I was a software engineer. I had to quit workforce at 55 because of health problem. I felt that i must continue to work on something useful. I had to choose between writing a novel or trying to find an algorithm for P=NP. I chose P vs NP as a hobby since i like tough problems. If you want to know what is the P=NP problem, you will find many good videos on youtube. I am 65 now and this is my last year for this hobby since health problems aggravated slowly. Now i know a lot about algorithms for P=NP and i want to program the last one i found. I think my next hobby will be writing short stories and if i am good enough i will try to write a novel. Have a good day!
Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
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Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#62I 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.
Is there somewhere you are writing about this, think yesterday's "Do Things, Tell People" post? This sounds very intriguing!
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#63Gaming, cooking and learning to draw these days. All fun in different ways. Learning to cook both fancy high effort meals and super quick, nutritious meals has been tasty and healthy. Trying to draw life like objects and scenes has been really cool because I found its about learning to see accurately. Good games are often better than most TV/Movies these days. It's a long story you can be part of rather than passively consume.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#64Gaming, cooking and learning to draw these days. All fun in different ways. Learning to cook both fancy high effort meals and super quick, nutritious meals has been tasty and healthy. Trying to draw life like objects and scenes has been really cool because I found its about learning to see accurately. Good games are often better than most TV/Movies these days. It's a long story you can be part of rather than passivel…
What are some you favorite games?
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#65I started learning Japanese 4 months ago, and tried to invest at least 1h a day decyphering kanjies, learning new words and some grammar.
So far it's going pretty well. I've got half of 常用 kanjies under my belt and ~1500 words of vocabulary that allow me to get a basic understanding of what's going on in easy mangas.
1000 more words and I plan on getting N3 cert.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#66I build and compete with cars! You can do it very cheaply too, any stock car can do rallycross or autocross, for example.
I rallycrossed my daily driver for years before getting into stage rally. A skidplate is recommended, though. I've rallycrossed VW golf's, Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords, Civics, a Dodge Omni, trucks, anything really that I can get my hands on to compete with. Modern cars are tough, and you won't usually even scratch anything.
I very much recommend rallycross as it teaches you a lot about car control, and you can enter for ~$50. If you're in CA there's Norcal, Socal, and CRS series.
Norcal series: http://www.norcalrallycross.com
Socal: https://www.calclubrallyx.com/
My email is my username at Gmail, if you want to reach out.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#67Drawing or doodling to be more precise. I was never good at arts and crafts classes in school but I love to draw on paper. My favorite combo is pencil+markers.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#68Yep, I am an entrepreneur and work a ton in front of the computer, I get a lot of joy from that but if I let it pull me in too much I get burned out.
My biggest sources of happiness are the following...
(email in profile if you want any details / pictures)
Reading - I love reading and I read a TON. I focus on fun books... so science fiction, fantasy, and things that just let me escape and explore worlds, characters, etc. I think my ratio last year was like 95% fun books to serious books about work related topics.
Biking and bike tours! - I normally do to two to three 2-hour bike rides during the week. They get me in the woods and are super good for my soul. I also do big bike tours, I just did one through Portugal and Spain over the old Camino routes (over a few weeks and ~1,00km). These are amazing as I get to explore a place at a slow pace, eat great food, see historical sites, and have some adventure. I stay in cheap hotels usually, and I want to try camping soon. You can do these in back roads in the USA as well and there are some great local routes if you want to start with just a two day one (awesome rail paths around DC for example).
Yoga/ST - Go to a class or get a trainer, it was so good for me mentally. I am at a place now where I do 30 to 40 min 4-5 days and it is so good for my back injury and general well being. Plus as I get older I stay fit and can keep up with my son.
What else? Cooking and learning to cook some specific dishes. Hiking and getting outdoors with my family. Family road trips too.
What I did in the past:
Ultimate Frisbee I used to play a ton of ultimate frisbee, it is a great sport with great people. And, it is super relaxed and open to newbies. I highly recommend joining a local league (usually when done for the day they break out a keg and everyone drinks and chats). I played from highschool to my mid 30s. I stopped playing when I moved to a new place and didn't join the local scene (plus I had hurt myself and wanted to cut down on running)
Running / Trail Running I used to run a lot, like marathons alone in the woods. I stopped running when I hurt my back and I've switched over to biking. That said, I miss it and highly recommend people try to reach a place where they are running a 5k. I still miss getting in this zone, it is like deep meditation and really shook my world when I had to give it up (disc injury).
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#69I build and repair bicycles: https://tegowerk.eu/posts/bicycle-repair/
As I mentioned above I teach IT for $, I fix things for fun(not bicycles, yet?)
Satisfaction ROI much higher fixing.
Tears of joy for a rewired glazed pottery lamp they made themself 50 years before From teaching :tidbits from Admin, occasional complements from students.
Re: Ask HN: What are your hobbies?
#70Climbing ! It changed my life.
I was 26, doing a PhD, had unhealthy habits, and sat in front of the computer all day. Got introduced to indoor-climbing by a friend. And boy, did it change my life.
It thought me to appreciate nature, life, working hard towards something, dedicating your life to things that matter to you rather than spending all the time doing what matters to others, taking calculated risks and measuring the outcomes. What started as climbing indoors, continued as climbing on rock, starting trad climbing, then ice climbing, alpinism, big wall climbing.
Now I am 32, building a startup. I find it very hard to dedicate time for climbing. But, I try to spend 2/3 hours everyday training for climbing or climbing. Because I know it brings me joy and that it increases my overall productivity. Being fit makes you feel happy in general, happy about yourself.
Though, I tried many things in the while. I used to play the Piano (did a few trinity college exams), played acoustic guitar, bike packing/touring, competitive sailing. But I decided to dedicate my time to only a few things, as I only have a limited headspace. So that, I can enjoy the things I am doing and not just merely do them.
Having some daily habits help enlighten your day as well.
I meditate every morning.
I like cooking and look forward to eating a nice meal at the end of the day.
I read a bit everyday. I enjoy non-fiction, especially biographies and books on mountaineering.
So little time, so much to do!