What Are Some Practical Indoor Hobbies to Keep You Busy?

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The discussion revolves around finding an engaging indoor hobby that is both useful and entertaining, with an emphasis on projects that can be completed over time and within a reasonable budget. Suggestions include woodworking, such as carving wooden bowls, quilting, and creating Christmas ornaments. Other ideas include paper modeling, fiction writing, and building mechanical or electronic devices. Some participants mention hobbies like puppetry, making musical instruments, and even programming. The conversation also touches on the potential for selling handmade items online as a way to fund the hobby. There are humorous and off-topic exchanges, but the core focus remains on exploring creative and practical hobbies that can be pursued at home.
  • #31
wolram said:
I have a great idea for a horror film, but i bet MoonB and Evo are to busy.

I'd say pursue it. Part of the hobby in writing is learning how to get something picked up by the market, and will definitely take up time with a minimum of funds. (Hell, to look at the greats, the biggest budgetary problems stems from "alcohol funding" :D)
 
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  • #32
Danger said:
Now I'm confused; isn't Kia your daughter?

Anyhow, as far as hobby/construction projects go, I'd recommend creating a new child. You did mention that a hot young honey was stalking you...

I confuse every body, LOL. Kia is my daughter but she does not live here, and Hmmm, i like the grunting and groaning but i could not stand the crying now.
 
  • #33
Genealogy is interesting, especially when you wind up corresponding with relatives you haven't known since you were a kid or relatives your parents that they haven't known since they were kids.

I tracked one branch of my family back to 1602 (from Normandy to Guernsey Island of the BCI to Guernsey County in Ohio to Illinois and on to Cherokee County in Kansas). It might be more interesting in the US since everyone's ancestors are immigrants and a lot migrated West even after immigrating to the US.

(It's no coincidence that the county and the home island are named the same. A few people from Guernsey Island established the county when Ohio was first opened to settlement and there was steady influx of their relatives and relatives' friends from Guernsey Island to Guernsey County.)
 
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  • #34
I have a friend (well, acquaintance) who builds benches, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, etc, and then plops them outside with a "for sale" sign. The sale pays for the next load of lumber plus a new tool. He calls it a hobby, and so he's not interested in profit, but he has a lot of great tools!
 
  • #35
wolram said:
i like the grunting and groaning but i could not stand the crying now.

Stop sleeping with porcupines and get yourself a human female. :rolleyes:
 
  • #36
Danger said:
Stop sleeping with porcupines and get yourself a human female. :rolleyes:

that's not a hobby---that's a life style :eek:
 
  • #37
I have almost made up my mind to make a light operated musical instrument, even though i know nothing about music.
 
  • #38
wolram said:
I have a great idea for a horror film, but i bet MoonB and Evo are to busy.
I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?
 
  • #39
Evo said:
I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?

still not feeling well, there?
 
  • #40
I'm not sure how into motorcycles you are, but I remember once seeing a smaller diesel powered motorcycle that is offered in the UK. May have been offered in the mid to late 80's. I'm not sure how expensive they are, but if you could find one cheap enough you could attempt to build a biodiesel refinery.

A good friend built one for his diesel Dodge truck because he has to haul large game machines back and fourth a 120-140mile trek on almost a daily basis. It's saved him a load of cash considering how much he would be paying for diesel. He gets the waste oil completely free.

This would be more so a neat thing to build rather than something out of necessity for you, though it would be neat to say you can drive anywhere within reason for free.
 
  • #41
Gah, I'm not allowed to post a url to another site just yet, so maybe you can interpret this. I wanted to show you what a reef tank really looks like...

double u double u double u dot

reefkeeping

dot com

www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-05/totm/index.php

piece that together.
 
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  • #42
Now THAT'S a nice tank. After you've put one together, it's always neat to see the critters coming out that you never thought were there before.
 
  • #43
Woolie, are you any good at electronics? Years back (MANY years back) I found out that I was unwilling to pay tons of money to have techs repair my tube-driven guitar amps, so I learned how to do it myself, and got good enough at restoring/rebuilding amps that pros and music stores were coming to me for help. The trick is to learn how the sub-circuits of each amp type work, and how you can tune them to meet the expectations of the musicians. I find myself drawn to underpowered rectifier circuits that sag when you hit the amp with a hard signal and then bloom as the note decays. My favorite amp ever was a clone of a Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 that I built. I never should have sold it.
 
  • #44
Another related hobby - you can buy aluminum chassis-stock and tag-board, design and punch your own eyelet-punched circuit boards and build simple single-ended stereo power amplifiers. Let the stereo nuts supply their own pre-amps, and sell them simple high-quality tube driven power amps. I would suggest 6V6 output tubes, since you should be able to push at least 5 watts per channel at full chat, and still keep down component costs.
 
  • #45
turbo-1 said:
Another related hobby - you can buy aluminum chassis-stock and tag-board, design and punch your own eyelet-punched circuit boards and build simple single-ended stereo power amplifiers. Let the stereo nuts supply their own pre-amps, and sell them simple high-quality tube driven power amps. I would suggest 6V6 output tubes, since you should be able to push at least 5 watts per channel at full chat, and still keep down component costs.

are those common tubes in amps?---I have an old Silvertone with those
 
  • #46
US amps commonly used 6V6 tubes early on, even in car radios. Later, the higher powered 6L6 tubes became the standard in guitar amps. I have a soft spot for the 6V6s and have two Fender Vibro-Champs - little single-ended amps that put out less than 5 watts each and sound like heaven. If anybody is paying attention to this part of the thread, please listen to the Derek and the Dominos studio album. Both Dwayne Allman and Eric Clapton were playing through miked Fender Champs. In order for the guitarists to hear themselves in the studio environment, the amps were set at ear-level - on top of an upright piano. Listen to Derek and the Dominos. Those little amps sound HUGE.
 
  • #47
Evo said:
I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?


While out looking for Some of MoonBs lost sheep you accidently fall down the only ravine for miles around, MoonB get worried you are taking so long and goes looking for you, she finds you at the bottom of the ravine with a head wound.
A tornado has wiped out the only bridge to MoonBs place and has also taken down the phone lines, so MoonB must (operate) on your injury.
All goes well unill the camera picks up on your right eye twitching------------------------.
 
  • #48
If Evo bites people, will they become hopelessly accident-prone? I see a pretty good Zombie theme there.
 
  • #49
turbo-1 said:
Woolie, are you any good at electronics? Years back (MANY years back) I found out that I was unwilling to pay tons of money to have techs repair my tube-driven guitar amps, so I learned how to do it myself, and got good enough at restoring/rebuilding amps that pros and music stores were coming to me for help. The trick is to learn how the sub-circuits of each amp type work, and how you can tune them to meet the expectations of the musicians. I find myself drawn to underpowered rectifier circuits that sag when you hit the amp with a hard signal and then bloom as the note decays. My favorite amp ever was a clone of a Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 that I built. I never should have sold it.

I can fix most things, i have this vague idea for new type of musical instrument, i am not really interested in selling stuff thanks for the idea though.
I think the first thing i have to do is build a high quality tone generator, would 0 to 15,000Hz
cover most notes?
 
  • #50
Evo said:
I'm available. Can I be one of the undead?

Sure. I'm only 1/2 necrophile, so an undead is pretty attractive...

Wesleytf said:
I wanted to show you what a reef tank really looks like...

Hmmm... I was expecting to see a bunch of joints with snorkels...
 
  • #51
BEAM robotics is electronic and mechanical (Biology Electronics Aesthetics Mechanics), as well as cheap and fun...
 
  • #52
turbo-1 said:
If Evo bites people, will they become hopelessly accident-prone? I see a pretty good Zombie theme there.


I was going to call my movie (The silence of the rams).
 
  • #53
wolram said:
I was going to call my movie (The silence of the rams).
Entrails in or entrails out?
 
  • #54
Woolie... Turbo... will you guys please stop? I'm herniating here!

Hey, wait a sec... I've already had both hernias repaired...

Anyhow, whatever the hell you're smoking is causing distress in my groinal region, so quit already!
 
  • #55
Danger said:
Woolie... Turbo... will you guys please stop? I'm herniating here!

Hey, wait a sec... I've already had both hernias repaired...

Anyhow, whatever the hell you're smoking is causing distress in my groinal region, so quit already!

I think they've been dipping into the reef tank!
 
  • #56
So I guess the question is: are they hyperventelated on pure oxygen, or are they delusional due to hypoxia? :confused:
 
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  • #57
lisab, if you can follow us, you're in the flow... what's in your wallet?
 
  • #58
wolram said:
I can fix most things, i have this vague idea for new type of musical instrument, i am not really interested in selling stuff thanks for the idea though.
I think the first thing i have to do is build a high quality tone generator, would 0 to 15,000Hz
cover most notes?

maybe you can incorporate some of Moonbear's old electrodes into it---AND make your movie at the same time using it to control the zombies --oooh, I mean Evo and MB
 
  • #59
lisab said:
I think they've been dipping into the reef tank!

More like the reefer tank. :rolleyes: :smile:
 
  • #60
rewebster said:
maybe you can incorporate some of Moonbear's old electrodes into it

Just in case this suggestion involves the 'electro-ejaculator', I'm going home now...
 

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