Geek Outdoor Hobbies? 163
Embedded Geek asks: "My wife and I, in an effort to get more exercise, have recently begun geocaching, which is basically global scavenger hunt using GPS. We have also been active in the Society for Creative Anachronism and my friends are always trying to draft us into paintball. While we're having a blast with all these, I wanted to see if other slashdotters could suggest more geek style, outdoor hobbies that would appeal to a pair of pasty faced nerds like us."
Biking (Score:2, Interesting)
Walking! (Score:4, Interesting)
Walking is extremely good for you and difficult to find excuses against. Bad weather? Just makes it more interesting.
Walking forces you to interact on a human level. Which is either good or bad, depending on you point of view.
Camping... (Score:3, Interesting)
Autocross (Score:2, Interesting)
Not really exercise, but it gets you out in the sun. And if your heart isn't racing by the end of your run, you're not doing it fast enough or hard enough.
Re:Not exactly outdoor, but out of the house (Score:4, Interesting)
Laser Quest isn't as fun - but it's not anywhere near as expensive, either. After charging plenty for entry they hit you with huge bills for the ammunition as well. Ouch.
disc golf (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh, relaxed is the name of the game also. It is not unusual to see beer drinking and pot smoking on the course and in the parking lots, though this obviously varies a lot course to course
Re:Walking! (Score:3, Interesting)
Another way to get exercise is to go to a trade show of some field you're interested in, like the auto show or DV expo. You're on your feet a lot. Just watch for the absymal food [amazing.com] served at convention centers; take a break to go to a restaurant instead. (The link is to my own pictures, by the way. Camera is my spiffy Canon EOS D30 which I bought in January, shortly before the D60 came out).
If you live in a neighborhood with comically expensive real estate, you can always check out a few land listings. They're fun to look at because you can generally wander the land at will [amazing.com] (again, my pictures, taken with my Canon XL1 MiniDV). In Los Angeles, TheMLS.com [themls.com] has land listings.
Hope that helps.
D
Road Cycling (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not Geeky Enough! (Score:2, Interesting)
The Confluence Project (Score:4, Interesting)
Check out The Degree Confluence Project [confluence.org]
Since most of the easily accessible locations have been photographed already, getting a 'new' point on the map (one that hasn't been visited or attempted) will require a significant period of interface with a non-virtual world.
It'll even exercise your diplomatic interpersonal skills, as some of the 'attempted' sites are on reservations -- since they're a sovereign nation, they can require permits for a visit. Heck, even getting onto private land can be interesting.
( Personally, I'd love to do some of the sites in Montana [confluence.org]. )
What about Airsoft? (Score:3, Interesting)
The basic nature of airsoft is quite similar to that of paintball - one team must, using a gun shooting non-lethal ammunition, either eliminate the opposing team or accomplish a pre-defined objective. The main differences of airsoft are the facts that airsoft guns shoot 6mm plastic BBs that do not leave paint marks and that the guns are extremely accurate replicas of actual firearms. Because the plastic BB is not as volatile as a paintball, airsoft guns are capable of fully-automatic fire - some at a rate of over 1200rd/min! Also, because the plastic BB is relatively light (usually 0.2g) and the muzzle velocity is usually at around 100m/sec (~300fps), they are quite safe to use in close quarters combat - paintballs tend to make very ugly welts when shot from close distance.
From a geek's point of view, the above facts introduce some very interesting elements. The realistic appearance of airsoft guns gives incredible opportunities to simulate situations in computer games and movies! Have you ever wanted to pull two H&K MP5Ks underneath a long black jacket and blast away? Or jumpdodge over a sofa, firing with two Berettas and grinning like a maniac? How about some live-action Rainbow Six? The possibilities are endless!
At least here in Turku, Finland, the local players get together every week to play short games with simple objectives, such as defending a building/hill/other location, planting/defusing a bomb or just plain capture the flag. Every summer there are some bigger games with a more complicated scenario and up to 200 players in some cases. Some games even introduce some light role-playing elements to the game for additional realism and atmosphere.
There is plenty of information about airsoft on the net, but here are a few pointers to get you started;
Ilendil's airsoft page [saunalahti.fi]
Arnie's Airsoft [arniesairsoft.co.uk]
AirsoftZone [airsoftzone.com]
Urban Exploration (Score:3, Interesting)
Check out Infiltration Magazine [infiltration.org] for more ideas
I find, lacking all that, even office parks late at night can be fun, or pool hoping. There's a lot of exercise to be had if you're curious
Also of course check out Google's results [google.com] for Urban explorations, have fun and be safe tho!