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Whats your hobbies / love beyond fragrances?

post #1 of 23
3/21/12 at 1:42pm
Thread Starter 
Beyond my love for fragrances I have a good few hobbies and love a few sports.

First of, I am a huge Arsenal supporter. Also a huge Celtic supporter and belong to a Celtic supporters club / involved with Celtic radio shows etc. Just love football.

My other sports would be Gaelic football and Hurling. That is probably it for sports. I did like Golf and Formula 1.

I buy and read tons of Irish history books. Also learning our Irish language. We also try to travel all around Ireland as much as we can. With two kids under 3, that is pretty hard right now.
Big into computers. Since I am a Software Developer, I am really into building my own performance computers, though use Mac's mainly for work. Learning new programming languages and trying to stay up to date with the software industry takes up a lot of my time.

I do admit. I am addicted to my PS3 at times.

So what are you into?
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post #2 of 23
3/21/12 at 2:08pm
Art film & classic films - in fact I am steadily becoming sort of a film buff

Early Music - lately, I both relax and celebrate while listening to music from a period roughly situated between 1400 and 1650

Cooking - I still try to expand my cooking skills, I love watching cooking&food channels and enjoy discovering eateries of all price ranges, locations, ethnic and local specificities, from highly famed deluxe gourmet temples to the small, mostly family owned places in largely overlooked neighborhoods and regions, I also like gourmet themed stores, from the deli stand in the department store to the neighborhood grocery or stores based on one single type of items (cooking appliances, wines, confectionery, chocolatiers, coffee & tea sales etc.)

Books - give me a good book, be it literature or non-fiction, anytime

Fashion - not quite a fashion victim, nor too vain or formal, but I do enjoy to have a diversified range of sporty and casual to more business-like outfits in my wardrobe

Wines&spirits - not much of a connoisseur, but apart from enjoying a fine glass after a long day, while going out with friends or on important family functions and social events, I tend to purchase a bottle or two, again, from the more famous as well as the more "insider tip", more underground brands

Watches - ah, another lifelong passion, almost like fragrances, my main focus is on wristwatches, both vintage and contemporary and from virtually almost watch-manufacturing country (not just Swiss, though with an obvious preference for Swiss ones), however I would most likely not say no to owning, collecting, purchasing one or two (or more...) dependable and good quality pocket watches

Shopping in general - whether it's the daily or weekly common household purchases or simply looking up a new redecorating or leisure time idea, I hardly get bored after several hours of shopping sprees

History in general - not only one of my favorite subjects in school, but long after my formal education is over, there is a never a book, a documentary, an article etc. on historical themes too many for me, I realize that even now there is so much yet to discover about the personalities, the chronological periods, the collectivities, the political, economical, social, cultural contexts I always thought to be familiar with

These are indeed some of my other hobbies, but I could hardly call them addictions yet, since I am fairly new in (but not less passionate about) each of these particular areas of interest, also, judging by the cash and time spent, by the knowledge acquired, there is still a long (but not unpleasant) way to go
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post #3 of 23
3/21/12 at 2:22pm
Mostly watching TV lol. I fence on and off, play golf but I'm still in drive range mode. I volunteer and am fairly active in college activities, especially with my dorm. I generally find a way to volunteer, most recently coaching SATs to intercity youth. I play piano and study that in school, but I hate it so I can't say it's a hobby. And getting high. Yep, I'm a boring individual =)
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post #4 of 23
3/21/12 at 2:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken_Russell View Post

Art film & classic films - in fact I am steadily becoming sort of a film buff

Early Music - lately, I both relax and celebrate while listening to music from a period roughly situated between 1400 and 1650

Cooking - I still try to expand my cooking skills, I love watching cooking&food channels and enjoy discovering eateries of all price ranges, locations, ethnic and local specificities, from highly famed deluxe gourmet temples to the small, mostly family owned places in largely overlooked neighborhoods and regions, I also like gourmet themed stores, from the deli stand in the department store to the neighborhood grocery or stores based on one single type of items (cooking appliances, wines, confectionery, chocolatiers, coffee & tea sales etc.)

Books - give me a good book, be it literature or non-fiction, anytime

Fashion - not quite a fashion victim, nor too vain or formal, but I do enjoy to have a diversified range of sporty and casual to more business-like outfits in my wardrobe

Wines&spirits - not much of a connoisseur, but apart from enjoying a fine glass after a long day, while going out with friends or on important family functions and social events, I tend to purchase a bottle or two, again, from the more famous as well as the more "insider tip", more underground brands

Watches - ah, another lifelong passion, almost like fragrances, my main focus is on wristwatches, both vintage and contemporary and from virtually almost watch-manufacturing country (not just Swiss, though with an obvious preference for Swiss ones), however I would most likely not say no to owning, collecting, purchasing one or two (or more...) dependable and good quality pocket watches

Shopping in general - whether it's the daily or weekly common household purchases or simply looking up a new redecorating or leisure time idea, I hardly get bored after several hours of shopping sprees

History in general - not only one of my favorite subjects in school, but long after my formal education is over, there is a never a book, a documentary, an article etc. on historical themes too many for me, I realize that even now there is so much yet to discover about the personalities, the chronological periods, the personalities, the political, economical, social, cultural contexts I always thought to be familiar with

These are indeed some of my other hobbies, but I could hardly call them addictions yet, since I am fairly new in (but not less passionate about) each of these particular areas of interest, also, judging by the cash and time spent, by the knowledge acquired, there is still a long (but not unpleasant) way to go

Yes, films are just amazing. I have a huge collection. Over 1000 movies. Really been getting into independent films. I was actually at the Glasgow film festival and they had a wonderful film on display. I feel so bad that I forget the name and director. The director filmed outside a police station in New York for around 24 to 48hrs. It was splendid.
I would assume you have watched Requiem for a dream?
I believe another independent movie I have is called " Pi ". About a mathematician who drives himself insane trying to work out an equation that has never been done. Look it up on the IMDB.
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post #5 of 23
3/21/12 at 2:40pm
I love all type of films, country western and Latin dancing, collecting Swiss gold watches, gardening, world travel, competitive volleyball.
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post #6 of 23
3/21/12 at 6:15pm
My most expensive hobby is astronomy.
I have about 13 telescopes, scores of eyepieces, and around 30 pairs of binoculars.

It has become somewhat a sad hobby. Even though the price of equipment has fallen to about a third or less of what it was say 20 years ago, the numbers going into the hobby have dropped dramatically. Part of it is competition from entertainment in the digital age. But I suspect part of it is that it is a victim of its own showmanship - where NASA, observatories and magazines keep publishing magical colour photos of space objects, and movies and TV shows show spectacular space scenery. But when one looks in a telescope it's a bit of a let down to newcomers, as one hardly sees any colours apart from the occasional green in nebula and some red stars. This is because that is how space actually looks to the human eye - black, white, grey and occasionally a twinge of colour - the the magazines and movies and TV shows all misrepresent what space actually looks like.
Regards,
Renato

P.S. - the last TV show that accurately showed what space would be like if travelling through it in a space ship, was the first season of "Lost in Space" - because it was shot in black and white.
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post #7 of 23
3/21/12 at 9:15pm
I like reading books or watching movies about people and their lives during the period from 1905 up until 1945. Their customs any way of life during that time. Mostly British novels but good American stories too. I also like Arabic and Hindi novels translated into english as well.

Websites that have great documentation about this period capture about 90 % of my play surf time. Keeps me off Amazon! I suppose it's a Walter Mitty regression thing?
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post #8 of 23
3/22/12 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by maitiu View Post

Yes, films are just amazing. I have a huge collection. Over 1000 movies. Really been getting into independent films. I was actually at the Glasgow film festival and they had a wonderful film on display. I feel so bad that I forget the name and director. The director filmed outside a police station in New York for around 24 to 48hrs. It was splendid.
I would assume you have watched Requiem for a dream?
I believe another independent movie I have is called " Pi ". About a mathematician who drives himself insane trying to work out an equation that has never been done. Look it up on the IMDB.

Thanks for letting me know. I just looked up IMDB and found the main page of " Pi ": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138704/. As for " Requiem for a dream ", I did watch this, and to me it's what I call a near perfect film, even if subjectively I might not like certain details, I do admit that it's technically flawless.
Whenever I do have the time, I simply watch one of the over 1700 movies on my PC, having almost specialized myself on art film, independent film, low-budget film, alternative cinematic art forms etc., mainly by great European directors. Still, I only got to watch about a quarter or a half of the titles available.
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post #9 of 23
3/22/12 at 2:17am
Music. I've been playing guitar for 11 years. I write and record my own songs at home on my Mac. I can pick up pretty much any instrument and figure out how to play it. In fact, my screen name stems from my favorite guitar amp company.

Photography. I like to take and edit pictures. It started off with pics of my car. Then I started taking pics of various beaches and pretty things.

Movies. I'm a movie buff. I can quote movies at will and try to use movie quotes in real life and see if anybody catches on. They usually don't.

Writing. I'm pretty creative and I like using that creativity to write. I like writing reviews too.

Apple. I'm as big a fanboy as they come. Everything in my apartment except for the kitchen sink is made by Apple. I like them mainly b/c they appeal to musicians, photographers, and anybody with a creative/artsy personality. Oh, and Macbooks look cool when you're sitting at coffee shops drinking caramel frappes.
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post #10 of 23
3/22/12 at 3:52am
My hobbies are:

1. Golf - wish I started earlier in life. A quite difficult game to master if you want to be a scratch golfer
2. Tennis - have watched and played it since I was 6
3. Fitness - go to the gym 3 times a week
4. Red wine (Favs are from Italy, Australia, USA, Argentina & France) and special brewed beer (favs are from Denmark, Germany, UK, USA, Chez rep., Ireland & Holland)
5. Clothing and style
6. Fragrances - of course
7. High Tech - I build computers for friends & family as one of my hobbies, and I have a high interest in smartphones, web designing and programming
8. Music - I listen to music all the time, have a huge 2000+ CD collection of R&B, Soul, Funk, Jazz, House, HipHop, Electro, Dance and trance music. Also have a 3 TB music collection on my HDD
9. Women - the worlds mystery to many men. I think of them once every 10 seconds each day, so they surely are one of my interests
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post #11 of 23
3/22/12 at 3:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato View Post

My most expensive hobby is astronomy.
I have about 13 telescopes, scores of eyepieces, and around 30 pairs of binoculars.

It has become somewhat a sad hobby. Even though the price of equipment has fallen to about a third or less of what it was say 20 years ago, the numbers going into the hobby have dropped dramatically. Part of it is competition from entertainment in the digital age. But I suspect part of it is that it is a victim of its own showmanship - where NASA, observatories and magazines keep publishing magical colour photos of space objects, and movies and TV shows show spectacular space scenery. But when one looks in a telescope it's a bit of a let down to newcomers, as one hardly sees any colours apart from the occasional green in nebula and some red stars. This is because that is how space actually looks to the human eye - black, white, grey and occasionally a twinge of colour - the the magazines and movies and TV shows all misrepresent what space actually looks like.
Regards,
Renato

P.S. - the last TV show that accurately showed what space would be like if travelling through it in a space ship, was the first season of "Lost in Space" - because it was shot in black and white.

Interesting.
Astronomy was a semi hobby of mine in High School - I read several astronomy books and thought about taking a degree in astronomy at the university.........still like to watch programs on Discovery channel on this subject.
The subject fascinates me !!
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post #12 of 23
3/22/12 at 4:23am
Antiques ... a lifelong love of art nouveau , glass and ceramics all the way up to 50's art and design
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post #13 of 23
3/22/12 at 8:28am
It's so great to hear about all of your hobbies! We Basenoters sure are a fun and interesting bunch, if I may say so.

I'm into all sorts of things but feel pretty inadequate at most. That said, I'm into:

1. MUSIC: I like all genres of music and am acquiring an extensive (completely legal of course) music collection.

2. Traditional Appalachian music and dance: square dancing, flatfooting, and clogging. Also learning the Cajun waltz and two-step.

3. I dabble in electronic music production. It's mostly repetitive canned crap, but I do it for fun.

4. Poetry: I love writing found poetry, and humorous and light verse. (When I try to be serious, it just doesn't work out.)

5. Comedy: Anything that makes me laugh. (it doesn't take much.)

6. Biking, hiking, walking, jogging. Like to get outdoors and stay active.

7. Cooking: Got a long way to go with this one, but I try.

8. My long distance boyfriend! He's a big part of my life, and I don't know what I'd do without him. We can spend hours just talking and joking about nothing. So I suppose this discourse is somewhat of a "hobby."

9. Decorating: I love decorating my home and have a somewhat eccentric taste.

10. Vintage clothing: I love scouring Goodwill and other thrift stores as well as yard sales and flea markets for clothing and other random stuff. (mostly clothing.)

11. Painting, collage, and scrapbooking

12. Photography
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post #14 of 23
3/22/12 at 2:56pm
You all sound interesting, I agree! I wish I could invite you all to a weekend house party. We'd have so much fun - star gazing, cooking, listening to music, watching films, reading our poetry and other writings (and laughing! ), going for walks. Maitiu, you and my husband could talk about football/soccer. He has really gotten into that lately. He couldn't care less about March Madness (college basketball tournament), he likes to watch soccer from Italy and UK. Miss Casey and I could scour the local thrift shops (I have a friend here who knows them all and would dearly love to join us).
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post #15 of 23
3/22/12 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilybelle View Post

You all sound interesting, I agree! I wish I could invite you all to a weekend house party. We'd have so much fun - star gazing, cooking, listening to music, watching films, reading our poetry and other writings (and laughing! ), going for walks. Maitiu, you and my husband could talk about football/soccer. He has really gotten into that lately. He couldn't care less about March Madness (college basketball tournament), he likes to watch soccer from Italy and UK. Miss Casey and I could scour the local thrift shops (I have a friend here who knows them all and would dearly love to join us).

Sounds fantastic!
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post #16 of 23
3/22/12 at 5:49pm
Music is one of my main hobbies.....I've been playing keyboards for 47 years.....I also play the drums, Guitar and Bass Guitar.....I can do pretty good with a Clarinet also.....At 5 years old I started playing the Accordion.....This was not a choice but something my Parents wanted me to do.....My Dad said He would purchase a Guitar if I learned the Accordion.....It did not take me very long to learn the Accordion.....My Dad purchased a Guitar, Then a Bass Guitar.....we had a Piano and I started fooling around on that.....We had a Hammond B3 at Church and it wasn't long before I was playing the Organ.....I play R&B with a touch of jazz, mixed with Gospel, then I add some Rock and that's who I am on the keyboards.....Gary
I also have a Great collection of CD's and Albums!!!
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post #17 of 23
3/22/12 at 8:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHSeifert View Post

Interesting.
Astronomy was a semi hobby of mine in High School - I read several astronomy books and thought about taking a degree in astronomy at the university.........still like to watch programs on Discovery channel on this subject.
The subject fascinates me !!

Yes, it is fascinating. Problem with doing a degree in astroomy is that most of them never actually look through a telescope. We've had people with Doctorates come to our club and be fascinated looking through our telescopes.

What most people don't realise is that they usually already have a significant tool for doing a bit of visual astronomy. A pair of 10X50 or roughly equivalent sized binoculars is very handy for seeing the biggest and brightest deep sky objects. People with telescopes use binoculars all the time. All that's needed besides the binoculars is a book on binocular astronomy, a set of sky charts (eg Bright Star Atlas by Tirion or charts downloaded from astronomy sites), a small flashlight covered with red insulation tape and - at least intially, a cheap planisphere that shows position of the overhead sky for any time of they day during the year (or a print out of what's overhead tonight from astronomy sites).

My 10x50 binoculars and my "Astronomy with Binoculars" book (by James Muirden) which had a small set of charts at the back, kept me amused for 10 years before I bought a telescope.
Regards,
Renato
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post #18 of 23
3/23/12 at 8:13am
That's it. 10x50 binoculars are now on my wish list.
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post #19 of 23
3/23/12 at 8:37am
Besides perfumes:

Vintage Toy Collecting - esp. Masters of the Universe and Star Wars
European History - esp. the royal and noble families
Architecture - esp. castles; palaces and manor houses
Art - esp. historical portraits
Cryptozoology - esp. the Hominids (sasquatch; yeti; yowie ect.)
Astronomy
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post #20 of 23
3/23/12 at 9:43am
I haaaave the POWER! That Masters of the Universe? I loved those big cats, like Battlecat. I was kinda more into She Ra though, lol.

Art-all kinds
Bible and Bible related readings
Cooking..recently I entered a contest and found out I didn't win though, lol! Not even a finalist. haha.
Oh and I like American football. Go Niners! hehe.
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post #21 of 23
3/23/12 at 4:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kalli View Post

I haaaave the POWER! That Masters of the Universe?

You know it! Gotta love!

Quote:
I was kinda more into She Ra though, lol.

Naaah, She-Ra was too girly ... even for me!

'For the Honor of Grayskull!'

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post #22 of 23
3/23/12 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by maitiu View Post

Beyond my love for fragrances I have a good few hobbies and love a few sports.

First of, I am a huge Arsenal supporter. Also a huge Celtic supporter and belong to a Celtic supporters club / involved with Celtic radio shows etc. Just love football.

My other sports would be Gaelic football and Hurling. That is probably it for sports. I did like Golf and Formula 1.

I buy and read tons of Irish history books. Also learning our Irish language. We also try to travel all around Ireland as much as we can. With two kids under 3, that is pretty hard right now.
Big into computers. Since I am a Software Developer, I am really into building my own performance computers, though use Mac's mainly for work. Learning new programming languages and trying to stay up to date with the software industry takes up a lot of my time.

I do admit. I am addicted to my PS3 at times.

So what are you into?

Yes!!!!! Another Arsenal supporter. Gunners till I die aha.

Soccer- My biggest passion, I play, keep track and breath soccer.I'm an Arsenal supporter and proud Pole!

History- Love ancient and modern history.

Music- everything from hip hop to alternative rock I enjoy and listen to it all the time

Film- as with many, its a great passion of mine and one of my favourite pastimes

Fashion- Enjoy going to stores and seeing what they have and finding deals on things!

Fragrances- Obviously
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post #23 of 23
3/23/12 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilybelle View Post

That's it. 10x50 binoculars are now on my wish list.

Just remember two things or your wish won't be so satisfying,
1. Initial Focusing - This may seem obvious but I've met dozens of people who didn't know it. Aim your binoculars at a bright star. Close your right eye (or leave the cover on the front right lens if you can't close your eye). Make the star sharp using your left eye by turning the central focusing knob. Now close your left eye (or cover left lens). With your right eye get the star sharp by turning the right eyepiece around (or the ring at the base of the right eyepiece in some models). Then use both eyes and you should have the binoculars set to the sharpest image possible for your eyes - and everyone's eyes are different.

2. Collimation Check - Now look at that bright star (or distant object) with both eyes open. Then quickly blink one eye, keeping the other open and vice versa. If the star stays in the same spot everything is fine. If the image jumps around between two points during the alternate blinking, wrap up the binoculars and take them back - either get another pair or your money back - as they are out of collimation. When binoculars are out of collimation your brain automatically makes the two images into one, which is fine for about 10 minutes, after which you start getting a headache and eyestrain.

Everything I've said above applies to using binoculars for everyday use too, it doesn't just apply to stars, though it's easier to adjust using stars or a distant street light.

Usually it's the cheap binoculars that are often out of collimation (especially the cheapo Chinese Ebay ones), but I've picked up a $200 pair in a shop and found it hopelessly out too.
Good luck,
Renato
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