Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

news.ycombinator.com

31–40 of 111 posts

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#31
Making music. At the ripe old age of 16, I bought DJ Shadow's "Entroducing" album, and wanted to make music just like that. Started out making "music" with the Wave Editor that shipped with Windows 95, and the rest is history.

In the last 26 years or so (man that sounds like a long time), I've learned a number of different DAW's, put a modular system together, learned to play instruments (piano, guitar, drums), and wrote hundreds of songs. It's such a fulfilling hobby. Which has been equally fulfilling every step of the way. From noob to whatever I am now. Can't imagine life without it.

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#32

- Karaoke: a friend of mine did a monthly outing to a karaoke bar and invited me along. It turned into a great friend group as well as a fun skill to practice, and now I host karaoke parties and write karaoke software. - Theater: got into it in middle school and never looked back. The way to get into it now is either to just audition for community shows, or take classes somewhere. I have found that cooking, building…

What does your karaoke software consist of?

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#33
post #25
post #8

Learning Ableton opened me up to a whole world of meeting new people and picking up new skills. https://www.ableton.com/en/live/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iuRsiKtObw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxY0x1i3XhY https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9oiyAGA6zOTSPR5-ttojODT4... Getting some teenage engineering pocket operators is also something I'd strongly recommend. They're affordable and fun! Check out this 8 ye…

8 hour course? Did you actually get through the entire thing? Was it worth it?

I learned ableton through trial and error, but I have watched the whole video and got a lot from it. I wish I'd had that resource when I was starting out, would have saved me a lot of time. So I'd say: yes, it's worth it if you're picking up ableton.

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#34
Fixing things, maybe a bit beyond the typical DIYer because I'll even do things that don't exactly make sense. Stage 1 I would say is that you diagnose and replace entire major components yourself. Stage 2 is you diagnose further and replace subcomponents. Stage 3 is you start replacing the smallest failed component on a subcomponent (replacing the capacitor on a small sub board on a larger device)

I'm at stage 2.

If the alternator on my car gives out, I'll figure out which component failed (brushes? voltage control module?) and I'll replace or fix it.

If my washer acts up, I'll basically fix whatever it is.

My dad's cement mixer stops working ? Take it apart and notice the pulley driving the drum is loose because the set pin came undone.

Basically I'm acting like the typical person outside of cities just a generation or two ago.

The best part is, once you fix something once, you learn about it and then you really don't want to throw the device away when the next thing breaks because you feel like you already know and understand it a bit so might as well keep going.

It doesn't always make sense once you factor in your time, but that applies to many hobbies. Atleast this one technically saves you money instead of costs you money.

Tldr; fixing mechanical things is a bit like debugging and troubleshooting, but instead of just fixing some code that annoyed someone somewhere, I'm fixing things I use everyday.

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#35
Outdoor activities It started with rock climbing, but these days it's trail running, skiing, and mountain biking. I've always loved being outside and being active, so they were natural hobbies to pick up. I've chosen where I live so I can do this 365 days a year.

Piano I can't actually get outside 365 days a year, because I need rest days. I also wanted a non-physical hobby to exercise my brain. I played drums when I was a kid and missed making music. I bought a digital piano and dabbled for 4 or 5 months then started taking weekly lessons. If you have any interest in music related hobbies, I'd highly recommend learning piano.

Cooking This is normally more of a winter hobby for me, but I'll try and cook through a whole (or most) of a cookbook. It's interesting to really get into one cuisine or style of cooking for a while, vs. hoping all over the place every couple of weeks.

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#36
post #28

Magic: the Gathering. Started playing very casually before stepping into a more competitive scene. It's both strategic (intersection between poker and chess) as well as creatively expressive (deckbuilding/theorycrafting). Downsides: $$$

Why people don't just play with fake cheap cards?

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#37
This summer I started playing pickup volleyball in local parks in the city. I've found a meetup or facebook group for almost every day of the week, and I've gone from total beginner to pretty competitive in just a few months. It's free, a great way to meet new people, and a great way to stay active.

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#39
post #3

I started playing chess online recently. I found it a bit too addictive:)

I mean, I'm also a poor lost soul here, but HG Wells was right:

The passion for playing chess is one of the most unaccountable in the world. It slaps the theory of natural selection in the face. It is the most absorbing of occupations. The least satisfying of desires. A nameless excrescence upon life. It annihilates a man. You have, let us say, a promising politician, a rising artist that you wish to destroy. Dagger or bomb are archaic and unreliable - but teach him, inoculate him with chess.

Re: Ask HN: What's your favourite hobby and how did it start?

#40

I've been having a lot of fun with HAM radio lately -- it's tech adjacent, and very social.

I'm into 'overlanding' which is basically mild offroading. I got into ham radio a few years ago on a whim, and combining the two is great fun and gives a bit of purpose to both hobbies.

Each trip I get to research repeaters. Program the radios. Test while traveling in different locations.

Why am I driving 200 miles into the mountains this weekend? To use the ham radio. Why am I researching and using ham radios? To make driving in the mountains alone safer. It's a win/win.

Post reply on HN