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

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

#61

Post by etrautmann »

MetallicCloud wrote: post #15

Woodworking - It started when someone on my work slack posted an image of an arcade machine they had made. I thought "I want one of those". So I borrowed a circular saw and made one. Then I was hooked. Now I'm doing lots of home improvements, such as building a coffee bar and converting an unused area into a pantry. I'm currently building some shop furniture, then I'll be converting an unused cupboard near our entry…

yeah this is the same for me. I've slowly built most of our furniture and it's really hard to pay moneydollars for the crappy stuff (even high end) sold anywhere. I can't stand veneered products from Herman Miller for $2k that would be fun to build, but I don't have enough time to build them.

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

#62

Post by epiccoleman »

etrautmann wrote: post #60
epiccoleman wrote: post #53

My biggest one right now is music. I recently started taking some guitar lessons again (my first lessons since high school). It's been a great motivation to bust through some plateaus. It's been a big encouragement too to pick up some other skills - I've been getting into recording and DAWs and even have done some (very noobish) video production. I was really inspired recently by Ben Levin's music channel, so I cribb…

I'm not sure that's a bad habit - exploring lots of different interests is totally okay (especially for children but also adults). Each of those things you try teaches you something you may apply elsewhere. There's a quote I can only partially paraphrase where if you only stay motivated for some period of time for different activities, then "maybe you found what you were looking for" in one that you put down or rotat…

Yeah, I'm not sure it's bad either, hence the question mark - but there are tradeoffs when you bounce around between stuff. Jack of all trades, master of none, etc. Still, I'm not going to change that aspect of myself - it's fun!

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

#63

Post by H1Supreme »

schemescape wrote: post #46
H1Supreme wrote: post #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 w…

Any interest in sharing some of the resources/communities that helped you? Or any examples of your work?

It's changed a lot over the years. There were forums I belonged to early on, but most are gone these days. Typically, if I have a question about something particular these days, I Google it, and usually run into a YouTube video, or a random link (a lot of those end up being Reddit).

I don't release music (although I do consider from time to time). I mostly just enjoy the process, and listening back to older work.

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

#64

Post by blakeburnette »

randcraw wrote: post #5

I got a bicycle at age 6 and a minibike at age 11 and have ridden bikes and cycles ever since, mostly on-road but I'd love to do more off. I only wish it was safer to share the road. Most drivers act like running down a cyclist is their god-given right.

This, I got hit by a car on my lunch break two weeks ago. I've been riding for 30 years + now and this is the first time that's happened, but all it takes is once. MTB is fun, but injuries are more frequent. Motorcycles and racetracks are really fun, but they have their own risks. 2 wheels is magical though.

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

#65

Post by ParallelThread »

infamousclyde wrote: post #42

I like running (now). I never played sports growing up, and would not consider myself particularly athletic. I joined my country's military as an officer, and always found myself running at someone else's pace, which was also awful. When I finished my undergraduate degree, I found I had a huge vacuum of time. So, I started running. I signed up for a marathon with some friends and the training was fun, because I was r…

What was your rampup or training like? How long did it take you to run continuously?

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

#66

Post by lostlogin »

aidos wrote: post #56
lostlogin wrote: post #49

Beekeeping. It’s fairly inexpensive and most people love honey (you end up with masses). You can find swarms pretty easily and it’s very satisfying to save them. A bedraggled clump of sad bees in the rain can be transformed into a productive monster given the right home. You can learn it from a friendly beekeeper, a local club, or a good book. There is no substitute for seeing a skilled person work with them though.…

Interesting! I’ve always wanted to get into beekeeping. How big of a space do you need for a hive though?

About 1 square metre. For each hive you need enough space for it and then double it (for when you take boxes off) with room to stand. That said, bees work best in the sun and beekeeping is easiest with two hives.

Keeping it from messing with neighbours too much is a good idea, as dirty washing or stings wouldn’t be appreciated. Heaving the entrance to the hive close to a wall or fence is a traditional way to get them to fly high and away from people.

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

#67

Post by H1Supreme »

epiccoleman wrote: post #57
schemescape wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any interest in sharing some of the resources/communities that helped you? Or any examples of your work?

It's pretty dependent on what exactly you want to do, but I have found the Signals Music Studio channel to be a great resource for learning some music theory and composition stuff. Music theory is not a necessary entry point per se, but it can help to get some basic concepts into your head to play around with. But really, the best thing you can possibly do is just pick something that seems adjacent to music you like…

Music theory isn't a necessity, and I didn't using anything but samples for the first 5 years or so. But, I'd recommend people learning it as soon as possible. Even just picking out the root, third, fifth, and seventh of a key. Then, making random melodies / sequences until something sounds cool.

LPT: If someone is new, and looking to make house, techno, etc. I'd recommend sticking to minor keys when exploring music theory.

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

#68

Post by oh_nice_marmot »

Photography.

Started with film when I was a kid but was always scared by my parents because of the "high cost" and then when I got my first digital there were no more restrictions.

It opened up other areas of interest that are tangentially related to it: I go hiking/camping, learned Photoshop and video editing, spend time learning about the masters in Painting/Photography/Film making, scouting for locations where to go on holidays. Even started a, not very successful but fun, YouTube channel.

It is also possible to enjoy it daily once you know what is out there.

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

#69

Post by epiccoleman »

lagrange77 wrote: post #51
mdf wrote: post #22

Currently, birding. Got really into it in 2021 since it pretty much runs in the family. I feel that observing the lives of our fellow creatures helps me really destress and put my mind off work. Interestingly, I find that birding while walking in the nature works better in this regard than just walking in the nature. Get a good pair of binoculars, a bird sound recognition app for your mobile[1], and a bird field guid…

Nice, i'm an amateur birder, meaning i'm just standing in front of the office building and ..watch the birds. But lately i have been thinking more and more about professionalizing it. It's so calm and fascinating. My favorites are Corvids.

I love to spot any raptor - I'm even a little superstitious about them and tend to take sighting a hawk as a good omen. I also always love to watch a heron/crane - they just seem so dinosaur-ish. Very interesting birds.

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

#70

Post by onemoresoop »

Electric unicycle aka EUC (by InMotion/Solowheel). It's an amazing ride and had no falls in more than 5 years but am constantly careful for traffic. I highly recommend it and the few hours of training needed are totally worth it to enjoy this device. Tip for beginners: take it to a supermakert parking lot and use a cart to hold onto for balance then push it forward and in circles for a few hours. Once learnt it's easier than walking, no kidding!!
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