What's Your (non-tech) Hobby? 407
Slipped_Disk asks: "Being the curious sort, I was wondering what the Slashdot crowd did while you're not reading Slashdot or doing any of the other geeky things we usually do. So tell me, what is your non-techie hobby? I'm defining non-techie as stuff you do when you're not using a computer, so 'I play videogames' doesn't qualify, but 'I build game consoles' does. I'm especially interested in distinctly non-electronic stuff (ie: film photography, building models, training sociopathic attack cats, etc.). I'm looking forward to some interesting topics, here!"
Lego (Score:4, Interesting)
Being handy... (Score:3, Interesting)
Only because I moved in with my girl, she can't stand the noise (of course) and we have to split 35m2 so going up was the only sollution.
A year ago I made my own computer-travel-case to go lan'ing
Wood rules my friends
Wing Chun Kung Fu (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyway, done properly, Wing Chun is very meditative and physically taxing (if you're doing the stance properly). At the same time, itâ(TM)s something anyone on two feet can do. It's an internal martial art like Tai Chi which, but it has some immediate and effective applications. It's nothing like you see in the movies though. It's very subtle and hard to appreciate until you actually feel some of the effects.
But besides all that, it's what I do to associate with non-geeks. I couldn't stomach the thought of golf, so Wing Chun it was. Ironically about half the folks that attend the classes are in some way into IT, but we don't talk shop much.
For anyone who is curious and resides around the Minneapolis/St. Paul MN area, send me an email at: VincePlatt AT Yahoo D.O.T com.
Re:Being handy... (Score:1, Interesting)
And burns very nicely...
I'm a medieval recreationist (Score:3, Interesting)
I take part in armoured combat, recreate clothing and artefacts of people who could have existed in pre1600 history and attempt to recreate their lifestyle. It's a lot of fun.
Fencing (Score:5, Interesting)
Music (Score:2, Interesting)
Mountain Biking. (Score:3, Interesting)
My first hobby is Cross Country Mountain biking. One of my first uses of the internet was to read about it in rec.bicycles.offroad (A sadly defunct news group thanks to trolling).
Back when I was a student, I even went to the trouble of leaning a fair bit about engineering and metallurgy. (eg The effect of heat treatments on the crystal structure of aluminium alloys). Now I just ride more instead :-)
I still involve computers though. I have a GPS mounted on my bike, which I use to record my route. When I get back I download the route to my PC, and then use some perl scripts I wrote to create a highlighted map of my route, which I can print out for later use.
Do many other slashdoters share my hobby? Back when I was at university, most of my fellow club members where engineering students rather than anything else. (One had even welded his own frame).
hmm,.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:we've been over this before (Score:5, Interesting)
I believe you're wrong: I don't think that most geeks don't do what "common people" do, it's more a matter of either having more hobbies or being more devoted to them.
After all, when I'm not doing something with some computer, listening to music, reading, taking photographies (sorry, gone totally digital after my old film camera broke), building worlds (uhm... that something I do both with a computer and with pen and paper, does it apply?), sewing (guess this applies :) ), roleplay, painting, or whatever else I sometimes do, I also enjoy shopping, as long as it's for something related to one of my hobbies, or drinking and eating with (somehow geeky) friends.
Origami... (Score:3, Interesting)
well.. (Score:2, Interesting)
House (Score:3, Interesting)
I've been working with a lot of wood lately because we're doing a unique rustic design for our living room, and that's been a lot of fun, so we're going to try building some furniture. I don't know why, but my wife is really interested in doing that. Maybe if we get good we can make some extra money doing it.
Other than that I've been eating and sleeping, not much time left for other things.
Photography! (Score:2, Interesting)
I enjoy the whole process, from composing and shooting, to developing in the darkroom. Sadly, the darkroom takes an enormous amount of time and requires a decent room, which I don't have now. Even so, the thrill of watching the pictures appear slowly on the paper, rocking the trays gently, taking the time to look at each negative slowly... it's lots of fun, but takes TONS of time. Despite my geekiness, which made me buy a digital camera recently, I still prefer film by far. I think it has to do with the camera itself, more than the media, but this is the first time I've thought of selling any $GADGET I've bought.
I recently went to a photo workshop in Valparaiso (large seaport in Chile), and had two of my pictures published in our largest dead-tree newspaper [elmercurio.cl]. They are available online too [clubdelectores.cl] if you'd like to critique
It's... Acting! (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, more like a permanent apprentice. There's a professional theater group in my area that offers apprenticeship opportunities to non-professionals. Sometimes these apprentices are folks that want to get into the biz. Or, sometimes they're like me, they just want theater as a hobby. I've had chances to develop all sorts of useful skills: Construction, lighting control, sound, wiring, organization, memorization, and of course, public speaking. And it's a great way to meet people, too.
Hang gliding (Score:3, Interesting)
Training dogs (Score:3, Interesting)
Wine (Score:3, Interesting)
Many of my geek friends are also home brewers, and so I will eventually be trying my hand at beer.
Paintball (Score:3, Interesting)
Flying (Score:5, Interesting)
You can get up from the Flight Sim and try the real thing. Start at BeAPilot.com [beapilot.com]
In my case I dreamed about flying all of my life. I decided to give it a go while I was still young enough to enjoy it.
I had three concerns:
1) It's very expensive. I can't afford it. (It took a while for me to notice that I could afford it.)
2) I need to do other things like get a new degree, etc. This will take up a lot of time. (So what? I wasn't making good progress toward that goal anyway.)
3) If I start, I'll be obsessed by it and I won't do much else. (Again So What? It ain't a drug addiction. It turned out that the obsession wore down, but not much. Like most pilots I think it's so magical I never get tired of talking about it, even if you get tired of hearing about it.)
Worse than I imagined, I bought a plane. There's where all my money goes.
There actually is a wave of techies that became pilots about the same time I did. We thought we had money to burn when the stock market was flying high.
Even now, you can earn a Private Pilot certificate in the US 6 months or so for $5000 or less.
Join me in the air.
Rugby, boat building, and auto repair (Score:2, Interesting)
Another project I have is building a boat with my dad in the back yard. I do this less now that I've moved away, but we should have it in the water this summer. This is a great project because there are so many things to think about, and tasks span many engineering disciplines. Carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, sewing, composite materials, etc.. Its incredibly challenging, because you need to plan every angle of every joint with very few plans. How do you design the waste system so that you flush the head with gray water (from the sink and icebox drains) first, but river water if you run out of gray water? Oh, and no valves or electric pumps allowed. How do you keep the beer cold? The boat is designed for my parents to take up the Erie Canal. A later version will take them, when they retire, on the Great Circle (a large loop of canals and riverways that's essentially the Hudson River to the Erie Canal, across one of the great lakes, down the Mississippi, and back up the Intercoastal Waterway.
My other toy project is restoring a 1969 Saab Sonett. This was Saab's first attempt at a sports car, and is an absolute no-frills coupe. There dash lights and switches are unlabeled (that's why they gave you a manual, duh), the car has an all fiberglass body, and a Ford tractor engine for a motor. You couldn't ask for an easier car to work on though. I just hope I fit into it once I get it finished...
In short, get a hobby that doesn't involve computers! It makes you a more interesting person and helps you lead a more balanced life. Proving that I'm multidisciplined by working on that boat probably directly affected my getting my current job (realtime control software), and if you're lucky enough to find a job where you can apply your hobby, you'll be happy.
Cheers!
German Board Games (Score:4, Interesting)
There are some games that involve skill in america, but they are mostly based on knowledge and not strategy. Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble are two. Even our war games are primarily luck based. Risk has dice, Axis + Allies has dice, even the great Shogun (Samurai Swords) has dice.
If you head over to http://www.boardgamegeek.com you'll see there are a ton of board games that just arne't well known in america, but there are two or three companies who bring them over in English. Games like Settlers of Catan, El Grande, and my favorite Puerto Rico! These games are games of pure strategy, and you need a lot of friends to make them happen, so sorry rest of
The majority of them fall into a few categories. Tile laying, where you lay out cardboard tiles to form different things. Wooden Cube: where you place wooden cubes in different "bins". And bargaining, where you make deals with other players and make deals to achieve victory. Every game is different and contains multiple different aspects of the three categories. I love Puerto Rico so much because it doesn't fall into any of the 3 categories. It is a pure game of best strategy wins.
So, next time you have 3 to 5 people and nothing to do get yourself a german board game. boardgamegeek will be sure to reccomend a good one. If you have 10 hours you can play Die Macher! the simulation of the german senate. I again highly reccomend Puerto Rico. Also, check out some of the "spiell de jahres"(sp) in german it means game of the year. I think Puerto Rico and Settlers are both past winners. Settlers of Catan is probably the most popular and a good starter game because it does involve a slight random factor.
Graveyards. (Score:3, Interesting)
I explore and photograph graveyards. I've been to about 120 in Cook County, Illinois, and perhaps 40 or so elsewhere.
With the exception of the modern "memorial park" cemeteries, something interesting can be found in nearly any cemetery. Even the smallest is likely to have something - I particularly like discovering hollow monuments made of zinc hidden away in small urban graveyards.
Of course, there is a geek side to this as well - cameras and lenses are as much a high-tech device as any computer, more in the field of optics than electronics. Primarily, I use Nikon D100 and N90 bodies with a Nikon 28-105mm lens; I have 18-35mm and 70-210mm lenses, and a 35mm shift lens as well.
Still, the technology is not my primary focus; it is merely a tool to be used in collecting and preserving the images of graveyards before they are gone.
My book, "Graveyards of Chicago", can be found on Amazon; and my website is graveyards.com [graveyards.com]
I get off my fat ass... (Score:3, Interesting)
Granted, this is Hawaii so there is much nature to see, but nature is everywhere, just get out of your office for awhile.
Favorites...
Hiking to the lip of 1500 ft waterfalls and looking back over at the tiny little tourists way on the other side... then skinny dipping in the secret pools behind the fall lip.
Treking out into the Kau desert to find pit craters and volcanic cones.
Going down to South Point (the southern most point in the US) and swiming at the green sands beach. The sands are green because of an abundance of the semi-precious gemstone peridot.
Putting on scuba or snorkle gear and going to view the beautiful fish that live around here.
Simply relaxing in the volcanically heated hot ponds.
Hiking to the fresh lava flow to watch the lava enter the ocean - with huge billowing steam clouds... or cooking chicken [dolphinbayhotel.com] in the fresh lava.
Hiking to the summits of Mauna Kea (where the astronomy domes are) or to the summit of Mauna Loa (which has a crater 12 miles in diameter) - both of which are at 13,800 ft above sea level - meaning little air but plenty fun.
Just going down to the ocean and sitting and watching the waves, looking for whales, viewing the giant sea turtles and thinking about my day/work/life.
Odd mix... (Score:3, Interesting)
I enjoy backpacking (I used to get out about a long weekend every month. My new job hinders that due to scheduling and location). I am trying to figure out how I can take the time to do the Appalacian Trail in one go.
I have also become interested in saltwater aquariums. I am currently setting up a 75 gallon tank (with 20 gallon sump, for a total water capacity of about 90 gallons) for an octopus. You can follow along some of my progress in my journal.
I am also trying to get more and more into digital photography.
I am not sure if "travel" falls into the category of "hobby", but I do an awful lot of it. This summer will find me going to San Francisco, Kentucky, New York City, and St. Thomas, USVI. I usually travel about one weekend a month. This is all pleasure/vacation travelling. I do a lot of it alone.
Juggling (but I have a degree in mathematics, so that might be a given)
I suppose that is just a good start of my list.
Studying for Wiccan Ministry (Score:4, Interesting)
i write stories, poetry, and songs (had a band, sang, for said band...) play a reasonably nice guitar at an abysmal skill level, and read when the neuro problems ease up enough to let me. Oh, and i paint, with enthusiasm (and acrylics) if not with talent... I have a lot of houseplants (some of which are in good health) and a cat.
Re:German Board Games (Score:3, Interesting)
That's not to say all American games suck: Robo Rally came from here.
Rock Climbing (Score:4, Interesting)
Ice Hockey and Number Theory (Score:3, Interesting)
I also [like most geeks] have a passing interest in number theory. I'm currently [when I've the time/when I feel like it (hence a hobby)] poking around a little bit at my own implimentation of the quadratic sieve, seeing if I can make it better. It's on the computer, but technically doesn't have to be.
Re:Car Geek (Score:3, Interesting)
S4's make me drool.
I'm actually into racing in the stock classes, so I'm not all that into mods -- I'm more into fixing the driver first (that's the most important part)...although I'll be getting into the NASA time trials [nasaproracing.com] pretty soon, which is pretty much "run whatcha brung" [nasaproracing.com] -- so I'll have to start getting set up with a few handling mods as well as some brake work (nothing more than SS lines and racing pads though).
German car parts are damn expensive -- on my last car (German GT car), I had to do much of the work myself to save money. The best advice I could give when buying a car like that is to make sure that type of car you buy has a cult following and you have many sources for cheap parts (like junkyards/strippers who specialize in your type of car). A good example of a commmunity like this is owners of vintage Porsches. FWIW, I haven't found Japanese parts to be all that much cheaper than Geerman parts. Imports are just expensive. When America releases an RWD car that's well under 2500 pounds, I'll likely be the first in line (hold your breath and count to infinity). Until then, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing...and waiting for the Lotus Elise to make it stateside.
Good luck!Re:German Board Games (Score:2, Interesting)
Others I've played and enjoyed (some certainly more than others): Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Torres, Euphrates & Tigris, Munchkin, Fist of Dragonstones, Ra.....
My username on Boardgamegeek is 'mattmoss', so you can check out my collection for yourself.