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Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

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Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#201

Post by _spduchamp »

I build weird experimental instruments and then play them at the local electronic music open mic nights.

My main instrument is the electroduochord, a stereo two-stringed instrument played with a drone motor rotary magnetic bow. https://youtu.be/G1ftvw-Y6pk

I've also hooked up audio jacks to small solar panels to convert vibrations in light into sound. https://youtu.be/ZF2Rn5YfBC8

Now I'm working on cybernetic drumming and rhythm synthesis. https://youtu.be/oJZeP4Naqxo https://youtu.be/NwNrJLvHuAE

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#203

Post by bluGill »

edu wrote: post #129

I’ve recently started making bread, at the moment still with fresh or bakers yeast and planning to grow my own sourdough. It’s not very niche, but as a hobby it’s pretty fulfilling. It allows for a lot of play, and you end with something tasty. Also, makes for a great small gift for friends and family.

I make most of my bread with sourdough. It is really easy, it takes a bit longer, but there are less steps - just mix some more flour/water (sometimes salt, but I've not had a problem when I forget though others say it helps the taste to add salt - YMMV) into your starter and wait. Yeast is faster by a lot, but it is a lot more complex and so I don't find it worth it.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#204

Post by bluGill »

femto wrote: post #32

Railway preservation (full size, not model). It looks crowded when a steam train is running and the moths gather around. The reality, when the trains are not running, is typically quite different, with a small dedicated group. If a place looks too crowded, pick a smaller museum. Think of all the jobs that have to be done to run a railway and you will be able to find a museum that does it: heavy maintenance, boiler wo…

Only problem is this really depends on where you live. There is a nice museum 45 minutes from me - far enough that it is hard to get there for a quick evening after work...

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#205

Post by araes »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #160
alexpotato wrote: post #106

Using crooked knives [0] for woodcarving. They're essentially a combination of a plane, spoke-shave, draw-knife and gouge but all in a one handed tool. They were primarily used by Native Americans to build things like canoes, snowshoes, baskets etc. I first found about them from reading John McPhee's Survival of the Bark Canoe [1] but there are lots of uses of them on video on the website below (which I created). If…

That's pretty niche!

Almost a literal "niche" hobby. Canoe - something that resembles a recess in a wall.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#207

Post by dr_robert »

tristanb wrote: post #133
dr_robert wrote: post #80

I’m a paraglider pilot and powered paraglider recently. Totally recommended, you get to connect with nature in a meaningful way. Also people who practice this kind of sports are nice. From a tech perspective there are a lot of data generated on each flight you can create your own way to capture that data or use already existing apps.

Me too! I love the view up there.

Totally worth it

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#208

Post by jcmontx »

ryandrake wrote: post #174

If you like to work with your hands and have space, build something physical: big and complex, and actually finish it. I built a single engine two seat kit airplane in my garage, did all the flight testing, and now have an interesting way to travel/commute as a result. The "finish it" part is the most important bit. Computer people spend too much time working on projects that don't have a "done" state. Change that up…

How scary was the test flight? where did you land?

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#209

Post by jbethune »

Local urbex and exploration of 'haikyo' areas. Easy for me since I am in Tokyo and it's super walkable. I have taken to just getting on the train and getting off at random stations and walking in a random direction for a couple of kilometers. Every now and then I run into interesting abandoned buildings or neat shrines. Also makes for good exercise.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#210

Post by EvanAnderson »

eitally wrote: post #107
PaulHoule wrote: post #83

I've been doing photography for a long time but over the last few years had phases where I got bored of it and tried something new. I had a long time when I was bored and carried the camera in my pack but never took any pictures, then one day I looked out at the sports center out my window and decided to start shooting sports. Posting photos to socials I found flower photographs were popular so I take a lot of them a…

Same, but not the same. I've also been doing photography for a long time and when I had kids I added some gear & skills to shoot them playing sports. After a few years of this I realized since I was already there I might as well shoot the whole team, or both/all teams, since everyone's families would value the photos. When I was laid off at the end of last year I decided to formalize this and now have a side gig (rea…

That gig is something I tried to do w/ my daughter's sports for the past 5-ish years. I loved shooting her games and distributing the photos both teams. It was so much fun.

I had a nasty altercation with a parent last fall and now I can't pick up the camera w/o getting PTSD-like symptoms. I'd love to know how "pros" handle dealing with that kind of thing. I had a similar situation years ago w/ a guy who got in my face for shooting on the street at a festival. My solution there was to just stop doing it.

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