Hobbies

Brad Harris

Sophomore
Mar 1, 2011
142
0
0
Stage Left
So what's your away from the biz hobbies?

I've got an electronics and programming bug, but that's all pretty industry related hobbies .....

Aside from having some cigars and appropriate drink on my rarely sunny balcony, I try to get away and go diving.

In the past year I've spent close to two months down in the Caribbean logging over 50hrs under that warm air into tranquility. I still have no idea how I even have a job after taking that much time off, and at those lengths (a few weeks at a time).

The last few tours and out of towners haven't corresponded to any dives midway or at the end. Too much work on either side or stuck in a landlocked area.

I'd like to get down to Florida or Dallas and take some GUI courses and really get my technique to a 'varsity' level and start doing more non-recreational dives.

BRad
 
Re: Hobbies

I seem to enjoy building performance 7.3 diesel trucks (Ford) and occasionally cars. Maintaining our fleet of box trucks is how this hobby manifests itself, rather than much actual performance.

An Audi is currently on my "To buy and make fast" list, ever since Adrian got one and opened my eyes to German Engineering.
 
Re: Hobbies

Lately Ive been heading down to Galveston and Fishing. Ive got a list of fish that I pick from and I pretty much stay until I catch that particular one. Sometimes I head home in defeat but usually I actually get it after some time and changing up baits/hooks etc. My last one I just decided I wanted a hammerhead. I couldnt get out on a boat so I just stayed on the dock, caught lots of catfish including a couple large ones and 15 or so little guys that Im not sure what they were. Finally about 2:30am I pulled in a 2ft Hammerhead. Small for a shark but it made my week.

FWIW I release everything I catch.
 
Re: Hobbies

I actually have a root beer collection, and I'm a big fan of strategy video games, as well as several board and card games. Hearts is up on that list, but my Dad is one of the most cutthroat players you'll ever see. Luckily, he's usually drinking a beer or two at the time (and me my root beer, naturally), so our odds are increased slightly as the rest of the family.

I also help a friend of mine with video game map design and troubleshooting his errors. Kinda fun, actually. Interestingly enough, I also have helped him with several of his film products by helping him with voice overs and post production mixing (I'm a live sound, mostly, so it doesn't immediately transfer, but he seems to like it). We won an award for "sound editing stuffs" (that was literally the title) in a competition on YouTube, so that was great! I would post it here, but it sucked in reality. I think we just got it because we actually tried to have all of our objects, guns, characters, and music come together, even though the quality stunk in the end.

Whoops, went back to audio for a second there. Something tells me that many of our hobbies connect to the production business (I helped make props for my school's theatrical production a few times because I had much experience modeling from my model trains as a young child), probably because most of us are "geeks" anyway.
 
Re: Hobbies

I really get into the Christmas lights (like Evan) and also go a bit overboard for Halloween.

I like seeing others enjoy what I do and with Halloween-making all the props out of basic crap and making "things" do things there are not supposed to do-such as air pistons out of screen door closures etc.

So fall is my "busy season"
 
Re: Hobbies

I really get into the Christmas lights (like Evan) and also go a bit overboard for Halloween.

I like seeing others enjoy what I do and with Halloween-making all the props out of basic crap and making "things" do things there are not supposed to do-such as air pistons out of screen door closures etc.

So fall is my "busy season"

Cycling, including all my own mechanical work on them.
Photography, although film is dying.
Woodworking(which obviously ties into loudspeaker design and building).
Camping, in tents. Love a nice cool starry night in the woods of Wisconsin or Michigan or Colorado...or anywhere like that. ;>) Bring the big binoculars and do some star gazing is a bonus. Northern Lights are an incredible bonus.

Best regards,

John
 
Re: Hobbies

Since I work a real job, running sound for the church is one hobby. My obsession is bass fishing. If anyone ever happens thru North Mississippi (yeah, I know, why? lol) I'll hook you up. I used to be into dirt short track racing, but had to give something up. I'm a bit of a tinkerer too, so I like to make usable stuff out of junk.
 
Re: Hobbies

I do a lot of electronics on my own, mainly building microphones and other little audio things as well as repairing old weird music/audio things.
Last couple years I've gotten very slightly obsessive about woodworking, mostly building Arts & Crafts style tabletop lanterns and more recently a standup desk.
Bicycling, hiking, keeping fit.
Oh yeah, I play a few musical instruments and sing.
 
Re: Hobbies

Too many to list but the few that I am having time to enjoy this month are:
1) Raising Tilapia and freshwater Prawns.
2) Organic gardening. Corn (5 varieties), Squash (6 varieties), Okra, Watermelons (4 varieties), Tomatoes (14 varieties), Peppers (8 varieties), and a few more things.
3) Automotive paint and body work. I did it professionally for several years, now it is a hobby.
4) A major zoning consulting project.
5) eBay and craigslist buying and selling.
6) Tinkering with older cars, especially Mercedes diesels.

Pretty much anything I do now for a living I enjoy. Most of my hobbies also make money. The sound company is my favorite hobby, it just happens to make the most money right now so I currently tell everyone who asks that I do that for a living. I never set out to do live sound as a source of income. I always did it because I loved it and it was my escape from the daily grind just like going fishing or hiking.

There is an old saying that if you do what you love for a living you will never work a day in your life. I have found that to be true.
There is also a teaching about choosing a job for money rather than happiness and in the end having neither. I have also found that to be true as well.
 
Re: Hobbies

When I'm not in front of my desk I'm probably:
  • Finding and drinking new bourbons
  • Road cycling (training for a week of seat time in Ireland late August!)
  • Shooting little clay discs thrown through the air (and other things, but most of my trigger time recently has been behind a shotgun)
  • Hiking and camping, looking to get into two night hikes soon.
  • Driving cars, thinking about driving cars, looking at cars I'd like to drive, reading car reviews - I don't have enough income for what this hobby could be.
  • Posting pictures of cats on Facebook
 
Re: Hobbies

Live sound is my hobby. :)

But outside of that realm
  • Mountain biking - wish I had more time
  • spending time with my family
  • built myself a bbq smoker so I spend some time cooking up ribs, pulled pork and anything else
  • video games
  • home theater/home audio related interests.
  • NHL - San Jose Sharks fan
 
Last edited:
Re: Hobbies

  • cutting grass
  • jogging
  • poisoning fire ants
  • brewing beer
  • roasting coffee
  • playing pick-up basketball
  • repairing broken appliances and equipment
  • studying economics to understand human behavior
  • improving microprocessor algorithm design
  • whining about lack of standard boost/cut Q definition
JR
 
Re: Hobbies

Old aircraft restoration especially the engines, can't fly now due to eyesight, read ridiculous amounts of Sci-Fi books, live sound could be construed as a hobby though I spend more time doing that than much else nowadays. Like Bennett could spend far too much money on cars, oh wait I've done that already and gave it up before the Bank manager made me :( G
 
Re: Hobbies

Fishing is my hobby. I pretty much an either working in audio or fishing or buying fishing tackle or hanging out at the tackle store or working on my tackle.

Shown below are a little Gulf Grouper caught out of Puerto Penasco, Mexico, a nice Wahoo caught at Isla Clarion, Mexico and the head of a Yellowfin Tuna which got eaten by five Galapagos sharks after fighting it for about an hour at Isla Clarion, Mexico. It got eaten 30 feet below the boat. I also lost a really nice wahoo to a school of hammerheads on that trip. Damn sharks!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    166.4 KB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    175.7 KB · Views: 0
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    118.8 KB · Views: 0