Ask HN: What do you do for activities outside of work?
Exercise / Sports (participating) - mountain biking is my main thing, and I sometimes dabble with a little trail running. In the past, I wrestled, practiced jiu-jitsu, and messed around with some amateur powerlifting. I still lift weights from time to time, but not so seriously these days.
Sports (spectator) - I am a huge NFL football fan, and I make it a point to watch all the Miami Dolphins games that I can. #PHINSUP
Reading - I read a lot: fiction, nonfiction, whatever. I read everything from pulp-fiction crap like those Jack Reacher novels, to more "serious literature" like Dostoevsky, Melville, Pynchon, etc.; non-fiction spanning topics from Arduino, to electronics, to string theory and cosmology, from philosophy and mathematics to history and folklore... biographies, etc., etc.. Right now I'm working on the 3 James Bamford books on the NSA.
Movies: I watch movies from time to time, whether it means going out to the theater or just bit-torrenting something, or watching something I own on DVD. My movie tastes are fairly typical male hacker fare, I suppose.
Music: Going to live concerts is something I enjoy, but don't do nearly enough of. I think the last live show I saw was Steel Panther at the House of Blues in Chicago last summer. If all goes well, I hope to catch the Iron Maiden show in Raleigh in a couple of months. I'll go take in a performance of the NC Symphony Orchestra every now and again.
Comedy: I'll go to somewhere like DSI Comedy Theatre in Carrboro for some live improv on occasion.
Political stuff: I attend LPNC meetings every once in a while, but not nearly often enough these days. In the past I've done crazy shit like running for Lieutenant Governor of NC as the Libertarian Party candidate. Right now I'm working on getting a Cypherpunk meetup organized in the Raleigh/Durham area, and doing some education/advocacy work around crypto and anonymity tools.
Hackerspace: I hang out at SplatSpace (Durham, NC) sometimes and work on various projects. Sometimes I go there to work on the startup, but other times I'll go up there and tinker with other shit... I started building a coilgun, but that's kinda paused right now. I keep planning to start a Mantis PCB mill, but never seem to have time. Eventually I want to build one of those, then a 3D printer. Right now I'm looking into starting on a project to build a neat case to house about 8 Beaglebone Black boards, so I can make a nice small, self-contained HPC/Hadoop cluster to play around with.
TV: Doctor Who. I also like Grimm and a couple other series, but don't really have much time for watching television. :-(
Going out: my girlfriend and I enjoy going to concerts/comedy shows a few times a month.
Reading: everything, from teen fiction to Feynman lectures. That's definitely my most expensive hobby. I collect a lot of books :o
Maintaining topical side blogs: currently www.ui-animations.com, more in the works.
Research (preparing my return to academia): mostly reading papers from conferences, although working on related side projects as well, some paper drafts in the works.
Games: MTG, board games, video games.
Sport: indoors rock climbing, I try to drive down to Santa Cruz to surf every weekend, longboard when I need to get around town
Hackerspace: I've been going to Noisebridge in SF recently. If you avoid the tribal drama, lots of good stuff.
Video watching: lectures and conference talks on youtube, the standard movies and shows.
Software dev: small indie games/iOS apps/web side projects, fucking around with new hardware (excited about the Oculus rift)/electronics/etc.
I also listen to a lot of music/radio (esp. while working/commuting), but that's more of a "passive" hobby.
Stuff I'd like to start doing (or do more of): hiking, cooking, gardening, running.
Stand-up Comedy: I don't care too much if I don't have professional success in stand-up, it's something I'm going to do for the rest of my life. Also, I want to do more improv/acting.
Basketball: The gym I go to is great and there are pickup basketball games all the time. It makes me wish I played organized sports in high school. Also, it's made me realize how important getting enough sleep is.
Exercise/Biking/Swimming: I try to bike to work whenever the weather is nice. After work, I go bike to a beach. Maybe see if there's a volleyball game I can join.
Cooking: I like to learn how to cook new things.
Reading/Writing: I used to read more. Now, it's harder to find something I like. I'm trying to force myself to write stuff, whether it's comedy or something more serious.
Bars: I probably go to bars often enough for it to be considered an activity.
Wow, cool! Thanks for posting responses. It's interesting to know what others enjoy and get ideas.
The reason I posted this was because my friends and mom kept mentioning i need to get out and do something other than programming and working on my startup(s).
Lots of good ideas and hobbies I could try to get into from the posts so far.
Right now, my other activities aren't much and are more selfish. Working on my startup, video games, movies, reading. My goal is to get out more, meet people, and have fun, relax, and enjoy life more.
What I would like to try so far from reading these posts that I never thought much of:
Hackerspace (meet more people with similar interests) - I found a few in Tulsa, OK (where I live) so far and they seem to meet regularly.
Renovating - I just bought a condo a year ago on the Riverview View area in Tulsa. It needs some work and updating. My dad said he would help on weekends.
Writing more - Whether it be personal or blog posts.
Sports - I badly want to join the Roller Hockey team. I used to play ice hockey (lived in MN and WI and was on the high school selects team). Up front costs are a bit much though.
Usually one of three things:
Cooking: It's great to try and cook amazing new foods. I also spend the time to try and plate it nicely and take a photograph. Dish presentation really does make it taste better, even though it's all in my head.
Competitive Gaming: Detroit (and a lot of other cities) has a pretty big community of people who meet up monthly for fighting game tournaments (Street Fighter, Smash Bros), and more often to just hang out.
Poi Dancing: Below is a link to a little music video I made of me poi dancing. Hope you enjoy :) I'm much better now since I've been practicing 5-6 hours a week ever since I recorded that video 6 months ago. It's a great meditative hobby and I love that it's challenging and rewarding all at once.
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Exercise - I try to lift, run, or some combination of the two at least three times a week. It really helps to clear my mind, especially after a stressful project.
Read/Write - It took me longer than it should have to realize how critical the ability to write well is.
Games - Chess, poker. These are more just hobbies for fun, but I think both rely on some really useful principles in life, such as the importance of a plan, decision making with limited information, etc.
more programming. i can work on more creative projects outside of work.
When I need a break from that, you can find a hammer in my hand; I love house renovations and can do electrical, drywall, plumbing, tile, etc... I've even become quite the mason!
http://diy.blogoverflow.com/2012/08/building-a-brick-pizza-o...
Exercise - I lift weight twice a week. It really helps reduce stress, and keeps my mind sharp.
Hobby: Marine Aquarium - I keep a salt water aquarium as a non-technical fun hobby. Its enjoyable, a lot of fun to build up and maintain. And its non-technical.
1. Run 2 times a week and swim 1. 2. Going out with the wife, even if its just a simple walk. 3. Do side projects. 4. Cook, everyday, it's something that i like and relaxes me at the end of the day.
My 3cents friend.
When I'm not at work I can be found mountain biking, working on air cooled Porsches and neglecting my lawn. I also like to program on my own projects and hack hardware once in a while.
Complicated board games. http://www.boardgamegeek.com
Competitive Foosball.
meditation, yoga, science fiction, hiking, software projects, art projects, yard projects, house projects
a lot of sports