Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 192 posts

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#171

Post by bensima »

freshfey wrote: post #31

lifting weights. it's not only a hobby, but a balance and medicine. "When the Iron doesn’t want to come off the mat, it’s the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn’t teach you anything. That’s the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against w...ill always work against you."…

Agreed. And Henry Rollins has some great quotes about lifting. Here's another:

"The Iron never lies to you ... The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hndred pounds is always two hundred pounds."

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#173

Post by mambodog »

barmstrong wrote: post #105
mambodog wrote: post #84

I produce electronic music. These days production is all computer based, and tech knowledge gets you a long way. Also if you can learn tech skills you can probably also come to understand things like dynamics processing and frequency ranges well enough to get to the top of the game, in terms of production quality. Its one of the few things that I find to be a good mix of my creativity and tech aptitude (along with we…

What software do you recommend/use...Abelton live?

Logic on Mac, Cubase if you're stuck with Windows, Native Instruments Massive is a pretty awesome synth (for beginners and pros) and Izotope Ozone for mastering. Logic has pretty much everything else you need included but if you go with Cubase or Ableton then you'll need to stock up on 3rd party plugins including a good EQ and freq analyser, good dynamics compressor and a decent sampler.

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#174

Post by RevRal »

jacquesm wrote: post #102
RevRal wrote: post #38

I play the didgeridoo. I picked up this hobby after my lung collapsed spontaneously, and the surgeon recommended that I learn to play a wind instrument. Since the medical bills came out to over $100,000 dollars (paid with cash money FTW), I didn't much feel like spending money on a really expensive instrument that I might not even like. I also set aside an hour or two a day to read classic literature, or hard-to-read…

There's an idea! In the past I played the saxophone quite fanatically but had to stop because of lung trouble (weak spot in a lung, too much pressure). Didgeridoo... What a bummer to have to pay for your medical bills out of pocked, weren't you insured ?

If you'd like to look into it, I'd recommend the Didjeribone. Plastic, lightweight, sounds really awesome even compared to my authentic didj, and you can change its pitch.

As for the medical bills, well I was pretty young and felt invincible. That delusion was thoroughly shot down.

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#175

Post by RevRal »

JshWright wrote: post #156
RevRal wrote: post #38

I play the didgeridoo. I picked up this hobby after my lung collapsed spontaneously, and the surgeon recommended that I learn to play a wind instrument. Since the medical bills came out to over $100,000 dollars (paid with cash money FTW), I didn't much feel like spending money on a really expensive instrument that I might not even like. I also set aside an hour or two a day to read classic literature, or hard-to-read…

Mastered circle breathing yet? My brother-in-law is a dig player. It's just freaky to hear him play a note for minutes on end...

Yup, took me roughly ten hours. I can also "pulse" breath, for more intense rythms.

I've been playing for a while now.

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#176

Post by axs »

I do triathlons and marathons to get me outside and to challenge me to continuously improve my performance & health. You can geek out a good bit with all of the equipment and data that can be captured while training.

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#177

Post by jasonkester »

blackguardx wrote: post #162
jasonkester wrote: post #52

Rock Climbing, Surfing and Traveling (to do the first two) have always had a higher priority for me than programming computers, which would rank as my 4th hobby that also happens to pay my rent. I think the fact that most people classify those activities as "hobbies" says a lot about the lives we construct for ourselves: Spend 50 weeks per year doing something unpleasant so that you free up a couple weeks to do somet…

Where do you live that you can do the first two reasonably frequently?

When I lived in LA, I'd often do both on the same day. Drive up to Stoney Point, then down the hill to Malibu. You can do the same if you live near Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara. Portland in theory has both surfing and climbing, but in practice has neither (cold water + crap rock).

These days I live in England, so there's tons of climbing at my doorstep and surfing happens in month-long blocks a couple times a year. That's actually preferable, since you get warm water and smaller crowds in Morocco/Ecuador/Oz.

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#178

Post by mahipal »

bensima wrote: post #171
freshfey wrote: post #31

lifting weights. it's not only a hobby, but a balance and medicine. "When the Iron doesn’t want to come off the mat, it’s the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn’t teach you anything. That’s the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against w...ill always work against you."…

Agreed. And Henry Rollins has some great quotes about lifting. Here's another: "The Iron never lies to you ... The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hndred pounds is always…

The entire essay is great. "The Iron": http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/henryrollins_iron.html

Re: Ask HN: Hacker Hobbies?

#179

Post by roel_v »

quickpost wrote: post #161
roel_v wrote: post #26

MMA. In my experience the technical sophistication and methodical nature of submission setups appeals to people who are abstract thinkers. Many people need to get over the bar brawler reputation though :) Don't worry, most practitioners are a lot smarter than the typical Tapout fan :)

I'm am also an avid MMA practitioner... it's a much more interesting and complex sport than most people think. In addition to training, I also run a little news aggregator for it (built it for myself). Here: http://mmabuzzsaw.com/

That's a cool site, thanks. As an aside I didn't know Overeem was fighting this weekend - he /toyed/ with Rogers, I'm thinking he's going to give Fedor a run for his money. Still rooting for Fedor :)
Post reply on HN