Ask HN: What skills/things are you learning?
I'm learning to use guitar with capo right now, and hopefully can learn using arranger such as Yamaha PSR-SX700 to be able to accompany music
Also been taking vocal lessons at the local community college. Because karaoke, heh. Turns out the singing is way more fun than the drinking.
Also trying to get more into climbing and mountain & gravel biking. My body aches everywhere all the damned time, and the dad bod makes it hard to do anything well, but that's ok :)
Spread pretty thin, ultimately. This is how you end up being a lifelong amateur at many different things... it's all fun though, and I'd be hard pressed to give any of it up. I'm a nerd like anyone here, but it's nice to use different parts of the brain and body once in a while.
I recommend (disclaimer: i am a 1st dan) you also take a look at Shorinji Kempo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorinji_Kempo) which is relatively gentler/fluid/quick/fast, has a defined good balanced syllabi of "hard" (i.e. kicks/punches) and "soft" (i.e. joint locks) techniques. The other main thing is that the blocks are done with the fleshy part of the arm and not the bone and so people find it easier to practice combat. Finally, right from the beginning you do pair practice with a partner (there are very few katas) and so all techniques are application oriented. It is well suited for youngsters, the elderly and those looking for a gentler and yet well-rounded martial art. Checkout Youtube for demonstration videos.
This year alone we've tried salsa, line, and Scottish dancing, blacksmithing, mosaics, welding, cross-country skiing, and a triathlon (last place, lol). And that's not counting all the rabbit holes I went down on my own, and the dozens of board games, video games, escape rooms, 10-minute samples of different films and shows, etc... ADHD much? :)
They were all fun, but most of those were one-offs that we probably won't do again for quite some time, if ever. Were they a good use of time? Sure, if entertainment and novelty were inherently what you wanted (it was for me). Feels like living through a hyper-VR version of Nat Geo, where you just channel-surf through life. It's fun for a while but doesn't really get you anywhere.
On the other hand, the more focused people I know have stable professional and home lives and one or two hobbies they've developed over time to a high degree of mastery, whether that's becoming expert snowboarders, fighters, mountain bikers, van-lifing dirtbag climbers, triathletes (a working mother I know got 2nd place overall in some national race), etc. Or on the more professional side, my childhood EverQuest buddy is now an E.R. surgeon with a Ph.D and M.D.. Other peers have their own highly-paid jobs and nice houses and spectacular weddings, or manage national parks, or have become successful solo musicians, etc. They chased their dreams and eventually caught them.
To be clear, it's not really envy. I don't necessarily want their lives, though I'd certainly pick and borrow parts of them if I could. It's just good to be aware of where different life paths can take you. There's infinite dishes at the buffet of life, but you quickly get full after just a few. Wouldn't it be nice if someone could tell you what they tasted like beforehand? Wouldn't it be nicer, still, if they could've told you 20 years ago when you were still young and dinosaurs roamed the earth? Alas.
At the end of the day, it's always a balance. You'd be a really boring person if you only ever did one thing – my dad was like that, had one job his whole life, and basically had no hobbies or friends or outside interests, and was generally unpleasant to be around. But you'd also be a really shallow person if you did 100 things and never the same thing twice, and it'd be hard to make or keep stable friendships or careers that way.
If I could do it all over again (or even now... still working on it), I'd probably choose 3-4 things max to focus on, as opposed to 100 new hobbies a year. It's possible to become addicted to novelty (I think it's a genetic trait, actually, possibly exacerbated by modern life?). It's fine to try a lot of things (especially when you're younger), but I think most people, myself included, would be better-served by eventually honing them down to just a handful at a time. IMO only!
For one thing I've tried a lot of capos over the decades, and used a number of them on different instruments routinely, but was always disappointed by their effect on tuning, except for the Sabine capo which is long out of production:
https://reverb.com/item/2776684-sabine-capo-1980s
https://umgf.com/wtb-sabine-capo-remember-these-late-70-s-80...
These were precise enough to use on an electric guitar without having to adjust tuning.
Anyway, the hard plastic did deteriorate with age a long time ago so NOS they are not good any more either.
I didn't really depend on it anyway, usually only using it to play tunes that were originally recorded with a capo, or to accommodate a vocalist's preferred key. It sure makes it easy to play in any key, whether sharp, flat, or natural, which is a very worthwhile thing to do.
So worthwhile that I set an objective to be able to play in any key without a capo. This is not as easy.
It took a few years but eventually when a singer was putting on their own capo I was not doing that and ready to play with the bare hands no matter what. Not that I'm a real musician, I need tricks like this to make me sound better than I actually am, and I admit it ;)
-Addgene's articles: https://blog.addgene.org/
-The Bumbling Biochemist's youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChzTIByeodToYsKiNiwKQrw
-(There are a lot of other good Youtube channels)
-ChatGPT is solid for answering fundamentals questions, but don't go off the beaten path.
- The easiest to follow protocols are the ones in the official kit/reagent etc manuals.
Look at eBay, and the Chinese vendors on Amazon and Ali for equipment. Initial costs will be significant, but doable.
It also reinforced the point that I have zero talent. The drawing that took me hours of painstaking work is something that my wife could sketch in about 30 seconds.
I'd wager your wife has much more drawing experience than you. If you keep practicing, you'll be able to draw faster and faster.
Got back into drawing recently. https://www.instagram.com/p/C9Tdnj4uIlN/?img_index=1
I apparently also need to learn about VENV as it applies to python, so I can get WikidPad to run properly, as it's frozen in 2012-ish python.
Spoiler alert the tests folder is empty. There appears to be a bunch of branches including this one https://github.com/WikidPad/WikidPad/tree/experiment-convert... which might help you along the way with getting a modern build actually working.
[0] https://archive.org/details/usarmymachinistcourseprincipleso...
- replace window sash cords
- repoint a rubblestone foundation and exterior brickwork
- replace the surface of a deck
- rebuild a rotted cellar door
- till my yard where a large tree was removed
- lots more small stuff
Ask This Old House videos have been most helpful.
Recently: apache flink, scala, parenting, self regulation, patience :)
I've also played drums most of my life and am planning to learn to play piano next year.
Training for my first Muay Thai competitive fight.
Practicing each of these gives me pure joy and makes me feel invigorated and recharged, happy to be alive.
(Edit; email in bio)
Cooking
Finance management(investment instruments)