Searching for Intellectually-Stimulating Solitary Hobbies for Next Stage of Life

[innerspaceboy]

I've recently wrapped up several large-scale life-long hobbies and projects and am looking for new ways to occupy my free time. I'll outline a comprehensive profile of my interests and pursuits to date as well as my challenges and limitations and hope that the community can provide some rewarding recommendations as to what to embark upon next.

I am a 41-year-old male resident of NY. I am an introvert and enjoy low-cost solitary intellectual endeavors I can engage in at home in my free time. I worked for 18 years as a graphic designer before transitioning into the field of IT. I've since stepped away from design and am looking for something new.

I fully-furnished my home in Neo-Victorian antiquity. I seldom purchase anything new and never shop in stores. I've never owned a television and have never used a streaming service, so any activities relating to those technologies are not of interest to me.

I've invested considerable resources building an independent music library of over 300,000 soundworks, developed and delivered a series of music lectures around the city, meticulously curating special collections, publishing quarterly reports and infographics, and worked to educate the community about experimental sound art. It's my greatest passion and my life's work.

These efforts culminated in my authoring and publishing a 1,716-page multi-volume interdisciplinary ethnomusicological treatise spanning 20th century analog classicism to contemporary digital modernity. The series of books chronicle my adventures from more than a decade of musical exploration curating both my vinyl and digital libraries.

I am an active member of my local secular-humanist community and regularly attend social events at their national headquarters. I'm presently coordinating a series of six events I'll host there this summer on the subject of the sociological, cultural, and economic ramifications and ethics of Artificial Intelligence and The Singularity.

I am a strong proponent of free and open culture, free software, and the Linux community. I took on a significant project for The Internet Archive which was profoundly satisfying and personally rewarding.

I enjoy ambient and drone music and field recordings and have been actively exploring the subject for over a decade. I listen to ambient music for more than 12 hours each day.

I also enjoy constructing libraries of antiquarian literature and cataloguing digital collections of golden-age science fiction and old-time radio broadcasts. I've built sizable libraries of these.

Journaling and blogging are my most-beloved pastimes, but while I had over 23,000 readers at my peak, global blog readership has declined exponentially in the last decade and I feel that I've written all that I had to say on my chosen subject, concluding with my book. I'm presently drafting and sending query letters to literary agents to hopefully find a print publisher. That would be a dream come true. But with that stage of my writing career essentially wrapped up, I'm looking for something new.

To narrow the focus, I'll share a few of my limitations and challenges, as well as hobbies I attempted to engage but which failed to resonate with me. I suffer from social anxiety and panic attacks, so I prefer to do things alone in my home. I do make the effort to regularly attend secular-humanist events where at least I can engage with intellectual peers.

I love modernist works and have a substantial collection of Joycean artifacts and enjoy taking in classic plays at my local theatre. But the classical avant-garde isn't featured often so those engagements are few and far between.

I attempted to explore podcasts, compiling an index of 50 promising web series. I just struggle with spoken word content similarly to my distaste for music with lyrics, as I instead prefer content like ambient drone soundscapes where I can meditate or passively listen without cognitive distraction. And frankly, given the sheer volume of content available, I find the paradox of choice daunting to say the least. This is another reason I don't watch television or film.

I did build a database of the 227 children's television programs broadcast between 1965 and 2005 and then compiled a digital archive of complete broadcast material organized by network and air dates. I dubbed the project "RetroBox" and had fun assembling media memories from my childhood. But I enjoyed the actual research far more than the content itself.

I did some research and note-taking on how to start composing ambient/drone music using free and open source software. That's something I imagine I could really enjoy. But I'm so overwhelmed by the nearly-infinite world of composition that I have difficulty getting started. Instead, I dug up reel-to-reel tapes of the music I'd composed back in high school and dedicated some time to remastering those recordings which I found enjoyable.

When I do leave the house, it is usually to spend a Sunday strolling my city's antique malls or to bring my laptop to a local cafe to do some writing with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

Despite my taste for lavish and opulent Victoriana, I am minimalist in my approach to compulsive collecting. I'd considered starting a new collection of vintage VHS tapes or audio cassettes, but I'd rather do something like writing which doesn't fill my home with "stuff" and satisfies my intellectual drives. This position has steered me clear of hobbies like trading cards, retro toy collecting, comic books, and other classic "nerd" interests.

I also explored HAM radio licensing, wax cylinders, and other retro-themed hobbies but didn't feel particularly inspired, (though I find numbers stations fascinating!)

As my entire wardrobe is comprised of vintage articles from the Victorian era to 70s disco, I was urged by friends to explore membership in the SCA, but pre-seventeenth century Western culture isn't really an interest of mine.

I made sure to go through a number of hobby-finding articles on the web. I already enjoy antiques, audiophilia, book collecting, thrifting, vintage clothing, musicology, journaling, lomography, reading, shortwave radio listening, chess, and I built a modest enamel pin collection for all of my vintage blazers celebrating my niche interests. However journaling and audiophilia seem to be the only of these which I've not already exhausted.

About a year ago, when I finished writing and editing my book, I came to the realization that collecting vinyl records was no longer bringing me the joy it once did, nor was it worth the ever-increasing cost of the few exceptionally rare titles left on my wish list. So I no longer haunt indie record shops or regional record shows and instead have just been exploring the archive I've built from my server while I meditate daily.

I posted to a music forum several months ago reflecting on this decision where I stated:

"It's almost daunting coming out the other side of this often all-consuming hobby. I don't feel the compulsion to purchase records anymore. Maybe I'll pick up an album here or there in the future, but I no longer seek them out. My want list is dwindling and I find myself searching for other ways to invest my time and energy. After ravenously collecting for all those years I felt that perhaps I needed to sit down and actually *listen* to all these albums for a change. That's what I'm doing presently. (I've experienced strong parallels to this behavior in the book-collecting community!)

There's a feeling of void or absence when one no longer subscribes to their collector culture environment. I've lost interest in all of the record collector social media communities I formerly frequented. I used to spend weeks carefully photographing and sharing my latest crate-digging treasures and the corresponding articles I'd authored. Without that sense of community, I'm left feeling a bit lost and admittedly lonely, not knowing where I "fit" socially without those groups. There's an existential element at play here, as I was committed to that previous identity. Who am I if I am no longer the dedicated collector I was for over a decade?"

So I'm looking for low-cost solitary ways to occupy my time and to stimulate my mind. I've tried to summarize my circumstances as best as I am able. And perhaps a few of the hobbies I've shared above will inspire others in this community. I'd sincerely welcome any serious responses. Thank you.

Note: I posted the above to a hobby forum and received a response saying, "Lol this man just admitted to probably being the Harvard equivalent of a hobbyist..." At least I take that to mean that I communicate with reasonable effectiveness. Again, suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

[Rubber Soul]

In other words, your hobby forum thinks you're smart 

Anyway, glad to see you here, ISB.

[Nimbly9]

Have you considered starting some kind of podcast based around ambient music, technology, etc. and reaching out to your favorite musicians, artists, etc. to do short interviews on it?  It would be pretty cheap to drive viewership on Spotify, social media, etc. You could tie it to a Facebook group or something and even build a dedicated community around your content.

[innerspaceboy]

Have you considered starting some kind of podcast...

That's a fine suggestion; thanks!

I confess that I feel a bit "on the spot" being recorded. I'm first and foremost a writer, where I'm free to revise and edit, hone and perfect my diatribes before committing them. Audio (and even worse - video) are a bit scary for me. I understand I could clean everything up in post, it's just not my preferred method of media.

A local friend offered to play the Costello to my Bud, fielding questions to which I would expound in detail. I won't rule it out completely, but I really feel that in the years I've been producing content, the media-consumption landscape has changed profoundly. I've never used a streaming service, but if I understand correctly people have instant access to millions of recordings, so where I once was an expert I am now simply "old and in the way."

I'm glad listeners can dive deep into experimental sub-labels and really explore. But with that said, the content I was sharing in local multimedia lectures around the city twelve years ago would seem silly and moot today.

Thanks for reading my little rant!

[Lexi Darling]

Just throwing it out there, I'm also a huge ambient music lover (I'm Synthgirl on MB) and I've been itching to be a part of a creative project lately. If you do decide to start a project related to that type of music, I'd love to potentially work together!

At any rate I wish you luck in figuring out what hobbies you wish to pursue!

[Toy Revolver]

I am an introvert and enjoy low-cost solitary intellectual endeavors I can engage in at home in my free time.

do you live in nyc

are you interested in finding a lover

do you like chess

[innerspaceboy]

Just throwing it out there, I'm also a huge ambient music lover (I'm Synthgirl on MB) and I've been itching to be a part of a creative project lately. If you do decide to start a project related to that type of music, I'd love to potentially work together!

At any rate I wish you luck in figuring out what hobbies you wish to pursue!

Wow, thanks Mrs. Waffles! A collaboration could be great fun. I'll let you know if I decide to take the plunge.

do you live in nyc

are you interested in finding a lover

do you like chess

I am in a major city in NY but not NYC. I spent a few years in Westchester, but got the hell out before it could ruin me.

I have a lover in another country. We try to see eachother 3-4 times a year for a few days at a time. It's a challenge but I give it my best.

I do like chess. I had a lovely bit of good fortune in the chess world. I won a handsome set of Duncan 1970s ceramic chessmen in an auction, and then found a leather chessboard on Craigslist. Lifting the board I discovered red velvet pockets beneath inside the wooden board frame to store the pieces, and with a little detective work I found that the board and chessmen were from the same 50-year-old set!

Here's a snapshot I took.



I haven't played seriously since my teens when I won my school's annual tournament, but it's a nice display piece for my home.

[Toy Revolver]

let me know if you want to play online

i'm terrible

right now under 700 and that's with playing a lot but i think at my utmost focus i play at around 1200 but the number by my name is under 700 and that's not my opinion - i need a teacher - i watch youtube this opening that opening but in the games i try it and it doesn't work

I have a lover in another country. We try to see eachother 3-4 times a year for a few days at a time. It's a challenge but I give it my best.

i bet you do you dirty dog

[Trollheart]

What an incredible chess set! And the chances of the board and pieces being from the same set!
Welcome by the way ISB: glad you joined us.
FYI Rubber Soul is looking for judges for our next writing competition (May) if you're interested.

[Jwb]

Welcome, bro. You ever look into a model train set?

[innerspaceboy]

Welcome, bro. You ever look into a model train set?

An interesting suggestion! The closest I've come to that was crafting a 1/12 scale miniature Victorian record parlour. It's housed inside a 1920s wire birdcage, lit with fairy lights and a fireplace with glowing embers, and seated upon a brass antique plant stand. There's a gramophone, tiny records with gatefold jackets and removable discs, and books upon bookshelves with tiny pages and illustrations.

I had fun making it!

[Toy Revolver]

it's as good a hobby as any but fyi he is teasing you (i think)

[Jwb]

I see OH's new hobby is being a tattle tale.

[Trollheart]

Joke or not, train sets sound right up your alley. We used to live beside a guy who had an amazing one, took up his entire top floor. The amount of detail you can go into, the idea of keeping trains running to specific times and then attacking them with giant plastic dinosaurs to ensure an authentic recreation of sorry got a little sidetracked there, pun intended. What do you mean, what pun?

Seriously though, for someone as dedicated to detail and realism as you, this might be a great project. And when it was all set up you could get great enjoyment from watching the different trains run on different tracks. I mean, there's also keeping an aquarium - very relaxing, so I'm told - or building bird houses (depending on where you are; advantage there is you help the little creatures as well as yourself) or hell, have you thought of getting a pet? I think a cat would be a great companion for you. Still, knowing you, ISB, it would have to be a Prussian Blue with papers proving its ancestry back to Peter the Great and be fed on only caviar!  But yeah, don't understimate the enjoyment and fulfillment you get from a pet.

[Psy-Fi]

I've seen some amazing model train layouts on YouTube. Probably not something you'd want to try getting into if you have limited finances to put into the hobby, though.