Thread: What else are you all into?

Old school strength training and shooting are my real interests. I've been building my own "dungeon gym" in my backyard for a few years now and teach law enforcement officers how to shoot. What other hobbies do you all have?

IPSC shooting, bowhunting, and fishing.

Ray

Reading (mostly scifi/fantasy), camping/hiking, volleyball and snowboarding.

I'm an actor.
(Saw a wonderful adaptation of Julius Caesar last night, Caesar's ghost came out in drag. I'll never forget that!)

I also play guitar and a few other fretted instruments.

I like cycling canoeing camping and kayaking too.

X

I also make and play Japanese Shakuhachi flutes and have a collection of slide rules that would likely rival anyone's straight razor collection

In the warmer months, photography is a big part of my relaxation time.

Tony

high-end audio (particularly headphones) , home theater, reading and motorcycles. Sadly finances dictates selling my bike last year but I will have another one before too long.

Ant

hobby n. , pl. -bies . An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.

Well, sex and booze rank high on my list

My vocation is electronics and computers... it's hard to separate work and play sometimes. In my younger days I was an avid woodworker and home remodeler, but not so much lately. I still tinker with car repair too... it's satisfying to diagnose the problem and fix it, and not paying a mechanic a $1000 to replace a $100 part makes me ecstatic. But the work itself is not as satisfying as it used to be since you now have to tear apart half the car to replace a simple part... not to mention the special tools required. Why any car maker would put into production a design that require removal of the turbo and exhaust manifold to gain access to an emissions system vacuum control solenoid is just beyond me. Nonetheless, these are all things I enjoy doing, but are more acts of necessity rather than "just for fun" hobbies.

Gardening is a different story and is purely for my own enjoyment. When I lived in New Jersey I had specimen Peony and Rose gardens, many unique Azaleas and other Ornamental shrubs in my landscaping, and a nice vegetable garden. Since I moved to the desert (where almost nothing survives the heat of Summer) I've lost a lot of interest... peonies, azaleas, etc. won't survive here and tomatoes raised here don't taste like tomatoes. Annual flowers (petunias, snapdragons, etc.) do well here in the spring and fall, but its hard to make a hobby out of that. I do still have about 2-dozen varieties of Christmas Cactus (which spend the May - August indoors and Sept - April outdoors). I have also been experimenting with some plumeria the past couple years... they are tropicals and need special care since they stress when it's above 110F (which occurs frequently in July & Aug) and are not freeze tolerant (it was 21F here last week) so they need protection in Winter. I'm also trying to raise a mango tree (mangoes are not freeze tolerant) but the recent freeze may have terminated that endeavor .

Collecting scotch malt whisky. My wife shares this vice so I am essentially operating without a budget on this one

Hanging out in the Microsoft C++ forums and helping people with programming issues. I also like to write articles about deep programming stuff and posting them on my blog, a website or a magazine. These things earned me MVP status as a recognition. It means I get access to Microsoft people and inside information.

Honing hand tools, and recently I have taken an interest in restoring dead razor edges.

I also like to read books. a lot. all in English, since I hate translations. Mostly fantasy or

I read some (fiction). Work on my Antique Ford tractor a little. Shoot when I can fit it in. do a little home improvement as needed. I'm in the process of learning to horseback ride English style. But most of my time is spent training my dogs.

I'm another actor. See www.godsdrama.org for particulars on our company. Also collect smoking pipes (and smoke them), walking-sticks, hats, and knives. I'm treasurer for our local pipe club, www.tsptc.org.