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Post by fatty on Aug 19, 2014 14:23:27 GMT -5
I've gotten to know you guys more through the years but we one common thread we all have is gaming. But with threads like the fitness one, and more recently oldskool's muscle car purchase, we've learned more and more about each other. But what are your other passions and hobbies? -I like working with sound and video. I do that at my local church so learning about audio mixers, lighting and all that jazz really interests me. -Very few people know this about me, but I'm also a big fan of magic/mentalism/gambling techniques. I don't practice as much but I love learning about it. Even though I've never actually gambled inside a casino, I know a lot about different card cheats, card counting, etc. Can't wait to watch a documentary on one of the greatest card men of our era, Richard Turner: Richard Turner Documentary - Dealt Teaser Trailer-I love reading, but I don't do it enough. And it is easier for me to fly through audiobooks with my long drive to work instead of just sitting down and doing it. When I sit down to relax one of the hobbies above usually comes ahead in priority. -I'm learning Spanish, again. I had 5 years in high school but when you don't use it you lose it. The past couple of months I've been relearning it and trying to go further. I'm planning on going on a mission trip with my church to Mexico this Christmas break so my goal is to try and get some learning in before then. -I like arts and crafts, though I am more of copying projects instead of creating my own. For example, I have lots of Perler Bead art based off of different video games, but I used a template to create it. Now I'm in the process of creating a Mario Diorama, I'll post these as I finish them. Enough about me, what about you? |
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NoThru22
Casual Gamer
Two Worlds > Elder Scrolls
Posts: 866
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Post by NoThru22 on Aug 21, 2014 9:23:45 GMT -5
-I am a big home theater enthusiast. I have a 106" screen and 1080p projector and a respectable surround sound system. I started compiling it when I worked at Circuit City, so I got most of the stuff for dirt cheap.
-I like biking and I used to play tennis, but my foot problems put a stop to that. I'd like to figure out how to be able to play tennis again.
-I also used to play a lot of poker. I won $10,000 in a $300 tournament once. I used it to enter the World Poker Tour and I played with Antonio Esfandiari, Jennifer Tilly, and Phil Laak among others. I only finished in the top 45%.
-I read a lot too, but it's mostly science fiction. I can't concentrate on audiobooks when I am driving.
Seems like I have a lot of used tos in my repertoire.
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Post by reaper on Aug 21, 2014 9:45:00 GMT -5
- I work. Then I work some more. After that, I get back to work. Seriously though, work sucks lately and I am putting in a lot of OT. But it won't be like this forever and I hope it will pay off.
- I recently started investigating conceal carry, took a class and applied for a permit. So, I've been doing a lot of reading in that area lately. Ayoob Massad is an excellent resource and a learned man in this area.
- I have re-started my fitness efforts. Three major crossfit injuries set me back but now I am back into running and lifting on a lesser scale to get started. We'll see if I ever return to crossfit.
- I love guitar but have set it aside in preference to work lately. But I hope to pick it up again soon. I am interested in trying Rocksmith to combine my guitar and gaming interests.
- I watch TV with the wife or by myself. We like Shark Tank, Storage Wars, House of Cards, Gold Rush, etc. Alone, I watch Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
- I'm a hunter in training. I've been out deer hunting for 3 seasons and haven't bagged anything yet. However, last season I had one within shooting distance but he was behind me and I scared him off before I realized what was happening.
- I like biking and rollerblading and spend time on a nearby trail called The Tobacco Trail with my gear.
- I have many other interests but most have faded as time has grown thin with adult responsibilities.
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Post by UsualNoise on Aug 21, 2014 16:49:50 GMT -5
Movies: I too have a home theater that I set up when I moved into my current house (about 6 years ago now). 114" screen 1080p projector, 7.1 system with Ascend Acoustics speakers and Denon receiver (actually have a set of surround speakers for each of the two rows of seating). Although I LOVE movies (very large movie & TV show collection), my time is limited these days so I get to watch far fewer movies than I'd like. It's a shame, watching something like Twister or other sonically impressive movies in my theater is truly an experience. It's why I rarely go to the movie theater anymore ... minimal difference in quality, unless it's 3D / IMAX.
Music: I use to write music with a friend, ended up with around 30 songs recorded and another 150+ songs written. Since my daughter was born this particular hobby has died. I'd still love to do it, but time just won't allow it.
TV: Most of my leisure time is probably occupied by TV shows in one form or another. During the summer we try watching our owned shows or Netflix series (going through Malcolm in the Middle with the family, watching West Wing by myself). Also watching Falling Skies & Under the Dome. During regular TV season we're huge Survivor fans and have a handful of shows we regularly watch.
Fitness: In 2013 this wouldn't have made the list. At the end of last year I decided since all my clothes were too tight I should lose weight. Over 6 months (January through end of June) I steadily dropped 40 pounds (235 to 195). Regularly used an elliptical, still use it now to maintain. While out in Idaho visiting the inlaws last month I did a ton of walking. I love the dry climate out there and walked 38 miles over 7 individual sessions. (Impressive for a desk-job guy like me.) I'd like to get my body into better shape and have been starting to do some situps and got a pull-up bar, but I'm currently only able to do about 1 at a time. Yeah, my arms aren't in great shape. But hey, 1 is a start! Probably couldn't have even done that last year. Oh, and I love playing baseball - also don't get to very often, but it's the only sport I can confidently say I could compete with others at a pretty high level.
Food: I love love love food. One of the reasons I had to lose weight. I don't get to try new places too often since we're out in the country, but I like trying new things when I have the opportunity. I actually love going to Idaho because they have my all-time favorite restaurant out there - Wingers. It's a diner-like chain of restaurants that have a proprietary wing sauce they use on everything from ribs to burgers to salad dressings (and wings of course). I went there 8 times in a 3 week period last month and just wish they would expand out of the Rocky Mountain area someday.
Community service / religion: Most of my non-work time is actually consumed by this category. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses there's the door-to-door preaching (10-30 hours / month), two religious meetings per week, and I usually have 1-2 speaking assignments I have to prepare each month along with several other miscellaneous responsibilities. My big time-vacuum right now is trying to find rooming arrangements for 50-75 volunteers coming in October to renovate our Kingdom Hall (place of worship). It's been a new experience meeting with hotel sales managers to try to get a decent rate, especially since it falls on Columbus Day weekend. But the time spent for all this stuff is very rewarding, so despite the amount of time required I value being able to use it for this instead of the previous categories.
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Post by fatty on Sept 6, 2014 9:07:20 GMT -5
-I am a big home theater enthusiast. I have a 106" screen and 1080p projector and a respectable surround sound system. I started compiling it when I worked at Circuit City, so I got most of the stuff for dirt cheap. -I like biking and I used to play tennis, but my foot problems put a stop to that. I'd like to figure out how to be able to play tennis again. -I also used to play a lot of poker. I won $10,000 in a $300 tournament once. I used it to enter the World Poker Tour and I played with Antonio Esfandiari, Jennifer Tilly, and Phil Laak among others. I only finished in the top 45%. -I read a lot too, but it's mostly science fiction. I can't concentrate on audiobooks when I am driving. Seems like I have a lot of used tos in my repertoire. I wouldn't have guessed the Poker playing, very interesting. I remember when I first became a member of this forum, I was big into home theater. DLP was a new technology but I instead stuck with my Hitachi 57" rear projection TV because of the fantastic picture and darker blacks. I thought about a projector but didn't want to always turn off the lights and my room wasn't the best for it, so the Hitachi was a compromise. Still have my trusty Denon from back then as well. Oh those were the days. |
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Post by dschroll on Sept 16, 2014 5:43:47 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay in posting to this thread. I've been meaning to, but time has escaped.
So, other hobbies besides gaming:
1) Well, my number one hobby has to be playing with my daughter. I know it's cheesy to put that here, but I really enjoy spending time with her. She's getting to that perfect age now where she's taking a much greater interest in playing games as opposed to watching them, so I have to make sure she gets exposed to the right types of games. So, I have to start finding some more good co op games for us to play.
2) Legos - I LOVE legos. I have to blame jincman on this one as I hand't thought about Legos for some time until a few years back when he sent me a set for Christmas. That opened up Pandora's box because after that I was quickly reminded of how much I have missed building them and have since bought more sets than I care to admit. I have a bad weakness for Star Wars and Batman sets and it has become a tradition the last few years for me to buy a Star Wars Lego set on Star Wars day.
3) TV - I love watching TV shows. My wife and I used to watch a ton together, but our taste in shows has grown apart in the last few years. She found herself hooked on Korean dramas in the last few years, something I never got into. I also have a bad habit of wanting to stick with a show until the bitter end, whereas my wife will gladly give a show up once she's felt it's no longer of interest to her. Some of the shows I'm watching now: The Strain, The Last Ship, Orphan Black, Ray Donovan, The Wire, etc.
4) Movies - Before I became a dad I used to go see movies all the time. After I become one, it was just for really BIG movie releases, mainly because how expensive it can be to go see a movie when you have to hire a sitter on top of it. All of my closest friends live in other states, so I generally spent any free time with my family as I didn't have any friends near me. However, through daycare I met another dad that had similar interests and we started hanging out more and watching movies. It's been nice to hang out with another guy as I live in a houseful of girls. I'm getting to see a bunch more movies, especially ones my wife has ZERO interest in such as TMNT or Expendables or The Edge of Tomorrow.
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Post by fatty on Sept 20, 2014 15:50:50 GMT -5
Sorry I have taken so long to reply, last couple of weeks have been hectic, trying to get a lot of things done and also starting a new job. I planned to get some gaming in but was too busy. Hopefully it will start to normalize soon. Today is a nice relaxation day finally.  - I work. Then I work some more. After that, I get back to work. Seriously though, work sucks lately and I am putting in a lot of OT. But it won't be like this forever and I hope it will pay off. - I recently started investigating conceal carry, took a class and applied for a permit. So, I've been doing a lot of reading in that area lately. Ayoob Massad is an excellent resource and a learned man in this area. - I have re-started my fitness efforts. Three major crossfit injuries set me back but now I am back into running and lifting on a lesser scale to get started. We'll see if I ever return to crossfit. - I love guitar but have set it aside in preference to work lately. But I hope to pick it up again soon. I am interested in trying Rocksmith to combine my guitar and gaming interests. - I watch TV with the wife or by myself. We like Shark Tank, Storage Wars, House of Cards, Gold Rush, etc. Alone, I watch Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. - I'm a hunter in training. I've been out deer hunting for 3 seasons and haven't bagged anything yet. However, last season I had one within shooting distance but he was behind me and I scared him off before I realized what was happening. - I like biking and rollerblading and spend time on a nearby trail called The Tobacco Trail with my gear. - I have many other interests but most have faded as time has grown thin with adult responsibilities. Have things settled down at work? Keep up with the return to fitness, I missed last week but got some much needed time in today and it felt great. I still have something in the back of my mind that I can get back to Rocksmith, hopefully soon. Those adult responsibilities though... |
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Post by reaper on Oct 23, 2014 8:57:05 GMT -5
Things have only become worse at work. My boss described this short term deadline and put together his swat team of 4 people to deal with a laundry list of challenges. We have 1 week to get this list done. Who's online working on the list last night? Just me. Fitness has been sacrificed again and I hate it. Feeling like a slug lately. Guitar has also been sacrificed. However, I do have one exciting piece of news to share here. I am attempting to buy land! My dad owns 14 acres of woods 1.5 hrs from his home. When I was growing up, we used to go there and camp and play all the time. It was a ton of fun. I would like to recreate that experience for my children. Last night, I placed an offer on a piece of land here in NC. Here is a sneak peek:   |
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NoThru22
Casual Gamer
Two Worlds > Elder Scrolls
Posts: 866
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Post by NoThru22 on Oct 23, 2014 10:07:05 GMT -5
Wow, looks (and sounds) great!
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Post by reaper on Oct 24, 2014 12:01:33 GMT -5
Thanks NoThru. As an update, we did the typical negotiating dance with the owner and finally landed on a price that was acceptable to both parties. It was actually $5000 less than we expected to pay and it's certainly possible we would have considered $10-15k above what he accepted. But don't tell him that, mmk? We're working through the due diligence period now. Assuming no issues are found, we'll close in about 1 month. It's around 47 acres of land with small sections of meadows, mostly wooded with nice hardwoods, the huge creek, 2 small ponds (not worthy of any mention really), a private road for the property owner and a few others that branch off the same road. My head is dancing with visions of 4 wheelers, fishing in the creek, camp fires, private shooting range, etc. It's going to be supremely cool! |
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Post by dschroll on Oct 24, 2014 13:12:02 GMT -5
It'll be a nice refuge for us all during the impending zombie apocalypse. Congrats! |
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Post by fatty on Oct 26, 2014 7:27:33 GMT -5
reaper, I am truly jealous. Wow. I mean, Wow. That is the exact type of thing that we're trying to do and we're saving money toward. That just looks awesome, love the creek too. I would do all of those things you're doing and also build a Ninja Warrior obstacle course in there as well. I love it man, our plan is to also build a house on the land...but finding one with accessibility to high speed internet will be tricky.
I tip my hat to you.
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Post by reaper on Oct 26, 2014 23:20:26 GMT -5
There's actually a 3ac section and a 44ac section. I was talking to my wife about the 3 acres and we are considering setting it up as a course. Now, we watch ninja warrior but I was thinking more along the lines of paintball/airsoft. There's already cell service in the area but I am not sure about LTE/3G. I have a dumb phone. I saw signs for internet access but I presume it's horrible. Those are long term concerns for me. In the meantime, here are a couple more images to whet your appetite from our visit this weekend. The meadows are mostly on the neighbor's property. We own some small parts of them. The stands in the photos are all mine. 2 Box stands. 1 turkey blind and many many metal stands littler the property. You hear nothing out there except nature. We actually saw the turkey in the photos and more deer rubs and markings than you can imagine. So many positives about this land... plus.google.com/photos/105321154470330944467/albums/6074730707328144305?authkey=CO6F34vxjPzR8QE |
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Post by fatty on Oct 27, 2014 21:56:46 GMT -5
Why not both, lol? Those photos are beautiful, man. That, that right there, is what I am working toward. Weather has been so nice out lately too. Hopefully things start turning around at work where you can have time to enjoy that land. I've been reading this blog, Mr. Money Mustache, about retiring early, and I'm really digging the things he says. When I say retire, I mean retire from the cubicle, I'll always be working and doing something. But I really want to grab hold of life and enjoy as much as I can, it's too short. |
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Post by fatty on Nov 13, 2014 0:19:39 GMT -5
These last couple of weeks have been really sucky for me. Last week I attended my aunt's funeral, one that I was really close with and yesterday, one of our previous foster kids (we took in a teen with a troubled past) who had ran away from our home 2 1/2 weeks ago breaks into the house and steals 3 of our laptops, my 3DS XL and my daughter's and about 10 3DS games, some camcorders, ipads and other stuff. Uggghhhh. Kids were all shaken up but are better now. I'll be glad for the weekend to come this week. Hey, on the bright side I guess it gives me a reason to wait and get the NEW 3DS.
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Post by reaper on Nov 13, 2014 10:05:52 GMT -5
Oh wow, sorry to hear all that. It is just so hard to lose a loved one. I wish I had something comforting to say but it's really just hard for me anyway. I take comfort in keeping a picture around or talking about lost loved ones with my family some time.
Man, I can't believe that about the break in. That's really sad that a human being you tried to help would turn around and harm you. What do you do next? Do you file a police report? Try to get insurance to cover it? What a mess. Sorry to hear all the bad news.
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Post by fatty on Nov 14, 2014 13:20:37 GMT -5
Thanks reaper. Yeah we filed a police report and filed an insurance claim as well. Luckily the insurance deductible was still $1000 (earlier this year I thought about bumping it to $2000 to save money on the premiums...glad I didn't). Things are much better now, my oldest daughter took it the worst, saying how it was unfair. Perfect time to pull up youtube to show her the Rocky Balboa quote: I'll say this, I'm glad it is the weekend! Looking forward to playing Diablo: "Reaper" of Souls |
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Post by reaper on Nov 14, 2014 14:19:22 GMT -5
I'm behind on my gaming. Diablo does sound like an excellent way to spend some time this weekend! Glad you have things going in the right direction |
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Post by dschroll on Nov 14, 2014 16:58:13 GMT -5
I'm sorry fatty. As reaper said, it definitely stinks for that to happen to you and your family by someone that you've taken into your home. Certainly karma is going to come back to you on this 10 fold I'm sure.
I love that Rocky quote and have always remembered it after having watched the movie. I always try and think about that when something didn't go my way.
Good stuff.
If there's ever anything I (or anyone here) on this board can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask. We've all known each other long enough that I think it's safe to say we've got each other's backs during tough times.
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Post by fatty on Nov 17, 2014 23:13:39 GMT -5
Thanks dschroll. Things seem to be going OK with the insurance claim. At first they said there might be an issue since she might be considered 'insured' through us and there could be complications with the claim but she wasn't at the time of the robbery and things seem to be progressing so I don't think it will be an issue. Insurance company has actually been pretty good to work with so far.
I did get some gaming time in finally, and it was great. I used Diablo to take out some of my built up aggression haha.
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