Ben-DutkaAnd by "spare time," I'm obviously not talking about taking care of the kids or fixing the car. I'm referring to your free time.
So, are video games your #1 hobby? Have they always been? Has it changed over the years? What do you enjoy doing when you're not sitting down with a game?
As the average age of a "gamer" continues to rise and the majority of those who partake of interactive entertainment are "casual" by definition, one has to assume most of us have other hobbies. And as we get older, our tastes change. The amount of free time we have changes, the amount of money we have changes, and what relaxes us changes. Time was I could relax with the toughest damn game available (hey, I beat Ninja Gaiden on Xbox) but I wouldn't bother with that today. There was also a time when I could play a game for five or six hours straight. But I can't do that anymore; not only would I want to do something different after the first few hours, but my susceptibility to eye strain won't allow more than two hours, anyway. And that's perfect 'cuz it's really all I want to spend on any given day.
I've reached a point where I've become a voracious reader and active writer, so I suppose you could say literature in all forms has become my primary hobby. Crossword puzzles have become a big thing for me, too, believe it or not. However, on the flip side, I enjoy the outdoors more than ever; things like hiking, tennis, basketball, football, swimming, etc.; I'm more likely to do it now than ever before. And as I've aged, I've become more and more interested in both mental and physical health, so I feed my brain with the written word and in the past few years, I've dropped 45 pounds by exercising 6 days a week, alternating cardio and weightlifting. Now, at 37 years of age, I'm proud to say that with a 6'3 frame, I weigh about 182 with approximately 13 percent body fat and a resting heart rate in the low 50s. In short, I'm in the best shape of my life…perhaps both mentally and physically. 😉
What about you?
Playing, listening to and writing music. Also I have recently come to enjoy fly fishing.
Last edited by Jawknee on 2/12/2016 11:49:06 PM
Drawing, and occasional outdoor activities if the situation allows it. But mainly drawimg.
Last year I decided to start collecting comics again. I used to collect comics as a kid and stopped some time around the year 2000. even at that time I was not buying any where near as many books. Before last year I had around 500 comics. At this time I have around 1800 comics. mostly marvel from the 90's. full runs of xmen titles.
i dont just collect comics though. I have a lot of toys also. huge into the transformers, marvel legends, marvel select and other cool figures. i have a small collection of those pop figures.
i have some comics to sell that are doubles but i plan on working my way through these comics and reading them. at the same time im still trying to finish off some runs and fill in missing issues. i find if fun to shop for issues and try to find deals on them.
on another side i enjoy modding my mustang. shopping for parts that i can change out and get more power. i own a tuner and have already been modding the car for years. this year should be a new exhaust in the next few weeks.
Which CBE did you purchase for your Mustang? I recently purchased a Borla for my Fiesta ST because of how amazing they sound on a Stang.
right now im looking at getting a h pipe from bbk and a shorty dump exhaust that will end before the rear wheel well. the h pipe is supposed to give more rumble.
Since I'm retired, most of my time gaming.
Also reading a paperback a day, streaming movies, listening to music, and surfing for good cheap gaming deals.
But once I can afford to get another Harley, then mostly riding, gaming, & gaming deals, in that order.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 2/13/2016 12:59:56 AM
Playing guitar and spending time with my wife, watching movies.
If I'm not gaming I'm surfing, fishing or hanging out at the beach.
Any good fly fishing spots in Leguna?
Not in Laguna Niguel, the whole city is pretty much completely developed. The only good fishing spots that aren't the ocean around me are man made lakes and golf courses. I usually fish off the beach or the end of the jetty.
I also should add camping to my list. My friends and I go up in the Sierra Nevadas or Owens Valley a few times a year to camp, fish and drink. It's about a five or six hour drive but it's well worth it for pristine lakes and streams. Fly-fishing is very new to me though. I've been fishing for twenty years and only just started to learn the last few trips with my friends old pole. I haven't even landed a fish with a fly pole yet, but I'm a trout slayer with my normal gear.
I also like shooting and collecting firearms.
Last edited by mk ultra on 2/13/2016 6:18:14 PM
When I'm not gaming I'm writing or reading. I also listen to music a lot and soon I'll be doing some wood working. When it's not buttass cold in the garage…
Basketball, workout instructor, and SLEEP!!!
Maintaining and modifying my car. I love racing on tracks improving my lap time.
Reading manga and watching anime.
I am a huge foodie, on the weekends my girlfriend and I like to search and visit new restaurants.
What I would like to do more of is work out. Been 3 years since I went near a gym, I think that needs to change. =)
That is wonderful Ben 🙂
I'm a screenwriter, so I write short film treatments whether or not they go into production 😛
I intend to enroll into George Brown College (Toronto) or Algonquin College (Ottawa), so just waiting for those offers of admission 😛
That and reading video game criticism from awesome sites like "ontological geek", "killscreen" and "offworld.com". Check them out if you want great analyses into the games we play.
I aim to play piano and to learn to play tennis sometime this year too. Other hobbies on the side are reading (going through Charles Dickens!) and listening to music.
Albert Camu comes next :p
I know about KillScreen; I've actually spoken to one of their critics (although I don't know if he's still there). David Wolinsky I think his name was.
Dickens' Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations are fantastic, though I'm not the biggest fan of Camus. My brother liked The Stranger a lot more than I did. Just finished Wharton's Glimpses of the Moonlight and now I'm in the middle of Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 2/13/2016 5:50:59 PM
I brave the winter, shoveling, riding my snowboards, wiping out creating a snow face, love it.
I love to shovel. 🙂
Sleep and producing artwork then more sleep
i collect hot wheels, i love to play (drummer) and listen to music, and also playing with my real car. in the warmer months here in the great white north the wife and i do at least one camping trip a month, or try to….
I have several hobbies outside of gaming, the main ones are astronomy/cosmology, the drums(26years), meditation, collecting(too many things to list), animals(helping, rescuing, fostering), and photography(scenic & animals).
Boxing, lifting, (soon) Jiu Jitsu, ballet, manga, the best animes, reading what the girl gives me, watching all WRC/racing onboards that hype me up, finding the finest movies, whole day music listening marathons, nostalgia hunting, road trips + catch ups with mates.
I just got back to training 6 days a week too. Felt absolutely vomit sick and smashed on the first day back last month. Heard that's a deadly side effect/condition with some name, go figure. Going to add sprinting back to my love life, such a slowpoke – need dat power.
Speaking of music, if anybody wants to listen to the greatest rising young artist of our time that covers every musical taste imaginable, lookup:
MATT CORBY.
I'm a heavy evangelist for him. Greatest thing that's coming out of music, and nobody even knows.
@@@ BEN! HEY BEN DUTKA
I only recently realised I suffered from eye strain too. I remember your tip about icepack to the eyes but I never have any around – so I found my solution and it should work for you:
http://playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=785/ID=19341/SID=171513529/productdetails.html
Most likely you've laughed these products off but I can vouch that I went from getting sore eyes in 1 hour of screen time and feeling sleepy to not feeling ANY SLEEPINESS and stared at my computer screen for a full 6-8 hours no problem. It's a digital miracle.
I even take it to movie screenings now. My eyes hurt when I drive for too long and glasses help that too (I wear different ones, but you know what I mean).
My favorite thing to do is play a team sport. But at this point in my life, I only can devote one night a week to that, really. Tuesday nights are the most fun for me nowadays, as I'll play a few hours of volleyball then out for drinks. Aside from that, I love watching Blue Jays baseball in the summer with beer in hand.
I really only play games in the evenings now, so during the day when not working, I'm either playing with the kids or renovating something in the house.