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Find Yourself a Hobby for 2020
- ebg13 7y agoMy first two suggestions were "Car racing" and "Trying free samples at Costco". Ok, lol.
- kart23 7y agof1 is pretty cool. I got a lot more into it this year. Try to watch some races with an open mind.
- ebg13 7y agoI'm happy watching races, but I'm not going to _do_ it.
- PopeDotNinja 7y agoCar racing is fun! Starter options include drag racing and autocross. It's expensive though.
- edraferi 7y agoIf you change your mind, this is a great way to get out on a race track with whatever you’re driving: https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/ https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/
- rzzzt 7y agoI like to watch F1, but also find it easy to fall asleep to. The sound of droning engines...
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- PaulKeeble 7y agoSim Racing is a great way to get a lot of experience in that direction without the same level of cost, games like Assetto Corsa (iRacing if it tickles your interest for the competitive side against players more than just casually) and a couple of hundred in wheel and pedals will get you started. You can also race karts fairly cheaply (compared to cars and especially racing cars).
- Scoundreller 7y agoFootball.... that’s so vague!
- test6554 7y agoPlay professional football in the NFL!!
- karmakaze 7y agoMy favourite is the first suggestion I received: Rock Thumbing[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumble_finishing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumble_finishing
- fbnlsr 7y agoI didn't know it existed and it looks fun and zen, too bad I live in an appartment.
- apache99 7y agoGrow weed. You can stop smoking it but you will never stop growing it.
- quibono 7y agoHow do you go about starting growing though? I feel like I could be interested but it seems like something that's hard to start without the know-how.
- colesdefectum 7y agoThere's a nice reddit community[1] dedicated to small-scale indoor growing. The sidebar has a lot of info to get you started and it's relatively inexpensive. Just be sure to check your local laws regarding cannabis cultivation and educate yourself on any potential risks. [1] https://old.reddit.com/r/microgrowery/ https://old.reddit.com/r/microgrowery/
- bluntfang 7y ago>How do you go about starting growing though? 1. seed (online) 2. soil -- small locally owned plant store. ask them lots of questions 3. light -- same plant store, or the sun. that's basically it to get started. It's a really easy plant to grow and pretty hard to fuck up. Check on them daily, talk to them, make sure the soil is moist but not muddy. You don't really need nutrients your first go, too many variables to fuss with. Just water, light, and time.
- type0 7y agoLearn knitting and allow yourself to be meditatively bored instead of always opening HN for something to read.
- Cougher 7y agoYet opening HN for something to read may be a hobby in itself because it opens doors to all sorts of interests. Including this thread and all of its useful ideas.
- joshuamcginnis 7y agoGrow mushrooms. It's incredibly rewarding and intellectually stimulating - even if you're like me and don't care for the taste. We are on the cusp of a cultural transformation in how we view, study and use fungi for the benefit of mankind.[0] It's so much more than psychedelics, although profound in its own right. [0] https://fantasticfungi.com/ https://fantasticfungi.com/
- apache99 7y agohttps://radicalmycology.com/ https://radicalmycology.com/ This guy was on a podcast i listen to.Really worth checking out hia site.
- brian-armstrong 7y agoWatch Joe Rogan.
- TheGallopedHigh 7y agoIn particular the episodes with Paul Stamis who runs fungi.com
- kranner 7y agoPaul Stamets
- countername 7y agoFlying planes, well .. I hope I'll find some good written tutorials on HN
- base698 7y agoFly twice a week, if you can't afford that, fly once a week, if you can't afford that save money until you can. Right rudder, right rudder.
- hn_user2 7y agoIf the goal is getting a license I usually recommend 3 times a week. But there is something to be said about folks that go up just once a month with their instructor and enjoy the lessons. As long as the monthly experience is the goal and not a license anytime soon.
- undefinedFoo 7y agoBuild scale models. It's fun and addicting to do.
- r_singh 7y agoOrigami is awesome too
- Hamuko 7y ago>Car restoration Apparently not only do I have free time, but also free money and free garage space.
- TheGallopedHigh 7y agoNote that these are suggestions...
- 5bolts 7y agoalso.. could just restore old tonka toys or matchbox cars Tonka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyWxgkQ_3OM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyWxgkQ_3OM matchbox: https://www.youtube.com/user/pso316a https://www.youtube.com/user/pso316a
- simonw 7y agoVisit tiny museums. I stumbled across this hobby a few years ago. Whenever I'm in some place new, I run a search on google maps for "museums" and try to find the smallest, most niche topic possible. It's a pretty small time commitment - a small museum can often be explored in 30-60 minutes - and it's incredibly rewarding. The smaller the museum is, the more likely you'll meet the person who set it up. And that's guaranteed to be a great conversation no matter what the subject of the museum is. A couple of months ago I started a website to share details of the museums I've explored. So far I've managed to post a new one every day, and I've still got a backlog of about 50. https://www.niche-museums.com/ https://www.niche-museums.com/
- lb1lf 7y agoI second this. Just about any subject matter is interesting if presented by someone who cares deeply about it. That being said, I believe it is fair to say that I had a better experience than wife+kids at two of my favourite niche museums - the Grimeton spark gap transmitter in South Sweden and, all-time favourite - the museum of submarine cable in Porthcurno, Cornwall, UK. Everybody loved the Ramones museum in Berlin-Kreuzberg, though.
- simonw 7y agoIs that at the World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station on Google Maps? https://goo.gl/maps/wfGRv7QfNtTY33iz7 https://goo.gl/maps/wfGRv7QfNtTY33iz7
- lb1lf 7y agoThat it is. Most impressive site, and if you have the faintest interest in communications and technology, you can easily spend hours there. If you're adventurous and there at the right time, you may even get to climb the masts.
- evanb 7y agoThat museum in Porthcurno is SO INTERESTING. History and hands-on demos and then bam! here's how the big boys did it during the war. Industrially. In a cave. Very neat.
- brian-armstrong 7y agoRelated: 50 Things to Experience Before You Die https://youtu.be/O42LGKRtd0M https://youtu.be/O42LGKRtd0M
- test6554 7y agoInadvisable
- olingern 7y agoLindy Hop. 15 years in and I still enjoy it.
- Tomte 7y agoAnd you can easily branch out into related Swing Dances (and Solo Jazz). Currently I'm into Balboa.
- thdrdt 7y agoHelp the elderly, visit the lonely, feed the hungry. Maybe it's because I'm in my midlife crisis, but as I think how much time I put into hobbies I wonder how much good I could have done in the same time. But creating music, build scale models, growing cactuses, watching movies is a lot of fun. And people need time to relax and enjoy life.
- pjmorris 7y agoAnd you can combine these things; I've got a musician friend who organizes musicians to go to the local VA hospital once a month to play for the patients. It does everybody a world of good. My family makes a point to look after others in the church we're part of, generally by inviting them over for dinner and/or by bringing gifts of food. Music-making and cooking are two hobbies that share really well, but you can do just about anything together.
- all2 7y agoJesus would approve [0]. It also seems that you have stumbled upon one of the great treatments for depression [1]. [0] https://www.biblehub.com/james/1-27.htm https://www.biblehub.com/james/1-27.htm [1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-cultures/201805/in-helping-others-you-help-yourself https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-cultures/201... << there are a lot of articles like this...
- lawn 7y agoLockpicking is both relaxing and challenging, and oh so rewarding when you succeed.
- WrtCdEvrydy 7y agoTry getting a set of impressioning tools for tubular locks... they're like $30 and so fun.
- voisin 7y agoRecommended resources for starting?
- blablabla123 7y agoIt's a really cool idea because hobbies are nice to recharge. But the website should have more functions to customize. Because hobbies are a really personal thing and at least I must really identify with what I'm doing.
- dr_dshiv 7y agoMy favorite hobby is studying history. There are still so many major mysteries. A person can make real discoveries, just with a kindle and search engine. I've started reading Latin texts, so many of which are not translated, with alpheus reading tools. For instance, Descartes' first book has never been translated. I'm so curious about the concept of harmony through history. Everyone talked about it, but it was also quite mysterious, wrapped up in esoteric mystery. Shwep.Net is helps synthesize many sources for studying ancient philosophy.
- amelius 7y agoWhen starting a new hobby, I'd look on Reddit, not Wikipedia.
- Madoxen 7y agoPlaying minecraft? I guess it's 2010 again...
- bad_alloc 7y agoHaven't seen metalworking on that list. It's amazing how far you can get with a vise, saw, files, drill and pliers. And it's also amazing how quickly you feel then need for actual machines and order a lathe and mill :| If you are space-constrained you can also make jewelry, which can be a lot like machining, just a lot smaller. Also it's amazing how your view of metal als "very solid" changed once you take a graver and move it around by hand.
- CPLX 7y agoI build furniture in my spare time. Assuming you have the room for it, enough to build a proper shop, it’s the greatest meditative hobby I’ve found.
- ryanmercer 7y ago>It looks like you have a lot of time on your hands. >Why don't you try this hobby instead: Medieval reenactment Ha! I already do, I'm a member of the SCA.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- edem 7y agoMy hobby is playing Minecraft and the first suggestion was Minecraft. Well played!
- astrikos 7y agoI love running, drawing, and photography!
- madengr 7y agoGuns and shooting, a right not exercised is a right lost. Ham radio, use your spectrum before the FCC auctions it off.
- btrettel 7y agoI'm rather fond of the many DIY engineering hobbies that some people focus extremely deeply on. Air cannons were a big interest of mine back in 2009 or so: https://www.spudfiles.com/ https://www.spudfiles.com/ Someone put a (rather primitive) air cannon simulator I wrote on GitHub: https://github.com/cli-mongrel/bags https://github.com/cli-mongrel/bags And before then I was in to homemade water guns, e.g.: http://www.sscentral.org/homemade/supercannon2.html http://www.sscentral.org/homemade/supercannon2.html I built that when I was a teenager as I recall. Another example that I never participated in: http://www.pulse-jets.com/phpbb3/index.php http://www.pulse-jets.com/phpbb3/index.php I'd love to get better at machining so I could make some small jet engines like those folks. I'm similarly impressed by people who modify cars, build wind turbines, etc., etc. If there are any particular hobbies along these lines that you find interesting, I'd love to hear about them!
- anon_cow1111 7y agoHeh, haven't seen SF mentioned in quite a while, definitely recognize your username from there though. You should still try a pulse jet project if you have the space for it! The last time I built one it only required an angle grinder and small mig welder(+a spot welder improvised from a broken microwave, purely optional though). Or... I do remember a neat how-to from Colin furze(youtube) for making a turbojet using only a hand drill and grinder. It wasn't exactly pretty but it definitely ran.
- 0xcraft 7y agoArgentine Tango! I used to need 3 or 4 drinks to get near a dance floor. Never mind the gut wrenching fear of asking a woman to dance. Now I teach tango. Nothing like midlife to shake things up.
- TurkishPoptart 7y agoDo video games count as a hobby? I just realized that nothing else really holds my interest and I'm now very worried.
- dimator 7y agoI would say as long as it's not interfering with the rest of your life, it's perfectly fine. The breadth of quality games available in this era is really remarkable. To be able to explore that universe and have real experiences is perfectly worthwhile. Where I think it becomes problematic is when the focus is on exactly one game, especially ones with online gameplay with toxic communities. In those cases you should ask yourself if you might be part of the toxicity cycle (not always the case, but worth some introspection).
- opportune 7y agoI don’t think video games are a problem as long as you have a good, balanced life outside of them. If all your friends are from the game and you don’t socialize much outside the game and necessary things like work/family, I’d say that is a bit of a problem.
- tchingy 7y agoStart a journal. Put your thoughts in order on a daily basis, and when you look back at the end of 2020 (or beyond..) you'll have something interesting to read and reflect on.
- fokinsean 7y agoI think I'm going to try this one out this year. I attempted at doing a weekly log but had only had a ~40% completion rate. Any tips on staying motivated? I mostly would enter it into evernote, and as lazy as it sounds sometimes my biggest barrier of entry would be opening my laptop heh.
- tchingy 7y agoYeah, it's like a New Year's resolution... hard to keep up beyond the initial push. Personally, my solution to this was starting a collaborative log (via google docs.. which has a mobile app, phew) with my sister (same logic for any close friend or family member). You sacrifice some freedom of expression, but it keeps you both accountable, knowing that someone is expecting to read whatever you've written on a given day. It's also a great way to get feedback on your thoughts. Good luck!
- adenverd 7y agoProbably not what you’re looking for, but I started writing regularly after getting an iPad and Apple Pencil. There are a number of good apps that let you mix handwriting and typing and a bunch of other media, including OneNote (my current choice), Notability, and GoodNotes.
- PostPost 7y ago1. Make it part of your routine. For instance, make it a weekly habit to have coffee on Sunday morning and update your journal. If you pair writing with another routine activity, (especially an activity that you enjoy doing) then you'll be more likely to complete it. 2. Hang a wall calendar in a high-visibility location and put a sticker/tally mark for every week that you successfully log. It's an easy visual reminder of your progress, and it can bug you if you don't log for a week. 3. This may not be the advice you want, but not logging for a week isn't the worst thing - it's okay to have a week now and then where nothing of note really happens.
- dimator 7y agoWoodworking. What's cool about this is that it can scale with the amount of space/money you have to dedicate. Start building little boxes, you can do it with just a Japanese have saw and some glue, maybe some clamps. Stain it to make the grain really pop. If you have a garage, start with a work bench build. Design it with 2x4 lumber and carriage bolts, make it your own. Once you're standing at your new workbench, then the inspiration really starts going. Also YouTube has an endless supply of quality woodworking videos.
- Spakman 7y agoWhen nearing your final resting place and contemplating all the rich intricacies of your life, do you want to be one of those people who didn't learn to juggle? No. That would be silly. So take up juggling! Aside from obvious things like becoming more coordinated and increasing your spatial awareness, it will teach you a lot about learning. It's fascinating when a challenging new pattern moves from deliberate and entirely conscious effort to straddling the conscious/unconscious divide until it gets bedded in to your nervous system and you can do it without thinking. Juggling is almost entirely non-competitive and jugglers are overwhelmingly supportive and eager to teach and learn new tricks from each other. It doesn't seem to be possible to get into it without also wanting to teach anyone who wants to learn. There aren't many egos getting in the way, which I find rather pure and beautiful. Contemporary juggling is hugely varied. You can go from technical and accurate numbers jugging (high number of objects) to flowing improvised moves to something that is as much dance as circus stuff. Also siteswap[1], a notation for juggling patterns, is cool! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siteswap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siteswap
- tkjef 7y agoa juggling illusion i learned is juggling 4 balls is really just juggling 2 in each hand. you can also juggle bouncing off the floor, lighter objects (scarves, tissues), various patterns (above instead of under, 1 up 2 up) and if really adventurous try while unicycling!
- opportune 7y agoNot that anybody cares, but here’s what I’ve been wanting to do for hobbies: Add some more physical hobbies. Rock climbing/bouldering, swimming/surfing, hike more often. Maybe even yoga. Right now I lift weights and jog on treadmills but I want more diversity. And I need more sun. Start playing a competitive game again. Used to be into chess, Starcraft 2. I think this helps me decompress better than most other activities. Read on my morning commute (25m train ride). Right now I mostly just browse the internet. Work on a mobile game. Very bootstrappable side gig and I know little about front end.
- bhelkey 7y ago> Not that anybody cares I think you would be surprised at the number people interested in something like this. When I read this, I saw a little of myself in you. I am fairly into bouldering, hiking and have tried, unsuccessfully, to get into the competitive video game scene. Yoga stuck out to me when reading your comment. I have received invitations to come try yoga but have never gone. I am going to add it to my list of New Year resolutions.
- skytreader 7y agoI already have a lot of hobbies. So much so that at any given time there's just a "core" set of hobbies I can indulge in and my various hobbies flit in and out of this set depending on the circumstances. For this year, I want to go for depth rather than breadth. For instance: - I can already play the guitar reasonably well so how about going into music theory next? - I can draw well but I've been mostly drawing portraits and human figures. So how about still lifes and sceneries? Or draw with color as so far all I've been doing is elaborate sketching. - Maybe finally learn Copperplate. - After doing Taekwondo since 2004, I recently just picked up boxing and kickboxing. Definitely a lot to learn here still, and even more to integrate from TKD! I wanna get good form on my head movement, get that explosive technique on my punches, throw all my body weight into my hooks, etc. On to another decade of curiosity, I guess. :)
- digitalsushi 7y agoI live between 44° and 45° N in New England and I want to design a greenhouse that can keep itself above freezing year round without using electricity from the house. So if I can do some cool solar pv hydronic heat tank thing, that's ok, or use giant coils of air tubes deep within the earth to steal ambient heat, or whatever tricks look good... I want to give it a shot!