Ask HN: What are your (non-hn-related) hobbies?
Inspired by a recent thread suggesting recommendations on things not having to do with your interests and expanding your horizons, I ask:
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?
136 comments
[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 467 ms ] threadAlong those lines, Shibari. It's a great way to meet girls.
(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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.)
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.
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/1407277633.html
I recommend it to everybody too! www.geocaching.com
Alas, my hobbies are mostly on hold until the babies get bigger.
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.