:

Haha. She'd prefer me to get a sports bike, as that would be a benefit to my health (assuming I don't have a bad crash!).

Hmmm. But to ride and maintain a sports bike is pretty expensive (and risky) hobby compared to retro computer hoarding, especially if you get your PC items for cheap from local fleamarkets... Anyway, we'll never understand the female logic 😁

from СМ630 to Ryzen gen. 3
engineer's five pennies: this world goes south since everything's run by financiers and economists
this isn't voice chat, yet some people, overusing online communications, "talk" and "hear voices"

Reply 30 of 39, by RetroPCCupboard

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analog_programmer wrote on 2025-01-16, 15:42:

Anyway, we'll never understand the female logic 😁

As the famous book says. "Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus". We are different creatures and need to respect those differences if the relationship is to last. Compromises have to be found that both are happy with.

Reply 31 of 39, by BaronSFel001

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My wife is a gamer, but more on the modern casual side (things she can run on her tablets). She is also even less tidy than I am, which is saying something. Sometimes we will play Wii together with the kids, but mostly keep our hobbies to ourselves (my other big one is guns and militaria, an interest she does not share...but her brother sure does, hence our extended families get along well 😀).

She is less understanding when it comes to collecting. I try to compensate by showering her with gifts when the occasion calls for it (this Christmas she got a new laptop, presently the most powerful computer in our household). I keep it lower key nowadays, and notice she has stopped nagging me so much; I have no way of telling if she just no longer bothers to notice, has reached the point of quietly accepting my hobbies (we have been married 7 1/2 years), or is placated that I occasionally sell parts of my collection for a tidy profit. Since we plan to move to a bigger house as soon as we can fix up our present one, understanding already exists of "play space" for both of us.

System 20: PIII 600, LAPC-I, AWE64, S220, Voodoo3, SQ2500, R200, 3.1-Me
System 21: G2030 3.0, X-fi Fatal1ty, GTX 560, XP-Vista
Retro gaming (among other subjects): https://baronsfel001.wixsite.com/my-site

Reply 32 of 39, by analog_programmer

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RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-16, 15:58:

As the famous book says. "Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus". We are different creatures and need to respect those differences if the relationship is to last. Compromises have to be found that both are happy with.

Yep. Perhaps your wife will feel herself happier if both of you spend more time in some common activities/hobbies.

from СМ630 to Ryzen gen. 3
engineer's five pennies: this world goes south since everything's run by financiers and economists
this isn't voice chat, yet some people, overusing online communications, "talk" and "hear voices"

Reply 33 of 39, by RetroPCCupboard

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analog_programmer wrote on 2025-01-16, 16:11:

Yep. Perhaps your wife will feel herself happier if both of you spend more time in some common activities/hobbies.

Yeah, we go for walks together and watch TV series together. Sometimes we cook together.
But, she's not got any hobbies, and is not interested in having any.

I wouldn't say my hobby impacts our time together, as I only play with retro hardware when she's asleep or out of the house.

Reply 34 of 39, by gerry

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Boohyaka wrote on 2025-01-16, 11:19:

we both believe part of a successful relationship is sharing things, but also being happy with personal time while still being physically close.

i think that's a great summary

i'm lucky too, while the two of us don't share all the same interests neither of us interfere in each others either, or makes comments if we seem to overdo the collecting. It never got to a point of taking up shared household space though, and while its not exactly the tidiest collection on my behalf, i keep it behind a door so its ok

Reply 35 of 39, by Boohyaka

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H3nrik V! wrote on 2025-01-16, 12:45:

Brilliant! My wife and I really enjoy road trips together, as we get a lot of together time with no disturbances. I'm gonna consider adding "picking up stuff and find a nice café for lunch" to our to-do list 😎

You should! It's great to make use of such opportunities to see and do new things 😀 even for myself, the drive is more pleasant and the whole thing is even more positive that way!

gerry wrote on 2025-01-16, 18:57:

i think that's a great summary

i'm lucky too, while the two of us don't share all the same interests neither of us interfere in each others either, or makes comments if we seem to overdo the collecting. It never got to a point of taking up shared household space though, and while its not exactly the tidiest collection on my behalf, i keep it behind a door so its ok

Yup, I won't be an ass and say that my own experience is an objective truth. Everybody may be looking for their own thing in a relationship, but in our case it's really been part of the success. We love do to some things together, and we love to do our own thing while still being close. It feels balanced.

Reply 36 of 39, by H3nrik V!

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analog_programmer wrote on 2025-01-16, 15:42:
RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-16, 14:25:

Haha. She'd prefer me to get a sports bike, as that would be a benefit to my health (assuming I don't have a bad crash!).

Hmmm. But to ride and maintain a sports bike is pretty expensive (and risky) hobby compared to retro computer hoarding, especially if you get your PC items for cheap from local fleamarkets... Anyway, we'll never understand the female logic 😁

Oh, snap, I have both those hobbies ... and a mountainbike as well 🤣

If it's dual it's kind of cool ... 😎

--- GA586DX --- P2B-DS --- BP6 ---

Please use the "quote" option if asking questions to what I write - it will really up the chances of me noticing 😀

Reply 37 of 39, by chinny22

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RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-16, 07:43:
Yes, your wife sounds similar to mine. Luckily we don't share a home office. She has hers, and I have mine. I think the problem […]
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chinny22 wrote on 2025-01-16, 01:06:
My wife HATE's it. She sounds similar and likes new and shiny things and does not understand why I want old obsolete computers. […]
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My wife HATE's it. She sounds similar and likes new and shiny things and does not understand why I want old obsolete computers.
Our last house we shared the office, she had 1/2 the room and I had the other half.
She complains, often. I'd just point out she had more than half the bathroom for all her creams, makeup, etc. more than half the closets space for her clothes.
As long as I didn't expand into her side of the room, and all the "old junk" was hidden away in the office I didn't think I has been unreasonable. She still hates the hobby but accepts it.

Yes, your wife sounds similar to mine. Luckily we don't share a home office. She has hers, and I have mine. I think the problem is that currently my office isn't very tidy. I have the intention to build storage in there, but haven't found time, so theres not much storage space. I did have stuff in storage boxes that were piled up in my office. But had an incident where the bottom box collapsed and sent the whole lot crashing down and landed on the chair where I would normally be sitting (I happened to be out of the room at the time). After that we agreed that it wasn't a good idea to pile them up like that, so I now have three boxes on the floor just outside my office door and three boxes in our bedroom. I guess I need to sort that out and start building some shelves.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-01-16, 01:06:

As for time she would go to gym, yoga. etc (her hobbies) which means I'm looking after the kids alone for over an hour. Where as my retro PC time was after the kids were in bed and I was still around in the house if needed.
So as hobbies go, it's actually a very family friendly one.

Yeah, I tend to play with hardware for an hour or so in the morning before my wife and daughter wake up. I love that time of day.

I also had some boxes in the bottom of my side of the wardrobe so must admit it wasn't contained in 1 room but at least it was still out of sight.
My side of the office had boxes on top of boxes, not exactly neat looking and made finding things harder then it should have been but was tight on space.
But yes spilling out of the office wouldn't have been allowed for more then a couple of days which I did think was fair.

We've since moved back to Australia and we no longer share. She gets the office which she also doubles as the kids lego room. I get the garage which I share with the insects 😜 (It's fine deal is my car gets the parking spot inside)

Reply 38 of 39, by H3nrik V!

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chinny22 wrote on 2025-01-16, 23:50:

We've since moved back to Australia and we no longer share. She gets the office which she also doubles as the kids lego room. I get the garage which I share with the insects 😜 (It's fine deal is my car gets the parking spot inside)

Sharing a garage with the insects in Australia ... I guess that they do take a not insignificant amount of room 🤣

If it's dual it's kind of cool ... 😎

--- GA586DX --- P2B-DS --- BP6 ---

Please use the "quote" option if asking questions to what I write - it will really up the chances of me noticing 😀

Reply 39 of 39, by wierd_w

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H3nrik V! wrote on 2025-01-17, 07:33:
chinny22 wrote on 2025-01-16, 23:50:

We've since moved back to Australia and we no longer share. She gets the office which she also doubles as the kids lego room. I get the garage which I share with the insects 😜 (It's fine deal is my car gets the parking spot inside)

Sharing a garage with the insects in Australia ... I guess that they do take a not insignificant amount of room 🤣

Funnelweb moved into your old set of altec speakers with the subwoofer?
Turn up the base, and watch the show! 😜