DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Hobbies

Man, those are the two things I want most in my life. My dream car would be a 1967-68 or 1973 Firebird and I've been looking for a nice, but inexpensive, bike to take up cyclocross. I have an 1986 Schwinn that was given to me last summer and now I can't get enough of biking. It's in great shape, but I just need something more modern, light, and built with cyclocross in mind.

I have my 1995 Mazda Miata sitting in the garage with a clutch that shoots straight to the floor. I'd love to get it back on the road after sitting around for two years. Watching Wheeler Dealers has given me the bug to try fixing it on my own.

Besides things with wheels, I collect comics, read dawgtalkers religiously, and have a decent movie collection on DVD and bluray.

All of it. It blows my mind. I think the discoveries we are making are going to change the world.

Mine is a 1969.... not on your list for some reason.

For bikes, you definitely want to go with the integrated brake shifters (brifters) . Once I upgraded, I can't imagine going back to any other type of shifter.

j/c

Wish I had the mind for quantum physics. You guys amaze and humble me.

My hobbies lie a little closer to the Earth:

Gardening: I can't get over how intrigued I am to see the (literal) fruits of hones, hard labor eventually end up on my dinner plate. I'm a perpetual novice, but LOVE the difference between store-bought produce and the flavor of something that was still alive and growing 10 minutes before I consume it.

High-end stereo sound on a budget: My rig is smallish... but expertly tuned to the size/shape of my little listening room. I've never paid full price for any of my components (never e-bay: always purchased in salons, from local/regional consignment racks), and relish the looks of shock that fall upon the faces of my well-heeled friends/acquaintances, who have spent 5-8 X the money on their gear. I still love to spin vinyl, but simply don't have the time to enjoy like I used to. Maybe when I retire, I'll throw myself back into it whole-hog. I have over 500 12" LP's, many of which are collector's items.

Loop Madness: A few years ago, I added a 'loop station' to my ancient arsenal of amplified gear for my cello. It's forced me to think differently about how I make music in Real Time.... meaning:

1. I'm not playing with others, from start to finish
2. I have to re-think the structure of the piece, forcing me to play bass lines, comps, melodies AND solos... all while keeping the format compact enough to make a satisfying 4-5 minute performance.
3. I have to play EVERY ROLE... from start to finish.

To date, I've slammed out some cover versions of "Come Together," "Killing Me Softly," "Superstition," Joni Mitchell's "Dry Cleaner From Des Moines," and a half-azzed version of Pink Floyd's "Money." We''l see what I come up with next. If I ever make something that meets my own personal standards, I'll post it up on Youtube, and send you Dawgs a link.

(Maybe the mental accuity aspects of this venture will someday translate to my posts, so you Dawgs don't have to read so many eye-bleeding joints by me- good luck with that one!)

Kitchen Kapers: My Wife and I are always trying new things, and are constantly experimenting with new takes on old recipes. On our mutual off-nights away from work, "Dinner" is an adventure in collaboration, communication and improv on-the-fly. Some of the best meals we've ever made in 31 years of marriage came from 'Dinnerdate Night.'

Podcasts: I've sought out mind-expanding resources that push me outside my comfort zone. They download automatically on subscription, and I listen to them while doing mundane things like mowing the lawn, household chores, running weekly errands, walking Miss Bella. There's something truly surreal about taking a walk through a metropark with the family pet, while listening to an Oxford-style debate from "Intelligence Squared" on the subject: "Liberals Are Stifling Intellectual Diversity On Campus"... or hearing how a naive teenager was seduced into selling reefer to an undercover female police plant in his local high school ('This American Life': "What I Did For Love," 2/10/2012).

That's it for now. I'm into plenty other things these days. All of them are legal.

Farting, drinking, chasing women, (I have no clue what to do if I ever caught one) I guess it would be like fishing just throw them back if I caught them lol

Do you a loop effects pedal or loops on a computer?

I like finding random tech things and build or implement. Example, I saw a rasberry Pi arcade which I plan to build this summer/fall for the man cave.

Let's see.

Browns and Cavs
Cars
Computers
Shooting at the range
Working out
Video games here and there
Outdoors (camping, biking, hiking, fishing, etc)

Here is my next Raspberry Pi/Arduino project:
http://store.heatermeter.com/

It is a smoker control for grills. I've already got a BBQ Guru for my Big Green Egg, but I do not have the wireless model. Figured this might be a fun project to do so I can watch keep an eye on my pit temps from my phone

I've also fiddled with the Netduino a bit on the Microsoft Micro Framework.

I've seen some implementations of the Raspberry Pi implementation of the arcade as well. Pretty cool.

that smoker tool is pretty cool, you can probaly stream that to your phone and set alarms, like text me if the temp goes too low/high...

I just got rid of cable, and will use the Sling tv to get ESPN and kids channels.. To make it easier I was going to buy an Amazon fire stick, then I thought, why not buy a raspberry pi, I can customize it , can stream my plex media server, can hook up an over the air tv card, can connect it my xbox one. Its, faster, better, cheaper.... I must now build it!

I want to build my own kegerator but I can't really justify spending all that money just for something to look cool and will cause me to drink more beer lol.

It's like I read a blog and think.. "Wow, that sounds cool, let me see if I can learn it/build it" I am playing with AngularJS right now even though I probably won't be using it anytime soon lol

stomp box.

Awesome!

I wish I could hear it.

Maybe some day, I'll toss something up on the 'tube. If I do, I'll drop a link on here.

I wouldn't say no to any Firebird between 1967 and 1973, but those three years are my particular favorites.

I am definitely looking for something with the brifters, along with an aluminum frame, carbon fork, and disc brakes. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of money to drop on a new bike, so I'm constantly scanning eBay and craigslist for a deal.

Collecting BB/FB cards,stamps,coins,playing guitar in church praise choir group,model HO railroading,art work-pastel and oil murals,Browns and Tribe memrobilia and attire and finally working on show car.

j/c

Old hobby started anew: pitching to my daughter. Plus, pitching to my 2 nephews. (they have a batting cage in their barn. I call it a barn - technically it's a "steel building".)

I play ice hockey, and that commitment ranges from once a week to 3 times a week. I also go to the gym, but I don't think I'm into it enough to call it a hobby.

I play video games quite a bit.

I'm also a bit of a project guy, but probably on a lower level than others on here.

I don't enjoy it enough to be a hobby, but I'm the default IT person for my family.

It's also nit a hobby, but my gf and I spend a lot of time with our dog. Playing fetch, training, etc. I've been thinking about getting her into agility, which would definitely make it a hobby.

Lastly, beer. I love to drink it, and I love the craft beer scene (sometimes not the people, though). Trying new beers, it's really interesting what people are attempting/doing.

If you're ever trying to sell off any of those watches, or any future ones, let me know. I just started wearing them over the last few years and am trying to build a small collection...

I don't really have any true hobbies. I juggle playing goalie for 4 different men's league hockey teams, as well as providing a target for instructional stuff, as well as occasionally playing with the old guys on Saturday mornings at 6:45 (sounds brutal, but it is absolutely wonderful way to start your day off)

I love video games. I love PC sim-style games (just downloaded the new Cities:Skylines)

I've gotten more into craft beer over the the last few years. I don't know if that's a hobby. I don't make it or review it or blog, but I love to try certain styles, and whenever I am in a different city I get excited about checking out their local stuff.

I have been buying lots of watches on ebay. I have probably spent about $100 total, and have about 150 in total. (including the womens watches I have also been repairing)

I got some pretty nice watches too.

I got a really nice Seiko 5, that had a broken band. I really didn't want to wreck the band, so I took it to a local jeweler, and he was drooling over the thing. I hated to tell the guy that it was part of a "5 pound lot" of watches that I bought for roughly $20. There were nice Elgin and Armitron mens watches in that lot too. I also bought a nice lot of Armitron watches.

There were some really nice womens watches in that big lot. I don't know if anyone can really appreciate what 5 pounds of watches looks like, but the guy sent a medium flat rate box, the flatter one, and it was stuffed full, with some bubble wrap around the package of watches. It was incredible. I let my mom look through them and pick out whatever she wanted, and she picked out 8 really nice watches. There were Fossil watches, Jules Jurgenson, and others. Most are in really nice shape. Most just needed batteries, and a few needed the contact points cleaned in order to work, and a few just don't work at all. I have not yet torn down a mechanical movement all the way yet, but I bought 5 movements (only) to work on. My digital camera will get a lot of work when I tear down my 1st movement all the way. I want to make sure I can out the darn thing back together when I take it apart.

Anyway, it's been a fun hobby so far. I probably wound up putting $100 into tools as well. I bought a really nice couple of tools for opening watchbacks, and I also bought a nice watch press for putting backs back on. (and with which I absolutely destroyed the crystal on one of the 1st watches I used it on. lol) I get satisfaction knowing that I took a lot of things that were basically paperweights, and have repaired them to proper working condition.

I also bought a ton of watch batteries. Man, any local YTown dawgs who need a battery for their watch let me know. lol I bought lots of batteries from a seller on ebay, so I might have the one for your watch. I got 100-200 of some kinds for almost the same price as a 2 pack at Wal-Mart. Just crazy.

I have designated the extra watches that I don't have a home for to my church's rummage sale. I am not giving away any of my favorites though. Those that are heading that direction are probably going to be sold for a couple of bucks, and will be the no name versions. They are nice watches though.

I enjoy my watches. I would love to be able to build a nice display case for them, but woodwork is just beyond my physical capacity at this point. Maybe I'll save my pennies for the next several months and see if I can find something for sale cheap on ebay.

Used to coach,manage,sponor 10-11yr,12-13 yr and 14-15 yr old Baseball teams 14 yrs. On Board of Directors 10-10 1/2 years. Umped 8+ years. Very gratifying experience most of the years.