Everybody Needs a Hobby

[ACamp1900]

I've been thinking of creating a thread like this for a while now and finally found enough 'want to'...

There are threads for all kinds of more 'main stream' hobbies or topics we pass time with that deserve there own thread(s) (cooking, reading, hunting,.. stuff like that) ... but what about all the more 'fringe' hobbies or activities that may be worthy of sharing, but not necessarily those that, own their own, deserve a single thread. Let's dump all of that here...

Stuff like:

Model Making
Record Collecting
Photography
Scale Stadium Building
Acting
Custom Electronics
Lapidary
Blacksmithing
Droning
Pottery
Topiary
Action figure collecting
Comics
Bobble head collecting (I am one team shy of the entire 1982 MLB set)

Anything like THAT... I figure this could make for some decent dialogue during the off season...

 

[ACamp1900]

For me, a hobby I have been into basically all of my life is Electric Football.

My father played his entire life and got me into it, he recently passed away and I have since had the urge to share the hobby with anyone who would care to listen...

Here is my pops and I when I was all of like three playing:

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/JoeampAaron_zpsknvcftca.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/JoeampAaron_zpsknvcftca.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo JoeampAaron_zpsknvcftca.jpg"/></a>

These days i have my own 'fantasy league' that my father and I used to play, now it's just me with my girls, sister, college buddies, jumping in on every now and then... for the most part it's just me though.

Here is my most recent championship game... played on a recently made custom board..

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsytfse8ov.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsytfse8ov.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zpsytfse8ov.jpg"/></a>

Here's an example of the various paint jobs.. all my teams with few exceptions were painted by my father when i was younger or by me as an adult... many in the hobby prefer custom decals and stripes made on a cpu but to me the old ways are still better...

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswbp9nvlf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswbp9nvlf.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zpswbp9nvlf.jpg"/></a>

Even though I don't play with them in my league (they're my base testing squad) you know I had to create an Irish team... Rocket in da house...

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsv0gx6dga.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsv0gx6dga.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zpsv0gx6dga.jpg"/></a>

I like this pic bc it shows a classic board from the early 70s I still play on and it shows two of my fav teams... the Santa Fe Apache (I love the paint job on them) and a team modeled after my HS team, The Jackrabbits...

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpseldpdjlm.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpseldpdjlm.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zpseldpdjlm.jpg"/></a>

Better look at my new custom board, the field is interchangable...

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/board%203_zpsnckftrg6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/board%203_zpsnckftrg6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo board 3_zpsnckftrg6.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s154.photobucket.com/user/ACamp1900/media/board%202_zpswvaaq38p.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/ACamp1900/board%202_zpswvaaq38p.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo board 2_zpswvaaq38p.jpg"/></a>


Of course many will remember how badly the bases run out of the box and the jokes about turning in circles... it's true, to a point. You have to 'tweak' the bases with a variety of techniques, most commonly but adding a little heat and compressing the prongs of the base with needle nosed pliers, to make them run straight, fast, and effective. Trust me when I say, 9 out of 10 of my bases do exactly what I want them to do when I want them to do it...

There is also the component of customization here... painting, decaling and such...

I like to think of it as a cross between model making and your average board game, but for the sports nerd. I even keep year to year team stats...

This hobby is def small scale compared to reading, video games, sports viewing/playing etc. but it's still alive and well, there are national conventions every year where a national champ is crowned and for those that are like me and just want to chill there are tutorials on playing styles, 'tweaking' and the like... My father and I intended to go to a convention but never got around to it before he passed away.

 

[NDVirginia19]

This is some of the coolest shit i've ever seen

 

[ACamp1900]

This is some of the coolest shit i've ever seen

Thanks man!!!!!

 

[woolybug25]

Very cool, Acamp. You can tell that Browns board has seen some action.

Some of mine:
- Fly Tying
- Gardening
- Record Collecting
- Woodworking

 

[ACamp1900]

Very cool, Acamp. You can tell that Browns board has seen some action.

Some of mine:
- Fly Tying
- Gardening
- Record Collecting
- Woodworking

Big green thumb here too, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes... I enjoy making my own salsas... For the record the wear on the Browns field is an intended effect/graphic.... That board is like two months old....

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Everybody Needs a Hobby

Very cool Camp. I have many hobbies, but the only ones I'm really obsessed with are:

-Archery and bowhunting (compound mostly, but a little recurve)

-DFS (mostly NBA)

-Water skiing

And the one that was about 20 years in the making:

I own a PSA 10 version of every player on the '85 Bears rookie cards. Finding the good players was easy (just very expensive), but it was like pulling teeth finding some of the more obscure guys. The internet makes finding them much easier now than when I started this quest a long time ago.

*The Walter Payton is a PSA 9, the only non-10 of the set.

 

[ACamp1900]

My best man is big into archery... I have some pics of shooting with him somewhere... He shoots weird though, kind of how you shoot a pistol with your feet and shoulders square, it's an old Korean technique so he tells me... He's money with it though...

 

[IrishSteelhead]

My best man is big into archery... I have some pics of shooting with him somewhere... He shoots weird though, kind of how you shoot a pistol with your feet and shoulders square, it's an old Korean technique so he tells me... He's money with it though...

Compound or recurve?

 

[GATTACA!]

ACamp....

This shit is amazing! Love the custom board

Very cool, Acamp. You can tell that Browns board has seen some action.

Some of mine:
- Fly Tying
- Gardening
- Record Collecting
- Woodworking

What kind of woodworking do you do? I loved playing around in our woodshop at school, but now that i've graduated i've had to put that on hold until i'm able to collect all the tools and machines one by one.

 

[ACamp1900]

Compound or recurve?

Def recurve... I don't think either of us have ever shot a compound...

 

[woolybug25]

What kind of woodworking do you do? I loved playing around in our woodshop at school, but now that i've graduated i've had to put that on hold until i'm able to collect all the tools and machines one by one.

I build bird houses and feeders mostly. But I have built tables, chairs and random other things. I probably added birdwatching to the hobby list, as I do it daily. lol That's why I started building bird stuff, then friends and family started asking for them.

I also like to whittle though. I've made a bunch of spoons, walking sticks, etc.

 

[dshans]

I find breathing to be my main hobby.

Everything else is just icing on the cake.

As long as I can blow out the candles.

Oh, and I like to make bread.

Yeast is a wunnerful thing. It helps things rise.

Though living alone for 30+ years has cooled the oven a bit.

 

[GoIrish41]

Boats and Ho'es

 

[RyCo1983]

I've been a performing musician for half of my 33 years... roughly...maybe a little less than half.

That has launched me into a number of hobbies. I've really gotten into customizing guitar effects pedals, and have been preparing to build my own custom circuits. Following that, I want to start building reproductions of some classic 50s tube amplifiers...burning fingers!

The soldering iron and I have gotten to be great friends.

I've been slowly getting into buying and restoring vintage golf gear with my father....he's got about 900 clubs in his basement.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Boats and Ho'es

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Vikings_boat_party_scandal

 

[dshans]

... I've really gotten into customizing guitar effects pedals, and have been preparing to build my own custom circuits. Following that, I want to start building reproductions of some classic 50s tube amplifiers...burning fingers!

The soldering iron and I have gotten to be great friends.

Make MacIntosh (and even Curtis Mathis) Great Again!

Who knows, burning off your finger prints might come in handy some day.

 

[NDBoiler]

Sheriff: "So what are your pleasures, what do you like to do?"
Waco Kid: " Oh, I don't know, play chess...screw..."
Sheriff: "Well, let's play chess."

 

[dshans]

Sheriff: "So what are your pleasures, what do you like to do?"
Waco Kid: " Oh, I don't know, play chess...screw..."
Sheriff: "Well, let's play chess."

Sooo ...

What would be your opening move?

Your gambit?

 

[Corry]

I used to have all sorts of interests in my youth. Now I'm 33 with two small kids, a wife and all the responsibility that goes with it. I was thinking the other day that I need a hobby, something I could do for a few hours and walk away for a week. Then pick it back up. I was thinking of buying an old VW bug and wrenching on it. From what I understand they're super easy to work on. Maybe I'll start golfing again, but who really wants to waste 5 hours on a Saturday?

 

[TDHeysus]

-played drums since 1986, no plans to ever stop. This is also part of a life-long love of music. Currently I'm focusing on posture, and how it effects execution. I play in 2 bands, and gig 0-4 times a month. 1 band we just finished recording 16 originals using Pro-Tools (DIY-Style) recording and we are currently having a guy mix and master all 16 tracks for us.

-I run a game server in my house (which is really a front so I can play around with programming languages, SQL databases, and scripting languages). I have quite a few machines in my house to run all my db's and servers, zone servers and backup servers. This has permeated my life so much that I can be at traffic signal red-light, and out of nowhere I'll start thinking of coding something on the game server. Think in code, dream in code...

-a couple friends got me into cycling, in November I purchased a road-bike and have been hitting it ever since. What sucked me in was using the Strava app when riding, once I saw all the data it can collect and I was hooked. I've lost 22 lbs. without trying to lose it, if you cycle, you will lose weight.



<a href="http://s276.photobucket.com/user/rwoods2k/media/hwkitback1v2_zpsgiu4bp9k.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk19/rwoods2k/hwkitback1v2_zpsgiu4bp9k.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo hwkitback1v2_zpsgiu4bp9k.jpg"/></a>

 

[Bishop2b5]

I've really gotten into customizing guitar effects pedals, and have been preparing to build my own custom circuits. Following that, I want to start building reproductions of some classic 50s tube amplifiers...burning fingers!

I've really gotten into vintage pickups (the guitar kind, not the four-wheeled kind) - especially PAF's and what made them so special - and all the different things you can do to tweak their tone. My brother & I have been discussing ways to customize PAF replicas and do some stuff like coil-splitting and coil tapping and even build some pickups from scratch. We're going to build a set of PAF replicas this summer.

I loved building model airplanes as a kid and recently bought a 1:32 scale Spitfire Mark II. I don't care if it's a 10-year-old's hobby... I'll have a blast putting it together.

 

[Monk]

Love the electric football ACamp, and sorry to hear about your father. I used to play, as I'm sure a lot of others did, when I was little in the 80's. I never knew it was such a big hobby and I would love to play that again.

As for my hobbies, I mostly fish and if I have time I play golf (a few times a year). As someone said earlier, I have two small boys and a wife. They take up most of my time and I wouldn't change that, but a couple of years ago I started getting back into RC Cars. I bought a couple from craigslist and it is amazing how complex they can be. It is like being a little mechanic and race car driver. I enjoy it, but like everything else I just don't have enough time to really get into it and find races or tracks for that matter. Another hobby I started to get into for a year was paintball. I was really excited when a group of us started getting into it, but they quickly stopped and I followed suit. Now that I'm reading this, it sounds more like a you're getting old, put away those toys and go to work post. Sorry for that. Anyways, great job with the electric boards and I agree the custom paint is the way to go. Looks amazing.

 

[ShakeDown]

Awesome stuff ACamp.

Besides the documented hunting/fishing/outdoors stuff I also spend time in the garden, in the woodshop, and probably most unusual at the knife sharpening bench.

 

[Monk]

I loved building model airplanes as a kid and recently bought a 1:32 scale Spitfire Mark II. I don't care if it's a 10-year-old's hobby... I'll have a blast putting it together.

I plan on putting a old model of a 1980's Bronco and Ranger bass boat together with by boys when I get the chance. I was given the model when I was a kid in the late 80's probably. I also enjoyed that hobby.

 

[GoldenDome]

Nice thread.

Here is some of my hobbies when I have free time.

- grilling and obsessing about cooking (I have excel spreadsheets of recipes, BBQ methods, cooking temps for optimal cooking on ingredients)
- guns and reloading
- collecting knives
- recently took on the hobby of pour over coffee, really geeking out on it
- I have a rubber band ball, don't judge me


But for the most part, I geek out on cooking. Spend about 2-3 hours a day on it. Really good stress relief and is something I enjoy. Also, the joy on my family enjoying a home cooked meal is just motivating.

Today I made garlic confit just to make garlic oil and garlic confit for a salad dressing.

 

[yankeehater]

-played drums since 1986, no plans to ever stop. This is also part of a life-long love of music. Currently I'm focusing on posture, and how it effects execution. I play in 2 bands, and gig 0-4 times a month. 1 band we just finished recording 16 originals using Pro-Tools (DIY-Style) recording and we are currently having a guy mix and master all 16 tracks for us.

-I run a game server in my house (which is really a front so I can play around with programming languages, SQL databases, and scripting languages). I have quite a few machines in my house to run all my db's and servers, zone servers and backup servers. This has permeated my life so much that I can be at traffic signal red-light, and out of nowhere I'll start thinking of coding something on the game server. Think in code, dream in code...

-a couple friends got me into cycling, in November I purchased a road-bike and have been hitting it ever since. What sucked me in was using the Strava app when riding, once I saw all the data it can collect and I was hooked. I've lost 22 lbs. without trying to lose it, if you cycle, you will lose weight.



<a href="http://s276.photobucket.com/user/rwoods2k/media/hwkitback1v2_zpsgiu4bp9k.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk19/rwoods2k/hwkitback1v2_zpsgiu4bp9k.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo hwkitback1v2_zpsgiu4bp9k.jpg"/></a>

Sweet on the drums!!!! Where does your band usually play and what style of music? Do you ever play in the OC?

I have a set of the Roland V-Drums. I basically suck. My parents got me into sports (they were not musically inclined) so I took the drums up late in life (too late). It is good for stress relief however.

 

[yankeehater]

Big green thumb here too, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes... I enjoy making my own salsas... For the record the wear on the Browns field is an intended effect/graphic.... That board is like two months old....

I love to garden as well. Right now I have two types of squash, several types of peppers, tomatoes, beets and red onions. We also have a nice producing avocado tree and a couple of dwarf citrus plants. It is awesome having fresh produce whenever you want.

 

[ThePiombino]

Softball.

 

[ulukinatme]

Video games. I'll have to get some pictures together of my collection someday, unfortunately it's a bit spread out between my house and my parent's place. A lot of my NES collection of 600+ games resides in a cabinet at their place. I've also got a Play Choice 10 Arcade in my garage.