Maybe this is too off-topic, so if so, feel free to delete 🙂
But I got to thinking, we all meet up here on a rather regular basis and talk about radio stuff. But I often wonder what everyone is doing that's not related to radio and Part 15. I might give us more perspective about ourselves. So, I'll start and you can all feel free to jump in.
Obviously since I work in radio, have my Part 15 station as well, etc I pretty much live and breath radio 24-7. I'm also an avid record collector with somewhere over 40,000 records in my collection, but I consider that part of the radio thing, as they wind up on the air someplace!
But when I'm not doing radio one of my other diversions is old cars. Been a car nut since I was young. The first car I actually owned was a 1958 Edsel that I bought from my Cousin back in 1975. The list of cars since is rather extensive. I'm basically a Ford guy. I came home from the hospital as a baby in a '54 Ford. The first car I drove (other than the drivers ed car) was a 1972 Pinto, that I then drove delivering prescriptions for my Dad's drugs store in Minneapolis, and was the first car I drove to school regularly. Our family vacation car was a '68 Ford Country Sedan station wagon. We had that for a good ten years, and it was also the first car I used to haul around band equipment for the first two or three different bands I was in.
Fast forwarding to the present we're a house of Fords. Maybe chronological order by year? 1959 F100, 1968 F100 (that is the actual truck that Samual L. Jackson drove in the movie "Black Snake Moan" with Christina Ricci) 1964 Ranchero, 2010 Escape, 2013 Focus and 2014 Mustang. Oddly I also have a 1951 Buick Roadmaster. This was my Dad's car that he bought new IN 1951 and he kept in storage for decades. I finally got it out of storage and started bringing it back to life about 3 or 4 years ago hoping to get it on the road so my folks could have one last ride in it, but sadly they both passed before I could get the car safely driveable. But Dad did get to hear it run again. They dated in that car, took their honeymoon in that car, Dad claimed I was conceived in that car, and my Grandpa drove it to the New York Worlds Fair! So, that's why I have a Buick.
My Son and I also autocross race Chevrolet Corvairs! Which is a completely different story that's quite long.We presently have a '64 that we're using for a racer, but over the past ten years or so we've had a few others. Contrary to popular leggend, Corvairs to not roll over. And in fact are far more stable than nearly every other car on the road at the time. But that's an argument for a different forum 🙂
So what else are the rest of you doing?
TIB
Tim, your question catches me off guard because I haven't done a self-assessment for so long that I find I've changed (evolved?) from the interests I had earlier in life.
The radio life has always been central since age 5, but there is a whole universe swirling around radio, including the world in which radio exists and the humans involved with doing or receiving radio, so my thoughts have spread out to a more global curiosity.
Power - Electric power is of course the fuel of radio, and it fascinates me intellectually and I once checked out books from the library on subjects of power generation that formed a 4-foot stack. It amazes me that electricity can be produced by spinning a magnet through a coil! That should be easy to do but takes energy to make energy and has lead to nuclear power, which at bottom is a means of boiling water to make steam!
Railroads - Next to electric power I see trains as the best way to move freight and people and the equipment used to accomplish this is fascinating. I once toured for sale old passenger cars parked downtown, $3,000 per car, with thoughts of living and broadcasting from one or three of these parked on a siding somewhere. There actually are people who do this and there is even a magazine on the subject;
Birds - Since 4th grade an interest in birds became fanatic and today I am very concerned about the massive kill-offs caused by the toxic by-products of human activities and maintain a very bird friendly campus here at Home Scool College, planning to build combination radio antennas / bird-house poles;
Philosophy - A lot of philosophy is abstruse because of bad writing or far fetched ideas, but for me the trusted names are Arthur Schopenhauer, Albert Camus and certain others, and they have served in place of religion to give me a navigation system for existing;
Humans - The most inventive yet most dangerous animals on earth are human beings. The majority of them are unrecoverably insane and may end up exterminating all of us probably with religious fervor and there's probably no way to stop them. The species has enchanting women who are largely swept up in commercial sales shopping trips.
That's about all I have time for, Tim.
My life long interest has been radio starting out with old Philco Tombstone and Zenith AM/SW radios as my first recolection. I was probably 5 or 6 when Dad got me a Tiny Tim Crystal Radio.
I started Part 15 broadcasting around 1962 by homebrewing a one transistor broadcaster on a piece of wood.
Never really had hobbies other than radio/electronics. I do like to bowl and used to ride motorcycles. I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and camping. Fishing is OK but it doesn't matter if I bait the hook or not, just enjoy the solitude.
So today my time is absorbed keeping a home going, an LPFM going, an AM TIS going, a Part 15 operation going, a group of license free low power broadcasters (The ALPB) going and of course being the handiman for everyone else because so many can't even change a light bulb...
Seems all my time is spent doing for others but I suppose that's what I like to do.
I am like mram1500 in that a life long interest was radio. Spent my life since 7 years old listening to it and had a portable with me everywhere.
Rock and roll and the hit parade was what I was consumed with.
Also played guitar and was in a couple of bands in the 60s and 70s but quit and haven't touched a guitar since the early 90s.
Also like the country and nature and can just sit and watch days go by, by the lake watching nature and the waves coming on the shore.
Spent 40 years going north to a cottage(north of Toronto) and now I'm retired and am trying to make it a one way trip and not have to come back.
Also better for hobby radio as it works much better in the country.
Mark
Motorcycles... I have ridden my whole life. I never raced (at least legally). I usually ride street bikes (big ones), and love seeing the country on the bike.
Lately, I have gotten back into dual-sport adventure riding. It lets me see the out of the way places the big street bikes don't go. I waited until I was old and out of shape to start this next phase. It seems to be a theme.
I also do other radio, ham radio. I have had an interest in radio of all sorts since I was a wee lad.
In fact, I still have a copy of my Radio Telephone License I recieved back in the late 70's. I never officially used it as a DJ.
Over the years as a Ham Radio operator, i have made many friends, and the hobby's technological challenges have taught me plenty. I know some here think Ham's are all about turning in people who aren't radio compliant. Remember there are jerks in every hobby. Most Hams I know would bend over backwards to help someone in the hobby, world-wide I might add.
I am also an ancient language hobbyist. Though, I haven't been active in a while. I love old chicken scratches in the countryside. Those out of place markings that don't belong, yet are similar to other markings worldwide. The unaccepted RECORDED history of North America. We have forgotten more than we remember. In light of recent history, I think it is orchestrated, just not sure by whom.
When I was in the Navy I was stationed with a guy who drag raced a 1965 Corsa. They were elimination races where he got spotted car lengths based on the class his car was in. I think it was J-Gas at the time which was a rear engine street version. The only mod he made was to remove the fan belt for the short run. The only cars at that time (1970) was Corvairs, Porche and WV. He almost always won on a 1/4 mile track.