INSTEAD of listening?

[bauzace50]

Hi,
What do you prefer to do when choosing your alternative to listening?

My alternative would be to research a delicious rice recipe. Otherwise, some table game (without money bets) such as Poker,Scrabble, Chinese Checkers, Dominos, etc. Betting could be with dry beans, for example.

Others prefer riding the bike, mountain climbing, etc.
What do you choose instead of listening? Is your alternative dangerous to your ears (power tools,explosives,etc)? Sightseeing? Bird watching?
Regards,
bauzace50

[ginniegatrit]

Basically you're asking what other interests do we have?

I am an artist of sorts - love painting, drawing, calligraphy, graphic arts...
Also a musician - guitars, bass, songwriting, a little keyboards and harmonica...
I LOVE reading - mostly non-fiction - science, history, geography, music, art, pop culture...
I do most of the home cooking but I wouldn't call myself a chef or anything...
I like good beers - mostly from Britain or Belgium...

[bauzace50]

ginniegatrit,
Do you have one favorite alternative (through your richly diverse world) when choosing not to audition your audio system?
It seems to be reading. Right?
Congratulations on your diverse interests,
b50

[ginniegatrit]

:mrgreen: But I should say that when I'm doing most of those things I'm also listening to music. Either someone else's or my own.

However - after listening to music it is a toss up: Reading, Painting or Playing guitar. I don't think I can live without any of them.

[bauzace50]

RIGHT ON!
Keep on!
Yes.

[jc_the_trucker]

For me it's fishing and shooting. If I had more frequent free time, I'd spend some of it finishing out my instrument rating and my commercial pilot license. At this point though, it makes no sense to do that because I spend so much time on the road that I wouldn't make any progress.

I don't have any cheap hobbies.

[vinyl master]

Let's see when I'm not listening, I'm either a) downloading music to my MP3 for when I exercise, b) searching through boxes of records in record stores, c) visiting flea markets and thrift shops for records, d)going to see favorite artists or bands live, or e) none of the above as much as I'd like to, if at all or as much as I used to... :cry:

Most likely, I might be cooking on occasion. I'm also a fan of movies and TV, but two things probably take most of my time...and those are...WORKING and SLEEPING! But they play music at work, and I have music to fall asleep to, so it's an inescapable part of life! WHAT IS A BOY TO DO??? :wink:

[jc_the_trucker]

That is one major advantage to my line of work. Not only can I listen to music while I work, I get to choose the playlist, and I can turn it up as loud as I want 8) ! Now all I need to do is FLACify all of my records.

[bauzace50]

Oh, my. This is multiplying! I bet there are interesting sights in the traveling mode. And surprises never end when navigating flea markets and record bins.
And fishing poses no risk to the eardrums unless you do deep sea diving!

[Tedrick]

When not listening, reading magazines, surfing the 'net, or anything else audio related, I love to play tennis. Depending on work and weather, I try to hit the courts 3-4 days a week. I also enjoy birdwatching with my son; most of our family trips are planned around some destination known for birds of one kind or another. In the last few years, we've been to Colorado twice, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire, British Columbia, and all over Florida to chase birds.

I used to do a lot of kite flying, including competitive sport kites, but don't get to do that very much anymore.

[bauzace50]

A friend of mine taught bird watching for the kids in our local Scout Troop. On a field trip he pointed out many examples, including yellow-eyed ones.

He pointed out the strange behavior of chicken on the ground so we could find the hawk hovering high above looking for a meal.

A kite-loving cousin of mine got so concentrated in building his own design, he did not notice it was too big to get it out of the house!

[Finger Painter]

If not tinkering with HiFi and listening to vinyl guess my next loves are motorbikes and art. The art and vinyl actually work hand in hand and there is little to beat listening to a record while painting away merrily. Very Karma inducing. Unfortunately bikes and TT's tend to be rather separate past times.

Otherwise I play the guitar and there is something very stress reducing about it. Blow the cob webs away and the neighbours at the same time.

It has taken me the last one a half years to decorate the house to a level where I can say 'this is the end for the moment', so more time to spends in other directions.

[bauzace50]

Satanfriendly,
You mean you actually insert a distraction into your listening sessions? Painting? Goodness! That means several points off your audio concentration!
And PAINTING?! Of all the nerve! Ma foi, as my cousin would say! Oy vey, my other cousin. Caramba, my other cousin.

How would the Vinyl Forum deal with this situation?!

[ginniegatrit]

I asked my sister once (who also paints), "How long does it take for you to finish a painting?".
"A bottle of wine" was the answer.

[vinyl master]

Satanfriendly,
You mean you actually insert a distraction into your listening sessions? Painting? Goodness! That means several points off your audio concentration!
And PAINTING?! Of all the nerve! Ma foi, as my cousin would say! Oy vey, my other cousin. Caramba, my other cousin.

How would the Vinyl Forum deal with this situation?!

Maybe he should turn all his records into FLAC files, and let everything run on a random setting, and see what inspiration strikes! That would mean no stopping every 30 minutes or so to change a record or flip it over. That takes REAL concentration! Like Ginniegatrit said about his sister and that bottle of wine, maybe in this case, 5 or 6 A- and B-sides!