Hobbies and Leisure-Time Activities

[public hermit]

Do y'all have hobbies or things you do for pure pleasure? I have a garden every year. I can grow things (the old folks used to say, "She can root a toothpick!" Hahaha). I live in the woods, so I have been practicing bush craft skills. I was never a boy scout (I was a cub scout for two weeks, haha). So, I feel like I missed out on something. I like to look for animal tracks, or practice primitive fire-making skills, or practice making various kinds of snares. I also play the guitar and read. Reading is more like an addiction, but I guess it could be classified as a hobby.

What are your hobbies, past-times, side-interests, diversions, leisure-time activities, etc.?

 

[Brightmoon]

Im a dancer ,at my age we’re called silver swans .( Probably because we’re about as graceful as a swan made of tinfoil caught in a windstorm .) I quilt , paint and draw and I still study science even though I’ve been out of school for decades . I’m a house plant fiend I’ve “officially” got too many plants in the house. Over 50 genera with a few species in each. I’m also a serious reader I’ll buy textbooks! And I like junk sci fi and fantasy novels

 

[bèlla]

Ooh! That’s really cool. Do you forage too? Do you plant outdoors only? You could probably build a hoop house! Unless you have a greenhouse.

What are you growing? Do you can, keep a larder, etc? As you can see I like this stuff!

As for me... hobbies and interests

Gourmet cooking and baking, wine appreciation, travel, design (fashion and interior), writing, reading, sewing, woodworking, crafts, photography, culture (opera, symphony, ballet, theater, and art), eco-friendly living, canning, soapmaking, positive psychology, etiquette cycling, golf, homemaking, real estate and finance, learning new skills, and period dramas.

In the coming year, I’m taking Chado (Japanese) tea lessons and French if time permits.

~Bella

 

[( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

I go thru seasons where I will binge read, and I guess that could be considered a hobby. But mainly, my time is spent exercising myself in religious things or pouring over entrepreneurial ideas I have.

 

[public hermit]

I still study science even though I’ve been out of school for decades

I've been thinking about buying a microscope. I had one as a kid. Looking at pond water is fascinating, lot's of living things. Boil your pond water before you drink it, kids. haha.

 

[public hermit]

Unless you have a greenhouse

I really am thinking about building a greenhouse. I would like to be able to grow all year, which might be possible in this part of the country with a greenhouse.

real estate and finance

That's a hobby? I need to step up my game!

woodworking

How is the mammoth coming?

 

[Brightmoon]

I've been thinking about buying a microscope. I had one as a kid. Looking at pond water is fascinating, lot's of living things. Boil your pond water before you drink it, kids. haha.

I’ve got a biology degree. You’re preaching to the choir here . Of course if you look at tap water you won’t drink water for a year ( been there ,done that) . I still dissect mice caught in the trap. ( wear gloves!!!!!)

 

[public hermit]

I still dissect mice caught in the trap. ( wear gloves!!!!!)

Hahaha, wow you've got the science bug bad (good).

 

[Rigatoni]

I've gotten into a lot over the years, so I have quite the diverse list of hobbies and leisure activities. Music is a definite passion of mine, and I enjoy singing and playing guitar (electric and acoustic). I haven't been playing too much lately, but do perform off and on for family gatherings and such, especially around the holidays.

I enjoy crafts and model-making as well. I used to love miniatures as a kid, and started getting more into models for my college design classes. I both enjoy and prefer making models as gifts for family and friends, as it's more personal. This was a manger scene custom made for a good friend here on CF last year, using basswood, wood glue, two types of wood stain and a scroll saw:


Also enjoy reading, drawing (which I do a lot for figuring out various things), photography, learning new things / research, biking, inline skating, culinary arts, weight lifting, gemology, jogging, gardening and various other things - some more seriously than others. I enjoy the outdoors myself, and want to learn more survival skills.

Something that started as a hobby and became a profession is game content development. I highly enjoy both the creative and mathematical aspects of the field. Procedural noise is exciting to work with, and has almost endless possibilities in game design:

 

[public hermit]

Something that started as a hobby and became a profession is game content development. I highly enjoy both the creative and mathematical aspects of the field. Procedural noise is exciting to work with, and has almost endless possibilities in game design:

That's fascinating. I had to look up procedural or Perlin noise. I still don't know what it is, but it makes things look more organic, maybe?

 

[public hermit]

This was a manger scene custom made for a good friend here on CF last year, using basswood, wood glue, two types of wood stain and a scroll saw:

That is fantastic!

 

[bèlla]

I really am thinking about building a greenhouse. I would like to be able to grow all year, which might be possible in this part of the country with a greenhouse.

I think you should. It would extend your season and you’d have more to give away.

That's a hobby? I need to step up my game!

I look at real estate from an investment perspective. Developing is part of the business plan I was given. As for finance, minding your money leads to better sleep.

How is the mammoth coming?

He should be done. My classmate produces a yearly flower show. He’s a landscape architect and very talented. I’ll take some shots from the event.

~Bella

 

[ReesePiece23]

When I'm not writing I'm painting. I LOVE abstract work, because it gives me a free pass to go absolutely nuts. I enjoy the more attention to detail work as well, but something about abstract art is so cathartic.

Just buying the paints and the canvases fills me with a certain level of joy that I can't compare with anything else. Anyone who paints knows exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[Rigatoni]

That's fascinating. I had to look up procedural or Perlin noise. I still don't know what it is, but it makes things look more organic, maybe?

It can be used in that way, yes. But mainly, it's used to simulate randomness in games, or psuedo-randomess. True randomness doesn't exist, but something similar can be simulated through complex algorithms, making things appear more varied and unpredictable. It's used in games such as Minecraft (for generating infinite worlds) and No Man's Sky (allowing for an an entire galaxy to be explored). This video of No Man Sky's endless galaxy and planets gives an idea of what's possible through this technology (best to skip to the 34s mark):

Although, it has both major advantages and disadvantages, and developers are still mastering this design technique. It can be used for adding variety and diversity in games, as well as for creating large worlds or even for data compression. However, there has to be a balance between what is calculated procedurally by the processor, and what is hand-created by artists. Procedural content can be cheaper to produce, but also can get very boring very fast (as is the case with Minecraft). Loading up an infinite world and surviving is fun for awhile. But eventually, players crave more content and some form of ever-increasing progression.

That is fantastic!

Thanks

 

[public hermit]

True randomness doesn't exist, but something similar can be simulated through complex algorithms, making things appear more varied and unpredictable

It never occurred to me that true randomness would not happen, so that one would have to give the appearance of randomness. I think about the game Asteroids when I was a kid. It was random, but not quite random enough.

But eventually, players crave more content and some form of ever-increasing progression.

It's fascinating how quickly the human mind can accommodate and then become bored.

 

[Ada Lovelace]

I've been a competitive dancer since I was five, and it is still a passion and a pillar in my life. I feel like it's a way of making art with my body. But it's not my hobby. A couple of years ago I really began to crave a way to gain the same pleasures as with dancing - the creativity and artistry of it - but without any of the pressures - and I serendipitously discovered circus arts. I first was focused more on aerial dance but have since become more captivated by contortion art.

I made this for one of my trainers, using his two favorite songs, of us working together or with his family:

I also write poems and am a singer / songwriter; I've shared some of what I've written and my music on here in the past. Painting used to be part of my daily life but since I'm no longer taking art classes it sadly hasn't been as much of it lately. I also love running!!!!!

 

[Brightmoon]

Hahaha, wow you've got the science bug bad (good).

learned naked eye astronomy a few years ago. That was fun ! Saw a lunar eclipse that turned the moon black . You wouldn’t believe the number of people who freaked out when I pointed it out to them . I had fun that night( I'm a bad girl) . I saw the planets line up like pearls on one of those tin cup necklaces from mercury to Pluto back in the 90s . Of course you could only see up to Saturn but the others were there. My next door neighbors were a bunch of real street people and I knew they were up and told them to come outside( in freezing weather) to see the planets . They were in their pajamas but they ran out, all 20 of them, to see those astronomy sights. I saw comets , eclipses , once even saw Jupiter’s Galilean moons through a decent telescope at Lincoln Center one night after the ballet! Ive had to tell a few people that Jupiter and Venus weren’t UFOs and that the constellations Aries thru Pisces were real and you can see them easily . Astronomy is fun. Jupiter is out tonight if it’s not cloudy . Planets don’t twinkle!

 

[public hermit]

Astronomy is fun

Astronomy is fun! And it's something you want to share when you know what you're looking at.

What a significant sight to see them all lined up. Something like that happened Dec. 1st 1997. Five planets by sight and two more with field-glasses.

8 PLANETS, MOON WILL LINE UP THIS WEEK FOR RARE SKY SHOW

I saw comets , eclipses , once even saw Jupiter’s Galilean moons through a decent telescope at Lincoln Center one night after the ballet!

That was some night!

Ive had to tell a few people that Jupiter and Venus weren’t UFOs

Even the ancients knew better.

 

[timewerx]

It can be used in that way, yes. But mainly, it's used to simulate randomness in games, or psuedo-randomess. True randomness doesn't exist

Use the Pi constant.

So far, they can't find any repeating numbers in the decimal.

I've used Pi to generate random numbers before for data analysis. You do find some sort of patterns if you interpret the numbers as a quantity (in graphs).

At the very heart of our reality is a circle (quantum). The foundation of reality itself and life.

You can download it from somewhere Pi decimal extrapolated to the 1 millionth digit, etc. Careful with what you find!

 

[blackribbon]

I love history...which lead to a fascination with my family's genealogy and how we fit into history. I just acquired my grandmother's notes and am amazed how far back my family has been documenting our history.

I also love reading most things medical. My current patient has locked-in syndrome and that is giving me more than enough to research on. The mind is a truly fascinating thing.