# Hobbies



## Kpharr (Mar 1, 2013)

What hobbies does everyone enjoy in their free time? 
I have a Christmas show like no other in the Dallas area. 350,000 lights, 9 houses, a train that carries 20 kids through the display. Sant visits Fri - Sat. We have over 45,000 people visit every year. 
That being said, I am so unprepared! Just starting, but I have completely lost interest in the display. Might go dark this year. I need to spend the money and energy getting prepared
What do you do?


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## grinder37 (Mar 1, 2013)

Prepping is my main hobby but my passion is running my 65g saltwater reef aquarium which also sucks up ton of cash,lol,but i've always been in awe with undersea life and theres nothing like having a small piece of living ocean in your living room.Good thread idea btw.


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## Infidel (Dec 22, 2012)

Free time? Who's got any of that? Seriously though I try to get out to the range at least twice a month well at least I did before ammo and components became so scarce. Also a reloader so most of my free time goes to loading my own ammo. The majority of my time goes to my kids between sports and cub scouts I'm pretty well swamped. Next year both boys will be in separate dens, decided I'm going to have to run one of those dens just so I can do this on my schedule instead of someone else's. In the fall I'm hunting especially when deer season rolls around. Winter is kind of my down time, after deer season ends I hole up in the house and don't stick my nose out until spring.

-Infidel


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

Church Pastor, . . . shooting, . . . reloading, . . . hunting, . . . leather working, . . . and will be building my very own little forge hopefully this summer, and getting into blacksmithing as another "hobby". No farrier work, mind you, . . . blacksmithing.

May God bless,
Dwight


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## Kpharr (Mar 1, 2013)

That sounds awesome. Do you have any pictures?


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## trainershawn (Dec 14, 2012)

Between work, college, kids and wife, I have very little time for hobbies. Other than my recent "hobby", starting to collect knives, I get to the gun range when I can and I try to hike and camp whenever I can. My only other hobby I guess would be working out at the gym. If I don't workout at least six days a week, I go through a withdrawl. I'd have to say though at my age, going back to school is really challenging and that is my main hobby for the next couple of years.


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

I lead a 10 piece cowboy band at church, some would call it a ministry but its too much fun of me to call it that. Been playing at church for 22 years and leading for 9.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

Right now about the only non-survival/prepper hobbies I have are Saltwater Reefs and Herps. I do play pool competitively and I am pretty good at it as well. Ive just found myself being a little less serious about that here of late though. Everything else has a bit of a prepper twist to it in one way or another.


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## JPARIZ (Feb 25, 2013)

I have too many interests to list them here but one in particular that I've dreamed about for years yet haven't taken the time to accomplish is really scaring the hell out of kids on Halloween on a huge scale. Seems the more you scare them the more they like it... then they go round up their friends so they can watch them get scared. Of course I need to work out the details so nobody could be hurt... physically anyway. Emotionally scared for life is fine.
So far the best I have done is crumble up sugar cookies so they look like cat litter. Place it in a NEW plastic cat litter box, then place melted Tootsie Roll candies in them. The best reactions come from parents. Offer them a kitty box treat... then bite one & describe how delicious they are. Weeks later, if they are talking to you only then can you explain what it really was you ate.


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

Kpharr said:


> That sounds awesome. Do you have any pictures?


Kpharr, . . . this youtube video is where I got my idea, . . . just google "youtube: large brake drum forge" and the one you are looking for will also have Crawfordsville in the title. The beginning of it shows a little brown weiner dog running around in the yard.

It is also 3:55 in length.

I'll be making mine more or less just like his, . . . except I'll have wheels on mine to take it in and out of the shed. One of the serious bad things that happens to many forges is they get involved in rain on top of coal and burned coal/coke, . . . which leaches out some sulpher compound that becomes sulfuric acid, . . . which eats the bottom of the forge up.

So mine will have wheels to go back into the shop with, . . . to keep it out of the rain.

To JPARIZ: one of the best Halloween "jokes" I ever heard was done near here by a teenage boy who was the butt of every joke played by his older sister and her gang of friends. They wore the poor boy out.

He started by taking some older clothing of his dad (a little bit larger than him but not much) and making a straw dummy with the typical dummy head made of a pumpkin, . . . carved to look like some kind of monster. It was put off to one side of the front porch on a chair, . . .

On Halloween night, . . . his sister took off, . . . and he promptly became the straw dummy. When his sister and her gang came up to trick or treat, . . . he chose the opportune moment to do the "Grrrrrr, . . . growl, . . . and stand with outstreched monster arms", . . . and you guessed it, . . . the girls were scared into next week. Nobody got hurt, . . . just changed some underclothes, . . . and apologized for the "every girl for herself" exit they made off the porch.

I still think of it and smile every Halloween.

May God bless,
Dwight


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

We have a small farm, the wife (retired from a "real" job) is the farmer. I'm the builder, fixer, mechanic, painter, etc, besides having a full time job in the city.
My hobby, time permitting, is the study of military history. Especially WWII. I read every evening, and will have 3 or 4 books going at the same time. Right now they are the memoirs of a Russian on the Eastern Front, a US Marine in the Pacfic Islands, a soldier with the 5th Infantry Division (the best dadburn outfit the Army has ever had:mrgreen fighting thru France, and a study of the Pacific campaign in the Mariana Islands.
I also belong to a half dozen history forums.
Of course, it goes without saying that as a certified gun nut I have coupled my "collecting" with the history bug.
I mean, why have an AR when the same money can get you a US Rifle, Cal 30, 1903A3, made in 1943?;-)


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

rice paddy daddy said:


> ..My hobby, time permitting, is the study of military history...


Me too, i've got all the time in the world since I retired and am in a few military discussion forums, some good, some not so good. (If you know any good ones I could try, please let me know)
I'm also in various other forums such as astronomy, religion, metaphysics, prepping/survival, politics, supernatural, world affairs, strategy gaming etc.
I've got a few good WW2 photothreads going under my name 'Poor Old Spike' here-

Mission4Today ? ForumsPro ? R & R Forums ? Photo Galleries ? WWII Aircraft Photo's

Mission4Today ? ForumsPro ? R & R Forums ? Photo Galleries ? Vintage 1920's/30's aircraft photos

Mission4Today ? ForumsPro ? R & R Forums ? Photo Galleries ? WW1 aircraft photos

WW2 Photos


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Lucky Jim said:


> Me too, i've got all the time in the world since I retired and am in a few military discussion forums, some good, some not so good. (If you know any good ones I could try, please let me know)


Here you go -
Historum - History Forums Armchair General and HistoryNet >> The Best Forums in History World War 2 Talk - Powered by vBulletin
WW2 Forums MilitaryHistoryOnline.com/ Great War Forum
From the German point of view - Feldgrau.net ? Index page Axis History Forum ? Index page
Reference - World War II Database: Your WW2 History Reference Destination War History Online ? One stop resource for all military history and news

I am, variously, rice paddy daddy, Big Al, 5thmech.


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## Fuzzee (Nov 20, 2012)

I've played guitar just about everyday since I was 15 and still do. Was a professional musician for a while, but lost my taste for the business. I still enjoy playing though and advancing my skill. Than there's shooting which is always fun, but ammo has gotten so expensive and thin pickings I'm not shooting much now. I'm sure you all know that. I used to consider women a hobby, but their more expensive than shooting, lol. Now I prefer to just finance one good one. Thank God fishing is still pretty cheap.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

I am retired but still perform some church duties when called upon or asked. I am a metal smith - lathe, mill, forming, welding, etc., I work on my own guns and sometimes do work for my brother on his. 
I work with leather - rattles and drums to holsters and sheaths. 
I am building a 66 Mustang for hill climb and restoring two 73 Mavericks for daily transportation. 
I designed and am building my shop and a garage - needed after the move.
I design and build legal weapons, knives and guns that are not for sale. I have designed and built working models of a fluid (dynamic camber) wing, a six speed transmission that simplifies the power train and utilizes a "quick change" gearset at the output shaft, and designed several four cycle engines and rotary valve heads.
I used to have a business building Ford C4 transmissions for street and track use for engines up to 1000 hp and I have invented a few things to make them work better. I am designing and plan to build an ultralight airplane, an electric hub motor that should be 95% efficient and a compound crossbow that should have an effective accuracy range of about 150 yards. I go to the range three times a week when my work on the garage and shop allow it, compete in small bore silhouette monthly and get together for family days once a month. In my spare time I write prose and poetry, get on here, a political discussion board, and a shooting board. I have written engineering software - exterior ballistics, gasoline engine planner and some aircraft design software to lighten the amount of math I have to do for those jobs but they are all written for DOS. If I wanted to spend the money to keep up with the latest OSs I could import them to windows and linux as they are written in C but it is just as easy for me to run them on my DOS computer. 
My Linux machine will do anything my Windows computer will and has been a lot more reliable than the win 7 software. I have duplicates of all my writing, drawings and reloading data on all three machines so it is unlikely that I could lose any of my work or records.
For entertainment I design (with no intention to build) bombs of all kinds, smoke canisters and other useless items of fantasy.
I really can't call prepping a hobby because it is just the way I live and have lived since the very early 70s.


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## bennettvm (Jan 5, 2013)

Hobbies - I have a ton of them.

Skiing, camping, hiking, hunting and fishing mostly. I also have side hobbies that bring in a little money. I run a Bonsai business which we operate spring to fall. I also raise pet and meat rabbits and sell those to bring in extra cash.


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

Computer wargaming and flight simming is a great way for preppers/survivalists to learn navigation and stuff, I did a thread about it here-

http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/general-talk/1203-pc-wargames-navigation-training-tools.html


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Mine is riding my motorcycles when I can. Other than that I am all business most of the time. Riding is my only vise.


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

I live to ride my motorcycles. There is no greater feeling in the world. No margin for error, a thrill a minute, the rush of sheer speed, the intense focus of total concentration, the sheer delight of that moment when you are "in the zone" and you and your machine become one, and the coordination of brain, hands, eyes and feet to all cooperate in synchronicity to keep from crashing.

I also like to hike, fish, hunt, spend quality time with my canine companion, drive my sports cars, jet ski, go shooting, maintain & work on my machines, carpentry and home improvements, build decks, landscaping, boating, video games (for bad weather days), collecting, camping, swimming, birdwatching, photography, hitting golf balls at a driving range, and billiards.

But my favorite hobbies are spending quality time with my dog, and riding motorcycles. Shooting guns and shooting pool are tied for third. I also love my wife, but she is not a hobby....

I also like to grill meat, and sleep. Is sleeping a hobby?


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## joec (Nov 12, 2012)

I've had a number over the years from car racing, motor cycles, photography, and cooking which I started doing after I got married. Now the one hobby that I started the first time I drew on my families walls to today is painting and drawing. Now I do it for a couple of years then don't for a couple but eventually come back to it. Here is a taste of what I have done using a simple program called Paint Shop Pro, and Painter if you are interested New Dawn Micro - Gallery


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

joec said:


> I've had a number over the years from car racing, motor cycles, photography, and cooking which I started doing after I got married. Now the one hobby that I started the first time I drew on my families walls to today is painting and drawing. Now I do it for a couple of years then don't for a couple but eventually come back to it. Here is a taste of what I have done using a simple program called Paint Shop Pro, and Painter if you are interested New Dawn Micro - Gallery


Wow, those computer generated paintings are very nicely done, joec! My favorite is the blue whale mother and calf - absolutely beautiful painting...!


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## Kidzthinkimahoarder (Feb 11, 2013)

Hobbies? Whew...a lot of them.

We hunt, fish, camp..
I have so many honestly that I have to take turns with them...lol

You may catch me tanning a hide (I gotta really be in the mood), to relief carvings on gourds, to collecting coins, cooking, gardening, making jewelry out of copper wire. I'll even sit for days putting puzzles together, sewing, canning, woodworking.... We love to cook outdoors which I am a well skilled open fire cook. We also find time for photography and arrowhead hunting. There is something going on all the time around here...we also raise dogs. Just added a 1/2 pit 1/2 Mt. Curr (Hog Dog) to the fold a few weeks ago, till this morning we added 2 Reg English Coonhounds (Redticks)...

Then throw in 2 boys that are about half grown with what they are involved in, plus everyone working...we stay very busy...

I'm sure I've forgotten several things...LOL I'm kinda A.D.D and O.C.D....I have to stay busy doing something all the time, so my feet hit the floor running each morning.


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## Karsten (Nov 13, 2012)

Hobbies....Besides collecting Firearms I have a few.

Building 1/700 scale ships...the really little ones.




























Then there is the ATV and going to top top of some mountain...Any mountain will do.



















Restoring this old Mod VP Race Boat










Finished this 1971 Schuster last Year.










Then I have my 7000 gallon Koi Pond










2 Harley and a Motor Home.




























With work it is hard but I seem to get a few hours here and there.

Karsten


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

One of the under ground shelters doubles as a bike room until it is needed of other uses.(A day I hope never comes)
Spent the winter get this one ready to play. Work is done all dressed up and no where to go but soon the snow will be gone.
Between the two I manage to ride 20-60K a year. A man has to have some escape time.


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

Wow, Smitty901 - your bike is a real stunner! I really like the deep candy apple red color. Nice wheels, too. Can you give us more details on it?


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Verteidiger said:


> Wow, Smitty901 - your bike is a real stunner! I really like the deep candy apple red color. Nice wheels, too. Can you give us more details on it?


Road Glide Ultra it is the replacement for them one I totaled August 30th Hit a Deer at 60 mph.
Polished it out 3 coats of Zaino's on it. Jackpot 2-1-2 headers ,HD SE Night stick exhaust. Power vision Tuner.
RG Custom filler and Fascia Saddle bag spoiler lights.


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

That is the nicest looking Harley bagger I have ever seen, and I have been riding bikes for 40 years. Beautiful bike, man!


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## stonewolf (Mar 22, 2013)

homesteading, working, prepping, flying ... o and fishing and hunting and fly tying all though i think it all falls in some where else lol


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

When I want to feel a bit younger and just take off I dig this one out 1996 FB 16 years old still fun to ride and always ready.








This is an example of how you still live and prepare. The room is under ground poured concrete. It is a part of our plan, however it serves another use .
until the time comes. Then the bikes get rolled into another area to wait it out and the room becomes a need bunker.
In a very short time it becomes the armory.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

I build furniture:

























Hopefully it will warm up enough soon to be able to get back into the shop. The glue does not dry right if the temp is much below 50.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Inor and I learned how to make leaded glass for his furniture projects.
I was a textiles major back in the college days so I still sew, quilt, needle work, crochet (my hands can't knit anymore).
I also draw, sand paint, brush and ink, and color crayon with my 3 year old grandson.
Cooking and collecting old cookbooks from churches (some of these are hilarious).
Learning new skills - cheese making is my latest - we had some of my Farmer Cheddar yesterday at our belated Easter gathering.
Reading - especially prepper fiction, although mystery, science fiction, action/adventure are also good.


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## Pepper77 (Feb 11, 2013)

I collect rocks cutting and polishing and petrified wood so if you have any and dont want it I will buy/trade for it . I reload I like to build things , fishing and hunting and I enjoy reading .


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## Wallimiyama (Oct 18, 2012)

I make booze! Beer, wine, mead, and I can distill as well. My friends definitely enjoy my hobby...and if everything goes into the tank...I'm pretty sure I could make a reasonable living doing it as long as the government wasn't around to put their paws into it.


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