I’d love to be a philanthropist but just don’t have enough money.
Waiting until I get more free money in the future that isn’t going towards bills and such, but I wanna get some VR body trackers specifically so I can get a 3D model and try and see how I like it. Specifically waste up. I have wanted to try with a 2D model as well, but I haven’t done enough research nor had the motivation to try it.
Falconry. I mean, it looks bad ass but then you have to acquire maintain an avian predator that is expensive and likely hates you.
Dude, yes. This has been a secret wish of mine ever since I found out it existed, but I would have no idea where to start. It would be so cool though.
Gem cutting. Once you have a good machine it doesn’t cost a lot of money for raw gem quality rough.
I want to cut synthetics since I don’t like the idea of a hobbyist screwing around with non-renewable gems… Also synthetics are flawless and can have cool color shifting patterns like ametrine (amethyst/citrine) or even watermelon colored corundums.
I just want to make shiny jems to look at :( I want to cut giant Portuguese cut cubic zirconia and square cut color shifters :(
It’s like $2000-5000 for a decent lapidary setup… And that’s not counting abrasive wheels.
I often make the same argument against myself for limited resources but ultimately, if the resource is affordable, then it probably isn’t rare on the scale that hobbyists would affect it. But then there’s helium, which is somehow not anywhere near abundant enough for the low price they charge to fill a balloon. While hobbyists still wouldn’t affect the supply that much, I don’t like supporting balloons anymore. Weird hill to die on for 95% of people or greater.
Yeah I know and for certain gems like garnet or corundum we’re literally never running out. It’s things like tanzanite (my fave!) or emerald that are far more worrisome. With industrialized mining we can yank it all out of the ground way faster than we can find new deposits.
Tanzanite might only have the weird and oddly specific conditions necessary for it to form in this one rift in Tanzania.
Does it have a practical use? If yes, I agree with your reservations. If no, then someone is going to buy it to either look at or sell to someone else to look at. May as well buy it direct and preserve it respectfully. But I understand and I do appreciate the group-benefit mentality
I guess it’s an emotional reservation. It would be a bit like feeling guilty for eating passenger pigeons and contributing to their extinction, especially if you hunted them and left some to rot because it was so cheap and easy to get more. Once they’re extinct you can’t help but look back and wince or blame yourself for being part of the problem.
On the other hand, a skilled lapidary can cut a tanzanite with way more care and attention than some commercial gem cutters that are concerned with stone weight and production volume. A lot of big gems end up as windowed trash, where the center of the gem can be seen through like a glass window. No sparkle or reflections because the gem cutter preserved gem weight to charge more at the cost of beauty, and also making the gem lose even more mass later on if it needs to be recut to have proper angles.
If I screw a natural stone up I would feel horrible though. Synthetics are like “who cares you can buy them by the pound”
embedded programming, i love everything about it except cluttering my desk with electronics, breadboards and also wiring stuff to my desktop is annoying, or using UART to debug a microcontroller is annoying
love it, feel like life is too short and I can’t enjoy this one to the extent I want to
Just go work for some weird robotics startup or thelike. I have fond memories of my office desk slowly turning into a full blown electronics lab
As someone with ADHD: All of them.
Relatable
I feel you. Same my mentally deranged sibling
Woodworking and just making shit in general. It’s the main reason I’m so frustrated about not being able to own a house. I’m constantly thinking about things I’d like to build or learning about methods of doing things I’d like to try and I just can’t. Closest I get is fixing shit for my friends sometimes.
Here in portland OR they have places with all the tools for hobby woodworkers. Not sure what it is called, but it’s whole purpose is for people who don’t have a shop of their own to still be able to do stuff. And it comes with a whole community of people to learn from.
I think some are called “maker space” and I think it’s like a membership you pay and you gain access to a full shop of tools.
Yeah, those too. Though the one I heard of was more focused on woodwork and powertools than maker spaces usually are. But maker spaces should fit the bill as well.
Gaming. While I loved the arcade as a kid, I just cant seem to get into any modern game. Seemed like the more advanced they got the less I was interested. The last game I tried was RDR2 and gave up on the second mission. Just bored to tears.
Sounds like you need games that focus more on the gameplay loop and less on the presentation/story. Like someone else said, indies are kings in this regard.
Unfortunately I’d have a hard time recommending anything because they can be so wildly different in style.
It’s the go here do this, then go here and do that, Go over there and shoot them, over and over, that I find boring. The story I am sure is fantastic, the gameplay is what I dislike.
That’s fair. In my perspective, the “go here, do this, shoot that” is a symptom of needing to fill out the gameplay loop without investing heavily into world building or genuine reason, because that’s all being spent on the main story beats. But in some games, that’s all there is to do.
Perhaps you are looking for a game where either:
- the game is very focused on a single narrative, and never lets you waste your time
- the game has very little structure and asks you to create your own fun out of a big world
I can only really stick at sim racing these days.
No story, no fetch quests, no save scumming or p2w bullshit.
I feel that. It feels like many modern games put in features instead of pkay testing.
The modern indie retro game scene is absolutely great, right now, though.
I recommend starting with “Donut DoDo” or “Rogue Legacy 2” and then look for related titles, if you enjoy either.
Edit: Or “Horizon Chase Turbo”. It’s a great refinement on classic arcade racers.
Well open world sims might not be for you.
Arcade titles tend to have simpler stories and more immediate juicier primary gameplay loops. A very arcade-y game I like is Unrailed!. It’s always hilarious with a group of friends. You might also check out Vampire Survivors, it’s kind of a reverse bullet hell.
Rally car racing. (or any motorsport that isn’t F1 or boats/planes, really) But I’m too broke for that.
Every time I see a race on TV, all I think it’s about how I could have aced every inch of every course in my 20s. Grew up tearing up dirt roads, and also never had the money to pursue it past pissing off neighbors. Rally cars always looks fun as hell.
I really want to do archery. It’s not expensive to buy a starter recurve bow kit, but I’m worried I would buy it and never use it because of my procrastinating nature.
I also really want to join a martial arts studio, I found a place that looks like it teaches some interesting styles, but my fear of being the new guy makes it hard to put myself out there. One day though, one day I will do these things.
I’ve taught Jiujitsu for 20 years. I love it when new people show up and legitimately want to learn.
Any place that’s even halfway decent would have the same opinion.
Go check it out. Karate, Judo, Jiujitsu, doesn’t matter. Just stay away from woowoo places that pretend it’s magic, like Akido.
I kinda have this place picked out that teaches a bunch of different styles. I’m mostly interested in their blended class. Actually talking in this thread got me thinking about it again so I’m gonna go soon. First class is free so nothing to lose.
arts that come out of jujitsu like judo and akido have falls and that is an incredibly practical thing to learn. hopkido does it to but its very limited roll. jujitsu itself had the most with forward falls (which fyi is scary) and turn arounds.
Motorsport, specifically drifting.
Mucking around in digital audio workstations.
Motorsport CAN be done relatively cheaply… drifing is not one of the cheaper options unfortunately.
Theres a hillclimb circuit near me and I’ve contemplated buying a cheap hatchback just to have something to take out, abuse and upgrade as I can.
Yeah, me too (with learning how to drift). Looks so much fun to do. That, and learning how to drive a motorcycle too.
I’m now of the age where building a miniature railroad city seems interesting, but I don’t have anywhere near the space.
N scale is pretty small though there’s not as much available as HO scale.
Make it really mini.
D&D. I’ve tried a few times, but I have no imagination so I can never really get into it.
Let me tell you, you dont need imagination. But a fun group is everything
I have the imaginations, but I have some total mental block on “role playing”. And I have kids, so no ability to be part of a regular group for anything.
Flying. AVGAS100 is fucking expensive.
I’ve got quite a few hours logged, tho
Can I talk to you my lord and god… Skydiving?
Nothing you do in the air will ever be cheap, but jumping out of planes is a lot cheaper than flying them.
When I was young I always wanted to skateboard. I was kind of scene adjacent being into punk and metal in the 90s/00s, but none of my close friends skated and the kids I knew that did seemed kind of gate keepy. I bought a decent board and a vhs (pre youtube) on how to do some tricks. I was even saving up and making plans to build some backyard ramps or half pipe since we didn’t have a skate park near by. Despite this I could never figure out an olly which seemed to be the entry level trick and since my friends didn’t skate I was only ever practicing on my own and never got direct feedback on what I was doing wrong. Now I’m in my 40s and even if wanted to pick it up, I’d break something for sure.
As a 50 year old skater with a broken wrist, you will for sure break something.
Still skate a few times a week, though far more mellow than in my teens and twenties. Mostly just carving the park or some mini ramp.
I always wanted to get into wake boarding, but there was never a boat around etc.
Now with my knee injuries it’s too late to learn something new.
However, I’m pretty sure I could handle surfing.
The electric one wheel boards are a lot of fun, and are easier than a skateboard, but pad up and helmet for sure.
I too skated for years but was just an A to B skater because I could never figure out how to olly. Watched tons of videos, had friends try to teach me, but could never get up even a one inch ledge. But it was my preferred method of transport to get around town prior to getting a driver’s license. You could go into a store without locking up a bike, or some mean shop owner telling you no roller blades inside, you could take the bus or train easily, or hop in a friends or parents car easily. Though the train was the most common way I would lose my board by getting off my stop in a hurry. Eventually I fully switched to longboard, but even now in my forties I can’t do it. My child got one for Christmas and I felt like a fish out of water immediately and knew that one small mistake would put me out of work. I do miss it though and I look back on those days fondly.
