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interests and hobbies


Ursus

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Aside from Roman history, what interests do you keep?

 

I have an interest in history and archaeology in general.

 

But beyond history I concern myself with art, literature and theater. You know, high culture. I especially dig a good production of Shakespeare. And I listen to classical music.

 

On the more earthy side of things I enjoy food and drink. :wine:

 

I like nature, and animals.

 

And of course I have an interest in advancing my career. I take courses on telecommunications when they present themselves.

 

How about yourselves?

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Well, first and foremost I read. I read, read and keep reading. On ancient civilisations of course, be they Rome, Greece or, sometimes, a bit more exotic (as far as precolumbian america whenever I can find something left in my book budget). But a lot are also simple novels, be they S-F, Fantasy or closer to thrillers and adventure books.

I also write, in french obviously, but have a problem finishing my writings... Well, all can't be perfect :P

Those words I play with while listening to music, some classical of course but also Trance music, deep and relaxing modern sounds. Celtic music can also come and put some peps in my life, as might some time some more gothic albums...

What I do also spend a lot of my free time on is digital humanities, contributing whenever I can to some projects of digitalization or on issues around the digital encoding of texts (like TEI or Epidoc).

This topics introduce my (over)use of computers. Of course my job is functional analysis for web solutions, with my current mission being to put up the new intranet portal for my university, but I do also create websites for friends when the times comes.

Finally, when I have the money, I go traveling, mainly around Europe, in order to contemplate the jewels of our heritage.

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I like going to the beach, going hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. I'm really into music. I've played guitar since I was in fifth grade, played in a handful of bands, and done a lot of recording. I have everything I need to record an album right here at home. I used to have a myspace page for my music that I could have directed you to, but I am no longer on myspace.

 

My other hobby is playing with trading software like MetaTrader and Thinkorswim. I also read a lot about the financial markets, and just trading in general. I find it to be a fascinating subject. It actually goes much deeper than most people realize, psychology plays a huge role in one's trading, as well as in the kinds of people who become traders, i.e. risk takers, thrill seekers, entrepreneurs, etc etc, and it plays a big part in one's money management and risk assessment. Trading is one hell of a skill set that they don't teach in school. That's what I like about it most. Anyone can do it if they are determined enough to put in the time to learn it and practice it. 90 to 95% fail at first, but if you keep at it, you'll eventually get it, and when you do, nothing can hold you back.

 

Lastly, I love laughing so I watch a lot of stand up comedy, and South Park.

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Hiking, hiking and more hiking.

 

Travel, travel and more travel (job as well as hobby!)

 

Music (listening to rather than making - I wish I was cool enough to play an instrument, but I'm not)

 

Golden Age science fiction - can I recomend the seemingly endless 'X-Minus-1' podcasts available free on iTunes, even if you don't own an Apple device.

 

Fortunately, I've managed to kick the Snooker habit. There's a saying that snooker is the sign of a mis-spent youth, and that certainly was the case with mine. Had I spent more time in the lessons and lectures I should have been in, rather than in snooker/pool halls, I would no doubt (given my vast intelligence, wit, charm and modesty) be ruling the world by now.

Edited by GhostOfClayton
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Fortunately, I've managed to kick the Snooker habit.

 

This Yankee had to look up what "snooker" meant. At first I thought it was some kind of recreational drug. :lol:

 

For anyone else confused by the reference - think of a variation of 'pool' but without the numbers on the balls or alternatively 'billiards' but with lots more coloured balls ;)

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My interests, besides Roman history and archaeology, include Italian American history. I'm one of the creators of Steel Valley Voices: An Ethnic Community Archive, an online collection housed at Youngstown State University. It boasts the largest Internet accessible collection of Italian immigrant correspondence, 1894-2002, in addition to documents and papers from many of the city's multi-ethnic population. If you'd like to visit the collection, feel free:

http://steelvalleyvoices.ysu.edu/about/

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This Yankee had to look up what "snooker" meant. At first I thought it was some kind of recreational drug. :lol:

 

The chalk dust sometimes gets up your nose!

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I like the creative end of computer use. Graphics, 3D modelling, and to be honest, I'm a comnplete ferro-equinologist as well as a keen hiker when I get the time to head for the hills. Now that flying for real is beyond my finances (ever so slightly) I do a lot of sim-flying. Not the same, not even close, but what else can I do? Sadly no more Star Trek. It's off the television for the first time in twenty years and now I'm left no excuse but to fill my hours plotting to impose my new solo album on the unsuspecting public.

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First and foremost: travelling. I'm a bit of a globetrotter and my mission is seeing as much of the world as I can in this lifetime. :D

 

Other less expensive hobbies include: reading (classics, historical (and other) novels, African literature ...), wine tasting (and drinking, of course!), photography, music (classical, folk, African, Brazilian, rock...), cycling, cinema.

 

I used to love studying/learning but I just don't seem have the same energy and concentration capacity as I used to. Getting old perhaps?

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I like reading, crime novels, thrillers, and of course historical fiction, next to the historical non-fiction books which are necessary for the research of my gladiator impression.

 

I also like traveling, but always doing something active like visiting museums, or going outdoors hiking.

 

I'm not just practising gladiatura only but also martial arts. I like sports in general and like to watch it as well, esp. soccer. My favorite team is FC St. Pauli.

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How about including response to an imaginary toddler that keeps asking "why"? Currently I can't answer that in respect to the cost and inconvenience of my former addiction to travel, but:

 

- Thai food (why) Punchy fresh flavors in dialog with mellow elements.

- Italian food (why) Simple healthy elements turned yummy and elegant when authentic.

 

- Ocean sports / swimming (why) Nature buzz (why not air sports) Flying proved expensive, or risky for footlaunch (why not hiking) Only following the contour - huff, puff.

 

- History (why) Fiction rings so false and contrived to me.

- Classical archeology (why) Local club started giving such lectures with free champagne and snacks (why classical) Ran away from that on a multicultural kick, then appreciated the important void needing filling.

 

- Stock trading (why) Used to be easy to beat the culturally incurious investor clan by applying knowledge from travel to emerging world. (why "used to") Emerging markets stopped their doubling year after year (hobby sounds dead) Became a utilitarian thing requiring the steely guts of Julius Caesar for irrational commodities like cotton, which doubles every 5 months but should implode any time now...

 

- 50 year old music (why) Wasn't played to death during my lifetime (like what) R&B, bossa nova, swing, Indian classical, and "cool jazz" in the 1950's parlance of chilled rather than stylish.

Edited by caesar novus
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Can't believe no one enjoys drinking, smoking, watching telly and DVDs, eating takeouts, spending inordinate amounts of time Playing Rome:Total War and wasting time on the internet.

 

Aside from that, I practice martial arts once or twice a week. There's a story there, though: I train with the person who inspired me to write the "Gladiatrix" novel. I saw her documentary on telly and thought "There's a book in that" so I wrote it - five years on since I saw thing...I'm actually training with Lysandra. Which is bizarre.

 

Check it out:

 

http://www.cecilyfay.com

 

http://www.warrioress.co.uk

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I read mostly books related with social sciences and some young adult fiction as well, I listen to gothic metal and other genres of rock and I play computer games. I don't have a TV but I still watch some science fiction or fantasy series. I'm an aging adolescent.

And I enjoy drinks and junk food but I'm trying to quit both (again) since 2 days ago. I hate exercise and vegetables but I should lose some weight.

Edited by Kosmo
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- Stock trading (why) Used to be easy to beat the culturally incurious investor clan by applying knowledge from travel to emerging world. (why "used to") Emerging markets stopped their doubling year after year (hobby sounds dead) Became a utilitarian thing requiring the steely guts of Julius Caesar for irrational commodities like cotton, which doubles every 5 months but should implode any time now...

 

 

Agreed. The commodities bubble is next to burst in my opinion.

 

Do you ever trade forex? AUD/USD is my primary source of income. I'm a short term trader so I go off the 1 and 4 hour charts, but always have the daily and weekly charts marked up for reference so I can see if price is approaching important longer term reaction levels and such.

 

And just to keep this post on topic, I'll add computers to my list of interests. I'm planning on building a new desktop before too long and it's going to be loaded. LOL

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