What are your hobbies and interests?
And I don't just mean things directly related to HN.
edit: Hm, if you want to share these hobbies and introduce others, perhaps include your geographical location?
Things I hate. Video games, television, nightclubs with loud "divas" and greasy men (the type where they vomit on each other's fake Luis Vuittons after 2AM; we go to gay clubs just because the crowd is both so much more civil, and far happier and fun, plus the music is so much better), IT books, things marketed at me, hyper-excited "startup" people.
A few examples: Scribblenauts, a recent Nintendo DS game in which the player can invoke any object he can imagine to help solve the game's puzzles. Shadow of the Colossus, a Playstation 2 game from a few years back, has a unique mood and a compelling narrative that challenge many fine works of cinema.
Do you think those types of games change the playing field at all? 10 - 15 years ago, I would have agreed with you completely, but I think that, as a developing field, video games are coming into their own as a "proper" form of media. Also, you mention socialization and exercise as having value over video games, but see games like Wii Fit or Left4Dead which combine those things with gameplay.
EDIT: Also, communities can form around these video games. For example, I really enjoy one-on-one competitive sports & games. I fence three nights a week, and regularly travel anywhere from 30 to 300 miles for tournaments. However, I have also traveled similar distances for Street Fighter tournaments. I have found that the fighting game community is as tightly knit as the fencing community. A few times, I have come through a city where I know someone from a message board, but have never met. On those nights, I had a place to stay solely based on my connections through this video game-based community. Don't really know how that fits into the debate, but it seemed relevant.
I also think I'm a better driver because I play games, and better at understanding sports.
1) I am a knowledge-whore. I like to think that after doing something for a substantial time, I will come out of it having learned something. I would consider film culturally enriching, mostly because I watch fringe, independent or foreign films; For some reason, I have a very high opinion of filmmakers as artists. However, I can't say the same about video games or their artistic or cultural merit. I am unable to consider them substantial in that regard.
2) I like to share and talk about my experiences. I can talk about movies, I can recommend albums, I will even take the time to scribble directions and notes on someone's pristine travel book and tell them where to go. But I can't do the same with video games. There is no particular instance that I can think about and reference later; either because the games are dynamically generated, or because the gamer demographic are just not the people that I tend to socialize with, so I don't identify with them.
Bonus:
3) I like realism. Along with video games, I don't tolerate Anime, Fantasy Fiction, or any other type of "geek" entertainment. I was offered two DVDs by my neighbor; The Dark Knight and The Quiet American; I took the later. Hard to explain, really.
P.S. I am a hopeless Soduku addict and play 30 minutes when I wake up in the morning, and 30 minutes before I go to bed. In fact, that's what I use my phone for 90% of the time.
I get that some people do feel like they get something out of playing video games, and I'm not indicting them.
For your first two points, it is tough to debate a subject like this, because I can only refer to specific video games as counterpoints... which you obviously have not played! Reading your post, though, I understand completely why you aren't a fan of video games.
What I will say is, there are video games out there which are culturally enriching, as well as games which possess discrete aspects and events that can be discussed with fellow gamers. Just as two avid cinema fans can discuss camera work, lighting and dialogue, so too can gamers debate the balance of storyline, visuals, music, gameplay mechanics, and cultural trappings. Video games are a very young medium, but I believe that if you are willing to spend the time looking, there are worthwhile finds.
Please note, I am not trying to say, "Shame on you for not spending more time playing video games." I understand if they're simply not your thing. But I think it is worth it for anyone to meditate on the idea that not every video game is a throwaway experience that cannot be savored or shared.
I would say that videogames, as a medium, are artistic; some titles more than others. One quick example would be a title like 'Ico'; in my estimation, the visual impact and animation was similar to an impressionist painting, the lighting effects and overall composition was very well put together. How can the graphics team, animators, creative director not be considered artists? Its a matter of taste I suppose because after playing through that interactive piece of art, I recommended and spoke about it with many people.
1) Okay. So how does pool or Sudoku teach you something? I don't get this movies-to-games comparison. Apples and oranges. Games are not meant to be vehicles for artistic expression.
2) I find video games to be very social, actually. If it weren't for Xbox Live, I wouldn't interact with my old friends much except for when we all vacation back home for the holidays. Beyond that I find it very easy to talk about games with others. If you enjoy anything enough, you'll be able to have a discussion about it.
3) Fair enough.
I'm not with you on TV. The best films I've seen in the past 5 years are nowhere nearly as good as The Wire or the first 4 seasons of The West Wing.
I also hate most of the same things: television, loud nightclubs, rude people.
I still like video games too though. They can be like a quick adventure in the middle of my stressed out every day life.
I also loooooove playing the piano. And making ice cream from scratch, for the interesting combinations and flavors you can make. And like a lot of other HNers are mentioning, learning foreign languages, even though I don't necessarily get a chance to practice speaking them much :( Snowboarding too, despite living in sunny LA. I wish I could get started with indoor rock climbing here as well, but I haven't really found anywhere good for that near where I live.
The only downside is that competing can get expensive, but the exposure to so many different fencing styles is worth it. All three weapons are fun and intellectually stimulating to study, and the community is universally supportive. I think it's an excellent "hackers' game."
My other hobbies: drawing & painting, writing & reading (always reading), finding new music to listen to, video games, and poker (another great game with deep strategy behind it).
Maybe I'm just elitist, but I think that with more obscure sports/hobbies you meet more interesting people. Anyone can play/talk about basketball, without much effort put in to play/learn about the sport. A sport like fencing though, requires a much more serious investment of time and follow through. Has anyone else noticed this?
Do you by chance have the link to his article? My google-fo seems week.
Do you by chance have the link to his article? My google-fo seems week.
You can say the same about tennis... I wouldn’t worry. You can also try "period" fencing (look up "SCA"). The rules are different: if you are "wounded" on the right arm, you have to switch to the left. There is also two-handed fencing (longsword).
But yeah, doubles volleyball played by the proper rules (no-spin sets, no open hand dinks, no setting on one, no setting over the net) is so much more fun than "gorilla ball" (where it doesn't matter how you hit it, as long as the ball stays in the air), as one of the other guys affectionately calls it.
Oh, and I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (play at Bradford Beach), so this unfortunately can't be a year-long hobby (at least Beach volleyball can't be). Given my obsession over this, I'd seriously consider moving somewhere nice like Florida just to play BV year-long.
Of course, I got to do almost all of that at once this summer, when I led a group of 11 cyclists to a lake about 30 miles outside of town. All of us had packed up with our camping gear on our bicycles, and very few the participants had done anything like it before. I taught them about what kinds of stuff to bring, and all that. I cooked on a makeshift camp stove. We all camped overnight and rode home the next morning after cooking our various breakfast items. I took lots of photos and wrote about it. As it was only my second time "backpacking with my bicycle" I also learned a few things myself.
Basically, it was everything that I love doing that doesn't directly involve programming, soldering or Lego.
I am a huge f1 fan. I either go to a meetup to watch the race (normally at 7am). Normally in addition I download a British feed of Friday practice 1 and 2 (speedtv only shows p2), Saturday p3, and qualifying. F1 has a lot of political intrigue, tactics and technology.
I'm not into a lot of traditional geek hobbies. I could care less about comics, sci-fi, or video games. Comics and sci-fi have just never done much for me, I just couldn't get into them. I enjoy video games when I play them, but they are just too much of a time sink, so I stay away. The first person shooters seem to require a large amount of skill and practice, when I play them I fell hopelessly lost.
Racing is even cheaper if you know what you are doing. The words you are looking for is "rail meat". When the boat is going upwind it heels over, you need people on the uphill side of the boat on the rail. Being rail meat require very little knowledge. I would try to go out on days with unpleasant weather, fewer people show up. Rosh Hashanah was the first time I got out on Long Island sound (the boat had a very hard time finding crew that Saturday).
Try the Annapolis races, I'm not sure of where they meet, but you could probably get out on Wednesday nights and Saturdays.
One bonus also is it's a very social sport. I don't have my own boat, so joined a local sailing co-op/club here in Minneapolis. Now that I've passed my "skipper tests" I'm free to take out their fleet of boats (about 12) anytime I like. I get to sail with other skippers twice a week, and learn from their experience. Most everyone is incredibly nice.
Unfortunately the seasons is just about up here, we're pulling the boats off the water this Saturday :(
I lived with the captain of the racing team in college and we hosted the party for our regatta. It lasted the whole weekend and we built a special table to accommodate the flipcup (though, they call it boat racing and it involves a megaphone)
I also read and watch movies and TV when I can find things I enjoy. I'm rewatching The Wire right now, since it's hard to find new enjoyable shows. I'm trying to get into cooking and fashion: That's my goal for this year. And I'm thinking about giving a rave or two a try later this month.
Wish I had something cool to write about here ("rebuilding pre-1950s motorcycles"), but in fact, "books" includes so many things that it's enough to keep me occupied.
I've changed my watering schedules no less than 20 times this summer to try to get optimal moisture levels. I also do everything organically, so it's a little more challenging to take care of ants when you can't just shake on some Amdro (the solution is nematodes btw).
There is no limit to how easy or how complex you want to make things. I've made watering helpers with some drip line, bamboo and a 1 gallon milk container for long weekends when I was starting plants out, or planted hot peppers around some plants that one of my dogs insisted on tasting all the time.
It really is a lot of fun and way more hacker friendly than you might expect at first.
1975 porsche 914 2.0 partially dissaembled, has rust issues, complete car with rebuildable motor and transaxel, many new parts also has origanal fuel injection system intact.
Also, I keep fish (both fresh and salt), and practice Tae Kwon Do.
Time commitment is a minimum of 24 hours per week, but that's not "active" time. For most of it I'm home sleeping, but respond if the pager goes off. We also have several cubicles at the station, with access to power, internet, a printer, a coffee machine, etc, so I'll generally work there if I'm looking to get out of the house for a while.
There is certainly some time involved in training, etc... That probably averages out to an hour or two per week. Occasionally specific classes will take more time (I just finished an advanced rope rescue course that was spread over two weekends).
Video Games - I only play on the Nintendo DS, and at that not often, but I do enjoy it and wish I had more time, but the aforementioned hobby takes almost all my free time.
Along those lines, Shibari. It's a great way to meet girls.
Photography, building Lego models, Playing the piano, Watching old movies, and most of all playing with the kids.
I also enjoy reading quite a bit.
One thing to distinguish is long-term, documentary work and current events. The latter is basically reportage, the bread and butter of news agencies and newspapers. On the former though, you can choose your ground and take your time.
I start a project with pulling all information I can from the web: saves time on the ground. Names, history, maps, prior works in this area. If necessary finding the initial contacts. Over there, it's approaching people, asking questions (not necessarily identifying yourself as a photographer), you can get a lot of context just from casual chit-chat. Good thing is that most people love being heard, so give them all attention you can. Start a neutral conversation, listen, nod, let them pour out: very few people are generous listeners, so your attention will be appreciated and you can ask the questions you want afterward.
In case of hot events, various police and security troops are a major challenge and great test of your social skills. There it's best if you can start small, attending fenced but calm events, just to get the gist of unspoken rules, protocols and routines. Obviously you can't generalize this worldwide, but. Be attentive, observe police, observe protesters or other people interacting with law enforcement, see how much can work with them. Read faces, in case of militias face is a good indicator how much problem you are going to have with a given person. If he looks like a scumbag he probably is. There are weak points in most of cordons and often ways to sneak past fences. It is best if you stay calm, neutral, and project confidence; especially confident, you can pull nearly Jedi-like tricks with it. Do not insist on eye contact but do not avoid it either. Don't smile, it shows your weakness and reduces your chances to successfully communicating with people in power dramatically.
It may sound hard but the skills build up quickly once you start doing.
The night when results were announced. People look happy but really they were not, just reacting to a sarcastic joke off the stage. For whatever reason, this photo ended all over Chinese blogs in 2007, captioned as "people rejoicing New Year". http://www.thespiderawards.com/2007presentation/photoshow/no...
Paramedics working over a protester after a clash. He was delivering a portable toilet to the tent camp encircled by riot police. Broken ribs, concussion. I was the only photographer hinted to his coming, due to good networking with protesters; however I got caught up amidst the melee, so action shots turned lousy. http://s3.amazonaws.com/lightstalkers/images/60557/23_2_640....
Now, a less dramatic story. An agricultural fair in Orsha, Belarus. It was an old Pagan celebration of harvest, revived by the president. A dissonant mix of pseudo-folklore and 3rd world style heavy policing in classic Soviet entourage. A total insider show, where local brands and enterprises are mandated to participate (sort of a national exhibition), and with the president de-facto assuming the role of Harvest God. http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-slideshow/G0000vbMKecuSr4...
So nothing groundbreaking really, but remember, we're talking hobbies here :)
For local news, try starting with the best newspaper in your area. Editorial contacts is usually listed in paper's exit data, sometimes along with a contact for tips.
Trying to train 3-4 times per week (after work) for races coming up in the spring. Getting hard without daylight on my side. Gonna have to buy a light soon. Or adjust my work hours.
You want to focus almost all of the light at the horizon, with some spill below and a sharp cutoff above. Anything else is wasted. See: http://peterwhitecycles.com/plight.asp
Even my "good" headlight (15W, ~300 lumens by my guess) is just a stupid 6V MR11 bulb with a clear waterproof lens in a waterproof housing. No optics. It's just a farking accent light that can be bolted to a bike. Über lame.
(fun fact: my current start-up was put in to gear because of my photo addiction and a few unsolved problems the field had)
Learning the warrior mindset you need in the ring will change your perspective on a lot of things in life. And it will keep you in excellent shape, minus injuries.
Having a very physical hobby keeps me grounded in reality after spending most of the day thinking about philosophy or writing or coding (I'm a student). There's a lot of pretty direct feedback about your improvement over time, too, which I find can be lacking in more intellectual pursuits.
And I do a bit of drumming, although have been a bit lazy lately. Mostly my hobbies have revolved around music. I enjoy hiking too but haven't been out too much recently. Tried surfing for the first time recently. I was crap at it but it was still good fun. Must go back.
Finance - Learning to actually make money in the market (equities and equity options).
Eating out with friends - Trying different types of food is great, but the company is the best part.
Traveling - Not a frequent flier or anything but trying to make it to Japan this next year.
Learning Mandarin - Trying to learn my "mother tongue." That side of my brain seems to be dysfunctional, so this is one area I need a lot more work.
Woodworking - building furniture, etc.
Fixing up old pinball machines
Working on the house, minor remodeling sorts of projects
My other big hobby is music. http://thesixtyone.com/abledanger
I guess baking could count as a hobby since I do enjoy it quite a bit, but the primary driver is hunger, not passing the time :-)
Edit: based on posts, I guess Seattle.
Haha and objc dev also.
Alas, my hobbies are mostly on hold until the babies get bigger.
I recommend it to everybody too! www.geocaching.com
Excellent book that should end up saving me lots of actual flying time in preparation for the certification test.
As for physics, I'm re-taking the first calc-based physics course (online) at UNC Charlotte this fall. Just enjoying studying the basics again. I'll probably take 1-2 classes per semester until I can get a degree in it. May go for masters, not sure yet.
They pretty much want to give you the skills needed to get help and get back on the ground if you find yourself in a bad situation. And to not overreact and stall or spin yourself into the ground because you didn't trust the instruments.
With that said, there isn't such a thing as knowing too much about flying. But if your aircraft isn't IFR equipped (and lots of rentals aren't), you won't be able to practice much more than the above.
He was unfortunately killed in a car accident a few months later, but his humility left an impact on me.
I'd like to do more drawing, but I can't say I actually do it very often.
It can be a sociable game and yet it can also be a game that holds you interest as you try to achieve perfection.
To anyone who wants to get started there is a bit of learning curve. There are good guides online, computer games to help practice with (Bridge Baron is good and is even available for the iPhone), and there are local clubs that would love to see you come out (check out ACBL).
(Boggle and foosball also rock.)