Hobbies/Interests??

[Steve Frazier]

I thought I'd start a thread where we can get to know each other a bit. Let us know what you like to do on your time off, or for fun.

I enjoy hunting, shooting and just being outdoors in the woods. I've joined a local gun club that has several hundred acres of dense woods, I own 10 acres of woods myself.

I used to enjoy NASCAR immensely, but that seems to be fading as the focus becomes greater on the money and number of fans rather than the racing.

I'm a Volunteer Firefighter, serving for 25 years at various levels. I'm currently President of our Company and a firefighter/driver.

I'm pretty active at church too. I've served on committees in the past and am currently on the SPR committee. Our church has presented a play for the past 3 years, I worked that as light master. This year they asked me to play a leading part in "Little Shop of Horrors, I'm playing the plant, "Audrey II". It's turning out to be a lot of fun!

Anyone else?

[River Hill]

I would have to say Bass Fishing is my main hobby. I spend a great deal of time on the water when it's not frozen. I mainly fish in VA. My family has become quite involved with fishing as well. I really enjoy taking them out on the bass boat. Even though I spend more time fixing my son and daughters lines, it is a great hobby we can do together. My wife even catches more fish than I do from time to time. I also have a 22' pontoon boat, so if any of you guys are ever in VA and want to spend some time on the water let me know.

I planned on fishing semi-pro this year, but I need to focus more on my carrer and what direction I want to take in the near future.

I currently have a full time job that I am not happy with. I have been doing the samething for 16 years and I have been with this job for 8. I guess what makes me want to change jobs the most is receiving that 2% raise every year and they expect me to be thankful for that. Now I am starting to vent. I wish I had the balls to go off on my own. I am currently doing lawn care and snow removal after my full time job. I get off work at 4:00 so that does not leave me much daylight. I try to be home by 8:00 so I can spend some time with the family. I have not had to do lawn care on the weekends since I started the business 9 years ago, as I made a promise to my wife who was expecting our first child that I would not work weekends. I have had to plow snow, but that's about it.

[BRL]

I have a 3 yo daughter & a 6 yo son, so anything related to hanging out with them is hobby number 1 now LOL. Before they came along, and whenever I can escape now, snowboarding is about my favorite thing to do. I love winter & anything snow related (so snow plowing is a "hobby" I love & get paid for). And before they came along and before I got into this landscaping business, we had a boat. So wake boarding, waterskiing, hanging out on the water, and most importantly fishing took up a lot of my time. Now I get to go fishing maybe once or a few times a year with one of my best friends who gets out with his boat a lot.

[badranman]

During the summer I am a crew cheif for a late model race car. We run the Carquest Maritime Pro Stock tour up here in the Maritimes. We also run a few PASS races, that being an American/ Canadian tour. That keeps us fairly busy. When I get a chance I like to take my Honda 954RR for a rip, although it's been hard lately to find the time with work and the above mentioned race team. I also plow snow in the winter and excavate in the summer.

[Dirtguru]

Ironic how many people involved with heavy equiptment like to play with machines in their spare time as well. We are the ones they are talking about when you here the saying "The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys" :drinkup
In my younger days it was motocross but for the last 10 years it's been stock cars. Dirt Latemodels, nothing quite like tiptoing around on dryslick dirt in late Augast with 800hp at your foot. It's a lot like driving on ice. My handle "Dirtguru" was bestowed upon me by my fellow racers for my, as they call it, uncanny ability to read track conditions as the night goes on. Really not uncanny, just 40 yrs of playing in the dirt.
I to used to follow Nascar. As said before, money, to much political correctness and boring races have turned me away.
Hot rod diesel pickups. I take a lot of crap for racing a Chevy but pulling the racecar with a Ford.
Forest issues and forest politics, private property rights. As the years go by these issues require more and more of my attention due to where I live and my livelyhood.
Oldest children, boy and girl twins, 14 yrs old, into skiing and snowboarding, sons into football as well.
Youngest children, two boys, ages 3 and 4, still think daddy is amazing, pretty much into everything dirt just like dad. Think mini ex and skidsteers are for little boys. Both want skidsteers for christmas,ugh. 4 year old has recently indicated he will settle for mini ex.
Wife of 7 years, Retired fiber optic cable splicer. Raceteam manager and household sanity keeper, occasional truck driver, parts runner, seriously addicted to gardening.
Probably said to much but that about covers it.

A Chapman

[littledenny]

Since I retired from the Army, life seems to be a hobby. :bouncegri

That said, seems like my hobby is more like work, though I now get to work on things that I consider fun. Enjoy operating equipment, and this is growing into a business for me. Still play with the woodworking tools, been doing that ever since Dad taught me at the young age of six or so. And cooking, Mom taught me that, also at six or so.

Decided to start with the volunteering, now that I'm at home and not always deployed at the drop of a (Saddam's) hat. Charter member of the county EMA search and Rescue team, and a First Responder, working on EMT basic. Think I'm too old to start fighting fires, and too tall to fit in the turnout gear. Spent a career sticking out of the MOPP suits in the Army, not sure I want to burn off the legs and arms at this point.

[lamarbur]

After discharge from the army, I was an owner operator hauling military trade show stuff and very expensive computer systems for the gov'ts both federal and state levels,,, During the winter months when there was next to zero work, I drove one of the town plows/sand and ended up running the machinery more and more.. In the early 90's, I had to leave trucking due to physical problems.. I ended up full time with the local highway dept,. usually running loaders and backhoes. Ran smaller excavators each summer as we rented them for large drainage/piping projects. Late 90's the health (legs in specific) became worse, so I cut back and only worked when I could.. While in town, I was elected as town selectman, was deputy fire chief a short while and held many other positions like constable, finance, cemetery and others.. By 2000, I was down to one day every two and a half weeks. VA admin thought it best to 70% me as disabled. I still run equipment part time when I can for local contractors, still have my own Kubota L 48 TLB, which is for odd and small jobs, cut our own fields (12 acres or so)..My enjoyment comes from running machinery regardless of the job as running machinery at least to me is like playing and is mentally and physically soothing. Besides, one can sit most of the time and not worry too much about standing/walking etc... Growing up in northern Jersey and during high school years, 11th and 12th, I worked after school and weekends at Kens speed shop.. We sponsored several cars and all were super stock A/B/C back then, ran Island dragway and Englishtown each twice a week. One grudge night and either Sat or Sun depending on the racing format.. Did last 3 winters using a JD 710 TLB doing schools and business`.. This year doing my own driveway, but I think I will find another local contractor and load trucks(sand) or something...

[Grant]

I'm just your basic gearhead. Years ago, I had a particularly nasty bigblock 1969 Roadrunner, nowadays I have a 1916 Model T Ford and an old Jeep. My wife of 25 years claims my main goal in life is to drag home old rust and grease. Trucks, tractors, dozers, hoes, one lunger engines, Model A's, T's, Jeeps, and now a fire engine. She says I will have totally lost it when I drag home a locomotive.( I've been looking.....)To support my home, family, and scattered lost causes I have been employed at the town for 17 years. I started there with the remains of a 1976 GMC 6500, today I'm stylin' in a 2005 Peterbilt 335 I ordered. And I can't wait to retire from there so I can fall down, hit my head, and go back to plowing in my own pickup for myself.

[will_gurt]

Reading HEF, of course! :drinkup

Other than that surfing the net, riding my motorcycle, generally relaxing the evening away.

[Cat420]

I'm into pretty much anything with an engine. I have a four wheeler that I love to fly through the woods on and some day I would like to get a motorcycle. I would also like to get more into knife making. I have made some knives, but I don't have the proper tools, so they look like prison knives. I also love to play some video games, like Gran Turismo 4 and Powershovel :) , (powershovel helped me to get the excavator control pattern as second nature).

[littledenny]

(powershovel helped me to get the excavator control pattern as second nature).

Tell me more - sounds like fun.

I've gotten pretty good at the JD backhoe pattern, I'm assuming this is different. Present boss has two trackhoes, both transfer between patterns, but he likes the other. This might help me adapt, as I hate to switch back and forth and he really hates it when I forget to switch things back.

[Cat420]

Powershovel is a game for the Sony Playstation. It allows you to use different excavators for various jobs. The Playstation controller with two sticks lets you get used to different patterns, depending on what you choose.

I played this game a lot when I found out that we were getting a Cat 420 (it can switch between excavator and deere controls), because I was most comfortable with Deere controls. It seemed like every time we rented a backhoe for a job it came with the opposite control pattern as the last. I decided that I didn't want to have the same problem when we rent an excavator so I chose to learn the excavator pattern only.

An older Playstation would probably run about $50 and Powershovel is around $10, not a bad investment to reduce the amount of time bouncing the bucket off the ground when switching control patterns.

[badranman]

Where do you get Powershovel at? I haven't seen it anywhere.

[Cat420]

I'm not really sure where mine came from, because it was a gift. I imagine you could probably find it on Amazon.com or Ebay.