Hobbies and such

[seeahill]

Cooking has just become "a hobby" in the last 15 years. There are some things people would call hobbies, but I never thought of them that way because I've pretty much always done them:
fly fishing
Rowing the river (inflatable oar boat.)
Sea kayaking (when I get the chance)
Hiking mountain trails (a lot of this, it is my main recreation)
Camping (have successfully resisted Shape's invitations, however)
Scuba diving (when I get the chance)

Stuff I've given up due to age:
Rock climbing
Mountaineering
Downhill skiing
Paraponts, skydiving, hang gliding
Hardcore caving

Stuff I do, partially for work
Reading. non-fiction, fiction, thrillers, detective novels. I have a system. I got this hint from the great Peter Matthiessen. He always had three books going at once. He'd read for a while in the morning and saved his most dense material for then. Often these books had to do with whatever he was writing at the time. His afternoon reading was literary, and he was interested in style and how the author achieved his/her objectives. Sometimes he read history in the afternoon, once again having to do with his current project. In the evening, before bed, he read plot driven novels for pleasure.

[theoverman]

Come on now. Fred Beckey may or may not still be climbing at 93. This is him at 90.

The story of he and his brother sea kayaking into the Waddington Range and climbing is pretty epic, I think they may have been teenagers...

[Shafpocalypse Now]

My hobby is, and I have to admit it now, crushing dumb assholes on Facebook and other places online. I have decided I have to own this. Also, generally hating on things.

[seeahill]

Come on now. Fred Beckey may or may not still be climbing at 93. This is him at 90.

The story of he and his brother sea kayaking into the Waddington Range and climbing is pretty epic, I think they may have been teenagers...

Good point, though my climbing has reached the point of diminishing returns. Can't do really impressive peaks and keep hurting myself on the smaller ones.

[Blaidd Drwg]

My hobby is, and I have to admit it now, crushing dumb assholes on Facebook and other places online. I have decided I have to own this. Also, generally hating on things.

As my wife pointed out to me the other night..."You know Facebook isn't a first person shooter game, right? "

[johno]

generally hating on things.

As your presence on IGx pretty much testifies.

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

My hobby is, and I have to admit it now, crushing dumb assholes on Facebook and other places online. I have decided I have to own this. Also, generally hating on things.

If it makes you happy......

[Kirk]

Yeah, long story, but my wife has a horse. Talk about a time suck. Thank God the barn is only like 4 miles from the house.

My dad had horses when we were growing up (we had a little bit of acreage). Maryland is a horse state and we went to quite a few horse things (auctions, visiting stables, etc). At least in Maryland there seemed to be two kinds of horse people: rich ones with stables that cost more than several average houses and poor ones who spent all of their money on the horses. My dad was the rare in between type (not rich, not poor) but he was never really "horse people" either.

[vern]

My friend's dad says,

"Instead of owning a horse, just take a twenty dollar bill and flush it down the toilet every day."

Speaking of horses, I hear you Venerable Bogatir. That's why it's so boring playing computers...they never fall for knight tricks. People on the other hand...

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

My friend's dad says,

"Instead of owning a horse, just take a twenty dollar bill and flush it down the toilet every day."

Speaking of horses, I hear you Venerable Bogatir. That's why it's so boring playing computers...they never fall for knight tricks. People on the other hand...

Saw this post last night and both lines cracked me up.

[Kenny X]

Kenny X is a fly fisherman.

I'm also an amateur Cajun Chef and I occasionally write short stories, and draws pictures, too.

I'd like to take Fly Fishing from a "hobby" to a full-blown ADDICTION by learning how to tie my own flies and do that, that'd be awesome, but there's no way in Hell I'll be able to afford that once The X Twins, Elvis & Priscilla are born.

[Shafpocalypse Now]

In a more serious note

Horse. My wife and daughter ride. I do everything else. If I took a farrier class, I would do that shit too. Lately it's been doing instrument massage on the horse because he's got some issue with his back and hips, which might just be old age. The last 14 months he's been shown and has competed a lot, usually punching above his old off track thoroughbred weight, he might just be done now.

Reading. I enjoy me a good book. Mostly fiction. I find the self help and hooray make a buck books to be almost entirely a waste of time, with a few exceptions. I find most people read nonfiction as a form of mental masturbation

Lifting...less said about the futility I've experienced here in the last few years the better.

I cook, and cook well.

[louburr]

lift , read and repeat. I need a hobby since I no longer coach basketball, baseball and soccer. The empty nest has left me wandering.

[Testiclaw]

Aside from the normal read, toke, rubbing one out, I draw and paint, from time to time.

[Kenny X]

I like to cook, too. Cajun food. Gumbo, Jambalaya, Etouffee, etc.

[baffled]

Baff, there was an old Italian guy with a van who used to cruise through the neighborhoods sharpening knives, hedge trimmers, scissors, whatever. The 'burban moms would run out there like a kid to the Good Humor truck. The local message boards are full of threads asking if he's been around of late, when will he be back, oh how we miss him, etc.

I have no idea if there's a living to be made in it, but he's got something of a cult following and can probably get laid a hundred times a day by any cougar with more than a handful of dull knives. Food for thought...

I have no idea how I missed this post seeing as it's right below mine.

I'm actually working on setting up a side gig doing something like this. Going to have to check the local boards and the stuff like "Next Door" to see what kind of interest is out there. Lots of divorcees a city over so sharpen some steel, lay a little pipe, make a few bucks.... could be worse.

[Blaidd Drwg]

Baff, there was an old Italian guy with a van who used to cruise through the neighborhoods sharpening knives, hedge trimmers, scissors, whatever. The 'burban moms would run out there like a kid to the Good Humor truck. The local message boards are full of threads asking if he's been around of late, when will he be back, oh how we miss him, etc.

I have no idea if there's a living to be made in it, but he's got something of a cult following and can probably get laid a hundred times a day by any cougar with more than a handful of dull knives. Food for thought...

I have no idea how I missed this post seeing as it's right below mine.

I'm actually working on setting up a side gig doing something like this. Going to have to check the local boards and the stuff like "Next Door" to see what kind of interest is out there. Lots of divorcees a city over so sharpen some steel, lay a little pipe, make a few bucks.... could be worse.

One idea is, Farmer's Markets. Knife guys do great at them around here. Seattle has weekend markets that take over parking lots, street ends etc. My local one closes of the main street Sat/Sun and draws a tone of people locally and from other neighborhoods. If you can get a stand or a parking spot adjacent to the market you're gold.

[Grandpa's Spells]

The farmers market guys also tend to grind the shit out of knives that don't need nearly that much metal removed.

[Blaidd Drwg]

The farmers market guys also tend to grind the shit out of knives that don't need nearly that much metal removed.

One would hope Baff is planning to be a good craftsman rather than a dunce.

[Grandpa's Spells]

The farmers market guys also tend to grind the shit out of knives that don't need nearly that much metal removed.

One would hope Baff is planning to be a good craftsman rather than a dunce.

I meant outperforming the status quo would not be a challenge. They're using grinding wheels.

[Blaidd Drwg]

The farmers market guys also tend to grind the shit out of knives that don't need nearly that much metal removed.

One would hope Baff is planning to be a good craftsman rather than a dunce.

I meant outperforming the status quo would not be a challenge. They're using grinding wheels.

Ahh...I stand corrected.

That's a point well taken...most of those farmers market people are selling off charm and a bushy mustache, not much on skill or cost.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Yeah, I got one of these and it's great:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuTFtNZkk8U[/youtube]
I got it because I needed the disks as well for woodworking tools, but they have a belt-only solution for knives. I turned a ceremonial blunted kukri I bought in the 90's into a not-so-ceremonial one in about 10 minutes.

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

Baff, there was an old Italian guy with a van who used to cruise through the neighborhoods sharpening knives, hedge trimmers, scissors, whatever. The 'burban moms would run out there like a kid to the Good Humor truck. The local message boards are full of threads asking if he's been around of late, when will he be back, oh how we miss him, etc.

I have no idea if there's a living to be made in it, but he's got something of a cult following and can probably get laid a hundred times a day by any cougar with more than a handful of dull knives. Food for thought...

I have no idea how I missed this post seeing as it's right below mine.

I'm actually working on setting up a side gig doing something like this. Going to have to check the local boards and the stuff like "Next Door" to see what kind of interest is out there. Lots of divorcees a city over so sharpen some steel, lay a little pipe, make a few bucks.... could be worse.

Have you guys not seen "Out for Justice", aka the greatest comedy of alltime? Seagal tells a sob story of a knife sharpener, who was his dad.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Speaking of Segal

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXaOGnDRf1A[/youtube]

[baffled]

Baff, there was an old Italian guy with a van who used to cruise through the neighborhoods sharpening knives, hedge trimmers, scissors, whatever. The 'burban moms would run out there like a kid to the Good Humor truck. The local message boards are full of threads asking if he's been around of late, when will he be back, oh how we miss him, etc.

I have no idea if there's a living to be made in it, but he's got something of a cult following and can probably get laid a hundred times a day by any cougar with more than a handful of dull knives. Food for thought...

I have no idea how I missed this post seeing as it's right below mine.

I'm actually working on setting up a side gig doing something like this. Going to have to check the local boards and the stuff like "Next Door" to see what kind of interest is out there. Lots of divorcees a city over so sharpen some steel, lay a little pipe, make a few bucks.... could be worse.

One idea is, Farmer's Markets. Knife guys do great at them around here. Seattle has weekend markets that take over parking lots, street ends etc. My local one closes of the main street Sat/Sun and draws a tone of people locally and from other neighborhoods. If you can get a stand or a parking spot adjacent to the market you're gold.

I've started to look a little into this. Have a feeling local PD would freak the fuck out if there were a bunch of knives out in the open, even behind a table.

Grinding wheels are fine if you're not an idiot. I know people who don't want them or the belt sanders (like the Work Sharp machines) near their knives, which makes sense when you see the way people tend to use them.

Once I finish my water stone collection, I'll probably start sniffing around for a Tormek.