Fun hobbies

[Johnnycomelately]

Here’s a thread to post fun hobbies, personal or not. I’d include skilled activities that have their place, necessary stuff like gathering or splitting firewood, fixing machines, knitting if you’re poor (not-poor, it’s a hobby, but the lines might be blurred).

Hey what about the origins and implications of hobbies in general? Do we must play, beyond childhood?

Starting with something I don’t do: FPV multi-rotor ‘drone’. I think that means “first person view” (am a self-restricted searcher, saves time), anyway it’s with video goggles. Cool, and a bit scary (terrorists?).

Target Acquired![/V]
11,057 views Nov 22, 2022

[B]Mr Steele
486K subscribers


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6VjiTX2LZo

[loungelizard]

I'm a wet felt maker :bigsmile: When I took early retirement, I wanted to learn a skill and have always loved art/crafts. I'm married to fine art painter
so I didn't really want to go down that route, and then I found wool ... and was instantly addicted.

After quite a few years of practice, I'm now good enough to sell my work and teach workshops on a regular basis.

Thanks for this thread - I look forward to hearing about other people's passions!


UPATE
Just thought I'd add a couple of images of my work, hopefully to show the versatility of felt making.

49979499804997749978

[Johnnycomelately]

I'm a wet felt maker :bigsmile: When I took early retirement, I wanted to learn a skill and have always loved art/crafts. I'm married to fine art painter
so I didn't really want to go down that route, and then I found wool ... and was instantly addicted.

After quite a few years of practice, I'm now good enough to sell my work and teach workshops on a regular basis.

Thanks for this thread - I look forward to hearing about other people's passions!

Hi LL. Interesting. I had never heard of wet felting, so watched a couple vids on it. Two different projects, one used alternating crossed (90 degree) layers of fibre, and the other (making a scarf) used fibres laid down in basically one direction.

Lots of steps, and effort, in that!

For newbies like me, here are those vids. Lots of info in the comment answers too, like that things as large as yurt covers/rooves are or were made this way (that was from the scarf one).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IxCDkh-evs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s28FODhvI8

[RatRodRob...RRR]

Ive had a bunch of hobbies over the years, ive always been doin something.

The thing i loved and miss the most is Prospecting in Victoria's Gold Fields (Australia), i would go out every month in my kombi camper (its in my avatar pic) and stay out for 3-5 days at a time, usually on my own, god damn i miss it.

i love the bush and all its flora and fauna, i was always seeing animals and stuff out there.

I wasnt interested in the gold, funnily enough, but i got a real thrill outta finding lost coins and relics that were lost by the miners 150-200 yrs ago, i have found 3 george the 3rd 1797 penny cartwheels and thousands of interesting stuff.

What im currently doing is restoring/modifying diecast vehicles, mainly muscle cars, ive been collecting diecast cars for 30yrs and used to have over 2000, but ive sold alot over the last few yrs for the cash.
Keeping busy keeps me sane, or atleast saneish

RRR

[I am B]

Ah that prospecting hobby sounds so wholesome... I wonder how to do smth similar in Europe. Exploring is nice, but exploring with purpose fills this primal need just perfectly.

I've always been a fan of the Warhammer lore. I'm always up for some new fantasy stories and spent a bunch of hours reading about it.

rUVhotnKzUA

Recently, I got a financial push, and with the insistence of a friend I treated myself with a small squad of 8 minis. I consider myself to be, humilty aside, a very handy person, so I thought why not. I never tried miniature painting like that before... never should have started.

I just finished glueing together my first (1500 point) army of the "Adepta sororitas". But I should really stop though, it costs a kidney despite spending a huge ammount of hours setting it up, painting, and playing (which you can do forever).

Small super hyped up trailer for those who like dark scifi
B9V0bOB8sXQ

I'm also almost done building a homemade nord instrument, a Talharpa! I'll make a post about it when Im done!

I may have too many hobbies... Its my way of life lol.

[Ioneo]

I'Ve been into bonsai as a hobby for 30 years. Studying in Japan I have been able to get a good understanding and ability.

Here is one of my favorite ones, a Japanese Maple that is now in full fall color.

[JackMcThorn]

...a Japanese Maple that is now in full fall color.

Very nice. I have often wanted to have one bonsai tree but the situation hasn't presented itself yet. That is a gorgeous specimen.

[Johnnycomelately]

Here’s a shared hobby, race cars. Setting is Nola Motorsport Park, somewhere near New Orleans. Channel owner is a retired USAF pilot of the F-16. I don’t remember his name, tho I’m sure it has come up, but he goes by his call sign Mover.

“Shared” is exemplified in the end of day meeting of the team/org, at 27.21, but teammates’ talk is golden at some in-race times.

Mover’s first race in rain, and first time tracking for 1.5 hours straight. 8 hours between 5 drivers. One of probably three days, because 24 hours is a standard duration of some famous “endurance races”.

Mistakes Were Made! Challenging First Road Race in the Rain
2,882 views Premiered 15 hours ago

C.W. Lemoine
383K subscribers

“My first ChampCar Endurance Series road race had the worst weather possible. Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. Battle Scarred Motorsports is a veteran owned charity that provides "adrenaline therapy" to veterans and first responders on the race track. Support Battle Scarred Motorsports by donating or volunteering: https://www.battlescarred.org

Looking for a good book? Check out the SPECTRE Series or the Alex Shepherd Series: https://www.cwlemoine.com

0:00 8 Hr Enduro Race
0:01 Intro
0:28 Pre-Race
2:15 Green Flag - First Driver
2:45 Driver Swap
3:08 Out Lap
6:36 Distractions
7:57 Stupid Lap
9:11 First Off Roading
10:27 Comfortable and Passing
15:06 The Big Mistake
16:46 Black Flag
18:32 Debrief
22:20 Interview with Brian
25:04 Rainy Racing
25:58 Doug Suits Up
27:21 BSM End of Day Meeting
30:20 After Credits“


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM_zljhL0gw

[Ernie Nemeth]

I work with wood. Mostly pine and cedar. I love everything about it; the smell; the feel; the sawdust; the tedious hours of effort; the finishing process; the final product.

I have built all the furniture in our home including bed, dresser, office desk, microwave stand, coffee table, recycling center, toys box, video cabinet, picture frames.

I have officially called this year the year of the box. So far I have constructed over thirty small boxes. Some are decorative, others have various themes like candle box, card box, paraphenalia box, jewelry box, beauty box, stackable box, cigar box.

I call my work, Functional Art. If it works as intended that is the functional part, if there are flaws, mistakes - well, that's the art...

[Ewan]

Ive had a bunch of hobbies over the years, ive always been doin something.

The thing i loved and miss the most is Prospecting in Victoria's Gold Fields (Australia), i would go out every month in my kombi camper (its in my avatar pic) and stay out for 3-5 days at a time, usually on my own, god damn i miss it.

I spent time in the Myclere Gold Fields (up near Clermont) working a dig on behalf of an English woman who had started the claim herself. Her husband was a Greek involved in shipping and was often overseas, she wanted a hobby and selected gold mining. The lady, whose name escapes me now had dug the shaft herself - that was impressive to a 27yr old who, probably, at that time, had a rather sexist POV. We made our own explosives (fertiliser and diesel) though the detonater cord had to be bought. I also worked a sapphire dig nr Anakie, nearest large town Emerald. They were experiences that still live strong in the memory. (There were some absolute nutters out there - in the nicest way).

i love the bush and all its flora and fauna, i was always seeing animals and stuff out there.

Working on a small cattle station that bordered the Barkly Tablelands, it was a Sunday and I loved nothing better than wandering off in the bush with my camera. Inspired my romantic notions of 'Walkabout', once out of sight of all the buildings and with a small hill between, I stripped off and set of with just my camera and a stick. (I was an idiot!) I got badly burned and had trouble finding my way back to where I had left my gear. Arriving back at the station I discovered they were just about to go looking for me as no-one had seen me for so long. I got a right telling off about snakes, spiders and scorpions. (Though in my experience the vast majority of those creatures move out of your way long before you get there).

I wasnt interested in the gold, funnily enough, but i got a real thrill outta finding lost coins and relics that were lost by the miners 150-200 yrs ago, i have found 3 george the 3rd 1797 penny cartwheels and thousands of interesting stuff.

What im currently doing is restoring/modifying diecast vehicles, mainly muscle cars, ive been collecting diecast cars for 30yrs and used to have over 2000, but ive sold alot over the last few yrs for the cash.
Keeping busy keeps me sane, or atleast saneish

RRR

I've come to the conclusion that burying yourself in a hobby, and we all know how quickly time passes when you are engrossed, is a means of escaping the absolute *hitshow we live in on a daily basis. If it helps you reach an empty mind, brilliant! If you find yourself constantly thinking about the past - change your hobby till you genuinely find something that does engross you.

[Matthew]

...
I'm also almost done building a homemade nord instrument, a Talharpa! I'll make a post about it when Im done!

I may have too many hobbies... Its my way of life lol.

Wow making instruments is like royal crafting.

I used to play WH40k, and the original Warhammer Fantasy Battle (2nd edition). A few other turn-based, table top games and a few tabletop RPGs. My copy of WH40k was an off-cast because of a printing error that it had some pages duplicated, my friends dad owned the local bookshop, so I got it for free. I still have it, and a squad or two, but it's been a long time since they exterminated any pesky Eldar scavengers dirtying up the universe.

I don't really do sports but I bet there are some sporty or ex-sport members?

I don't knit, or knot, much but I knot a little. Anyone else do these things? They seem especially useful. I want to learn to knit one day.

Music, loads of Avalonians do music, some professionally. I love mucking about with music and get in bands. I love the occasional free drinks from doing gigs depending on the venue.

My hobbies are mundane, but I like writing fairy tale type stories, making up characters like they're in an RPG campaign; back stories, D20 models, pictures, Myers Brigs test results. The moral of the story is there's no such thing as a cursed magic item, only powerful magic items that are misused by mans folly. That was a major spoiler, I shouldn't have said that. But it's ok, my main audience are long suffering friends and relatives and they don't come here, and don't care anyway I bet they're sick of the story.

And then for this I made an auto-generated audio book with text to speech libraries, to check the grammar, and then made music to mix along with the audio book using sox and lame, and a continuous integration system on AppVeyor I knocked up, that has the log split up with BIG ascii art pictures of three main story characters because then each of the characters governs a different phase of the build; one installs the tools, one checks the content (most occurring words with synonymy lookups courtesy of WordNet), and finally the building of the artefacts. Taking Myers Briggs personality tests for four of the main characters was good - for every trait I expected I got back a few I hadn't expected but made sense. I never bothered that hard with character development on my RPG characters :bigsmile: :beer:

[Brigantia]

Here’s a thread to post fun hobbies, personal or not. I’d include skilled activities that have their place, necessary stuff like gathering or splitting firewood, fixing machines, knitting if you’re poor (not-poor, it’s a hobby, but the lines might be blurred).

Hey what about the origins and implications of hobbies in general? Do we must play, beyond childhood?

Knitting is not inexpensive; not since the days when most women knitted so wool was much less expensive than it is now and there were several wool shops in every town! It's more of a hobby than an essential skill now.

As for origins of hobbies - I think a lot of them are now considered hobbies but were once essential skills. Poor families would have a few sidelines making items for sale, such as the Welsh families in rural areas who knitted socks during the winter that were sold to a dealer and then sold on to shops. I love your bonsai tree Ioneo, maybe that's a common gardening skill in Japan, or once was? In my childhood, neglected gardens were rare and front gardens looked lovely; nowadays they're mostly concreted over for more car parking space or overgrown.

My hobbies are what I'd call essential skills; cooking and preserving, gardening and especially growing food, knitting and sewing by hand and machine. Last spring I knitted a pair of slipper socks in a really thick Norwegian chunky wool that have a cuff well above my ankles, and they are so good at keeping my feet warm now that winter is creeping in! I like them so much that I've bought some more wool to make another pair. I also need to finish off a fleece jacket that I started, the fabric was ordered from the US with a Native American pattern and I lined it with faux fleece, I just need to finish off the hems. It's so thick that it would keep me warm and toasty even if it reached -10 celsius.

I also love books on a wide variety of topics but I have a small house, so my bedroom is more of a library with a bed in it.

I also bought a metal detector in Italy, I'd love to get back into that but the local group is currently closed for new members. It's reminded me, I must charge it up so that I can find the drill bit that I lost in the garden!

[RatRodRob...RRR]

Ive had a bunch of hobbies over the years, ive always been doin something.

The thing i loved and miss the most is Prospecting in Victoria's Gold Fields (Australia), i would go out every month in my kombi camper (its in my avatar pic) and stay out for 3-5 days at a time, usually on my own, god damn i miss it.

I spent time in the Myclere Gold Fields (up near Clermont) working a dig on behalf of an English woman who had started the claim herself. Her husband was a Greek involved in shipping and was often overseas, she wanted a hobby and selected gold mining. The lady, whose name escapes me now had dug the shaft herself - that was impressive to a 27yr old who, probably, at that time, had a rather sexist POV. We made our own explosives (fertiliser and diesel) though the detonater cord had to be bought. I also worked a sapphire dig nr Anakie, nearest large town Emerald. They were experiences that still live strong in the memory. (There were some absolute nutters out there - in the nicest way).

i love the bush and all its flora and fauna, i was always seeing animals and stuff out there.

Working on a small cattle station that bordered the Barkly Tablelands, it was a Sunday and I loved nothing better than wandering off in the bush with my camera. Inspired my romantic notions of 'Walkabout', once out of sight of all the buildings and with a small hill between, I stripped off and set of with just my camera and a stick. (I was an idiot!) I got badly burned and had trouble finding my way back to where I had left my gear. Arriving back at the station I discovered they were just about to go looking for me as no-one had seen me for so long. I got a right telling off about snakes, spiders and scorpions. (Though in my experience the vast majority of those creatures move out of your way long before you get there).

I wasnt interested in the gold, funnily enough, but i got a real thrill outta finding lost coins and relics that were lost by the miners 150-200 yrs ago, i have found 3 george the 3rd 1797 penny cartwheels and thousands of interesting stuff.

What im currently doing is restoring/modifying diecast vehicles, mainly muscle cars, ive been collecting diecast cars for 30yrs and used to have over 2000, but ive sold alot over the last few yrs for the cash.
Keeping busy keeps me sane, or atleast saneish

RRR

I've come to the conclusion that burying yourself in a hobby, and we all know how quickly time passes when you are engrossed, is a means of escaping the absolute *hitshow we live in on a daily basis. If it helps you reach an empty mind, brilliant! If you find yourself constantly thinking about the past - change your hobby till you genuinely find something that does engross you.

Hi Ewan
Was that "Anakie" in Victoria...? ,and Emerald in QLD....?
I live bout an hr from Anakie, Sometimes i would travel through Anakie on my way to Vic goldfields, that woman who dug her own shaft sounds like a real trooper.

Ive just told myself to never prospect naked, dunno what may get sunburnt lol, and i got terribly lost twice in the bush so i bought myself a GPS thing, i should have either not walked miles from camp or should have got GPS sooner.

Do you know anyone from IFC (Ivanhoe Fossicking Club), Alot of the members lived around the goldfields including Anakie.

I loved prospecting best in winter, the cold dont worry me and the ground is easier to dig, and no snakes and much less spiders, i hate spiders.......................RRR

[Ewan]

Hi Ewan
Was that "Anakie" in Victoria...? ,and Emerald in QLD....?




Not Victoria, this particular Anakie was about 20 km west (if memory serves) of Emerald, QLD right off the Capricorn Highway.

That was over 30 years ago Rob.. :)

[Johnnycomelately]

Ice Candle Lamp.

Been cold here recently. Finally got to making one again, after many years.

5 gallon pail of water, set outside for about 11 hours. Sides are maybe 3/4 inch thick.

Hole in the top is from weighing down a (+lid) yogurt container (650g size), on centre, under a board laid across the top of (no lid) pail. The bouyancy of the container needed more weight, so I put an old flower pot on the wood.

The yogurt container needed prying out of the ice, then I dumped the remaining water out (saved it in another pail, turned out to be about half the ~5 gal).

Carried the pail in to the bathtub, sprayed hot water on the outside until the ice was unstuck. Took it to outside my window and lifted it out gingerly — had heard the ice cracking when washing the pail — but no probs. Set it on a board I had positioned level.

Candle is a drugstore ~9 1/2 inch. Pkg says 8 hours, but it’s been on for 5 and is still half there.

Gonna make the next one better, by starting with the water an inch or more below the top of pail. Not sure if that’s what I used to do, but the top (here) got messed up by the ice sticking solid to the top board. That made a couple more (smaller) holes that probably affect airflow, but also they don’t look great.

I am trying to remember where I did it previously. I was given the idea by my brother back in Ontario, who described to me the candle-lit heart-shaped skating rink/surface he had made for his wife on the lake in front of their house. His lamps were smaller, 1-2 gallon. He said they were all around the perimeter, so probably a dozen or more.

Several times, years ago in winter, I stuck candles right in the snow, on rare windless nights. The light is beautiful.

With this ice enclosure, the look of the thing itself is half of the appeal. Especially after above-freezing days glaze it smooth. Eventually the successive melts will reveal the crystals, big sweeping sheets crossing the sweep of other big sheets.

50030

[Pam]

I'm a wet felt maker :bigsmile: When I took early retirement, I wanted to learn a skill and have always loved art/crafts. I'm married to fine art painter
so I didn't really want to go down that route, and then I found wool ... and was instantly addicted.

After quite a few years of practice, I'm now good enough to sell my work and teach workshops on a regular basis.

Thanks for this thread - I look forward to hearing about other people's passions!


UPATE
Just thought I'd add a couple of images of my work, hopefully to show the versatility of felt making.

49979499804997749978

Really beautiful work!!!!.

[Johnnycomelately]

Engineering. And salesmanship. And community empowerment.

Taking a break from personal home-made airplanes, this intrepid industrialist gives an update on his house construction. Lots of details and engineering ideas.

Salesmanship shows at 3 or 4:00 - 6:40, where he pitches his new aviation business park. Dan Gryder and his banjo attended the opening/BBQ and posted about it a few days ago, but here is the spiel from the mind behind it.

2nd “big announcement” (~10:00 - 12:20) has to do with community empowerment. It’s about prizes for commercial engagement (buy his swag) for the purpose of “growing aviation”. One program is offering out free first flights.

I am actually amazed at this man’s energy and traction, and am schooled by his leadership ability. And he seems to be a good guy.

House Update & 2 BIG Announcements

Mike Patey
291K subscribers

“TWO incredible announcements, be sure to catch them in this video! Purchase gear on mikepatey.com for a chance to win a day with Mike and other great prizes! Order quickly before the holidays! Please send us your ideas to create the best FBO in the country!

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Pratt & Whitney
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Turbine Service
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BRS Parachute
https://brsaerospace.com/

Aircraft Engines
https://www.lycoming.com/

Carbon Cub Kits
http://cubcrafters.com/

Aircraft Lighting
https://aeroleds.com/

Garmin Aviation Products
http://garmin.com/Aviation

Aircraft Fabric
https://www.stewartsystems.aero/

Aircraft Lighting
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Alaska Bushwheels
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King Shocks
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Scrappy & Mike Patey Merchandise
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D = 22:23


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkeyHWMT-Sg

[Johnnycomelately]

Couple of Vegas boys on a road trip down east. Memphis to New Orleans, they love the Mississippi River.

I think this rates as a hobby — “Explore!” (21:30).

Mississippi Drought!!! What's Really Happening!

Sin City Outdoors
439K subscribers


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VqV4fHk7Rk

[Johnnycomelately]

I think that science is a hobby for this man. He is way too invested for it to just be a job.

“What is science?"

Tony Heller
119K subscribers

“Naturalist Allan Savory explains what is wrong with science at universities.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOF7pPmMYY0

[Johnnycomelately]

Juan Browne is a man of several hobbies, aviation and journalism being his bigger public ones. Here he explains how “alternates” work, planning for surprise emergencies on flights across oceans in a twin-jet.

I first saw Juan on a vid posted on LiveLeak, Feb ‘17 iirc, about floods in NorCal. He then covered the story of the resultant failure of the main spillway at the Oroville Dam, and continued for the 2 years it took to repair that.

Return to Sydney! B-777300-ER

blancolirio
338K subscribers

17,415 views Dec 16, 2022
“By the numbers! Flight plan overview.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTa5ra4NPmQ

[Brigantia]

I think that science is a hobby for this man. He is way too invested for it to just be a job.

“What is science?"

Tony Heller
119K subscribers

“Naturalist Allan Savory explains what is wrong with science at universities.”

This reminds me of something surprising that I learned about Beatrix Potter, author of the Peter Rabbit books. Always interested in nature, one of her interests as a teenager was fungi. In the 1890s she made more scientific studies and illustrations and submitted a scientific paper, but was not widely acknowledged in this area as she was a woman.

[Johnnycomelately]

50097

Last taper of fourteen. Fourteen bless-ed candle-lit-snow nights. Gotta sally for wax, tomorrow, bicycle since the car recently got MX issues. The pic is washed out, but in real vision it reminds of a gravitational lensing, reflections around — but not much where the flame actually is. Activia, sadly for this post, doesn’t anagram to anything special. Needed something for a windbreak, and hey, I’m not proud. ~8O

[Johnnycomelately]

Museums are a business model that serves hobbyists.

My favourite curator talks about a job that used to be what every military sailor did (ref in the last few minutes of the vid). Surface warfare. Now that we’ve got bubbleheads and fricken aviators et cetera, more likely to be someone like us, might be time to pour one out for our lost warriors. And celebrate the resilience of the living.

What's It Take To Be A Surface Warfare Officer?

Battleship New Jersey
145K subscribers

4.8K views 7 hours ago
“In this episode we're talking through the process for becoming a Surface Warfare Officer.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibew7LSbZZ8

[Johnnycomelately]

Every Day Carry.

TIL “Neck knife” lol. Carried my valuables that way, trekking through far lands.

Japanese steel, probably a good deal.

Hultafors Craftsman - A High Value Knife Everyone Should Own

Mark Young
31.1K subscribers

1,126 views Feb 8, 2023
“HULTAFORS CRAFTSMAN'S KNIFE HVK
$10.00 CAD when I bought mine now $12.99 CAD on Amazon.ca free shipping with Prime
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-OIzz9sE_s

[Johnnycomelately]

Pool has been a hobby of mine for a while, nearing three decades. I recall trying multibanks right from the start, and still love that stuff.

So I found this vid, and it (word? - opposite of excori..) validates my premise of fun. Not because these guys are sweating and then earning accolades, but because half of those great shots are standard practice for me and my preferred opponents. “Walmac, bank everything”.

I didn’t see any long-bank sides, nor a 5 bank corner, but saw them do some of my other standard shots pretty good. Three-banks, various kicks and multi-bank kicks. Longbank kick to longbank, iirc, like I did on the 8 one time only (and a couple nice cross side kicks to cross side dunks).

And one guy did a four bank kick like my main opponent does. I really liked the bigger ricochets, I have seen errant big double kisses happen, but have never gone to practice that..

The shots that really piqued my interest, were the couple English wizard ones (spun cue/white ball does a dogleg), and the two jump shots. From my experience, those shots need currency in training. So, good on those guys and gals who try to make things NOT BORING!!

I’d love to chat with any folks who play pool, or have done so regularly in the past.

The things I like most are the things I have problems with.

Greatest Shot in Pool History Complete

Corral Dynasty


4,569,837 views Sep 23, 2022


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQA05GlB6s