Got a hobby?

[Erdrick Holmes]

Martial arts related things. I've been studying martial arts for awhile, I'm a blue belt in taebongsoodoo.

[fire_of_avalon]

I read when I have the time, though I never have the time anymore. And uhh, I'm currently in the middle of redecorating my room, cheapstyle so I go over lists in my head of stuff I want and why and where it can go and oo wouldn't a beaded wall thing look good over here and is that made in Honduras, well I can make it myself if I want to, I just need beads and wire and I wonder where those beads are made.

And I just kick back and ponder, sometimes. And doodle. And I talk to my dad a lot, cause he's pretty awesome.

But I don't have much spare time. I work a lot.

Oooo, you could get a job.

[Samuraid]

I am a programmer both as a hobby and as a job, whether I'm bored or not.

I like writing and playing music as well. It often staves away boredom.

[Silmaril]

I love to read and I like to draw. I LOVE shoe-shopping. Sometimes when I'm really bored I write poetry (they usually end-up like wordsworth's rejects) . And these days I have to study ALOT. So I'm raely bored. just bored of studying.

[Teek]

But I don't have much spare time. I work a lot.

Oooo, you could get a job.

Got that one, already.

[Yamaneko]

What in particular do you like to learn?

Anything, really. Although I'm always fascinated by history and science.

[Denmark]

I don't really have all that much spare time during the school year. I don't usually see my friends outside of school. Because I'm a geek, and I like it that way.

During the school year:
-School (duh)
-Homework (I don't spend enough time on it, actually. ^_^)
-Internet (EoFF and Livejournal are the places that take the most of my time, and I'm more than likely talking to someone on MSN Messenger or AIM)
-Video Games (not so much right now, as Madden got boring, so I'm waiting until I get new games around Christmas time)
-Music (always. if I'm on the computer, I'm listening to music of some sort. I listen to it when I'm doing my homework, and sometimes I'm even playing it. ON THE GEETAR)
-Sports (basketball practice and games now, track in the spring. nothing in the fall)
-TV (rarely. the only TV programs I watch are Scrubs and occasionally Jeopardy. but I watch NFL football, MLB baseball, and any basketball games)
-Sleep

During summer: less school, more sleep, more sports. maybe occasionally hanging out with friends

[Dr Unne]

Origami. You can do it anywhere at any time, so long as you have paper, and spare paper is rather more available than you might realize. One sheet 8x11 inches could last me about a week if I needed it to. It costs nothing except $10 for a book to learn it. You can make a little 5-minute <a href="http://chwombat.net/origami/sun.jpg">simple thing</a>, or you can make something that takes you a couple weeks and a <a href="http://chwombat.net/origami/trex4.jpg">whole lot of effort</a>.

It will also teach you math. The geometry involved in origami is rather complex. Fractal geometry plays a big part. Origami is how I learned fractal geometry even exists. The geometry of a square is interesting. I can divide a square into perfect thirds (or fifths, or sevenths) without a ruler. You will learn about the Golden Ratio. You will learn about the mathematical superiority of European stationary (A4) because of the fact that its dimensions are a ratio of one by the square root of two. I have a book showing the relationship of origami to music, to computer programming, to the way plants grow.

The simplicity of it, and the complexity that can result from that simplicity, is intriguing. There are maybe 10 different folds that you need to learn. Out of those ten, and out of the same square of paper, you can create an infinite number of different models. I can fold any piece from a chess set, a semi-working cuckoo clock, a man riding a horse, a motorcycle, a matchbox (with matches inside it), or nearly any animal you could possibly imagine, all out of one single piece of paper, no cutting, no gluing, just folding. With multiple pieces of paper I can fold a complete anatomically-correct t-rex skeleton, a ship in a bottle, or any number of <a href="http://www.chwombat.net/origami/modular2.jpg">complex geometrical forms</a>, to name a few.

Perhaps the best reason is the fact that it is a social hobby, believe it or not. At least it is in my case, because I make it and give it away. I give origami to people as a way of showing I'm interested in being their friend, and people tend to enjoy getting it. People also have a perception that origami (and art in general) is hard. It's not hard; it takes patience, that's about it. But sit down and idly fold a llama out of a dollar bill and people will be impressed.

My desk at work is completely covered with origami. I sit and make it while I work. At this point it's reflexive to make it. I don't have to think about it. It's soothing and relaxing, and it adds just a bit of a bright point to your day once you have a nice little frog sitting there that didn't exist 5 minutes ago. The act of creating something out of nothing (or next to nothing) is enjoyable.

These are some pictures of origami I've made: http://chwombat.net/origami/

[theundeadhero]

That is so cool! I, for one, plan to learn origomi.

[Liam]

i do basketball, rugby... meeting girls hey thats a hobby!...well guys im goin to bed its 12:12 here and my grandads funeral is tommorow since he died last sunday cya dudes

[Teek]

Origami.

That is, without a doubt, the strangest suggestion I have received. Yet, it sounds promising... Thanks, doc.