Who has the most obscure hobby?

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drummerguy said:
I would highly recommend it. It's a great feeling to look at something with the naked eye and know it's so far away. Not to mention you're pretty much looking back in time.









I use an Orion Sirius mount/tripod with an Orion ED80 scope. It comes as a package from Orion and I feel it was a great way to get started. I had been looking at something bigger to start, but anything much bigger wouldn't have allowed me to fully place M31 in the frame. Just be warned that, like brewing beer, there's always something new to buy (dew control, better cameras, camera control, autoguiding equipment). I use a fairly basic setup, but I think I've produced some pretty good images with it. I'm hoping to have a place one day where I can set up a pier/dome combination in the backyard.
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My neighbor is the one really getting into it. I am just going along for the ride. He is in the process of looking for/getting a new GE mount and scope. I am itching for a new camera, but we both have adequate cameras already. I got into taking pics of iss fly overs, which kind of led into the first telescope and so on. I can already see how this could become a really expensive hobby
 
I like to explore abandoned buildings and take pictures. I have also been turning an abandoned building down the street from my house into an art exhibiton but scrappers keep messing stuff up and taking anything metal.

I had my bottle sculpture in a geometric pattern, but someone threw a pole at it and knocked it over. I may stop by and set it up again this weekend, but the scrappers dumped out a barrel of oil inside and I have been hoping it will air out.

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SharonaZamboni said:
I love the abandoned building photography thing. It's amazing how quickly places deteriorate.
I used to work here- (not my photo. Shared from View attachment 252857[email protected])
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A famous Detroit website is "The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit" ...
http://www.detroityes.com/fabulous-ruins-of-detroit/toc.php

Some of the most poignant pics for me are of Detroit's mansion districts from the 1800's. One such is Brush Park.
About 25 years ago I came perilously close to purchasing a 10,000 sq foot mansion in Brush Park, that was at the time, being used as a multifamily rental - so it was intact and habitable. The Brush district was EXTREMELY dangerous at that time ... we're talking about a war zone. The purchase price would have been around $100k ... and by my estimates another $40k just to harden and secure it ... remember the Charlton Heston movie "The Omega Man"? That's it.
That extra $40k just to harden and secure (before any renovation could even start) was the number that made me decide against it.
That (almost) project is a whole other story.

Here is Brush Park.
http://www.detroityes.com/gild/01bp-gillis.htm
(click on the photos to move through the pics)

A pic of my target house is not shown on the site. But the house was exactly similar to a some of the houses at that link ... and in the very same setting.

Detroit is well over 300 years old. Unfortunately few or no structures from the 1700's exist. I have lots of vitriolic commentary about certain mayors and their administrations who are significantly responsible for the condition of Brush park, and the loss of so many historic structures throughout the city. I'll keep it to myself.

So as far as obscure hobbies? ...
So there is a hobby for me; I am a huge history buff ... but not in the sense of historical figures or who did what ... but instead in architecture, buildings, structures, and particularly the "tenets of everyday life" in times-gone-by.

I guess that's why the house I live in now is a 123 year old Victorian, too.
 
rideincircles said:
I like to explore abandoned buildings and take pictures. I have also been turning an abandoned building down the street from my house into an art exhibiton but scrappers keep messing stuff up and taking anything metal.

I had my bottle sculpture in a geometric pattern, but someone threw a pole at it and knocked it over. I may stop by and set it up again this weekend, but the scrappers dumped out a barrel of oil inside and I have been hoping it will air out.
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Is that a sandbox full of crack pipes?
 
One of my favorite TV shows lately is Rehab Addict, where the host buys old homes, mostly in Detroit area, and fixes them up. Not usually completely restored to original, but very nice.
 
clone63 said:
What's with all the hunters? Not a complaint, as long as everyone is utilizing the carcass in a large degree and not intentionally "cruel" in the act. It just seems odd as a vegetarian (peace and love, free Tibet, etc.) that hunting is prevalent amongst homebrewers.
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Bet you really hate us fur trappers.
 
Psylocide said:
My opinion is that the passion for hunting and beer brewing is born of the same mindset, a closer connection to what we're putting in our bodies and the pride that comes with crafting something or providing something pleasing. I can go out and obtain food for my family from the land, that's a great feeling... most likely due the hunter/gatherer instinct that has been embedded in our psyche for thousands of years. I feel the same pride when I drink one of my own brews.
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Makes sense. I've known many to hunt that all seemed to be after the sport of it. A brewer's DIY/home production mindset relating to hunting makes sense, but the other way around, the 2 seem more dissociated to me.

alphaomega said:
On another note, the hunting debate that has broken out. I'm sure you all really want more opinions, so here's mine. I'm ok with it. Hunting and fishing is not my idea of fun, not because of morality, just tedious. I could probably kill an animal if needed. In fact, if someone offered me to kill a cow that is being slaughtered and I could get instructions and whatnot so I could do it correctly, then I would. As I do eat meat, I would think it would be hypocritical to distance yourself from what it really is. Would I enjoy it? Hell no!
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We have the same thoughts on the matter, except that I am NOT able to kill the cow without my life on the line. If someone can't kill an animal, I don't think they deserve to eat it, let alone subject it to a pretty dismal life before getting axed. Nutritionally I do not think meat is unhealthy, I'm just not a killer, and like you I don't want to be a hypocrite.
Dominic1920 said:
Bet you really hate us fur trappers.
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I don't recall expressing disdain towards hunters though that could be assumed, it would be incorrect unless as mentioned, the kill is wasteful.

Trappers... There wouldn't be any point in expressing my views about trapping because I'm sure you've heard it all and it would only serve to entrench us both in our opinions in debate, so we probably don't have much in common and should focus on beer if we were to meet.
 
I've hunted a bit, fish frequently, slaughtered and butchered my own livestock. I don't think these facts grant me more entitlement to what I eat than those who have not done so, but...

I have malted my own barley. No-one has the right to drink beer until they have malted their own barley at least once. :D
 
Hamaki said:
I've hunted a bit, fish frequently, slaughtered and butchered my own livestock. I don't think these facts grant me more entitlement to what I eat than those who have not done so, but...

I have malted my own barley. No-one has the right to drink beer until they have malted their own barley at least once. :D
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no one has the right to live in a house until they build one themselves. or drive a car until they build one themselves.:pipe:
 
I realize that the vegan poster stated that harvesting food from hunting is ethical. This is not a knock against him or her. There is a lot to admire about a vegan philosophy. I do hear a fair amount of griping from certain parties that hunting is not ethical, that you shouldn't eat meat, etc.

I think that these people need to rethink their position, if possible. To give just one example, for every acre planted with Barley, a fair number of birds, rodents, and other small mammals lost their lives to the plough and scythe. Most trips to the farmer's market involve cars and roads. We are inter-meshed with every aspect of the food production cycle, whether we want to be or not, and the soon we choose to be authentic about our complicity, the better.
 
clone63 said:
Trappers... There wouldn't be any point in expressing my views about trapping because I'm sure you've heard it all and it would only serve to entrench us both in our opinions in debate, so we probably don't have much in common and should focus on beer if we were to meet.
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Well said clone63, nicely worded civil response.
 
lhommedieu said:
I realize that the vegan poster stated that harvesting food from hunting is ethical. This is not a knock against him or her. There is a lot to admire about a vegan philosophy. I do hear a fair amount of griping from certain parties that hunting is not ethical, that you shouldn't eat meat, etc.

I think that these people need to rethink their position, if possible. To give just one example, for every acre planted with Barley, a fair number of birds, rodents, and other small mammals lost their lives to the plough and scythe. Most trips to the farmer's market involve cars and roads. We are inter-meshed with every aspect of the food production cycle, whether we want to be or not,e and the soon choose to be authentic about our complicity, the better.
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Me? It is definitely a true question of ethics. Every business supported, calorie consumed, etc. all has a negative aspect to it's coming to being: bad wages, habitat destruction, criminal involvement whatever. Ethically I don't support those things, but don't have many ways around it without driving to some "better" store (guzzling gas) or sustaining myself 100% (now I'm wrecking habitat and selling food to pay my taxes to destructive people who drove to me). Mice were killed in the field my vegetables are from, but does that mean I should just kill MORE for myself because I was involved? There's no answer, it's one's ethical choice and I'd say: no. I'd hope a farmer avoids killing when he can, but his life isn't mine to choose, so that's about all I can do. Everything I eat had a hand in killing SOMETHING on the way. The only choice in preservation I can make is the product itself.
Environmentally, I am of the group that sees meat as the greater of evils, plus valuing life, that leaves me choosing to eat non-living things.
That's just my reply to the eyes on my lifestyle. I realize my comments have taken this wayyyyy off course, so apologies to the OP. I'm shutting up -now-.
Dominic1920 said:
Well said clone63, nicely worded civil response.
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Thanks man, cheers :mug:
TXjayhawk said:
Not really obscure, but I collect and play board games....and not the crap you find at Target or Wal Mart. I have around 250 games currently....ranging from "Carcassonne" to "Dawn of the Zeds" to "Ticket to Ride" to "Crokinole" to "Moongha Invaders", and a bunch in between.
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Did you ever get to play "Attack!"? I always wanted to but couldn't find it.
 
ghohn said:
Awesome thread!

Nothing too obscure here but thought I'd pitch in
1. Apartment hydroponics/aquaponics (basil - nothing too exciting)
2. Studying permaculture/homesteading
3. Playing cribbage
4. Scrutinizing every move in life for maximum efficiency to the point of OCD (leave the house to accomplish at least 3 things/when driving maximize right-hand turns etc)

You know how it is.
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I don't consider it a hobby but I do this all the time. If I've got to leave the house, I damn well better make it worth my while, and I certainly won't be wasting time waiting to turn left at stupid traffic lights when I could already be at home.

I used to fletch my own arrows and target practice with a longbow, but haven't been able to do it since moving to the city. I used to be pretty good too...consistent groupings and I could nail a golf ball from about 20 yards out on a fairly regular basis.

Now probably the most obscure hobby I can say I do (relative to a crowd of homebrewers) is probably spreadsheet design. If there's a problem that has a solution, there's a good chance it can be solved with a well made spreadsheet.
 
@clone63: Please don't (shut up that is). You obviously have put a lot of thought into this and also don't 'lecture'. That is a good thing. We need change.
 
I proselytize to apex predators of every food web to change their evil ways. It is unfulfilling, but I try to remain optimistic that one day I'll get a convert.
 
I have weekly combat with the local monkey tribe (22 at last count). I employ my airsoft pistol with soft plastic pellets (only 300fps, just enough to give them a good sting and stay away). It has 15 round magazines that I can shoot in semi-auto mode. At first I considered a paint ball gun but didn't want to have to deal with paint on the sides of houses etc. These little plastic pellets bounce around quite a bit.

War was declared several months ago when I found a couple of them sniffing around my fermenter full of Saison ale on the back porch. So I had to take matters into my own hands. Owning a weapon is illegal for me (non-resident) and I just want to give them a reminder that my porch and house is my territory. I also get a kick out of watching them jump after a perfectly placed double tap between the shoulder blades at 60 ft. Once you got the alpha male it's not in his tribe's interest to visit they give me a buffer of 1 house distance.

They really are a nuisance knocking over trash cans and create quite a mess (aside from being vectors for several nasty diseases). It's like having raccoons in the daytime.
 
clone63 said:
. That's just my reply to the eyes on my lifestyle. I realize my comments have taken this wayyyyy off course, so apologies to the OP. I'm shutting up -now-.
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No need to do so, whatsoever. We are all part of the same civil discussion, and if a thread about "the most obscure hobby" can morph into a discussion about the ethics of eating meat, that's fine by me.

Michael Pollan has some interesting things to say in "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and I would recommend Ted Kerasote's "Blood Ties" - his meditations about subsistence hunting by indigenous people in Greenland, his own hunting practices, and the practice of trophy hunting. Kerasote was himself a vegan for several years as he worked through his own, personal ethical dilemmas. He does not set out to change your mind, but he'll give you plenty to think about.
 
I grow peppers and tomatos.
Raise chickens for eggs and then the stew pot.
I load my own rounds.
I built my 94 Landcruiser into the ultimate hunting/camping/zombie apocalypse vehicle.
I'm building a cool offroad trailer.
I roast my own coffee beans.
I have a lot of knives.
I have 25yrs of Heavy Metal magazine.
I'm building a bar.

Stuff like that
 
MaddBaggins said:
I grow peppers and tomatos.
Raise chickens for eggs and then the stew pot.
I load my own rounds.
I built my 94 Landcruiser into the ultimate hunting/camping/zombie apocalypse vehicle.
I'm building a cool offroad trailer.
I roast my own coffee beans.
I have a lot of knives.
I have 25yrs of Heavy Metal magazine.
I'm building a bar.

Stuff like that
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It sounds like you're insane. No wonder you're on this forum.
 
Austin said:
I can go on and on about Hesse.
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Please do. He's one of my favorites as well - one of very few authors who have never let me down, unless you count disliking my first go-through of Siddhartha because it was required reading. Required reading killed my interest in at least half a dozen books I went on to love upon re-reading years later.

Hesse, Murakami, Potok, and the inimitable Pynchon are pretty much the shortlist of authors whose every work has been a delight to read. I've got a lot of work to do if I want to read every major work by the first three, but I prefer to take my time with them so there's always something new on the horizon.
 
riderkb said:
this sounds like so much fun!
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Yes it is a great stress reliever :)

They are getting sneaky now. They figured out that I can hear them chattering about so they try to sneak up to the trash can next door. The crows give them away. I don't bother the crows since they are my alarm. I nailed one monkey in a tree 6 times before he decided to drop a loaf of bread and run (they never drop food).

They will strip a fruit tree in one day. So my mango tree will have to be harvested as soon as they are ready. The banana tree too.
 
Fedora said:
Is that a sandbox full of crack pipes?
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Pretty much. I found a couple boxes of glass test pieces from someone who was learning to blow glass I assume that was left in a parking lot. There was a bunch of random art glass and stuff, but 98% was broken crap.

Most of the art inside is made from leftover junk that people have thrown out. I haven't been by in a while, but will try and get a few new pieces together this week.
 
Not too obscure, but not yet mentioned. I do triathlons. That and brewing are my main hobbies. Then probably a mix of hunting, fishing, sports (basketball, golf, softball), other dumb stuff. As you would probably guess after reading through my post I'm pretty boring.
 

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