# What are your hobbies? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606 "2014-12-07T22:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/61 "2014-12-10T04:43:39Z")
[ul] [li]reading[/li][li]gardening[/li][li]poker[/li][li]astronomy[/li][li]bicycling/motorcycling[/li][li]canoeing[/li][li]backpacking/camping[/li][li]hunting/fishing[/li][li]skiing (xc & downhill)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/62 "2014-12-10T05:57:46Z")
I write novels (mostly in my own original series, though I used to write fanfic novels in the game universe I freelance in, and just completed a real to-be-published one in the same universe) I freelance for a game company (writing fluff bits for sourcebooks–see above, but short pieces) I play tabletop RPGs (Shadowrun, Savage Worlds, and we’re starting a FATE campaign next month–I’ve played many others since college) I play MMORPGs (though intermittently these days–I used to be quite addicted, but that’s over now. World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and The Secret World) I’ve become quite the Whovian over the last couple of years. I play with my cats. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/63 "2014-12-10T10:27:56Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Meh, so what? Your hobbies don’t need to be regulated or on a schedule. They should be fluid, not rigid. I don’t subscribe to the theory that near-obsessive traits are required to claim an activity as a hobby like **msmith537** does. For me, a hobby is something that I enjoy doing. I don’t think it requires any staunch commitment whatsoever. Some years I’ll homebrew 40 gallons of beer, other years 10. Other guys brew hundreds of gallons a year. It’s still a hobby of mine. The fact that other people do more of it than I do or are better at it than I am doesn’t mean I’m a poser. I brew my own beer when I feel like it, because I enjoy it and I want to. > > I’m a certified scuba diver for the past four years. I didn’t mention it in my original response because I’m not diving twice a month or more. It’s not possible where I live unless I wanted to dive in freshwater lakes (I don’t). I take one dedicated dive trip a year and make 8-10 dives over 4-5 days. Last year I got in a single dive day on a road trip to the Florida Keys, because I was there and there was diving available. It’s still a hobby. > > If I enjoy doing something and I haven’t actively, consciously stopped doing that activity, I consider it a hobby. There probably is a time limit on it. The time limit is flexible depending on the activity, but I think a year is a pretty good benchmark for most. > > When the time comes that I haven’t been on a dive trip for two years, I probably can’t call diving a hobby unless I have pretty solid plans for a dive trip. When the time comes that I haven’t brewed a batch of beer for a year, I probably can’t call home brewing a hobby unless I have ingredients in transit. When the time comes that I haven’t fired up the smoker for six months, I probably can’t call BBQ a hobby, etc. Whenever I’m willing and able to pick up the activity again, it’s one of my hobbies again. > > I don’t want to feel obligated to my hobbies. If I’m not doing it for my own gratification on my own schedule, it ceases to be a hobby. This doesn’t mean you can’t be obsessed with something and still enjoy doing it. It means that you can enjoy doing something without being obsessed by it. > > If your hobbies aren’t fun anymore and begin to feel more like obligation than leisure, you need new hobbies. I don’t know how to quote just your last two paragraphs but I think you just described a golfer. I write. I read. I crochet. I research prehistory, Medieval times and the Gilded Age. I salvage castoff things and make something else out of them. I paint. I used to sing (still try.) Since I can’t sew but love textiles, I’m into creating fabric pictures (kind of like a collage.) I refinish furniture. I make lots and lots of lists. I also dance at the drop of a hat. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/64 "2014-12-10T11:20:47Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Fishing, hunting, making the gear to do both including my own rods and firearms, history, reading, amusement parks, The Dope, home-grown vodka, Russian coins, and a few more not hitting my active grey cell right now. Oh – motorcycles too. > [@Becky2844](#): > > **kopek** seriously? Home-grown vodka? One of my hobbies is drinking. How do you make it? > [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Illegally. Probably not a topic that will get far here. Home brewing and wine making are legal in the US, distilling isn’t. I don’t necessarily agree with laws that make home distilling illegal, but they exist. Not necessarily. I make a sugar wine that when clarified and concentrated through fractional freezing is for all intents and purposes a very vodka like substance. In fact if I gave you a shot and asked you what it was you’d most certainly say vodka. No distillation required. Me, my hobby is collection hobbies. I get interested in something, research it, buy the paraphernalia, work at it for 6 months or so and get distracted by something else - wash, rinse, repeat. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/65 "2014-12-10T11:51:28Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I am a shooter. I wonder if that is the difference - i.e., getting back to **msmith** ’s point about devoting geek time to an interest. I love to cook, write, study art and philosophy, do yoga and many other things. But I wouldn’t say I am a cook or writer in the same way I feel very comfortable saying “I am a guitarist.” I would consider them all to be interests/hobbies of mine, but appreciate the question of degree. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/66 "2014-12-10T12:27:22Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I am a shooter. Shooter or shootist? Shootist sounds cooler. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/67 "2014-12-10T14:23:31Z")
I basically have every stereotypical “nerd hobby” other than ham radio and model trains. Magic : The Gathering; Warhammer 40K, Dungeons and Dragons (and other RPGs), Comic Books; Anime; Movies, TV, and Reading; I’ve collected action figures in the past but the lines I was interested in are basically over with. I do board games, when I can. I paint miniature figures (for use with D&D and Warhammer). I do some programming, but mostly professionally, these days. Also, Video games are currently taking up a lot of my free time. I enjoy non-sport sports like Air Hockey, Mini Golf, and Bowling, but rarely get to indulge. I do exercise regularly, though I don’t know if that’s a hobby or not. Occasionally I’ll take a stab at learning to draw, but I hardly have the time to learn to do it properly - just look at how much else I have to do! ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/68 "2014-12-10T14:41:19Z")
Motorcycling when the weather is warm and dry enough to suit me. I’m planning on getting a larger touring motorcycle in the spring and taking longer trips. I practice catch and release knife collecting. That is, I buy them and put them in my collection for a while and then give them away as gifts. I recently acquired [Camillus Cyber](http://www.hand-tools.com/images/brands/camillus/Camillus-CY1.jpg) which will be going to my nephew as a Xmas gift. Shooting, both firearms and crossbows, is another favorite activity. I hunt, too. No joy so far this year, but winter archery season is coming up. In terms of stuff I do on a close to daily basis, I guess cooking and videogaming should be listed here. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/69 "2014-12-10T15:54:30Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I have a very modest collection of fountain pens, including three that I keep on me pretty much at all times. I enjoy reading about pens, and dicking around with calligraphy. (“Hobby” implies a certain degree of competence, “farting around” is a much better descriptor of my level). I also like to watch calligraphy videos on YouTube. Dorky as hell, I know, but remarkably soothing. > > Oh, and I also enjoy arguing with strangers on the internet. And correcting their grammar. Not sure if you’re into Reddit; but there’s a subreddit sub for that. [http://www.reddit.com/r/PenmanshipPorn/](http://www.reddit.com/r/PenmanshipPorn/) [http://www.reddit.com/r/Handwriting/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Handwriting/) [http://www.reddit.com/r/penmanship/](http://www.reddit.com/r/penmanship/) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/70 "2014-12-10T16:05:26Z")
Computer games Computers Hiking Biking Chickens Canoeing Planning for world domination (slow start) ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/71 "2014-12-10T17:01:36Z")
I feel like studying the nature of the hobbyist has taken on a hobby status with me. It is a facinating study on its own. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/72 "2014-12-10T17:53:43Z")
Winemaking. Grow my own grapes and make my own wine. I’ve always used my own grapes but will branch out this year into getting some different fruit for blends, maybe mead also, I’m getting bored with the same ho-hum batch every year. Guitar playing. I have a small collection and like learning and playing at home for myself. I’m trying to find the time to learn some recording/mixing to preserve some of the cool stuff I’ve occasionally come up with. Never performed in public though. Martial arts. Been dormant for a few years, but still study it and practice every now and then. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/73 "2014-12-11T15:30:50Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Waitaminnit. Do you not always drink beer, but when you do…you prefer Dos Equis? > > 😉 Well, now that I think about it, I do have a beard, flew in a helicopter 20-100 ft off the ground to get to work yesterday, and do indeed prefer Dos Equis when I drink Mexican beer…😃 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/74 "2014-12-11T18:58:42Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > If this is correct (and I’m not disputing it) then I have no hobbies. I enjoy boating, which is probably the only “activity” I do besides exercise, yardwork, and real work. I suppose “boating” could be a hobby. Or it’s just “boating”. Playing sports aren’t hobbies. They are “playing sports”. Collecting sports memorabilia or joining a fantasy football league is a hobby though. > [@Jake Jones](#): > > Meh, so what? Your hobbies don’t need to be regulated or on a schedule. They should be fluid, not rigid. I don’t subscribe to the theory that near-obsessive traits are required to claim an activity as a hobby like msmith537 does. For me, a hobby is something that I enjoy doing. I don’t think it requires any staunch commitment whatsoever. Some years I’ll homebrew 40 gallons of beer, other years 10. Other guys brew hundreds of gallons a year. It’s still a hobby of mine. The fact that other people do more of it than I do or are better at it than I am doesn’t mean I’m a poser. I brew my own beer when I feel like it, because I enjoy it and I want to. Yeah…I think brewing beer qualifies as a hobby at 1 gallon. You don’t have to be obsessive about it. But IMHO it’s the sort of thing that requires you to actively learn how to participate in an activity that is fundamentally pointless for anything but your own enjoyment. As soon as you start repeating the activity and trying to do it better, then it has effectively become a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/75 "2014-12-11T19:28:54Z")
I think that hobbies usually have some elements that set them apart. Creativity or problem solving is very often a key element. At some level the hope of discovering new frontiers or uncharted territory is another. Whether it is fishing, or bonsai, or bow making, dog training, carving etc I am always looking for some little thing that nobody else has discovered yet. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/76 "2014-12-11T21:22:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Shooter or shootist? > > Shootist sounds cooler. Sewist sounds better than sewer too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/77 "2014-12-11T22:49:43Z")
I sew and knit things. The sewing is mainly tailoring my own clothes or constructing costumes, but the knitting is more meditative, bordering occasionally on compulsive. I tell people that I only knit things that are supposed to come out flat, because I can do that by feel while watching movies. In fact, if any of the other yarn-crafters here have a closet full of useless tiny leftover yarn balls that they are willing to throw into a box and mail to New England, message me and let me know – I ask around for them every winter. Soft wearable yarns get made into rainbow scarves and donated to whoever is having a clothing drive when they’re done. Weird, stiff, or scratchy yarns, especially acrylic, get made into hammocks, pockets, and tunnels for tiny rodenty animals like rats and mice, and forwarded to Mainely Rat Rescue, the regional small caged critter rescue organization. I also perform, mainly acting and dance. I accidentally found myself a slot as “scream queen” for a local theater group that puts on staged radio dramas, complete with live Foley. Lately I have been hauling large dance hoops (VERY large. I have a 46" hoop I can rest on my shoulder and my heel at the same time) back and forth to rehearsals for a solo number I’ll be performing downtown on New Year’s Eve as part of the city’s First Night celebration. I contend that the fanciest hoop trick I have learned so far is how not to maim the other commuters with them on the train. The second fanciest is how to put the decorative tape on without making a complete dog’s breakfast of it. I also keep a running blog, although that fails one of **Justin** ’s criteria above. Technically, I am paid for it, as I get $0.30 a month from someone subscribing to it via the Kindle service. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/78 "2014-12-11T23:29:55Z")
I collect spores, molds, and fungus… C’mon, _someone_ had to say it 😉 Seriously though… Recreational/sport shooting Hand loading Gardening Raising chickens (free-ranging, pastured birds) Fishing Fly-tying Photography Knife collecting (Spyderco, Buck, Case, Victorinox, Ka-Bar) Camping Nordic and alpine skiing ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/79 "2014-12-12T00:10:48Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Not sure if you’re into Reddit; but there’s a subreddit sub for that. > > [Reddit - Dive into anything](http://www.reddit.com/r/PenmanshipPorn/) > [Reddit - Dive into anything](http://www.reddit.com/r/Handwriting/) > [Reddit - Dive into anything](http://www.reddit.com/r/penmanship/) …of course there is. That should be an adjunct of Rule 34. Rule 34a: If it exists, there’s a subreddit devoted to it. Rule 34a (i): And another devoted to people doing it while naked. Thank you for the links, though! ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606/80 "2014-12-12T00:25:51Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Not sure if you’re into Reddit; but there’s a subreddit sub for that. > > [Reddit - Dive into anything](http://www.reddit.com/r/PenmanshipPorn/) > [Reddit - Dive into anything](http://www.reddit.com/r/Handwriting/) > [Reddit - Dive into anything](http://www.reddit.com/r/penmanship/) I got sucked into this, my girlfriend got sucked into this and niether of us have any idea why??? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-hobbies/706606.md?page=5)