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Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

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Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#281

Post by hermitcrab »

towledev wrote: post #272
chasd00 wrote: post #261

amateur liquid bi-prop rocket engines for the High Power Rocketry hobby are gaining momentum. There's lot of opportunity there for performance profiling and even more if you have access to a machine tools like CNC lathes. There's also interest in active stabilization of amateur rockets using engine gimbaling which would put so much more performance in reach. These guys are legit and actually flying airframes instead…

As a kid, I dreamed of doing this. Some of my earliest googling was related to rocket fuel, probably right after October Sky came out. What differentiates High-Power from the other options?

Model rockets are classified as 'high power' above a certain impulse. In places like the UK and US you are expected to gradually work your way up from low impulse motors (A,B,C) to high impulse motors (J,K,L+).

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#282

Post by johnthedebs »

I got into fig (and since then, more broadly, fruit) cultivation. Figs have a rich history, lots of variety, and there are very active online (and in-person) communities where you can buy or exchange plants and cuttings, advice, and fruit. This grew out of an initial interest in gardening, and the long-term goal is to create a food/fruit forest around our house where me, family, friends, and neighbors can walk around, spend time, and eat the absolute best fruit possible.

So far I've got about 40 fig trees in containers (~30 varieties), am focusing a bit more on blackberries this year (4 varieties that were planted last year), and we also have strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, as well as a more standard annual garden with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc as well as some wild edibles: mulberries, wineberries, and black raspberries.

There's a lot of interesting angles to this hobby: fruit selection, cultivation, harvesting, pest management (annoying but still interesting), landscape design, etc. Planning cycles are months at a minimum, and but more often you have to keep in mind what you want the landscape and experience to be like years from now.

It makes it more enjoyable to spend time outside doing physical things when the weather is warm, and I mostly take a break from it (or switch to planning) during the winters here.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#283

Post by monssooon »

MandieD wrote: post #274

My hobby involves some of the oldest technology we've been able to find evidence of. It started as spinning with a hand spindle using prepared (combed/carded) wool, and has evolved into looking for interesting fleeces directly from the shepherds (plenty given away or sold cheaply around here), figuring out how best to wash and process (hand comb? drum carder? spin directly from the slightly-opened locks?), working on…

Im imterested in hearing more about this. Do you have a YouTube channel or any other place to follow you?

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#284

Post by hermitcrab »

aslushnikov wrote: post #255

I'm very much into niche hobbies: they usually have nice tight & friendly communities. Below are some of my favorite I'd love to share: - FPV drone flying: once you've spent 5-10 hours to get initial reflexes for the controls in the simulator, the first flight on a real machine outside feels magical. - Electric unicycles: the "mind-controlled" PEV, and arguably the best way to get around in San Francisco. - Foiling:…

>FPV drone flying

What sort of set-up would be a good one for a beginner?

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#286

Post by unsupp0rted »

Triphibian wrote: post #81
ngokevin wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Blood on the Clocktower to do this, it's a social deduction game (that's just not randomly accusing each other) so it gets everyone talking easily

It has been my experience that social deduction games are very attractive to folks who have problems socializing in day-to-day life. You can see them almost come alive when they are given the permission.

Yes and the reverse is also true. I don’t like to play social games at my meetups because that’s a framework that seems to stifle genuine conversation. I do sometimes provide hypothetical questions as a bit of scaffolding.

> You can receive $1 million immediately for every 1 year of your life you are willing to give up (taken off the end of your life). How many years, if any, do you sell?

> You get to ask a "Cosmic Google" one single question about any mystery in history (e.g., "Who was Jack the Ripper?" or "Are we alone in the universe?") and get the absolute truth. What are you asking?

> If everyone in the world had a floating stat above their head (like "lies told" or "pizzas eaten"), which stat would you want to be able to see?

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#287

Post by hyperkewb »

bramgn wrote: post #258

Juggling! I used to juggle when i was a teenager, managed to juggle 5 balls and clubs. Then after decades of neglecting it, i picked it up again and i found the joy in this hobby again! I can highly recommend.

Same! Highly recommend checking out your local juggling club if you have one!

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#288

Post by [deleted] »

Gooblebrai wrote: post #22
unsupp0rted wrote: post #3

My hobby is organizing in-person meetups for random people to get together, chat and make friends. Barely structured, if at all. I've found this rewarding and ended up making friends this way. You have to accept that 5-15% of the people who would show up to something like this are genuine weirdos you probably don't want to be around. And another 10% at any given meetup are autistic or neuro-divergent but well-meaning…

I organise events as well and I'm wondering if you ever charged for them. I used to do them for free but so many people signed up and didn't attend later that it was hard to put numbers to book a venue to meet. How did you solve this?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#289

Post by MrDresden »

unsupp0rted wrote: post #3

My hobby is organizing in-person meetups for random people to get together, chat and make friends. Barely structured, if at all. I've found this rewarding and ended up making friends this way. You have to accept that 5-15% of the people who would show up to something like this are genuine weirdos you probably don't want to be around. And another 10% at any given meetup are autistic or neuro-divergent but well-meaning…

Have you done any write ups about how best to go about doing something like this?

I'd love to organize something like this in my local community but somehow am not sure where or how to start really.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?

#290

Post by jolt42 »

elevation wrote: post #240

Consider mathematics. If you already know enough math to derive the quadratic equation, you might make a small change, like adding X^3 or X^4. See where your own techniques take you before looking up the answer. With just a few pen strokes, you will be playing with an equation for which there is no general solution, or no known solution. In mathematics it will take you very little time to start playing at the boundar…

I like this. I like crossword puzzles but don't like I'm just solving pre-made puzzles rather than exploring new territory. Math seems the best candidate but are there other fields with similar challenges?
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