20 Questions Tuesday: 26 - Hobbies

So today’s topic is hobbies. Which led to some interesting questions for me here at work. Anyway, thanks this week to Lord Pithy, ACW, WV Slim, Bomber, Allrileyedup, and Nadolny.
On to the questions.


1. (This question was posed by more than 4 individuals that I work with. Some sent in questions, some didn’t, but it seemed like this was a question on everyone’s mind) Is masturbation a hobby?
Okay… I am going to the dictionary on this one. Let’s very precisely define past-time and hobby. From Dictionary.com

hob·by’ [Origin: 1325–75; ME hoby(n), prob. for Robin, or Robert, used as horse's name, as in Dobbin] —Related forms hob·by·ist, noun hob·by·less, adjective
–noun, plural -bies.
1. an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation: Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.
2. a child's hobbyhorse.
3. Archaic. a small horse.
—Idiom
4. ride a hobby, to concern oneself excessively with a favorite notion or activity. Also, ride a hobbyhorse.

So, by definition 1: check, check, and check : yes
So, by definition 2: ummmm you sick freaks, I hope not : no
So, by definition 3: ummmm nope
So, by definition 4: ummmm gonna go with check on this one : maybe

1.5 out of the 4, but a big old yes to the primary definition, so I would say that I now have a “new” hobby.

2. If you were a LARPer, would you admit it publicly?
LARPer = Live Action Role Player. Heck NO! I so would not admit that in public… if it were true, which it’s not true at all.

3. What attracted you to role playing games: the shared-world experience, the use of imagination, or the really cool dice?
The dice, most definitely the dice. I am a duo-decahedron-o-phile

4. If you could earn a living being involved with any of your hobbies, which would you pick?
Ummm… definitely not question number 1. Nope not that at all. I would go with drawing

5. Do you feel that hobbies, in general, are being pursued by older Americans as opposed to the young Gen Ys?
Yes, I do. The Gen X-ers and Gen Y’s and subsequent generations rely on the pc for their past-times. Leveling up their respective toons in their hobby, along with really tight arena style combat with team based games tend to be the “new” cyber-hobbies.

6. In the absence of this enjoyment of hobbies, do you think the Gen Y’s will adversely suffer as they get older? (I hope so...)
You are a bitter bitter person. I think there will be an eventual back-lash to the computer only hobbyists. They will, after some time, decide they need to unplug and do something in the “real” world (other than question number 1).

7. Besides WoW do you have any hobby-like pursuits?
Occasionally I draw. I need to do this more often though. When the weather is nicer, Wifey and I enjoy hiking. Let’s just ignore question 1 for now…

8. When does a hobby become an obsession?
When the hobby starts to invade other aspects of life. If all clothes worn by an individual refer to a hobby, if all conversation eventually leads back to the hobby, if the only people the person can truly relate to are involved with the hobby those are good signs that the hobby has transitioned to obsession. (for question number 1? When chaffing occurs)

9. Do most people use their hobbies to escape their significant others or do they actually enjoy
them?
As far as I can tell, most people actually enjoy their hobbies. This may be because their hobbies vex and frustrate significant others, but that is just a side benefit. Most people’s hobbies were there prior to the relationship with the significant other. It is the hobby that turns to obsession that tends to make relationships suffer. Sometimes hobbies are actually done with the significant others, such as the aforementioned HIKING (not question 1. All of you minds are in the gutter. ALL of them.)

10. I think knowing every stat of every player on every team is absolutely ridiculous. Do you think that kind of hobby is a waste of time?
I believe that has passes over into obsession. When someone knows the stats for a relief pitcher of a mid-sized team, that is a problem. When they can quote year of graduation and university of a sub corner-back for a crappy team, that too is a problem. These, however are not problems if the person’s vocation is an announcer.

11. Isn't something that passes time really just a waste of time, or without them would we go mad?
I think to some point, without hobbies we would go nutso. People need an activity that relaxes them but is still intellectually stimulating (still thinking about question1, aren’t you? Gutter dwellers)

12. What past-time or hobby do you really hope Little Man enjoys as he gets older?
I would like for him to enjoy something artsy. It would be nice to see him do some sort of creative release.

13. Does Wifey have a past-time or hobby that really annoys you or that you just don't get?
Wifey’s primary hobby is reading. All other hobbies tend to be pushed to the severe margins of her schedule beyond reading.

14. Do you think people past the age of 10 who still collect stickers are weird?
Yes, but there are levels to the weirdness. Are these adults collecting NASCAR stickers or are they collecting Power Rangers?

15. If someone collects bottles of beer, should they drink the beer and keep the cleaned out empty bottle or keep the bottle in its entirety?
Both. 1 empty (to show that the beer has been consumed) and 1 full because true collectors like things to be in mint condition.

16. If a random hamster somewhere managed to become a human being, do you think that person would store their coin collection in their mouth?
No, because mouth storage would not keep the coins in mint or near mint condition. The coins that the hamsterman stored in his mouth would be purely for vending machine purposes

17. Do you keep any of the hobbies you had when you were a kid? How about the hobbies you had when you had in college?
Let’s see as a kid I drew a lot and collected comics. In college I drew a lot and collected comics. As an adult I drew infrequently and play World of Warcrack Warcraft

18. What hobby are you most embarrassed to admit?
18.1 Come on, you can't say you’re embarrassed to admit it, fess up?
18.2 I mean it fess up.
Ummm, aside for the hobby posed in question 1? Let’s see… ummm…. I really don’t have too many hobbies. I guess the paper and dice role-playing games. It don't get dorkier than that, well Live action role-playing games are dorkier, but that is a different story

19. How much soccer do you watch on TV?
I would say that during the MLS season I watch 2 to 3 games a week, and during the non-MLS season probably 1 a weekend. So 2 hours a pop. In MLS season 6 hours. Out of MLS season 2 hours. Wifey will have a different opinion of my viewing habits, but keep in mind these are just averages (only watched 20 minutes of soccer this weekend).

20. What do you think of mountain climbing as a hobby?
Mountain climbing is a hobby that can only be undertaken by the truly privileged. As far as hobbies go, it is rather blasé. One could get the same cheap adrenaline thrills by running across a moderately busy street and have the same life expectancy. Just my opinion though.


To recap:
Not sure what is for dinner tonight
Lots of work to do today and very little motivation
I need to clean up my work space
That will help my motivation
No really
I need some new pics of my Wife here at work
Speaking of pics
Here’s Little Man
Thanks to Jgoenar for the pic
Now both Wifey and I have used it publically
I probably should have moved Question 1 to Question 20
I am going to get so many visits today because of the word “Masturbation”
I bet it will rank up there with “Turtle Porn”