anyone else run into this?

[Kenom]

I explain to people that it's a tech gadget and having to have all the cool tech gadgets is what I'm about. Then I tell them that not only is it pretty, but it is also very beneficial to medical research, healing, and all sorts of scientific stuffs.

When I first showed my mother, she wsn't impressed, now however, she tells everyone how smart I am to be building high powered lasers.

 

[HIMNL9]

Probably, it's just a common reaction from peoples that don't know what a laser is .....

Before i got this little pc shop i owe, i worked also a pair of years in a mechanical factory, with a 2KW CO2 cutting CNC (and guess who had to help the guy that do maintenance to it, all the times ? ) ..... most of the times, when i say that, 90% of the friends ask "2Kw ? ..... it's powerful enough ?" ..... LOL, what you think is "powerful", cutting 16 mm of 720 type steel plates at 10 or 12 cm/s speed ? :banghead:

 

[Jaseth]

I have had every mixed responses.. some friends have said I am insane (I sliced a plastic bag from 5 feet away with my IgorT 6x in front of said friends), MANY have been completely fascinated, wanted to know where to get laser themselves and quite a few give that annoying dumb look and say "Why did you pay so much for something which can make a spot of light?"
Mostly guys are fascinated and girls don't see the point (they want the money for their shoes), but I have never found a person to question how awesome lasers are after showing the beam in the night sky, letting them see my spiro in action or letting them see videos of scanners. Now, with my own scanner almost finished I bet everyone I know will be in awe.
One girl has actually asked me again and again to show different effects (tunnel, liquid sky, spiro, diffraction) and thought lasers were beautiful.
It all depends on how you present them: most people love laser shows and most guys and teachers appreciate burning (but NOT parents).

 

[jander6442]

I again have been approached by people first thing they inherently want to do is
treat it like a toy...

Then most fun I had was when I was in Colo. in the Colorado Springs area and there is a mountain in that area called Pikes Peak... elev. @ 14,110 and who knows how many miles away 14,110'=2.7+miles + the miles of the foot of the Mountain anyhow there's a store novelty store at the top that had over 200mW of green hitting it.

Of course there was the Norad radio towers also...Cheyanne Mt.

 

[BuildAbluraylaser]

I think most mothers think they are pointless, and dangerous:

If your mother thinks they're facinating, you are lucky!

 

[HIMNL9]

Of course there was the Norad radio towers also...Cheyanne Mt.

Careful with NORAD ..... you send them a green beam pointer, and maybe they reply with a THEL shot .....

 

[lemonwonder]

Well for my popularities sake I never put myself in this situation I only show it if I am using it for something, like blinding people in cars as a fun game, no, serious, for real. No just kidding, of course not :/ Some people do though.. Stupid..

 

[Deleted member 8382]

Well, all my friends laughed at me when they saw the dilda, until a week later we were in a party filled with black balloons on the walls. It was an orgy for me buahahah

 

[HIMNL9]

Well, all my friends laughed at me when they saw the dilda, until a week later we were in a party filled with black balloons on the walls. It was an orgy for me buahahah

I'm pretty sure the party organizer was really happy ..... :eg: :crackup:

 

[Deleted member 8382]

I'm pretty sure the party organizer was really happy ..... :eg: :crackup:

the party organizer had the most fun. I only allowed him to use the laser a part from me because it was his birthday, you shouldahve seen his "I'm god right now" face while poping all the balloons.

Who didn't laughed that much was the local owner, maybe because the balloons had been there for over a year

 

[laser83]

You have a 125watt green laser

Yes, I do. I use it get through traffic by burning through cars that get in my way.

I don't show what I have to anyone. To really impress anyone it takes a green capable of 500mW, should be able to burn a bit and do more. I've never shown anyone my newer stuff. Because it stays at home. I wouldn't show off other impressive items I own.

At most I'm going to show to a few pictures of how far a green laser can be seen and the silly light saber effect, with high powered greens. Touching is forbidden. Having a person see a table have smoke come out of it brings out a reaction a too. Barely doing anything but since it's a lazor!

If I ever I have time again. I have can try my own crazy idea for a 1 watt blu-ray. Instantly melting plastics would be amusing. A huge amount of planning is needed on this one. If I wasn't working I could begin.

 

[HIMNL9]

I have can try my own crazy idea for a 1 watt blu-ray.

Ehm ..... coupling beams with fiber optic ? ..... do you have some couplers for fibers / diodes directly ?

At least, i never found any dichro or beam coupler that can pass a blue from one side and reflect another blue from the other ..... wondering if they exist (my sources are really scarce, anyway, so is possible that i've loosed a lot of news, in laser field)

 

[pullbangdead]

My wife rolls her eyes and tries to keep track of how much I have spent on my hobbies, so that she can "keep up" and not feel guilty about spending money on her own stuff.

I really got her the other night though, it was awesome. We were at a party with all HER co-workers and friends, none of my friends there.

Now you also have to understand that all my friends are fellow Ph.D students in a completely technical/scientific field, all of us working on either LEDs, laser diodes, or solar cells, so we're all complete nerds and our conversations almost always end up back on research and science, even when we're out drinking and partying. And my wife's friends are all normal people with NO geekiness or nerdiness whatsoever, I doubt any of them took any hard science or math after high school. So we're at this party, I have some lasers with me, and much to my wife's chagrin, all her friends LOVED my multiple colors of lasers that I have with me. Her friends ended up quizzing me on how lasers work and all about my research work for over an hour, and then INSISTED that I bring my whole laser collection to the next party that they all have together so everybody can play with them and hear all about them again. My wife hates hanging out with my friends because we only talk about lasers and nerdy stuff, and yet her friends all end up talking about lasers more than even MY friends did at their last party. It was AWESOME.

 

[jander6442]

My wife rolls her eyes and tries to keep track of how much I have spent on my hobbies, so that she can "keep up" and not feel guilty about spending money on her own stuff.

I really got her the other night though, it was awesome. We were at a party with all HER co-workers and friends, none of my friends there.

Now you also have to understand that all my friends are fellow Ph.D students in a completely technical/scientific field, all of us working on either LEDs, laser diodes, or solar cells, so we're all complete nerds and our conversations almost always end up back on research and science, even when we're out drinking and partying. And my wife's friends are all normal people with NO geekiness or nerdiness whatsoever, I doubt any of them took any hard science or math after high school. So we're at this party, I have some lasers with me, and much to my wife's chagrin, all her friends LOVED my multiple colors of lasers that I have with me. Her friends ended up quizzing me on how lasers work and all about my research work for over an hour, and then INSISTED that I bring my whole laser collection to the next party that they all have together so everybody can play with them and hear all about them again. My wife hates hanging out with my friends because we only talk about lasers and nerdy stuff, and yet her friends all end up talking about lasers more than even MY friends did at their last party. It was AWESOME.

Wish I had this problem...All my wifes friends have dissapeared long ago. Now it's just me and her and the boy...
The boy I might add is the only one to cares about my hobby unless its
about the money part. she's all over that one...