Hobbies and Interests thread

Anything that doesn't quite fit in elsewhere...
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wjfox
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Hobbies and Interests thread

Post by wjfox »

What do you like to do, outside futurology?

These are my 10 main interests, in rough order of importance:

1. Staying fit and healthy. Yoga/stretches every morning, treadmill 2-3 times a week, and walking around parks/woodlands if the weather's good.

2. Video games. I've been playing them since 1984 and my interest hasn't waned an iota. :) I used to own consoles, but these days I'm entirely on PC. Would play them more often if I wasn't so busy, but I nearly always have a gaming session on Friday evening and Saturdays. My favourite genres are probably action/adventure, open world, and some occasional strategy or simulation stuff like Age of Empires, Cities: Skylines, etc.

3. Dining out. This is something I've been doing a lot less since Covid, but I love to meet friends for dinner in London, especially the West End with its buzzing atmosphere and amazing choice of venues. I also went to many live music shows (pre-2020) and hope to get back into those.

4. Astronomy. I love reading and learning about space, its vastness and beauty, the latest discoveries, progress on exploration and so on.

5. Reading (generally). I normally only read at bedtime, but I want to read more often. Currently finishing Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. I've been re-reading the entire Mars trilogy, having first read it back in the late 90s.

6. Movies and TV shows. I'm currently watching The Tourist on BBC iPlayer.

7. My garden. I get lots of birds in my garden (including some feral parakeets), and enjoy feeding them.

8. Visiting family. In terms of importance, this should probably be listed at #1 place, but the reason it's 8th is because it's been pretty rare, since the pandemic I mean. I was lucky enough to meet my parents, and both nephews, for the first time in almost two years over Christmas. If the Covid situation continues to improve, then I hope to visit them more often.

9. Music. I like pretty much all genres, but I have a particular love for jazzy/funky tracks, especially late 70s/early 80s stuff.

10. News and current events. I like to follow all the latest stuff happening in this crazy world.
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R8Z
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Re: Hobbies and Interests thread

Post by R8Z »

As I've asked for the thread, I think it makes sense for me to continue...

Just wanted to share with you guys my current HO scale (1/87) model railroad project (not final) that I am aiming to build this year. Just discovered this fun hobby early this year and I am already diving deep into it. It's great because with it I've already done some plastic model fiddling, some electronics and soldering, a bit of woodwork and model landscaping (not good yet :lol:) .

It is a model railroad shelf layout, with a focus on lane switching and operations, that mean it doesn't have a continuous running loop and also that it can be put against the wall in an elevated position (I will put it about 1.4m (4.5ft) from the ground). This is because I don't have the space to setup a proper small model railroad and also because the wife would kill me if I did (jk). If I ever get to build this layout it will be put above my desk in my home office as a standard shelf. The layout is approximately 2.86m x 45cm, with it's maximum height reaching 25cm (murica: 9.68ft x 1.47ft x 10in). It is a very small layout, usually they are way bigger.

The layout

Image

The layout represents a fictional factory which receives both grains (hopper cars) and loose cargo (inc. small 20ft containers) on flat cars on the right side, and traditional box cars on the left side plus very sporadically some fuel to re-fuel the shunter cars that operate in the layout.

Some project details: there is a staging area (inbound and outbound) for both sides of the factory down below next to the river bed, and a room for the "empty" cars also besides the unloading part in each section of the factory. The length of the track was carefully thought for proper operations (e.g. the trains can actually enter the industries), although the curves angles and structures are still to be put to test on the real deal before actually building it. Additionally, some equipments or buildings might be off-scale, as I've built them from scratch (except the light poles and tracks).

The operational plan is that a full mixed train comes from the right, delivers the cars at the inbound staging area and leaves grabbing the empty cars in the outbound staging area. Meanwhile a shunter is preparing itself to start grabbing, sorting and delivering those cars to their specific industry.

One can see that the tracks are split into sections, this is because this train railroad model will run on DC only (as it's the only reasonable priced available in my country). In a DC controlled model railroad normally the entire track is controlled with a single dial (that means that any train in any place moves forward or backward), but in this case with the track split, some sections can be de-powered so that locomotives can lie there without moving. For the controls there is a dedicated section in the middle of the shelf (the grey box represents the main train controller).

Missing from the plan is the full landscaping overview as the tool as already at its maximum free usage and I couldn't add any more objects to the scene (eg. trees, flowers, different floors, etc.).

Here are some images from the plan, built from scratch on the free version of SCARM, both in 3D and in 2D:

Image

Image

Image

The full plan is over here.

For the next post I'll bring some pictures of the actual model trains and wagons that I already have. :)
And, as always, bye bye.
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citali_
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Location: Rhode Island, USA

Re: Hobbies and Interests thread

Post by citali_ »

Writing songs, and singing is my career. I'm an Indie singer which means I am not under a management or label.

Aside from that I do have some hobbies:

Karaoke
Photography
Cryptozoology
Designing and making clothes
Baking
Collecting unusual items
Indie singer/songwriter
https://youtu.be/Q_NhbSsz9ko
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Time_Traveller
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Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: Hobbies and Interests thread

Post by Time_Traveller »

My hobbies and interests are: -

Astronomy - I enjoy learning about space and what's beyond our solar system.

Archaeology - I enjoy history by what's within the ground.

Reading - I have a few science fiction and science related books under the bed which i am currently dusting off and starting reading them again.

Walking - When i do have the time i enjoy walking around my local park or if i have the time going up Robinswood Hill (Around 45 minutes from my house) and take in the view. I do however need to do more to loose weight in the next few months.

Watching Dvds and TV shows - Over the years i have gotten more picky about which TV shows i watch but i specifically watch science fiction shows/Dvds such as: - Doctor Who, Star Trek and Star Wars.

3D Printing (Novice operator at the moment) - Printed a few things at the moment but not much as its at my friends house but i do plan to remove it when i move into my own home one day.
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
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