[GhylTarvoke]

Finally writing the book that I've been planning for ~5 years. I can't stop thinking about it.

[Venicius]

I enjoy making candy and cooking. I like building model planes and star trek ships. Restoring and trouble shooting old military rifles is another hobby I like to do. Hunting, fishing, and shooting when I get the time...

[deathspeed]

Having a family has reduced the amount of time i spend playing games, but I still consider it a hobby. 

I occasionally hunt and fish, and am a member of a local shooters club with access to several outdoor ranges, including up to a 400 yard rifle lane.  Like my games, though, I seem to collect firearms more than shoot them (although I have not bought a new one in several years).  I have a variety of guns, from .22 rifles and pistol up through a .308 rifle for deer hunting and a .357 magnum revolver that I have also used for hunting deer.  My favorite one to shoot though is my 5.56mm Bushmaster AR-15.  With its short 16" barrel and AK-74-style muzzle brake it is by far the loudest gun I have, but man it rocks!  Whether exploding water-filled aluminum cans at 50 yards or putting 30 holes in a paper plate at 15 yards as fast as I can, it is literally a blast to shoot.

I also like working on old cars (from the 60s and 70s), but haven't really done it since my daily driver WAS an old car.

[T-Man]

Seriously, nice job on those paper models Col.Hornet especially the top one; thought they were plastic models when I first saw the photos, the cockpits on both of them look perfect. (Pardon late mention of this net was wonky yesterday).

My big one at the moment (probably more 'obsession' than hobby) is the World of Darkness RPGs. Supernatural characters (Vampires, Warewolves, Magicians etc) and a dark gothic-y modern setting with lots of dark conspiracy and politics (it's a series designed for adults not kids; lives up to the name a lot). I'm one of our common game runners and I've been working with a friend on a AU New Orleans canon (Wikipedia and google maps are lifesavers) to set our games in and setting up an online space for organising it all. We don't get to play a great deal, but I quite enjoy the world-making so I just carry on with that. I also just love the mechanics of the game; complex rules but they flow so well you don't think about it. Been on-and-off about trying to modify the base WoD system (and stripping out the supernatural stuff) to make an FS universe RPG.

Alongside am a long-dormant Warhammer/Games Workshop fan trying to get back into it (waiting till I have income before I start collecting proper). Haven't bought many models in a long time; to be honest I enjoy reading/discussing the canon way more than I do playing it (it's been around for a while and the universe is massive; I heard they won an award of some kind for it's depth). Am debating having a shot at writing some stories set in the universe and seeing if I can submit them to Black Library (the GW book people) but I seem to hit writer's block way too easily. Favourite side? I'll just say "The Greater Good" and leave it at that .

Last big one I guess is philosophy (maybe bit weird sounding, but there ya go). I did an MA that touched on it and left me wanting to look into it a lot more so I try to read up on theorists and theories when I get the chance (found a good lecture set in iTunes U that helped; from The University of New Orleans ironically ). Am quite interested in how technology and socio-politics interplay and how technology can shape and benefit people. One of the big things that first hooked me to Blue Planet was how the UEF use supercomputer projections to guide policies; is a concept I would love to see tried in real life (“Political campaigning? Multi-party politics? Inefficient and outdated!” ). Have an own IP I've been brainstorming that's inspired by my politics/philosophy interests (really do want to make it one day). That was another big BP hook in fact; the UEF is in a lot of ways similar to my IPs main protagonists (there are some big differences too, but I'm still worried if I do it now everyone would think I've ripped off BP ).

[Colonol Dekker]

Since retiring from the glorious world of EOD in the British Army,  (pic 1)
I've taken up photography and serious things like making minibars out of old jerrycans.

I love bushcraft too as it would be a shame to get rid of my hennessy hammock and drop point knife


[attachment DELETED!! by Strong Bad]

[karajorma]

i 'smell' a HLP cooking showoff challenge on the Horizon! :g:

I think cooking deserves a thread of its own actually. I think I might go make one.

[The E]

dooo eeet

[karajorma]

Done.

Cooking is actually my biggest hobby apart from gaming. The high point of my day was when my girlfriend pointed out that the syringe I'd ordered online had finally arrived and now I could finally try making jam doughnuts.

[Turambar]

I assemble plastic model robots.

[perihelion]

Lego spaceship and world-building w/ the kids.  Swimming w/ the kids.  Painting and various other art projects with the kids.  Plastic sword fighting with my kids (surprisingly, my pacifist daughter gets as into this as my younger and considerably more violent-minded son!  Something viscerally appealing about beating up Daddy, I guess.)  Video games with the kids on the Wii.  Occasional movies w/ kids, but I frequently retreat to the study whenever movies come on.

Reading.  Video games on my PC.  Wasting time on the internet.  Most all of my time is taken up by job work, house work, various maintenance projects, and occasionally small bouts of useless inactivity I've been told most people refer to as "sleep."  Obsessive guilt over not spending enough time w/ job / kids / dearest wife / job / anything of actual significance.

Trips w/ kids to as many different aquariums, zoos, and museums as we can as we travel.  National and State Parks whenever possible.  Took the kids to star night at the McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains in West Texas year before last.  Daughter had a blast and got to see several galaxies, Saturn, and Jupiter with her own eyes.  (NEVER happen down here at sea level!!)  Son was kind of freaked out by the darkness and had to go back inside, but he eventually got brave again because he had to put eyes on sister to make sure she was ok.

In case you can't tell, your life changes rather a lot once you become a parent.

[watsisname]

I climb on top of things and take some pictures and then climb back down them.

[headdie]

That spans nicely across my dual monitors, seriously that is a spectacular view

[StarSlayer]

If the various pieces of artwork I've posted on HLP did not make it obvious, I fancy drawing stuff.  Pretty much doodle continuously but if the mood strikes me I will tackle something a little larger and more complex.

I enjoy weapons based martial arts and have been involved in some form or another for about ten years.  I've dabbled in quite a few of the European traditions but currently I practice Kendo and Iaido.  Its a nice combination since Iaido is precision driven solitary kata while Kendo is high energy screaming and hitting people with a bamboo stick.  There is also a local Kyudo club which I might check out.

Historic Wargaming, 28mm Napoleonics is my main focus but I've got some 1/285th WW2 Microarmor and some Battlefleet Gothic kicking around.  When I complete my current French force I might take a break and start a Trajan era Roman Legion or maybe Warring States Era Samurai.

When I want something more complex than minis I like scale modeling.  I run the gamut of armored vehicles, warships, aircraft and some scifi, in fact I have a bunch of subjects keen to be airbrushed this summer.

While I up New Hampshire during the summer I like to row, paddle board and abuse myself running up and down obnoxious Granite State topography.

[FlamingCobra]

I play D&D. I started assembling Gunpla models. I RP over Facebook Messenger with my friends. I play video games.

[Mpez]

It's probably time for me to contribute as well. Apart from gaming and yt, I love listening to history podcasts while commuting to work. Don't have much time for playing bass, FS and map making for other games now, as work and commuting takes a lot of time and makes you feel completely drained out of energy at the end of the day (after reading a few posts here I think that this is a common thing).

Was looking for a new hobby that I could do on the train or before sleep and turns out origami is quite nice - you can do it almost anywhere and it doesn't feel like wasting time. Also, I'm looking forward to buying a few jigsaws.

Noticed most of the stuff described here is rather a 'I want to be alone doing my stuff' kind of thing. Do you recommend anything that works well when you have a boyfriend/girlfriend (especially when they're not into hard science fiction, miniatures and guns)?

[StarSlayer]

I'd join some kind of class or club.  Cooking, dancing, martial arts, horseback riding, whatever you both might enjoy.

[WeatherOp]

It's probably time for me to contribute as well. Apart from gaming and yt, I love listening to history podcasts while commuting to work. Don't have much time for playing bass, FS and map making for other games now, as work and commuting takes a lot of time and makes you feel completely drained out of energy at the end of the day (after reading a few posts here I think that this is a common thing).

Was looking for a new hobby that I could do on the train or before sleep and turns out origami is quite nice - you can do it almost anywhere and it doesn't feel like wasting time. Also, I'm looking forward to buying a few jigsaws.

Noticed most of the stuff described here is rather a 'I want to be alone doing my stuff' kind of thing. Do you recommend anything that works well when you have a boyfriend/girlfriend (especially when they're not into hard science fiction, miniatures and guns)?

That would depend on how much you enjoy being around the other person and how well you work or play together. The possibilities are endless. One of the things I could recommend is find something you can each do a part of. That is a lot of fun to finish your part and then hand it to the other person. For instance last evening my wife and I weeded two rows in the garden. We started so we could meet at the same time, but she met me faster cause she can move faster than me. In the end we both had fun while working in the pouring rain. No matter what hobbie you both do, it's how you and the other react.

[Damage]

Mainly cooking lately, it's cathartic.  Trying to decide if I want to convert an old gas grill into a large smoker for barbecue.

Also TVTropes.

[Colonol Dekker]

Back into DIY.

Making a portable minibar out of a jerrycan.

[Deepstar]

To play Videogames... and to create Let's Play Videos of them also.

But my most time-consuming hobby is still my writing of novels. Primarily Sci-Fi Military and Fan-Fiction to sci-fi videogames (including freespace).
But i also still read many books and fan-fiction .