Diverse Interests

[StinkyPete]

I have a number of other activities that fill my time, beside motorcycling....

Djembe Drumming  I'm obviously a frustrated hippie and started learning to play the djembe (west African hand drum) when I retired.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVPLIuBy9CY ....  is a great clip with some enchanting African rhythm, dance and energetic authentic African djembe ensemble playing.

4WD  Chris and I have been caravaners for many years and two years ago bought a 4WD as a tow vehicle for the van when the old Commodore ran out of legs.   The van seems to sit idle now, and we are loving getting away and exploring and camping in places we could never get to with the Commodore.  Just got home from two weeks in the SA desert country, exploring Cooper Creek and the Strezlecki Track region.

Blacksmith and metalworker  I love tinkering in my shed and have a full blacksmith forge & workshop, along with welding gear, metal lathe and so on.  I'll have a crack at fabricating almost anything from steel.


 

[Biggles]

Great interests you have there!
At least you can be confident there won't be a huge crowd at any Australian Djembe drummers' convention.   

Being able to make things out of steel with that equipment is a very sophisticated craft.  You've probably seen pix and clips of fantastic tiny machines guys make from metal.  Just turning up a piston and cylinder impresses me, without actually building a real working engine, steam or combustion.  Unlimited possibilities there.  My preferred material, like most old fellers, is timber.

[Sicman]

Pete - I share the 4wd interest - With work I just dont get out enough 
My other interest is investing in shares. My pocket money allows me to have a dabble now and then. I have learnt a lot about investing in shares and property and we are now venturing into a SMSF.

[Biggles]

I'm with you on investing, Tony, but never thought of it as a hobby.  I did a lot of reading up and buying/ selling back in the noughties.  Now I just hold a few that pay dividends and a small rump of packets too small to sell.
However I did a lot more productive reading on property and that's really paid off for me.
I'll leave the SMSF management to others.  I'm sure it will be well worthwhile but I couldn't be bothered putting up with all the compliance issues.

[Sicman]

Ur right about the compliance issues - After taking about 5 years of research I have found a way to do it a lot easier now or is it I just understand it better now  - Probably the latter 

[Dick B "Yewie"]

Hi Pete,
I watched your drumming link. Terrific. You must make a lot of mess pounding that flour all the time 
I would love to see some pics of your workshop. It sounds like a real Man Cave!!. My interests outside of riding our ST around the country are :
Barbershop singing
I belong to a Chorus in Sydney called Hills Harmony and also sing with a Quartet called HighJacked. Here is a link to our webpage www.hillsharmony.com.au
We will be competing at the National Convention in Perth in October. Here is a picture of our Quartet after winning the Gold Medal in the Eastern Region Seniors section recently.


Long distance pack walking
I enjoy planning and undertaking long distance, unsupported cross country treks. I have walked the Kokoda Track over eight days, the 90km Overland track in Tasmania over 6 days, the 250 km Larapinta Trail in the NT twice over 20 days (each time) and just recently completed the very tough South Coast Track in Tasmania which is about 90kms through some very rough and remote country on the Southern tip of Tasmania.

I have a couple of other pastimes including creative writing and tinkering around in my shed (nowhere near as well equiped as your shed!) on our 20 acre property on the NSW North Coast.

Together with our ST tours it all seems to keep me busy in my retirement.
 

[Pocket STocker]

This is just the sought of content we are chasing, fantastic reading.


Thank you for sharing 

[alans1100]

I have an interest in model railways. I have two digitally controlled locomotives that reside over on Dad's layout. Two of my friends are well and truly into this and it's a case one 'N gauge' layout on the ground floor of a double garage and a 'HO gauge' layout downstairs under the garage floor. Most people that have a dungeon type room would have whips and chains etc, here they have a model railway.

About a year ago I started transferring our cassette tapes to CD. I haven't done any so far this year and I still have heaps to go. Both sides of the tape are recorded then edited to separate tracks with name/artist and saved as a mp3 or WAV file and then burnt to CD. Nine out of ten times I will scan the tape label and adjust the size for a CD label.

Next year I have a bike project coming up. I have inherited Heather's Lifan V250 which has accident damage to be repaired. Later this year we'll be doing a trip to the city to see the dealer for costs on the parts needed.

And I bought two Knitting machines about twenty years ago and inherited three others. Lately I've been looking at the prospect of selling which I have done a little of in the past.

[STeveo]

My interests include restoring old Japanese motorbikes, old tractors and racing cars. As a farmer I have always been interested in anything to do with tractors and machinery as I spent a lot of time using them. Racing cars became a hobby in 1994 when I built my first open wheeler. Since then I have made 11 complete cars (including supercharged Subaru's, S/C Morris Minor, sports sedans and front engine dragster) and built bits for/ repaired many others. I held a couple of local records for a while, and held official positions in the clubs. My son and daughter also raced and has made them good drivers on the road. Enforced early retirement meant that I could no longer work on the cars so have sold all except the supercharged Morris and Escort sports sedan, but they will go soon. After I left work I had trouble coming to terms with my situation and felt the 'Black Dog' creeping up on me. I started restoring an old 125 Honda that my brother had tried to kill as a means of therapy, and ended up winning three trophy's with it (one at the national rally in SA this year for best single cylinder). This caused the bug to bite an I now have enough bikes to keep me working until I am 150.

[Abe]

My interests seem to reflect some of my upbringing:-

Vegetable gardens and aquaponics

4WD/camping with family and friend/s

Fishing in out of the way places (catching fish is a bonus)

Getting "back to basic's" in life, less is more (excludes "man cave")

Ultra marathon kayaking for several years (injury at work stopped that, some years ago)

And I love my man cave, just as much as my family.

By the look of the musical talent, we could have an "Ozstoc band", coming near you soon.

[Biggles]

And I bought two Knitting machines about twenty years ago and inherited three others. Lately I've been looking at the prospect of selling which I have done a little of in the past.

I bought my wife a knitting machine once.  I thought it was the cleverest contraption I ever seen.  You could programme it to make anything.  She didn't take an interest in it, so it was sold.  I still think the technology behind knitting and weaving machines is brilliant.

[Abe]

This may be off topic a little, but in my youth I converted a Singer sewing machine (pedal power) to be my homemade jig saw.
The blade was one of Dads broken hacksaw blades modified.

I bought the Ex wife a sewing machine, it was the most expensive dust collector I had, oh so was the sewing machine. (fact)

[sargent]

Aside from riding the mighty STeed.

I enjoy digital photography when I get the chance.

Wood and steel work - also when time permits.

But I have a keen passion for Model trains - all be it wandering every now and then.

Tierney's Ridge Railroad update April 2013

ps - I didn't do the sculturing and scene work, only the track work and bridges etc.

[pault]

LGB shouldn't it be outside

[sargent]

Yes. There is almost a kilometre of track when completed. This is just the inside section

[laurie]

I do a number of things beside riding. I play trumpet in a couple of bands and a local symphony orchestra.
www.wellswungdaddies.com
http://www.soul-band.com/

I also do a little amatuer astronomy, and tinker around collecting and fixing brass musical instruments.
If time permits, I like to get out for an occasional bush walk.
Cheers
Laurie

[Marcus]

Oh jeez... what am I doing with my life :(

So many great hobbies.

I play video games, I guess thats a hobbie, I use it to unwind after work for a few hours hahaha.

I'm not very passionate about anything really. I don't think I found anything that takes my interest that much.

As for shares. They scare the bajesus out of me.

[saaz]

I used to brew beer, even co-started the local brewing club, but then I found more time to get back into bikes more seriously.  I also used to have a few rifles, reload my own ammunition, mainly out to the range but a few hunting expeditions.

I suppose I do all my own bike and car mechanics, and have my 1980 GS1000 which needs a gasket kit (bought a few years ago) installed so I can register it and ride for a few months of the year.  I dabble a bit in electronics, mostly comms stuff to hook up to the bike, but I think I know my limits for making up cables and stuff..hopefully...as things I have made up work.

I used to be into a bit of gaming years ago, pre internet, until the games were way to slow on my 386.

I am also heavily into wine and beer appreciation  , as these days you can buy so much from around the world and Australia that are really good - one reason I originally started brewing as you had to make the better stuff as you could not buy it.

And I should start serious using the dual purpose bike I have out the back, as Canberra has so much to ride through.

[Biggles]

Interesting to see the commonality among us.  I'm not at all musical- the closest I came was to sing in the school choir in an Eisteddfod.  I can only envy those with the gift to produce music from instruments.
When we lived in the country I took up shooting and reloaded my own .243 cartridges using the school's science department electronic scales for my loads- accurate to the single pellet of cordite.  I sold off most of the rifles before the gummint took my last one in the amnesty.
It was when we were out in the boonies that I took up flying which led to a 22 year career.
All along I have been an avid reader. 
When computers came on the scene I started out with a VIC20 and moved onto an Apple 2e then got with the strength and worked up through the 286, 386, Pentiums etc.  Played a few games, wrote some programmes in BASIC, ran a website for a few years and adapted computers to many purposes.
Motorcycles have been on the scene on and off.  Mainly off during the "kiddie raising" stage, but firmly back into it these days.
I'm a keen movie fan, with a predilection for SF and social commentary.

[laurie]

My telescope...........

[Brock]

I started out with a VIC20

That was my start as well, I still have a C64 and a C128 in the shed as well as the monitor amd Comodore printer (rebadged epson LX86 dot matrix B&W)

[Biggles]

I started out with a VIC20

That was my start as well, I still have a C64 and a C128 in the shed as well as the monitor amd Comodore printer (rebadged epson LX86 dot matrix B&W)

And did you buy the 16kb module that boosted the memory to 19.5 kb?     

Yep- forgot the Commodore 64.  Used to type in games from computer magazines.  They were horrible blocky things, but they worked!  More sense of achievement than buying Space Invaders.

[Brock]

id you buy the 16kb module that boosted the memory to 19.5 kb? 

Nope,  forgot to mention the Hard drives, and 2 boxes of disks with games n stuff and the modem  for viatel.

Also used to connect to the Telstra bulletin board  "Tardis"

[Biggles]

id you buy the 16kb module that boosted the memory to 19.5 kb? 

Nope,  forgot to mention the Hard drives, and 2 boxes of disks with games n stuff and the modem  for viatel.

Ah, the hard drive!  Moving from the 5 minute load from (the optional extra) cassette tape to the 4" floppy to the 1.44 mb "floppy" to my first HD, a magnificent 40 mb!!

[saaz]

Biggles reminded me about TV and movies. I am really into sci fi type TV series and movies, and with all the digital channels am finally catching up on older series I never quite saw all of.  I also don't mind mindless action movies as you can turn your brain off from reality!