'alternate' traditional hobies/ handcrafts.

[Donal Harris]

I used to know a mnemonic for resistor color codes, but forgot it decades ago.  The only two memory aides I can think of at the moment are:

Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie

Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, Personal courage

[ThomasPowers]

Not: Eat A Dog, Get Big Ears ?

[twigg]

I'm with nodebt on this. The ultimate "color code" is what color they glow when you stick one in the circuit

[ThomasPowers]

Not as much of a problem when using tubes/valves but these persnickety ICs turn up their toes at the least bit of erroneous over voltages.---what were Shockley, Brattain and Bardeen *thinking*!  (Besides what the grey aliens told them to...)

[Scott NC]

  Oh, I burned up my fair share of those chips before I got fed up and broke out the chart and cakalator.  Sometimes it only halfway destroys them and that REALLY confuses a hobbiest.    Nowadays I suppose you need an electron microscope to see things!

[JHCC]

We had a mnemonic for the Greek provinces in Asia Minor, but it was exceptionally foul. 

I wonder, if there's a mnemonic for different kinds of falcons, is it exceptionally fowl?

[ThomasPowers]

Hey I take pride of working for almost 14 years for a company that there is a conspiracy theory about that their great strides in the sciences are all due to alien technology!   Bell Labs!

John;  Foul in ancient Greek or just in English?

[Scott NC]

  After all, I didn't say electron telescope!  My remark was about how small IC's and electronics in general are growing.   I guess I never heard of that theory about Bell Labs...  

[ThomasPowers]

It was popular for a while back in the 1990's?  Having seen the original transistor I can say that we would have done better than that if we were reverse engineering from alien tech!

[Scott NC]

  Learning from UFO's would be much quicker.  It took me 3 months of migraines, C++ for dummies, a junk computer with a severed printer cord and a breadboard with sloppy holes to light up a LED.  But then again, I am a little slow!  

[Donal Harris]

Never heard that one, Thomas.  “Eric And Dave’s Guitars Beat Everyone” was another I was given, but the Eddie one was easier for me to remember.  I believe Eddie was better anyway. 

[Frosty]

Come ON guys, don't you  follow the wild haired, "ancient aliens deserve credit for everything," guy? He has so much AMAZING evidence the first stacked stones are alien tech.

You don't REALLY think mere human beings actually figured out how to stand big stones on end ourselves do you. And the wheel?  Pffft.

Frosty The Lucky. (Not an Annunaki, honest)

 

[Donal Harris]

[Scott NC]

  Soooo.... Are you saying Gort isn't real and the Earth vs. the Flying Saucers never happened?  How about them Nazca Lines, hmmmm?  

[Frosty]

Oh MY, give him a hair cut and pair of glasses and he could be your replicant! 

Does he look a little gray in the pic?

Scott, barrada nicto.

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

15 hours ago, Nodebt said:

My remark was about how small IC's and electronics in general are growing.   I guess I never heard of that theory about Bell Labs..

Moore's law

Pnut

[Shainarue]

I totally just stumbled onto this thread and it's been great reading through the various other hobbies ya'll have! 

I have a problem with hobbies. I tend to get 500% absorbed into a new hobby until something else catches my eye. There's not room for more than one hobby when one hobby takes up 500% of your focus!

Recently though, I've been *trying* to focus on parsing out that focus to give my other hobbies at least a little bit of attention. Currently that's: language learning (specifically Dutch & ASL right now, though Spanish & French are on the backburners - that was my previous 500% hobby, lol) and reading. I never really considered 'reading' to be a hobby but I've been told by enough people that it is that I've decided to claim it, lol. 

So my typical day involves: work - lunch break where I either read or doodle out my latest blacksmithing idea - commute home when I listen to Dutch audiobook or podcast, home where I try to get out and forge at least an hour if we don't have  other plans, then cap off the day with an hour or so of reading. 

Other hobbies that still take up space in our house but I'm not actively doing: piano, guitar, painting (acrylic/watercolor/gouache), sketching (ink/graphite), needle felting figurines or needle felted painting, wood burning, fitness. I really should just sell off the fitness equipment but that would mean admitting that I'm never going to do it again! (sigh) Each and every one of those hobbies had at one point over the past 30 years been my tunnel vision purpose. When I was doing one, I had no time to do anything else. Even reading - which has never waivered - would center around said hobby. I'd just be reading about that hobby instead of other things. 

I'm really hoping this new parsed out focus thing sticks for me. And eventually maybe even share some of the time with those ignored hobbies as well.

As for my wife - she has always been a one-hobby gal. She is into all things fiber. She can take a blanket of wool straight from the shearer's hands, wash it, do all the other stuff to get get it ready, comb it, spin it, dye it, and then knit something out of it. Before spinning/knitting, she made a ton of quilts.  The only thing she doesn't really do in the fiber world is weaving or needle felting. We both tried weaving and really loved the actual *weaving* part but neither of us had the patience for setting up the warp! 

[George N. M.]

Shaina, I think that some creative people like the learning of a craft even more than the actual doing and creating of the craft.  It's sort of like relationships, some people like the rush of falling in love more than the satisfaction of a long term relationship.  I've also seen it in reasearch and writing.  Some folk really like the research but have a hard time deciding that all the relevant research has been done and it is time to write the paper, article, novel, brief, etc..

As for additional hobbies I am pretty broad and some of them are kind of improbable.  I'm not trying to do them all at the same time but I will pull one out for awhile and then go back to something else.  Besides blacksmithing I do medieval and renaissance cookery, calligraphy, camping/hiking/back packing, and probably most improbable of all, building miniatures.  Martha had always wanted a medieval dolls house.  So, we built a 1:12 (1"=1') model of a last 14th century Scottish Borders tower house (small castle).  It is about 4' tall and 3'x3' wide.  I hope to get it set up again this winter.  There are still things that I want to build for it.  Amongst other things, I want to build a period smithy for it.  Where possible, we always tried to make everything functional in case we ever had host some Lilliputians.  The armor and weapons are forged.  The loom works.  The books are readable.  I struck miniature coins in silver.  Etc., bloody, etc.. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.  When I get it set up I will post some pictures.

And, of course, I am, always have been, and probably always will be a voracious reader.  You cannot be too thin, too rich, or have too many books.  The Argentine author, Jorge Luis Borges wrote, "I have always imaged that Paradise will be a kind of library."  I find that theologically sound and the idea makes the othetr side sound pretty attractive.

George

[Frosty]

Ah HAH, another steel wool couple! We knew you were one of us Shaina. Deb is a spinner and getting better as a knitter. I've been picking up knapping flint into dangerously sharp gravel. I'm working on that, honest. I'm also picking up curling, I discovered curling during the last winter olympics and darned a team sport I LIKE watching! whoda thunk it? 

Read? You MUST be kidding, hobby, research, etc. just depends on what it is. I do a lot of escapist reading mostly sci fi and write a little though nothing worth submitting to a publisher.

I'm or was a more than fair camp cook, it amazes people when you scratch make pizza at a camp fire. I don't eschew kitchen appliances either and and and.

I like the learning curve better than making.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Jobtiel1]

Campfire cooking is very fun to do, I try to cook on the campfire whenever out and about with the Scouts. Recently woodworking has also become a hobby of mine. The combination of the two, i.e. making hardware for furniture pieces is very rewarding as well. I will be posting another, more simple steel wood project soon. And I'm making sketches and drawings for a bedside cabinet with forged hardware.

Reading is indeed very timeless, I like to read fantasy novels and like reading craft books on blacksmithing, woodworking, metallurgy, and am now also looking at getting the historic works such as De re metallica and Moxon's and Roubo's books on woodworking.

Shaina, if you ever need someone to practice Dutch with let me know, I'm a native speaker.

~Jobtiel

[Scott NC]

  I love to read.  Just about anything, crafts, adventure, classic, etc....  Not long ago I went through a spell where I couldn't enjoy books and it lasted for several years.  I'd pick up a book and read a few pages and lay it back down again.  I blame the internet and having to get rid of most of my library due to moving.  Most went to the local library for their annual sale.   I'm back at it though.  In my area there are thrift shops and used bookstores around every corner and books are dirt cheap.  My shelves are full and the stacks are growing.  I can't keep up....

  Due to my shop plans being put off until spring I'm also turning back to my mosaics.  I have a frame and just drew out a fossil fish pattern out on it (I should have taken some artistic liscence and included some sharp teeth in it) now I need to start chopping up tile pieces.  Like knapping, sending razor sharp shards flying everywhere.

[Shainarue]

George, I think you hit it spot on. Although in the realm of relationships I like both. Now I watch sappy love movies with predictable endings when I want to feel that rush, lol.
Funny you brought up research. Ashley tells me (and others) often that I "research stuff to death".
I tried lettering, including calligraphy for a hot minute! I still have one of the practice books sitting on my desk at work. I LOVE the design of typset/font. I'd love to see your calligraphy sometime. I'm also quite intrigued to see the dollhouse Martha and you built. A video would be great. I wanna see those functioning items! My coworker follows a page of book nook creators - and they are just mind boggling in their tinyness and accuracy!

Frosty, I watched a guy knapping flint for a bit at the Renn Fest this year and considered trying it out but never did ask. I hope you have something you feel is worth sharing soon! As for reading, I'll pick up pretty much anything but I tend to lean to fiction novels, fantasy/scifi or my absolute favorite escapist reading is dystopian or post-apocalyptic. 

Jobtiel, I'll send you a message. I've tried coordinating with other native speakers before and the time difference combined with my availability usually throws a kink into things. I do have a few non-native people in a Discord group that gets together virtually. 

Scott, I also went through a spell - right around the time of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic - and I turned to audiobooks instead. I was having trouble focusing on reading (someone told me it was probably stress) but found I could listen without an issue and it worked just as well! I don't own many books and those that I do own are either on my Kindle or else they are reference books. I'm a huge supporter of the library. Can't imagine my life without it. Also - sorry to hear of the delay of your shop plans but 'YAY!' for more mosaics! I saw the few you posted earlier in this thread and I'm impressed.

Quite a few of you sound to be skilled in outdoor cooking, which is impressive. I've tried it a few times and other than simple dishes like omlets & breakfast potatoes or steaks and baked potatoes. Although, that time with the steaks I actually burnt the outside and they were super rare on the inside ...so maybe not so great at that either, lol. So - hotdogs & eggs. That's apparently my camp cooking specialty. Oh, and a perfectly light brown toasted marshmallow. No burnt flaming marshmallow torches when I'm roasting! (unless you want it that way)

I realize I forgot to mention that I train our dog, Millie. We started with tricks when she was just 4 months old and she had earned her Advanced Trick Dog title before she was even a year old. Then we got into Tracking and she earned her TD (like Beginner Tracker) title just after she turned one. We're still working on training for TDX (expert tracking) or VST (variable surface tracking). So I guess that's a hobby? But more so our dog's hobby that I entertain, lol. At some point I'm going to train scent work with her. It would be nice to be able to train on something without having to take a walk through a field in whatever weather elements happen to be in play that day.

 

[Frosty]

When I'm not doing research or studying a subject my escapist reading is primarily sci fi with a leaning towards military, I've been a real fan of powered combat armor since reading "Starship Troopers," by R. A. Heinlein and the post apocalyptic but any good story well written is worth reading. 

Arthritis in my thumbs makes holding books open uncomfortable to down right painful so I mostly listen to audio books on my Kindle. A friend and I have been trying to organize a group to play "Call of Cthulhu" so I've been listening to H.P Lovecraft stories occasionally, they're just too creepy for me but creepy dystopian pretty well defines HP Lovecraft stories. There are any number of  pretty well done, horror, "Radio Dramas" online.

Once I get to a point I can knap something other than dangerously SHARP gravel I'll post some pics if for no other reason than because Thomas Powers said he didn't approve.  

Hopefully we're curling Sunday 11/27, I'll get someone to take a pic of me shooting a rock, again for Thomas, same reason.

I did a quick search for "Dutch City in USA" and got a number of hits. below is #1 on the list. Maybe call information and find the town gossip?

1.

Seward, Illinois (1)

42

100.00 %

#1

Deb retired as a "K-9 Nose Work" trainer two years ago and presently is much involved with, "Barn Hunt" At one point she was the only person successfully running a Dachshund, Baxter who actually got international recognition as a Nose Work rock star earning best over all over and over. He still competes at Nose Work 3 but being 12 he's slowed down and his times aren't way faster than the field anymore. Deb hits AKC Scent Work trials occasionally but isn't impressed with how they're run here, it's like the people doing the hides don't understand how scent propagates. 

Ronnie out youngster Dachshund has titled through  Nose Work 3 but "Barn Hunt" REALLY lights her fire, she gets to find rats! She has a prey drive that means we NEVER let her outside off leash, once on a scent she is absolutely relentless. She'd never stop until she catches it or . . .? She's also the Alpha's Alpha and wields Adorable like a weapon. She's insanely loved by everybody who meet her and they never forget. 

Down hearth steaks aren't my favorite, they're sear your mouth HOT when you take them off the grill or pan and within minutes the fat is congealing on the plate and . . .. My solution is what I call "glory hole" steak, shrimp, etc. I cut the steak into bite size pieces, everybody gets a skewer and you poke them into a cave in the coals. The bite is ready when the outside corners start to flame up. Seared on the outside and pink in the middle. It takes about 3 bites to find how to cook your bite the way you like it. Shrimp and prawns are done perfectly when the legs are gone and the shell self peals, maybe 20 seconds +/-.

I roast potatoes on a skewer leaning up next to the fire, no foil. Corn on the cob likes to be unshucked, butter under the shucks and roasted over the fire until the corn starts to caramelize. Mmmmmmm! Fire roasted cobby corn is darned hard to beat!

The mistake most people make campfire AKA "down hearth" cooking is WAY too large a fire. Seriously who turns the gas range up till the flame is 2' high? For frying fresh caught trout I place 3 stones to hold the pan about 1 1/2" off the ground, MINERAL SOIL!!, Catch a trout, scoop 2-3 coals out of the fire and under the pan, drop in a generous pat of butter and when the butter is sizzling clean the trout and toss it in the pan. Have the spatula ready it WILL try to jump out of the pan! Salt and pepper to taste and when the muscle just in front of the tail is sizzling on the top side it's ready to eat. Lay it on the plate, slip your fork into the meat just ahead of the tail and lift the filet off the ribs and eat as you roll/peal the skin off the meat. My absolute favorite way to eat trout. Mmmmmmm. I never scale trout, I don't care for the skin so I don't eat it. 

Campfire bread and biscuits get "baked" on a stick over the fire or on a hot rock next to it like Biblical bread, just bring yeast, a sour dough start (NOT the packaged stuff!) or make biscuits, even Bisquick works. Make the dough sticky knead biscuits just enough to become a little elastic. Pinch a ball out of the bowl, squeeze it around the end of a clean stick and bake it at the fire. It makes THE BEST bread, smoky toasty dinner roll size loaves of bread. MMMMM!

Baking in a Dutch oven is tricky to do right. 

Don't use tin plates and cups! The cups are cruel torture devices, scald your lip then turn your beverage into too cold to stomach fire extinguisher fluid! I used to carry the weight of a thick porcelain mug and stoneware plate until insulated mugs started showing up now I have a stainless steel one and use paper plates. Not foam plates you can't burn them in the fire! 

Burn your trash! burying it in bear country is laughably ineffective, you've never seen anything dig like a bear. Pack out the burnt cans and jar lids if you pack out the food trash without burning it you are WEARING BEAR BAIT! Mr Darwin will welcome you personally! Glass typically melts or slumps badly in the fire and turns into un-sharp pieces. I crush it into fine gravel and scatter it a fast creek will turn it into sand  in a few days. Burnt cans, steel and aluminum and jar lids go out with me. Sure aluminum melts I sift the little slaggy globs out of the cold ashes. YES I leave cold wet camp fire ashes! 

Sorry for the ramble I get carried away. I have good of memories cooking at an open fire.

Oh, blacksmiths who are into cooking seems to be more common than not. It's another heat management craft you know. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

 

[The Jeff]

I don't have any pictures but I like to carve, and I also do karate.

[The Jeff]

Not carved, made on a belt grinder.