Jazz Piano.
Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
31–40 of 85 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#32Combat sports. Right now I train judo and armored combat (I.e. fighting in full armor with blunted swords and axes)
As a side benefit this forces me to stay fit. I find few things as motivating as knowing there’s a set date in the near future when I will be locked in a ring with someone who is going to try to hurt me
A lot of 30-something programmers like jujitsu since is has the same competitive aspect and a little bit of danger without the heavy impact and attendant risk of brain injury
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Best way is practice. The photo per day challenge makes you accountable. Plus it is a reason to go places you otherwise wouldn't.
Or people can just enjoy things in an organic way. I'm tired of "challenges". It's ok not to practice something every day. We don't need to be constantly working on ourselves. It's ok to just be.
Seconded.
I too call photography one of my hobbies and when I started out back then (it's been 7 or 8 years now) I'd run into creativity blockades all the time. So I did what most would do and took to the internet, especially forums, which told me to just do the 'Photo a Day' challenge for a year straight. Well, suffice to say it just made me feel even worse about the hobby and nearly made me sell my gear back then because it just drained every bit of creativity I had left.
My anecdotally-based advice in this situation: take a break, put your gear somewhere it is easily accessible and in arm's reach but, most importantly, out of sight. You don't want to be reminded of it every day if you need a break. For me it went so far as to me selling every piece of photographic equipment I owned which wasn't a smart decision financially but after two years of not shooting at all i suddenly had the urges again, bought all the necessary (and none more) gear and got back to it, better than ever before!
Long rant, point being: take a break when you feel like it. Hobbies are just that: hobbies. They shouldn't feel like a job, you (hopefully) already got that covered; don't make it one.
And lastly: have fun with whatever you deem fun, don't stress out too much :)
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#34Lately I’ve had an increased desire to learn things. Usually I’d be gaming or watching tv shows, now there’s so many shows to catch up on because I apparently like learning. Maybe I was depressed — I don’t know.
That put a smile on my face. That's good to hear, friend. Have fun in your newfound learning journey. Take care!
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#35Meta: It’s so awesome how many of these hobbies are essentially free these days. For example,
You already have a computer and all of the best languages and libraries are free so programming is now free.
You already have a quality camera on your phone and you don’t have to buy film and have it developed and print it on physical paper so photography is now free.
So much of the world’s literature is now available online for free, sometimes not-so-legal, but if you live in a poor country or out in the woods reading is free too.
If you want to learn about new hobbies or watch others do then beautifully then YouTube has amazing videos to watch. More than you could consume in a lifetime.
What a time to be alive!
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#36Job: Programmer My biggest source of happiness comes from playing the violin and listening to music. I tried getting into making electronic music, but I too hit the wall of not wanting to sit in front of a computer anymore after workday. That's why I like the violin's pure analog-ness: absolutely raw and crude, no abstraction, no interface, fret-less, zero-config, no knobs to be _fiddled_ with. You sound as good as y…
Just like user f0e4c2f7 said in the sibling comment, I'd advise you to check out hardware synthesizers if you are looking to create electronic music without being in front of a monitor. Maybe take a look at Teenage Engineering's Pocket Operator line, a bunch of synthesizers in pocket calculator size. They are extremely limited but if you know how to work them they can create suprisingly complex tunes ranging from hip-hop beats and R&B to industrial and hard techno; and of course everything in between.
Currently I am toying around a lot on an Elektron Model:Cycles, a roughly Letter-sized FM-Synthesizer (Frequency Modulation) box that harnesses great potential, much more than I can dream of using right now; but it's a journey, right?
Beware, it's easy to fall into the rabbit hole of modular synthesizers because they allow the maximum degree of control, meaning full, over the sounds you can call into existance.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#37My hobby is hobbies! I'm notorious for picking up new hobbies all the time. For me the enjoyment is diving into something as a beginner and building up a basic mastery. Normally, at that point it get a little bored and move on. Granted, i do not feel like a master of anything i pick up, but i feel like i have a grasp of the basics and enough to more fully enjoy the topic. For example when i was really into photography i took it to the level of building my own dark room and developing my film/prints. For me its all about the learning process and not necessarily even the end result i care about.
Current obsessions - Leather working - Watching making / repair
Prior hobbies - kayaking - homebrew (beer) - making bread - lock picking - various electronics - photography - knitting - welding - every programming language ever - wood working
If you are interested in any of these i'm happy to chat you up
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#38Job: Programmer My biggest source of happiness comes from playing the violin and listening to music. I tried getting into making electronic music, but I too hit the wall of not wanting to sit in front of a computer anymore after workday. That's why I like the violin's pure analog-ness: absolutely raw and crude, no abstraction, no interface, fret-less, zero-config, no knobs to be _fiddled_ with. You sound as good as y…
Just like user f0e4c2f7 said in the sibling comment, I'd advise you to check out hardware synthesizers if you are looking to create electronic music without being in front of a monitor. Maybe take a look at Teenage Engineering's Pocket Operator line, a bunch of synthesizers in pocket calculator size. They are extremely limited but if you know how to work them they can create suprisingly complex tunes ranging from hip…
I'm not powersnail but I'm the OP - I tried going the DAWless route and bought myself a synth and a drum machine/sequencer Digitakt. Generally I enjoyed the process but I still feel it's too much of a programming approach to creating music which made me feel fatigued too fast (after a workday). I'm genuinely happy playing an 'analaog' instrument like a guitar without an aim to creating something, just fiddling around.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#39My 'day job' is being an engineering student so I'm kinda short on time and energy as well.
Currently my main hobbies consist of riding bicycles (fixed-gear, singlespeed), analog large format photography, bouldering, and hardware synthesizers making mostly hard techno/industrial tunes.
I am saying 'currently' because these do tend to vary over time, sometimes some of them fade out, others take their place or maybe the others take over their spot. Hobbies are somewhat fluid for me and I think this is beneficial for me as it prevents hobby burnout somewhat, I found.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#40I drilled a hole in a fridge and put temperature and humidity sensors inside, plus a fan, and a dehumidifier. Now I have a miniature "basement" that I can inoculate with good mold, fill with different types of meat, and make my own charcuterie.
Been doing this for a year now, had a few successful produce as a result, and many many failures.