I made a big insight (for me) for me just a few days ago.
>> the hobbies that had stuck with me are the ones that had a community! <<
Call me slow or what have you but for some reason I had looked at hobbies as
the thing I did for myself, you know my me-time. Something that I didn't shared
with my wife or others because they just don't understand. You know the image,
Frank Underwood lonely painting trees on a miniature tabletop war thing (Idk
the name of that). It might also be the lonely hacker, writing scripts and breaking
into systems and creating mayhem (Mr. Robot?) or the coin collector, or whatever...
But in most of those scenarios there is a community around that activity! A hacker is
definitively not alone, he has some motivations that have very much to do with how
he is perceived by those around him, let it be as an activist with strong convictions,
a rebel, or the one that was able to do X thing. What's the darkweb for if not, among
other things, to brag anonymously? You'd think that if somebody wants to be anonymous
they would just hide but no, they just get a hidden identity, a weird name, but are
still part of a community.
About the coin collector... I bet you'd be hard press to find one that wouldn't jump
to the opportunity of telling and showing you ALL of his collection!
In the short three decades that I've existed I've gone through quite a few hobbies, and
sadly none of them cheap! I was into cycling, music production, RC Helis, Gaming,
Electronics Design (Analog, Digital, Microcontrollers, FPGA, etc.) and from all of those
I have books and equipment and tools and instruments... but just a few bring me the joy
that they once did. And I didn't know why, until a few days ago!
I enjoyed RC Helis when I had an active club near me and I was building stuff and sharing
it a few times a week! Once I moved and lost the community my RC stuff is taking dust.
With cycling the same, I had clubs, knew people that I'd just meet on the street, friends
that introduced me to the hobby in the first place... but after moving to a different place
where very few people around me (if any) were into cycling, that passion also died away.
My family and wife used to call those things "one of your phases" which honestly troubled
me. Am I just a thrill seeker incapable of sticking to anything? How could I know what was
a phase and what had more substance to it?
And then it hit me! I have looked into ham radio before, you know, the thing that people
use expensive stuff to show off and talk to other people about who knows what. Anyways,
lately I decided to take a second look and went to ##hamradio @ freenode and started to
talk with people there... long story short, I'm getting my license!
Same thing with gopher and SDF. Not only is it cool to do computing like it was the 90's
but hanging out with people doing the same is what makes it better! bboard and com for
the win!
Maybe other people have hobbies that they enjoy by themselves without anybody ever
knowing about it, but as for me, I'm happy to have (I think) cracked the code as to
what is a phase and what has the chance of lasting longer and bring the expected
benefits of a hobby one's passionate about!
Wanna share some of your hobbies or just anything?
shot me a note in sdf or email at benj AT sdf DOT org
