Introduce yourself (mk. II)

[Maeg]

Sirs, Ladies and all round good sorts, I find myself rather bemusedly typing this post.

My first introduction to the notion of 'steampunk' was an off-hand comment made by a friend over a year ago, when visiting my dorm and seeing the guts of a valve radio laid out on the side, and shelves of working sets dating from the 1920's-40's. I like old sets - they were built to last, and when they do go wrong they practically tell you the problem (Case in point: Oil-filled mains capacitor literally vanished into a lot of blue haze, a flash and a really loud BANG once. I had tinnitus for the rest of the day...).
The otherside of this is amateur radio. I am licenced, and love nothing more than putting valve transmitters back on the air and using CW (morse) to make contact with like-minded people.

Likewise I like reserrecting old cameras - Box cameras, folding cameras, plate cameras - they can be bought at car-boot sales and the like for nothing.Then follows the search for appropriate film (generaly long obselete), an outing, and then that magical moment in the darkroom where the ghostly image appears before your eyes and confirms that the camera still lives.  There is the aesthetic aspect too - Leather and Bellows cameras look wonderful (to me, atleast) - and are a wonderful way to engage with other people. For example, I was setting up a very heavy dryplate camera on the pier the other day, and soon had attracted a small crowd of onlookers keen to see how it used to be done, before the days of memory cards and instant gratification.

So thats about what I like, as for what I do: I'm a second year Bsc Geology undergraduate in deepest darkest Cornwall, UK. The area is steeped in mining history and I regularly work alongside air and even steam powered equipment at the various mines I learn my trade in. Mining in the area has always been conservative, and it isn't unusual to find the original steam winching engines insitu long after being relegated to back-up status.

Am I steampunk? I don't know - I don't consider myself to have any particular identity of affiliation with the genre. I admire the craftsmen and engineers who built so soundly the many structures that litter the landscape still, from derelict engine houses ("Cornish Cathedrals") to the railway line I travel on. Even when you come across great iron hulks of rusting boilers and engines at some long-abandonned site, they still exude a sense of dignity. I admire their ethos - "built to last", and hope to continue this by repairing old rigs and radios so they'll be good for another six or seven decades. I'd like my handiwork to outlast me - for someone else , when replacing the mains capacitor I in turn once replaced, to find the signed paper slip recording the date I completed the work. I have a radio set I listen to regularly. It is crude and esoteric by todays standards, but it dates to the year my Great Grandmother was born. 1922. I hope my great grandchildren will have the same pleasure listening to it that I have.

Robs

[psn1der]

Hi.........I have been attending and recording photographically the Whitby Goth event for several years but experienced my first Steampunk day on 10 Sept at Asylum - Lincoln.

The atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming so i photographed the diverse characters and outfits throughout the day without a refusal.

Hopefully this will become a regular venue for me in the future.

Having "tweaked" my shots they are available for viewing an my FLICKR site................. http://www.flickr.com/photos/62280230@N05/

Should anyone appearing on my site wish for their image to be removed.....please e mail me at
lensman@lensman2.karoo.co.uk and I will happily oblige

Thanks to all who gave me their time to pose........

Mike

Wonderful pictures.

[Larcen]

Greetings to you all, im 26, married have 2 boys (5 and 1.5) surviving in the west country, been interested in steampunk for a very long time. being a fan of Abney Park since 99 and a huge fan of all things goth, darkwave and industrial im in the process of creating a Music project and persona (something not to far from Hellboys Kroenen) that is very heavily dystopian Steampunk hence my current creation in progress ( http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,33011.0.html )


aaaand before anyone mentions Nazi's YES i will be using a gestapo uniform as a starting point but will be creating my own emblems and decorations

and ive probably gone into more detail than is needed for an introduction so i'll stop typing now

[lottie fezz]

hello

im new... can you guess..well let me tell you about me well im 37 mum of 3 and new to the forum and i guess steampunk i have been an active observer for well over a year and i am now taking the plunge as it were.  I have been interested in all things steam for a long time but i feel a little out of depth due to age and lack of knowledge but i am keen to take an active role.. please help me i am sure this is where i am meant to be...

Love Lottie

[Captain Shipton Bellinger]

What ho! Lottie, and welcome to Brass Goggles.

Your best bet is probably just to leap in and join the discussions. The backlog of post to BG comprise a huge repository of all tings Steampunk, and while the 'Search' feature is not all-powerful it can often do a reasonable job of finding something that particularly interests you.

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the age thing if I were you; we have every age from pre-conception to post-mortem. Well, that may be a little exaggerated, but this post will give you a good idea of the age spread of BGers.

Have fun. 

[Barnabus]

I just joined and wanted to say hello.

I'm based in the East Midlands of England and am particularly interested in reading and writing fiction. Having had a look around the threads of the forum, I'm sure I'm going to learn a huge amount here.

All the best.

B

[Air Defender Sellers]

hello my names Rodney and im addicted to... oops sorry wrong group  always start with a bit of humour i have been on this forum about 3 weeks now starting a few little steampunk projects at the mo and looking forward to meeting new people through the events held ive been an admirer of steampunk for a few years now but being a shy person have only just decided to give it a go so hello everyone

[Aemelia Gearheart]

Oh dear; I seem to have put my introductory post in the wrong place. Please excuse me as I repeat it here:

Greetings and salutations, fellow adventurers, explorers, and scientists!

This is my first foray onto the board, which I lucked...er, stumbled across in my perambulations seeking equipment. I wanted to say hello and perhaps introduce myself a bit.

My name is Aemelia Gearheart, aviatrix, and my biographer, Stephanie Osborn, will hopefully have a tale of my adventures coming out soon. You may have seen her at this...Dragoncon...you speak of; she was there to talk of matters of space and science. Something she calls "NASA." What? Excuse me a moment...

...She says to tell you all hello.

At any rate, as soon as she finishes compiling my first adventure (!) you shall know ALL about me, I daresay. In the meanwhile I must check to see if my avatar and such like came out properly. It can be SUCH a bother to dither about and ensure it all functions as it should...you know how it is...

...I'll be around...

[TearlessRain]

Hello all,

Not surprisingly I'm new to the forum; thought I'd stop by here and introduce myself.
I've liked steampunk for quite a long time now, and was incredibly happy to see it gaining popularity (and apparently form some sort of bizarre grammatical oasis in the middle of the internet). It seemed like it would be nice to meet some other people who share my sentiments, since I don't really know anyone in person who does. Living in California at the moment, but I hope to move elsewhere once I'm out of college, possibly the East Coast or (by some miracle) London.

Currently studying Computer Information Sciences and Graphic Design, and taking freelance art commissions on the side just because I love doing it. I maintain that somehow, years from now, I'll spend my retirement building an airship and travelling the world in it, possibly selling doughnuts.

[Miss Gadget]

Not really a new comer, more returning from a long absence with a new account.

Hoping the familiar faces from a few years ago are still around and the UK steampunk meets are still happening with regularity.

[Sir.KernPatrick]

hello all i am Kern im 24 as of the 6th and i run a Hookah Lounge in NH i am a tinkerer/builder i hope to meet and talk to lots of you

[Lettie]

Greetings, my name is Lettie and I am a 25 year old from Hampshire, England.

I'm fairly new to the world of Steampunk and am really open to any sort of help or mentoring to get me started. I'm looking forward to exploring the forum here and meeting some new people and expanding my horizons! =)

[Herr Döktor]

Not really a new comer, more returning from a long absence with a new account.

Hoping the familiar faces from a few years ago are still around and the UK steampunk meets are still happening with regularity.

Welcome back, have a look in the UK Geographical section to see what events are happening.

[Seshperankh]

Hello

I am new here. My Name is Jeff. I am currently doing research for my writing an i am very happy to have found this site. i hope to meet many interesting people here. so lets crank open thos valves and get steamed.


Jeff. . .

[Pestilence]

Introductions!

Hello, I'm new here from the lovely Emerald Coast of Florida. I'll mostly be lurking here picking the brains of great Tinkerers and Makers.

[Sibyll]

Hello,

My name is Sibyll. I currently reside in Altoona Pennsylvania, a city well known for its railroad and back in the day that was it's saving grace, mining was also big.

I have always been a tinkerer, I make leather bound Grimoires, also I made the goggles shown in my profile picture. I am interested in finding people near me that I could converse with and exchange ideas.

I am an old soul, I think that's why this concept appeals to me the way it does, it brings the days of old back to life.

If you are in my area please contact me if you are interested in conversing.

[Tobias E. Pennyworth]

Greetings all.

As I have finally added a profile photogram I thought it high time I introduced myself. Captain Tobias Edmund Pennyworth at your service.

I live in Derby but am frequently found in Lincoln with the lovely Miss Alicia Fairfax. We are both pretty new to Steampunk and have only attended the Aysylum and a couple of the Lincoln social meetings to date. Hopefully we will be at the Newark event on Sunday 9th October as well.

I have managed to make myself a Rarefied Aether-Sulphur burst weapon called the Diablo so far and am interested in making more gadgets as time permits.

I look forward to meeting you and making your acquaintance on this forum.

Best Regards,
Tobias.

[OswaldBastable]

Greetings all.

As I have finally added a profile photogram I thought it high time I introduced myself. Captain Tobias Edmund Pennyworth at your service.

I live in Derby but am frequently found in Lincoln with the lovely Miss Alicia Fairfax. We are both pretty new to Steampunk and have only attended the Aysylum and a couple of the Lincoln social meetings to date. Hopefully we will be at the Newark event on Sunday 9th October as well.

I have managed to make myself a Rarefied Aether-Sulphur burst weapon called the Diablo so far and am interested in making more gadgets as time permits.

I look forward to meeting you and making your acquaintance on this forum.

Best Regards,
Tobias.

Begorra! they'll let anyone in here 

[steampunkrusski]

Greetings all.

Name's Zachevko/Zack/Zaychk or really any diminutive that you prefer to use. I'm from Russia however currently reside in Manhattan Kansas. I'm an infantryman deployed to Afghanistan currently but still show my passion for the steampunk culture.

[Tobias E. Pennyworth]

Greetings all.

As I have finally added a profile photogram I thought it high time I introduced myself. Captain Tobias Edmund Pennyworth at your service.

I live in Derby but am frequently found in Lincoln with the lovely Miss Alicia Fairfax. We are both pretty new to Steampunk and have only attended the Aysylum and a couple of the Lincoln social meetings to date. Hopefully we will be at the Newark event on Sunday 9th October as well.

I have managed to make myself a Rarefied Aether-Sulphur burst weapon called the Diablo so far and am interested in making more gadgets as time permits.

I look forward to meeting you and making your acquaintance on this forum.

Best Regards,
Tobias.

Begorra! they'll let anyone in here 

...apparently even if they smell of sulphur old chap. 

[Strapped-4-Cache]

Late introduction, I'm afraid.

Long-time lurker (since 2009), but have only recently begun to post.  I'm a resident of the eastern Atlanta, Georgia suburbs and have been attracted to steampunk design since my first Dragon*Con.

Thank you to everyone who makes this community possible.  It's encouraging to see the amount of support and advice that is readily passed on to other members.  Hopefully I'll be able to give back a bit to the community in the future

[Atharinek]

Good day everyone
I've been interested in the steampunk scene for a while now, but only today stumbled across this website. My first taste of steampunk was at Whitby Goth Weekend last Halloween, and I must say I was impressed.
I'm currently collecting items of clothing for my very own steampunk outfit, which I will wear with pride at WGW on the 4th November. Although I heard the official steampunk meet will in fact be the weekend before, but I've unfortunately already booked tickets for November.
At any rate, I'm looking forward to it!

[The Derevlianian]

Hello, all.

Just a Canadian here looking to get into steampunk creations. I really enjoy building intricate things, so I thought joining this forum would allow me to be around like-minded folk. Anyways, I haven't actually made anything of the genre quite yet, but I already have something really neat in mind.

Cheers,

The Derevlianian

[Dr.Nautilus]

Dear all, I thought I had introduced myself already, but I do not now find the post, so maybe I didn't.  My regular name is James and I live in Minneapolis.  I have been steampunk since I was a lad -- before the term was invented.  A great lover of Jules Verne and the Disney film of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  I make steam punk mods in my idle hours, but am a writer by main vocation.  I also am a wandmaker -- a maker of magic wands.  And a druid.  Oh, yes, and I might be a Freemason, but if I were, I couldn't tell you.  Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.  Say no more!

But now let me introduce my steampunk identity: Dr. Nautilus.  Here is a brief biography up to the present, taken from an article in The Times dated 18 August 1880....


Dr. Nautilus Pompilius Cholmondeley, Ph.D., F.R.G.S.  Born the 31st of May, 1830.  Second son of Lord William Cholmondeley, Third Marquess Cholmondeley.  The family name is pronounced "CHUM-ly".  The doctor was one of seven children, two brothers and four sisters.  His mother was the late Marcia Emma Georgina Arbuthnot (d. 18, daughter of the diplomat and ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Mr. Charles Arbuthnot.  It is from this grandfather that Nautilus Cholmondeley gets his Irish blood. 

Dr. Cholmondeley, known familiarly as "Dr. Nautilus" to his friends and admirers, is a member of the Ancient Order of Druids, a Freemason, and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He was educated at Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire, England.3 He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, on 13 November 1847.   He took a first in History and also demonstrated a keen talent for scientific research and invention.  After Oxford, he attended the University of Edinburgh and the Sorbonne where he invented a nearly frictionless steam engine in which the water was heated with electricity.  While in Paris, he became close friends with the writer Jules Verne and Professor Pierre Aronnax of the National Museum of Natural History.  All three were members of the Freemasons Lodge of the Nine Sisters (Les Neuf Soeurs) in Paris. 

Though his father, the Marquess, was somewhat put out by his mechanical interests, his mother encouraged the young Nautilus.  Lady Marcia was herself an accomplished oceanographer and student of mollusks, which explains her son's peculiar name.  Nautilus's favorite sister, Lady Marcia Caroline Cholmondeley was nicknamed "Pearl" by her mother. 

Of the seven children, the two youngest sisters died young.  Lady Emma Caroline died in 1839 at the age of two; Lady Caroline Rachel died in 1863 at the age of 23.  Charles George, Viscount Malpas and the heir predeceased his father at the age of 49 in 1869.  In the year 1880, we find the old Marquis still hale and hardy at age 80. 

After attending university and then working alongside some of the greatest engineering minds of the age, Dr. Nautilus perfected a lighter-than-air ship that was the basis for airship designs throughout the world. The secrets of his etheric plasma steam engine and his famous sun-chargable electrical batteries is credited with giving Great Britain the supremacy in the skies that it's Navy exercised at sea.  He was one of the founders of the Royal Air Corps, for which he was granted a peerage by the queen.  In the rolls of 1856, at age 26, Dr. Cholmondeley was created Viscount Harply after the town where he built his first airship works. 

In 1858, the doctor married his younger cousin Miss Caroline Victoria Arbuthnot.  Miss Arbuthnot was born in 1838 and shared her cousin's interest in engineering and mathematics. Through her father, a member of the permanent British Civil Service, she met Sir Charles Babbage, the inventor of the Analytical Engine.  The young woman's enthusiasm so inspired the inventor that he was roused from the depression that had settled upon him upon the death of his late apprentice, Ada Lovelace in 1852.  Miss Caroline Arbuthnot was only sixteen years old when she met Babbage in 1854 and is credited with helping him to complete and gain the patents upon the Analytical Engine No. 3 in 1859, the year after her marriage to Dr. Nautilus.

In 1859, Lord Nautilus, embarked on an airship voyage to cross the African continent in his airship, the Jupiter.  He and Lady Caroline and a small crew flew across Africa from Zanzibar to Sierra Leone, with stops along the way that included Lake Victoria, Lake Tchad, Lake Volta and the city of Timbuctoo.  While in British Togoland, along the River Volta, the Jupiter encountered a caravan of slave traders and heroically freed all the slaves and killed most of the slave traders, at the same time demonstrating the effectiveness of the sonic cannons invented by the doctor which can be aimed precisely enough, out of range of normal rifle fire to incapacitate or kill individuals on the ground using ultrasonic waves.  This event gained the doctor and Lady Caroline worldwide fame, drawing the attention of capitalists who, in 1860 backed the foundation of the Nautilus & Caroline Airship Works, headquartered on land outside of the town of Harply in Norfolk. 

Along the way, across the largely wild lands of central Africa, the doctor and his associate Col. Alan Quatermain, were able to put another of his inventions to the test in hunting for game. This was the now famous Cholmondeley and Wesson ultra-long-range repeating rifle that fires rocket-propelled shells instead of bullets.  These rifles can kill a bull elephant or a wildebeest at the range of two miles with pinpoint accuracy.  Col. Quatermain's remarkable shots were cataloged in the major newspapers of the world during the voyage aboard the Jupiter; among them shooting a fly off the back of a running gazelle at a distance of half a league. The optics used in the sighting mechanism of the Cholmondeley and Wesson ULR 50 remains one of the most closely guarded military secrets.

Many further inventions and voyages have followed adding copious data to the sciences of geography, zoology, botany, and marine biology, as well as aerodynamics.  After voyages across India (1862), China (1865-6), and a trans-Atlantic crossing to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1869, the doctor and his family (now with three children) returned to England and settled in London.  The doctor purchased Strawberry Hill, the Gothic Revival house built by Sir Horace Walpole, in Twickenham, near London.  He purchased the house from Countess Waldegrave, the widow of the 7th Earl Waldegrave.   

During the following ten years, Lord Nautilus and Lady Caroline produced 154 patents for their venture dealing with airship design, metal alloys, lightweight steam engines for airships (which were also applied to land and sea vehicles of an experimental nature), and gunnery.  The light electrical shell cannon NC-92  along with refinements of the Babbage Analytical Engine No. 17 for targeting computations, are thought to have been largely responsible for the swift and complete defeat of the Prussians in 1871.  The French Emperor Napoleon III was aided by the Queen's Royal Air Corps to stop the Prussian menace.  Lord and Lady Nautilus were instrumental for convincing the Queen and her cabinet to go to the aid of the French to stop the imperial ambitions of Wilhelm I and his Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck.  Bismark was exiled after the disastrous war and lived the remainder of his life in the United States.  The Kaiser was himself assassinated seven years later in 1878 by the assassin Emil Max Hödel using a Cholmondeley & Wesson electro-shell long-range automatic revolver.

In 1875, a newer and faster airship design was launched as Lord Nautilus's personal air-yacht and exploratory vessel, the S.A.S. Lady Heterodyne.  The yacht was named after the famous inventive genius, Lady Agatha Heterodyne of Mechanicsburg (formerly Arnsberg) in Westphalia.  The Cholmondeleys were entertained by the princess Agatha following the end of Prussian dominance over the German kingdoms in 1871.  The three became fast friends and lifetime correspondents.  With the new airship was launched a new partnership with the firm of Cunard, the now famous Cunard Steam Air-Ship Company, Ltd.  Versions of the design of the Lady Heterodyne were also built as flying battleships for the Royal Air Corps and sold to Franc and Westphalia.

Dr. Nautilus's most recent invention is in the field of  wireless communication and again employs miniaturized analytical engines and electricity.  It is a hand-held communication device which can access data banks from the engines of the British Library and its telegraphic network with other great libraries across Europa.  The device is, of course, the famous Omnithaumic Electro-Panopticon.  While its name implies that it runs in part on thaumaturgy, no one outside of very close circles of the Government actually know how it works.  All attempts by industrial spies to get their hands on one have failed due to a built-in self-destruct mechanism which detonates the ætherium plasma chamber if the machine is opened without its unique key.

After the death of Dr. Nautilus Cholmondeley's elder brother, Charles Viscount Malpas in 1869, the nephew of Dr. Nautilus became heir to the family's highest title, and is expected to become the 4th Marquess of Cholmondeley upon his grandfather's demise.  This young nephew, George Henry Hugh Cholmondeley (born 1858).  Stiled with the courtesy title, Earl of Rocksavage, George became very close to his uncle Nautilus and accompanies him on adventures during the summer holidays.  He is currently studying Classics and Military Science at Christchurch College, Oxford.

Dr. Nautilus, with his family, is currently exploring the wild lands of the Commonwealth of Minnesota in the United States.  There he hopes to sign a defense contract with the Circle of Chiefs of the Inishinabe and Dakota peoples for twenty air dreadnoughts to be used to defend their country against the recurrent problem of American invasion.  Godspeed Dr. Nautilus!  The editors of The Times salute you.

[World Of Leathercraft]

Hello 
I have been a huge Science Fiction fan since the early days of Star Trek (TOS). That love has since evolved into a passion for Steampunk Hats. I started leather working a few years ago and that is when I became interested in the Steampunk genre because...well...it looks so awesomely cool! lol  I belong to leatherworker.net and regularly pour over its forum. So I thought a Steampunk Forum might be just the ticket for friends and inspiration. If you have any "how to" questions about leather crafting please don't hesitate to ask! I'm happy to share my knowledge anytime.
Best,
Ellen