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How do you relax?

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by mickster269

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We all have hobbies (I hope). After a long day at the office, fighting the demons of the Corperation, wrestling with balky networks, and trying really hard no to smite co-workers, we need a break.

What do you do to get away from it all?

Ironically, I get on the home computer (because I KNOW that works) and get back into the cyber world.

Personally, my hobby lately is playing a game called "Eve-Online". I've known this group that I play with for about 6-7 years (we met online playing a different game, and have migrated to Eve).

I used to play "Asheron's Call", but I hear that's dead in 2 weeks. I also toyed with "The Sims Online", but that got old.

Anyone else retreat to gaming online? or do you not go near a computer after you clock out?

63 replies

by mjd420nova

After working with computers since their inception, I find I want nothing to do with
them after I punch out. I never owned a computer
for recreation until I quit working on them and
put it together with spare parts. The first one being an IBM AT with WIN3.0 and a 40MB HDD. I've
built many early types for process control, such
as the 4004, a 4-bit processor I used to control
a small room air conditioner-humidfier and
elecro-static precipitator for an instrument
lab for repair and calibration.(mid to later
70's) Now I read an average of a book a week.
Tom Clancy, Dean Coontz, Dale Brown and Harold
Coyle are among my favorites. The home is filled
with computers however, 5 in all, One for a
gateway/firewall and to run printers and scanners
so the users main area can remain unclutered.
Recent addition of a laptop required a wireless
router but a small ethernet gets the job done
nicely.

by ben "iron" damper

I mess around at home with my PC a little, mostly just e-mail and some minor web browsing. Normally though after work I am ready for something else. So I spend most of my spare time listening/creating music, watching movies, reading, and spending good ol' quality time with my wife and friends.

by jck

If I'm really pissed off...I go out to bars, get drunk enough to be numb where I can't feel anything, and hope guys with the "Napoleon complex" try to start a fight with me cause I'm big and they have something to prove.

Other times, I just sit at home and play my Taylor K20CE.

And I agree...Sims Online...it jumped the shark when they started selling ad space to McDonalds as "places for your toon to go".

I play games to escape the real world...not emulate them.

Peace out...I'm leavin work early.

by maecuff

My husband is a big guy and he deals with that from time to time. Not to long ago, we stopped at a gas station and when we went in to pay a guy looked at my husband and said "I bet you think you're real tough, don't you. You look like you need your ass kicked." I was stunned and a little worried about my husbands reaction. To his credit, he smiled and said, "Not me, I'm sure you could kick my ass, have a nice day." I was very proud of him. Had he had a few beers in him, it may have gone differently.

Another time (we live in a backward little town) A guy stopped my husband and INSISTED that he was a wrestler. (Can't remember WHO he thought he was). And got thoroughly pissed off when my husband INSISTED that he was not. My husband has this permanent scowl on his face, he looks like a biker and can be intimidating (on the surface), in reality, he writes poetry to relax, plays his guitars and reads sales and marketing books for fun. Just goes to show that whole judging a book by its cover has some merit.

by jck

Being 6'6" and about 300 lbs, I have been:

- Asked if I was a pro football player/wrestler
- Had the old men in the pub in Ireland asking if I would be interested in taking up rugby with their local club
- Assumed that I was dumb because I'm a big guy
- Been asked more times than I care to remember to help do things that require "tall stature"

I've been through the whole bar conflict, napoleon complex conflict thing as well.

Usually, I just laugh at a guy unless he has a knife, gun or large damage-capable weapon. Then, I calmly pay attention and do my best to disarm him or get him to realize he's gonna end up in prison if he uses it. (Thanks for the karate and tae-kwon-do lessons, mom and dad)

As for my face, I get told I'm good looking...and that I should smile more. Haven't looked like a biker though since I cut my hair off in 1994 when it was down past my shoulders.

For fun? Jesus...anything from reading dirty joke books to writing piano concertos. Yeah, I know some people will say "Yeah sure.", but I wrote my first one in high school before I'd even taken a formal piano lesson. Could play...just didn't know all the technical theory.

Anyways...the reading a book by the cover thing...to me...well...there's some use...I can generally tell how someone is by their actions and demeanor. I try not to go by looks. I was judged for mine all my life and didn't like it.

Do unto others...right?

by jdclyde

Isn't that the one you mentioned driving to get a bit ago?

Have just recently dug mine out and Thing one is having a blast making noise with me. Right now, he likes the Stratacaster, I lean towards the PeveyTracer.

He is now on me to restring the accustic tomorrow. He also wants a BASS. Maybe for tax return time! Bass for Thing one, drum for thing two and a colt 45, cammander. That or the gold cup. Or maybe shoot the moon and get a kimber? Looking at getting back into competition shooting again! B-)

by jck

That's the guitar I drove 7.5 hours each way to get.

The guy is U.S. Navy and needed the money to refurb a 60s Firebird to original.

I got a good deal...he got all original parts for his car paid for too.

And, I don't feel bad since I spent 15 hours of my time and over $90 of gas going up and back. That easily covers the other (at least) $500 more than what I paid that it's worth.

Plus, I saved him having to go and pack and ship the thing and insure it and risk it getting damaged and dealing with the hassles that could entail.

It was a good trade off. I play it nightly.

by azul

I tinker around with PC's / networking, I have a Linux box 3 WXP boxes, an old G3 and a WS2K3 box.

Most of the year I spend as much time as I can mountain biking.

by road-dog

There is nothing as cathartic as laying crosshairs on an unsuspecting victim and then taunting them as their helmet lands several feet away.......

Agression has to go somewhere, better in a harmless outlet where a sweet frag and teabag is appreciated by all!

I never got on board with RPGs.

by jdclyde

is always fun.

the blackhawk games are sweet too.

of course, for hack and blast you can't beat unreal!

I often find myself retreating to D2 though, trying out new combinations. I then go back and forth between helping noobs get a start and going in an party killing. My barb is "SMF_Purge" (BVB) and after I leave your bloody corps on the ground you will get the taunt "You have been purged!" :D

by jmgarvin

World of Warcraft is an excellent MMO. It has a deep world and a pretty interesting quest cycle. I love everthing about it, although I'd like to find the farmers and cut off their friggin' spamming fingers.

If I am a little stressed I tend to like to play Counter Strike: Source and I LOVE to play a little Call of Duty ;-)

In my down time I usually read or watch TV. I can't miss Adult Swim (Futurama and Family Guy) or Sunday night TV on Fox. I'm currently reading an excellent book called "Holy War." It follows the problems of today back to the Crusades and is pretty interesting (although it is making leaps of faith in places and ignores some of the more interesting acts of tourture during the Crusades (by both sides))

by mickster269

I want to blast others to itty-bitty tiny bits of space dust as opposed to being drenched in blood and entrails when finished.

But that's my personal opinion.

by jmgarvin

Ah, but you can't tell me it isn't fun to get up close and personal with a sword and shield and hack things to death ;-)

I do enjoy space combat, but usually I place Freelancer (which is a blast)....

by jmgarvin

WoW is pure evil...I think I'm having withdrawl right now...

Hmmm...maybe I should call in sick to play WoW ;-)

by lost_one

I play in 2 free to play bar leagues9they give out cash prizes), Pokerstars and play at a casino tourney with a $100 buy-in. At the bar leagues I am about $500 ahead without putting in a dime of my own money.

I am buying myself a guitar after the holidays for something besides poker to do.

BYW, thanks TR for the free iPod Shuffle, I use it all the time when playing poker.

by old guy

Primarily I spend quite a bit of time with our Youth Group, which involves my whole family.
Over the course of time I like to videotape weddings (and it brings in a little money to perpetuate the video equipment).

And, my family and I are involved in Community theater. I love to act on stage.

by evmafau

Most of the week, I work out for a couple hours cause I have the energy to burn and it's healthier than putting my fist through walls after dealing with the minutia at the office.
After that, it's a little guitar, check some e-mail, see what I didn't already read online while at work, or just hit up some bars. Been meaning to start reading more books, but by the time I get home, I almost feel like I've got A.D.D. and can't focus on it... but t.v. substitutes nicely

by charliespencer

It's completely non-digital, other than soil test results. Gardening does sometimes lead to birdwatching, a hobby that can be supported by a spreadsheet or database to manage your life list.

My only form of online recreation is running a web-based fantasy racing league, and the online portion of that is less than two hours a week.

by charliespencer

Since he shoved Tony Stewart out of the way for the win in a Rockingham Busch race in Robby Reiser's then-unsponsored car.

I should know where Versailles is, but I can't place it right now. I've got in-laws on the Indiana side of the river from Louisville, but I haven't been to the KY track yet.

by jaqui

I knit for relaxing.

one mm needles with crochet yarn..very fine stitches.
My sister and mom hate me, as I get perfect results with every item, no dropped or missed stitches at all. At 250 stitches per row, and 20 rows per inch, we are talking very large number of stitches.
>:)

by old guy

Rosie Greer used to knit, too. And, he was big enough I wouldn't have laughed at him... :)

by dc guy

I know because I took up needlepoint back in the early 1970s. Good way to space out.

by road-dog

Repetitive and non-thought consuming activities are good for approaching a state that borders on meditation.

I used to sharpen knives. Believe it or not, fellow Marines would give me a case of beer for a well-sharpened K-bar. It's an acquired skill, some folks have it, most don't.

by jaqui

I use leather for the restraints, the only steel being the hasps, locks and chains. :P

by maecuff

I don't have the patience to do any type of stitching or drawing or sewing. I did find, however, that a hot glue gun can turn out some very cool stuff. (I had always seen hot glue guns to be along the same lines as puff paint..just not my style).

I covered a bookcase in pennies. Heads up on one half and tails up on the other. It took months, but I needed the repetetive activity to take my mind away from worry about my older son. It worked wonders and I have a very cool bookcase now.

by jaqui

what's really funny is that most people that see my knitting results are amased at the "perfection" of the stitching.

yet here, in this discussion, doesn't phase anyone.
must be an IT mideset where doing something right is a natural, not unusual. :)

by attackcomputerwhiz

I also knit and crochet, plus design and sew for friends. I do a lot of dancewear things for my daughter's growing ballet wardrobe. I also volunteer at the ballet company she takes classes with. In exchange for all the sweat equity, we get free tickets to the shows and she gets a bit of recognition because her mom is so involved (they also like me because I can take apart a costume and recreate it for others in a hurry).

I keep the computer up for tracking the craft and sewing newsgroups and for "chatting" with friends in my hometown.

by charliespencer

I've long felt that way. Knitting may actually bring you closer to what the non-IT population defines as "normal".

by mirrormirror

I crochet. I never did learn to knit and am very satified with crochet. I can crochet very fast with nice even rows and lots of patterns. I have made afgans for all of my family, several friends and am starting to make them for co-workers. It keeps me sane to have something physically in my hands grow and work. Unlike DBA work where I cannot feel the fruits of my labor except when I do not get calls from users. I discovered a crochet stitch that looks just like knitting stitches but it takes a long time to do it. I never charge anything for my afgans but have thought about making some for charity or selling them on e-Bay.

by tryten

I play a lot of first person shooter games. Not the kiddy games like halo. But Counter Strike, Call of Duty 1 & 2, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2, Star Wars Battlefront 2, the unreal tournament series. I love Painkiller, Tron 2.0, the Doom series, the Quake series although the last of both were nothing but the same game as before with better graphics, not much in content change. I still play Tribes 2 when I get the chance, Tribes Vengeance is ok, just not as fun as the original 2.

Lately, my top 5 favorite FPS games are FEAR, Farcry, Call of Duty 2, Halflife 2, and Painkiller.

I also play guild wars, City of Villians/Heros, Star Wars Galaxies. I tried World of Warcraft and was dissapointed in it. Too cartoonish, it looks like a game that belongs on the Gamecube.

by oz_media

Well I thought someone had posted to an old thread and it had resurfaced, but its a new one.

Horses, women, and everything we aren't supposed to talk about in public. :)

by oz_media

Didn't we have a 'What do you do to get away from teh IT world' type of discussion not too long ago, well maybe last year?

I remember talking about camping, fishing and all that crap with a bunch of you guys (and gals) not too long ago.

I don't expect the poster to know that though, I was just getting the flashback because I thought the old topic was dug up again. Kinda like:
"What's better, Windoze or Linux?" "Novell or Windoze?" etc.

by liujun

I'm a java programmer. I spend most of time on computer everyday and felt very very bald.So i did my possible to be alway from computer in my free time.I liked to go to village and breathed fresh air and enjoyed nature!

by stargazerr

I am kidding ... my way to relax is to turn off my computer and mobile fone ... take the landline off the hook, while I am at it ... and curl up with a good mushy book ... :p

If I am feeling a bit more energetic ... I play Basketball

]:)

by daniel.muzrall

I wish I had more time to relax, but when I do get the opportunity (or make the opportunity) I hit the gym and do some running and/or weight training. I also like to hit the range...the driving range or the target range. Both allow me to focus on something small, and on my breathing.

by mickster269

I don't remember seeing this topic before, but then again, I might have and forgotten I did see it.

Or, maybe I dreamed I hadn't seen it.

by xenophore

I find it very therapeutic after a long day of dealing with both users and bosses to crank up a game like Age of Empires 3 or Homeworld 2, set it on Easy, go up against a couple of bot opponents, then hunt down and destroy every last enemy unit or structure while refusing their pathetic pleas to surrender. Mwahahahaha...

by gpastorelli

I hit the gym as often as possible (usually between 3 and 5 days a week, except the holiday season, way too much shopping to do, lol). I also enjoy reading, I've been reading a lot of the Star Wars books. Just finished up the book sequel to Episode 3 titled "Dark Lord - Rise of Darth Vader", good read.

I like spending time with my g/f as much as I can since we won't have much time alone once the baby comes in March. I also enjoying going for long drives, racing and modifying my car (03 Dodge SRT-4) as much as $$$ allows.

And I also cook. I used to go on my computer a lot but since moving in w/ my g/f and not having access to broadband I usually leave the laptop at work and just hang out and watch a lot of tv (primarily Law & Order and CNN).

by cbalness

I like to sample various hot sauces and I fire up my Charcoal Smoker and cook my signature dish.... Beer Can Chicken.

by maecuff

always impressed by a person's dedication to a project, regardless of the project.

Although, I must say, it took me a moment to reconcile the goth,sadist thing with knitting. :)

by sleepin'dawg

I spent the day changing the oil on my cars and jacking them up off their tires and suspension until spring. Changed the oil on the vehicles I drive during the winter as well. I use Castrol synthetic. All the plugs on the stored vehicles got pulled and special plugs that release a protective vapor into the cylinders were installed. Old cars are my hobby. Reread a bit of a favourite old book this afternoon and am dining with a lady friend this evening. She has a weird idea that I'll accompany her to church at midnight but I don't see that as being a good idea as I'd probably fall asleep during the service. She is RC and I'm supposedly a black protestant, when I'm being anything at all. Since I haven't seen the inside of any church in at least 15 years, except for weddings and funerals, the foundations might crumble if I risked that.:^O ]:)

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

by jck

and I didn't even pay half that for mine...and could put mine on Ebay right now and make a mint off of it.

And yes, I called Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, CA and confirmed with them that no owner had reported it stolen.

It's legally all mine :) (btw...mine isn't new...2001 model...but in almost mint condition.)

by noyoki

Well, I'd have to say that I never really got addicted to Evercrack (never tried WoW), but DID get huge into Ragnarok Online ( http://iro.ragnarokonline.com ) and Diablo II Exp... I still wish VNC/VPN/et. al. were fast enough to let me remote into my Windoze box and let me play... *sobs*

But I guess I get a whole lot more done without it here at work though... lol.

by jck

RO is pretty cool...have to admit...

even if the toons are goofy...I prefer the more medieval look to the japanimation style in a combat game.

by dc guy

I'm surprised that more IT people aren't into go. When I learned to play 40 years ago the majority of the first generation of American players were programmers.

I also play electric bass and tussle with my Lhasa Apsos.

And there's a lot of great stuff on TV. People who dismiss the medium are just being elitists. These days there's something for everybody. We've gotten fabulous stuff off of HGTV and the Food Network. And how can you not love either South Park or Spongebob? (Or both in my case.)

by maecuff

Monk. Monk makes me laugh. And my mother nagged me into watching Boston Legal, which is a lot funnier than I thought it would be.

by mickster269

CSI, Law and Order,NCIS, Num3ers ... I want to see if I can solve the scenario's before the charecters.

But for pure mind relaxation, give me a StarGate marathon!

by brj1980

Go to a bar with some friends and take 7 or 8 shots of Wild Turkey. That always gets me relaxed.

by jkaras

PC gaming
Rome Total War
Mohhaa Spearhead
Star Trek Armada II (kick ass game)
Bike riding.
Working out/Yoga.
Movies great dvd collection while tooling around the house.
Reading a fav book while listening to music.
Talking to a distant friend on phone reliving the "Glory Days".
Window shopping at my favorite electronics store wishing for a windfall to buy some cool stuff.

Everyone has their "escapes" whether it be in a hobby, gaming, or excersize. I like a little of all. My main escape is pc gaming, I'm hooked on online gamming. It beats the tar out of playing against the computer, talking trash, grudge matches, and more intense game play. I tend to put on a favorite dvd and have it on as backround sound from the home theater system. When I get frustrated while gamming I get happy hearing a classic line from a movie or an intese battle scene getting my back to focusing or being impish with fellow gammers. I highly reccommend getting into a clan on your favorite online game and experience live voice chatting while playing for tactics and general fun. We use a program called Ventrilo that is free and easy to hook up, it makes all the difference.

by hellen.padon

Hi,
for me there are two favorite ways how to relax. First is reading a books and the second is to swim in our swimming pool. You know, when the sun is shining ... Just perfect
I love their presentation on this website:
http://www.vagnerpool.cz/

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