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My other interests and hobbies

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Proud Mary

Mon Oct 05 2009, 01:33PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Hi again HV-niks!

I like to think of 4HV as an electronics club somewhere out in cyberspace, where different voices, ideas, skills, and abilities come to together to celebrate high voltage from almost every corner our planet - but in essence it's no different to Brighton Radio and Electronics Club, except that most of us will never meet eachother in real life.

But that doesn't mean that we're not real people with real personalities, as flamers and trolls often seem so painfully unaware. Nor are we simply a mass of circuit diagrams, test equipment and components.

So I thought it would be a good thing to give everyone the opportunity of becoming three-dimensional people by creating a thread where we could talk about their other hobbies and interests, (if they've got any!

) so our virtual friends in 4HV could have a better idea of the real lives that we all live in all parts of the world.

Me first I guess! My greatest piece of mind and happiness comes from walking in the mountains and putting my tent up wherever I like. I will go to the Cairngorms (a mountain range in Scotland) in winter and camp out in the snow for days on end without a care in the world. And I like fishing of the sort where you catch and cook the fish by the side of a river or lake. I read a lot, mostly non-fiction, but I have read most of the Russian and French authors of the 19th century. I have an HND in telecommunications practice, and other obsolete qualifications such as a Board of Trade Radar Maintenance Certificate, and a Post Master General Certificate of Competence in Wireless Telegraphy, and much more recently, I read the History and Theory of Art at university to add balance to my scientific interests. At times, I go through phases of serious fossil collecting, which I've enjoyed since I was kid, and I like to go to the theatre, of which we have many here in Brighton, which is a kind of British San Francisco. I have two close friends, a police officer and an art photographer, but have never thought to get married and make my own contribution to over-population. So there's me in a nutshell!

Renesis

Mon Oct 05 2009, 02:16PM

Registered Member #2028 Joined: Mon Mar 16 2009, 08:13PM
Location: Norway
Posts: 319

Good idea Harry.

I am from a small farm between the mountains, and i have always been very interested in mechanincs and large machines. I am a skilled mechanic, both industrial and automotive. Only in the later years have i developed this interest in electron bowling that brought me here. I am currently doing my fourth year in senior secondary school, trying to become a process control electrician in the North Sea oilfields withing two years.

My favourite hobby above all else is riding my snowmobile in the mountains. Those of you who havent tried that have really missed out on something! A vast, untouched white blanket and a full tank of gas, thats the ultimate feeling of freedom.

I am not really a cultural guy. Im not fond of tuxedoes and theatres, i'd much rather spend the weekend getting hammered with my friends. I am that half fat, smelly guy that comes home from a day in the forest with his chainsaw on his shoulder. Thats the life i love.

Steve Conner

Mon Oct 05 2009, 03:12PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

I wouldn't answer this, but I'm off work today with the cold and have nothing better to do.

I'm 31 and have a PhD in engineering. (Mechanical, but I keep quiet about that

) I'm currently working as a design engineer and embedded programmer, and I specialize in building things like microprocessor-based lab instruments. I just finished working on an instrument for fault-finding in high voltage plant, for which I did digital electronics, PCB layout and firmware, and before that I did a DSP-based gas leak sensor and a line of laser/TEC drivers with USB control.

My other main interests right now are mountain biking and playing electric guitar. I've been doing both since I was a teenager. For a few years, I played bass guitar in bands, which was great fun, but I eventually got tired of it and quit my band last year. All those late night gigs and free crates of beer weren't really compatible with a 9 to 5 job and an active lifestyle. I also dabbled with producing electronic music for a while, but in the end, it was too much like computer programming to be really fun.

Mountain biking is far and away my favourite sport. I do other stuff to keep fit, but I wouldn't really call that "fun". For the last 2 years I've been out riding with friends almost every weekend. We've even been in the Cairngorms, but never saw Harry in his tent.

We often get a ride to the trails from a friend who runs a minibus. He also has a photo gallery on Flickr and you can spot most of us there.

The great thing about these two hobbies is that they both involve technology, but of a refreshingly different kind to the stuff I deal with at work. I've had great fun building custom bikes and tube guitar amps. They also both have a social aspect that you don't seem to get from electronics: I met most of my real-life friends through playing bass and riding bikes.

Zenador

Mon Oct 05 2009, 03:33PM

Registered Member #1733 Joined: Thu Oct 02 2008, 03:17PM
Location: Hamilton, ON, Canada
Posts: 100

I'm also 31, but I don't have a fancy PhD. I'm a Sr. Computer Infrastructure Architect - Windows/Intel based systems.

I'm a father of 2, so I spend a lot of time doing fatherly stuff. Aside from my kids and the obvious electronics, I'm into motorcycles and photography. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, and do almost all my own car/motorcycle repair/work, and enjoy doing it. I'm also doing all my own reno work on my house. Currently refinishing my 500 sq/ft usable attic into an party room, bar, and photo studio.

My photography typically consists of nature/waterfall stuff. Hamilton is dubbed the waterfall capitol of the world. I've dabbled in some HDR, and made an attempt at Glam (which needs some work and additional gear. My Flickr is here -

Cheers

Proud Mary

Mon Oct 05 2009, 06:20PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Renesis wrote ...

Good idea Harry.

My favourite hobby above all else is riding my snowmobile in the mountains. Those of you who havent tried that have really missed out on something! A vast, untouched white blanket and a full tank of gas, thats the ultimate feeling of freedom.

Ren, the first time I went up into the mountains at Sulitjelma (Fauske Kommune) in the snow, and went over the mountains to the first hytte in Sweden, it was like a magical world to me. I went on to the Same camp at Staloluokta, where there was no one about because they had moved their reindeers to lower ground for the winter.

Then came my love affair with Svalbard, and I have three times crossed the island from Longyearbyen, through Adventdalen, and then crossed the sea ice to Edggoya, Barentsoya, and finally the great challenege of Nordaustlandet. There was everything, Ren - polar bears, seals looking out of holes in the ice, the dull boom of the sea ice as the tide went in and out, the frigthening cracks as huge pieces of ice fell from the ends of glaciers..... I could go on an on....

vasil

Mon Oct 05 2009, 06:59PM

Registered Member #229 Joined: Tue Feb 21 2006, 07:33PM
Location: Romania
Posts: 506

Writing here means that something lacks in my life huh?

I am 39 old, physician, specialisation in medical oncology and palliative medicine. The spare time is short, so when I get home, tired of patients, chemotherapy and death, I spend my time reading (I like SF and phantasy, they get me off from the daily universe) or having long walks in the city park, or getting a beer with a few good friends in the town.
I like to make pics (I make hundreds until I get the best, i like to catch unexpected or special atitudes or peisages on my pics). When the weather is ugly I like to stay at home with a magnifying glass in hand and my coin collection, here some pics. I do not like to travel (get a bit fat, 115 kg, is not so wrong, heh?) but sometime I manage to get a short trip with the friends in different regions of my country. I like movies (I am a big fan of special effects), but not much in theaters. Sometime, when I have 2-3 days vacation I make a HV project, because I like to make manual work (it's relaxing) and I like sparks. :)

the_anomaly

Mon Oct 05 2009, 07:00PM

Registered Member #19 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 03:19PM
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 168

wrote ...
But that doesn't mean that we're not real people with real personalities,

what?! I've always viewed McConner and others as walking talking oscopes ;).

Anycase I am an EE student at Wilkes uni in PA. Growing up my family moved around a bit when I was younger we moved to England (Macclesfield ) for two years and then back to the USA and then to Switzerland which is where I spent three years completing high school and now I am back in the USA for uni. I enjoy working on cars and motorbikes Iâ€™ve owned a car a truck and two motorcycles and now I just have the car but hopefully I can get another truck next year.. I really enjoy welding too I think being able to join metal and have the joint be structurally sound amazing. I used to do a lot of skiing and we would take family trips to Austria and once I had the opportunity to ski between the Switz. and Italy which was cool but after a while I became tired of the cold and as I got faster, skiing started to seem dangerous and I decided to stop. Yea mountains are nice but honestly I want to move somewhere warm. Other than that I like lifting weights at the gym and and thinking of ways to make money!

aonomus

Mon Oct 05 2009, 08:16PM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

McConner *is* a walking oscope with a USB port grafted onto his arm... (

).

I'm a Hon BSc student studying chemistry/biology in Ontario, Canada. I occasionally play on my drumset for fun, but mainly my hobby is electronics and photography... I'm still pretty young, so my hobbies must be cheap until I get a steady salary. Probably once I have more money, I'll try doing some metalwork and make bigger projects.

Arcstarter

Mon Oct 05 2009, 09:09PM

Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253

Despite electronics being the hobby i mostly spend time on, my favorite is probably mechanics. I am definitely an adrenaline junkie. Not to the extent that i want to jump out of a plane without a parachute, though!

I am young, so i do not have money for that kind of stuff. For many years i have worked on mowers and weed whackers, which gave me a basic understanding on how engines work. I cannot remember a single engine i could not fix

. In my future, i would like to, at some point, be able to spend money on making dune buggies, or perhaps just put alot of work into a nice car.

Me and my big brother have made plans to make a dune buggy in the future, from scratch. We will purchase the plans, and machine our own parts. 3 feet to the left of me is the engine we where going to use. It is a GSXR750 749cc engine from a Suzuki bike. Among other things, the cylinder needs to be honed if not bored, new piston rings, and all new bearings and gaskets. That would run us 2,000 dollars. But, we decided the engine we would use would be the 750's biggest brother, the Hayabusa. The Hayabusa was consistently tested as the fastest production sport bike.

I also enjoy fishing. Whenever i fish, i do it in a canal which is a 10 minute walk from here. I have caught many odd things, such as a soft shell turtle around 40 inches in diameter (rather, i got him to the surface before breaking the 80 pound line), very odd prehistoric looking fish, and i also catch catfish up to 16 inches. I occasionally go to a pond owned by someone with a house near there. They let me fish there, as long as i agreed not to trespass. Plenty of bass in there, as well as tiny perch, good for bait to catch more bass!

Hon1nbo

Mon Oct 05 2009, 09:33PM

Registered Member #902 Joined: Sun Jul 15 2007, 08:17PM
Location: Pacific Northwest USA
Posts: 1042

while electronics and science are my most passionate hobbies, I find quite a bit of fun in other things to a close second.
I enjoy photography, especially of things in motion. I will carefully setup a single frame High Speed Event and take it with a film camera and a custom controller, or I will make light paintings in my spare time. My High Speed Camera may take up to 1000FPS, but nothing looks as good as a carefully arranged single frame on Film!

I also enjoy writing, usually Epic poetry and, on rare occasion, a spontaneous "choose your path" story formed by prompting a friend in an instant message with a scenario, and a few options. He chooses one, forms an outcome and choices that result from that outcome - I practically made a book out of it. Not really a choose your path per-say, as the path is chosen by the writers

I also used to enjoy, before a surgery that has been keeping me out for a few months, Adrenaline Rushes - such as Parkor.

I enjoy Animation, such as stop motion Claymation (which, for the record, has made me despise Play-Doh).

One of my favorite hobbies (up there with science projects and photography) is creating art. What I prefer to do, however, is sort of create my own forms or methods. For example, I'll paint a canvas then take a torch to it, sometimes without even painting it first. I have done High Voltage Wood Burning, Painted Mirrors (using Gallium or similar material and painting it onto glass as an image), made my own Photographic Materials, such as a light sensitive canvas that I exposed with a negative and a laser, Impact Art formed by creating a controlled impact (the film of it is placed with the piece itself), and electronic Art

But most importantly, I enjoy trying new things that end up growing into life long passions.

-Jimmy

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