Can you give me some tips about your niche hobby?
Can you give me some tips about your niche hobby?
Maybe something you learned the hard way, or something you found out right before making a huge mistake.
E.g., for audiophiles: don't buy subwoofers from speaker companies, and don't buy speakers from subwoofer companies.
When you start crochet, nobody tells where every loop ends up in: Every loop basically counts as a single line segment, and you just draw a grid out of them. The thing about grids is there is the 'fencepost error'.
What people should know from the start is that if you make a 10x10 grid, you generally start going from bottom left to right, pulling 10 loops horizontally, then 1 up, then 1 back to the left. People just say "chain 12" though, which is confusing to noobs. From there on out you stop doing chains, and do crochets, which means inserting the hook wherever you want to draw lines from and alternating between adding horizontal and vertical line segments. When you stretch a crocheted fabric, each crochet can move yarn from the horizontal loop to the vertical one or back, to stretch one way and shrink the other. But the foundation chain was made with subsequent horizontal bits and will not stretch! (and chainless foundation rows exist but are not even mentioned to noobs)
So beginners will be confused by the fencepost error which requires mixing in the occasional 'chain' at the end of rows of 'crochets'. Since you pull new loops out of identical looking crochets 90% of the time, but then have to deal with different looking ones on the edge its easy to mistake a vertical bit for horizontal or vice versa and accidentally increase or decrease unintentionally.
So many ruined projects and people giving up on the hobby just cause everybody is making tutorials and nobody is explaining the logic.
EDIT: I added a few things.. can anyone tell I have ADHD yet?
When keeping a plant alive, you need to look up how it likes to be in the wild, and try to EMULATE that best you can. Monstera deliciosa has root rot? Well in the wild their roots are very compacted, maybe that gallon sized pot needs to be downsized. They also grow on trees, give it some support, etc
Cast iron cookware: when seasoning the item you need to apply the thinnest layer of oil possible. It should look almost like you’re trying to wipe the oil away or clean it.
PC building: your local electronics recycler is an amazing place to get simple fundamental equipment. You won’t find a 5090 in the bin, but you’ll find cheap ram, any cable you need is 1$, hell, my NAS is a 22tb (after redundancy) raid array where I paid 7$ for each 2tb drive. Sure, it’s slower and clicks like hell sometimes, but it’s in a closet, and I can lose a few drives before I lose my data.
Car/motorcycle repairs: your local chain auto shop probably loans/rents specialty tools. (This is pretty well known but still) need a tool to compress your brake cylinders when changing pads? It’ll cost 10$ rather than like 80$.
Gardening: mulch. In my area the sun is an absolute killer in the day while I’m working, so laying mulch over the soil keeps it from drying as fast
Cooking: following recipes isn’t that hard for most things, the way you know that you’ve really leveled up is when you start to realize how certain flavors and textures interact, and come up with something new or, more often, start modifying and improving recipes
Terrariums: the most crucial aspect is the amount of water. It will easily make or break (or kill) your plants and design. A good drainage layer, followed by chunkyish soil, and a layer of peat moss is the way to go most times. Also, BUGS. springtails and isopods are a learning curve but are an insanely helpful group of fellas.
OK, so clearly you’re seeing into my mind with the Monstera plant. That’s not fair and please help me save it.
First rule of tape recording: don't do it.
Second rule: it's super damn fun so do it (and spend a lot of money)
I am really into tape recording and budget audiophile listening. Mostly all reel to reel, cassette is pretty crap tbh. I have 6 machines now. Something is so fun about the physicality of audio on tape that cannot exist anywhere else at that point unless you manually copy it.
Keep in mind this is for tape machines we can actually afford. Not 10,000 dollar Studers.
I always recommend starting with a used machine that's been taken care of and fix it as you go. If you start with a broken one you may never get to have fun with it if you can't fix it.
Kept note I mostly stick with 1/4" width tale machines as they are the most prevalent and affordable. Tape also a lot cheaper than 1/2 or especially 1" (studio quality, $400 per reel).
Brands to look for in my favorite order:
Otari Revox Akai TEAC/Tascam Sony (some bad, some good) Pioneer
learn the formats There are many different machine formats. The most common is 1/4" quarter track meaning 2 tracks, backwards and forward. Higher spec machines can do true 4 track forward only, or half track forward only (best quality). Pre recorded tapes need to be played on the machine fornat they are made for. Any 1/4" blank tape works on any machine.
Stay away from: Single motor units Units that have head wear (heads are not being made now. They can be refinished however if wear isn't too high) Units that the owner knows nothing about Most Dokorder Most fostex Some sony
Look for: Knowledgeable owner Clean heads 3 motor Units Units with small defects that are probably user error (I see a lot of "wont play but will rewind" which is usually the tape being threaded improperly and not tripping the auto stop switch. )
Find a knowledgeable helper. That can be me if anyone ever wants to reach out.
Tape: i would not recommend buying used. You never know how it was stored.
Capture is a good new cheap brand of tape.
Don't use ATR tape until you're experienced and have a semi pro machine.You'll definitely want a mixer with your tape machine. Any 12 channel or so mixer is fine but I prefer Allen Heath for quality and price. The GL series is excellent.
I'm mostly referring here to recording and playing your own tapes. For listening to prerecorded tapes, I'll say it's very small market and you can only get new recordings for the most part on half track 15 inch per second tapes.
Hiking/backpacking (not exactly niche?)
- Don't buy a ton of stuff for day hikes. You need less than you think. If you carry enough for an overnight there is a good chance you'll be so slowed down that you'll end up staying overnight.
- Carry the ten essentials. GPS' run out of battery and you can end up in areas without satellite reception. Always have a compass and paper map and visualize your route before going if you are backpacking in deep. Be aware where roads and bailouts are relative to your route.
- Occasionally look behind you to get an idea of what the route back will look like if you'll be returning the same way.
- If it doesn't look like a trail, stop, you need to backtrack to the last sure spot. Don't plow ahead blindly thinking it will resolve itself.
- Winter hiking means less daylight and more stuff (slower). Plan accordingly.
- "Mountains generate their own weather". Bring some light raingear and insulation even if it is warm at the trailhead. I've started in 80+ temps and gotten snow near summits.
- Carry hiking poles. They are invaluable for things like stream crossings. They saved me from breaking a leg stepping down boulders once.
- If the trail is blazed and you can't see them look up and behind you for them, sometimes they are painted high up for snowpack.
- Carry traction (ice creepers) if going up into the mountains in spring/fall. Early/late snow and ice is common. In winter bring crampons.
- Always check the weather, especially for mountain hikes. Be ready to turn back or change your plans if the weather looks sketchy. Don't get "summit fever" just because you made a special trip.
- If you are shopping for gear spend the most on boots. They will be the major deciding factor in how comfortable your hiking is. Make sure to break them in before a trip. I've been on a multiday mountain trip where a guy had brand new boots and his feet were bleeding by day 3.
- If winter hiking and there is a snow pack wear gaiters (or built in ones). Snow in boots = cold/wet feet = frostbite. I've seen too many people have to turn around because their boots were getting packed with snow and they were suffering.
On 11, I'd say you also need to decide if the type of terrain you are going on really even calls for boots. Plenty of people do long trips in trail running shoes, which is usually my preference on decent trails, but on really rugged backcountry (or snowy/mountaineering) conditions, you need boots.
Also, to an extent, you don't really break boots in as much as you break your feet into the boots, so a pair you wore all summer last year and set down for 8 months could probably still use a little ramp up to a long trip.
On 12, I'd say gaiters are really nice even if you aren't in snowy or wet conditions. I wear them even when it's nice so I can keep rocks, dust, etc out of my shoes.
- Yah, "shoes/boots" would be better. On rough trails I also prefer boots because otherwise you will feel every rock through the bottom and your ankles are more vulnerable to being rolled.
Stopping down doesn't always give you sharper images. You may run into diffraction softening.
Focusing and then stopping down may shift your focal plane. Try to focus at your chosen aperture.
Try to use the electronic shutter function for astro photography. Even the shutter moving across the sensor can cause vibrations.
The 500 rule is useful for astro, but with modern higher resolution sensors, the NPF rule is better suited.
Not getting amazing astro shots? You may need to modify or buy a camera that is sensitive to Hα (Hydrogen-alpha) removing the infrared/IR filter off your camera will allow you to shoot full spectrum. Although you will need something to only allow 450 to 520nm and from 640 to 690nm into your sensor.
Sensors will always have dead or stuck pixels. You can take 10-20 black frames to try to help your image processor find and erase them.
Optical vignetting is common when you shoot wide open. Stop down 2-3 stops from your max aperture to try and remove the effect.
Shooting expired film is fine, just make sure you over expose 1 stop per decade it's expired. So a 20 year old film, shoot 2 stops over exposed.
To add to the film thing: if travelling with film, keep it in carry-on bags and ask for hand checks. Film gets exposed by the radiation from machines at checkpoints; the higher the ASA, the more it'll get ruined. 400+ will for sure be destroyed by a scan or two.
I ruined 4 rolls of the best street photography I've ever done from a trip to chicago because I didn't know about it.
One of the biggest things that most amateur filmmakers or video makers make is not getting sufficient tone.
Before shooting, record a fairly long stretch of just the ambient sound in the area where you're filming so that when you are editing, it can be laid under the audio tracks and help to smooth out the jumps in audio from different clips.
This makes a lot of sense and I wouldn’t have thought about it.
Could you offer any tips about recording ambient tone? Just like some omnidirectional mics in the space for 5-10 minutes? Or just the same mics you use for performers or the field recording (eg shotgun mics)?
I've always just used the same ones that I use for performers because I'm poor.
If possible, make sure there's no recognizable voices or anything like that because the tone will be repeated through the scene, so any voices are going to repeat as well. So when you're doing it, tell your actors/crew to be quiet.
A stronger spring isnt always the answer for your foam blasters to hit harder. Sometimes you can get away with adding a spacer or, depending on the blaster, increasing the length of your barrel. If you go the spacer route, don't leave it in permanently or you could warp your spring.
Language learning: I tricked myself into building a daily flashcard study habit by using gambling as an incentive. I bought a box of Magic the Gathering packs and allowed myself to open one a day only after I had finished my daily flashcard study. According to Atomic Habits it takes roughly 50 days for a habit to be set in stone as part of your daily routine. A full box of Magic packs took me to day 36. Feels like a bit of an unethical life pro-tip, but once you're over that hump of forming the daily habit it becomes a lot easier, so find a way to hack your brain and make it feel rewarding until it becomes automatic.
Closest I got to a hobby is reading a shit ton of books. Highly recommend listening to an audiobook while you read a physical copy, cannot stress enough how much this helps me focus.
I tried this on the train while commuting a few times and one time I missed my stop and had to take another train back because I was hyperfocused in the story lol. If I do this I must boost the speed on the audiobook quite a bit so it matches my reading speed, otherwise I get impatient waiting for the audio to catch up. If I listen to only audio I mostly listen to normal speed to not miss stuff though
I do both reading and listening here and there but never thought to combine the two. Will give it a shot
Protection goggles when removing supports from your resin 3D prints. ALWAYS
Personal Protective Equipment is super important for many activities and are neglected far too often.
If you burry a fresh carcass, you need to put big stones on the grave or something will dig it up.
It's funnier without context.
Hobby: Chess
Tips: Ill state a few mistakes here that I see beginners do a lot (mistakes that I also made as a beginner and had to learn to not do and why not to do them).
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Don’t give check just because you can give check. Beginners love to just check you with zero follow up. Its like it creates a sense of purpose for their moves but without a proper follow up it is a waste of a move.
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Consider the fact that I can make moves and formulate my own plans. Half the game is what you play and the other half is what your opponent plays. If you only consider your moves/plans, I, and any chess player beyond a beginner, will easily beat you.
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Every move has a purpose. If you make a move and I ask you why you made that move and you cannot provide a reasonable reason, then you either wasted a move or got lucky and just happened to guess a good move.
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Dont try to learn opening theory as a beginner. You should learn the three main opening principiles (develop you pieces, get your king to safety, and control the center of the board) and some very common lines to play but after that you should move on to the middle game and end game. Revisit opening theory once you understand the game at a deeper level. It will make it easier for you.
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You paid money and spent time travelling to tournament. You have over an hour on the clock and you oppenent just made a move. Stop and think for a moment. Dont rush your moves and try to play instantly all the time. You waste time, money, and the day since you played like shit (whats the point?).
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(Last) Do NOT have an ego or underestimate your opponent. Especially of they are a little kid. There are two types of kid chess players: the ones who learned how to play 5 minutes ago and the ones that humble you. Very little in between there. There are two types of (non-kid) chess players: those who think a 10yr old kid by default sucks at chess, and those who have played enough kids to realize what the fuck is up. It is funny to watch the former turn into the ladder. Those kids at tournaments are such wild cards
Do you have any good learning resources for number 4?
That depends on exactly what you are looking for and what level of play you are at. A general source that I do like for these sorts of topics is Chess-Networks series “Beginner to Chess Master”. I think its well put together and easy to understand/digest for beginners. Its free (youtube) which is also nice. Of course you can find many more like these on youtube. I just like Chess-Network for this type of series a lot.
If you want to get into openings I recommend getting a set of openings for yourself for white and black.
White: 1. d4 and then London System is easy to play and works most times to get a good setup. Super easy way to have you prepared almost 50% of the time. I personally don't play it though, I'm an 1. e4 player.
Black:
Don't start with Sicialian. It's good but it'll take a long time to learn enough lines to handle whatever the opponent throws at you since they almost decide which variation you play.
Against 1. d4... King's Indian defence allows you a straight forward path to casting and develop 2 pieces. Then strike in the center. For a more spicy option there's the Benoni which has traps for people who blindly go London System.
Against 1. e4... French defence is pretty straight forward since you end up doing the same stuff every game. Attack the pawn on d4. You could also go for 1. ... e5 but since it's the most common move you can get opening knowledge advantage way faster by playing French or Scandinavian. You'll have to know both if you decide to play 1. e4 at some point and play Italian or Ruy Lopez which IMO are more fun to play.
After learning the main move order for the first 4 or 5 moves then watch some videos on each of your defence. Remote chess academy is a very fun channel on YouTube for learning openings.
Good at tactics?
Try some gambits. You sacrifice a pawn and come out guns blazing. If people don't know the gambit you're playing they'll have to spend a lot of time calculating. You force them to thread the needle or at the minimum lose a piece.
If you want to know how it looks like check out some games with Paul Morphy. He's winning against players that would 2200+ FIDE rating with the King's gambit. That opening develops wicked fast but has the King naked.
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My niche hobby was late night coming home drunk pizza baking.
While resting the dough is a normal part of the process, falling asleep is not good.So now I just need to let the dough rest... rest... zzzzzZ
Boardgames
Its easier to make gamers into friends than it is to make friends into gamers
If you have to use more than 3 adapters, stop and reevaluate what you're doing.
Why wouldn't you buy a sub from a speaker company? Here's one for audiophiles: if you want real good sound look at studio equipment rather than expensive hifi stuff. A high end studio interface plus a pair of full range studio monitors will sound more accurate than any hifi setup.
And another one: listening experience is 95% acoustics. Don't bother with speakers above say 2k if you're not willing to invest money and space into proper acoustic treatment.
First, I agree with your comment about the room. It's the most important part of how good a system sounds, neck and neck with speakers.
Second, while I don't have a wide variety of experience with studio gear or a variety of audiophile speakers I can say this: I have been a Magnepan guy for decades and currently have the 1.7i's. But I recently got some Yamaha HS7s for my computer and I have really been enjoying them.
Maggies are legendary for how well they reproduce female vocals (and they deserve that reputation) but I was listening to Cowboy Junkies this morning and just really enjoyed how Margo Timmins voice sounded as well as the imaging (and they aren't set up really well for imaging given I have three monitors on my desk).
So, yeah, try studio monitors if you are looking for powered speakers.
I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, but I lean more in that direction than the average. I've had the pleasure of working in a sound studio, and as such I learned to appreciate the quality that comes with the gear.
In general, professional hardware is miles beyond consumer hardware. And enthusiast hardware is more akin to consumer hardware with extra fluff.
Subwoofers are an afterthought for the industry.
Buying a cheap 2nd hand E-bike (right now) means the same as buying any other broken bike: You need to know how to switch a chain and adjust brakes. The electronics themselves however are surprisingly resilient.
Don't split the party
Hobbyist race car builder/mechanic, sometimes you need cheap tools to break, bend, grind or cut to do one job.
I have a spanner that has been lovingly butchered to remove one sensor on a steering rack on one model of car. Its a common failure point and replacing it either means custom specialty tool or complete steering rack removal and wheel allignment.
Woodworking
Measure twice cut once is rookie numbers. Measure 10 times, cut a test piece 5 times, measure twice after each, then do your real cut.
This is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.
Also, measure after each operation to check your work as you go so you can spot mistakes as early as possible. This includes checking for square, doing test fits, and all manner of sanity checks to ensure that your operations are achieving the desired results before you repeat them on other pieces or move on to do more work on those same pieces that may already be ruined or need fixing.
For glue up, always always always dry fit first. Then plan ahead. Put all your clamps on and have them adjusted before you add glue. Once the glue is on the time is short and you need to have everything ready and waiting.
If you use a table saw, take it seriously. Always use your riving knife when possible, be mindful of the control you have over the pieces, use push sticks and sleds and jigs to improve stability and safety, always wear ppe. Check that your blade is aligned to your miter slots and your fence. Having a slight relief angle on your fence can be good, but never have it canted towards the blade. That can be dangerous. Also make a crosscut sled, they’re amazing.
Beware of dust. It causes cancer and it lingers in the air. Wear a respirator and use ventilation when possible.
Make or buy a workbench with a vise and some hold down capabilities. Being able to hold your work easily is a huge benefit.
If you are looking to improve your accuracy and precision, buy a nice hand plane and learn how set it up, sharpen it, and how to use it. They are absolute game changers. Also make or buy a shooting board for it. Also, buy a machinist’s square, a set of feeler gauges, and a nice 36in aluminum straight edge and learn to use them.
Etc
Obviously that’s a lot, and a lot of it it depends on what you’re actually trying to do, but those are all things that have helped me a lot in my journey towards making furniture, picture frames, cutting boards, etc
Another woodworker:
Huge +1 for a bench plane and a shooting board. Even in a mainly power tool shop, you can make things much more precisely square or mitered if you shoot them.
For marking cuts, use a knife not a pencil. When you use a pencil to mark your cuts, you limit yourself to guiding your tools with only your vision, not unlike a Tesla. When you score the line with a knife, you create a reference surface (one of the two sides of the cut, hopefully the one against your square) that has no thickness, and you can feel when a knife or chisel clicks against that surface. For saw cuts, you can use a chisel to pare away a little bit from the waste side to form a knife wall, which forms a little ramp that will guide a saw against your reference surface.
Wax literally everything. Wax your work surfaces, tablesaw top, jointer beds, planer bed, fences, plane soles, bikini lines, saw plates, screw threads...wax literally everything.
Learn how to do most common operations by hand. Square some rough lumber by hand with a bench plane. Chop a mortise with a chisel. Cut a tenon with a backsaw. Make dovetails by hand. Even if you're a power tool woodworker and you've got a jointer and a thickness planer and a table saw and a rapidly growing number of routers, knowing how to do things by hand will help you understand just what it is you're doing.
Do not suffer a dull tool to live. If your tool is getting dull, sharpen it. Sharpening is kinda personal, I think if cilantro tastes like soap to you you'll prefer oilstones, if you have that tendon in your wrist you'll like waterstones, if you can roll your tongue you'll prefer diamond plates and if you have more money than god you'll buy a Tormach. They'll all sharpen a blade. Find the system you like and use it. If your tool is dull, sharpen it. Put it away sharp, don't put it away dull.
Use your ears. You can tell a lot about what's going on with a tool by listening to it.
If you use a table saw, take it seriously.
I'd like to add: don't wear gloves, especially ones that are a little to big for your hands.
I was going to add to tablesaw too. Safety is like security: use layers. Machines have switches and their own safeties. But you know what's better? Put that behind another switch. And unplug it when you leave the room. You shouldn't be able to turn it on until you are ready to use it. Again like security, it always pays to be a little paranoid
My original plan was to ask for top 5 tips, so you went ways above the brief after you read my mind.
Lol, yeah I got a bit carried away there.
I've found this to hold true in almost every hobby I have but particularly in technology, engineering and music playing/making: avoid hitching your wagon to one approach. It's easy to get trapped under a pile of 'musts' when trying to do anything that you are skilled in, but that's also the worst environment for innovation; and almost every innovation in your hobby of choice was borne from people pushing boundaries, not forcing themselves to fit within them.
As someone who enjoys growing and studying about many many different kinds of carnivorous plants, don't worry too much about feeding them, instead make sure you get them enough lighting and good water supply through good quality substrate (not something that's been decomposing for 3+ years and turning into mulch) with adequate aeration. The need for metabolic energy always comes first before nutrition (which is what these plants get from eating meat), same concept to how not having access to oxygen to breath is a lot more dangerous to a human or animal than being malnourished.
Happy growing! :D
If you have to count beats in your head, you're already failing as a DJ. Knowing when to drop the next tune should come naturally.
Read some music theory if you have to, and definitely spend time listening more closely to your tunes. Try to think about how your music is structured as you're listening to it. Identify the intro, chorus, verses, bridge(s), etc.
With enough critical listening (and practice on the decks), you'll no longer have to count beats to know where you are in the song and when to start the mix. It'll eventually become second nature for you.
I got seriously into speed cubing about a year ago. I don't even know where to begin giving tips. There's so much to learn. 🙈
At least I've reached my goal for 2025 and am now averaging around 30-35 seconds. I was at about 3 minutes when I was using the beginner's method. Now using CFOP.
Need to learn more OLL algorithms though.
I regret not just learning CFOP back when I was younger, I wanted to get below 1 minute with the beginner method first for some reason and the combination of my skills and current cube tech were never quite there. 15 odd years later I can do sub 50 with beginner method, but don't have the motivation to learn CFOP (or I probably do, I don't have the motivation to make my cross good enough). Moral of the story, learn CFOP when you feel yourself hitting a wall with the beginner method.
I definitely hit a wall with my magnet-less cube trying to get sub-minute using beginner's. It was just not going to happen.
Now I'm like 13 different cubes in and I got a flagship cube from Moyu which has helped me get these sub-half-minute times. The GAN 14 Pro was also quite instrumental.
But yeah, CFOP is a must if you want to get good times with reasonable ease (i.e. not brute forcing it using beginner's).
I recommend practicing one thing at a time in order to get good at it. E.g. your cross. Sit and watch/listen to some YouTube or podcasts or something and just do white crosses for like 30 minutes at a time. You will improve very quickly, I promise. Use the fact that a cross is achievable in 8 moves or less from any scramble as a bar from which you can gauge your performance, and count the moves you make. Focus on different aspects at a time: number of moves until finished cross but take your time both with inspection and turning, only move efficiency; then try to do the cross faster but still unlimited inspection time; then finally limit your inspection time as well (if you care about competition rules).
Focusing on different things like this really helps. Same with the CFOP method. If you want to learn it, you'll want to focus on the muscle memory of one algorithm at a time. Really grinding it until you feel like you know it. After that, try to use it in a solve. Next session, you will have forgotten it again, so repeat a little bit and refresh that muscle memory until it sticks after a while.
Also these things need to be kept fresh. Your hands will forget algs unless they continue to use them.
It's a lot of work but a lot of fun if you enjoy improving. Nothing beats that feeling of setting a new personal best.
PS: I'm 38 now, and I started less than a year ago. It's never too late IMO.
Servers: it doesn't have to be built for the purpose. In a pinch, any PC will do.
Chess: Fried liver attack doesn't work above 700 ELO and is easily countered with a possibility for a smothered mate.
Guitar: Playing 5 minutes every day is better than playing an hour once a week.
These are great and the guitar one is relevant to me right now. Thanks for answering!
There's two types of costume contests, cosplay contests that break things down by experience, and random Halloween contests that are basically reenactments of popularity contests in high school.
The former you're gonna enter as a journeyman unless you built something so outrageous they gotta up the difficulty level. Make sure you have a TON of documentation and pics and explanations on how you did things. The judges are gonna wanna know how hard you worked on things and the amount of detail you put into it. If you spent 8 hours on the gold colored filigree on your bracers you damn well better mention it Typically unless you're doing best performance, you get three poses and you're off the stage. By the time you hit the stage the judges typically made their decisions so play to the crowd and do what looks good on film. If you are going for best performance, don't feel pressured to use your full five minutes, or however long they give. Waaay to many people overstay their welcome, you wanna leave the people wanting more, not less. Hit your points, your high note, and if you're still only halfway through your time, whatever. You're not disqualified if you don't use your time completely, and people will greatly appreciate someone moving the schedule faster than usual.
For the latter Halloween costume contests, effort means NOTHING. You could've thrown the damn thing together in five minutes and win, and if you spend 16 hours on it it will not improve your chances. The venue is looking for costumes that look great on the social media, is a character they love, makes them laugh, blows their mind, causes the venue to cheer, and (this is the most important bit) appears in front of whoever the hell is judging the competition. It's 1 to 3 people who pick on the previously mentioned criteria. Each judge is gonna be a little different. Some judges listen to the crowd, some judges love horror films so every slasher villain goes on stage, some judges do NOT know what the hell a star wars is. The one thing that all judges have in common though, is that they exist in a 3 dimensional space and only have eyes in front of their head. If you're a wall flower that doesn't interact with people, you will not win the contest unless the judge is also sharing your wall. Build a dance circle, tip the bartender to figure out who's judging tonight (they may or may not know) but if you wanna win, physics dictates that you appear in front of a judge as they wander the venue. That is more important than your costume.
Foraging! Don't eat things unless you are 100% sure.
If it has gills, flaky skin, and bleeds blue, then put down the knife and walk away - you've just killed a member of the scottish nobility
Well then
Or you could be in Arkham.
I'd say consider where things are growing, too. If you are foraging near roadsides, pipelines, powerlines, houses, or old dump sites, there are things to consider. If you are in somewhere like Appalachia, it's shocking how common "artisanal " mining sites are when you can recognize them.
Herbicides are often used to keep growth down in those places.
Old houses often have lead paint falling into soil, and leaded gas polluted a lot of roadsides. You don't want to eat roots/tubers or low growing leafy veggies in those places. Luckily, plants apparently don't accumulate lead.
Mushrooms
I read they think the guy in "Into the Wild" died because he was eating a plant that interfered with vitamin absorption.
There's been a lot of back and forth on that. At this point, it's probably not possible to prove, but it seems like he was eating something that wouldn't be harmful as part of a normal diet, but was harmful to him as a large part of his diet while he was already malnourished.
Get a heart rate sensor (wrist or chest) and train by heart rate. Most of your cardio should be heart rate zone 2 on the 5 zone scale. This builds your aerobic capacity with minimal damage and can be done almost indefinitely. Harder efforts do more damage and add recovery time so should be limited to about two a week.
If you’re going slow you’re doing it right, it will suck less, and you’re more likely to continue. Your slow speed will get faster over time.
Generally agree, but the breakdown should be 80/20, 80% easy and 20% hard. It'll be real difficult to get faster without the 20% hard.
How do I work out my personal heart rate zone boundaries?
There are a few levels of accuracy. Simplest is just using your max heart rate according to the equation (or trying to actually see how high you can get your heart rate), and basing percentages off of that.
Slightly better than that, most heart rate monitors/apps have some analytics built in that can factor in stuff like speed to approximate metabolic cost, and predict your lactate threshold. That's the heart rate that corresponds to the workload at which your body can't keep up with processing lactic acid (a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism). It's an important threshold cause you want some of your workouts to be definitely below that limit, and some to be definitely above.
There are ways to actually test that limit, often involving finger pricks to get blood samples while running on a treadmill.
The most accurate way (and what elite athletes will do), is a full metabolic test involving running on a treadmill with a heart rate monitor and a mask to measure oxygen consumption/co2 expiration.
For most people who just want to be healthy, and maybe get a little faster, it's not that important to be super accurate. The main thing is that in order to improve cardiovascularly, you basically need to activate the signaling pathways in your body that signify that you can't take in and process as much oxygen as you'd like to be able to. That involves high intensity work that is really hard on your body (muscles, joints, cardiovascular system) and it can take a few days to recover.
If you do most of your work in that low intensity zone, you give your body time to recover from high intensity while keeping overall volume up.
If you try to go too hard every time, you never recover, and never adapt.
Many apps will estimate them for you. The general formula for max heart rate is 220-age (if you’re 30, your max is probably around 190 bpm).
From there, the zones are usually calculated as % of max HR. Zone 5 is 90-100, 4 is 80-90, 3 is 70-80, 2 is 60-70, 1 is 50-60.
For our 30yo above, zone 2 would be around 114-133 bpm. That will feel super slow but that is the point, this is something you could do for a while and it should account for about 80% of your total exercise time in a week.
Edit: if you determine through training that your max is different, adjust it accordingly.
For camping, in cold weather switching from being active to resting can be miserably cold. To combat this you can fill a heat tolerant water bottle with some boiled water, wrap it in a shirt or sweater to prevent burning, and put it into your sleeping bag to warm it up quickly. You can also sort of do the reverse for when you wake up. You can put your clothes for the next day in a small bag and sleep with them in your sleeping bag. That way they won't be frigid when you're trying to dress.
Better yet understand that none of your gear makes heat, you do. Think of your sleeping bag and clothes as batteries that need to be recharged periodically and your body is a generator. When you shiver that is your body trying to burn calories to produce heat. You can stay much warmer by keeping busy and moving around than you will by standing around a fire. When you wake up cold in the middle of the night, move your legs like you're riding a bicycle while laying on your side. It won't take long to warm up. Also keep an isolating layer between you and the ground like a foam sleeping pad. It also works for when standing on frozen ground.
There's also the somewhat counterintuitive idea of "be bold; start cold". Basically, once you get hiking, you'll get a lot warmer, so you might as well start a little chilly and save yourself getting sweaty 20 minutes in and having to take off a layer.
I used to drag my clothes into bed with me in winter when I was a kid. No central heating, no double glazing, no insulation, no carpets. Might as well have been living in a tent.
To combat this you can fill a heat tolerant water bottle with some boiled water, wrap it in a shirt or sweater to prevent burning, and put it into your sleeping bag to warm it up quickly.
The first time I did this I ended up so hot that I had to take it out. Its a wonderful trick and I have woken up spooning the cool water bottle in the morning
I have an old school got water bottle that I use like this... In my house.
Code golf:
If you think there is no way
evalcan save bytes, there isAncient coins (2000-1700 years old) are surprisingly common and can be had very cheaply unless you want a specifically rare or perfect one.
I went through most of my life believing that anything older than say 200 years was automatically a museum piece or equivalent. But most museums of ancient history who display ancient coins have multitudes of the displayed coins sitting in storage. The Romans alone minted BILLIONS of coins over the span of the Republic and the Empire (that's over 1000 years of history!) and if even 1% of them survive today, that's still many, many dozens of millions.
Also America's definition of old and Europe definition of old are very different. My family in England live in a house that's older than America and not by a little.
Cool!!!!
Being a DM is not about telling YOUR story, it's about coming together with your players to create a story. So even if you are going off a pre-written campaign or story you created, you are incharge of the story. Let the rule of fun reign. If a battle is taking forever you can cut down the number of enemies or the enemy's abilities. Your in charge and if done right your players don't even know.
Thanks to the internet you also don't even need much. Get your hands on a core book and a dice set used by all is all that you need to play. Sure maps and miniatures are fun but some systems don't need them, some players are perfectly fine with the theatre of the mind play, or some small toys on a self drawn grid on sheet paper can work.
Sure maps and miniatures are fun but some systems don't need them, some players are perfectly fine with the theatre of the mind play, or some small toys on a self drawn grid on sheet paper can work.
Some big streamers have done massive damage to she hobby by bringing the image that map and miniatures are necessary, and not at best a nice to have, at worst a distraction.
Sure I use sometimes a sketch on paper, but very rarely miniatures, and never accurate ones. Role-playing game isn't about miniatures
Role-playing game isn’t about miniatures
I feel like miniatures is a separate and interrelated hobby. I don't really enjoy it but its nice to have something physical for combat. That being said free VTTs do so to replace the need for that.
Best miniature I ever used was a thread spindle he was cloth knight cleric. So I 100% agree with this.
If you ever start playing Warhammer 40k the miniature game and plan on building your own miniatures use magnets on the weapons. A lot of models come with 2 or 3 different weapons that are good for different situations IE better anti tank, fly, infantry ect. Instead of buying the same model 3 times building and painting it you can buy one, attach small magnets to the weapons and the part of the body they attach to, then you can switch them out on the fly. I didn't do that when I started and it gave me a lot of issues with some of the armies I played against.
Trumpet playing: The room you're playing in really affects the sound you hear. So does your position in that room. If you are having weird issues with pieces you know you can play, try playing in the corner of the rooms, so your playing into the largest physical space possible.
Similarly, when I tried to learn to play using a mute, it sounded like absolute dogshit because the mute changes a ton about how the instrument sounds and feels to play. You're going to sound (and probably be) off key and the lung pressure feels different because you're blocking part of the air flow out of the instrument. It requires a technique adjustment to sound right.
Observing groups is a very useful skill, in minutes you can tell who's where in the hierarchy, what the cliques are, how well they coordinate, how information flows, and where influence springs from.
This let's you not only insert yourself at the right moment, peg, and place for maximum efficacy, but also informs you of barriers, challenges to overcome, and next steps for the group to act better together.
Hobby/skill/interest in Group dynamics, useful for coaching, creating community, project organisation, and group coaching.
This does seem like a very niche hobby.
Useful subskill I'd call it, I use it for scout mastering, organising (in nonprofits), adult training, team projects, event organisation, coaching and consulting both nonprofit and for work.
a percolator can be used as a Soxhlet extractor
I made some spicy ginger extract.
also be really careful if you're going to be an idiot like me and use a flammable solvent like grain alcohol.
The best way to write a good story, for me, is to write a story I want to read. That seems obvious but bear with me. If I plan out all the details, it's like someone spoiled the book for me, I just can't get into it. I have to create characters I'm interested, plunk them in a situation, and just start seeing what happens. I dont fret the little details unless they start getting me into a place I'm not enjoying. Later on I go back to the early parts and tie them together with whatever happened. Done this way, writing a story feels like reading a story, one that is specifically tailored to your own interests (and that none of your friends have read, so they can't talk to you about it)
A fun way to get started with a story is to take two actors and put them together.
Natalie Portman and Keanu Reeves are the stars of the story. Now tell me the plot.
A person would have to known actors much better than I do for something like that, lol
Just buy a good 3d printer for your first. Sure, it’ll cost money, but the heartache of constant troubleshooting and tweaking can just suck the fun out of the hobby if you just need this print to succeed.
Prusa Mini+ (I think) Bambu A1 Mini (this would be my #1 starter printer before the security updates they done)
But if you get a cheap one you get a free crash course on everything that could possibly go wrong on a print and how to avoid it.
Ender 3 btw
Good one. I struggled for years with a monoprice printer I basically got for free because Rakuten marketplace was shutting down and I had to use my rewards. I recently got a Bambu printer as a gift and it's so much better at the same tasks, plus the additional features make me regret spending time upgrading my MP10.
One of those hobbies where starting cheap actually makes it not worth it. Kind of like a cheap camera can make you feel discouraged once you get pretty good at photography. A $500 camera can get you started, but a $1500+ (or refurbished more expensive option) will unlock a whole new level of creative abilities (speaking from experience!)
What would you say the gap between the "this 3d printer will do the job but make you lose your mind" and "this is a reliable 3d printer that is reasonably priced for hobbies"?
I kinda disagree with this, in certain contexts. There is some value in learning how the machine works by self-assembling a kit (or buying off-the-shelf parts and assembling from an open-hardware guide). Identifying the things that can be upgraded, tinkering with firmwares and nozzles, printing parts to upgrade the machine itself... all are a fun aspect of the hobby, if you're interested in the hardware side.
But if you just want to make figurines from squirty plastic, then yeah just buy a moderately-priced, well-supported turnkey printer (though probably not a Bambu, because they're sliding toward enshittification).
VX hobbyists- I've noticed a lot of people start off by configuring their encabulators with the original series of kleinhoffer cam ratios, trying to get maximum deltas with the least vacuum pressure possible. It's really better to start with dylomatic induction coefficients even if it initially seems more complicated, you'll have an easier time later with the more commonly available j-discs.
I understand you are trying to simplify things, and I appreciate that we, a hobbyists, need to do this to open up the field to more people. Accessibility is a great thing, but we do need to make sure that potential Roemann examples are prevented from establishing themselves in the governors ethos. There's a whole lot to VX, and if people are using j-discs and their induction coefficient inverts due to misalignment of the rotorcore (or, god forbid, any of the main encapsulated rails), they're going to have a bad time. Simple is good, but paradoxically, you need to have a thorough understanding of the more complex parts of this hobby before you can simplify it. The hunchback that taught me went through seventeen flange coupling cycles before they were even allowed to touch the resonance spectroscopy imaging chamber, even at the low end of hypersonic capture waves. To this day, they are still cautious when trying to simplify the pressure transducer startup sequence- and they're using the more modern Reeistack implementation. Safety first, people. Understand what you're messing with, because stray glycemic bonded couplings will absolutely kill you.
Nice try, Big VX
You know when you're walking around town at night and see those neon shop signs saying they're open? Well *warm smiles*, that's me.
If I see a shop without a neon sign, I happily walk in and offer to sell them one for a £1000. If they refuse, I threaten to smash in their windows and burn down the shop with them in it. I then leave with a happy customer and add a little more neon magic into the world.
You're welcome, world.
Edit: For Context
Are they still neon? I would've thought led was more common. Either way thank you for the work you do.
It's funny how many people say that, but LED just doesn't have the same diffuse glow, and doesn't stand up well to repeated blows with a pipe.
And of course, you're welcome!
Lots are LED since it's way more energy efficient.
I learned the hard way when jogging and meeting some friends at the bar that even if it’s plus 20 you should bring a sweater with you, because once you’re done jogging and it gets dark you will be cold from the sweat. I did this one time and everyone else in the bar was just fine with their T shirts and I was SHIVERING with my wife beater on. Kind of embarrassing.
Don't use thick lube for unresponsive yoyos and vice versa. Thick lube will make an unresponsive yoyo more responsive which you don't want.
And don't stress about playing a soulslike a certain way and don't listen to gatekeeping haters. Play whatever way you want - it's a game after all and you bought it for your pleasure
I was very concerned reading those first few words
:^]
If you're interested in getting into bicycling check if there's a local co-op. A good one will sell you a cheap bike and even let you pay a decent chunk of it in labor of fixing bikes (and learning to fix yours). Not only is this two hobbies for the price of a few drinks, it's also a good way to make friends, build skills, learn good trails, and feel connected to your local community. You also can get cheap used parts. The bikes won't be high end expensive ones, and you may decide some parts are worth paying manufacturer prices for (several used trigger shifters led to me buying new), but when all is said and done they're usually pretty decent bikes. And you can find weird shit you may not have known was a thing.
For indoor rock climbing (probably outdoor as well): you need, at least, two pairs of climbing shoes. One pair will be out for a re-sole and you can use the other. Though, don't buy your own shoes until you are sure you're going to stick with it for a while. No point ending up with used shoes you'll never use again, because you finally decided the sport isn't for you.
You don't necessarily need to get two straight away, though. If you've been a couple times and used the hire shoes, sweet. You're getting into it, you reckon you'll probably keep going, time to buy some shoes. I'd actually advise against it. Climbing shoe rubber varies from soft to really bloody soft, and you dragging it all over the wall wears it through really quick.
So I'd suggest spending quite a few sessions in those hire shoes, really focusing on your footwork. When you can confidently stick your feet first go while climbing, and not have to adjust your feet constantly, you're ready for your own shoes. Shred someone else's until you are confident you can make yours last.
For Rpg : let the player take the initiative and bring their plot to the table. If they preptge game for you, it's les work as aGM (also no doodle scheduling, use fix dates)
For paragliding : if there is nobody on a flight site do not take off. Most likely you misunderstood something, and the site isn't flyable. Sure if you re very experienced, do hike and fly or do fly on a week day on a small site, it may not apply, but you're able to analyse by yourself
In Magic the Gathering it's usually correct to wait to play instant spells until your opponent's turn, either on their upkeep or end step in most cases. Waiting as long as you can gives you more information to make the best play.
If you are dungeon mastering I would recommend avoiding the Quantum Ogre as much as possible. The idea here is to use the same encounter depending on whatever decision the party chooses. This is tempting because this reduces prep work and can reuse information. However, if the decision doesn't have any consequence why make the players make this decision? TTRPG are about collaborative story telling so decisions so matter and if they don't why am I even playing. If you want to reduce your prep maybe have the same monsters but at least change the terrain or starting criteria.
If there is decision lead clues about what might be different between the options if it is important decision. These clues might not be obvious but that is what skills checks are for. Make decisions worthwhile so players feel engaged
Man, this one is loaded. I use variants on the quantum.ogre all the time, and am widely considered to be an excellent dm. It's not about the ogre, it's about whether choices have an impact on the story. They can still do that even if minor parts of the set dressing - like whether or not you'll fight an ogre around the corner because you the DM spent ages prepping that encounter - are relatively constant
It’s not about the ogre, it’s about whether choices have an impact on the story.
This is exactly my point is that by relying on it constantly there is no actual real choice and its just lying about railroading the players. If I have the choice about going to clear out the undead in the forbidden temple or clear out the bandits on the outskirts of town and behind the scenes its the same dungeon map I will never know nor will I care. But if I go to kill the undead at the forbidden temple and end up at the bandit camp why make this choice? I love being able to re-use material like this, (In fact I had a dungeon that was an extra-dimensional space where the players got to choose between monsters and demons which used the same map). Same thing if a group of assassins is coming to attack the party and they are deciding between going shopping or the spa. The assassins will find them either way at whatever place they are doing. This is a great use. But if I heard rumor about these assassins and attempt to hide from them but no matter what I do they will always find me that is removing choice.
I think its more of an advanced technique that given as some beginner friendly advice. Its easy to use it all the time to reduce agency instead of using it sparingly.
Don't use Sharpies on cheap acrylic paints. They will dry out immediately and be ruined.
Sharpies are made with alcohol-based ink, and alcohol happens to be the perfect solvent for cleaning up dried acrylic paints. So what's really happening is the tip is getting gunked up with re-wetted paint.
I'd bet you could give the tips of those sharpies a brief soak in some isopropyl alcohol, and/or a firm wipe with a wash cloth or paper towel soaked in the isopropyl, and they could be somewhat recovered (assuming they have plenty of ink in the tank)
That being said, I still would not recommend this practice. Better off with a paint based marker or something.
Thanks for the tip!
I usually learn through trial and error and have found other markers/pens that do work.
flyfishing
be quieter than you think you should
And if you want to fish for trout, research the waters you intend to fish. I booked a cabin for a long fall weekend only to find out the creeks weren't going to be stocked until the following weekend. Trout don't survive the warm summers there and there's no natural reproduction
A huge percentage of trout fishing is essentially farming with extra steps. Especially in the US, there are a lot of rivers and streams that get too warm for trout in the summer, so the government puts a bunch of trout in each fall and winter, and they all get either caught, or die in summer.
Lots of these rivers would have previously had native fish populations that were severely reduced by damming or whatever other ecological disaster we imposed on them.
When doing snot techniques, 2 studs = 5 plates.
Yep, plus the bathroom tile/plates can be easily cleaned with sponges once you're finished measuring the rocket length.
Oh, I didn't know that conversion, helpful.
For snowshoeing: Pay the extra few bucks to get ones with heel lifts, that little thing that helps you walk uphill. Assuming you are doing so in a hilly area.
People are surprisingly easy to manipulate.
What niche hobby of yours does this rule apply?
So this is where the fediverse chick came from huh haha
It's just a Town of Salem game, right? Right?