Hobbies Thread

Kitten Kong

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Following from a post on another thread, I thought we should start a thread on Hobbies.

As some of you know, I have 2 dogs (it was 3, but I lost Harry in June). Both of them do Dog Agility.

I've been involved with Agility now for close to 6 years. I compete in the sport (most weekends in the summer), I am a qualified UKA Judge, and I also train agility occasionally on a weekend.

Do you have any hobbies?. If so, let us know all bout them?
 
I'm sorry to hear about your dog. I know how much they mean to us.

I too work with dogs. Lisl von Schlaf is my fifth German Shepherd Dog I have raised and trained. I've trained many others for other people too.

I also study WWII Third Reich political history and German history in general.
 
I have been retouching photos in photoshop for awhile and that can be quite relaxing but still involves staring at a screen for hours on end, so recently I'm starting to learn photography and how to paint/sketch various landscape/wildlife settings to get me out of the house more.
 
I saw in another thread that you raise shepherds. Nice dogs.

I nearly forgot. I try and do some amateur photography as well. Especially at agility trials when I'm not running, judging or helping run a ring. I take pics of the dogs running, and upload them to Facebook, for the owners to have.

We were up,in the Lake District last week at my bro in laws wedding. Only there for 2 days, and I took over 850 pics!.
 
What type of training do you do Michael?

Joe, I wish I could draw. But I'm hopeless. When you see artists just going at it, I stare in disbelief. I take my hat off to you with that one. Well done.
 
Hobbies: Electronics and Computers.

Yes, that's how sad I am .... electronics and computers has pretty much been my life since about the age of 6! Started as a hobby, designing circuits, programming, etc .... and now it's my job too.

Interests: Cars and science.
I'm a self-confessed petrol-head; I love big engines and powerful cars. And, in what little spare time I have, I study science ... would love to study for a degree quantum mechanics some day ...


I do have a small pet now though, an African Pygmy Hedgehog ... and no, he's not called Sonic.
 
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What type of training do you do Michael?

Joe, I wish I could draw. But I'm hopeless. When you see artists just going at it, I stare in disbelief. I take my hat off to you with that one. Well done.

Basic and advanced obedience, some urban agility and protection work depending upon the dog. The dog has to have the right personality, drives, and temperament before I start any sort of basic protective work.
 
I got hooked on Flight Simulator to the point I have decided to start taking flying lessions.

Thanks to a after hours customer I put a 737 on autopilot thinking it would be ok till I got back. Came home and noticed I crashed into a mountain

I built a full size Boeing 727-231 simulator in the basement of the last house I lived in. I started to rebuild it after buying this home, but my heart just wasn't in it. Here is a photo from several years ago. All functions worked in the sim except the WX radar.

This ran on five computer systems running XP Pro, FS9, Wide-View (to link the computer views together). The system ran up to seven monitors at one time. Lots of command a function programming used in this. It took six years of building to get it to this level and it flew and operated just like the real 727.

I built this because I lost my medical certificate to fly because of heart problems.

58fe61eb-aade-4069-b048-7ee9f224ea9e_zps3a6abcb4.jpg


913e5c3a-dc47-4d41-bb5d-4c8483ee5240_zpsf7e8f718.jpg
 
My Wife is the "worlds greatest animal lover." She asked me to find a supplier of pet and aquarium supplies that we could buy at wholesale prices and sell really cheap!
I found a supplier. So, every Saturday afternoon I load up the car with pet stuff.
Every Sunday morning I get up at 4.00am!!, rain, cold, summer heat - doesn't matter.
I shower, have breakfast and drive about 40Km to a "market" where I sell from 5.30am till about noon.
We sell our stuff cheap because my wife believes that (some) people don't (or can't) look after their animals as good as they should because products are so expensive to buy in the Pet Stores.
We have four Siamese cats, a Jack Russell Terrier, two canaries and two aquariums!
I'll sleep when I'm dead! lol
 
I built a full size Boeing 727-231 simulator in the basement of the last house I lived in. I started to rebuild it after buying this home, but my heart just wasn't in it. Here is a photo from several years ago. All functions worked in the sim except the WX radar.

This ran on five computer systems running XP Pro, FS9, Wide-View (to link the computer views together). The system ran up to seven monitors at one time. Lots of command a function programming used in this. It took six years of building to get it to this level and it flew and operated just like the real 727.

I built this because I lost my medical certificate to fly because of heart problems.

58fe61eb-aade-4069-b048-7ee9f224ea9e_zps3a6abcb4.jpg


913e5c3a-dc47-4d41-bb5d-4c8483ee5240_zpsf7e8f718.jpg


TAKE MY MONEY!!!

How long did it take you to build that? I was considering buying a Saitek. Your setup makes it look like a Fisher Price toy. Can you give a ballpark estimate on what that would cost?
 
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Well, because most of the equipment is the real deal it's a lot cheaper than the aftermarket simulator equipment that it out there. Of course using the real equipment you have to modify it or adapt it for simulator use. The aftermarket equipment is pretty much plug-n-play. Some simulator programs will require that you do some function assignments with the PNP items.

There was about $8K in this simulator not counting the computers or monitors or software.

A decent 737 sim will run you around $12K-15K. Aftermarket parts are expensive and the real equipment for in-service aircraft doesn't come up with the regularity of retired aircraft's parts and when they do they are astronomical in price because of their core value.

As an example, I bought a Sperry SP-50 autopilot head for my 727 that was a certified 1830 part ready to go back into service for $200. What are you going to install it in? No one flies that model anymore. It's 30 years old. Try finding a 737 autopilot. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 
My Wife is the "worlds greatest animal lover." She asked me to find a supplier of pet and aquarium supplies that we could buy at wholesale prices and sell really cheap!
I found a supplier. So, every Saturday afternoon I load up the car with pet stuff.
Every Sunday morning I get up at 4.00am!!, rain, cold, summer heat - doesn't matter.
I shower, have breakfast and drive about 40Km to a "market" where I sell from 5.30am till about noon.
We sell our stuff cheap because my wife believes that (some) people don't (or can't) look after their animals as good as they should because products are so expensive to buy in the Pet Stores.
We have four Siamese cats, a Jack Russell Terrier, two canaries and two aquariums!
I'll sleep when I'm dead! lol

I know the getting up part I've stupid o'clock oh so well.

Weekends when we are competing, or I'm judging. We are usually up about 5. Sometimes earlier. Get the car ready and drive anything upto 150miles. Get the dogs sorted, then have a full day of agility.

Shows usually start around 0830-0900. We can finish anywhere upto 1900. Then pack the car away, drive home. Completely exhausted and shattered. But it's so, so worthwhile.

The do the same again on the Sunday.

Which is why I have to take the Monday off, as I physically cannot move after a show like that.

My back goes into spasms. I have to rest, which means sleep. Then a part of me will twitch. And I'm wide awake again. All because of the spasms.

But will I stop the hobby and sport we love so dearly?. Heck NO!.
 
What type of training do you do Michael?

Joe, I wish I could draw. But I'm hopeless. When you see artists just going at it, I stare in disbelief. I take my hat off to you with that one. Well done.

Right now my sketches look like they were done on an etch a sketch and I stare in disbelief too, but I just try and do it a little bit each day and hope eventually I can get good enough at it.
 
For a while now the main hobbies have been photography and hiking. Living right next to the Great Smokies National Park makes both of these easy to do together. The wife and I are working, slowly now that we have toddlers, on joining the 900 mile club which is for hiking all the official trails in the park. The photography is a by product of the hiking and I am one of the parks volunteer photographers to supply them with photos for things like social media, visitor center displays and like right now the banner image on the official web page. I will confess though that we have began to leave the big DSLRs at home and just use our phones these days.
 
Well, because most of the equipment is the real deal it's a lot cheaper than the aftermarket simulator equipment that it out there. Of course using the real equipment you have to modify it or adapt it for simulator use. The aftermarket equipment is pretty much plug-n-play. Some simulator programs will require that you do some function assignments with the PNP items.

There was about $8K in this simulator not counting the computers or monitors or software.

A decent 737 sim will run you around $12K-15K. Aftermarket parts are expensive and the real equipment for in-service aircraft doesn't come up with the regularity of retired aircraft's parts and when they do they are astronomical in price because of their core value.

As an example, I bought a Sperry SP-50 autopilot head for my 727 that was a certified 1830 part ready to go back into service for $200. What are you going to install it in? No one flies that model anymore. It's 30 years old. Try finding a 737 autopilot. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I think it's safe to say I won't be building that anytime soon.

When sit down I usually fly with the Bombardier CRJ700. I fly the 737 a lot to also, but I tend to prefer the Bombardier.

I'm sure you probably already bought all the DLC for it. My next airport to buy is Lukla, although I am sure I won't be taking off with Bombardier their.
 
Following from a post on another thread, I thought we should start a thread on Hobbies.

As some of you know, I have 2 dogs (it was 3, but I lost Harry in June). Both of them do Dog Agility.

I've been involved with Agility now for close to 6 years. I compete in the sport (most weekends in the summer), I am a qualified UKA Judge, and I also train agility occasionally on a weekend.

Do you have any hobbies?. If so, let us know all bout them?
Both the better-half and I really enjoy bird watching.
We tend to keep it local - within an hour drive.
Right now we have about 10 feeders in the backyard.
 
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