What are your hobbies?

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Astro Cat
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Astro Cat »

Count Lucanor wrote: July 8th, 2022, 11:30 pm My hobbies have evolved throughout the years, some stay, others fade away, then come back...

I try to make something out of my electric and acoustic guitars.
I fool around with music-making software.
I kept a blog, it is still up, but not updated in years.
Although it's still part of work (as an architect), I like to design and build 3D models in the computer just for the fun of it.
I have a non-fiction book club with some friends.
I collect vintage digital photos, maps and illustrations of my city's architecture, way back to the 18th century, trying to reconstruct its history for educational purposes. I also search for old videos concerning historical events of my country, edit them and post them in my Youtube channel.
Used to paint and sketch fairly well, not recently.
Some nights I waste too much time watching reaction videos.
I used to watch classic films in my youth. Now my daughter is discovering the genre and I'm getting interested again to keep up with her.
Internet forums, of course.
Neat! My girlfriend builds 3D models as an audio engineer. I've always thought the software and skills are pretty cool.
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
--Richard Feynman
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Astro Cat
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Astro Cat »

Sy Borg wrote: July 9th, 2022, 2:34 am Over the years, quite a few. A friend and I recently finished a mostly instrumental (double) album, which of course sank without a trace. A few years ago I found out that a book of my old cartoons had been published and was being sold without my permission. I was stoked! Good luck to whomever did it. I hope it sold well, but I suspect not :)

These days I'm writing satirical sci-fi and futurist short stories. Based on the (lack of) feedback from people I know, they are probably dreadful.

I love animals and their current rate of decimation pains me greatly, although I accept that the biosphere reshapes itself and humans are a change agent. So it goes, though it's a shame that the most intelligent and benign animals are going extinct while venomous, dangerous, vicious and swarming pest species are thriving. I enjoy interacting with local dogs and birds (and sometimes the dogs' humans haha).

Passive pastimes: mostly YT videos and random searches of whatever bee is in my bonnet at the time.
Heh I took a foray into writing horror (but I think I wrote that in my OP, I actually haven't re-read the OP in a while LOL). I know the feeling.
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
--Richard Feynman
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Astro Cat
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Astro Cat »

JackDaydream wrote: July 14th, 2022, 5:02 pm
Astro Cat wrote: June 29th, 2022, 4:34 am Well, seeing as I'm still the new kid on the block, I thought it'd be fun to get to know people maybe a little bit better.

What do you like to do when you're not working, studying, or telling internet people how wrong they are?

I'm a fan of horror movies and books, strategy board and card games (I have a group I hang out with most weekends at dive bars of all places to play games), pinball, modeling (I like doing pin-up and retro stuff), I try when I can (considering covid) to do live music occasionally. I've dabbled in trying to write my own horror short stories (and no, I'll never share until I don't hate my own writing!). I do video games when I can, currently rocking a Switch and my roommate has a PS5 that I use. I have a few plants that I try to keep alive but I wouldn't call myself a gardener or anything.

Of course I barely have time for any of this, LOL. But these are the things that I like. How about you?

Hello again,
I like fiction, including some horror, cyberpunk, steampunk and most genres. Doing English literature put me off reading for some time, but I got back into it after reading more alternative genres. I do experiment with writing fiction and I do share with others in workshops simply because feedback is useful for improving my writing. I have also been drawing for most of life but haven't done so for a couple of years, but would like to.

My other main hobby is music, most genres, except classical and opera. I love U2, The Psychedelic Furs, Bowie, Marc Almond, The Waterboys, The Fall and many many others. I probably spend almost as much time listening to music as reading.
What kind of horror do you like, any favorites? How about cyberpunk? I've been playing a lot of Cyberpunk 2077 and never knew I liked the genre until that.
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
--Richard Feynman
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Sy Borg
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Sy Borg »

Astro Cat wrote: July 15th, 2022, 1:26 am
Sy Borg wrote: July 9th, 2022, 2:34 am Over the years, quite a few. A friend and I recently finished a mostly instrumental (double) album, which of course sank without a trace. A few years ago I found out that a book of my old cartoons had been published and was being sold without my permission. I was stoked! Good luck to whomever did it. I hope it sold well, but I suspect not :)

These days I'm writing satirical sci-fi and futurist short stories. Based on the (lack of) feedback from people I know, they are probably dreadful.

I love animals and their current rate of decimation pains me greatly, although I accept that the biosphere reshapes itself and humans are a change agent. So it goes, though it's a shame that the most intelligent and benign animals are going extinct while venomous, dangerous, vicious and swarming pest species are thriving. I enjoy interacting with local dogs and birds (and sometimes the dogs' humans haha).

Passive pastimes: mostly YT videos and random searches of whatever bee is in my bonnet at the time.
Heh I took a foray into writing horror (but I think I wrote that in my OP, I actually haven't re-read the OP in a while LOL). I know the feeling.
To me, Stephen King is the benchmark in horror fiction. I wouldn't do it myself because I wouldn't want my head caught in so much negative stuff. That's why I stopped making atonal experimental music and shifted to more melodic and bouncy fare. Reading and listening to dark art is very different to making it because you need to go over and over the work, editing and refining. A few hours of relentless edginess can feel like a bit of assault.
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Pattern-chaser
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

Pattern-chaser wrote: July 4th, 2022, 6:12 am I'm reading a couple of fantasy series. One is the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone; I think it's 5 books, but I'm not sure because I bought a one-volume omnibus edition. The other is a series by R.A. Salvatore set in the Dungeons and Dragons™ world of the Forgotten Realms. I thought it was 13 books long, but I found out the other day that there're 37, at the last count!
Astro Cat wrote: July 15th, 2022, 1:24 am I have a friend that swears by Salvatore. 37 seems like a big investment, LOL. I have another friend that, whenever I'm trying to find some kind of horror novel to read, always tries to get me to read the Horus Heresy books (from the Warhammer 40k universe). I've said no way every time: I don't have much interest in the universe and it's a huuuuge investment because of how many books there are.
Salvatore is no Ursula LeGuin, but he (?) is not too bad, as fantasy authors go. The books are not high-art fantasy, but more like a family-viewing action film. Simple and fun.
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

Astro Cat wrote: July 15th, 2022, 1:25 am My girlfriend builds 3D models as an audio engineer. I've always thought the software and skills are pretty cool.
I have a lifetime love of audio electronics and mechanics (speakers, etc), but my professional work was always with digital hardware. 😥 I would've loved to work as an audio engineer, but the opportunity never came up. 😥 It's all definitely pretty cool. 😎😉
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Sy Borg
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Sy Borg »

Pattern-chaser wrote: July 15th, 2022, 7:36 am
Astro Cat wrote: July 15th, 2022, 1:25 am My girlfriend builds 3D models as an audio engineer. I've always thought the software and skills are pretty cool.
I have a lifetime love of audio electronics and mechanics (speakers, etc), but my professional work was always with digital hardware. 😥 I would've loved to work as an audio engineer, but the opportunity never came up. 😥 It's all definitely pretty cool. 😎😉
Not sure what it's like in a professional capacity but I greatly enjoyed engineering our album with the luxury of unlimited time. I expect that time pressures would reduce the fun, as it does for graphic artists I've known.
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by etcetera »

Welp. I learned about this forum from my girlfriend and have mostly been lurking, but wanted to chime in to make a correction. While I am an audio engineer, I haven’t worked in live sound since COVID. My career is in acoustic design. I’m just an apprentice right now, learning the ropes. The 3D models are to run acoustic simulations. I do a lot of stuff on ConnectCAD and work with programs yo design AVL systems. Tedious, but fun. Definitely time consuming.

As for hobbies, besides sound stuff, I share a lot of the same interests as my partner. Games, horror, etc. but I also like plants and gardening, sewing, painting or generally creating things.

Lately I’ve enjoyed skimming through these forums and learning about various philosophical concepts. I’m no genius like Astro Cat, but I enjoy learning. I am a perpetual student, so I’m glad to have been introduced to this site.
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by AmericanKestrel »

Welcome to the forum
My hobbies change. It seems i take something up and am intensely involved, learn everything I can, and then i quit completely, done with it. I took up oil painting, mostly self-taught, and my favorite artist is Van Gogh. I painted a landscape which hangs in my house and i get compliments on it. I no longer paint. I love to write, published several short stories, one in Kenyon Review, honorable mention in Ploughshares award, got an MFA, published a novel, which was harder than writing my novel which took 10 years. Never wrote again, i hardly ever read much fiction anymore. I learnt to bike at age 60, rode on several trails, gave away the bike. I could never take it on the road. I have always loved philosophy, i am in love with Advaita Vedanta. Taught myself Sanskrit, and translating Sanskrit works to English. Currently that is my hobby and I am consumed by it. I am a good cook, practice yoga, and love birding. Thank you for asking.
"The Serpent did not lie."
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Astro Cat
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Astro Cat »

etcetera wrote: July 16th, 2022, 1:30 am Welp. I learned about this forum from my girlfriend and have mostly been lurking, but wanted to chime in to make a correction. While I am an audio engineer, I haven’t worked in live sound since COVID. My career is in acoustic design. I’m just an apprentice right now, learning the ropes. The 3D models are to run acoustic simulations. I do a lot of stuff on ConnectCAD and work with programs yo design AVL systems. Tedious, but fun. Definitely time consuming.

As for hobbies, besides sound stuff, I share a lot of the same interests as my partner. Games, horror, etc. but I also like plants and gardening, sewing, painting or generally creating things.

Lately I’ve enjoyed skimming through these forums and learning about various philosophical concepts. I’m no genius like Astro Cat, but I enjoy learning. I am a perpetual student, so I’m glad to have been introduced to this site.
You're here! Welcome to the asylum (she says, being a noob here herself). Now I'm sure it will be weird to bring up weird topics that appear here in normal conversations. I should say I'm sorry for getting you into this, but maybe it will be fun. lol
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
--Richard Feynman
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Astro Cat
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Astro Cat »

AmericanKestrel wrote: July 16th, 2022, 2:24 am Welcome to the forum
My hobbies change. It seems i take something up and am intensely involved, learn everything I can, and then i quit completely, done with it. I took up oil painting, mostly self-taught, and my favorite artist is Van Gogh. I painted a landscape which hangs in my house and i get compliments on it. I no longer paint. I love to write, published several short stories, one in Kenyon Review, honorable mention in Ploughshares award, got an MFA, published a novel, which was harder than writing my novel which took 10 years. Never wrote again, i hardly ever read much fiction anymore. I learnt to bike at age 60, rode on several trails, gave away the bike. I could never take it on the road. I have always loved philosophy, i am in love with Advaita Vedanta. Taught myself Sanskrit, and translating Sanskrit works to English. Currently that is my hobby and I am consumed by it. I am a good cook, practice yoga, and love birding. Thank you for asking.
I have always thought that Sanskrit writing is beautiful. I can understand why you'd be really into it even if just on an aesthetic level. Very cool (also, I love birds)
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
--Richard Feynman
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Re: What are your hobbies?

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Astro Cat wrote: July 15th, 2022, 1:25 am My girlfriend builds 3D models as an audio engineer. I've always thought the software and skills are pretty cool.
Pattern-chaser wrote: July 15th, 2022, 7:36 am I have a lifetime love of audio electronics and mechanics (speakers, etc), but my professional work was always with digital hardware. 😥 I would've loved to work as an audio engineer, but the opportunity never came up. 😥 It's all definitely pretty cool. 😎😉
Sy Borg wrote: July 15th, 2022, 10:48 pm Not sure what it's like in a professional capacity but I greatly enjoyed engineering our album with the luxury of unlimited time. I expect that time pressures would reduce the fun, as it does for graphic artists I've known.
I'm sure engineering an album could be fun, but you can't beat real, actual, engineering. Ah, the joys of designing and building hi-fi audio power amplifiers! I've done that quite a few times over the years; many designs, fewer implementations, but it's all fun!
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etcetera
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by etcetera »

AmericanKestrel wrote: July 16th, 2022, 2:24 am Welcome to the forum
My hobbies change. It seems i take something up and am intensely involved, learn everything I can, and then i quit completely, done with it. I took up oil painting, mostly self-taught, and my favorite artist is Van Gogh. I painted a landscape which hangs in my house and i get compliments on it. I no longer paint. I love to write, published several short stories, one in Kenyon Review, honorable mention in Ploughshares award, got an MFA, published a novel, which was harder than writing my novel which took 10 years. Never wrote again, i hardly ever read much fiction anymore. I learnt to bike at age 60, rode on several trails, gave away the bike. I could never take it on the road. I have always loved philosophy, i am in love with Advaita Vedanta. Taught myself Sanskrit, and translating Sanskrit works to English. Currently that is my hobby and I am consumed by it. I am a good cook, practice yoga, and love birding. Thank you for asking.
You sound very well-rounded. I also enjoy Sanskrit. While studies have been shoved to the wayside somewhat, I have spent a lot of time learning the language throughout my years as a yoga instructor. I’ve been “teaching” for ten years and practicing yoga for more than 20 years. One of the things that has always intrigued me about it is the origins and philosophical interpretations of mythology. I adore mythology and really enjoy learning about historical connections to various mythological concepts. My Sanskrit is rusty since I stopped teaching yoga regularly right before COVID, but I still easily recognize roots of words enough to get the gist of what’s being said in texts.

I stopped teaching because my primary studio closed. I was offered positions at several other studios, but most leaned heavily on the spiritual side of things and, well, I’m simply not a very spiritual person. At least not in the sense of it relating to higher powers. My instructional approach is non-dogmatic.

I guess that’s one of the reasons I am excited to have learned about this forum; to explore more of the philosophical interpretations of various ideas as they relate to my practice, and of course to learn new things in general.
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by anonymous66 »

Astro Cat wrote: June 29th, 2022, 4:34 am Well, seeing as I'm still the new kid on the block, I thought it'd be fun to get to know people maybe a little bit better.

What do you like to do when you're not working, studying, or telling internet people how wrong they are?

I'm a fan of horror movies and books, strategy board and card games (I have a group I hang out with most weekends at dive bars of all places to play games), pinball, modeling (I like doing pin-up and retro stuff), I try when I can (considering covid) to do live music occasionally. I've dabbled in trying to write my own horror short stories (and no, I'll never share until I don't hate my own writing!). I do video games when I can, currently rocking a Switch and my roommate has a PS5 that I use. I have a few plants that I try to keep alive but I wouldn't call myself a gardener or anything.

Of course I barely have time for any of this, LOL. But these are the things that I like. How about you?
My family and I have enjoyed playing Catan and various expansions and versions for about 20 years - and I just started going to board game related Meetup groups. I played Phoenicia on Thursday for the first time. My wife and I enjoy SpaceBase. My favorite version of Catan is the Explorers and Pirate expansion.

I don't read as much as I used to - but I still do a fair amount. I subscribe to Philosophy Now magazine, and I've been reading some of Hume. I'm also about 80% through War and Peace.
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Re: What are your hobbies?

Post by Papus79 »

Some of the things I've worked with off and on for the past fifteen or twenty years:

- Mixed Filipino and Southern Chinese martial arts (Inosanto blend mostly - ie. Kali, Arnis, Kuntao, Panantukan, Wing Chun, etc.).
- Producing drum n bass and some dubstep (not all of it's on my SoundCloud, just stuff since late 2008 or so).
- Hermetic Philosophy, Western Esotericism, started with a lot of open curiosity, got more into trimming it down to see what's there and what doesn't get lost in speculation.
- Following GameB and IDW thinkers (particularly interested in Daniel Schmachtenberger, Samo Burja, Jordan Hall, Jaimie Wheal, Rebel Wisdom and Stoa, etc.)
- I bought my self a wood lathe a few years ago (2020), still need to get my tools sharpened and break it out again.
- Trying to get my golf swing up to actual play, might be a while - horrible with drivers but I can do okay with a 5 iron.
- As of this year - cigars, I'm exploring a lot of the maderos (dark wrapper), sometimes flavored / infused (thinking Upsetters here) but not always.
Humbly watching Youtube in Universe 25. - Me
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