What is your hobby?

[brewer12345]

I think I just found a new hobby. We must talk.

Any time. Easy to do, easy to teach.

 

[Goonie]

My oldest hobby is scale model railroading....been 'playing with trains' since 1968!!! I also enjoy gardening, digital photography, cooking/grilling, studying & researching Cherokee history & traditions, and tracing my family's genealogy.

 

[Sandhog]

Any time. Easy to do, easy to teach.

Do you mind starting a thread on beer making? It's obvious that as good ole boys like me as we get older, a great beer is of interest. Especially if you can brew at home for fraction of the cost.

 

[jayc]

Motorcycles - Dual sport trail riding(dr650,xt250), road trips(v-star,virago), restore yamaha xs650 (3)
Pinball - play, restore 70-80 williams, bally, gottlieb
model railroad
organic gardening
roadtrips out west for hiking/fly fishing
build wealth

 

[obgyn65]

Helping with medical missions abroad, free mobile clinics. Thinking about building an orphanage for homeless children in a third world country.

 

[scrabbler1]

I can't say I added any new hobbies or activities when I ERed 3 years ago. However, when I switched from working FT to PT in 2001 I resurrected an old hobby and transformed another one.

So the hobbies I have now are:

Scrabble, with my school scrabble volunteer work having begun in 2001;

Square dancing, something I had not done since 1988 when I got back into it in 2001; Since 2003 I have been volunteering my help at a college square dance class;

Strat-o-Matic baseball, a tabletop baseball game using cards and dice, a hobby I had done off and on but resumed back in 2005 after a dormant period;

Surfing the 'net more, especially after I finally added a DSL line in 2007;

Reading more books, something I always done but have been doing it a lot more since 2001 and even more since 2008;

 

[HFWR]

Music -- listening, playing guitar, writing and recording.

Photography

Reading -- mostly forums, blogs, news sites, and magazines, though since I downloaded Kindle software, actually read three books last year...

Bicycling

 

[rkser]

I have been exercising for a few years now,
I recently started walking
have been meditating for a few months now.
Maintain some container plants of the porch(nothing serious)
Spend a fair amount (My wife thinks a little too much) of time on this & Boglehead Forums, started coordinating a local Boglehead Chapter group
Read some about Vanguard MF, CNN money & financial sites

I want to start recreational bicycling in the new year

I still work about 30hrs/week

 

[studbucket]

My hobbies are why I want to retire: so I can do them. Right now with a semi-demanding job and 1 young child and another on the way, I've had to give up a lot of things. Too bad retirement is 20 years away

• Playing sports (basketball, flag football, ultimate, baseball, soccer)
• Reading books (Non Fiction: sports, finance, economics, etc. Fiction: Sci-Fi, Fantasy)
• Playing board games (Settlers of Catan, Battlestar Galactica, Agricola, Dungeons & Dragons, etc)
• Playing video games (Sports, RPGs, Strategy)
• Building websites/blogging (all sports-related)
• Volunteering (mentor fatherless teens, help with college/life prep, clean up parks, coach sports teams)

I went from playing football every weekend and basketball every Wednesday to play football 4 times this fall and basketball once in last 6 months. I read 2 books in 2011. I played board games < 10 times. I played my first video game in 6 months recently. I do no website/blogging, and aside from helping out at church with our sound system twice a month, only volunteered 2 other times.

I'm with many of you when i can't understand why people don't want to retire. My aunt looked at me like I was crazy when I said I wanted to retire at 45. She couldn't believe I didn't like working.

 

[Major Tom]

• Amateur Radio (mainly building radios and becoming a better Morse code operator)
• Photography (used to be a hobby, but now use the experience for taking pictures for my amateur radio blog)
• Thinking/dreaming/planning about buying a LazyDaze RV in the next few years with a view to eventually living in it full-time

There are quite a few other things I like to do, but I wouldn't exactly call them hobbies.

 

[davemartin88]

Hobbies before ER (DW feels I retired because I didn't have time to work?)

-Astronomy/Astronomy Video Photography
-Woodworking (on hold til my workshop is done)
-RC Airplanes
-Walking/Hiking locally
-Dabble in winemaking, mostly sweet, fruit type wines for summer sipping
-Salt Water aquarium (more DW than me though)
-Shetland Sheepdog Rescue work (more administrative support now since we moved to WV.
-Portable sawmill, also a part time job but only to get wood/money to support my hobbies

New since retirement

-We've just bought some alpacas so clearing land for pasture and to build a shed, alpacas here in late Feb or March
-Taking up weaving and yarn spinning to use the fleece, we hope!

 

[Walt34]

My oldest hobby is scale model railroading....been 'playing with trains' since 1968!!!

Wow, I bet your basement is a wonderland of railroading!

Sort of like this guy's:

 

[rescueme]

What is your hobby?

Nothing. Reading these responses make it sound like too much w*rk ....

 

[Ronstar]

My latest woodworking project - a car for my niece's boy. I'm starting to realize that the smaller projects are the most fun - take less time to build, cost less, and take up less space.

 

[HFWR]

My latest project - a car for my niece's boy.

Nice.

 

[NW-Bound]

• Amateur Radio (mainly building radios and becoming a better Morse code operator)

• 
  I noticed there are some other posters or poster's SOs who are also hams. In today's Internet age, it is good to know there are people still interested in this form of communication.
  
  Never a ham myself, but I used to be very interested in wireless electronics. I can still remember the 1st electronic hobbyist book on tube radios I bought when I was 12. It was the beginning of what became a lifelong hobby (I have been making most of my living doing more analytical/theoretical work than designing electronic circuits). I was most interested in QRP. When a youngster, used to dream of having my own place in the countryside so that I could string up aerials, and install huge Yagis. Now that I have such a place, and on a nice high ground too, my interest in it already fades.
  
  I may get back to it one of these days. I have all the equipment (nice HP and Tek lab-grade stuff) to build whatever I want to. Perhaps it's one of those things that when you can do something too easily with all that test equipment, it takes the fun out of it.

 

[audreyh1]

I noticed there are some other posters or poster's SOs who are also hams. In today's Internet age, it is good to know there are people still interested in this form of communication.

A senior friend of mine who does ham radio and keeps in contact with his group of buddies says they spend all their time talking on the radio about their PCs!

Audrey

 

[Major Tom]

I noticed there are some other posters or poster's SOs who are also hams. In today's Internet age, it is good to know there are people still interested in this form of communication.

Never a ham myself, but I used to be very interested in wireless electronics. I can still remember the 1st electronic hobbyist book on tube radios I bought when I was 12. It was the beginning of what became a lifelong hobby (I have been making most of my living doing more analytical/theoretical work than designing electronic circuits). I was most interested in QRP. When a youngster, used to dream of having my own place in the countryside so that I could string up aerials, and install huge Yagis. Now that I have such a place, and on a nice high ground too, my interest in it already fades.

I may get back to it one of these days. I have all the equipment (nice HP and Tek lab-grade stuff) to build whatever I want to. Perhaps it's one of those things that when you can do something too easily with all that test equipment, it takes the fun out of it.

Funny you mention that. The one time I did live in a house that I owned and could have put up some decent antennas, I was too involved in my career to have the interest to do so. About 6 months before I bought that place, I had the chance to buy a nice small house on a fairly remote hilltop overlooking downtown Los Angeles - there were only 3 houses total on the hill, which was accessible only by a narrow road with a hairpin bend. The house came with an empty lot next door included in the price of $150K. Due, I guess, to being preoccupied with my career, I wasn't even thinking of radio, but that would have been a good QTH for antennas. What was I thinking?

I still dream of owning a big piece of land on which I can experiment with antennas, but am now not sure that I'd want to commit to living in the same place for an extended period of time. The current dream is to live in an RV and find great places for antennas while roaming around the country.

You could build some great QRP equipment with that test gear of yours NW-Bound. One of my home-brew projects is going to be featured in an ARRL publication coming out this year. I manage without good test gear, but it sure would make the building experience more fun.

*sighs* Looks like I might have to find a part-time job this year so I can afford that Lazy Daze.........

 

[Lsbcal]

One activity I like is watching birds. I enjoy trying to figure out what they're doing.

Yesterday I saw a Green Heron (blue green feathers on head and red brest) at the lake while doing stretching. He was hiding out in the reeds. Had to consult the bird book to ID him.

Today I watched flocks of Robins and Cedar Waxwings competing for the red berries on a large bush in our backyard. Also saw a Cooper's Hawk scouting out the activity.

A few days ago I saw a small hawk (maybe a Sparrow Hawk) struggling with a Flicker. Took off with it to have for lunch. Nature is cruel sometimes.

 

[ERD50]

My latest woodworking project - a car for my niece's boy. I'm starting to realize that the smaller projects are the most fun - take less time to build, cost less, and take up less space.

Yes, agree with HFWR - very nice.

Small is fun for the reasons you mention, but I also find it frustrating - everything really needs to be near perfect, any little mismatch shows since you normally hold it up for close inspection. And I'm just not that good.

What tools did you use? I'm guessing band-saw to cut out the body, maybe a router to shape the fenders? But how do you get that tight angle that forms the seat smoothed, yet maintain a crisp line? Stuff like that drives me bonkers - I'd cheat and round it so I could get sandpaper or scraper in there (more like the fenders in that space).

Walnut fenders/ws? Birch body? Cherry wheels?

-ERD50

 

[eytonxav]

My latest woodworking project - a car for my niece's boy. I'm starting to realize that the smaller projects are the most fun - take less time to build, cost less, and take up less space.

Thats a beauty. You'd do well at the craft fairs with a line of these wooden toys.

 

[deserat]

Thats a beauty. You'd do well at the craft fairs with a line of these wooden toys.

But then that would be WORK!

 

[deserat]

Quasi-retired here - hobbies:

1) Knitting
2) Reading
3) When I can find it, badminton playing
4) Snow skiing - will be going this weekend - one year after my second ACL reconstruction....sigh
5) Traveling - pretty good at setting up my own itineraries - research, timing, what is essential to see in a particular place
6) Reading blogs - surfing the internet - WAY too much of that
7 ) Hiking - will miss my weekly volksmarches here in Germany after moving back to the US

Hope to take up tap dancing soon and want to finish a mini-triathlon by the time I'm 50.....also, still have many places in the world I wish to visit - want to snow ski in Japan and Australia and New Zealand for one. Want to attend the Australian Open for tennis (will have been to every Tennis Slam when get over there). Also will be working to design an indigenous garden in my new backyard - I have a lot of respect for landscape architects/gardeners. They have to have a very good vision of what the plants will look like over time and be PATIENT - not my strength

 

[NW-Bound]

I can't see myself doing something like Ronstar has. I just do not have that patience, nor the skills. Or is it that I do not have the patience to develop the skills? Oh, whatever... I just do not see myself doing that.

I remember Uncle Honey is another one who does fine woodworking. Has not posted in a while.

A senior friend of mine who does ham radio and keeps in contact with his group of buddies says they spend all their time talking on the radio about their PCs!

Even more than 30 years ago, hams already tried to merge their wireless gear to the digital world, by transmitting facsimiles, or digital packet radios, etc...

I still prefer the purer form of wireless communications: trying to see how long one can reach out with a mere 100mW of power (that's DC input power mind you, not radiated power), making up for that ridiculously low level with gigantic antennas, and a super sensitive and selective receiver. And a lot of patience too!

Oh wait, I already said I don't have a lot of time left to afford to be patient!

One of my home-brew projects is going to be featured in an ARRL publication coming out this year.

*sighs* Looks like I might have to find a part-time job this year so I can afford that Lazy Daze.........

Is it QST that your project will be featured on? I can go read that at a nearby city library.

By the way, the expensive test equipment pieces I have are all business-related. I could not justify, nor need something that nice for a hobby.

About the RV, you must be wanting a new Lazy Daze. Old ones are more expensive than other brands, but not prohibitively so.

 

[Mulligan]

Quasi-retired here - hobbies:

1) Knitting
2) Reading
3) When I can find it, badminton playing
4) Snow skiing - will be going this weekend - one year after my second ACL reconstruction....sigh
5) Traveling - pretty good at setting up my own itineraries - research, timing, what is essential to see in a particular place
6) Reading blogs - surfing the internet - WAY too much of that
7 ) Hiking - will miss my weekly volksmarches here in Germany after moving back to the US

Hope to take up tap dancing soon and to want to finish a mini-triathlon by the time I'm 50.....also, still have many places in the world I wish to visit - want to snow ski in Japan and Australia and New Zealand for one. Want to attend the Australian Open for tennis (will have been to every Tennis Slam when get over there). Also will be working to design an indigenous garden in my new backyard - I have a lot of respect for landscape architects/gardeners. They have to have a very good vision of what the plants will look like over time and be PATIENT - not my strength

Badminton. Now that is something that isnt mentioned very often. I won my university badminton championship back in 1984. I wasnt going to enter it because I thought it was a "girlly game" but my friend talked me into it. All I remember about it was the tournament took several days and after it was over, I couldnt hardly walk or move my left arm for several days and I was in good shape, too. I dont think I have played it since then, but you could get some serious exercize out of it, if it was competitive.