Other hobbies?

[deejay1272]

I've been spending an awful lot of time on my T4WD lately, but I do manage to keep up a few other hobbies. I'm also in to homebrewing, hiking, photography, home improvement projects and I like to tinker with a variety of electronics projects.

Currently I'm fermenting what I think will be a great Nut Brown Ale that I brewed with my home-made all-grain kit that allows me to brew 5 gallon batches at a time.


What are some other hobbies that members here do in their spare time away from their T4WDs?

[emmahumpfritter]

One of my most rewarding hobbies is DRINKING really good Nut Brown Ale. Newcastle being my current favorite I think I need to drink some others for comparison though.

[Petros]

When I am not working on cars, I like skiing and hiking and sailing. I used to do a lot of mountain climbing, but I am not in that kind of shape anymore (though I hold out hope I may lose weight, and get in shape enough to enjoy it again-a vain hope perhaps). I have built 13 small wood boats including several sailboats and sea kayaks.

I have a delusional fantasy of building a larger sail boat, selling everything I own and sailing around the world some day. But I do not think my wife would go for that, and I doubt I will ever have the money to do it without selling everything we own, including our house. Maybe some day I will buy a project sailboat large enough to do coastal cruising, but small enough to keep on a trailer in my yard. For now I just read books about it and I occasionally crew on other peoples larger sailboats in Puget Sound yacht club races. The best way to go sailing is on OPBs (Other People's Boats). I might volunteer some day to crew on long distance multiday sailboat race, just for the experience of it.

[emmahumpfritter]

I've recently moved much of my adventuring onto water


Still might go the sailboat route, but for now the C-Dory is the most economical way to get around under power. Sort of a tercel 4wd on the water

Not beating up on the ladies here, but I find it staggering how often the words "but my wife wouldn't go for that..." come out of people's mouths.

BDN

[Petros]

Still might go the sailboat route, but for now the C-Dory is the most economical way to get around under power. Sort of a tercel 4wd on the water

Well, the wind blows for free. Not one of the 13 boats I have built, or the 14 others I have owned have had a motor. All were paddle, oar, or sail powered. I build with salvaged materials I pick-up here and there, the last two sail boats I built cost me out -of-pocket about $50 each to build. and nothing to operate.

I find it staggering how often the words "but my wife wouldn't go for that..." come out of people's mouths.

One must make compromises to staying married, it has often been said that women are the "civilizing" influence in a man's life. I think without the motivation of having to keep a household running, I would have no assets at all, and be spending a lot of time on wild adventures that leave me broke.

[ohcanada_00]

other hobbies? WELL.....

I love detailing cars. I've done it as a job but still find immense relaxation in doing it for funsies. I think the joy comes in taking something not so nice and with just a little bit of my effort, making it something beautiful.

I ride my Kawasaki Z1000 motorcycle... freedom on two wheels and power to go up on one... cant beat it.

I love reading, playing cribbage, playing xBox and Playstation3, hanging out with the family and the dogs, I enjoy jet skiing, poker (used to be a ranked player), snow sports, kayaking (I'm passively looking for two new boats) shooting (pistols are my favorite) and the zoo. The zoo is one of my happy places in life. I love looking at the tigers, they are hands down my favorite.

[dlb]

ohcanada, you and your feline fetish! you're hilarious.

One must make compromises to staying married

petros is right. i think everyone likes to make jokes about how their wife ties them down (figuratively) but when it comes down to it, none of us would be with our women if there weren't massive positives that far outweigh the negatives. at least, that's the way it should be. my wife and i def don't see eye to eye all the time but learning to compromise and being proud of finding a solution, of making a great relationship continue to work, is rewarding beyond words. i strive to be a better person for her, and i like that she inspires me to do so. she's an amazing woman.

enough about my f*cking wife though! more about ME. i love music in general, and especially metal. death metal, black metal, industrial, ambient, weird...nothing sooths me like a good blast beat and screeching. i've played guitar, bass, and sang in numerous bands but am not doing it anymore because i was in a serious touring band for several years and am taking a break. i love movies that are tough to swallow--david lynch and stanley kubrick are my fave directors--but hate most movies. such a f*cking waste of time to sit and not be able to do anything else if i'm not getting some real emotional experience from it. i'm straightedge so i don't drink or do any drugs but i love partying regardless, karaoke parties being the best. everyone is a closet karaoke fan, i believe. and, in the last year, i've taken up wrenching! i'm obv a noob at this but whatever, you have to start somewhere. at least i know enough about common stuff that i can help my pals out.

petros, if you lived up here i'd have a sailing boat hull to give you. my dad's a hoarder and we're cleaning his yard and, after 20 years, this hull has to go. too bad!

[deejay1272]

This just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Ohcanada -- props for owning your feline fetish. I have a dog and I consider myself a dog person, but I grew up with cats and I secretly enjoy them too. I repaired old Japanese motorcycles for extra cash during my college years, so I also had a major love jones for bikes until I moved out to Oregon where the riding season is really short. Also, I want to encourage you to write a thread about auto detail tricks. I bet you know a few ways to make a big difference.

Humpfritter -- Nice boat. Nice dog (saw the UTube video).

DLB -- Soothing death metal? Nobody understands that, but that's awesome. And way to bring the conversation back to what really matters: YOU!

Anyone can tell that Petros is the wisest of us all. Managing a household? holding a job? staying married? What fantastic tenets by which to live. I could probably learn a thing or two...

Anyway, anyone passing through the Portland, OR area that ISN'T straightedge is welcome to crack a homebrew with me and talk shop. Better yet, maybe our next Pac NW meetup will give us this opportunity. I saw photos from last year's Toyotathon (or whatever the hell it's called) and it made me drool. Maybe the 2011 event could give us an opportunity to get together.

My next brews: Wheat beer for summer, Imperial stout, Black rye....oh the possibilities.

[ohcanada_00]

I guess then it makes sense that my next home brew is called Sleepy Tiger IPA... thats right kids I home brew too!! (just getting started and am still not that great at it but I'm totally learning!)

I dont know what it is about the tigers. They are just such neat animals with such a colorful and interesting cloud of history, mystery, myth and ledgend around them its hard not to be compelled. I fond its very hard to be in a bad mood when you are staring down the tiger cubs at our local zoo. Especially when one of them put his paw on the glas and held it there long enough for me to put my hand on the other side of the glass.... very cool zen moment.

as far as detailing....shoot... I'll be happy to show off some stuff. Even more to the point, I'll be happy to host a day of learning here at the office or at my garage! If its something a few people might be interested in, by all means, come down to Tacoma and I'll teach evreyone how to have the prettiest T4WD's around!

Hell I even know a few kareoke bars around here that after two beers or so I would TOTALLY rock the stage at! ( i love music, big part of my life for a long time but now kareoke two or three times a year seems to be my time on stage)

[emmahumpfritter]

I LOVE karaoke! I've done it for at least 15 years. When I lived in Seattle, we all headed up to the Rickshaw near Ballard. When in grad school in the UP of Michigan it was Flannigan's every Tues night (and sometimes Fri or Sat. night) The song I absolutely own (because all serious karaoke singer have at least one) "Brandy, you're a fine girl" oh ya baby!

Boats: Well, yes my boat burns gas. It's the most economical boat of it's size one could possibly find minus perhaps some VERY slow pocket trawlers that run diesel. Mine can get an amazing (for water) 12-15 miles per gallon at 6-7 knots. That's like getting 50+mpg in a car people

Petros: Good for you man. I salvage any and everything myself. While a 3rd of the population was watching gladiator fighting last Sunday I was following up an ad on Craigslist for free wood. Filled my truck twice with 1 inch particle board and 2x4's. Plan on making an ice shanty with it...or maybe a deck off my bedroom come summer.

Women: I don't know...I'm still on the fence as to whether the "pros" outweigh the "cons". We men sort of have no choice but to talk nice about them (or no pussy) and yes, you should just admit it... Some of them are indeed life enhancing, I've had several GOOD women in my life. I've also had some straight up horror shows...like the song says, "A pretty face, don't make no pretty heart". God HAD to make them beautiful, or men would stay far away from them (And humanity would be extinct) I've always been one of the few men to tell it like it is on the female subject IMHO...it's never popular, and like I said, we have little choice if we actually WANT to have one. The trick is not to need them (or sex) but to prefer it, and want it, and be a good man to have a good women, but don't build your entire life around what it takes to have and keep one. That's all too common if you just loo around with an honest eye.

I'm passing through Portland next week...I wanna some home brew!

PS: Nothing soothes my soul more sometimes than black metal. Celtic a close second.

[Mattel]

My life presently is pretty well a collection of my hobbies, I enjoy traveling, nature, studying and board-riding sports. I'm finishing an Architecture Degree. But, currently I have the opportunity to work in the mountains of Japan as a graphic designer and photographer so I'm snowboarding every other day and learning Japanese a little while I'm here whilst starting to play the guitar again. Love music (All types especially Garage rock and Hiphop but Turbonegro is about as metal as I go), food (Indonesian and Vietnamese food especially), film (Hong Kong and Japanese plus I love popular stuff - not really into genres) and literature (Kurt Vonnegut jnr, Haruki Murakami, Douglas Copeland). I had to sell my Terc to fund this trip to Japan but I realised I was a bit attached to the old girl so perhaps it was time to let some possessions go.

Think I'm going to stop drinking when I get back to Aus though. Can have a good time with or without. Seen to many issues with it lately when it is taken to extremes. Want to move somewhere close to the coastline again near Bells beach.

I used to get my hands dirty on my old VW Golf(not always when I wanted to) and fully restored a 1954 Lambretta Li150 scooter a few years back from a basket case of parts. But things have changed for me at present and I don't have time or any space to wrench. I have a love of practical durable items that last and are fixable. Quality engineering and detailing are usually worth the premium price. It angers me about the throwaway nature of society I understand the need to have fun and that technology is always going to become redundant but disagree with planned obsolesence. I research thoroughly each item I buy. I hate wastage and inefficiency. I'm always finding furniture, restoring it and selling at markets or giving it away, restoring bikes that I give to friends/and people that need them. It amazes me what people leave behind. I daily use the Sony component system I bought with my first job almost 18years ago. I hope I can use these traits in my architecture.

Sailing is awesome. Prepped and crewed a racing yacht from Townsville to Cairns a few years ago - love harnessing the power of nature. Petros, I have several family friends involved with http://www.woodenboatfestival.com.au/. Cycling is awesome. A few years ago I got to ride through Vietnam for a couple of months.

I also enjoy quiet walks along the beach at sunset... and i'm a Sagittarius/Capricorn cusp

Ohh yeah.. Karaoke tomorrow night in Sapporo! - will be staying in a love hotel or an internet booth. Not sure if this will become a hobby though.

[ARCHINSTL]

- will be staying in a love hotel

Dare I Google this?
Tom M.

[takza]

A dummy speaks on the subject of women and marriage....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENSVybYd ... re=related

[Petros]

petros, if you lived up here i'd have a sailing boat hull to give you. my dad's a hoarder and we're cleaning his yard and, after 20 years, this hull has to go. too bad!

is it worth saving? how big it is? tell me about it! I run across free sailboats regularly, some quite large. Often they will cost more to make seaworthy (in parts and paint alone) than you can buy a used seaworthy boat. I know of a guy not far from me that has seven large sailboats (from 24 to 36 ft) he got for little or no money. Several are quite nice and worth restoring, just need a lot of clean up and TLC, others I am not so sure. If I was not married my yard would look like his. Way too many projects out there than I could ever do in a lifetime. I was offered a seaworthy 45 foot ketch, all wood. The guy lived on it but was getting tired of spending all his time doing maintenance. He anchored off shore a bit near Port Townsend, rowed to shore everyday and drove to work, and than back home again. Pretty cheap living, but being on the water all the time means lots of hull maintenance. I did not have a place to put it. So I am only looking for something I can keep on a trailer (and 45 ft is way too large for that).

[hberdan]

One of my most rewarding hobbies is DRINKING really good Nut Brown Ale. Newcastle being my current favorite I think I need to drink some others for comparison though.

I don't homebrew, BUT, I used to work for the American Homebrewer's Association and the Association of Brewers, for Charlie Papazian. That's the organization that presents the Great American Beer Festival every year in Denver. What an amazing event. At the end of the GABF, the exhibitors usually leave all their leftover canned and bottled beers as it is too expensive to ship, and we would divide it up among the employees. Once I took home about 20 cases of various award winning brews for myself, and believe me, there was much more available even after all the other employees took what they wanted, I just didnt have the storage space...and couldn't leave it in the Tercel.