Hi! Apologies in advance, this will probably be horribly long-winded. I'll put a TL;DR version at the bottom, so skip down there if you get bored.
I'm obliviondoll (most of my friends call me "OD" for short), and I'm a very unusual guy in my late 20s. I work from home, and have a lot of free time. Recently, some of that free time was spent channel-surfing on TV, and I stumbled across a TV series called "Beyblade: Metal Fusion" - I don't know, but maybe some of you have heard of it?
It looked... well, kind of silly, but less so than some things I used to watch when I was at school. And more importantly, it was a blatant promotional series for a line of toys - which are always fun. Like I said, I'm a bit odd. I also still play with Lego.
Around the same time I saw the show, I remembered how awesome spinning tops were when I was little. I mentioned the show to my girlfriend, and she said she used to love Beyblades when she was younger, and would probably get into them if I did. So... being me, I did some research.
When I realised that Beyblades were customisable, my initial thought was, "how is that logical?" It wasn't long before I realised how brilliant the idea was - putting together different parts of things is not only great fun, but when it alters performance in an objective sense, but avoids having a single "best" combo to use, that becomes all kinds of awesome. I also appreciate the value of a good understanding of physics and how to apply that to both the construction process and to your launch.
My girlfriend was never taught physics or maths in any way she ever understood when she was in school - her teachers were the boring, conventional types who didn't bother to try and understand unusual thought processes. She could have learned a lot about maths and science if she'd been taught the right way, but apparently, that now falls to me. Unlike her teachers, I find ways to make these subjects not only understandable for her, but also fun. Thinking about this, Beyblades became more than just a novelty. They became a potential tool for an even better combination of fun and learning.
So, not long after I started thinking all these things though, I went shopping. The first order of business was to see if there was any kind of "starter pack" that provided everything we'd need. Sure enough, not only was this possible, but it came with 2 launchers and 2 Beyblades. Perfect for a couple like us.
Instead of taking any kind of rational or thoughtful approach, I looked at 2 things.
1. Price.
2. Name.
As soon as I realised the Performance Tops were the cheaper option, I stopped looking in the XTS section. Then I saw it.
A box with the wrong pricetag. 1/3 the usual price. A closer inspection revealed that one of the Beys in the pack was named "Evil Pisces" - as a Pisces myself, I took that as a sign and very quickly made my purchase.
After getting home, and getting the pack open, I soon came to two important conclusions.
1. Beyblades are awesome, but having a Defense type and a Stamina type and nothing else doesn't make for the most active or exciting battles (probably why the hero of the series I watched was using an Attack type).
2. Almost every part can, to some degree, act as a physics lesson in and of itself, on some level.
This was one of the first sites to help me figure out the basics of what Beyblades are, so it seemed logical to come here after deciding I'll be continuing with the hobby. I still have a lot to learn, and only enough parts for 2 tops right now, but I look forward to a lot of learning, experimenting, and hopefully plenty of fun.
So... TL;DR version:
I'm one of the (possibly rare) crazy adults who likes playing with toys. My girlfriend is just as crazy, and I'm not just playing with toys in this case, but also using them as physics lessons for her. I'm totally new to the hobby, while my girlfriend has experience, but my physics knowledge might help me to gain an edge over time.
I'm obliviondoll (most of my friends call me "OD" for short), and I'm a very unusual guy in my late 20s. I work from home, and have a lot of free time. Recently, some of that free time was spent channel-surfing on TV, and I stumbled across a TV series called "Beyblade: Metal Fusion" - I don't know, but maybe some of you have heard of it?
It looked... well, kind of silly, but less so than some things I used to watch when I was at school. And more importantly, it was a blatant promotional series for a line of toys - which are always fun. Like I said, I'm a bit odd. I also still play with Lego.
Around the same time I saw the show, I remembered how awesome spinning tops were when I was little. I mentioned the show to my girlfriend, and she said she used to love Beyblades when she was younger, and would probably get into them if I did. So... being me, I did some research.
When I realised that Beyblades were customisable, my initial thought was, "how is that logical?" It wasn't long before I realised how brilliant the idea was - putting together different parts of things is not only great fun, but when it alters performance in an objective sense, but avoids having a single "best" combo to use, that becomes all kinds of awesome. I also appreciate the value of a good understanding of physics and how to apply that to both the construction process and to your launch.
My girlfriend was never taught physics or maths in any way she ever understood when she was in school - her teachers were the boring, conventional types who didn't bother to try and understand unusual thought processes. She could have learned a lot about maths and science if she'd been taught the right way, but apparently, that now falls to me. Unlike her teachers, I find ways to make these subjects not only understandable for her, but also fun. Thinking about this, Beyblades became more than just a novelty. They became a potential tool for an even better combination of fun and learning.
So, not long after I started thinking all these things though, I went shopping. The first order of business was to see if there was any kind of "starter pack" that provided everything we'd need. Sure enough, not only was this possible, but it came with 2 launchers and 2 Beyblades. Perfect for a couple like us.
Instead of taking any kind of rational or thoughtful approach, I looked at 2 things.
1. Price.
2. Name.
As soon as I realised the Performance Tops were the cheaper option, I stopped looking in the XTS section. Then I saw it.
A box with the wrong pricetag. 1/3 the usual price. A closer inspection revealed that one of the Beys in the pack was named "Evil Pisces" - as a Pisces myself, I took that as a sign and very quickly made my purchase.
After getting home, and getting the pack open, I soon came to two important conclusions.
1. Beyblades are awesome, but having a Defense type and a Stamina type and nothing else doesn't make for the most active or exciting battles (probably why the hero of the series I watched was using an Attack type).
2. Almost every part can, to some degree, act as a physics lesson in and of itself, on some level.
This was one of the first sites to help me figure out the basics of what Beyblades are, so it seemed logical to come here after deciding I'll be continuing with the hobby. I still have a lot to learn, and only enough parts for 2 tops right now, but I look forward to a lot of learning, experimenting, and hopefully plenty of fun.
So... TL;DR version:
I'm one of the (possibly rare) crazy adults who likes playing with toys. My girlfriend is just as crazy, and I'm not just playing with toys in this case, but also using them as physics lessons for her. I'm totally new to the hobby, while my girlfriend has experience, but my physics knowledge might help me to gain an edge over time.
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