Slashdot Mirror
What's Your (non-tech) Hobby?
Slipped_Disk asks: "Being the curious sort, I was wondering what the Slashdot crowd did while you're not reading Slashdot or doing any of the other geeky things we usually do. So tell me, what is your non-techie hobby? I'm defining non-techie as stuff you do when you're not using a computer, so 'I play videogames' doesn't qualify, but 'I build game consoles' does. I'm especially interested in distinctly non-electronic stuff (ie: film photography, building models, training sociopathic attack cats, etc.). I'm looking forward to some interesting topics, here!"
Aren't you?
Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
[This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
Redescovered it as an adult once I started earning enough to afford it. Like all really good toys it is wasted on kids :)
by ski (winter) or by foot (summer)
#include "coucou.h"
I think the general concensious(sp) is that we like to build things, doesnt matter what we build, be it computers, bikes, space planes, movies, music, etc... slashdotters are people who like to create. in work or outside of it, we make stuff. second to that is learning stuff. amateur astronomers, radio operators, pilots, scientists of various sorts. beyond that? I don't know... shopping would probably be pretty low on the list. I'm trying to think of what my non geek friends do as hobbies. I think its shopping, drinking, and well, a lot of them don't have hobbies, they just work, buy things, and complain about stuff. guess that's why I'm a geek!
-and occasionaly a giant moose.
If i have time available to do something really not it-related... I'm probably creating something with my own hands (whitout my keyboard in between)... just a month ago i build my own computer-closset. 2m*60cm*40cm 2 lower "lockable" compartments with my computers, 3 upper compartments with cd's and computerbooks.
Only because I moved in with my girl, she can't stand the noise (of course) and we have to split 35m2 so going up was the only sollution.
A year ago I made my own computer-travel-case to go lan'ing
Wood rules my friends
Looks like I may post the first real response.
Anyway, done properly, Wing Chun is very meditative and physically taxing (if you're doing the stance properly). At the same time, itâ(TM)s something anyone on two feet can do. It's an internal martial art like Tai Chi which, but it has some immediate and effective applications. It's nothing like you see in the movies though. It's very subtle and hard to appreciate until you actually feel some of the effects.
But besides all that, it's what I do to associate with non-geeks. I couldn't stomach the thought of golf, so Wing Chun it was. Ironically about half the folks that attend the classes are in some way into IT, but we don't talk shop much.
For anyone who is curious and resides around the Minneapolis/St. Paul MN area, send me an email at: VincePlatt AT Yahoo D.O.T com.
Please mod this post only if you think others should/n't read this. I have enough ego^H^H^Hkarma. Thanks!
I'm involved in a historical recreation group call the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).
I take part in armoured combat, recreate clothing and artefacts of people who could have existed in pre1600 history and attempt to recreate their lifestyle. It's a lot of fun.
Foil and sabre fencing, via a Boeing Employees club. I've found that it provides me with not only a good workout, but also trains my reflexes and mind. You have to be able to think very well on your feet, and change your strategy on the fly when what seemed so brilliant 2 seconds ago doesn't work. Just trying to use brute force will fail every time against someone who is quick to think and act. Besides, it's fun to poke and whack people with swords!
That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
OK, I realise that to some people that's going to be a revolutionary concept, but I'll wager that a great many of the Slashdot crowd have one too.
Part of the fun of said relationship is that, sometimes, I find myself doing things that I'd never dreamt of doing. Like visiting a garden centre, spending half the weekend looking for the right pair of shoes, or wondering what's the point of underwear that's so small that you could swallow it without even noticing. But after nine years or so, you tend to develop the ability to either tune out that stuff or - shock, horror - like it. (There's a degree of sadomasochism involved here - relationships aren't for the those with low pain thresholds.)
On the plus side, I also find myself doing things that lots of you, err, more available guys are always dreaming of doing. Believe me, there are plenty of things in life better than downloading your favourite distro at maximum speed on the day it's released and, for most of them, two's better than one.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
I am a Master Thespian! (No jokes.)
Well, more like a permanent apprentice. There's a professional theater group in my area that offers apprenticeship opportunities to non-professionals. Sometimes these apprentices are folks that want to get into the biz. Or, sometimes they're like me, they just want theater as a hobby. I've had chances to develop all sorts of useful skills: Construction, lighting control, sound, wiring, organization, memorization, and of course, public speaking. And it's a great way to meet people, too.
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
I'd say I'm one of those nature freak, get the heck away from tech when I'm not at work, types. Flying sites are always out in the middle of nowhere in the most beautiful parts of the country. Imagine the view from the top of a thousand foot mountian, overlooking a lush green valley. Now, imagine the view from three thousand feet above that mountain with a retail hawk off your wingtip (yup, some birds will let us fly with them). Soaring above the earth for hours at a time is true bliss. It's a total zen thing :)
-=sig=-
Look at my .sig and guess what I do on sunny weekends.
You can get up from the Flight Sim and try the real thing. Start at BeAPilot.com
In my case I dreamed about flying all of my life. I decided to give it a go while I was still young enough to enjoy it.
I had three concerns:
1) It's very expensive. I can't afford it. (It took a while for me to notice that I could afford it.)
2) I need to do other things like get a new degree, etc. This will take up a lot of time. (So what? I wasn't making good progress toward that goal anyway.)
3) If I start, I'll be obsessed by it and I won't do much else. (Again So What? It ain't a drug addiction. It turned out that the obsession wore down, but not much. Like most pilots I think it's so magical I never get tired of talking about it, even if you get tired of hearing about it.)
Worse than I imagined, I bought a plane. There's where all my money goes.
There actually is a wave of techies that became pilots about the same time I did. We thought we had money to burn when the stock market was flying high.
Even now, you can earn a Private Pilot certificate in the US 6 months or so for $5000 or less.
Join me in the air.
Ever dream you could fly? Get up from the Flight Sim. I Fly
Not many people realize the crappiness of american board games. Games like Monopoly and Sorry and other Milton Bradley/Parker Brothers are almost entirely contests of luck. If you are the winner you can't say that you are better than the other players. The majority of your victory was up to dice.
/..
There are some games that involve skill in america, but they are mostly based on knowledge and not strategy. Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble are two. Even our war games are primarily luck based. Risk has dice, Axis + Allies has dice, even the great Shogun (Samurai Swords) has dice.
If you head over to http://www.boardgamegeek.com you'll see there are a ton of board games that just arne't well known in america, but there are two or three companies who bring them over in English. Games like Settlers of Catan, El Grande, and my favorite Puerto Rico! These games are games of pure strategy, and you need a lot of friends to make them happen, so sorry rest of
The majority of them fall into a few categories. Tile laying, where you lay out cardboard tiles to form different things. Wooden Cube: where you place wooden cubes in different "bins". And bargaining, where you make deals with other players and make deals to achieve victory. Every game is different and contains multiple different aspects of the three categories. I love Puerto Rico so much because it doesn't fall into any of the 3 categories. It is a pure game of best strategy wins.
So, next time you have 3 to 5 people and nothing to do get yourself a german board game. boardgamegeek will be sure to reccomend a good one. If you have 10 hours you can play Die Macher! the simulation of the german senate. I again highly reccomend Puerto Rico. Also, check out some of the "spiell de jahres"(sp) in german it means game of the year. I think Puerto Rico and Settlers are both past winners. Settlers of Catan is probably the most popular and a good starter game because it does involve a slight random factor.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
I explore and photograph graveyards. I've been to about 120 in Cook County, Illinois, and perhaps 40 or so elsewhere.
With the exception of the modern "memorial park" cemeteries, something interesting can be found in nearly any cemetery. Even the smallest is likely to have something - I particularly like discovering hollow monuments made of zinc hidden away in small urban graveyards.
Of course, there is a geek side to this as well - cameras and lenses are as much a high-tech device as any computer, more in the field of optics than electronics. Primarily, I use Nikon D100 and N90 bodies with a Nikon 28-105mm lens; I have 18-35mm and 70-210mm lenses, and a 35mm shift lens as well.
Still, the technology is not my primary focus; it is merely a tool to be used in collecting and preserving the images of graveyards before they are gone.
My book, "Graveyards of Chicago", can be found on Amazon; and my website is graveyards.com
i write stories, poetry, and songs (had a band, sang, for said band...) play a reasonably nice guitar at an abysmal skill level, and read when the neuro problems ease up enough to let me. Oh, and i paint, with enthusiasm (and acrylics) if not with talent... I have a lot of houseplants (some of which are in good health) and a cat.
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
The best thing I ever did was discover the rock climbing gym. Now I got twice a week, have lost 25 pounds in the process and feel great! Normal exercise bored me to death, but there is something about hanging on the wall 20 feet up and puzzling out how to make the next move that is such a cool blend of mental and physical that I'm a total addict now. I have even started outdoor rock climbing on sports routes... very different, very cool.
Sig under construction since 1998.
Nah, just kidding...
Actually, the truth is, and this is going to sound strange for a six foot, 275 pound ex-marine, I like interior decorating, shopping for art and furniture, cooking, reading, and watching anime DVDs. I'm currently setting up my next apartment, and it's going to be a beautiful, serene bastion of order and grace. Everything in it is going to be coordinated; bright, white paint, chrome, white, and "blonde" wood furniture, lots of chrome and lucite... Basically a modern, minimalist environment where chaos is totally banished. I'm going to get home from work, put on a Vanilla candle, put something quiet on the CD-Player, AND FIRE UP UNREAL TOURNAMENT!!! BOO, YA!
(Ahem. Heheh. Sorry, didn't mean to ruin the mood...)
Farewell! It's been a fine buncha years!