Greetings,

It occurred to me a few months ago that everything I do has something to do with the computer, or technology, or something connected to the internet. I stare at a computer all day long, and then go home to work on my own code. When not working, I'm reading on a kindle, watching movies on Netflix, streaming music, or playing games on my phone, iPad, PS3, PC, etc... Oh yeah, and I like to play poker... online...

So I decided to find some kind of hobby that doesn't involve technology. I have started brewing my own beer. I am enjoying it, and it is nice to get away from the technology and do something in the real world.

So that got me thinking: what hobbies do you guys do that don't involve technology?

You should be thinking of how to utilize technology in beer brewing instead.

I attend a weekly Game night with some friends where we put away our devices and sit down to some classic board games or maybe a card game here and there. It's nice to enjoy a good game with someone face to face as opposed to staring at a computer screen.

That and I make sure to take at least 5 hours a week disconnected and reading a good old book in a room with absolutely no computer, tv or phone near me.

I build LEgo stuff, but that's a bit technology related.

I played the drums for 5 years in a metal band.

Did paper modelling, but that's a bit technology related too.

I Finland, I used to take long (10-15 km) walks every 2 or 3 days, and swam in a nearby lake and lied on the shore for about 1-1.5 hours every day. I also cooked every day, and sometime I still prepare relatively complex meals (2-4 hours a time).

Now I'm reading Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe series.

I build LEgo stuff, but that's a bit technology related.

I played the drums for 5 years in a metal band.

Did paper modelling, but that's a bit technology related too.

I Finland, I used to take long (10-15 km) walks every 2 or 3 days, and swam in a nearby lake and lied on the shore for about 1-1.5 hours every day. I also cooked every day, and sometime I still prepare relatively complex meals (2-4 hours a time).

Now I'm reading Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe series.

I will take a guess as say you're not married... My wife would never give me that much time.

I build LEgo stuff, but that's a bit technology related.

I played the drums for 5 years in a metal band.

Did paper modelling, but that's a bit technology related too.

I Finland, I used to take long (10-15 km) walks every 2 or 3 days, and swam in a nearby lake and lied on the shore for about 1-1.5 hours every day. I also cooked every day, and sometime I still prepare relatively complex meals (2-4 hours a time).

Now I'm reading Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe series.

I will take a guess as say you're not married... My wife would never give me that much time.

I'm not, but I live with a girl with a romantic relationship. The first and the last point applies now. We don't have a kid though.

I have some programming-related hobbies -- software rasterizers, retro-assembly (Z80, 6502), and I'm starting to take a shine to cryptography. Also embedded systems, and I really want to start playing with FPGAs.

Art -- I used to draw a lot in high school but dropped it. I've made it a resolution this year to draw more, with character-a-week as my goal. The idea I have is to think about a character I've invented, and then from that do the character design -- really think about what that character would look like, and draw them into a scene that speaks to their personality.

Fitness -- I've been off the wagon for a couple weeks, but when I'm good I do 60-90 minutes of cardio nearly every day. On light cardio days I add in some light weightlifting. Luckily I save time travelling to the gym by having a small gym at home (in a way-to-small-to-hold-a-gym-apartment). Another resolution I've made this year is to turn in a decent time in a half-marathon by fall -- I'd like to aim for a time under 1:45, but I'd be pretty happy under even 2:00.

Music -- Unfortunately I don't play much aside from a bit of RockSmith, and its not really a 'hobby' but I go to a lot of shows here in Seattle. When I go out, I'd rather go see a concert than just about anything else, and luckily Seattle has one of the better music scenes in the country, and attracts a lot of touring bands.

I recently got into radio-controlled internal combustion buggies (methanol/nitromethane glow engines).

If I was born a few decades earlier, then the hacker in me would've likely ended up as a mechanic or something rather than a programmer, so it's fun playing with 'real' machines instead of virtual ones.