What's a fun indoor hobby that doesn't involve staring at a screen?
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M$22 Answers
http://www.lionel.com/ and http://www.trainz.com/home.html
My Mom was into Origami. (Japanese art of paper folding.) Intricate designs are pretty darn hard to do.
MakeMagazine.com has some pretty cool origami projects to make out of dollar bills.
Amazing Paper Pop Up Architecture - http://marivi_10.tripod.com/gaudi-gallery.html and
http://members.shaw.ca/woa/modstpauls.htm
St Basil's Cathedral - http://members.shaw.ca/woa/modstbasils.htm
Notre Dame - http://www.yeesjob.com/New%20notre-dame.htm
It's not just about playing finger football w/ a triangle shaped puck. Origami cards are cool, because it combines pop-art art with scale model building. (As an architect, you can see I have a bias toward scale building of things...)
Make Magazine also has a great electronics Kit where you can make a USB iPod charger with an old Altoids Mint tin. (You buy the electronics components and put it together.) Make Magazine has hundreds of other cool projects (of varying difficulty) to keep you busy for the next few decades.
Altoids USB iPod Charger - http://makezine.com/mintyboost/
Model Trains - http://www.trainz.com/home.html
and Lionel http://www.lionel.com/
Oragami - http://www.origami-usa.org
Nice PopUp Origami- http://www.neatorama.com/2008/02/24/origamic-architecture-stunning-sculptur...
$3 Flower - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il_4l1O2BFo
Make magazine - Minty Boost Altoids USB iPod Charger -
http://makezine.com/mintyboost/
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M$
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M$
In a weird way, it's a little like playing with playdough, only you get to keep your creations.
(No, these are not my creations--just an example of things you can do).
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M$
Sewing
Knitting
Woodwork
Drawing
Metalwork
Personally I went down the wood route. There are so many options from making a ship out of matches, carving / whittling right up to making cabinets. You get really into it and feel really proud when you make something cool. I made the table I'm using now. Sure, it took about a year, but then I just did little bits at a time when I felt like it, but its the best table in the world :)
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M$
1. listen to books on audio
This can be combined with:
2. a mindless but useful skill like knitting (I know you're a guy but I bet you wear scarves at least once in awhile--and tell my Scottish husband real men don't knit--he'll throw a caber at anyone who tells him that) or whittling/carving-- you can carve all kinds of useful things, or even 3D puzzles like these, for which the picture would not embed:
http://www.trickypuzzles.com/thumbnail.asp?file=assets/images/Wood_Puzzles/AJ_Intelocking_Puzzle.jpg&maxx=300&maxy=0
3. Cooking is a great indoor hobby. Try one area at a time, like one type of ethnic food, or one "genre" of food, like noodles or baking. It's fun to eat your mistakes and fabulous to share your successes.
4. My husband's grandpa has been making "lighter than air" model aircraft for decades. They're made out of balsa wood, and powered by rubberband springs. Some are battery-powered. There are whole clubs dedicated to doing this. When the weather's bad, they stay in their workshops and build them. When it's nice, they have meets and contests and demos.
5. There are all kinds of things available on www.makezine.com , or instructables.com . I know these initially involve staring at a screen, but you can print out the instructions and learn how to do completely new things.
6. Train your pet to do something unique, or get a new pet if you don't have one. Provides hours of fun.
What you *don't* want to do, if your goal is to save your eyes:
Puzzles, which are great fun, but will cause you to hyperfocus
Read
Do art
Anything else that will cause you to focus closely
Sorry, I couldn't get the picture of the puzzle to embed.
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M$
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M$
Ah yes, I can do some basic juggling, perhaps I should learn some more advanced stuff. Knowing my attention span, though, I'd probably lose interest awfully fast.
Man... *I* was going to say this.
It's good exercise as well...
Footbag is where its at
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1338774/freestyle_footbag_demo_with_jorden_moir/
Board games are a great way to spend time with other people. Today's best board games are nothing like the snoozefest that is Monopoly (Which has a hideous number of rules issues - and the game drags on for far too long, and you can get knocked out of the game - a common theme in these games is that you'll be able to play through the whole game even if you're behind) and can range from very light, fun, party games such as Apples to Apples - perfect game to mix with booze and a mob of people, and can be played with as many people as can fit around a table:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apples_to_Apples
To light board games with some actual strategy involved - these can be taught very easily, and are quite fun - ages 10+ or so to play:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne_(board_game) - plays very quick, very fun, and a newbie can win occasionally, best for 2-3 people but 5 can play
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settlers_of_Catan - Again, a newbie can win but a good player will most of the time. This is a longer game, 90-120 minutes and is for 3-4 people. An expansion brings it to 5-6 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticket_to_Ride_(board_game) - Make railroads that cross the country to get points and win the game.
http://www.otb-games.com/africa/index.html
Ten Days in Africa - A game where you have 10 "days", and you need to complete your travel itinerary. You draw 10 cards and place them, then each turn can draw an unknown card or take one off of one of the reject piles, and try to link up your trip so it can be completed (you can walk from one country to an adjacent one, find a car and go up to 2 countries away, or fly a plane to another country of the same color).
More complicated games where it takes a while to assimilate the rules, but offer a level of complexity and more rewarding game play:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_grid_game - A game where you need to power as many homes as possible, by making money through powering homes and upgrading power plants. 2-6 players.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricola_(board_game)
You're a farmer growing a family and expanding your farm. You need to expand the family, keep them fed, and improve your life as much as possible. Do note that this is a $70 game, and is not for the faint of heart. Everyone's first game of this is painful. Can be played with 1-5 people.
To classic games of strategy and skill, such as Chess and Go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_game
I used to play Chess, as a kid. It's a very deep game - part of the problem is that it can be difficult to find people of comparable ability. With Go, the differences are even more pronounced, but there is a means of handicapping.
Hosting a gaming night isn't only about the games, it's about entertaining people, and having company over. Odds are you'll be able to meet some new people, have some fun while doing it, and while it isn't particularly productive, I'm of the opinion that thinking helps keep the mind sharp, and most of these games offer a nice dose of thinking, but lack the dry nature of Chess/Go.
This one involves going outside, but is a lot of fun, and is quite rewarding: photography. You don't need piles of expensive equipment to take great photos, and you'll eventually make something that makes your eyes pop out, will go on the wall, and will be something you never forget.
I can provide more info if you're interested in learning some basic photography stuff.
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M$
Something like studio portraiture takes a lot more equipment than snapping things outside (You'll need a couple flashes or studio strobes, stands, umbrellas or softboxes, and some backgrounds), but isn't all that expensive. Here's a site that can broaden your lighting horizons:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/
If you're interested in other good board games, check out boardgamegeek, which has a ranking of all the games by user ratings:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browser.php?itemtype=game&sortby=rank
There are a lot of games worth looking at in there... for some detailed video reviews, check out board games with scott:
http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/
He covers everything from very light games to ones he can't fully explain in 30 minutes.
I agree Monopoly drags on for too long. But productive or not, board games are fun and a good boredom-killer! Also, photography is a great suggestion, I'm not sure why I didn't think of that. I'm not so good but I can always get better. Definitely better for outside during the day, but still a solid idea.
1. Build models
2. Put together a puzzle
3. Do crossword puzzles, sudoku, card games, or play Mahjong: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014HGMAA?ie=UTF8&tag=kryssehowarti-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0014HGMAA
4. Remodel something in your home that's fairly simple and inexpensive, like replacing light fixtures, replace your medicine cabinet, paint the walls, etc.
5. Scrapbooking - this is a fun way to organize all your photos, and can make very nice gifts.
6. Get a cookbook and try cooking new recipes.
7. Watercolor painting
8. Get a fish tank
9. Indoor gardening: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878823329?ie=UTF8&tag=kryssehowarti-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1878823329
10. Building dollhouses
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M$.jpg){kind=small}
* Make pedal power electricity. Although in a month's time you will make only say $0.20 worth of electricity maybe you'd feel better about your environmental contributions by charging up a 12 volt battery with any bicycle and Pedal-A-Watt Stationary Bike Power Generator.
http://www.youtube.com/v/WvEK4I5HGz4
* Collect stamps and learn about other countries. Countries will put their entire cultural life and history on stamps. Some countries like China and France, make breathtakingly beautiful stamps.
* Repair books. If you have old books lying around, buy a basic kit from Brodart and start repairing them. You can make a lot of money selling old repaired books on Amazon. http://www.shopbrodart.com/shop/thumb/p.aspx?p=70&pgid=2322
* Try to repair things around the apartment you would normally get a repairmen to fix. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get some advice and tools and supplies to fix what's broken. Be brave.
* Learn all the major alphabets of the world. See how proto-Hebrew may have come from hieroglyphics through ancient Hebrews and then get morphed into the Greek, Modern Hebrew, Latin, Cyrrilic, Arabic and even Devanagari and Korean alphabets. The Japanese alphabets are kind of fun too, because you can begin to decipher writing on the back of electronics.
See if you can trace the transformations the letters went through. Print out charts of the alphabets you find online and paste them up in strategic places whenever you have free time to practice memorizing.
* Watch some TV. Don't feel too guilty if you are watching something educational like the History or Science channels.
* Try buying a bread machine and baking your own bread. Do something wild with dough from the machine, like make pretzels or bagels. Try some other unusual cooking thing like making ice cream or jam.
http://www.econvergence.net/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Cod... - Pedal-A-Watt
http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen.html - The Pedal Powered Generator
http://www.shopbrodart.com/shop/cb/product.aspx?pgid=2322 - Brodart basic book repair kit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_alphabet - Wikipedia's history of the alphabet.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Interesting... So you mean the actual task of caring for a bonsai tree? Those things are pretty cool! What goes into maintaining them?
Hi Evan. Yes actually both caring for them and watching them grow are quite pleasing. Its not something that happens overnight ( you can buy large ones, though...) I see there are some really great answers here, with substance and nice form. Give me a few days to get used to the mechanics of the site !
Until then , here are some images, http://search.msn.com/images/results.aspx?q=bonsai+&go=&form=QBIR
I have a few, and once I figured out what they each needed, like how much sun and water ( and what would kill them...) its fairly simple and inexpensive. They do require some attention , but not as much as a dog!
You can also buy a Telescope and look at the stars, that's VERY relaxing and even educational.
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M$If you don't, here are some other (slightly less entertaining suggestions):
1. Learn how to become a great cook
2. Visual Arts: Painting, Collage, Ceramics
3. Writing: You could start writing creatively, or even start working on your memoirs
4. Invent something (I still don't have my promised hover-board yet!)
5. Exercise (ok...i know its not exactly fun)
6. If you have a few friends or roomates, you can start learning different card games (poker, gin, bridge, hearts, etc.)
My own attempts at fighting boredom
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M$
This is good advice. Exercise I do a little of, but if I'm feeling lazy and want to kill a few hours it doesn't quite fit the bill. Memoirs would be fun, especially if I lived an exciting life! The only problem with writing is that I'd be too tempted to do it at a computer.
Over all great suggestions!
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M$
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M$
If you're a geeky type of guy, you can take it to the next level and assemble miniatures for a strategy board game. Then you hit two birds with one stone, scale modeling and traditional strategy board games.
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Option 2: Ping-pong. It may cost a couple hundred dollars, but a ping-pong table is well worth the cost. It may sound weird hit a ball back and forth, but it can be very addicting. If you want a mildly active activity, then you'll probably want ping-pong over settlers, but overall, settlers of Catan wins.
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M$
I can't suggest learning a second instrument, like maybe the violin?
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M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Hmmm, what about this:
http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/11/ganzfeld_hallucinati.html
Two halves of a ping pong ball taped over your eyes plus a comfy chair plus some static from a radio through headphones and free time = hallucinations, apparently.
Whoa, trippy.
Ha, that's funny but I'm specifically looking for indoor activities. When it's 10pm and I'm in the middle of Los Angeles, there's not much I can do as far as outdoor stuff.
Cool, thanks! I wish I had room for trains.. I have die cast cars (and as an architect, I build building models of cardboard & paper all the time..). But pop up paper origami is fun.. even for invitations and birthday cards, etc. Kids love pop ups too.
I bought the USB iPod charger kit for my nephew. $19. It's fun to make something out of stuff lying around the house. Plus you can say you are recycling.
I used to do origami as a kid, and I definitely enjoyed it. Thanks for your suggestions!