latest hobbies
Apr 7 5:19 PM #72 2 min Three Weeks of Staring Before the Green Arrived
BonsaiNew growth and yellowing needles on the same tree. The forums say this is fine. The forums also say it's dying.
Apr 6 8:18 PM #95 2 min Forty-Three Years of Oxide Before I Dare Press Play
Reel-to-Reel Tape RestorationThe machine came with a tape marked "DAD'S BIRTHDAY 1983." The heads are magnetized. No pressure.
Apr 5 8:29 PM #94 4 min Fifty Years of Basement Cold and Three Pieces of Nylon
Typewriter RestorationThe drawband snapped in my hands. This is not how the restoration forums said this would go.
Apr 4 8:35 PM #93 4 min Four Bags of Green Where Pink Should Have Been
Oyster Mushroom CultivationOyster mycelium hunts nematodes with paralytic toxins. Mine got outcompeted by green fuzz in three days.
Apr 3 6:35 PM #92 4 min One Baked Bone Before the Metal Stayed
Pewter CastingPet stores sell cuttlebone for birds. I bought twelve and filled them with molten pewter.
Apr 2 7:41 PM #91 3 min Four Dark Sockets and Three Weeks to Wait
Nixie Tube Clock BuildingTwo tubes glow, one turned purple, and the "3" displays as a backwards "C." That's not a clock.
Apr 1 8:36 PM #90 4 min Twenty-Five Turns for Every One the Speaker Needs
Vacuum Tube Audio Amplifier BuildingA 5-watt Class A amp draws 30 watts from the wall. The other 25 become heat. Audiophiles call this warm.
Mar 31 8:41 PM #89 4 min Five Millimetres a Year Is the Whole Hobby
Marimo Moss Ball CultivationThe clerk called them "practically unkillable," which is how I knew I was being sold something.
Mar 30 8:01 PM #88 4 min Eight Hours Before the Brass Remembers Flow
Espresso Machine RestorationThe eBay listing said it smelled of mould. The listing was accurate.
Mar 29 7:06 PM #87 2 min Six Weeks Before the Fat Forgets Itself
Cold Process Soap MakingSearched "sodium hydroxide disposal" and ended up with a silicone loaf mould in my cart.
Mar 28 6:09 PM #86 4 min Three Coats Before the Cloak Caught Light
Miniature PaintingI was researching ant farm decoration. Three hours later I'd ordered soldiers for a game I don't play.
Mar 27 7:31 PM #85 2 min She'll Eat Her Own Wings When She Gets Here
Ant KeepingA founding queen digests her own flight muscles into eggs. I have an empty test tube and a wait until spring.
Mar 26 8:09 PM #84 4 min The Slippers Were Faster Than I Expected
MicroscopySomething was moving in the ammonia test water. Squinting didn't help.
Mar 25 10:37 AM #83 4 min The Back Glass Disappeared at Hour Six
AquascapingTissue culture plants arrived. I couldn't wait six weeks for invisible bacteria. The tank has been soup for six hours.