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Geek Outdoor Hobbies?
Embedded Geek asks: "My wife and I, in an effort to get more exercise, have recently begun geocaching, which is basically global scavenger hunt using GPS. We have also been active in the Society for Creative Anachronism and my friends are always trying to draft us into paintball. While we're having a blast with all these, I wanted to see if other slashdotters could suggest more geek style, outdoor hobbies that would appeal to a pair of pasty faced nerds like us."
what is this "outdoors"?
If the SCA isn't geeky enough for you, just give up now.
Trees can't go dancing
So do them a big favor
Pretend dancing stinks!
Walking is extremely good for you and difficult to find excuses against. Bad weather? Just makes it more interesting.
Walking forces you to interact on a human level. Which is either good or bad, depending on you point of view.
It seems pretty obvious, but I think a lot of people don't realize how much fun camping really is. Before I start, let me clarify what I mean: there is camping where you bring a shitload of beer, drive to a campsite (or hike 1/4 mile to it) and proceed to get wasted. This is not camping, its partying in the forest. Try finding a local state forest that has some good hiking routes, grab a backpack, and head out for the weekend. I have gone camping with friends many times, and almost everytime there is a good tory or two to tell as a result. And BTW, do not go to one of these places where it looks like a refugee camp because of all the families camping within 15 feet of one another. Do yourself a favor and leave the laptop, palm, etc at home.
"What can a thoughtful man hope for mankind on Earth, given the experience of the past million years? Nothing." -Bokonon
Being geek is a state of mind, it's not a seperate entity or anything. I love outdoors, and I do a lot of outdoors-y stuff, like climbing, camping, fording rivers and creeks, hiking, etc etc...
At the same time, when I'm indoors, I'm constantly into gadgets and computers and other electronic stuff. But I would probably be insulted if someone labeled me as a geek.
My point is, don't think of it from a "geek" perspective. I don't consider myself one, and I don't want to be considered as one, but that doesn't prevent me from reading slashdot and tweaking my computer constantly. Don't let being a geek prevent you from playing football or rock climbing or even sunbathing. Be proud to be a geek. But don't be too proud to have fun.
Hmm. Laser Quest is fun - but nowhere near as fun as paintballing. Laser Quest involves being inside buildings painted all in black and shooting at people at close range with cheesy sound effects; there's no physical aspect to it at all. Sure, it's a laugh, but it's pretty much the same all the time... Paintballing is outdoors; it involves crawling around in mud a lot in my experience :-) Still, you get much, much more of an adrenaline rush hiding with a mate behind a tree/log as millions of paintballs whistle over your heads trying to get down covering fire as teammates go for their flag, etc. - or sprinting for home through the undergrowth with The Bad Guys in hot pursuit. Much more in the way of tactics, much more in the way of teamwork, much work in the way of physical exercise.
Laser Quest isn't as fun - but it's not anywhere near as expensive, either. After charging plenty for entry they hit you with huge bills for the ammunition as well. Ouch.
Oh, relaxed is the name of the game also. It is not unusual to see beer drinking and pot smoking on the course and in the parking lots, though this obviously varies a lot course to course
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
If you think there's no physical aspect to it, wander down for a member's night, or worse yet, a NAC team practice. NAC teams are faster and meaner than some paintball crews I'm seen. Any game you can walk out of dripping sweat with the rest of the players screaming your name, is a good one. Good quester's play like they have radar. They know what's going on around them at all times, and have some seriously quick reaction times.
- billn
Buy a decent pair of roadbikes (or a tandem) and ride as much as you can. Runner's high is an amazing thing after 5 hours in the saddle.
Call me crazy, but just because I'm a geek, it doesn't mean I have to be some lazy tard that can't do anything but drink coffee and read 'blogs.' Maybe I'm abnormal, but I do things outside of using a computer.
:)
I camp. I walk a lot. I bike a lot. I go take naps in the woods. I garden. I hike. I program on my iBook or my iPAQ (with Squeak) while sitting in the woods, having had to hike a few miles to get to a nice place to sit.
For the biking and walking, I don't go out of my way to do it. It's just part of the way I live. When there's not snow on the ground, it's my main method of getting around. I suppose that's not possible if you're living in some gigantic post-apocalyptic hell hole, though.
And for the other things, I live in a very green town, with lots of nice big parts and a sanctioned green-belt, so taking naps in the woods isn't extraordinary. Just a way of life.
Now, I suppose some people really strive for their activities to be labeled as something a 'geek' would do, trying to live that 'cool' middle school clique feeling that they may have missed out on the first time around. Can't say I identify with that, but to each her own.
So, I suppose you could make the above activities 'geeky' by bringing a PDA and doing something useful with it. If you're not going to do something useful with it, however, do yourself a favor and leave it at home.
For instance, I'll write a bunch of code on my iPAQ. May not be as practical for others, but the programming environment I use on my desktop is the same one I use on my PDA, so code flows back and forth easily, and I can work on the same problems as if I were at my desk. Some people think it's some disgrace to "Nature" to program in the middle of a forest. Frankly, I find it beautiful and peaceful. Especially after a mind-clearing hike. And it sure beats being stuck inside on a beautiful spring day!
Most importantly- have fun!
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
Check out The Degree Confluence Project
Since most of the easily accessible locations have been photographed already, getting a 'new' point on the map (one that hasn't been visited or attempted) will require a significant period of interface with a non-virtual world.
It'll even exercise your diplomatic interpersonal skills, as some of the 'attempted' sites are on reservations -- since they're a sovereign nation, they can require permits for a visit. Heck, even getting onto private land can be interesting.
- ( i.e.
- "You want to do WHAT? Yeah, right buddy! What are you really here for??? )
Fortunately, there is a form letter that you can print and take with you to convince the skeptical.( Personally, I'd love to do some of the sites in Montana. )
"...America's great minds of today, teaching America's great minds of tomorrow. Poor bastards." -- A Beautiful Min
As an avid outdoorsman, (I rock climb, mountainbike, kayak (tour and whitewater), backpack, and love to take outdoor photographs) my biggest bitch is people who bring radios, laptops, cell phones and shit outdoors. Most of us who spent lots of time outdoors do it to escape and get away from the damn call phone and people in general. Please, when you are out enjoying the outdoors leave your friggin electronics and shit at home and try roughing it.
If you feel the need to bring a radio or something have the decency to keep it turned down and stay the F*ck away from other people.
I recently went on a 70 mile river flaot trip and the experience was lessened by some damn collge kids with a radio and the audacity to camp like 100 feet from us. We had a hell of a good time sneaking up to their camp site at laughing as they made dinner... what a riot
Please leave your toys at home or figure out how to keep them from being noisy, I go to the wwods to get away not listen to your damn electronics... and I am a serious geek during the week.
Rule of Life Number 2: Remember, it can all go to hell at any minute. --Jimmy Buffet
My wife and I also took up kite flying together. Before you envision some sedate, lazy, K-Mart delta kite flying (though that can be fun as well), we're flying stunt kites, such as these or these. Some of these are made of fairly exotic materials for extremely light weights, while others pull like trucks. It's even possible to go for a ride with them - three-wheel trikes and hard-pulling kites make for some fast trips across beaches and dry lakebeds.
Hope this piques your interest!
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
The sun will burn your face with its UV radiation. In this season, you might get pollen poisoining too. And worst of all, you might actually meet real people! (you know, the strange kind that just stares at you when you want to discuss the merits of the preemptive linux kernel).
And if these aren't enough to convinve you. Think about all the things you can do with your computer instead of wasting time "outdoors".
True warriors use the Klingon Google
59 comments and nobody states the obvious. You have a wife and you want exercise.
/. population jealous and horny just for mentioning it.
What about sex? It can be done indoors or out in a variety of locations and positions, in private or in public (depends on how bold you are I suppose), and is very good for your health. You'd get your daily heart-rate boost, in addition to improving your married life (your relationship with your wife).
And you'll make virtually the entire
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
The basic nature of airsoft is quite similar to that of paintball - one team must, using a gun shooting non-lethal ammunition, either eliminate the opposing team or accomplish a pre-defined objective. The main differences of airsoft are the facts that airsoft guns shoot 6mm plastic BBs that do not leave paint marks and that the guns are extremely accurate replicas of actual firearms. Because the plastic BB is not as volatile as a paintball, airsoft guns are capable of fully-automatic fire - some at a rate of over 1200rd/min! Also, because the plastic BB is relatively light (usually 0.2g) and the muzzle velocity is usually at around 100m/sec (~300fps), they are quite safe to use in close quarters combat - paintballs tend to make very ugly welts when shot from close distance.
From a geek's point of view, the above facts introduce some very interesting elements. The realistic appearance of airsoft guns gives incredible opportunities to simulate situations in computer games and movies! Have you ever wanted to pull two H&K MP5Ks underneath a long black jacket and blast away? Or jumpdodge over a sofa, firing with two Berettas and grinning like a maniac? How about some live-action Rainbow Six? The possibilities are endless!
At least here in Turku, Finland, the local players get together every week to play short games with simple objectives, such as defending a building/hill/other location, planting/defusing a bomb or just plain capture the flag. Every summer there are some bigger games with a more complicated scenario and up to 200 players in some cases. Some games even introduce some light role-playing elements to the game for additional realism and atmosphere.
There is plenty of information about airsoft on the net, but here are a few pointers to get you started;
Ilendil's airsoft page
Arnie's Airsoft
AirsoftZone
Walk around the city (assuming you live in a city). Find free stuff sitting in trash cans or whatever. Take it home. You walk a bunch, and when you find something, you get a little bit of weight training (if it's something sizable).
It's low impact, and you can smoke while you're doing it (so maybe it's not really too good for me after all...)
Just last night I brought home a new coffee table.
One of the more interesting activities out there is what they call Urban Exploration. The problem a lot of people have with exercise is that its soooo boring. When you go exploring its just like walking, running and climbing but there's stuff to look at. The basic idea is exploration of urban ruins, for example: old subways, abandoned factories, and abandoned amusment parks.
:-)
Check out Infiltration Magazine for more ideas
I find, lacking all that, even office parks late at night can be fun, or pool hoping. There's a lot of exercise to be had if you're curious
Also of course check out Google's results for Urban explorations, have fun and be safe tho!