I recently started learning hand tool woodworking and won’t shut up about it haha. I found a few books and channels that are helpful and feel real. The more I do it, the more it’s apparent to me that many things around me are just distractions. It’s really nice to unplug from everything and make some things or practice using/sharpening my tools. Those little moments when something clicks feel weirdly fulfilling.
What do you all enjoy doing? Have you found any new passions? What do you like about it?
I love working on servers. My home lab is the one thing that I can sit down and actually work on for hours on end. I never really got into software development, probably in-part because my brain is mush, but deploying and maintaining systems is something that I love and am grateful to be able to do as a hobby and a career.
I also enjoy reading and writing, but recently I’ve had a lot of trouble staying still long enough to get anything done in that department. (I’m jealous of Alyaza’s incredible ability to churn through reading material.)
I hope you don’t mind my asking, but could you give some examples of systems that you are deploying and maintaining on your home lab? I’m interested in doing a deeper dive into this at some point and I am looking for inspiration.
I’m in a weird transition phase right now because I deprecated my big boi server when I moved into my new studio. I have a dumb Lenovo NAS with a mini pc that acts as the “brains” of the setup. (I actually need to do a reinstall of my OS because I’ve been having issues with my Debian setup.) This serves my Jellyfin instance and handles the brunt of my data hoarding activities. I also run a Nextcloud instance, but that’s currently running on my cloud seed box while I wait to build a new home server.
My biggest goal for this year is to get my new server built. It’s going to be the do-everything server for me. On top of NAS functionality, I also want it to serve a KobaldCPP instance. The biggest challenge there is going to be hardware selection, particularly trying to find a graphics card that has ludicrous amounts of VRAM without bankrupting myself in the process. I was considering doing some home networking stuff, but I really don’t need anything more than my ISP’s router for what I’m doing right now, and I’m pretty space-constrained since I live in a studio. We’ll see, though!
A home media server is a good start (jellyfin, for instance.) I also think nextcloud is a swiss army knife, and spinning up the nextcloud AIO would get you’re feet wet with relatively little effort to how much stuff nextcloud can do (all the differents apps you can install from the web interface. I use news, cookbook, bookmarks, frequently.)
I’ve started to tinker with home server and self hosting recently, I was just wondering if the feeling of ‘everything is held together by a thin wire that could snap at any point’ ever goes away? Thanks 😁
Feels like there’s alway some issue that requires a special unique workaround that could stop working at any point
Dancing! Both socially and performatively. It’s very fulfilling to me and is an easy way to raise my mood. there are very rarely any times where I come in and out with a foul mood.
Do you have an arts center or a class that you go to? Cause mine is working events, I grew up going to a performing arts center and while I’m not dancing inclined I do love acting, instruments and singing but I also LOVE all the tech to make a performance run.
All the hustle and bustle of generally happy and excited people, setting up the bits and pieces, running the shows. Ahh…
My least favorite part must be the paperwork involved but it is evils necessity!
I regularly go to classes for (non-ballroom) latin dance and occasionally dip my toes in a swing event. I used to professionally perform classical music and burned out real hard some years ago; It’s nice to have started something from the ground up. Enjoyment and mastery at my own pace.
It makes me happy to see techie enjoy the job rather. It makes the whole thing feel more human and connecting as everyone wants to be there showcasing their craft.
That’s awesome! The teams I’ve always been part of are usually artists as well, but there’s a lot of tech focused people too. Without you all we wouldn’t have such fun work! My favorite performances are always running dance shows, easily the most diverse and unique performances! And it’s always so dynamic setting up for preshow to help the vision come to life with stage lighting. I’ve done quite a few, salsa/Mexican Son, modern and hip hop, contemporary and ballet, capoeira and ariel dance! All of them are just so different from every facet of it, it’s really incredible! I can’t even pick a favorite!
Man, I actually miss working dance shows - so much less paperwork, events are usually much more focused and require less space setup and more show setup, and rehearsals are just getting a QLab set made… Theater sets are fun but oh so large, and I’m oh so small lmao.
I have a lot of hobbies. I grew up very creatively minded and was in music classes from the 4th grade, I really liked the plays that we did and that continued for a while, in high school I really enjoyed stage combat. Was lucky to have a prolific teacher, many in total but unfortunately there just weren’t opportunities for me in theater or music. But I worked at the performing arts center for a long time doing the production side of things which I also enjoy a lot! But that’s my job now lol. I have a home music battle station. Got my synths, guitars, pedals, midi devices all (in progress) set up (eternally)!
After building a few computers I figured I’d get into some of the more simple electronics and use them as a basis for circuit bending, but various solder projects overall. I have worked on a few of my guitars and installed different pickups and strap lock mechanisms. It’s really fun to go to thrift stores to look around (for everything) for priced-down guitars that likely just need some love :)
I like doing movie reviews. When I was in college one of my favorite classes was Comedy in American Cinema, and in yearning for that feeling again I started a notebook for documenting my favorites or ones that really surprised me. It’s a good way to interact with and explore media, as it gives you a few different lenses to watch with.
I also like making zentangles, and a good coloring page is stellar. I’ve taken a few drawing classes over the years and my grandfather was pretty good at live sketching so I’ve been working on that some, I’ve been feeling better about them! I used to not enjoy my sketches. Unfortunately I have some early arthritis so I can’t do these for extended periods of time! The pencil hurts my tiny fingers :( lol
I like LEGOs, I mostly collect the Star Wars ships but there’s a few others that I like too. The Groot is adorable, I’m working on the Tallneck from Horizon: Zero Dawn right now which had a really cool biome for the base. I put together a LEGO table for something similar so it was cool seeing it in a set. I love Spider-Man but most of the sets aren’t quite right, I’m pretty selective with the Batman sets too. Though, I really want that Daily Bugle with all the different Spider-heroes!
I also like pretty much all games, I mostly play video games but a good board game is always fun. We’ve been playing Hues and Cues recently which is describing a color with just one, then two words, on an A1-J28ish grid! I’ve also been making an It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia board game on Tabletop Simulator, just because. It isn’t fully together yet but it’s real close now, a bit over a year from when I first started. Each character announces a goal and then uses cards to move towards it. It’s like a DND Monopoly featuring everything IASIP. Real board game maybe to come, FX hit me up. Lol!
And I like cooking, I have been making Japanese carrot bread this week that’s really good. I also made gnocchi for the first time, I didn’t have the tools to make them perfect but it wasn’t bad for a first time I’d say! I’ve also recently gotten interested in bartending, I was extremely surprised by Dinah’s Cocktail which was just some cheap bourbon we had for cooking, lemon juice (not fresh) and a bit of sugar. Lemon drops aren’t my favorite but this was really nice.
I would like to like doing homelab server stuff, but I hit a skill ceiling very quickly and it’s not something I can keep up with long term - every Pi project is a mystery to me now. I just built all the parts from my first PC into a server and wanted to get it pretty robust, but unfortunately it’s just again relegated to a simple LAN Plex server. I’ll get there, it’s just dedicating time to something I don’t enjoy as much for the results I would enjoy.
Finally, I’m really just a maximalist with an interest in getting stuff connected and put together and, ideally, a one and done set up! Putting all my movie tickets on the wall, displaying art and instruments, putting together display shelves. A clean and clear counter and space (as best as it can be), but with the walls just decked out with geometry of things. Closets are a little harder!
I’m glad you’ve found the hobby, working with wood is incredibly satisfying. Our brains are wired for working with natural materials and it’s awesome you’ve tapped into that.
I love to sing, I’ll do it all day. I work from home now which makes it easier (less socially awkward) to do but it’s all the time. Sing in the shower, sing in the garden, sing to the animals… I’ll even invent and sing harmonies to movie scores (we don’t go out to the movies so it’s okay). There is often some dancing accompanying the singing.
I also really enjoy gardening and interacting with the wildlife that becomes more present as our gardens mature and diversify. The wild birds have gotten used to me working, singing, and dancing within 5-10 feet of them and I’m hoping this is the year I can get some of them to eat from my hand (even if it means I have to stop singing sometimes).
Thank you. I wholeheartedly agree, learning to work with nature such as wood, instead of imposing our will on it definitely gives me perspective on considering our connection with nature. In the modern era, much of how we connect with nature is removed or sterilized.
I’m really glad to hear you sing. There are so many ways music and rhythm weave through our lives. I expect a follow up post if you Snow White like 20 birds onto your arms!
Hiking barefoot. I’ve enjoyed hiking for a long time, but recently started doing so shoeless. I find the enhanced situational awareness to be thrilling, and am excited to see how far I can push my feet. I think hiking has always been a way for me to connect with nature, and doing so barefoot adds to that immensely.
That sounds like a unique experience. When I had a running coach for a short while, he said I should curl my toe down as I pull my leg back. The lack of exercising that bottom foot muscle often contributes to flat-footedness. This wasn’t probably an issue when people walked barefoot because we naturally dug into the earth for traction.
Do your feet ever get sore?
