Moving

 

A couple of years ago, I started writing a blog on hobbies.  People said it would be fun and it would give me a lot of writing practice.  I searched the internet for places to blog and settled on blogger because it came so highly recommended.  Most people explained that it was easy to use, looked pretty good, and that I had a chance to make some money.  That all sounded attractive to me.

They were quite correct.  Setting up the blog, and others, was quite easy.  I generally liked the look of it and was quite satisfied with the results.  I tried my hand at the money thing in various incarnations but failed to cash in on that.  This was the result of a combination of overzealousness by my students and a lack of page views .  If you don't attract the people, you probably won't be the next internet sensation. 

Nonetheless, I soldiered on.  What I found was that I liked the writing and I enjoyed the small amount of interaction with readers.  It just didn't grow at all, and very few people left any comments.  At the time, I figured this was normal, but I wondered why blogging was popular if you didn't get a lot of comments. 

Then a funny thing happened.  I started a blog on WordPress (the free one) because I just wanted to write something different.  While it isn't a runaway hit (or featured on Freshly Pressed) it did seem to garner more of a following.  I realized that WP did a better job of promoting within itself, and creating a community of bloggers.

So that's why I am here.  I am hoping for a bigger audience and greater interaction.  Only time will tell, but I am quiet optimistic.  Please visit my blog at this location.

The Name

When I started on Blogger, I called this blog Jack of All Hobbies.  I thought I was being witty.  I figured people would get the allusion to jack of all trades, master of none.  Instead, people just thought my name was Jack (which it isn't) and I wasn't smart at all.  I probably should have changed the title, but by then it just seemed like too much work.  As of now, I am trying to decide if I should be "A Man with Too Many Hobbies" or "Too Many Hobbies--So Little Time."  Please let me know what you think.

https://tonsofhobbies.wordpress.com/


Thank You

Blog Photos

a blurry view of my nanoblock menagerie

 

 

I feel very strongly that every blog post should have a photo.  My train of thought is that photos are visually appealing, and that they give a preview of what the blog will be about.  Maybe, thanks to google searches, they might even net me a reader or two.

I should be thankful that the digital revolution has made taking photos and adding them to blogs (as well as adding them to facebook, or bombarding relatives with the latest 100 cute cat pictures) really easy.  Maybe too easy.  I remember when all we wanted to do with our photos was slap it on a cup or maybe make a calendar.  Oh how times have changed.

My camera is pretty good, and I love the photos it takes of friends and family.  However, I am not often such a fan of the pictures I take for this blog.  Sometimes I forget to push the button for macro, so I just get a blurry mess. Sometimes the simple act of pushing the button is enough to jostle the camera causing another burry mess.  Sometimes, I am just too lazy for the photos to get from the camera to the hard drive of the computer.  It is a wonder how, in the old days,  I was able to wait a week or more for my photos to develop.

I have built a generic backdrop, and I am going to turn it into a psyche (I don't know if I spelled this correctly, but I mean a backdrop which is curved so that it looks like there is no bottom and back--somebody please comment with the correct term).  It has worked okay, but I am not completely satisfied with it.  I may have to do it again.

my non-descript backdrop

Thinking back to the old days, we probably took a lot fewer pictures.  Heaven forbid I waste film on a poor shot, and that is without even thinking of the more expensive flashcubes.  Now, I can take pictures to my heart's content.  For a hobbyist that is a good thing,  If I go to a model show, or train show, I can snap a whole lot of pictures.  I can even take a lot of video.  Wow, times have changed.

As for the blog, I want good photos, and I know those generic ones you can get off the internet don't really appeal to people.  I understand that, I just succumb to laziness sometimes.  All I can do is pledge to do better in the future.

Never A Bad Idea To Visit a Toy Store

I stopped by the toy store today...it must have been fate because I had had no intention of setting foot in the place.  Fortunately I did, because new Nanoblocks have arrived.  New Nanoblocks have arrived!

There were probably 4 or 5 things that I wanted to buy, but will have to wait.  I managed to pick up two kits and I will build them this weekend.  My plan is to do YouTube videos of opening the box and showing the built up version.  I will put the links up here.  At the same time, I will also write a blog or two about them.

Obviously I am a looking forward to putting them together.

Writing a Successful Blog

 

I can't really be sure what anyone's motivation for writing a blog is.  I know what mine is.... or at least I have a reason which seems to resonate with me.  I want to be a writer, and this is practice.  When you think of the way the publishing world has gone digital, maybe this is more than practice.  Maybe this is writing.  There is no editor, so no way to judge whether I am being successful at this or not.

Before I became a blogger, I read quite a few blogs.  The seeming ease at which they created content bolstered me quite a bit.  Since becoming a blogger, I have read a lot more.  Some update their content regularly.  Others, seem to have lost steam and haven't posted in a year...except those that posted self-chastising blogs about how they have to blog more.  I've read blogs that have fewer followers than I, and others that seem to have a legion of followers and readers.

How do you measure a successful blog.  Is it the number of followers?  I can't be sure of that, since quite a few people told me that signing up to be a follower was a passé way of doing things.  Things in the digital age move quickly.  In a few years things like Instagram and Facebook might no longer be relevant.  Sacrilege?  Does anyone remember MySpace?

Do you measure success in the number of page views?  I must confess that I do.  When I see someone's blog has ten times the number of page views that I've got, I get a little bit jealous.  I spend time on Facebook pestering my friends to check out my blog.  I comment on other blogs, hoping that some of their readership will get curious.

Do you measure success based on the number of comments people make?  This sounds reasonable, but doesn't register with me.  Not only due to the dearth of comments, but also because of my perspective.  If people really wanted to comment, they could probably start their own blogs.

I keep writing, and I alternate between feelings of success and disenchantment.  I enjoy it, but I do hear that voice, occasionally, that wonders why I am doing this.  When I need to answer this voice, I just point out that if Hemmingway were alive today, he would probably have a blog and if Shakespeare were alive today, he would probably be making clips for YouTube.

To Blog or not to Blog...really too late to ask this question.

Encouraging The Blogger In Everyone

As altruistic as the title sounds, I don't really want everyone to blog, but I wouldn't mind if they did.  I have been blogging for a little while and I am really enjoying it.  It gives me the chance to write, and it gives me the chance to put voice to some of the things I am thinking and doing.

Recently, a friend has started blogging, and I want to do my best to steer some traffic her way.  Her blog is quite interesting, and definitely worth checking out.  She is writing about things which are quite universal, and definitely provide food for thought.  Here is the link.

http://woodziewarrior.wordpress.com/

For the rest of you out there, if you've got something to say, blogging might be a good forum for you.  It is never too late to start, and never underestimate the power of the written word.

No time to Blog

In two short weeks I will have the chance to blog again.  However, the road between here and there is very long and filled with many obstacles.  Be patient loyal readers and the king of nanoblocks will return.





Thank you for all your patience.

Life

 

 

For anyone following this blog, you can see that my posting frequency has fallen off a little.  Sadly, it's true.  I don't want the couple of people out there who follow this blog to think I am abandoning it.  No.  Absolutely not!  The sad fact is that the real world is intruding in on my hobby world.  I don't want it to be that way, but that's the way it is.  Once things get back to normal, I will be posting fast and furious.

What's keeping me from the keyboard?  School and yard work.  Check out the photo and see a small sampling of the books that I am reading.  There's more, I just didn't want to collect them all in one place in case it totally blew my mind.

Yard work...it's spring after all.  The grass needs to be cut and weeded and all that other stuff.  Frankly, I really should not focus on the yard and hit the books.  However, a little bit of time outside really wouldn't hurt.

And don't forget, next week is Mother's Day.  If you haven't got your card and gift sorted out, .... what are you waiting for?



New Years Hobby Resolutions

Most people make resolutions for the New Year.  These usually involve promises to quit smoking, or join a gym, or other various forms of condemnation of procrastination.  I am not immune to this.  I have made those same kinds of resolutions (losing weight etc) but these are not really about hobbies.  For hobbies I have a separate list.

1. Don't start new hobbies if progress has not been made in other hobbies.  Nothing is worse than having a bunch of stuff gathering dust on a shelf or in a closet.
2. Don't become a collector.  Collecting stuff means having more than you can use.  Most hobbyists, myself included, have more model kits than they can build, more trains than they can run, more books than they can read, more paints than they can use before they dry up, and more money invested in non moving stock.
3. Have more patience.  Nothing can ruin a good hobby than lack of patience.  I can't count how many paint jobs or decal applications that have been ruined because I didn't take my time.  Sometimes a near perfect paintjob was ruined because I wouldn't let it sit long enough--the results were good CSI quality fingerprints.
4. Get a better handle on this whole blogging thing.  I have enjoyed blogging, but I don't quite know how to expand the audience of this blog.
5. Take better pictures for the blog.  I haven't done a bad job, but a quick tour around the World Wide Web, clearly indicates I could do better.
6. Enjoy my hobbies more.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my hobbies, but I think there could always be room for improvement.  Enjoying life fully is not as easy as people think.  While hobbies are supposed to be a relief from pressure, they often create their own pressures. (see the previous five points and then tell me if I am wrong)
7. Complete more.  If you've read this blog for a while, you might conclude that the sheer number of hobbies I have means that I don't complete a lot, and you'd be right.  I hope that 2013 is different.

 

Happy New Year Everyone

If you have a Moment...

If you have a moment, please check out my non-hobby related blog.  It is called the octagonal peg (I wanted to call it Rebel Without Applause, but that was already taken).  The link is below on the right side of this blog, along with links to other blogs that I find interesting.
Please feel free to leave any comments about it.  It a place where I vent my frustrations on daily life.  Hopefully you will find it funny and occasionally insightful.

What's Next?

As a hobbyist with too many hobbies, I am most often juggling several at one time. Nothing wrong with that as it keeps me from getting bored.  I realize that I have not posted an update on my hobbies lately--mostly because I am not particularly satisfied with the results, partly because I am preoccupied with Christmas (and memories of Christmas' past) and partly because having so many hobbies, work, obligations and a rather long commute, I haven't completed that much.

lots of kits to build

I have managed to actually finish some things, and that means I have to look ahead.  That's the topic of this blog: What lies ahead?  I am sure most hobbyists confront this question.  Mostly, they are confined within one hobby, but I am sure they ask it.  Train layout builders ponder if they should expand their layouts, or redo some part of it.  Video gamers wonder which game they want to beat next.  Puzzle makers consider which kit has the least amount of sky.  Music makers are looking for the next beat.  All of us are wondering what's next.

What makes this question so difficult for me is that it has so many meanings.  Which kit should I build next?  Which Nanoblock kit should I buy and build next?  Which train building needs to get done next?  Which set of freight cars should I buy?  What layout project should I tackle next?  Which blog should I update next?  Should I start a new blog?  Which books should I get from the library?  Should I start a new hobby like remote control helicopters?  Should I get a pool table for my house? (The Hustler was on TV this weekend.... just so you understand how my mind works)  Should I get my motorcycle or pilot's licence?  Should I join the gym?  Wouldn't it be cool to make my own beer?  Baking seems like a good way to feed myself.



lots of model railroad buildings to make

Yes, not only do I wonder what is next in the hobby queue based on what I am doing (I finished one kit, what's the next one?) but also on what new hobby I would like to take up.  Is this wise?  I can't really say that it is, but that is just how things go.  That's what makes the question, what's next? so difficult.



The other wrinkle in all this is preparation.  I might want to do something, but that doesn't mean I am ready to do it.  I might pick a model kit, or building kit and find I don't have the paint or that my glue has dried into a rock solid mass that will never dislodge itself from the bottle.  There is nothing more of momentum killer than having to go out and get something.



and a nanoblock project awaiting

Sometimes a trip to the hobby store is good for getting oneself going again, but for someone like me, it just opens up too many avenues of exploration.  Going to the hobby store for glue might mean the beginning of an entirely new hobby.



So, what's next?



The Number 5 Hobby I Would Take up

I have really enjoyed blogging, and I have often contemplated doing more blogs.  I figure if I offer a large enough choice, maybe I will gather a huge audience for at least one of my blogs.  Actually, it is more about finding a good niche, than about attracting a huge audience.  I appreciate the people who read this one, and I certainly appreciate the few who leave comments.

When I started blogging, someone told me that sustaining a blog is the hardest part.  At the time, I thought coming up with something to blog about was difficult (and finding a good title was a close second).  However, months later, I understand how valid that someone's idea was.

Though I have a good idea for another blog, and several people are urging me to follow through on the idea, I am not sure I could sustain it.  It sounds like a good idea, but letting people down certainly isn't.

Presently, I spend a bit of time per week blogging.  I think I should spend more, but I need time for commuting, reading, general housework, social events, and hobbies.  I like blogging, but I am not sure I should sacrifice any more of my hobby time to it.

Hobbies I would take up: The Bottom Five (part 5--vlogging)

I am a big fan of YouTube.  I have subscribed to more than 15 people, and I check it daily.  Mostly, I watch jvloggers (as we call the people who make video blogs from Japan).  Having lived in Japan, most of what they show me isn't really new.  I've eaten most of the foods they talk about, purchased beer and other drinks at vending machines they talk about, been to apartments much like the ones they show, and shopped at quite a few of the stores they tour around.  However, Japan is a country full of surprises, so sometimes they surprise me.  Sometimes, they really surprise me.  That is what makes wading through some of it worthwhile.

I started blogging because some of these jvloggers have blogs that are companions to their jvlogs, or are done in the same tone as their vlogs.  It got me interested, and now I have my own blog (2 in fact, and maybe someday soon 3).  Without having stumbled across these jvloggers, I wouldn't be writing this today.

I guess why I haven't vlogged comes down to several reasons.  I don't have a digital video camera (or iPhone).  I could buy one, of course, but it just doesn't seem like a priority, mainly because of the other two reasons.  I would like to put my voice on these vlogs, but probably not my face.   I don't know if I would be self-conscious, or nervous or what, but the prospect of appearing on camera (and not acting--because if you gave me the lines, I think I could do it) and adlibbing seems hard.  Lastly, Japan is interesting, exotic, and full of surprises.  South-western Ontario seems less so.  If you've never been here, there might be something that really wakes you up (when my students see snow falling for the first time they get pretty excited, and when they see the fast hard pace of hockey they get excited), but I am not sure I could really get behind that.  My students could make Canada vlogs and that would be cool.  Me..... not sure.

Maybe someday I will find the impetus for this, but I don't think it will be anytime soon.

If you want to see some of the jvloggers I mentioned, please go to YouTube and check out the following:

(Most of them have entertained me greatly, and even infomred me.  I appreciate their work and have no reservation recommending them whatsoever)

tokyocooney

rodgerswan

discountsausage

brotherannie

BusanKevin

nihonjenn

Postascribe

TwilightsSerenity

 

Through these jvloggers, you can find many others (if this is your thing).

 

YouTube, MeTube

Shortly the new fall TV season will be in full swing.  We will be deluged with soon forgotten, poorly conceived, badly acted and oddly contrived manifestations from Hollywood.    There will be a bunch of sitcoms, cop shows, and the odd drama.  Of course there will be a huge pile (and I use this word very knowingly) of unreal reality shows.  Through it all, even if I should somehow be caught up in the hype, I will never let it interfere with my two addictions--hockey and YouTube.

Of course the NHL may have beaten me to the punch and ruined the upcoming season.  I could start a rant--should start a rant--but I won't.  I am not sure blogger would really allow all the bad words that I would have to use for my anger to subside.

As for YouTube.... what's not to like about it...except that I seem to spend more time on it than most people would consider healthy.  I can't really complain, except that it takes time away from my other hobbies.

I started out on YouTube mostly looking at videos from Japan.  I have watched enough apartment tours to become a real estate agent.  After all those videos, I can only conclude that my Japanese apartment was slightly below average--of course that was a long time  ago, and my memory might be playing tricks on me.

These apartment tours led me to Jvloggers.  Jvloggers are an interesting group of people that make video blogs on Japan.  Most are funny, some are informative, and some are just weird.  I still watch a lot of them to this day, and I certainly encourage you to watch the likes of tokyocooney, the late rodgerswan, brotherannie, BusanKevin (and his other page jlandkev), nihonjenn and others.  If you have an interest in Japan, I think you should check them out.

At one time I really wanted to become a Jvlogger myself.  I have written down a bunch of ideas that I would have made vlogs about.  Of course, I don't live in Japan, and probably won't (at least for the foreseeable future) so this idea is on hold....probably a long hold.  In fact, one of the reasons I started this blog was because of some of the blogs that the above vloggers have.  There really isn't anything in my life that I would like to vlog about, but there seems to be quite a lot of stuff I am willing to blog about.

I also love YouTube because they have so many great videos about building models and model trains.  I have learned a lot by watching other people explain and build their models.  I even found a fantastic Japanese program with some truly incredible videos.  Fortunately for me my Japanese is good enough to follow these programs (though I wish it were better)

I also love it for the collection of weird stuff that's on it.  Where else could you find Japanese Spiderman (you've got to see it to believe it) or space janitors, or IKEA Heights, or the wacky Japan "english series", or the classic "will it blend?"  I even find the unboxing shows pretty cool.   If only they would put the travel in Japan series that Jane Seymour made onto it, it would be perfect.

Yes, I spend too much time on YouTube. that much is obvious.  There really isn't much I can do about it..... and I probably wouldn't even if I could.

Project Update July

I haven't updated my hobby progress in a while.  This is probably due to a lack of progress.  I have done a few things, but I wouldn't call this a particularly productive summer for a hobbyist.  Of course, in Canada, the best indoor hobby time is winter.  When it is cold outside, unless your playing hockey or skiing (two very fine pursuits) then being outside either means that tough walk to the bus stop, the pull your kids up hill so they can slide down in 1/10th the time, or the dreaded driveway shovel.  Being cold outside provides the perfect opportunity to work on models, puzzles, the train, or something along those lines.

Lately here the weather has been rather warm and the flower garden has been demanding a lot of my attention.

Fear not, I have done some things.  First and foremost, I have committed myself to this blog.  The second thing is that I picked up (well, in fact I had Amazon send me) some new train books.  I have read quite of bit from each one and I am happy with the purchase.  The third thing I have done is get the bike tuned up so I can ride around and enjoy this weather.

Sadly, my tennis partner is relocating and I am afraid my game will fall off to nothing.

Truth be told, I have neglected my models, my trains (well, I got some books, and I have made a decision about my layout--but I will save that for another blog) and my Japanese study.  I have put off the Lego purchase.  I have spent time reading, but I have not quite gotten used to loading books on the e reader.

I finished my book of Codeword Puzzles (all 150 of them) and started my book of logic puzzles.

I am not worried, and I am not short of topics for this blog, so even if this officially becomes a lazy summer, I will still have a progress report for you in August.

So, you're interested in blogging...

In the past month I have encouraged several people to take up blogging.  Maybe, I would even go so far as to say I insisted that they take up blogging.  Who's kidding who, I practically harassed them.  So, this begs the question, has making other people blog become a hobby?  Not hobby, but certainly it has become a pursuit, and I really don't know why.

I started this just for a way to express myself that wasn't related to being an ESL teacher (though I am thinking about a blog on that as well).  Perhaps, I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it, how good it would feel to put my words on the page.  When I started I had no idea if it would go beyond the first few ideas I had.  Granted, it has only been a couple of months, and I haven't become an internet sensation, but it has lasted longer than some of my endeavours.

Why the need to drag (kicking and screaming) some others into this?  I don't know.  It certainly wasn't intentional.  If someone mentions that they have seen my blog, I quickly tell them that they should make one too.  Barely before they can finish a sentence, I start planning their blog for them.  I ask them about titles, I give encouragement, I blather on and on about how easy it all is.  I must have a sickness.

This really isn't like me at all.  Most of what I do, I do by myself.  I took up some hobbies figuring I would meet people, that it would become social, but not that I would be out there trying to build a community.  I like to settle on the edge of the community, and slowly meet people.  I don't rush to the centre and demand attention. Hmmm?  I wonder what's really going on.

I guess blogging has made more of an impression on me than I realized.  I wonder if that means I will be accosting complete strangers on my commute, telling them to get on their smartphones right now and make a blog?  Hopefully, it won't go that far...but one never knows.