# General Mandolin Topics > General Mandolin Discussions >  Hobbies

## Command

This is just me being curious.  We all play mandolin as a hobby, job, etc., but that can't be the only hobby or job that we do.  I curious as to what everyone does as a hobby besides the mandolin.  ('pologies in advanced if i'm not supposed to do this :Laughing: 

I'll begin.  My main hobby is Hapkido (a korean martial art) and I work in a business that sell things on ebay (part-time, I'm a full-time college student)

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## jazzjune18

I play hockey!!

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## Command

sweet

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## Beanzy

What? A life with time for more than mandolin? That would mean practice time used for other things! Scandalous behaviour.    

Ok, I'll 'fess up to cello playing, fly fishing for salmon & sea trout and fly tying. But they've been seriously curtailed by trying to fit a couple of hours mandolin into each day.

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## Mando.Hobo

Guitar, making clothes, anything outdoorsy.

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## OU1

I think it's a great question....I luv to pick on the mandolin...but in the other spare time I am playing softball, fly fishing, and chasing the kids around to there events.

Go Sooners!

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## Dave Hanson

Fly fishing and drinking single malt whiskies, not neccessarily in that order or both at once.

Dave H

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## Gerry Hastie

> Fly fishing and drinking single malt whiskies, not neccessarily in that order or both at once.
> 
> Dave H


Someone else with a penchant for 'Whisky Before Breakfast'!

I read books either fiction or related to concepts of brief psychotherapy! I'm an armchair follower of football (proper football where you kick it) and I also love cooking.

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## Ron McMillan

Serious amateur blues harmonica player (on the 10-hole diatonic harp), about to re-embark on learning the chromatic harmonica - a whole new challenge.

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## poniverus

hitting shows and skiing would have to be my most time consuming hobbies, after playing mandolin naturally.

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## dorenac

Spending countless hours "fretting" over a few thousandths of an inch here and there, planing strips of cane, straightening them after gluing, cursing varnish and many other steps involved to build bamboo fly rods.  Occasionally I sell a few to support the habit.

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## Ivan Kelsall

Other than playing an instrument(s),reading, both fact & fiction, & listening to music. I don't have any physical activities these days.Chronic back pain caused by my past physical activities sees to that. I'm with Gerry in the fact that i do love cooking,
                                                                                                                                                                    Ivan

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## Paul Busman

My day job is as an OR nurse, which I took up after being a practicing podiatrist for 30 years.
As you can see in my signature, I make high end pennywhistles (no, that's not an oxymoron) in exotic hardwoods.  I'm in a small Irish/Scottish traditional band where I play whistles, Irish flute and, naturally, my Fullerton Gloucester mandolin.

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## John MacPhee

OOPS mandolin is NOT my first hobbie, photography is! Having said that, mando is a very close second and i pick her up every chance i get. Living 10 minutes from Moreton Bay my other hobbie is saltwater flyfishing for flathead and bream (google it). My other passions are the italian language and cooking. I did atke didgeridoo lessons for a couple of years, love that haunting sound!
Cheers
Maccka (John)

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## Ed Goist

Since getting back to making music a few years ago I have progressively committed more and more of my discretionary time to either playing or listening to music. It now unregrettably dominates my free time.
Aside from my music, it's spending joyous time with the wife and family.
Life is good.

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## bruce.b

For me it's bicycling, specifically single speed mountain bikes without suspension or clipless pedals. This past year is the first time it hasn't been my primary fun. I'm kind of surprised mandolin has taken over the number one spot.I like hiking a lot too.

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## Barry Smith

Flyfishing is a good theme here.  Me too - that's predominant along with flytying, gardening, and golf.

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## Wilbur James

Wrestling Grizzly Bear, Interacting with Lions and Tigers, not as much as I used to when I was younger, but still enjoy my time with them.

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## Blombie

Flyfishing, Fly Tying ( seems like quite a few of us here),  biking, hiking , sking, and traveling.
obviously with all these hobbies work gets in the way

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## Denny Gies

Aside from the mandolin, my other main hobby is retirement.  It is a lot of work...........also reading history and cooking and guitar.

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JGWoods

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## Ryan H

I watch ridiculous amounts of baseball. I also enjoy the occasional hike in the mountains. Also, from time to time, I've been known to play XBox. But lately I've been holding off on that one because the controllers hurt my hands, and prevent me from playing more mando.  :Mandosmiley:

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## neil argonaut

Mandolin and related activities tend to take up most of my waking hours and account for most of my leisure/employment/social life; however, I do enjoy cooking, reading (fiction and non fiction), practicing speaking french when I get the chance, cycling (though more as transport than as a hobby), and playing Go.

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## Mike Snyder

Camping with musicians, keeping a vintage camper livable, chasing ringneck pheasants around the milo stubble. Fishing has taken a big hit as music is in surge. Unplugged the TV two years ago.

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## sjf

Bird watching, cycling (mountain and cyclocross), wildlife art (acrylic on masonite board usually).

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## Rosemary Philips

I've got 4 dogs that I adore and once a week we have other dogs (and people) over for playtime and amateur agility. I also love walking and hiking in the woods. I also play guitar and right now am building an octave mandolin from a Don Kawalek kit (with virtually no prior woodworking experience).

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## Rodney Riley

Helping raise 4 Grandblessings... Wait, that's not a hobby, it's a full time job!!!!  :Laughing:  Guess my main hobby is reading as many posts as I can here on the Cafe.

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## Pete Summers

I paint watercolors and have for years. Mostly landscapes of Missouri and Kansas, some still lifes.

I also collect and smoke pipes, though I've had to cut way back on the smoking lately. I still have a nice pipe collection, though.

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## catmandu2

I used to spend all my spare time training and racing road bicycles in summer and skiing in winter in Colorado.  These days--we're occupied with local philanthropy: my wife's a local prominent therapist and I'm the primary caregiver to our foster kids and animals.  We  grow as much of our own food as possible--I don't get out much.  

Even though I live in fly-fishing Mecca--I don't fish.  I used to play out in bands for a hobby, but no time for hobbies now

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## Mike Scott

Well.................in addition to mandolin, I play guitar, and dobro.  Then there is triathlon training, skiing, golf, flyfishing, kayaking, surfing, sailing and........I guess that's about it.  Good thing I'm retired-no time to work.

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## AnneFlies

Love to fly my little airplane (2-seater) and gliders, short-track speedskating, quilting, knitting, reading, walking my dog every day through the park, also play Irish tenor banjo and taking fiddle lessons.  Retired, so I have lots of fun time available.

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## Caleb

> I also collect and smoke pipes, though I've had to cut way back on the smoking lately. I still have a nice pipe collection, though.


Not a collector (only have two) but a smoker. Would like to get a nice collection going someday.  

My hobbies are sketching, calligraphy, reading, and writing: poetry, short stories, and one (unpublished)  novel under my belt so far.

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## Jim

Playing music, guitar, Flute & Bass as well as Mandolin, are my #1 hobby and occasional job. I Mountain bike trails with my dog here on the CO, NM border as well as sail & windsurf in the warm months and xc ski & snowshoe in the cold ones. Road bicycles, Motorcycles and ATVs as well as running my small Llama ranch take up wht's left of my time. Sounds Like I keep pretty busy when I write it all down. Fortunately I have a job that allows ( forces) me to get my 57 hour work week done In just 3 days letting me have the rest of the week off for my hobbies.

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## Tim Pike

My other passions...cycling, playing ukulele and bottle collecting (primarily food bottles/jars). I have quite a collection of mustard jars from the late 1800's - early 1900's (few of them in picture with pickle bottle on left).

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## joshtree

Funny when I was a kid I thought of hobbies as being lonely kid things like stamp collecting and boondoggle weaving.  Then when I was about 30 and taking stock of how many things I have that I devote my spare time to I realized I am a serious hobbyer.  At this point I would list them in this order:  Mountain biking, Mandolin (I know my priorities suck), Motorcycle (mostly repairing as opposed to riding it seems this year) building and repairing bikes for other people, tinkering on various projects that come up in general, Taekwondo (new thing), art (drawing and printmaking).  All of which are secondary to devoting most of my non-work time to my family. so I really need to find a way to ether elimiate work or sleep to do what I really want to with my life.

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## Markus

I'm in two bands and have a four year old ... my hobby is sleep.

In summer I run the Children's Garden at our Community Garden - a little time in the dirt almost every day from April to September. Once you factor camping and fishing into that, the summer disappears in a whirlwind. 

I get some birdwatching and nature walks in with my daughter quite often as we live at the edge of a large wetland - less of both in winter, but always something outdoors every week.

Winter is when I catch up on all the photos I took all summer and when I can finally practice more than `cramming for the next gig' - focus on technique and higher-level stuff.

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## billhay4

Making mandolins.
Bill

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## Jeff Oxley

And you want me to accept the premise that there can be other hobbies besides mandolin?! :Disbelief:   Just kidding, a few of my other passions include boating (LITTLE boats, as in, canoes and kayaks), hiking, camping (pretty much the whole outdoor thing), playing guitar, reading, single malt scotches and fine bourbons...for a start.

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## nanaimo

Being retired now, into my second year, time is what I have! I practice a lot but still have time to fit in running, reading, pottery (I a member of a pottery guild), and listening to music (anyone else discover rdio.com?).I am hoping that I can get connected with other players (who will welcome a newbie) to jam when I go to Mesa after Christmas- for 3 months. This will be a new experience.

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## Polecat

Collecting and restauring antique cut-throat razors (yes, I use them to shave, too). There's a pickup line par excellence involved in this hobby - if you ask someone "Would you like to come back to my place? I'll show you my collection of straight razors" you always know what response you will get!

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## allenhopkins

College alumni/ae club, Democratic politics (on the "foot soldier" level -- reminds me, got a literature drop this p.m.), and the "organizational" side of folk music -- folk club (though not on the board right now), school music programs, planning and running a small concert series, various local folk-related events.

Doing a *lot* of small-scale performing: just put #200 on my 2012 gig list.  What's a bit unfortunate, is that most of my gigs don't involve mandolin; singing with guitar, banjo, ukulele.  I've had to make a conscious effort to play more mando at home so my skills, such as they are, don't atrophy.

And, of course, going on the Cafe every day -- a not-insignificant allocation of time.

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## Laurence Firth

Good topic! Ok heres my list. Music I do every day as well as hiking. The others I do as time permits.

Music and mandolin - weekly jams and song circles and the occasional open mic. Like to get a band going
Art / Drawing
Reading 
Cooking
Hiking - take daily 3 mile walks
Scuba diving - love driving down to Baja and the Gulf of CA.

I work as a web designer / developer.

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## Big Joe

Of course mandolin, guitar, bass, banjo. And uke playing.  However, I am a Ham Radio nut (N0GTR), extra class, and I love to paint.  Oil is my favorite medium but acrylics is a new venture for me.  Watercolrs are fun, but I really suck at them.  Fly fishing when I can.  I used to make my ip own rods and flies, but have not done that in a while.  I also love to turn wood.  Just not time for everything!

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## George R. Lane

Since I live in fly fishing heaven I do partake, but my main addiction for the past 45 years is GOLF.

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## Clockwork John

Let's see... Where to begin... By day I'm a Cafeteria Custodian at a local high school. When I'm not doing that...
I keep marine reef aquariums, I collect and occasionally smoke pipes, I hike and cycle(road, mountain, and fixed gear) when I have the energy after work, I go snake hunting, I love to garden and I'm into vegan cooking, I collect knives and love to go target shooting, I collect coins, I have a Jeep I'm eventually going to get back on the road/trail, I collect and wear kilts and traditional Scottish Highland clothing, I play guitar, bass, drums, and Irish tenor banjo in addition to mandolin, I'm a bit of an amateur student of Irish history and politics and I'm collecting and learning all the old rebel songs and deportee/prison ship songs I can find, and I've recently started dabbling in home brewing, starting with meads and ciders, but working my way toward beer. In addition to all of this I somehow manage to find time for a wife, 3 dogs, and 3 cats.

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Bluejay

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## Bob Clark

Open water sculling (rowing) and cats!

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## Clockwork John

I forgot to add wetshaving... I collect, restore and use straight razors and double edge razors.

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## Alex Orr

Mandolin is my biggest hobby in terms of time commitment.  I also love to cook.  I wouldn't really call it a "hobby" but I make it to the gym 4-5 days out of the week.  I was big into swing dancing for several years but sort've burned out on it.  Recently I've been into playing card games.  I never cared much for card games until playing a lot this summer over a long beach weekend with some friends.  I'm currently learning about poker for the first time in my life!  I also enjoy scotch, bourbon, rum, learning about and making cocktails, and reading about the history of booze and cocktails.  Also, DC just has a lot of stuff to do at any given time, so I spend a fair amount of non-work hours just taking advantage of all the cool (and often free) cultural events we have available in the Nation's capital.  

Oh, and of course reading.  I read David McCullough's Truman bio earlier this year and have been really into presidential bios since then.  So far this year I've finished bios of Ike, JFK, and have just started in on Robert Caro's first LBJ book, The Path To Power.  My plan is to make it through to a Reagan bio and then go back and start reading Presidential bios in order of presidency.

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## David Rambo

Where to start..........Probably my #1 hobby is Living History and reenacting the Great Lakes Fur Trade as a Partner (owner) in the Northwest Fur Company.  In this capicity I spend around 75-90 days living in a white canvas tent as if it were 1794.  
#2 would be a toss up between reading, genealogy, golfing, and playing with different groups on keyboard and bass guiitar.
In between times I get to practice several instruments.

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## oneeyeross

I am a retired GI.  I was a lab tech type for Uncle Sugar, and forced to retire (see my screen name).

Went to work for the Veteran's Administration doing lab work until 2001...After back surgery and losing a bit of lung (not cancerous) I figured life was too short and started raising sheep.  A man, an open field, a good dog and a flock....greatest life there is.  Taking a mando out on sunny days and playing while watching the flock is a great way to spend the day.

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Bluejay

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## Steve-o

What an fun read - lot's of interesting folks on the Cafe.  When I am not picking tunes, I love to sail, ski (Nordic and Alpine), mountain bike, road bike, hike, travel, read, watch hockey, hang out with family, eat, and make conversation.  So much to do, so little time.

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## John Kinn

Hobbies: Writing songs, recording them playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, mandola, dobro and harmonica, so far I've made three cd's, mainly for a local market.(around 1000 copies of each). Chopping wood, reading, hanging out here and on some other musical forums.
Trying to get a hang of the fiddle, but I think I need another life to execute a proper vibrato, and my wife and (grown)children aren't big fans of my fiddlin'.

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## Bob Clark

> I figured life was too short and started raising sheep.  A man, an open field, a good dog and a flock....greatest life there is.  Taking a mando out on sunny days and playing while watching the flock is a great way to spend the day.


Hey Ross,

What breed of sheep?  I didn't mention my sheep or my farm because I was just thinking about my hobbies, not the business.  I raise Katahdin sheep and find them to lamb easily and to be easy keepers.  They are just a side-line of the farm.  Our main thing is that we grow Asian pears and Fuji apples that we use to make wine.  The wines are the main crop of the farm (its a winery).  We used to be grower-packer-shippers (wholesale) but market conditions forced us to find another route.  Wine works great for us.

Bob

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## Folkmusician.com

I am also finding it interesting that there is such a high percentage of Fly Fisherman and Mt Bikers. DO these things just somehow go hand in hand with Mandolins?   :Smile: 

Most of my life has been spent in (or within miles of) the Sierra Nevada's. I like Fishing, Hunting (not much lately), Hiking, Back-packing, but my favorite is Mountain Biking. 

This pic was taken about 10 miles from my house.

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## Mike Bunting

> I am a retired GI.  I was a lab tech type for Uncle Sugar, and forced to retire (see my screen name).
> 
> Went to work for the Veteran's Administration doing lab work until 2001...After back surgery and losing a bit of lung (not cancerous) I figured life was too short and started raising sheep.  A man, an open field, a good dog and a flock....greatest life there is.  Taking a mando out on sunny days and playing while watching the flock is a great way to spend the day.


Whereabouts? I used to run a flock up here in Alberta.

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## catmandu2

Robert,  cycles--to bike freaks, are as cars and trucks are to auto enthusiasts--inspiring whole lifestyles.  The outdoors--growing, eating, recreating--enables profound and supremely powerful experiences inspiring lofty ambitions.   It's a culture--although among racers cycling and bikes are often a totally different thing--and still the bike is iconic and the rider pursues strength--but among "collective" cyclists it's vehicle of supreme importance--involving much more than sport, but ethics.   A mountain bike and skis are the vehicles of the outdoor explorer

I had the good fortune to spend most of my adult life enjoying wilderness soprts and contemplating beauty.  Outdoor living can integtrate so many high human ideals and experiences--I've learned so much studying nature.  A bicycle is a potent tool to so many...to the fly-fisher it enables backcountry travel in summer and access to high mountain streams

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## buckhorn

aside from being in the shop and making mandolins and things out of wood , i like to be outside and with the grandkids and rideing ATVs..hunting , fishing and anything with just about any season that i happen to be in....

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## JEStanek

Photography is my main hobby.  I enjoy reading, cooking, and attending live theater and music.  I love movies.  I consider playing mandolin more stress therapy than a hobby.
Jamie

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## LA Mando

Fun thread! I'm a long time martial artist, specializing in Kung Fu with a focus on traditional Chinese weapons. I've also trained in Tae Kwon Do and Aikido. I'm a professor, so life is "publish or perish" and I do a lot of reading and writing (and statistics!). Mandolin is my top hobby, but it is closely followed by the gym, knitting, camping, kayaking, star gazing, and seeking out good archaeoastronomy sites. I can also juggle.

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## Jack Roberts

My wife is my hobby.

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## JeffD

Outside of mandolin and related - 

fishing, mostly fly fishing - though my main fishing buddy has gotten a new job and so I haven't been out in a while.

I have recently taken an interest in churchwarden pipe smoking and clay pipe smoking. Don't ask me why. I haven't a clue.

I have always been an insanely avid reader, and it takes up a lot of my interstitial time - i gobble down 40 to 60 books a year. All kinds. Sometimes even about music.

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## Leigh Coates

My hobbies are boring compared to all of the above!  When I'm not doing mandolin-related things, I play mandolin, small pipes and bodhran in a folk music band, read (a lot), play computer solitaire, ride my recumbent bicycle, play around with photography, and pet my dog and cat.  Life is truly rich.

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## GRW3

My main non-musical hobby is model airplanes. R/C now but I started with U-control over 50 years ago. My activity level waxes and wanes but I've not been without some model stuff during this time. Right now I'm on a waxing phase after a couple of very lazy years. I went out a half a dozen times this year. Next year I will probably be back to my most Sundays routine. I like to build what I fly. It's a tough value proposition when compared to what you can buy from Asia ready made but it's part of me. When I do go out, I usually take a guitar with me.

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## MiG-19

Playing the banjo, mandolin, ukulele (probably in that order of time spent), kayak fishing, snorkeling/scuba diving, sailing, cycling.  I also have a 4-month old chocolate lab puppy that I spend a lot of my free time on now.   Life is fantastic.

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## Jeff Budz

Canoe camping, road trips, home maintenance / repair / enhancements and watching the grass grow are my "other" hobbies.  At work I deal with AV systems, projectors, touchscreens, PA systems & other tech-y stuff; my work is as much fun as a hobby.

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## rgray

Homebrewing beer.  Reading.  Deer hunting.  Just got my third deer yesterday on first day of muzzleloader season - nice 8 pt.  Other two with bow - doe and 6-pt.

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## Doug Edwards

Kayak angler, mostly fly fishing.

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## Doug Edwards

> Homebrewing beer.  Reading.  Deer hunting.  Just got my third deer yesterday on first day of muzzleloader season - nice 8 pt.  Other two with bow - doe and 6-pt.


I could deer hunt, but that's too easy around here.  I've got nice bucks in the area and in the back yard.  This year a few on our deck helping themselves to the plants. I thought about leasing out the backyard and giving each hunter a can of corn to rattle.

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## lukmanohnz

Very cool thread.  Apart from also playing guitar, I have been an avid origami folder since I was 7 years old and still fold occasionally.  I also enjoy chess, and managed to reach the skill level of weak club player years ago, but have difficulty finding games against similar-strength opponents in recent years (online play doesn't interest me much). I train for triathlons, and am working toward my first half-marathon next year. Home-improvement, reading, wine and scotch drinking round things out, though my wife and I are also thinking about taking ballroom dance lessons!

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## Charley wild

At my age many hobbys have come and gone. I have enjoyed them all. At the present time I enjoy bird watching, photography, art, and of course, playing music. Oh yeah, I collect postcards. I always have to be collecting something.  :Smile:

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## Mandolin Mick

Reading and traveling.  :Smile:

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## Bigtuna

Surfing, paddle boarding, fishing, running/walking my dog, and when I finally sit down with my mandolin I like to enjoy a nice single malt. I'm also a beer snob too!

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## Bertram Henze

> Fly fishing and drinking single malt whiskies, not neccessarily in that order or both at once.


+1 (except for that fishing thing)




> Someone else with a penchant for 'Whisky Before Breakfast'!


I made my contribution at the time of Mr Kilpatrick's superthread.

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## Caleb

> Oh yeah, I collect postcards.


Love postcards!  Think I still have every postcards ever mailed to me. But I send more than I get.

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## Jesse Harmon

Reading, watercolor and graphite art, (mainly portraits right now)  Had to give up the skiing and biking due to arthritis problems but still sail and walk.  Doesn't surprise me to see these large and diverse interests by this group.  So little time!

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## JeffD

Is bourbon a hobby?

Nah, its an attitude adjuster and an occational jam lubricant.

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## Beanzy

I left out the cycling as that's kind of just part of what I do and I haven't competed in years. 
Also didn't mention single malts and proper beers as they're not really hobbies any more than breathing is.
I'm impressed with the predominance of mando-bike-flyfishing-whiskey. 
Is it about portability in remote places?, or just appreciating the obscure roads less travelled and not chosing the easy paths?.

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## catmandu2

Eoin, my buddies who fish use the bike to access wilderness.  When I was a bachelor and had the luxury of life-without-car, it enabled a lifestyle that taught me things I probably wouldn't have learned otherwise.  As you say--it's about taking a different path

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## shortymack

> I'm impressed with the predominance of mando-bike-flyfishing-whiskey.


+1, add me to that list, swap the flies for a spinnerbait and the whiskey for a brew.  :Smile:

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## Bill S

I make real ale from scratch in my garden shed. I normally have 3 or 4 on "tap" at any one time, mainly about 4 to 4.5% ABV. That said, we're getting to the Christmas period, so I've just brewed up my annual mulled ale this afternoon, which will be about 8%...I find  this hobby attracts more visitors to my house than playing the mandolin ;-)

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## Mike Snyder

Walleyes, boys, walleyes. A bottom-bouncer, a spinner, and half a nightcrawler. I used to take a mandolin out on the boat but quit that when I got the Gibson. Flies are for swatting.

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LA Mando

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## Gregory Tidwell

I work as a lawyer in WA, OR, CA, HI and soon, AK, and that takes a lot of my time. But when I have free time I read a lot (mostly genre fiction, like SF, espionage and mystery), Seeking out new scotch whiskys, and play my mandolin. I guess im becomming a collector of mandos too.  I also have a wife and 7 and 10 year old kiddos, so I help the kids a lot with their hobbies, which include ballet, karate, soccer, chess and role playing games. Seems like mandolin is the one that has to suffer for the others, but I do play more and more as time passes.

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## Jim

mmmmmmm Walleyes! 
I too am impressed by the number of bicycle enthusiasts posting here. Too much like mindedness to be a coincedence. I know that tinkering with a bike to get it set up just right satisfies me in much the same way that getting my musical instrument set just right does too.

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## neil argonaut

> mmmmmmm Walleyes! 
> I too am impressed by the number of bicycle enthusiasts posting here. Too much like mindedness to be a coincedence.


I think it was a deciding factor in getting a mandolin, the fact it's a small enough instrument to comfortably cycle with, so perhaps this is one reason for the overlap.
As for the fly fishing, who knows.

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## Randi Gormley

I used to do more stuff -- theater, knitting, crewel work, play flute and recorder, hiking -- but mostly any more it's play with a community band (that gigs out a couple times a month) or attend ITM sessions. And reading. Lots of reading. I "collect" old books (1890's to about 1960) in the sense that I own a lot and read them (I think my personal library is about 4,500 volumes of old and new mostly fiction and genre stuff right now). I do crossword puzzles and play computer solitaire, too. My work takes up most of my time since I'm usually in the office by 7:30 a.m. and get home closer to 6:30 p.m. or so plus the occasional weekend and night shift, but that's kind of standard for a newspaper reporter. I just noticed all my vacations this year except one were spent in mandolin/music camps!

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## Caleb

> (I think my personal library is about 4,500 volumes of old and new mostly fiction and genre stuff right now)


Wow. It's a dream of mine to have a library like that. I've got quite a few but nowhere near that. I read between 80 to 100 books a year, but I use the library a lot, and I'm finding myself reading via Kindle more and more, something I thought I'd never do.  Would love to see pics of your library.

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## gauze

I use to collect videogames but I stopped an now only own a few systems and Donkey Kong and Galaga arcade machines.

woodworking, rank amateur at it. I did build an electric guitar though, planning on building a bass next. Not sure if a mandolin is in my future I'd like to be pretty versed in instrument building before trying something so complex.

See a lot of scotch fans on here, but missed any Bourbon references. I have about 70 bottles of it ranging from $10-$100 (and a few that go for like $300 on ebay, but I didn't pay that much them).

I sorta collect cheap guitars, not intentionally.

playing guitar, drums when not playing mandolin.

and my longest running and most expensive hobby: record collecting. I have around 6300 pieces of music media ranging from 78s to DVD and everything in-between (yes, including 8-tracks), but the bulk of it is vinyl records.

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## KSmith

My first love of 40 years has been fly fishing, the last 20 something years it has been exercised with bamboo.  Been tying my own flies for about 30 years.  Followed by a love of fly fishing literature.  For 26 years Uncle Sam's Flying Circus allowed me the opportunity to practice my first love in some pretty nice places before allowing me to retire in Montana.  Small collection of pipes - that actually get smoked - mainly on the water.  The mando is a very recent introduction for me - learning my way around the fret board.  Eclectic collection of music.

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## rgray

> I could deer hunt, but that's too easy around here.  I've got nice bucks in the area and in the back yard.  This year a few on our deck helping themselves to the plants. I thought about leasing out the backyard and giving each hunter a can of corn to rattle.


Don't mind easy but I guess off the deck would be even too easy for me.  I'll leave the deck for playing my mandolin and drinking my beer.  Deer hunting for me is: 1) reason to get away from the house and in the woods and, 2) meat in the freezer.

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## sgarrity

Mandolins, guitars, and now old time banjo......love to play and collect them.  

The only thing bigger than my instrument collection is my cd/music collection.  

Aside from music, I've been into weight training for many years, love wine and am always growing that collection, and scotch and bourbon.  Love to travel and explore new cities as well.

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## Randi Gormley

Caleb -- here's a shot I took this summer of part of the living room (music room, mostly, but you can't see the instruments because they're on the other side of the room); I have more hardbacks in the TV room in three other sets of shelves and all the paperbacks are upstairs along the hallway. The stacked books are still to be put on shelves. I guess I forgot that one of my hobbies is crude woodworking -- I made all the bookshelves (except the one with the pictures on it, which was an assemble-it-yourself).

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## Caleb

> Caleb -- here's a shot I took this summer of part of the living room (music room, mostly, but you can't see the instruments because they're on the other side of the room); I have more hardbacks in the TV room in three other sets of shelves and all the paperbacks are upstairs along the hallway. The stacked books are still to be put on shelves. I guess I forgot that one of my hobbies is crude woodworking -- I made all the bookshelves (except the one with the pictures on it, which was an assemble-it-yourself).


Thanks for posting. Looks like an inspiring and inviting place.

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## Jim

RG, that looks like a great room to spend a winter in. I have a substantial book collection myself.

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## CelticDude

In addition to the mandolin, I'm also struggling with the guitar, and play the whistle.  Non-musical hobbies: mainly shortwave listening, and reading (can be done simultaneously.) I try for one book a week, but don't always make it.  I also go thru phases where I build plastic models, mostly space ships - Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica being the main ones.

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## jaycat

Staring out the window . . .

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## Chinn

Fun thread! Like many others, I'm intrigued by finding the same common themes across this group. 

Personally, I take things too far in every hobby and eventually beginning making some side money from them as I tend to do as much by myself as possible. 

From my mando hobby, all of my instruments were either scratch built by myself, restored, or modified and set up by myself. In addition to mando, I play guitar and blues harmonica. 

I'm also an avid cyclist. As a former bike mechanic for many years, I build all my own bikes, as well as those of many of the guys I race with on my team. I race MTB and cyclocross. 

From my father, I inherited a gene which makes me a duck hunter. For many years, I custom made high grade duck calls (single reed arkansas style). 

Also from my father, I inherited a love of old British sports cars. I've owned and maintained a '73 TR6 for over 20yrs. Its undergoing its second partial restoration at my hands. 

Finally, for most of my life, I've flown model airplanes. Like another poster mentioned, I like to build them as much as fly them, but I also design them and designed for some of the kit manufacturers for a few years. I managed to fly at a pretty high level in competition as well. 

Too many hobbies, not enough time.

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## Mike Snyder

Old-time, ITM and contradance music on the 17-fret banjo.

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## JGWoods

After mandolin, actually before, is clawhammer banjo, then mandolin, guitar, fiddle, and now concertina to get me off the string kick for a little while. Once my butt is out of a chair I like to bike the local bike path, travel with my wife once or twice a year- we motorcycled to New Orleans, Santa Fe, and back to MA in the spring and I even managed to get a banjo on board the motorcycle. 

Swimming, patting the cat, livin' large on little money.

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## lgibjones

At this point it's only mandolins for me (happily).  I liquidated my previous hobby items, model planes and helicopters, to fund MAS.  Playing music is a good fit for my lifestyle and family. 

Chinn, I am curious which planes you designed.

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## catmandu2

> After mandolin, actually before, is clawhammer banjo, then mandolin, guitar, fiddle, and now concertina to get me off the string kick for a little while. Once my butt is out of a chair I like to bike the local bike path, travel with my wife once or twice a year- we motorcycled to New Orleans, Santa Fe, and back to MA in the spring and I even managed to get a banjo on board the motorcycle. 
> 
> Swimming, patting the cat, livin' large on little money.


Inspiring.  I love it (two of my favorite places are NOLA and the desert  : )

This summer I acquired a bicycle with a sidecar that a local gent welded together...I can fit anything into it--instruments, kids, dogs...AND in style.  (Speaking of NOLA, I was once impressed seeing a kid who had a doublebass on his bike--I could carry one easily on mine--it's the perfect busking rig ; )

below is one of our other rigs--with double fiddles

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JGWoods

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## Chinn

Jones, I mostly did 3d and pattern stuff. The Extreme Flight Chinn Yak is mine, as well as a few that used to be sold by Ohio Model Products and a couple indoor designs that were flown extensively at the ETOC. The Kudzu pattern plane was mine and got a nice writeup in Model Aviation, but I curtailed my flying before I got it to the company that was interested.

BTW I was a helicopter flyer for a short bit, but my mode 1 thumbs don't speak heli as well....

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lgibjones

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## sloanypal

> I make real ale from scratch in my garden shed. I normally have 3 or 4 on "tap" at any one time, mainly about 4 to 4.5% ABV. That said, we're getting to the Christmas period, so I've just brewed up my annual mulled ale this afternoon, which will be about 8%...I find  this hobby attracts more visitors to my house than playing the mandolin ;-)


Glad to see I'm not the only home-brewer here! I think my next recipe might be a porter or stout for the winter.

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## Capt. E

> mmmmmmm Walleyes! 
> I too am impressed by the number of bicycle enthusiasts posting here. Too much like mindedness to be a coincedence. I know that tinkering with a bike to get it set up just right satisfies me in much the same way that getting my musical instrument set just right does too.


I also am a bicyclist, commute to work 5 miles each way. Much of the population here in Austin are one of three things: a bicyclist, a musician/artist, or a slacker. Many people seem to manage all three. I'm managing two of them.

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## Alyx Hanson

I knit, read, and write, mostly. I also tend to do loads of research on whatever topic has currently struck my fancy (lately it's usually something mandolin related; in the past it's been everything from botany to various sorts of animals to symbolism as it relates to tattoos to...).

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## Jack Roberts

Besides having a wife for a hobby, I am also a big Opera fan.  We went to see Madame Butterfly last night.

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Bluejay

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## Command

Just learned a valuable lesson. Don't get too busy with school and work stuff and forget about your own thread until 3 days later.  It took sooooooooooooooooo long to read this.  But besides the long read, a lot of you do some really interesting stuff. +1 to all the readers out there.

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## oneeyeross

> Hey Ross,
> 
> What breed of sheep?  I didn't mention my sheep or my farm because I was just thinking about my hobbies, not the business..
> 
> Bob


For me, it started with Katahdin, then a few woolie buggers as out crosses and some St Croix.  I prefer the hair sheep (no wool!)...tasty things....

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## Han

> Besides having a wife for a hobby, I am also a big Opera fan.  We went to see Madame Butterfly last night.


Awesome! I got to see Butterfly a few weeks ago. Fantastic opera.

Some of my hobbies are singing (currently working on my undergrad in vocal music education), playing guitar and uke, canoeing and kayaking when I get the chance and archery. I also enjoy keeping a freshwater aquarium. Sometime I would like to keep a marine aquarium.

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## Gelsenbury

Music, food, football. In addition to mandolin, I'm making very tentative steps to learn accordion, and I've done some singing in the past. I love cooking and enjoying the various forms of food and drink that exist. And life wouldn't be the same without football (I mean "soccer" rules, spherical ball, played with the feet as the name ought to suggest), active and passive. 

I like reading, but I do so much of it for my job that I don't get the occasion for the leisurely kind often enough. And since when do wives count as a hobby?

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## Bertram Henze

> ... enjoying the various forms of food and drink that exist.


alright, King Henry, you know where that leads, Sir!




> since when do wives count as a hobby?


Six of them, to be precise - just to remind you, Sir!
 :Grin:  :Laughing:

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## oneeyeross

> alright, King Henry, you know where that leads, Sir!
> 
> 
> 
> Six of them, to be precise - just to remind you, Sir!


I stopped with four wives.  Four divorces are enough, if you aren't a regent.

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## Pete Counter

I like good wine, Traditional Archery, and Fish Aquariums.. Freshwater and about to start a saltwater tank. And spending Time with my family!

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David Rambo

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## Andy Alexander

> For me, it started with Katahdin, then a few woolie buggers as out crosses and some St Croix.  I prefer the hair sheep (no wool!)...tasty things....


We run several hundred commercial Cheviot x Clun Forest ewes and lambs on our farm in the Finger Lakes area of NY State.  In August each year we move the sheep and move in 2500 bluegrass fans for Pickin' In The Pasture.

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## BHart

Folkmusician, that looks suspiciously like White's Creek, on the way to Dry Pond...

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## Richard J

(Someone else with a penchant for 'Whisky Before Breakfast'!)
The instructor thinks that my signature song, it may not be the first song he picks to play during my class, but he & I play it in each class. Other then that... fly fishing, brewing beer.

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## rohan

I sing Mahler, Schuman, Mozart etc. when I'm not on the motor bike. (FJR)

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## Folkmusician.com

> Folkmusician, that looks suspiciously like White's Creek, on the way to Dry Pond...


Why yes, that would be exactly where the pic was taken.   :Smile:  



My wife and I ride the area. Sometimes we take off from the house, but that is a long climb. I like getting dropped off at Upper Thomas Creek, doing Dry Pond, Upper White's, then lower White's Creek and riding back down to the house.  :Smile: 



Are you in the area?

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## Laird

Hiking or snowshoeing, depending on the weather. I get out on the trails behind my house pretty much every day, on a trail system I built and have maintained over the last six years. My favorite version of this, once we have snow on the ground, is snowshoeing at night, especially when the moon is bright enough to light things up. As an environmental writer, my challenge (and intention) has been to notice something new in those woods every day. So far, so good.

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## Geordie

Well, lately I've been devoting my free time to cutting enough firewood to get me through the winter (not really a hobby, though, more of a survival thing...).

Mostly I read anything I can get my hands on (currently Iain M. Banks' new one, and next is a non-fiction book on the history of being buried alive).

I also collect Progressive Rock, jazz, punk, blues, etc. on vinyl records.

Raising a flock of laying hens, as well.

Playing the electric ukulele in a garage-rock band.

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## Big Joe

I can't be the only Ham Radio operator.  Anyone else have their license?

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## Folkmusician.com

I read the book to take the test, but that was as far as I made it.  :Smile:

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## shortymack

> Why yes, that would be exactly where the pic was taken.   
> 
> 
> 
> My wife and I ride the area. Sometimes we take off from the house, but that is a long climb. I like getting dropped off at Upper Thomas Creek, doing Dry Pond, Upper White's, then lower White's Creek and riding back down to the house. 
> 
> 
> 
> Are you in the area?


Wow, beautiful country Robert. I miss mountain biking although I used to do it in the San Gabriel Mtns, a far stretch both air quality and scenic wise from the High Sierras. BTW, I dont see any mandos strapped to any backs in those pics, lol.  :Wink:

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## pjlama

Good thread-
I'm too busy these days to call anything a hobby but something I do occasionally or was heavily into and still do when I can. The cause of this is having four sons between the age of 1 and 10 plus I own four businesses, I'm way too busy. So after sandbagging here's my hobbies;
Motorcycling; on road, offroad, closed course, dualsport, whatever
Cycling; MTB & Road
Sports; mostly watching
Reading; avid reader my entire life
Beer; hoppy small brewery stuff
Food; Cooking and eating, I went to Culinary and was a chef for a while
Shooting; pistols and rifles
Music; playing bass, drums, guitar, mandolin

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## Folkmusician.com

> Wow, beautiful country Robert. I miss mountain biking although I used to do it in the San Gabriel Mtns, a far stretch both air quality and scenic wise from the High Sierras. BTW, I dont see any mandos strapped to any backs in those pics, lol.


I do love the high country. Anything south of Yosemite is rather foreign to me. If I ever get time, it would be nice to explore the Mountains down that way.  

My Mt Biking has been very low key this year. We moved over to Reno right after I broke my leg and tore my ACL (mt biking) and I am trying to recover before doing something stupid again. My mind is much younger than my body.  :Smile:  

As much as I love working with instruments, I could sure see myself in PJ's line of work. mmmmm  :drool:  Ducati's.

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## Paul Merlo

My #1 activity these days is being a Dad, but I hardly count that as a "hobby".  

Luckily I can still find some time to:

Add me to the list of anglers among the bunch - but mostly for largemouth Bass on the inland lakes of Southeast MI.  I also enjoy seeing live music, hoppy beers and playing poker.

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## Chris "Bucket" Thomas

I have no free time; I run around w/ my hair on fire.

Mandolin/band, general aviation flying/flight instructing, riding my Harley, raising two girls (dance, swim, cheer & horseback riding) and trying to sail.  I also volunteer for waaaaay too many committees at work (airline pilot).

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## mtucker

toys and tinkering .... 'shot in east LA'  :Grin:  ..no pun intended ... watch out for the train!

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LA Mando

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## thistle3585

I play, coach and referee hockey.  I also build instruments on occasion and am currently resurrecting a '79 CJ5.

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## Polecat

> toys and tinkering .... 'shot in east LA'  ..no pun intended ... watch out for the train!


That beast must be loud!

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## Marty Jacobson

Heh, cool thread. I remember some things like this from when there was an "off topic" section of the board.

My 50-hour-a-week hobby (since it's not making money yet) is building mandolins. But you knew that.

I also teach an engineering design course and run a well-equipped traditional and CNC machine shop at Georgia Tech part time in the college of biomedical engineering. How I landed that gig, I have no idea. But it's fun getting to build devices used in surgical tool development or cancer research... and of course working with 500 students every year. All of whom are smarter than me.

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## mtucker

> That beast must be loud!


Beckham's beater barks louder than my old dog... :Grin:

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## Bertram Henze

> ... watch out for the train!


the looks of those rails tell you you've got plenty of time.

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## rohan

N1BIS  - not very active now.

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## Trip

disc golf, snowboarding, tennis, Coaching my kids baseball team, and tinkering with my 01 Cobra convert......and playing/practising  in 3 different bands doesnt leave alot of time for live music, but when I can I catch a good show......

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## Folkmusician.com

> toys and tinkering .... 'shot in east LA'  ..no pun intended ... watch out for the train!


That is sweet!  I love this style of bike.

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## cullen colapietro

I've spent the last 3 years flyin RC helicopters obsessively. My intentions weren't to compete in aerobatics, but to get good enough where I could. I practiced tons and got quite good. I hope to channel some of that enthusiasm into my rekindled passion for the mandolin.

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## mtucker

> That is sweet!  I love this style of bike.


Yeah...both bikes are knucklehead 93 cube motors and have plenty of giddyup and gogo....the knuck predates the panhead motor as you may know...the style pre-dates choppers in California by at least 20 years. In the late '40's and 50's this is how they hot rodded 30's and 40's bikes. A harpist buddy of mine with the Nighthawks in DC owns an award winning Chief bobber from the UK. Here's a vid of the old gal, think, old original patina:

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## mandroid

Defending my 1st amendment Right to Petition my Government for redress of grievances ..
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/

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jaycat

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## Shelagh Moore

Photography (film and digital), biking (Moto Guzzi) and mending stuff (including instruments).

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## Paul Edwards

Skiing, hiking, camping.. nice thing about the mando is that I can just about take it anywhere. Integrate it into my other hobbies  :Smile:

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## AnneFlies

> general aviation flying/flight instructing,


Finally, another pilot on the site!  Are you a member of Flying Musicians?

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## AnneFlies

> biking (Moto Guzzi)


Out of my five motorcycles, my 1973 850 Eldorado was my favorite - beautiful, fast, dependable, smooth - loved it!  But my first was a 1972 175 BSA Bantam I bought in London & toured England, Wales, Ireland, & Scotland on one summer.  

Anne.

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## Jim

> [Out of my five motorcycles, my 1973 850 Eldorado was my favorite - beautiful, fast, dependable, smooth - loved it! But my first was a 1972 175 BSA Bantam I bought in London & toured England, Wales, Ireland, & Scotland on one summer.


I have a soft spot in my heart ( and head probably) for BSAs, I had 67 and 68 441 Victors in 1970 through 77. I'm sure there's still an oil spot in the garage of my parents old house where I parked them. Alot of motorcycles since then most argueably better but none that felt like those old big singles.

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## Bluejay

Lab tech #2 at local hospital. I have bred and shown dogs for 30 years, Miniature Pinschers. I am not going to many dog shows anymore, price of gas and entries etc... so I seem to 'acquiring mandolins'. Have played guitar on and off since the 60's. I love to read, have a million plants indoors and out and spend a lot of time taking care of the dogs. Oh, I also have birds. Cockatoo, Conure and a few African Love Birds. Like to ride bikes, walk in the woods, look at the stars and really enjoy sleeping.

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## Buck

You said hobbies, so I'll leave out the work and family activities that take the bulk of my time. Otherwise, I enjoy woodworking, instrument repair, also play guitar, shooting, hunting, fishing, and reading technical journals, religious and historical reading, and time spent on the family farm.

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