What hobby seems boring to most people but is actually fascinating if you dive into it?
What hobby seems boring to most people but is actually fascinating if you dive into it?
Tell us why we should unexpectedly come to love your hobby.
Ham radio.
On the surface, it just sounds like listening to a bunch of old farts babbling on about their enlarged prostates, and tbf, there is a bit of that if you never go any deeper than 2M/70cm voice modes.
But there’s just SOOOO much you can do.
Want to see how far you can bounce a signal off a mirror laying on the surface of the moon? Yup. You can do that.
Want to launch and communicate with your own satellite? Yup. It’s a thing.
Want to remotely control devices from hundreds of miles away without using the internet? Yup.
Want to gps track your car at all times, even when there’s no cell phone service? That’s called APRS.
Want to have a conversation with astronauts on the ISS as it flies overhead? They’ve got ham equipment on board.
You can even play with broadcasting and/or receiving “secret” tv and radio stations - that is, they’re on alternate frequencies that regular TVs and radios don’t pick up.
It just goes so deep.
This was a relatively short-term thing, but I think it counts loosely as hobbyish... in my 20s, I was determined to find the best bloody mary in town. I went to every single bar, restaurant, etc. and tried each one in turn.
Which sounds boring, I know, but I had so many great conversations and met so many interesting people.
And to answer your likely question: Surprisingly, Red Lobster, which made its own mix from real tomato juice and didn't use some crappy bloody mary mix. This was in the 90s, so I can't endorse their current bloody mary.
Self Hosting. I love optimizing my securing my life while improving my family's privacy. Nextcloud to store and backup media, contacts, and knowledge base. Hosting a free remote VPN on OCI, remote encrypted backups to a fellow enthusiast's server...I love that while my data is local, if my house was to burn down, the years of pictures and precious memories will still be available. I also like being able to use this tech to help people close to me, doing backups for them, sharing ISO's, etc.
Home Automation. It can be as simple as buying a hub and some devices. But, I went the self-hosted route using Home Assistant to give me more control of what it can do.
I have some automations that turn on a certain set of lights on when the sun sets and off when it rises. It's pretty simple, but saves electricity because I used to leave my front porch light on 24/7.
I just set up an automation last night that sends me a discord notification when the laundry machine finishes and the same for the dryer. I can't hear the beeping because I am always too far from the laundry room. This one has me so excited!
I've seen people automate gardens which seems really neat. Really, your only limit is your imagination. I also just really like having an app on my phone to toggle power to random lights and fans around my house. It helps me get out of bed because I can turn the fan off when I'm cold in bed.
hardware hacking, it feels like you are trying to solve a weird puzzle in which sometimes even the dumbest things may work, and at the end you have a device you can do whatever you want with.
i can see though why people may find it tedious.
Musical synthesizers.
Historically it is a hobby that's had a high financial barrier to entry.
But the past decade has had a huge flourish of affordable and unique synthesizers and related musical equipment show up on the market. A lot of this stuff can be a TON of fun regardless of your musical knowledge/skill level. A few days on YouTube and a hundred bucks and beginners can be making their own music, with or without a computer with audio software.
It starts simple, and can go to endless depths of creativity.
Film photography. With smartphones having taken over the roll of point and shoots and covering the majority of people's photography needs, it's quite a different experience breaking out a half century old camera. Everything is more tactile, your shots are finite, and the result is a 100% determined by your decisions. Different films produce different results, and if you get into developing your own film you get to play mad chemist in the bathroom.
There's a learning curve, but if you're already into photography and understand the basics it's really not that hard. Labs still exist to develop for you if you'd rather not go down that rabbit hole. The results may surprise you!
Recently joined an on-road RC racing club.
Gets a lot deeper than I ever thought it could. The mechanics of making a car go around turns better/faster gets very in depth. Lots of trial and error. Race every 2 weeks so tons of time to experiment with adjustments between race days.
Ages range from near 80 to 10... everyone out just having a good time and helping each other for a few hours. During winter, Florida busy season, we have 50+ people racing 5-6 different classes in a public parking lot.
Started with a used off the shelf car for $75 from a club memeber 5 months ago... now building competition grade kits and put up shelves in the bedroom for all 7 of my cars. Almost all used for VERY cheap that just needed a bit of love to be competitive again.
yoyos.
So competitions are just a guy with a yoyo?
1A, one yoyo, typically unresponsive for loose tricks
2A for two-handed, looping tricks with responsive yoyos
3A for two-handed unresponsive yoyos
4A for off string (yoyo not tethered)
5A for Freehand (string tethered to a counterweight)
AP for artistic performances, regardless of the competitive style.
bonus trivia: Steve Brown, the creator of 5A, was on an episode of Wifeswap.
3D printing. You just spend hours looking at a printer printing things by itself.
Gardening. There are a million things to learn, and every year is an adventure.
Also making things from yarn. So many different techniques, yarns, styles, and colors. And if you have a project that is easy, you can binge watch at the same time.
Coin collecting/numismatics.
I can't speak for other collectors but my focus is on ancient coins, mostly Roman imperials.
The amount of history and artistry in those coins is off the charts amazing, and every single one is like a tiny window into the past. To many outsiders it seems like one of the stuffiest things to do. It does require a good bit of research which can get a bit dry at times, but nothing beats that feeling of holding literal treasure of 2000+ years old.
Plastic scale modelling.
Trust me, it gets deep and expensive. The almost irresistible desire to increase the size of one's "stash" by buying models you'll never get around to building. The need to have the exact shade of paint used on a 1942 tropical BF109. The need for at least 3 airbrushes. The obsession with the tools.
HELP!
But it's really quite enjoyable and once you accept that if what you've built gives you pleasure and that you're happy with it, you've got it beat.
I am a designer, so for me anything anyhow connected with visual aspects.
Someone already posted about old coins and film photography so I will add:
· Watching Movies — at least once for the story and overall feeling, then for the story again and visuals, colors etc., later for techniques, ideas, framing, music, rhythm, cuts and so on.
· Stamps (Philately) — what more can I say, sometimes I forget about my unsegregated albums, but when I reopen them or find something to add, I am gone.
· Collecting well designed magazines and other printed materials — this one was a big one for me, for a long, looong time. Still, from time to time I will find a great business card or a catalogue, as they are becoming scarce now, or in the ocean of very poor design — it always feels like finding a real treasure.