Smoking Pipes and Picking Locks (What's your hobby?)

[pagan]

I assist our facility locksmith with his work, it is tedious but fun, at home I help my girlfriend in the garden, yard work or in my shop where I enjoy tying flies, gunsmithing and wood working, always with a pipe

 

[mayfair70]

When I'm not working I like fixing things, listening to music, watching nature, hanging out with the cats and smoking a pipe.

 

[johnbarleycorn]

My favorite hobby (long before pipe smoking) was music. Bought my first album at the age of six about 46 years ago. Now I combine the two hobbies. I pretty much alway have music playing when I do anything - especially when smoking a pipe. Pairing the right album with a bowl is almost as important to me as the right pipe. But that's just me. I'm a little bit weird maybe?!

 

[hakchuma]

I Enjoy working with electronics and robotics. As a software programmer It keeps me on my toes and it's fun to see something built by pure thought as a castle in the air manifested into something tangible with sensors, locomotion and artificial intelligence. A perfect desktop hobby for the pipe.

 

[mso489]

I have various interests, some of which are professional in some sense, and others that are quite peripheral, but still of interest. But as I consider this, I'd say an ongoing interest is feeding feral and wild creatures. I guess most of us do this from time to time. For about fifteen years, my late wife and I, eventually as a widower, then with various women friends and relatives, and finally with my second wife, I made a weekend pilgrimage to a local campus and fed a bevy of feral cats that had been tamed enough to come out to eat, but were not to be touched. They were maintained -- given little houses, dishes, and daily feedings -- by a school administrative employee, so I was filling in to some degree on the weekends, with a bag of dried food. I would talk my way past the security guards during holidays as they came to know me, and I would lift up the cat food bag for veracity. Eventually, the cats aged out and died, and the last one, a little black and white female, Bessie Boss Cat to me, was trapped by her benefactor and taken to safer quarters for her final months. This has nothing to do with pets, currently three cats, who we feed and spoil accordingly. Since my campus cats no longer require attention, I now feed my local corvids, crows, under a dogwood tree in the front yard -- bread crusts we can't eat, oyster crackers, take-out pita bread, old maple cookies and such. Crows live in flocks with a strong social fabric. The young crows help care for the chicks of their older siblings. Maybe if they really like something I feed them, they might bring me a gift, which is a fairly common crow behavior.

 

[davet]

Crows live in flocks with a strong social fabric.

I have four that visit daily all year, in the summer this increases to seven or eight. My Border Collie even allows them to visit without protest any more.

 

[macaroon]

I'm so pleased that birds popped up in the conversation, as bird watching is my favorite "with a pipe" activity. A walk down to the river with my pipe and a pair of binoculars makes a for a delightful way to spend an hour or two. It's been especially fun in recent weeks because of all the migratory birds coming through Michigan.

 

[texmexpipe]

I pick at a guitar or mandolin, mostly I read, and a newer hobby is whittling. But when I whittle I can't smoke anything that requires attention as I have to pay too much attention to not cutting off my fingers.
I hunt, but I haven't been willing to smoke a pipe in the deer stand, I can't yet figure out if it will spook them or not. When I hunt upland birds I smoke a cob, as its a lot like a lunt but with shotguns and dogs.

 

[mackeson]

Mostly activities with the kids - but that's not hobbies, just being a dad.

I collect pocket knives (mostly traditional) and do quite a bit of wood carving. I've been collecting knives since high school, but started the wood carving about 5 years ago after my divorce. Something to pass the time in the evenings, and now something to pass on and teach my two boys.

 

[igloo]

My new hobby is repairing old watches . Mostly Seiko Sealions from the 60's .

 

[mso489]

Nice crows davet. Mine size me up and are much more tolerant than if I were a stranger. They will barely move out of my way as I inch out my driveway, they're that confident of me. And it turns out they're correct. Just looking at each other, you can see they are both sociable and intelligent. I feel like I have a visitor pass to the flock.

 

[sdcowboy]

I like to pair relaxing hobbies together with each other. I like to ride horses. I relaxes me a great deal. There's nothing more relaxing than smoking a pipe while riding a fine horse.

 

[dottiewarden]

When I'm smoking my pipe I either chat with a friend or if alone reflect or reminisce.
When indoors I like to surf the net, study languages, do jigsaw puzzles, listen to music or hang out right here in the pipesmagazine forums.

 

[cossackjack]

Tyler: seriously, you pick locks?

My wife got our family & several friends hooked on picking locks, usually while waiting for or after a big family meal.

The consistently fastest is my 28 year old son - he has the touch.

We mostly pick padlocks & some deadbolts/entryway locks, but have not yet attacked complex locks.

My wife finds a way to break many of the locks - I don't know how she does it.

Unfortunately I cannot relax with a pipe when we are inside (VERBOTEN)

 

[stickframer]

When smoking a pipe I'm usually at the laptop, reading, or doing nothing but soaking in the moment.
I also do a fair bit of spin fishing, and music is a huge part of my life, either playing guitar or listening to records. I've had an interest in leather craft for a little while, but it never went anywhere. I'm hoping to get back to doing that, we'll see what happens. It would pair well with pipe smoking me thinks.
cosmic said:

Anyways, I have a lot of things going on, and I don't think of these things as hobbies as much as lifestyles. I am not the type of person who could work a 9-5, so I've had to just figure out a way to mix my pleasures with business, and so far I think I've been successful. You just have to let go of security, and go with the flow.

This is pretty inspiring at the moment. It would be nice to combine buisness and pleasure in a way that would generate a meaningful income.

 

[tuold]

I write music for a hobby. Pipe smoking is the perfect accompaniment to that. If I get a creative block, all I have to do is sit back, take a few puffs and something will come to me. Anyway, it's better than just sitting there staring at my desk or pounding my forehead with the palm of my hand try to jar something loose =)
BTW, my son picks locks for a hobby. I thought it very strange when he told me about. Sort of relieved in a way to hear someone else is doing it. Thought I might have budding criminal in family.

 

[jollyroger]

I like finding security weaknesses in corporate applications. I then bring it their attention in a manner that provides them with a clear understanding of the issue and its solution, without costing them the damage that could be done by a malicious party.
I never use the weakness maliciously or for personal gain and I never ask for anything in return, however I have received gifts of appreciation such as paid dinners at restaurants etc.

 

[noquarter]

Tinkering and riding old German motorcycles, lifting heavy things and putting it down consume most of my free time.

 

[blackbeard]

I am SO glad I started this thread. It is one of the most interesting, and revealing about members I have had the pleasure to read so far! Thanks guys, nice to see the responses!
Tyler: seriously, you pick locks?
Yeah, I am pretty quick. I have only run across two I couldn't do. One considered to be unpickable...look up Abloy 350 padlock...if you want to see why; as well as one old, lock which after an autopsy turned out to be broken. Learning a lot, considering finding a way to go into this more than a hobby, if possible.
I noticed a lot of people on here are interested in things that require a lot of patience, and very tedious activities. I believe it has something to do with the personality of a pipe smoker. Also, the ties to nature (especially with the outdoor smoker) is a big thing to. Sitting down for an hour with nothing to do but smoke your pipe, and watch the world go by shows you more than most people would think these days.

 

[jackswilling]

I have an Abloy 350. Got it from Security Snobs.

https://securitysnobs.com/Abloy-Protec2-PL-350-Hardened-Steel-Padlock.html

Use it with this chain to slow people down

http://www.securitychainmax.com/
I don't believe the 350 has ever been picked.