Ask Lemmy

Outdoor back-to-basics stuff has only proven more beneficial the more I have integrated it into my life.

Carpentry, landscaping, gardening, and taking care of my many animals all help me get fresh air and exercise in addition to whatever else I get out of the activities.

I am living the superposition of that meme where the resume or linkedin profile goes from Senior Systems Architect to Goose Farmer. My day job is software for embedded systems. At home, in addition to the indoor projects I am slowly transforming my little fenced-in back yard into a combination of oasis, hobby farm, and town from an old RPG or zelda game.

Music. I have a degree in Music History, but I haven't made a living with it for 25 years, although I still loved music.

During COVID, I was bored, and eating, so I took up guitar again, after leaving it behind decades ago. I've played every day since, and not only reached an intermediate level (far better than I ever was in the past), but I've also lost 100 pounds, by picking up my guitar instead of going to the fridge.

Now I'm experimenting with recording, using cheap used gear, and having a blast.

Playing on a PSP, those portable systems are still awesome.

Baking Sour Dough Bread

Cycling

Writing

Building stuff in Minecraft

Gym

Learning how to fix the old pile of boards I live in, now that I'm retired. The biggest thing I learned so far is how much you can get done with vey little when you don't have to pay for someone else's time/labour.

I play guitar, read, and do a bit of yardwork.

Beer. Genuinely. Drinks with friends (not daily or problematical) is, in my opinion, the absolute spice of life. It's not for everyone and the downsides are well documented and undeniable, but it's always worked for me.

Trail riding at about 20mph. It's balls to the wall adrenalin. I also do road racing with a few cars, but that kinda thing gets expensive. My dialysis center hates me because I always have a new cut on my arm or several bruises. Not gonna stop my life just because my kidneys are pieces of garbage at 43.

Squash! It's the most fun way to exercise.

I know it's still using a device but get yourself a 3DS. The social side of the console has been picked up again by a service called Pretendo and even some games like Mario Kart 7 can still be played online. It still gives you the ability to play online but the social side was pretty locked down on the 3DS so i would still say it's pretty offline all things considered.

• Rock climbing
• Mushroom trips
• Camping/hiking/walking
• Listening to music (while doing nothing else)

Not sure if this counts as “offline” but I play video games, read books, edibles, and because I’m in my late 30’s I’ve recently picked up bird watching!

• My partner & I do an escape room most weekends. (Great thing - when you start to run out of local rooms, it becomes an excuse to travel as well)
• Going to Handball games (hai CSM! hai România!). This weekend was a rollercoaster as Romania lost to Denmark in the EHF Euro 2026 semifinals on Saturday, but beat Hungary in a cracking third- place play-off yesterday
• The local Botanic Garden is a lovely way to spend an afternoon (there's a nice donut stand, which helps)
• Tending to window boxes/balcony planters - takes the edge off the arrival of autumn/winter knowing that now is the time to start planting spring bulbs and the like
• Gaming, natch
• Art galleries
• Cooking

Being in nature, reading a book or graphic novel, or visiting museums

I like to do rock climbing, hiking, and archery

I befriend the outside cats

Reading sci-fi

I've gotten into camping solo with my motorbike at an absurd pace this year and it's basically become my main way to disconnect, reset and chill. I think 3 months ago was my first trip and time camping? With a popup tent that sets up in 1 second, chair and self inflating mattress, sleeping bag and pillow, stored in a big bag on the passenger seat of my bike. Since then I've gone camping whenever the weather permits. Last week I did a 5 day tour, travelling from campsite to campsite. I have 4 tents now, 3 different chairs, 3 types of tables, a cot, 3 inflatable mattresses, the self inflating mattress, a foldable fire pit, ground sheets for every tent, fire sheet, food prep utensils, 3 power banks, a portable fan (MVP in Japan's humid weather), 2 sleeping bags (one for winter), a tarp, 2 side bags to haul more stuff on my bike and a firewood stove. I don't really regret any purchase because I can make use of everything by mixing and matching depending on my mood and wants since everything I take multiple off usually has trade-off between convenience or space e.g. if I feel lazy I put the popup tent on my back (it folds into a neat circle and has back straps), meaning all my space can go to an instant setup chair, large table and self-inflsting mattress.

My 4 tents:

• 1 second setup pop-up tent
• Smol 1 person tent with fly sheet
• 3 meter tall teepee style tent (hey, I wanted to be able to stand) that almost maxes out my bag space on its own.
• A really versatile but semi large 1 person tent for the winter with an inner tent, a chimney chute for the stove and lots of options for how to use it, don't really need an extra tarp with it.
• Honorable mention: a hammock tent that I haven't had the chance to use yet.

Haven't even used the stove and the tent with the chimney chute yet, literally just got them in anticipation of winter camping and vibrating with excitement at just the thought of finally using it. Same with the tarp, I didn't realize that's what those roof structures I saw others use were called (I'm ESL I thought tarp was just used for something you sit on) and I'm excited to use it next time to shield from rain.

It's so relaxing. Nothing feels better to me than sitting on my chair, chucking Soju while the fire rages on for hours, then cooking on the coals (just sausages and potatoes wrapped in foil), eating, drinking more, burning more light firewood trying to get the biggest flames on the site that my fire pit allows for, then once I've burned through it all, retreating into the tent, turning on the fan and sleeping like a brick. Oh and during setup and pack down being able to listen to an audiobook.

God just writing this makes me giddy. I prepped my setup for my next trip, just need a break from autumn rain and catch a sunny site not too far away one of these weekends.

LSD

• Shitposting on Lemmy

• Looking at porn

Oh... Wait that says offline activities...

• Thinking of shitposts to post on Lemmy

• Jerking off

I still do them but honestly things are so effed now they don't do much anymore. walks. baths. being in natural outdoor areas.

Cooking is awesome if I'm in a homey mood

BIking otherwise

DJing, snowboarding (haven't gone in years, though), and driving sports cars. (I love my 350Z)

Edit: Who downvoted my hobbies? Why?

consuming cannabis

Adult band program at a School of Rock franchise.

Weekly 90 minute rehearsal, and we put on a show every 3-4 months. Our big show is today, I'm playing keys on seven songs this time around.

Also, separately from that, I play bass in a cover band that I met through the School of Rock program.

Music's some good shit.

Cheap drum machine (korg volca drum), cheap synthesizer, plugged into mixer + no talent + no formal music theory knowledge == unlimited hours of enjoyment. Someday, I might even make something I like.

i go stand in a forest for an hour every week. i don't walk, run, or do anything interesting. i just stand there, watch and listen

Gardening Listening to birds

Ice hockey! Love going to games, love watching it on telly, just love it

Baking and cooking.

Writing is an underrated activity. Just taking a piece of paper or some note taking programme on your lapotop (offline) and jot away about whatever there is in your head. No rules, no daily routines, just thoughts and reflections taking some kind of material form whenever there is time and need for it.

Same for walks around the neighbourhood you live in. Taking a longer way to go to the bakery, seeing the trees and thinking about stuff.

I think there is no better way to face stress than truly being in the present.

Playing on my mpc one plus. Also, love.

I build things, electronics mostly. Then the next day I get to admire what yesterday-me built.

Cooking, hiking, interacting with pets.