Why the HELL would I want to do that?

I'm a man of varied interests; I collect Forteana and have a small personal library of sci-fi and fiction as well as a lot of stuff from the great American fiction writers and self-styled life poets. I play video games and read comics. I like forest walking. I follow politics like a bloodhound with a grudge and my musical tastes can genuinely be described as eclectic.

But recently, as I've taken stock of my life in the light of my coming redundancy, I've noticed a lot more "used to's" and a lot less actual activity. I've become closed-minded, sour, embittered and grouchy. I mean for this to change.

To that end I have decided to conduct an experiment. I have thought of several things to see and do to which my initial reaction was "And why the hell would I want to do that?". My experiment will be to seek for the answer to that question, by going and doing these things with no thought of my own personal dignity.

Most of them will be harmless, geeky things that nevertheless may strike fear and unease into stout but uninitiated folk. Some of them may be totally ill-advised; all of them will be fun. Lets go out and discover them together. Don't worry, you'll be perfectly fine. For a given value of fine.

Shall we begin?

N.B. I'd like to mention that I'm not setting out to poke fun at anyone's treasured pastimes here; I'm not about to go thrusting a spoke in the wheel for cheap laughs and even cheaper column inches. I'm arriving with nothing but flimsy prejudice and hopefully leaving with nothing but experience, bruises and some photos I'm sure to regret.