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Tell me about your hobby!
What do you do in your free time? Teach me about something you love to do, maybe we'll get some ideas for future groups from here!
What do you do in your free time? Teach me about something you love to do, maybe we'll get some ideas for future groups from here!
Acrylics. Watercolour. Contè. Coloured pencils. Ink with dip pen. Charcoal. Digital painting. Curating art shows. Poetry. Fiction. Editing. Reading. Critiquing with multiple levels of feedback. Knitting. Crochet. Sewing. Quilting. Beading. Flower arranging. Dm/gming. League of Legends. Minecraft. Asian dramas. Photography. Aikido. Yoga. Sending people presents. Traveling.
Things I love but am terrible at: Music, Singing, Dancing. Languages besides English.
One of these days I will have to decide what I want to do when I grow up. I expect my brain will freeze and need to be rebooted. :p
Mine is shitty programming for Discord bots and web scripts. I employ several coding practices that, based on a reading of Tildes's technical goals, may exclude me from contributing to its development when it goes open source. :P
I'm interested in desktop applications but very rarely have ideas for them. I also enjoy general tinkering, and after starting out by learning basic web development I've been trying to improve my skills in web design and building small sites. My girlfriend and I have been working on a web-based trading card game simulator for a while, and it's taught me a lot about client-server communication and some security concepts. I really enjoy the "trial by fire" approach to learning, and if nothing else, I can say that my hobby has contributed significantly to my Google prowess.
For desktop application ideas. Pick industries which are still paranoid to put anything in the cloud because a) regulatory reason b) the nature of their business. Biotech/pharma and financial services/banking are the two I found plenty of use-case fits to the desktop app even though I tried to approach them using SaaS.
Oo, good advice. Most of the stuff I've done in the past has been basic utility applications that just have subjectively better UX as a desktop app than a website, but that's a great idea for finding new things to do.
I play a terrifying amount of tabletop RPGs - at least once a week going on 32 years now. Deadlands classic, Earthdawn, Unknown Armies, Paranoia, Continuum, and D&D Next/5e are the systems I usually use. In fact they've all blended together in my head in to one horrifying meta-system. I am usually the GM.
I write. I find 99.9% of modern science fiction to be terrible, boring rehashes of old, frankly ludicrous and unscientific ideas popularized in the 50s-70s. I feel like someone needs to teach these idiots how it's done. Someday I might have something ready for publication. Right now I just have scenes, snippets, idea files, some character profiles, and a future timeline plot that could melt Kurzweil's brain.
I am a music addict. My rather poor internet access has put quite a dent in this hobby recently, don't get to listen to nearly as much new music as I would like. Fiber is coming later this year, though, so that'll get sorted.
My other hobby is my job - systems administration. Give me a budget and I'll build you something even google can't come up with... because it's still fun, somehow. I find 'cloud computing' to be extinction-level idiocy, I'm from the old unix school, not this outsourced fad that we're all going to come to regret. I do all operating systems and all networks and most databases and virtualization platforms. Once you've done it long enough it's all the same.
I also read up on physics and nuclear power systems, more of an ongoing interest than a hobby. I'd also class tildes aka 'how to make a not-shit social network' one of those ongoing interests.
I have no reason at all to be both self-conscious about this revelation and interested in your scenes, snippets, and tentative plot.
That reason being that not only do I also write, but I also enjoy stories that try to explore ideas of human nature rather than some hokey "look how technology/aliens/humanity is going to destroy us all" plot. I might disagree with the author's understanding of human nature, but I'll respect that attempt to express it.
In this vein, I have spent the last few weeks adapting moves / concepts / principles from DungeonWorld and The Sprawl into a 5e campaign I'm building, modeled after a mash-up of the Dying Earth and a generation ship a la the Whorl... which I guess makes my writing pretty close to the terrible, boring rehash side of things, but at least I try to steal from interesting writers ;)
I'm also prone to go to fairly ridiculous lengths chasing a particular sound e.g., my flurry of posting over the last day of Bahamian / Jamaican soul -- most reggae doesn't do much for me, but I'm in love with the Jimmy Cliff / Jay Mitchell (ignore the jank-tastic video) blend of soul / reggae
Well, that settles it then. We'll need a forum mode here built for facilitating tabletop RPGs. ;)
My hobbies are mostly centered around consuming various forms of art, but primarily music. I love music with all of my heart- so much so that I am striving to create a career around my passion for it. I try to fill as much time as I can exploring albums that I have not heard, diving into genres that I love and genres that I am curious about, and exploring music that my friends have recommended me. Further into that, I like to spend time creating my own music. (Hopefully this will go somewhere!)
Music is my primary area of interest, however I love film and video games and visual art too, however I am still far from having as much experience/knowledge in those areas as I would like to. Thankfully, I've got some time off soon that I am eager to fill with all sorts of things such as these!
I also love to write, but I'm not super great at it. I like to write from the heart, so most of the time my writing just ends up like a diary entry.
I have a few hobbies.
I like board games - I have a lot of them, and try to play games at least once per week. I made a topic about it here a couple of weeks ago and it led me to some interesting games that I didn't have, which was exciting!
I like making things, and the most recent incarnation of that is 3D Printing. I have Creality CR-10S, which is a pretty decent beginners printer. I've made a bunch of little things, mostly toys for my kids.
I play Ultimate (Frisbee). It's intense. I'm too old and unfit even for my low-key league.
I read. I write. I drink. I occasionally pretend to play piano. I stumble my way through learning Spanish, and neo4J, and python. I try to convince people that talking about politics isn't the end of the world if you come into the discussion willing to listen (and usually fail, but the attempt is fun anyway). I get peer pressured into watching more movies than I care to see. I run, but not enough. I geek out over predictive analytics and behavioral science, which leads to an outsized interest in wanting this place to work.
And when I'm not doing any of those things, maybe I'll play a video game or two. Used to play board games more, but the crew I played with all moved to different cities. So now I'm just sitting around with Ghost Stories and Dead of Winter hanging around my place. Staring at me. Haunting my dreams.
Did you succeed in that place to work?
I'm not sure what you mean. What place?
Ah I think I misread you :)
"I geek out over predictive analytics and behavioral science, which leads to an outsized interest in wanting this place to work."
You want tildes to work, not to find work where you do predictive analytics and behavioral science.
Right. Sorry, I can see how that sentence was unclear now.
Predictive analytics and behavioral science are required for setting up any successful link aggregating site, especially one that highly values user input (like every social media platform). I've got a lot feelings in both fields, and I'm excited to see where this place goes based on available evidence of what is effective and what isn't.
My hobbies are mostly music and video games, but I also enjoy film.
I also really like manga and my girlfriend has been watching anime with me, so now I can enjoy both the black and whites of manga panels and the (hopefully) colorful animation!
I've tried to start writing more, because I used to do it a lot more when I was younger. I mostly write short poetry but I kind of want to try short stories as well. I've also recently gotten back into reading and I'm currently working my way through House of Leaves!
I used to play MUDs for a while when I was between the age of like 10 and 16-ish, and my favorite codebase is by far MOO. It's a shame to me that MUDs are so thinly spread population-wise aside from a few of the big ones and the MUSHes. Sometimes I still tinker with old MOO databases that my friend hosts for me if I ask.
Oh man that's a fun one, like a modern day In the Mountains of Madness
My hobby is lifting weights. I'm not super built or anything, it's just something I enjoy. I train in a powerlifting style, although I'm nowhere near competition level. I love the inner competition of it, much like running. I love the idea of watching the graph of how much I can lift increase over time.
Other than that I don't have much time for hobbies. I went back to school for a CS degree. I have a degree in political science but discovered later on that I'm much more passionate about software engineering. So, most of my time is spent doing that. This'll be my first summer off since I started back. I'm looking forward to some rest.
I've finally reached the point in my life where I have to break down and get a gym membership in the winter. I can't run outside when it's below like 50 degrees and if I don't work out regularly I start feeling really lazy and get extra hard on myself.
Respect for the powerlifting. Maybe I'll crack and start weight training one day, but for now I'm just a runner.
I hear you on the feeling lazy part. If take any appreciable time off from the gym I feel so bad. I don't even know exactly when that changed for me but it's a nice side benefit that keeps me motivated.
I gotta get back to running. I was up to running a 5k every other day until around the time that my final projects and finals started. I'd finally gotten back to where I enjoyed it and found it very meditative. I need to make it happen tomorrow morning.
I have the worst time trying to work running in with powerlifting. My leg muscles just refuse to get on board for even a 2-miler.
I took my youngest daughter for her first 10k, through the training team and everything, and I was dying the whole time. Feet, knees, you name it and it hurt.
I can get behind long walks. And now that the weather is warmer we can start hitting the MTB trails.
So... did you make it happen?
No… But I did go for a long walk.
Better than nothing! :P
Big fan of lifting here.
My gym trains powerlifting, weightlifting, and strongman. In my 4 years there I have competed locally in all three. It's a good time and low-stakes so there isn't a ton of pressure (other than the bar, obvs.).
100% agree that it is fun to watch the numbers grow.
I love to build things. Anything from furniture to
dioramas, to cosplay outfits. I've refinished entire sets of mid century modern furniture and I even used to buy and trade it. I've also "made" lots of things with my hands, anything three dimensional is up my alley from a series of chicken wire mushroom clouds to halo helmets. More recently I've gotten really into learning how machines communicate and I've also decided to get my ccna. Getting my books on Monday; I'm really excited! If anyone has any self taught experience or study tips on the cert please message me!!!
That all sounds really cool! I hope to see some of your creations in ~creative. (But only if you feel like sharing, of course.)
What sorts of fandoms do you make cosplay outfits for?
I'm not really a slave to any particular fandom. I personally like anything with armor and I have a soft spot for anything post apoc. I'd be into making almost anything though. I think it's more about using the tools to create something from nothing that I get off on. And walking around looking cute in armor at cons haha. I like halo, but honestly the suit I'm working on is coming from a very shallow place lol. I also have a lot of 'been done before' projects on my bucket list. I'd live to build a movie accurate flux capacitor.
That actually seems like a good way to approach cosplay, focusing on the accomplishment of creating something. (And looking cute in armor also sounds fun, haha~)
I've never managed to get into cosplay, and I think it's because my enthusiasm for a particular costume/fandom didn't keep me motivated past my (overly long) planning stages. I'm impressed by folks who do it; there are so many skills that go into it!
I honestly started doing it purely out of wanting a reason to make cool stuff people were into so it's not really even so much about a particular IP for me. I get exposed quickly as a little bit of a faux nerd or a casual.
But that's ok with me, like I said I'm in it for the making and the community, but some people can be snobby about it. I wish I engaged in this thing called planning though. I usually see something and just dive in, and it puts me in a position where I have a lot of stuff in the works so not a ton gets finished lol.
I think cosplaying and making cosplay outfits can be compared to tattoos. You agonize over your first one, but once you get it you realize that tattoos are just super fun and fucking cool. You still put thought and effort into them but you're not at like a sick to your stomach level about it.
You should try an easy character. I thought of a funny but stupid character I want to do. Have you seen this laser girl meme? It's suck a simple costume and then I'd just legit roll around in red yarn and walk around a con. Super simple and fun!
As someone who likes the idea of tattoos but can't get one because of indecision, that makes sense :D
Something easy to put together (and maybe a bit silly) does sound like a good first project. Actually, my most recent idea is a character from a roleplaying podcast, and it might be less intimidating because I can use a lot of items I already own...
What's the character?
Aubrey, from The Adventure Zone. Punk/goth magician with a giant white rabbit called Dr. Harris Bonkers :D
My hobbies are listening to and discovering music and reading about various science-y things online in an attempt to find a career and just to learn. I'm going to try to start reading books again in June, too.
I started running about 2 years ago, never looked back since then, it's taking me about 6h/week and it's been great both physically and as a way to think through problems, ideas etc ... some kind of "conscious" daily body and brain cleanup routine, I just wish I had started earlier and I'm crossing my fingers to not get hurt and be forced to stop.
I completely agree about the cleanup bit, it's almost like I'm a new person after a run. Out of curiosity, what are your favorite distances? I enjoy 3-4 miles because it takes less than a half-hour and leaves me feeling refreshed rather than tired.
yes 5-6km is a sweet spot for busy days. If I really have a problem to think through and I've time for it, I'll usually stretch that to 10-12km, I can still reasonably function for the rest of the day after that.
I've also started "planning" longer runs on week-ends in the last couple of months, but those are definitely more demanding in term of time: ~2h of running and then I'm tired for the rest of the day. I did a 25k yesterday at sunset along the waterfront, it was absolutely amazing.
Hard agree about the 5-6k sweet spot. Long enough to feel like I've done something with my life, not so long that some part of my body is angry about my life choices. When I'm deep in the summer stride, 10 miles gets to be about the max of what I want to do, and even that is only after a running mate has manipulated me into marathon training for the previous 3 weeks.
I injured my knee a few years back after a winter break from running and wanting so badly to get back into things that I didn't bother stretching (bad combo). It sucked, but proper treatment and waiting until the knee could sustain running pressure worked fine. It was a super hard three-to-four months though.
So I've been pretty cautious in terms of how hard I push myself anymore, but the act of running itself is still a top-tier "super happy fun time" for me.
I haven't had a single week without at least one run in since I started, missing 3 or 4 months sounds like some kind of drug rehab :/ Definitely keeping in mind to never do winter breaks then :D
Glad you're able to run again ;) And yeah, none of us are pro-athletes ( at least I don't think so? ;) ) so there isn't much to win in pushing our bodies beyond their limits if it's putting at risk our ability to do something we love.
I absolutely love music. Its a constant for me since in almost every other hobby I have, I either play music or it is directly related to music. I'm a sucker for strong melodies and as such everything from EDM, Classical music, Rock, Rap or Country I'll listen to depending on my mood or what I'm doing.
One of the few hobbies I have where I don't listen to music would be reading. For me, reading is a time to set aside everything and just be alone with a book for some time where i can let myself stop focusing on my own live and let someone else's words carry me away to a new place.
Besides these two things I also play some video games and watch shows but they feel almost secondary to my main hobbies.
One last hobby I wish I had more time for was theatre, With my degree and school it has been difficult to be a part of anything beyond my local choir but I would love to get back into it once I get a bit more settled in my life.
Studying foreign languages (i.e. Japanese because I'm a filthy weeaboo), running in the mountains, cycling, manga, anime, programming, building cool stuff.
I deeply enjoy linguistics. It's a problem. But I never keep up with any language long enough to retain much of a dictionary (for some reason my rote memory doesn't work very well; I rely a lot on relational memory).
So to that end I've spent time trying to learn Latin, Mandarin, Japanese, Portugese, Irish (the celtic variant), Swedish, French, German, and Spanish. Currently, I can only really stumble through Spanish though.
I've attempted Latin, Gothic, Gaulish, Old English (Seeing a pattern here?), and Spanish. I kinda want to try something crazy like Soresol....
Nice to see a thriving community of fellow weebs getting established here! Though I suppose with how massive anime and manga are it's inevitable.
My newest hobby is embroidery; I used to knit, but embroidery is less mentally taxing and easier for me to put down if I get tired or need to do other things. My upcoming project is embroidering a phylogenetic tree to decorate my graduation cap.
I'm also trying to get a science writing blog off the ground, focusing on citizen science projects. So I guess writing, too?
I watch a lot of motorsport. I've had to cut back for the sake of my studies, but at my peak I was watching well over 20 racing series. I also enjoy reading about motorsport history and the technology that goes into racing cars. My preferred series are F1 and endurance classics like the Le Mans 24hrs, the Nurburgring 24hrs, the Bathurst 12hrs etc.
Procrastinating, perusing fanfiction, and snatching good deals on Steam. Currently trying to one hundred percent Battlefield One, and beat every game in the Megaman series.
I like learning new things, so I try to teach myself things I find interesting. I never intend to become a professional in any of the things I learn, I just want to have general knowledge about them. I also enjoy reading books and I like writing snippets of stories, but I never tried finishing a whole long story. I suck at drawing, but every once in a while I try to draw something that ends up resembling what a 5 years old would draw.
Five year olds are really uninhibited at drawing, so you're starting at a good place. Please feel welcome in ~creative!
I wish, but unfortunately I have the fears of an older person and the results of a 5 year old.
Still o.k. I have the attention span of a five year old and suck at calligraphy. XD Enjoy the stage you're in!
Me too, I can barely pay attention to anything for more than a few seconds. The only exception is when I am reading a book, nothing can distract me there, I even managed to read during a party while everyone was dancing and there was loud music.
Fortunately my calligraphy is decent, not great but readable and I can make it somewhat fancy if I want. However, my cursive has been degrading since university because I had to write everything in print there.
Within the last few years, cooking.
Video games are still my favorite pastime, but in terms of a more "productive" or engaging activity, cooking takes the cake (hah, sorry).
Going to college made me realize that I loved eating out because I liked tastier and higher quality food. Since I get to save money/have creative freedom when I can work in my own kitchen, I learned how to cook from scratch. Tidbits from videos, books, family techniques, etc. It was incredibly daunting at first. Rewatching videos on how to simply dice an onion correctly and getting nervous when I was about to start. Actually cutting it wrong because I began overthinking it. Then eventually realizing it isn't scary at all. Cooking is a process--you experiment, you learn, and you own up to your mistakes when you can recognize where you went wrong and right. It feels so much like a blend of art and science, it reminds me of playing a video game in the sense that I need to constantly refine my approach and technique. Each attempt is a new way for me to apply new ideas and see if I can bear the fruits of my labor.
It was really my biggest eye-opener within recent years for sure.
I read a bunch, mostly fantasy (I highly recommend Sanderson and Rothfuss if you're looking for some good as well as thicc books).
I listen to a lot of music, but not as much as I'd like. I lean towards industrial rock/metal, rock, punk, post punk, indie, folk, electronic, psychedelic and any combination of them that sounds good. I find I don't go as deep as I feel like I should in each genre though, because I usually don't inhabit one genre exploring every nook and cranny at once.
I'm putting together a vintage stereo, most of which I usually get in sketchy condition and attempt to fix up. Consumer hi-fi wise, I have a receiver/8-track combo, turntable, cassette deck, reel to reel machine. Also a pro mixer and semi-pro 4-track cassette recorder.
I collect analog audio formats. I currently have a bunch of vinyl (LPs, 45s, one 78), numerous cassettes, a few 8-Tracks, and a couple dozen open reel tapes. If you've seen a youtuber called Techmoan's videos on old, outdated, or obscure audio formats, those basically make up my long term wishlist.
I'd like to make music; I haven't made much progress but I'm slowly learning guitar.
When I have time I play video games, most commonly Path of Exile and Overwatch.
I also write code a lot, for work and as a hobby. Rust and Ruby are my languages of choice when given a tabula rasa.