What else do you do?

[LCF]

What a fun thread!

Cam, I'm envious of your helicopter flying. Flying a helicopter is almost as free in three dimensions as diving is, but you can see farther

Ben, you were a falconer? That's cool! It's way too time demanding for me to do, but I think it would be great fun.

[airsix]

Ben, you were a falconer? That's cool! It's way too time demanding for me to do, but I think it would be great fun.

That's been the problem for me as well. I feel that to do it properly you have to devote a minimum 2 hours per day to it, in addition to at least 2 days in the field every week. I did that for 2.5 years and just couldn't keep it up while raising a family and running a business. I'd like to take it up again in the future when I can carve out more time for it. The experiences are very rich. I have never felt more connected to nature than being in the field with a bird that has accepted me as a hunting partner. But out of respect for the bird I won't keep one unless I'm flying it as much as it likes.

My brother hounds me weekly about it. "Fly a merlin this year. They're so easy..." he says. He's a master falconer and does it for a living. He has bird abatement contracts keeping pigeons, gulls, geese, etc. away from airports, marinas, landfills, and the like. If the sun is up he probably has a falcon in the air.

-Ben

[Pinkpadigal]

Wow...everyone has time to do other stuff besides diving??? I am a bit jealous.

I dive and I teach diving. I work at the dive shop. Most of the travel I do involves diving related stuff. Diving is my passion and I am unsure what I ever did before.

At home, I eat, sleep, watch a little TV and spend with my son and my husband. Tom is the best husband a woman could every have. He cleans, cooks and does laundry, and still thinks I am beautiful even after being married for 5 years.

I love to travel outside of diving, and have done so throughout Europe. I hope to go to Istanbul in the next few years. I love European history, and I hope to visit every European country before I die. I am about 2/3 way through.

I love to listen to people speak other languages, and try to guess the language if it wasn't familiar. I used to be almost fluent in German (25 years ago) and I am starting to learn Spanish. Because of my hearing disability, it is hard, but I am having fun with it.

My goal is to retire outside the US, preferablly somewhere with warmer winters than here.

I read a lot too, but usually nothing of substance. I like to ride my bike but I rarely get to do that.

[E_Mo]

I like to ride my motorcycle, hang out with friends/family and the occassional video game.

[Grateful Diver]

I don't seem to do much besides dive anymore ... but I do still get in a bit of camping, hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing when I have some time to spare.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[sunnydude]

Interesting hobbies and activities from everyone.

I enjoy: my wife, two kids, playing hockey, snowmobiling, fly fishing for some of these: Cruising around the Islands on this: and driving to work on this:

And of course my latest hobby is learning to dive which has been great thanks to Pez, Norris, Fishtiq, H2Odoc and others I have met.

[Grateful Diver]

Hey Sean ... nice boat.

Get rid of that little bathtub toy in the back, and replace those fenders on the bow with X-scooters, and you've got a real handy piece of dive equipment there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Sounder]

Outside of diving I work for your tax dollars, am a consultant for a few different companies (one of which is Liquivision Products, Inc.), and am in school finishing my MBA. Beyond work & school, I have a wonderful wife and a beautiful baby boy I enjoy spending time with.

My other activities include ski patrol (on a snowboard), various shooting sports like trap & skeet and tactical pistol, tubing and wakeboarding on Lake Sammamish, playing guitar, watching and refereeing martial arts competitions, cooking and hosting dinner parties (like "Thanks-again-giving!"), and once a year I'm a judge for the Seattle Comedy Festival.

I love Crown Royal on ice.

[Sockmonkey]

refereeing martial arts competitions

Refeering martial arts? I always knew you were a stoner.

This excellent thread reminds me of Joe's Typical... thread which I also enjoyed greatly.

Back when I wasn't moving around so much I was a man of many hobbies. I'm now struck with how much more simple my life has become after moving so often the last couple years. I sold my motorcycle when I moved into an urban area of Boston. I decided to sell the majority of my beer brewing gear before moving to Seattle. I was once a wooden boat builder and amateur furniture maker. I still have all my tools but they haven't been in one place long enough to get any use. Besides diving I'm working on my captain's license.. which I guess is work related. I started learning to *gasp gasp* freedive... which I guess is work related.

I have volunteered to be a judge and support diver for a local high school ROV competition (thanks to CaseyB's inspiration) which should be fun. The national competition is here in Hawaii next year. People I know from MA should be here with their teams so I'm psyched to be involved.

I guess really setting up a house with my lovely wife and building a life here is pretty much a fun full time job. In addition I try to spend as much time as I can in the kitchen using her as a guinea pig for my culinary experimentation.

Oh yeah... diving.

-Eric

[kwbyron]

Hey guys, I've been away for a while and thought I would chime in!

My free time has gone to research and grading - working on MS in Biology down in Texas. I actually made my first dive in a year last weekend, which was to inspect the keel of my 40' sailboat/home, which gets the rest of my free time. I had hit a rock comming into the marina, I also wanted to free up the paddle wheel for the knot meter so I could see if I am actually getting the boat up to 30 knots, it's how fast I like to tell everyone it goes The dive made me miss the clarity of the puget sound... this water was so murky I couldn't see my mask; I had to feel along the hull of the boat. I'm hoping to take it out to the flower gardens this summer though.

[Nwbrewer]

Holy crap where have you been?

I'm hoping to take it out to the flower gardens this summer though.

How much is a plane ticket to Texas? I'll sleep on the deck, my gear doesn't take up too much room.

[Tom Nic]

Holy crap where have you been?

I'm hoping to take it out to the flower gardens this summer though.

How much is a plane ticket to Texas? I'll sleep on the deck, my gear doesn't take up too much room.

Ditto!

[nice-diver]

when not diving...underwater photography (can't really do both at the same time can you)

photography (one photo published in Sport Diver)
British car club in my first car, 76 MGB
vw bugs
sit on top kayak
and building a life with my fiance

[lurch]

I expose cancer cells to various chemicals in hopes that they'll either live or die depending on the given population.

Oh and I'm in school learning how to do more of the same.

[Pez7378]

I expose cancer cells to various chemicals in hopes that they'll either live or die

Just out of curiosity, have you tried the tears of Chuck Norris? Oh that's right, he never cries..........

[BASSMAN]

and building a life with my fiance

Fiance? :occasion5: Congratulations Jeff!
Tell Future Mrs. Jeff, "Congratulations" from Bassman!

[scottsax]

I expose cancer cells to various chemicals in hopes that they'll either live or die

Just out of curiosity, have you tried the tears of Chuck Norris? Oh that's right, he never cries..........

Did you know that when Chuck Norris goes in the ocean, he doesn't get wet, the ocean gets Chuck Norrised?