What other hobbies compete for your play money?

huugh · #41

squad314 wrote:Sverre,

When I read Karens post I thought of my wife.She is a grade three teacher here in Canada,and yes the school provides the basic material for class.However,teachers it seems spend a lot of their own money on books,supplies and classroom materials.Once a week at least my wife is at the dollar store and Staples getting stuff to personalize her class,reward her students or provide for kids who may not have all the stuff they need.I bet this is an international trend.

Definitely not here in Czech Republic. :)
And on topic, some went to computers, some to photography, but now I prefer to spend on knives :)

EarthDog · #42

A good chunk of our discretionary income goes to dance lessons for our wonderful daughter. She's 16, a great student, and a committed dancer. She spends a good 12 - 15 hours/week in lessons and practice. We are so blessed that God sent her to us.

gordonk · #43

vampyrewolf wrote:I hear yah on the billiards. Lets see....

24 gram darts, tungsten tips, $30 a set, plus alum shafts for another $5 a set.... on my 2nd replacement set of shafts now and about my 9-10th tip(at least these ones I can just screw a new tip into, my sets a few years back were solid cast).

21oz Ti cue, fibreglass core, 2 section, drop in case, $95... and compared to my last cue this one is dirt cheap.... had a BEAUTIFUL solid hardwood cue. 3 section, custom built to my shoulder height, only ran me $400 by the time it was done :rolleyes:

At least table tennis is cheap.... our entertainment at work during breaks... $5 paddle and $3/6 balls.

I go cheap for my movies... I pre-pay for a dozen at a time, rent 1-2 a week and burn em the next morning. Only cost em a few cents to produce, see no reason to pay $20 for it. Just upgraded last week from a 128 book to a 228 book.... apparently a banker box holds about 100 cases. Have a pile to start a new box with.

I hear you on the darts - you throw heavy darts :D I used to play 17 and 19's. Did the same thing - tungsten tips, Spider wire shafts.... I did that waaaaayy back when..... My latest cue is the Viking F54 (blue inlay) with a quick release joint, extended pro taper on the shaft (20 oz). My sponsor/bar became a Viking dealer and wanted me to play one and get me away from my Joss. It's a nice cue, but I still like my Joss better - but then my Joss was a LOT more money :) Got the Viking in February or so - so I had a chance to figure it out before 'Vegas.

- gord

StuntZombie · #44

I'm just starting to get back into photography. Hopefully I'll have a digital camera soon, which will make it easier to get my photos online.

I've also tried to keep my blog updated regularly. That's actually one of the reasons I've wanted to pick up a digital camera, so I can start adding photos to it.

When I finally get the funds I plan on picking up a mountain bike and a kayak, since I prefer either one to running.

I also enjoy fishing and hunting, and I'm definitely looking forward to flounder and striper season. Thankfully I already own all the gear I need as far as those two hobbies go.

DAYWALKER · #45

Aloha ALL,

Ahhhhh, I am like dedguy. I just have a thing for "action figures"...I just cannot help it. Guess growing up with comic books, the impact that Lucas' Star Wars had upon me, and also always "wanting an action figure to look as they are drawn"...well, the figures now days are incredible. I used to try to build certain figures that were not available with Play Doh when I was younger...however, no one told me that Play Doh dries with all that salt on it. :o

Here are some of my recent acquisitions, some Bruce Lee figures.

I could kick myself for not buying these on clearance when I saw them at KayBee Toys a few years back.

I am just blessed to have gotten them finally though. Also a pic of my BLADE figure of course, something I been waiting YEARS for the local WalMart to get in, but to no avail.

Um...we'll not start with the Star Wars stuff I got all over the place. :D Mrs. Daywalker flips out when I buy these things...but I always justify them by the "For Ages 8 and Up" on them!

God bless and goodnight all :cool:

vampyrewolf · #46

gordonk wrote:I hear you on the darts - you throw heavy darts :D I used to play 17 and 19's. Did the same thing - tungsten tips, Spider wire shafts.... I did that waaaaayy back when..... My latest cue is the Viking F54 (blue inlay) with a quick release joint, extended pro taper on the shaft (20 oz). My sponsor/bar became a Viking dealer and wanted me to play one and get me away from my Joss. It's a nice cue, but I still like my Joss better - but then my Joss was a LOT more money :) Got the Viking in February or so - so I had a chance to figure it out before 'Vegas.

- gord

They aren't heavy... thay just have enough weight to throw from across the room. :p

I hadn't played pool seriously for a few years, sold my good cue and then got back into it again a year or so back. Got tired of house cues real quick. Can always send me a 'sample' cue if your sponser is looking for someone else(or when they upgrade your current one)

You don't wanna know how my last dart board got finished off... lets just say a 600fps pistol and .177 darts are fun :D

KSDbass · #47

besides knives, I play the electric bass. And any bassist knows that ANY money you get goes straight to it... My strings last about 2 or 3 months, and they're around $30 each, plus a mid to high range bass is around $600-$900 new, and amplifiers are around $1,000-$3000 depending on how nice they are. that doesn't even include speaker cabinets, effects, cables (about $50 for 25 ft), and any other upgrades I might need, which can go from $90 to $750. Then we've got mountain biking, which I really don't put that much money into but it still isn't a cheap sport. I almost forgot computers, which are right next to knives and bass. I've got 1 GB of Patriot 400 Mhz RAM, 3.6 ghz intel processor, 750 watt PSU, 180 GB harddrive, and an ATI X800GTO graphics card. I'm getting more RAM and a better harddrive as soon as I can.

dedguy · #48

my major expenditure as far as toys goes is Max Factory of Japan's Bio Fighter Colection MAX line. it's a series of very high end articulated feature packed figures based on the Manga/Anime Guyver. some may be familiar with Guyver from the two live action movies made. these figures are based entirely on the Manga (comic) character designs.

these run anywhere from 35$US for the smaller ones like the blue one and the white one to nearly 100$ for the larger ones.

my other favorite line is the much more reasonbly priced Mezco Comic Hellboy line. based off Mike Mignola's comic Hellboy (duh). they are pretty much spot on to the artwork and very high quality especially for the 15$ per figure price.

Axlis · #49

Fantastic pics, dedguy!

Thanks for sharing, love the Japanese monsters. :D

Simple Man · #50

gordonk wrote:..... My latest cue is the Viking F54 (blue inlay) with a quick release joint, extended pro taper on the shaft (20 oz). My sponsor/bar became a Viking dealer and wanted me to play one and get me away from my Joss. It's a nice cue, but I still like my Joss better - but then my Joss was a LOT more money :) Got the Viking in February or so - so I had a chance to figure it out before 'Vegas.

- gord

I used to play way too much pool in college, Joss and Viking are nice cues, so is McDermott and Schon (buddy's) but I really like my older Meucci, it was probably 5-6 years old when I got it in '95, back when they were still good. I've heard they are not what they used to be. I've got both a regular shaft and a snooker shaft for it. Snooker shaft could use a new tip and ferrule though... :o

markIVbigblock · #51

Im surprised no one is hardcore into fishing Im a hardcore smallmouth fisherman I have waaaaaay too many rods to count all high end st croix's (200-300$) and G loomis's (300-400$) Ive also always been a high end shimano reel fan and have lately gotten into the stella series (500-600$) and am in the process of upgrading all my rods to them I also have waaaaaaay too much money invested in lures always in search of that "magic lure". Im also into fine firearms and hunting have about 27 guns now and hopefully my collection will grow a bit more soon. my next purchase for my fishing hobby will be a 21' ranger, but that may have to wait a few years :rolleyes: oh yeah and the snap-on man gets a huge chunk of my money each month.

Aaron