Other hobbies

[Magasaki]

So I was just wondering what card collectors do in their own time, except collecting cards? Does anyone have any other interesting hobbies? I spend a lot of time playing with downhill bikes and people in those circles are always surprised when they see my stash of cards. Was just wondering what else the rest of you guys do?!? Any pics or stories would be interesting

[Don Boyer]

Performing magic, playing games, watching movies, spending time with my wife, learning about new technology, practicing aikido (though I've been away from the dojo for too long), reading.

I also enjoy long drives, if I'm the driver.

I would take up flying if it wasn't so darn expensive.

[Will W.]

Being from Oklahoma, with over 200 lakes and 30 rivers I spend a lot of free time fishing. It's peaceful and relaxing, almost like meditation.  In a hillbilly, redneck, country kind of way. Not that I am any of those things..

[doubledouble]

amateur poker player reporting in. also a big fan of other card games. hearts, napoleon, spades, durak, etc. Playing card games is the reason I got into collecting playing cards in the first place.

[Magasaki]

now i'm back at work I dug out a couple of recent pics of our adventures. Points if you can guess the only one of these taken in the UK (they're all Europe though). Basically I tend to spend as much time up big hills as possibly, and try to have as much fun coming back down them as I can - without hurting myself too badly.

[ecNate]

I also mountain bike and enjoy downhill, but not as aggressive as you (only for about 1 year, have hard tail 29er only and regular helmet/no pads = mostly wooded trails/hills and ridges).

In addition, I play competitive sand volleyball, have a race kart (about 60mph max), autocross (race car in parking lots), dabble in music remixing and song writing, brew beer, DIY auto/home, etc.

As for other collections, I have a 1/43 scale car collection which has been neglected since we moved 5 years ago.  It's all still in a box waiting for the room and in wall display to be built.  I guess I also collect board games, but it's more out of desire for new games to play than for the sake of a collection.  It's just that at some point you realize you have a problem and calling it a collection makes it ok somehow.   

[Don Boyer]

now i'm back at work I dug out a couple of recent pics of our adventures. Points if you can guess the only one of these taken in the UK (they're all Europe though).

Can't be the bottom one - it's the only one where the sky isn't gray! 

You should get in touch with Curt, our omni-mod - there are links around here to videos of him skiing in British Columbia, using a helmet-mounted GoPro to shoot it.  Freakin' gorgeous.  I get the impression that he lives in a hammock on the black diamond trail for half the year!

[Nurul]

My hobbies are pretty standard.

Play football on a Wednesday and Sunday. Shoot pool now and then.
I, too, have a massive board game "collection" lol I think I got like 4 different monopoly versions lol
Biggest hobby would be practising and performing magic.

I slowly collect foreign currency...

[Fess]

Some pretty cool hobbies you guys have.

Mine aren't too exciting really. I play poker, buy and sell gemstones, paint, read with my girl, cooking. I've been trying to treat spending time with my girl friend and her friends as a hobby so I do it more often. They're a lot of fun and since they're all broke actually do a lot of board gaming, which I tend to fail at haha. Also been trying to dedicate more time to practicing my card control, so that's becoming more of a daily kind of hobby. It's something I've been enjoying quite a bit doing it this way, gives me a few minutes of quiet time throughout the day. I find a lot of pleasure in peace, so I tend to value those five to ten minute sessions enough to growl a little when I'm disturbed lol.

With the return of the NFL season, my sundays get chewed up a bit. So it limits some of the other activities I enjoy. Just not enough time for them. They have to wait again until spring.

[PurpleIce]

It's so cool to see people do sports..especially those a tad more extreme.

I use to do a lot of sports until i got 2 slipped discs, which made me stopped for a very long time. Of course i can still do sports now that i'm much better than before, but not at the pace that i used to do.

I got a more serious problem though. I actually had this problem since young but it's worst since i started earning my own money to spend. I have a collecting addiction. I have a card collection (Duh), DVD collection, manga collection, caps collection, bottle collection.......basically anything that can catch my interest i will collect. I buy tons of DVDs even though i have watched it or i could always watch it online. I have a whole collection of hard liquor and wine, and i'm actually on Amazon now window shopping for board games and chess sets.

Now, I'm actually into collecting vintage stuff. I have old F&N glasses, bottles and bottle openers. Japanese WWII currency notes. Ammo box. Suitcases. Telephones....list goes on.

My wife keeps asking me when i wanna open my "museum". 

[Don Boyer]

It's so cool to see people do sports..especially those a tad more extreme.

I use to do a lot of sports until i got 2 slipped discs, which made me stopped for a very long time. Of course i can still do sports now that i'm much better than before, but not at the pace that i used to do.

I got a more serious problem though. I actually had this problem since young but it's worst since i started earning my own money to spend. I have a collecting addiction. I have a card collection (Duh), DVD collection, manga collection, caps collection, bottle collection.......basically anything that can catch my interest i will collect. I buy tons of DVDs even though i have watched it or i could always watch it online. I have a whole collection of hard liquor and wine, and i'm actually on Amazon now window shopping for board games and chess sets.

Now, I'm actually into collecting vintage stuff. I have old F&N glasses, bottles and bottle openers. Japanese WWII currency notes. Ammo box. Suitcases. Telephones....list goes on.

My wife keeps asking me when i wanna open my "museum". 

You'd love http://ancientchess.com/   If you haven't already, you should check out shoji - Japanese chess is a bit more faster-paced!  My favorite feature - when you capture your opponent's pieces, you get the opportunity to put them back in play for YOUR army!  Instead of a battle of attrition over a long period of time, with smart play it becomes more of a race to get that king.  The pieces are mostly weaker, but the ones with power are quite powerful, and piece promotion is far simpler.  On the 9x9 board, you only need to reach the last three rows and spend a turn to promote - and nearly every piece promotes, not just the pawns!

[Will W.]

If we are talking about other things that we collect.... I also collect Trivial Pursuit games. I believe I have just about every version ever released. A closet full...

[Nurul]

Oh damn lol

I have a pretty sizeable comic book collection .. Mainly DC and marvel .. I have a massive anime download collection, in fact I've began re watching naruto - rumours of it coming to an end at the end of the year

[Josh Blackmon]

Being from Oklahoma, with over 200 lakes and 30 rivers I spend a lot of free time fishing. It's peaceful and relaxing, almost like meditation.  In a hillbilly, redneck, country kind of way. Not that I am any of those things..

Have you ever gone and fished for paddlefish in Grand Lake? I heard about it at a fisheries joint meeting between Oklahoma and Texas this year. Sounds like a blast. That is not me in the picture, just a cool paddlefish photo on Grand Lake.

[John B.]

Some pretty cool hobbies you guys have.

Mine aren't too exciting really. I play poker, buy and sell gemstones, paint, read with my girl, cooking. I've been trying to treat spending time with my girl friend and her friends as a hobby so I do it more often. They're a lot of fun and since they're all broke actually do a lot of board gaming, which I tend to fail at haha. Also been trying to dedicate more time to practicing my card control, so that's becoming more of a daily kind of hobby. It's something I've been enjoying quite a bit doing it this way, gives me a few minutes of quiet time throughout the day. I find a lot of pleasure in peace, so I tend to value those five to ten minute sessions enough to growl a little when I'm disturbed lol.

With the return of the NFL season, my sundays get chewed up a bit. So it limits some of the other activities I enjoy. Just not enough time for them. They have to wait again until spring.

I need to buy some gemstones. And I know the feeling of hanging with friends can be hard. Magic takes up a lot of my time. Especially since I am putting 2 shows together right now.

[Utterfool]

It's so cool to see people do sports..especially those a tad more extreme.

I use to do a lot of sports until i got 2 slipped discs, which made me stopped for a very long time. Of course i can still do sports now that i'm much better than before, but not at the pace that i used to do.

I got a more serious problem though. I actually had this problem since young but it's worst since i started earning my own money to spend. I have a collecting addiction. I have a card collection (Duh), DVD collection, manga collection, caps collection, bottle collection.......basically anything that can catch my interest i will collect. I buy tons of DVDs even though i have watched it or i could always watch it online. I have a whole collection of hard liquor and wine, and i'm actually on Amazon now window shopping for board games and chess sets.

Now, I'm actually into collecting vintage stuff. I have old F&N glasses, bottles and bottle openers. Japanese WWII currency notes. Ammo box. Suitcases. Telephones....list goes on.

My wife keeps asking me when i wanna open my "museum". 

YES a man after my own heart.
I like to think I only have one collection though:
A Collection of Collections

I have 3 types of collections
Active collections - items that I am actively seeking (the largest category)
Dormant collections - collections that I still have and display but am not currently growing
Extinct collections - Collections that I once sought but have now lost my interest, these exist somewhere in boxes.

An incomplete list of my collections
Active
- playing cards
- Mugs
- Hats
- Records
- Strategy Board games
- dice
- Hess Trucks
- classic science fiction toys and items
- Godzilla/ classic shonin kaiju toys
- Gas Masks
- Books
- signed comic art and celebrity signatures
- Comic / anime statues (believe it or not this is really my wife's collection)

Dormant
- Kachinas (Hopi Indian ancestral spirit statues )
- Swords
- knives
- Teddy Bears (really my wife's collection but I was the one who added to it)
- Ties ( still wear them when I have to but don't really seek them out anymore)
- Political buttons (this becomes active every 4 years)
- McCoy Smiley face pottery
- Shot glasses (really anybody who has been to college I am sure)
- Goshuin (temple stamps) This will become active again if I ever return to Japan.
- CDs

Extinct Collections
- Comic Books
- Key chains
- PEZ dispensers
- Hello Kitty (same as Teddy Bears )
- Halloween costumes (the old kids boxed kind)
- TV show board games
- Rocks
- Shells 
- insects  (these last 3 probably because I was a boy scout)

I am sure that there are others I have missed and I apologize to any collection I have forgot

On top of that I just tend to pick up random interesting and usually worthless items  (but I have nothing when compared to my father's interesting, unusual, worthless crap)

so yeah one might say I collect stuff. It is definitely an addiction... or more accurately an affliction. I am sure everyone knows the term for it , Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD, or as I like to say CDO because the letters are in order like they are supposed to be.

[Will W.]

Being from Oklahoma, with over 200 lakes and 30 rivers I spend a lot of free time fishing. It's peaceful and relaxing, almost like meditation.  In a hillbilly, redneck, country kind of way. Not that I am any of those things..

Have you ever gone and fished for paddlefish in Grand Lake? I heard about it at a fisheries joint meeting between Oklahoma and Texas this year. Sounds like a blast. That is not me in the picture, just a cool paddlefish photo on Grand Lake.

I've never fished for paddle fish. Nor have I been to grand lake. I usually stick around south central OK.  Lake Texoma, the Washita and Red rivers as well as a few of the city lakes near me.  Catfish, Bass and Crappie are what I typically fish for.  Never been noodling either. I'm not that crazy plus I swim like a rock. 

[PurpleIce]

Oh damn lol

I have a pretty sizeable comic book collection .. Mainly DC and marvel .. I have a massive anime download collection, in fact I've began re watching naruto - rumours of it coming to an end at the end of the year

I'm reading the manga version of Naruto. The end seems extremely near...In fact, it looks like it should end within this month unless 1) The artist delays the "normal" schedule of release, 2) He suddenly somehow creates another villian somewhere. Oh well, I'm sure there are many more good animes out there 

You'd love http://ancientchess.com/   If you haven't already, you should check out shoji - Japanese chess is a bit more faster-paced!  My favorite feature - when you capture your opponent's pieces, you get the opportunity to put them back in play for YOUR army!  Instead of a battle of attrition over a long period of time, with smart play it becomes more of a race to get that king.  The pieces are mostly weaker, but the ones with power are quite powerful, and piece promotion is far simpler.  On the 9x9 board, you only need to reach the last three rows and spend a turn to promote - and nearly every piece promotes, not just the pawns!

That's pretty interesting. I play English & Chinese chess and tried and gave up at Wei Qi, but have never tried Shoji. Should give it a go some time soon..The only problem is actually finding good players. Unlike playing cards where you can play solitaire. Chess is abit more difficult being your own opponent. I know some people can...but i will go crazy.

YES a man after my own heart.
I like to think I only have one collection though:
A Collection of Collections

I have 3 types of collections
Active collections - items that I am actively seeking (the largest category)
Dormant collections - collections that I still have and display but am not currently growing
Extinct collections - Collections that I once sought but have now lost my interest, these exist somewhere in boxes.

An incomplete list of my collections
Active
- playing cards
- Mugs
- Hats
- Records
- Strategy Board games
- dice
- Hess Trucks
- classic science fiction toys and items
- Godzilla/ classic shonin kaiju toys
- Gas Masks
- Books
- signed comic art and celebrity signatures
- Comic / anime statues (believe it or not this is really my wife's collection)

Dormant
- Kachinas (Hopi Indian ancestral spirit statues )
- Swords
- knives
- Teddy Bears (really my wife's collection but I was the one who added to it)
- Ties ( still wear them when I have to but don't really seek them out anymore)
- Political buttons (this becomes active every 4 years)
- McCoy Smiley face pottery
- Shot glasses (really anybody who has been to college I am sure)
- Goshuin (temple stamps) This will become active again if I ever return to Japan.
- CDs

Extinct Collections
- Comic Books
- Key chains
- PEZ dispensers
- Hello Kitty (same as Teddy Bears )
- Halloween costumes (the old kids boxed kind)
- TV show board games
- Rocks
- Shells 
- insects  (these last 3 probably because I was a boy scout)

I am sure that there are others I have missed and I apologize to any collection I have forgot

On top of that I just tend to pick up random interesting and usually worthless items  (but I have nothing when compared to my father's interesting, unusual, worthless crap)

so yeah one might say I collect stuff. It is definitely an addiction... or more accurately an affliction. I am sure everyone knows the term for it , Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD, or as I like to say CDO because the letters are in order like they are supposed to be.

LOL!!! I too have those 3 "types" of collections. But it is really interesting to see some of those stuff on your list. I mean..Gas Masks? Sounds pretty cool. I don't mind 1 or 2 to display but never thought someone would have a collection of it...But then again, all my collection started from "I don't mind 1 or 2 to display" 

EDIT: Damn it...at this very moment, i am searching gas mask on google and ebay.
@Utterfool: I'm actually curious how do you display these things? Do you get mannequin heads or something?

[Don Boyer]

You'd love http://ancientchess.com/   If you haven't already, you should check out shoji - Japanese chess is a bit more faster-paced!  My favorite feature - when you capture your opponent's pieces, you get the opportunity to put them back in play for YOUR army!  Instead of a battle of attrition over a long period of time, with smart play it becomes more of a race to get that king.  The pieces are mostly weaker, but the ones with power are quite powerful, and piece promotion is far simpler.  On the 9x9 board, you only need to reach the last three rows and spend a turn to promote - and nearly every piece promotes, not just the pawns!

That's pretty interesting. I play English & Chinese chess and tried and gave up at Wei Qi, but have never tried Shoji. Should give it a go some time soon..The only problem is actually finding good players. Unlike playing cards where you can play solitaire. Chess is abit more difficult being your own opponent. I know some people can...but i will go crazy.

The great thing about shoji is that 1) if the kanji characters are too much to deal with, beginner boards actually use the Roman alphabet and 2) there's a few decent programs for a variety of operating systems that play shoji.  I should still have an older one for iOS, another for Mac OS X and one really old one for PalmOS (ancient)...

[Curt]

You guys have some cool hobbies 

I am also into some sports here and there, mostly winter sports though. I live about an hour away from a decent sized ski hill so I tend to get up there as much as possible during the winter. I am also a 4th year finance student... so watching stocks kind of counts as a hobby. Building PC's has been  something I've always been interested in as well, been building them since I was 14. Naturally when having a liking for something computer related.... I also enjoy the odd video game here and there if I can get time off from work and school. :p

Website design and a bit of graphic work has been a hobby of mine for the past few years... building websites has actually carried me financially through some of my summers between semesters. You can check out my hobbies a bit more if you're interested.. I have a website now for myself.

www.loyd.ca

take a look if you need to kill some time.

[PurpleIce]

You guys have some cool hobbies 

I am also into some sports here and there, mostly winter sports though. I live about an hour away from a decent sized ski hill so I tend to get up there as much as possible during the winter. I am also a 4th year finance student... so watching stocks kind of counts as a hobby. Building PC's has been  something I've always been interested in as well, been building them since I was 14. Naturally when having a liking for something computer related.... I also enjoy the odd video game here and there if I can get time off from work and school. :p

Website design and a bit of graphic work has been a hobby of mine for the past few years... building websites has actually carried me financially through some of my summers between semesters. You can check out my hobbies a bit more if you're interested.. I have a website now for myself.

www.loyd.ca

take a look if you need to kill some time.

I see Dota 2 and TI4 

[Curt]

I see Dota 2 and TI4 

Haha yeah. Unfortunately I didn't go to TI4... one of my friends who makes a living streaming on twitch tv got the mousepad for me. I was pretty lucky she was heading down so I gave that to her to try and get signed.... hopefully I can make it next year if it's still in Seattle. I watch much more pro Dota 2 than actually play it, pro games are so much more entertaining than playing with dumb pubs.

[PurpleIce]

I see Dota 2 and TI4 

Haha yeah. Unfortunately I didn't go to TI4... one of my friends who makes a living streaming on twitch tv got the mousepad for me. I was pretty lucky she was heading down so I gave that to her to try and get signed.... hopefully I can make it next year if it's still in Seattle. I watch much more pro Dota 2 than actually play it, pro games are so much more entertaining than playing with dumb pubs.

Man...I totally agree. If you are playing with you own group of friends then its fine. But if you are playing with some other strangers who are highly likely to ruin the game....then *sigh*. I too am more of a spectator. In fact, I don't actually play Dota2 now, too much other commitments as well. I guess it is really becoming an e-sport that have high spectator viewership, really nice to see it going in a right direction.

[GBrown]

I love watching, reading about, learning, practising and performing card magic.  This has led, like others, to a collection bug of books, DVDs and other magic related material. I have a pretty extensive collection of 'orthodox' DVDs, and as much as I ashamed to admit it, PS3 games.
Living in the UAE doesn't lend itself to it, but when I get the chance to visit Motherland (Scotland), I enjoy hillwalking.  I was an avid practitioner of Tukido, but sadly had to give this up when I relocated (no clubs over here).

I try to keep fit by using some home Gym equipment, but mostly I stay happy and healthy in my free time by spending as much of it as possible with my 4 year old Son and my Wife.  The wee fella never fails to make me laugh (he incidentally enjoys collecting 'Cars' and 'Planes'.......a collection bug in the growing!)

[rookiecrdnut]

I play softball, golf, and bowl during my spare time.  Terrible golfer but decent bowler.  Also love to cook.  Have a hugh sport card collection I may get back to some day.