Hobbies

[kitkatz]

Has anyone began a new hobby.  Do you have a hobby that is interesting or different. If so please share here.

[monrein]

Mine is not a new hobby, nor is it particularly different but I am a guerrilla gardener. That means that I go at it hard and long because my transplant gives me the energy to do so. I'm out there almost every day in the summer, planting, weeding, deadheading, and especially planning new additions of trees and beds. I like collecting plants that are somewhat unusual and also rescuing plants, rocks, flagstones etc from houses that are being demolished...with permission of course. Last week I made a new flagstone stepping pathway the length of my narrow backyard and made two big new curving beds that now need to have the soil amended and plants chosen. Planting will be next years project. Two of my neighbourhood friends are a garden designer and a day lily hybridizer ( she cross pollinates day lilies  to come up with new varieties which she then sells around the world. Together we visit wholesale nurseries and talk about plants endlessly.  Gardening is my meditation and my exercise and my passion.

[kristina]

One of my favourite hobbies is to research about Jean Tijou and his decorative ironwork at Hampton Court...
Jean Tijou was possibly trained at Versailles and I try to research more about him, because his decorative ironwork appears to be the result
of many generations of intensive study in decorative ironwork and I would like to find out more about Jean Tijou,
not only about him as a person, but about his magnificent inspiration in decorative ironwork...

My other hobby is to research and collect original scores by as many Baroque composers as possible and I try find out more about their original instruments.
I am also very interested in listening to “antique” instruments like piano fortes, mainly because modern instruments sound very similar
without showing much tonal individuality these days...

But my favourite hobby is to learn and play the piano forte and I try to learn as much as I possibly can learn.
Because of my medical situation I “have to” learn on my own without any teacher, but it is a great journey of discovery ...
...I also prefer learning on my own, because I have noticed that some music students “copy” the playing/performing style of their teacher
and it is important for me to keep my own interpretative individuality  ...

Another hobby of mine is to listen to Baroque music and I have collected - over the years - many LP’s, where Baroque music was being played on original instruments.
I did learn a lot from this collection over the years about different interpretations by many different pianists through the 20th century, from the 1920’s onwards...

[talker]

Taking apart and fixing anything broken, not working,  was, is, still is, one of my hobbies. I mean anything, electrical / mechanical / musical / automotive / appliances / computers / and at one time even a radial airplane engine. Recent latest hobby is maintaining my own Wordpress website. Do I ever get bored, nah. Ah, the stories that could be storied.
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# 23 Talkers Harmony and the Conn Strobotuner

Ah yes Harmony.
Now for a Talker story.

Decades past while still active in field electronics, had a call to repair a Choir masters, church organ.
So there I am, after the repair, with a Conn Strobotuner, all set up and tweaking the oscillators to perfection, as indicated by the strobolight.

Another job well done.

Same day we get a call, ‘what did you do to the organ, it sounds terrible.'
Back I go, recheck with the trusty Conn Strobotuner.
All is perfect and stable.
Sounds good to my ear, but the lady says it ‘just don’t sound right’.
What to do now!
Place a call to the Conn Organ company, and speak to my engineer contact.
Explain the ladies comment of ‘don’t sound right’ even with the perfect ‘lock’ of the tuning oscillators. The engineer thinks a moment, and must have smiled,
as he says go back and ‘minutely ‘detune’ with whatever shows first , of a minus or positive from the strobes zero stand point, for each oscillator.
Well that didn’t make sense, but what was I to do, to satisfy the ladies musical ear.
Off I go, to purposely detune an organ, as suggested by the Conn engineer.
I do a few of my infamous Elmer’s Tune, notes on the detuned organ, and the lady smiles, and says ‘oh, you finally got it right this time’. Sheesh.
What was lacking, as I came to find out, was the rich harmonics, produced by slightly detuned but ‘almost’ perfectly locked electronic frequencies, gave nicer sounds then a perfectly tuned organ.
So harmony is not necessarily the same for all experiencing it.
So lesson learnt.
------------------------
http://www.thetalker.org/archives/447/23-talkers-harmony-and-the-conn-strobotuner/

[kristina]

Taking apart and fixing anything broken, not working,  was, is, still is, one of my hobbies. I mean anything, electrical / mechanical / musical / automotive / appliances / computers / and at one time even a radial airplane engine. Recent latest hobby is maintaining my own Wordpress website. Do I ever get bored, nah. Ah, the stories that could be storied.
--------------------------------
# 23 Talkers Harmony and the Conn Strobotuner

Ah yes Harmony.
Now for a Talker story.

Decades past while still active in field electronics, had a call to repair a Choir masters, church organ.
So there I am, after the repair, with a Conn Strobotuner, all set up and tweaking the oscillators to perfection, as indicated by the strobolight.

Another job well done.

Same day we get a call, ‘what did you do to the organ, it sounds terrible.'
Back I go, recheck with the trusty Conn Strobotuner.
All is perfect and stable.
Sounds good to my ear, but the lady says it ‘just don’t sound right’.
What to do now!
Place a call to the Conn Organ company, and speak to my engineer contact.
Explain the ladies comment of ‘don’t sound right’ even with the perfect ‘lock’ of the tuning oscillators. The engineer thinks a moment, and must have smiled,
as he says go back and ‘minutely ‘detune’ with whatever shows first , of a minus or positive from the strobes zero stand point, for each oscillator.
Well that didn’t make sense, but what was I to do, to satisfy the ladies musical ear.
Off I go, to purposely detune an organ, as suggested by the Conn engineer.
I do a few of my infamous Elmer’s Tune, notes on the detuned organ, and the lady smiles, and says ‘oh, you finally got it right this time’. Sheesh.
What was lacking, as I came to find out, was the rich harmonics, produced by slightly detuned but ‘almost’ perfectly locked electronic frequencies, gave nicer sounds then a perfectly tuned organ.
So harmony is not necessarily the same for all experiencing it.
So lesson learnt.
------------------------
http://www.thetalker.org/archives/447/23-talkers-harmony-and-the-conn-strobotuner/

Most interesting what you write about tuning an instrument, talker. I had a very similar experience:
When I first had my piano forte, a tuner from the South of England came regularly to tune my instrument
but then I noticed that his understanding of tonality and tonal harmony was different from my own understanding
and that was the time when I decided to learn and tune the instrument myself...
... at first it was very difficult, nerve wrecking and there were two unfortunate broken strings,
but after a while I became well trained and it became much easier...
... and i have been tuning my instrument every since...

[MooseMom]

I collect kaleidoscopes.

I also collect locally thrown pottery from wherever I travel, but it has to be pieces that I can use like plates, saucers, teapots, etc.  I don't collect merely decorative pottery.  The one exception is a tea set made of jade that I COULD use, but I don't.

[PrimeTimer]

At present, I have no hobbies. Unless having a hot cup of coffee in complete silence at some point every day counts. Years ago tho, I use to put together plastic model cars. You know, the kind that you buy at a toy store in a small box that you put together with that strong, wonderfully smelling glue. Seriously. Anyways, I had a male friend back then that was into model cars and that's where I got the idea. Since I'm female, my female friends couldn't understand this but neither could my male friends. Why would a young woman be interested in model cars? Well, I've never been known for my patience and I'm still not but, at the time I desperately needed some patience and to stay focused. So, I figured taking a little bit of time each day to carefully piece together a tiny model car would help. And it did. By the end of the year, I succeeded in meeting a personal goal I had worked hard for and learning patience helped to get me there.

[Ang]

I have spent the last 20 years collecting old australian rules footy cards
Considering i had every set from mid seventies to 1990- each set has 132-164 cards
When i was 21-22 years, i threw all away, because i was too old and didn't want this crap
Abouut 5 years later i decided to go and try and collect these cards again
$5-$10 a card, is an expensive hobby

[PrimeTimer]

I have spent the last 20 years collecting old australian rules footy cards
Considering i had every set from mid seventies to 1990- each set has 132-164 cards
When i was 21-22 years, i threw all away, because i was too old and didn't want this crap
Abouut 5 years later i decided to go and try and collect these cards again
$5-$10 a card, is an expensive hobby

I googled "australian rules footy cards". Now that I know what they are and after reading your post, I feel your pain. Very expensive hobby! Too bad we couldn't be 21 again.

[cattlekid]

I completely understand about having a hobby that requires patience and focus.

I am a knitter. I usually am working on a project to give to someone else.  I don't always have a good sense of what is at my skill level and what will send me into a spiral of aggravation. 

However, when life appears to be zooming out of my control, I sit down and knit a mindless dishcloth.  I can finish one in a couple of focused hours.  It always lowers my blood pressure and gives me back my sense of control, even if it's over a few yards of yarn and a couple of sticks.

At present, I have no hobbies. Unless having a hot cup of coffee in complete silence at some point every day counts. Years ago tho, I use to put together plastic model cars. You know, the kind that you buy at a toy store in a small box that you put together with that strong, wonderfully smelling glue. Seriously. Anyways, I had a male friend back then that was into model cars and that's where I got the idea. Since I'm female, my female friends couldn't understand this but neither could my male friends. Why would a young woman be interested in model cars? Well, I've never been known for my patience and I'm still not but, at the time I desperately needed some patience and to stay focused. So, I figured taking a little bit of time each day to carefully piece together a tiny model car would help. And it did. By the end of the year, I succeeded in meeting a personal goal I had worked hard for and learning patience helped to get me there.