[I_Like_Plants]

Ham Radio - not that I have time to spend on it, but I was buying radios and stuff, never using them, etc blah.

Playing around with music in my head. Can't really play an instrument more than rudimentarily. I worked really hard as a kid at "recording" a song or music in my head, because it might be days or a week before I'd get to hear it again. Turns out the musicians call this ear training.

So, when I was taking violin lessons, my teacher was astounded at my "ear", and I found myself singing stuff to myself before playing it, on tune, on key, all that.

Now I just need to interface this to an instrument! Not only will that be UBER fun but also will be a valuable survival skill. Hawaii's a guitar and uke town, and there's a coffee shop circuit, and lots of places to busk. If I can make $30-$50 a day busking, I can live quite well there. I think I can. I think I'll have to, because I'm finding myself (like a lot of people in silicon valley) in a deepening death-spiral, financially. There are a lot of places on the Mainland I can go, but none where I have family and can live SO cheaply.

I picked up a few guitars and picked out stuff on 'em, there's a great music shop here called Gryphon Strings, and if you're in the area be sure to visit. Friendly place with a TON of guitars etc. Anyway I was able to pick out stuff pretty well, found myself doing stuff like bending a string high up to the next note to come down to a note......

Archery is neat, but I fucked up my tendons doing it, no more Mediterranian release for me! If I do it again I'll have to go Mongolian or Ishi release, probably not allowed for competition, but fine for getting an arrow downrange.

[strider3700]

hmm frivolous hobbies...

I like driving around and counting the number of homes for sale in given neighborhoods.

Last weekend we went to the newish "gated" community north of me. 500 units of town homes/duplexes all looking the same thanks to the rules. Some across the road from the ocean the rest clustered around ponds full of geese and I'm sure mosquitoes. All are electric heat via baseboards.

52 houses for sale ranging in price from $392,000 for 1400 sqft to $590,000 for 2900 sqft. size and even location didn't seem to matter as identical looking, sized and roughly located houses had $100,000 differences.

strata fees ranged from $320/month to $390/month property taxes where all right in the $3000 range depending on size.

So a little calculating and you're at 6840/year for taxes/fees or 570/month

add in a 500,000 mortgage at 7% for 25 years with monthly payments of $3502/month

add it all up and you get a monthly housing cost prior to all other expenses of $4072

Lets be real conservative with the heat and say it's $100/month to heat the places.

playing with those online how much house can you afford calculators a family would need to make $155,000/year

My wife and I are above average around here and make a little over 2/3 of that. I can't imagine there are that many people running around out there with dual income family's each making $80,000 or so.


So my frivolous hobby is watching how fucked the real estate market is around here.

[Ebyss]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'A')rchery is neat, but I fucked up my tendons doing it, no more Mediterranian release for me! If I do it again I'll have to go Mongolian or Ishi release, probably not allowed for competition, but fine for getting an arrow downrange.

[UncoveringTruths]

Aggravating the Homeowners Association that thinks it actually exists even though I already thumped them in court. I wish I could get paid for it. I could write a novel about the outragous shit they do.

Example: The HOA decided to put up a sign of things you can't do at the entrance of the Estates. One really stuck out to me "No Fishing". After a quick inventory there isn't any water bodies within the Estates to fish so I erected a scarecrow fisherman in the front yard. My neighbor after I pointed it out decided to make a joke sign for his entrance with an icon of a fishline, hook, and fish with a line drawn through it. Kinda of like the one below.

Any of you seen the movie the Burbs? I can't believe we even have an HOA we live on the western fringes of US society.

[Pops]

I used to fly fish – before that I had a bass boat (AKA, hole-in –the-water-to-pour-money)

oh, and then I also spent money.

BTW, nice pics snowshoe.

I did a little B/W pinhole and medium format photography for a while.


But sorta like KJ, most of my time wasting nowadays is spent on just what I am doing now….

[oowolf]

My windows are filled with a beautiful (but really unnecessary) collection of rare glass objects: Victorian art glass, Early American "Lily Pad" ware, Bohemian, Frankish, Venetian going back to ca. 1450AD, Ancient Roman--including a glass cameo of Livia Drusilla from Pompeii, Tiffany, etc. All sniped on ebay over the last 8 years. (I've looked at images of over 22,000,000 glass objects.)

Why? Because glass is considered the most difficult area of antiques to become really expert in.

[oowolf]

"Lily Pad"? Hand blown folk art American glass ca. 1800-1860:
http://www.glassinternational.com/sugar.html

[oowolf]

I could have a friend email you a photo. I don't have the tools or knowledge to post onto this site.

[oowolf]

In fact, I have an attachment on file on hotmail right now I could forward.

[oowolf]

The most valuable glass object on Earth is the "Portland Vase"; an Ancient Roman carved glass amphora ca. 1st C AD.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-6992

The Ancient Romans had real class; our civilization is just a plastic copy of the Greek/Roman.

[PrairieMule]

My guilty pleasure is once a year my best friend and I will get together and make fake UFO footages to distribute hard copies amoungst friends.

All you need is 5 to 6 helium filled balloons, 25 yds of fishing line, a orange glowstick, and a camcorder with night vision.

I attach a orange glow stick to the balloons and tied off to the fishing line anchored down(Be sure to reel it back to the earth when finished). I favor orange because it is not a color used in aviation like white, red or green.

Once the camera is on everyone exlaims "Oh My Gosh" "Look at that!" or "Is that thing on? Are you getting this?"

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', ' ')Now I do Aikido (but I don't consider it frivolous)

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'T')he most valuable glass object on Earth is the "Portland Vase"; an Ancient Roman carved glass amphora ca. 1st C AD.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-6992

The Ancient Romans had real class; our civilization is just a plastic copy of the Greek/Roman.

[WildRose]

Hmm, lots of things I enjoy. I like baking; very therapeutic. I love singing and have a very good ear for music (like you, I_Like_Plants).

Reading is a big one for me, though I prefer nonfiction. Also, many outdoor and sports activities - hiking, fishing, gardening, canoeing (when I get a chance), swimming. My newest one is bellydancing - great fun with all the gals!

I suppose one of my favorite hobbies, which could also be considered the most frivolous now, I suppose, would be taking road trips. Before I knew that our supply of oil could have limits, I indulged in quite a few road trips - some long, some short, exploring new areas and learning about what makes each one unique. These trips are progressively fewer and further between now.

[PenultimateManStanding]

I ride a hobby horse. Mine is peak oil. I keep meaning to transfer the obsession to painting fine art. I'm going to do it this summer with school out or blast me I deserve to die. This is my last chance perhaps. It's in me, at least I've proven that to myself. It's like the musicians on the Titanic.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', 'I')'m a noob, only 2.5 years.

[PenultimateManStanding]

BTW, the notion, "I like to be scared" is quite connected to eroticism. It's a deep well folks. The psychological connections to doom and peak oil are more profound than the objective ecological scientific ones by far.

[TheDude]

I play traditional music, mostly Irish, on the uilleann pipes, flute, and fiddle (=violin). I've played other instruments and types of music over the years, too. Frivolous[sup]nth[/sup] life I've lead.
Lately I've been learning lots of trad songs and collecting songbooks. I'll have some actual pre-industrial tunes while people walk around warbling things like "Back in Black" and "Duke of Earl." Maybe I'll be able to sing for my supper ala Costner in the Postman...

[nella]

It's not frivolous, but I love to knit.
There's something about all the different textures, the colors, the patterns etc.
I go through phases: knit hats hats hats. The it's onto socks socks socks. Then gloves/ mittens etc. Currently doing socks, and deciding which yarns I like best for sock use.
I'm not allowing myself to go into a yarn store again until I use of some of my stash.
I love to read as well.
However it's tricky to knit and read!

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nella', 'I')t's not frivolous, but I love to knit.