Really obscure (and often expensive) hobbies

[KidCthulhu]

We do dog agility. Great fun, but not cheap; my back yard looks like an obstacle course.

The photo above is my older dog finishing a qualifying run in a recent trial.

Not a lot of overlap between the gaming and agility world. No one has ever called us on the fact that our younger dog's formal name is "Westerlea's Call Lightning".

As for all the instruments, thank goodness I'm a singer. The only money sink for us is voice lessons! Then again, if your equipment goes bad, you're looking at surgery, not Ebay.

 

[green slime]

Obscure hobbies? I don't see any of this as obscure..... Sure if you get involved in any hobby and get particular about items you want then you will find it gets hard to find real quick.

Expensive, yeah well.... but it is just a matter of priorities.

Photography and diving are my hobbies. Try combining them for expense.... I haven't been able to prioritize to that extent yet. Checked out the cost for a uw-house for my camera, the price was obscene!!

 

[Treebore]

Treebore, do you just collect the stones, or do you make jewelry with them?

We have made four pieces privately for ourselves. My wife used to make jewelry for Sacks and several other stores via a Jewelry making shop in Charleston, SC.

 

[knitnerd]

Knitting to save money

So you think you can save money on clothes by learning to knit. Good yarn is expensive. It almost always costs much more to buy yarn for a sweater than to buy one, even one handmade(usually by the thousands in a third world country). Yarn gets discontinued, so you stock up on yarn you like when you see it on sale. Soon you have more than you can knit up in your lifetime but you keep buying more because they always come out with something new and different and you may never see it again. Needles are getting more expensive and the greater selection of sizes, styles and materials you have,the happier you wll be. Books and magazines cost a lot because they need a great deal of technical editing to make sure there are no typographical errors that will give you a baby sweater that will fit a baby elephant. Lessons and workshops can cost hundreds of dollars but there is always something new to learn. At least at the end of hours of wiggeling your fingers,you have something more to show for your work than a high score on a screen.

 

[Umbran]

my back yard looks like an obstacle course.

Well, that's because it is and obstacle course

Not a lot of overlap between the gaming and agility world.

Perhaps it's time to change that, and get a little bit more return on the gear as well. Run a Paranoia game, and make the players run the course! Anyone who can't beat the dog gets the "smokin' boots" treatment.

 

[Krieg]

I've decided to concentrate a bit more on long range high power rifled competition next year (currently I mainly compete in three position matches).

Finally got my new rifle after spending $3k to get exactly what I want.

Apparently I know "owe" the wife.

 

[Jesus_marley]

I don't know if mine would actually be classed as expensive OR obscure...

I make bracelets, torques, ankhs, etc. out of scrap copper wire. I usually scavenge construction sites (with permission of course) and then after stripping the wire by hand (an onerous task indeed) I make my treasures.

It sounds easy at first until you realize that a single child size bracelet requires a 6-7 foot length of bare wire. That doesn't count the extra fine gauge wire used for the embellishments.

 

[Desdichado]

I flirt with obscure, expensive hobbies, but until we start getting some of the kids out of the house, I probably won't actually get into them. Then, I'll probably have to devote my entire basement to my obscure, expensive hobbies; model railroading and arcade cabinets with classic fighting games like Street Fighter and King of Fighters...

 

[Treebore]

I used to "share" model railroading as a hobby with my father as a kid. He hasn't done a thing to our set-up since I went in the Navy 20 years ago. When I finally settle down in Arizona next year I am going to get it and start my kids up with the hobby. My daughter really likes being artistic and my sons are really fascinated by trains and trustles. They get a certain gleam in their eye when I talk abot building scale model versions.