Hobbies/Disciplines

[TempusVox]

Posting in the NZ thread made me think of my hobbies and I wanted to know yours. Throughout our lives we all have certain hobbies from time to time. Some become life long passions, and wind up being your life's work if your lucky. When I was really young I'd always loved to write stories; and now do that everyday. I've had other hobbies through the years too though. Everything from stamp and coin collecting to fantasy sports and wine collecting.

One of the hobbies that I enjoy the most is traveling now with family and friends. We try and plan at least 2 or 3 major trips each year now. I also have a fairly strong fossil collection. Most of my focus is on the Paleo and Meso eras. I've invested now over six figures into it and am starting to run out of room.

I've also been fly fishing for years now, but decided to tie my own flies about a year ago.

 Also about a year ago, Geddy and I were talking about what I planned to do when my son went off to college. He told me he really struggled when Jules went off to school. I hadn't really even considered that. It's usually the mother who is expected to have empty nest syndrome; but I don't think people realize just how much fathers are effected when their sons grow up and begin life after high school. Having spoken to other friends of mine, they've either all already experienced it, or are going through it at the same time as I am. I have to admit it has really been a struggle for me this year. It's rather bittersweet knowing my son is about to begin his journey as an adult now. He'll always be my son and I know we'll continue to remain close; but I'm not fooling myself to think that things won't forever be different. So this past year I made a commitment to myself to focus on some more of my own hobbies. Actually I like the word Disciplines even more.

So, I took an empty storage room in our basement and made it into a man-shop. (I already have a man-cave). I just outfitted it with a kick ass sound system, and have a new computer installed down there. I also have several work benches, and have created a very nice fly-tying workshop there. Outside of that room I have now three drum kits set up. One a gift from NP I never touch; but I can go now to the basement and play around until my hearts content.

I've also now started to collect Scotch and Bourbon. I have a small wine tasting room that I'm converting to a Whisky room. My wife is now claiming I'm taking over the whole basement. 

There are a couple more that I'd really like to jump into this year. Painting, and working with clay. And I'd also like to learn to play the Scottish fiddle. I'm also trying to put together a Strat-O-Matic Baseball league too. 

I thought about car collecting, but I don't have the dollars or the space. We have room for about six cars in our garage/barn now; but it's full of mowers, the snow plow, junk, two other cars, and assorted lawn and pool stuff. I mentioned buying an old Nova and restoring it last fall, and my wife threatened to kill me in my sleep. Besides, my idea of restoring it would be-buy the parts and hire a mechanic. Not good.

None of these things will make my son leaving home any less painful; but hopefully can help fill my down time now. I mean I went from helping to coach his baseball team for several years up until a year ago, to him leaving home this coming fall. Big transition.

So what are your hobbies/disciplines DTF? Enlighten us all and share.

[Kotowboy]

Everyone knows I like to play guitar. I played drums since the same age too and was in several bands - almost a drummer for hire in our wee town as I had a good kit and

was reliable and adaptable.

Apart from that - nothing really. Sometimes I get in the mood to go for very long walks when the weather is nice to try to keep fit and stay in some sort of reasonable shape.

Whilst I was in my unemployment years - I was staying with my Grand-dad and would actually walk for 3 hours a night non-stop for about two weeks until my ankles started

really hurting so I stopped.

[Tom Bombadil]

Rock Climbing. My school's Rec Center has a pretty decent rock wall and last year I got really into it. Usually go about 5 times a week now. Hoping to do some outside soon.

and drums.

[jammindude]

Wow....Strat-O-Matic.   I haven't heard that in AGES. 

My cousin used to have a SOM Football League.   I still have a SOM Football set downstairs.  When I was a kid, I played solitaire and once played every game of an entire 16 game season complete with playoffs and Super Bowl.   All with fully filled out stat sheets.     And I had a "Strat-O-Matic Fanatic" T-Shirt that I wore out.   Wonderful memories playing SOM with family and friends (and just by myself).   I never tried the baseball version, but I would love to learn. 

On topic:

My hobby is music.   I am an armchair QB pure and simple.   I have occasionally sung in bands.   I was in a few thrash bands, and one grungy band before I retired to be with my family.   Then for awhile in the mid-00's I started a folk rock duet with a friend, but it fizzled out for various reasons.    I really dont have time for any hobbies at all currently.    I'm a full time electrician, and when I'm home I help my bipolar wife take care of her invalid 90 year old mother.    This takes up nearly all my time and leaves very little room for anything else.    When I need a break, I enjoy going on an all day hike by myself, but elevation gain has to stay fairly low, as my knees just can't handle 3,000 foot climbs any more.    But I've often covered 12 miles or more keeping my elevations in the 1000 ft range or less.   I hope to do more hiking and music stuff when some of my home responsibilities start easing off.      I really enjoy doing "The Jammin Dude Show" on You Tube...and I've tried to get it re-started...but the situation at home makes it extremely difficult to find the time on a regular basis.  Because it's not just sitting in front of a camera for 10 minutes.   It's the planning, the editing, the trying to get to shows you can't afford to go to (and that take you away from a wife that needs your help).     So ya.   No hobbies for me lately.   But I still find times in the later evening to just sit and listen to music.

Watching sports when I can.   Football is the easiest because it's only once a week.   But I'm really looking forward to baseball season.    That's about it.

[Skeever]

Classical guitar. All music, really. But pushing myself to learn to read music with guitar and play classical pieces has been a great, challenging, rewarding hobby.

Also, getting into single malt scotches myself. I can't really afford to drink single malts every night, but I do have a glass once a week, so a bottle lasts a few months. That just means I spend more time really getting to know a bottle before I move on to something else. 

[Implode]

Right now one of my biggest hobbies is cosplaying. I got into it like 3 years because I wanted to make costumes for my favorite Homestuck characters. For the most part, I've continued to do the same things. I love going to conventions around the country and meeting people. Also, I'm not going to lie. The vanity I get from people complimenting and taking pictures of my hard work is satisfying.

So I just spent the last couple weeks getting ready for a con near DC next weekend. I'll be meeting and hanging out with Sintheros there, and I can't wait!

I also love playing "dancing" games like DDR, ITG, and the like. Recently I've been trying to get a lot better, but it's hard to currently find places to play at. I'm trying to find a machine to buy.

[Chino]

I have several little hobbies. I like to put plants in bottles, geocaching, making aquariums, and building models. My absolute favorite thing to do is play with RC cars. From bashing in the yard to competing competitively, I love it all.


Here is a video of some of the stuff I do. If you find the footage boring, you'll probably enjoy the music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiLz9HBZudk


Here are a few of my vehicles.

[JayOctavarium]

I bowl. I have been bowling in leagues nonstop for the past 5-6 years. It all started with my ex. She's from a bowling family... and after I moved in with her she pushed and pushed me until I said fuck it and gave it a shot. I can't imagine ever NOT bowling now. It's a great stress reliever.

[Chino]

I bowled in leagues for eight years (two seasons a year). It was a jolly good time.

[El Barto]

Strangling animals, golf and masturbating. 








(And when finance permits traveling and seeing concerts in faraway lands)

[Dr. DTVT]

I am very big into hobby gaming.  I co-lead a board gaming group where I live, and I helped start one when I was in grad school.

My collection is here: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/mrouser

The number of plays is grossly inaccurate.  In addition, I have a box of various pieces for game development, and I have started making custom boxes for some of my games with lots of expansions.  I finished my Dominion box over Christmas, and I'm going to be starting on a box for Carcassonne soon.  I have the pieces, I just need to decide on a stain and find time to start sanding.

[lonestar]

Strangling animals, golf and masturbating.

All at the same time?



Well, since work and recovery stuff occupy a great deal of my time, any extra is spent doing work for the webzine, which is really my only hobby.

[Jarlaxle]

I love writing, but sadly, I can't seem to make enough time to REALLY be a writer (as in write everyday, finish things, etc.). I write mainly in fantasy and science fiction, and have a couple works in progress that I think are quite good and engaging, as well as my fantasy world, which seems to get bigger and more in depth every time I work on it. It started as a small map, then I made it about 10 times larger, enlarged it a bit again, and then decided that I needed a history of it and the people, which has taken me right to the root of it all with creating fairly basic languages. It's kind of gotten to the point where it is a little overwhelming so I work on it less and less, but it is my brainchild so I am determined to make it happen.

I also read quite a bit, I try to every day, as well as play golf and hockey when I can. I've always wanted to get into woodworking and burning, a well as building models, and spray paint art, but I put those things aside so I can try to focus on writing as much as possible.

[jammindude]

Strangling animals, golf and masturbating.

All at the same time?

Actually, I've heard they're trying to make it an Olympic event.... 

[TempusVox]

Strangling animals, golf and masturbating.

All at the same time?

Actually, I've heard they're trying to make it an Olympic event....

In some households they all describe the same activity.

[Zydar]

- Music. I play bass in a band, and I also play guitar at home. Been playing guitar for about 25 years now, and our band has been together for 6 years.

- Photography. I started to get interested in photography about 7-8 years ago, and have been taking pictures since then. Got my first system camera a few years ago, and I am active in our local camera club.

[Lynxo]

Right now one of my biggest hobbies is cosplaying. I got into it like 3 years because I wanted to make costumes for my favorite Homestuck characters. For the most part, I've continued to do the same things. I love going to conventions around the country and meeting people. Also, I'm not going to lie. The vanity I get from people complimenting and taking pictures of my hard work is satisfying.

So I just spent the last couple weeks getting ready for a con near DC next weekend. I'll be meeting and hanging out with Sintheros there, and I can't wait!

That's awesome! My girlfriend is really into cosplaying as well, she went as a female Hades at a convention last year. The makeup alone was just astonishing!
But even more awesome is when she dressed up as one of those doctors from Assassin's Creed II, and made the entire outfit herself:



Oh sorry, went off a bit there. My own interest are:

- Music. Playing guitar and writing songs since I was 11.
- Video games.

[Zeltar]

I read often and write incessantly. Mostly short stories, some poems, and I'm working on compiling a series of short stories into a novel. I began years ago writing science fiction, and have since moved into modern realism. I attempt to illustrate suburban life in Northern California in much of my writing; particularly the lives of middle-aged folks around here stuck in limbo due to the high cost of living. If that sounds mundane, that's because it is.

Besides that, nothing but the occasional snapchat. I find it fascinating how people manage to make such funny stories with 10 second clips so I've been dabbling in that.

[Podaar]

To the OP.

My hobbies have all been put on the back burner other than travel with Mrs. P and friends. But, I like your idea of a bourbon collection!!  I could go for that. I've been trying to get my hands on a bottle of Angel's Envy but living in a state with state controlled liquor stores makes it difficult to special order. Care to recommend any favorites?

[gmillerdrake]

My creative outlets are drawing and writing.....but at this stage of my life with three young boys 'spare' time is hard to come by.

I've been drawing in this 'tribal' style for over 20 years now. Here's something I drew for Benjamin as his Secret Santa:




And my interpretation of the 5th Seal being opened in 'Revelations'




I like to fish, mainly because I get to spend time with my father when I do....here's a couple pics from a tournament we fished last March.








This stringer won us the 3pm weigh in that netted us $380



I run anywhere from 5 to 25 miles a week depending on how crazy a week it is. At this point I run less for the exercise and more for its thereputic value. Here's a  shot of me after a 'zombie' run....




And after a Half Marathon Trail run (it Thunderstormed the entire 13 miles in this particular run)

[/URL]


I also like to golf and shoot guns....I'll hunt but it's more to hang out with buddies and my Dad than to kill deer or Turkey

[TempusVox]

To the OP.

My hobbies have all been put on the back burner other than travel with Mrs. P and friends. But, I like your idea of a bourbon collection!!  I could go for that. I've been trying to get my hands on a bottle of Angel's Envy but living in a state with state controlled liquor stores makes it difficult to special order. Care to recommend any favorites?

My prized bourbon as of now are the three bottles of Pappy Van Winkle that I have. Two I will eventually drink. The third I won't ever. If I get the urge I may buy more. But who knows? I'd like a couple of cases. But that's a major investment for some whiskey. I think it's like 1,800 a bottle now. You have to think though that those original barrels aren't gonna last forever. Then it's no more. If you get the chance to get a bottle. get some. If you get the chance to have a glass. Do it. It's worth it.

I think my favorite right now that I got last year is Black Maple Hill 16-Year-Old Small Batch. It is sooooo smooth. No burn at all and its like 95 proof.

I also like Woodford Reserves Master collection.

I live fairly close to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We completed it a few years back, but I plan to do it again this summer. There are a number of new small batch whiskies that are out now that I plan to check out.

[Podaar]

I had a glass of Pappy Van Winkle at a bourbon bar in Los Angeles a few years ago and really liked it, but no more than I've liked some others at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll look them up and fill out the special order form at the State Liquor Store 

By the way, if you like rye whiskey I can't recommend High West Distillery's, Double Rye enough. I don't know how they make it but it's the best "Cowboy" whiskey I've ever had!

[Chino]

I wish I could just drink whiskey striaght. I'm always jealous of guys in movies when they just poor a glass on the rocks.

[The Trooper]

Cycling. I do 30 miles a day weather permitting and when it is nice I do 100 miles one day a week. I do triathalons and the tuff mudder events etc. I am also a huge Nascar fan so I collect die casts and collect race videos. I have over 1,000 races on dvd.

[Podaar]

I wish I could just drink whiskey striaght. I'm always jealous of guys in movies when they just poor a glass on the rocks.

When I drink whiskey it's usually a couple of fingers over an ice sphere like this:



Sometimes, depending on the whiskey (scotch), I may put in a splash of soda. But, I will admit that after a big meal at a restaurant I like to order a couple of ounces of bourbon neat. Somehow the meal makes the bourbon sweeter...somewhat like having a dessert liquor.

The thing I think is strange about straight whiskey drinking in movies is that they pour a couple of ounces in a glass and then proceed to pour it down their throats like it's water. I've never seen anyone in real life drink whiskey that way...and if they are, they aren't getting the full experience. Whiskey is for sipping!

[cramx3]

Ive been trying to drink whiskey, but I really havent found anything that I particularly like besides Jamieson.  I understand it is something I need to contnue to try to enjoy, but id rather just have a vodka cocktail if I am looking to drink, plus whiskey is expensive.

[Chino]

Picked up another new truck yesterday. Also, take note of my sweet Avatar shelf.

[The King in Crimson]

My own interests are:
- Tabletop Roleplaying Games - I've been playing since the late 90's with some random lulls in between. Usually I am the de facto GM, but I enjoy it. Creating stories and watching friends run through them and make choices and do things I've never conceived is fun. Plus, I get to hang out with friends and make nerdy jokes.
- Model painting - For the aforementioned roleplaying games. I enjoy painting figures and models for the game though I'm not very good at it.
- Reading - From books, forums, to manga, and graphic novels, I always need something to read.
- Video games - I don't play as much as I used to, but every so often I binge on a game and waste an entire evening.
- Music - Of course.
- Writing - I lack the self-discipline to write regularly but I do have some stories that I want to finish. Eventually.
- Running - When the weather warms up I'll start regularly running after work again. It keeps me in shape and gives me time to either think or listen to the radio and unwind. It's actually really grea. and kind of relaxing.
- Beer - I enjoy trying out craft beers. Most I don't like but every so often I find a really good brew.

[Skeever]

I wish I could just drink whiskey striaght. I'm always jealous of guys in movies when they just poor a glass on the rocks.

When I drink whiskey it's usually a couple of fingers over an ice sphere like this:



Sometimes, depending on the whiskey (scotch), I may put in a splash of soda. But, I will admit that after a big meal at a restaurant I like to order a couple of ounces of bourbon neat. Somehow the meal makes the bourbon sweeter...somewhat like having a dessert liquor.

The thing I think is strange about straight whiskey drinking in movies is that they pour a couple of ounces in a glass and then proceed to pour it down their throats like it's water. I've never seen anyone in real life drink whiskey that way...and if they are, they aren't getting the full experience. Whiskey is for sipping!

Dude that's way too much ice. You're just watering down all that flavor you're paying for.

I mean, however you like it, you like it I guess. For me it's one ice cube per two ounces at the most, and that's only when I'm drinking cheaper stuff and don't care.

[jammindude]

Seriously.   I mean, if I'm drinking $1800 bourbon....






(wait a sec, I had to stop typing while I laughed my ass off at the very thought....not that I wouldn't love to, but I just couldn't imagine having that much money)



....anyway, wouldn't you use those frozen metal balls (or whatever) that they make specifically for the purpose of chilling expensive alcohol without watering it down?

Maybe one of you rich guys will know the product I speak of.

[Prog Snob]

I'm tired.  It looks like the title said Hobbit Disciples.

[jammindude]

I'm tired.  It looks like the title said Hobbit Disciples.

FOLLOW THE GOURD!!!

[TempusVox]

Jammin...you mean whiskey rocks or stones. I actually have some called "Balls of Steel"  . Steel outer part with some inner gel core thats supposed to freeze quicker or more deeply or some such. I also have a ton of stones I've gotten as gifts. Most stones are usually made from soapstone or granite. I guess true purists wouldn't let a drop of water enter their hooch. I sometimes use stones. Depends on what I'm drinking. Usually ice cubes are fine with me. Besides it really is a personal thing as far as taste, etc. I usually don't like high proof whiskey served "neat". The burn of the alcohol for me clouds the flavors, so I like to add an ice cube or splash of water at least. I especially drink Scotch whisky this way.

[TempusVox]

I'm tired.  It looks like the title said Hobbit Disciples.

“We swears, to serve the master of the Precious. We will swear on… on the Precious!”

[jammindude]

^^^^

Thank you.   And it suddenly occurred to me that my comment may have come across on a slam on those who are of well means.   I mean no disrespect....  I just simply found the thought of *me* ever being in that circumstance so alien as to be tickling.     I begrudge no one their circumstances...nor their pleasures for their hard work.     

I've invented my own saying..."Hey, for some guys, it's golf."