Other Hobbies (passions, obsessions?) - Page 3

[Ross Leidy]

You made that!? Holy cow is that beautiful. What are the woods?

Thanks, Bernie. Yeah, I've built a few. That particular one is redwood, cedar, spruce, and a bit of ash.

This one is my latest - all redwood (except for the carbon coaming and hatches).


If you need a new hobby, I can highly recommend it. (Although, in Las Cruces, I'd guess you might have trouble finding enough water to paddle.) I have all the construction photos on my website: http://www.blueheronkayaks.com

Ross

[balistc]

My other obsession is cars.

Been into them since I was a kid, as my dad is a mechanic and when I wasn't at school, I was around cars

I currently own a Subaru Impreza WRX with a fairly substantial (some would probably say stupid) amount of money currently invested in it.



I can see my coffee obsession going the same way. It won't be long before I'm hot-rodding my Silvia, or buying something crazy like an LM GS3 or a single group Cyncra

[gtrman]

I used to sail, mostly small one-design (Turnabouts/N-10s, I've heard these are only in New England, also 420s and someday I'd like to get a Laser, but I'm too small), in local regattas. I also used to be into skateboarding (very badly), and model rocketry, and skiing. I'd really love to get into photography, cooking (more than I am now at least), R/C aircraft, and cycling. However due to a lack of time and money those things are on hold for now.

Music is my main thing now, and it is equal parts hobby/obsession, work, and academia (in a good way though!) My principle instrument is guitar but I have dabbled/studied with varying degrees of skill percussion (drumset, orchestral, marching, latin), saxophone (alto and tenor), clarinet, violin, and tuba.

I teach guitar, work at a guitar shop, play in a couple of bands, engineer/produce a couple of not yet well known acts . I go to music school with concentrations in guitar performance and music production and engineering. Also, I've recently started collecting guitar gear, but I will not buy something that will not add a level of versatility (aside from a backup or 2) to my rig/sound.

Current Rig (for anyone who may be curious):
Guitars:
Late 90s Peavey Predator Plus H-S-S, Metallic Dark Blue(backup)
1978 Gibson SG, Brown
2003 Gibson CS-336, Flame Top Tangerine Burst

Amp:
Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212

FX:
Boss - DD-6
Electro-Harmonix (reissues) - Small Clone, Small Stone, Soul Preacher Nano
Cusack - Tap-A-Whirl
Fulltone - GT 500, Deja-Vibe 2

VoodooLabs Pedal Power 2+
Planet Waves and George L's cables

On the way:
Divided by 13 - FTR 37 w/ D13 212F cab
Divided by 13 - Switch Hazel
G&L Legacy HB, Black
3-6 months on D13, 2 weeks on G&L

[Jacob]

This one is my latest - all redwood

Wow Ross those kayaks looks beautiful

[roastaroma]

Ciao,

I've finally registered here after much lurking. One of my passions is travel, esp. in Europe -- esp. in Italia. (I speak some Italian, French, German, & Spanish.) My girlfriend has a flat at Lago di Como, so we go there every year. Getting into espresso was inevitable.

Here we are at the Grand Canal in Venezia, all dolled up for Carnevale:



Amazingly, one can ride in a gondola dressed like that!

Happy Brewing,
Wayne

[gscace]

I've been lurking on HB for awhile now - finding tips on getting the most out of my Europiccola, and being easily distracted by reviews of machines like the Vibiemme Domobar Super. One day I'll spring for a nice shiny new little e61 machine, but at present I'm still nursing the naive hope that I can find a reasonably-priced rebuild project at auction. We'll see.

My main hobby/obsession over the last decade or so (ouch - how the years do fly by) has been designing, building, and paddling wood strip kayaks. After spending more time recently with the Europiccola, I have determined is that woodcraft is much more forgiving than the process of making a good espresso.

Ross

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That's a sweet boat! How are you building them. Are they cold-molded over a plug, then epoxy and glass and vacuum bag? How much does that thing weigh?

-Greg

[fflewddur]

Music is my main thing now

Music is my hobby now.... I'm no longer attempting to sustain myself with it but I've been doing some low key projects with friends and am making enough to cover regular string changes performing in an online game called secondlife. There's a link in my sig to tunes / videos if you're interested.

part of my current rig:
1989 eric clapton strat
1996 les paul gem
2006 custom warmoth rosewood / ebony strat neck, mahogany tele body. gfx lipstick & rio grande BBQ pups.
1972 princeton reverb
several modded fx...



I'm also restoring an air cooled bug at the moment which is a story for another time.

[malachi]

Outrigger Canoe (Va'a) paddling.
Dragonboat racing.

[Ross Leidy]

That's a sweet boat! How are you building them. Are they cold-molded over a plug, then epoxy and glass and vacuum bag? How much does that thing weigh?

-Greg

Thanks! The construction technique uses temporary cross-sectional forms that provide the overall shape. Thin strips (usually 3/4" x 1/4") are bent around the forms, glued to each other and temporarily fastened to the forms (usually staples). The strips are applied so that the deck and hull will separate later. Deck and hull are then glassed inside and out independently and then glassed together at the seam. A finished 18' kayak fully outfitted will weigh around 45 lbs.

Here's a picture of one where I'm working on the deck.


There's tons of construction photos on my website if you want to see the process start-to-finish: http://www.blueheronkayaks.com

Ross

[RapidCoffee]

I've done some kayaking too. But not in wooden boats.


Running waterfalls in Mexico a few years ago...

[malachi]

Rick Nu'u, Hawaiian Canoe Club, at Jaws on Maui


OC6 heading out from the Hale at Hawaiian Canoe Club (I'm the guy in yellow).

[billm3]

Winter = snowboarding
Spring = snowboarding/mountain biking
Summer = mountain biking
Fall = mountain biking/waiting for snowboarding

Bill

[CoffeeOwl]

music

[beanmuncher]

Here's the basic list, almost none of which are actually compatible with my current income level (I've just graduated from university and have moved 1100 miles - so I have very little disposable income [and am working as a research assistant, which pays respectably, but not hugely well]).

Ok, here goes:

1. Espresso (obviously) - no real need to comment here.
2. Photography - I've been doing it many years longer than I've been interested in espresso, and it means that I don't buy art for my apartment, I just print work from the archives.
3. Fountain pens - nothing too crazy, mostly modern Sheaffers, Lamys and a Pelikan
4. Computers / Technology - this is actually the most economically dangerous of the four - I love playing with weird bits of technology and am generally hard-pressed to turn down a bargain (this is why, for instance, I own two LCD projectors)
5. Books - I have a serious thing for used bookstores - and I'm particularly interested in science fiction, classics (I had a minor in this as an undergrad) and history

[poison]

1) Coffee, of course
2) Cars/driving. I like fast cars, but on my budget, I've modified my Subarus suspension extensively. She's a beast. I recently took a tactical/defensive driving course. Awesome fun.
3) Judo. I recently started taking judo. I've done martial arts off and on over the years, but it's been ten since I did anything. I'm loving it!
4) Mt biking. I sold my Santa Cruz to fund my coffee roasting business, and haven't biked since. Until my kids were born, I was biking 150+ miles a week, 90% hills. I miss it terribly.
5) Shooting. I was in the military, and have fired somewhere between 50-100k rounds. Not as many as some, but not bad!
6) Watches. I can't support this habit, but I love looking. I wear an Ocean7 LM-3, which I recently bought as my first nice automatic watch. I would have a nice collection, if I could afford to.