I discovered a new hobby a couple of days ago. Since my car had been stolen by organized gangs in the middle of the night right before my home, my new hobby is to learn how to protect myself and my car from them... but furthermore at least protect myself from my wife.

Well, by doing this, I'm protecting me from myself, of course.

 

Time spent at my watch repair bench is about equally split between earning revenue, and hobby. Today, I pulled a Bulova Accutron 218 watch out of my collection, and spent several hours doing a complete service on it. My collection of 125+ watches and a dozen clocks acquired over decades. Adding to my library of books on watches. I spent a number of years employed in a stressful retail environment, and having the distraction of my horological pursuits kept me grounded. My avatar gives an idea of what is a significant hobby for me. I play a fiddle in several groups. During the summer, camping and my hobby car keep me busy. My photography skills will never amount to much, but I keep trying. I was involved writing technical articles for horological publications (NAWCC) for a number of years. And editing a car club newsletter kept me busy for many years. I buy jewellery for my wife, and that gives me great pleasure. But she tells me not to buy her any more. (We don’t have daughters!) And as was mentioned in a previous post, NOT watching television, but spending too much time hunkered over a iPad, and posting to this message board.

 

Touring Europe in the motorhome with the love of my life and a couple of beagles,

 

This (both the bike and the actual photography of it)

 

Precision pistol shooting


Bronze sculpture


Fly Fishing


Hiking/traveling


Bird hunting


Mule skinning


Wood working


Tinkering


Wild game cooking


Vinyl/Audio


Collecting late 1960s / early 1970s Italian modern furniture


Walking and training my dog


Were all things I used to do before having my two little boys (2yrs and 4mo).

Only recently turned back to watches after a several-year hiatus, as it and the furniture collecting are the things most easily pursued in the hours after toddler bedtime ...

 

I gave up so many of my hobbies when I had kids, shooting came to an end, travel did, my two Triumphs weren't large enough for a family so they went away. I understand all too well what we give up for kids, but in the long run it is all worth it. Today I started enjoying my hobbies again and now I can enjoy them with my kids.

 

wow! What is your favorite book on history? What would be your top 3 recommendations for someone that’s interested?

 

Much like watches, we have to know what your tastes are before we advise you about history books. Good ones aren't general and general ones aren't good.

 

Hmm. Although I'm a medievalist by training, I have a few favorites covering every period and era. A couple of quick suggestions (books that I've returned to repeatedly for ideas, class prep, and so forth) would include:

The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization, by Bryan Ward-Perkins (concise and thought-provoking);
The Making of the Middle Ages, by R. W. Southern (also concise, and very good on explaining the transition from ancient to medieval society);
The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861, by David M. Potter (the single best book I've ever read on American history - unmatched in explaining how the nation fell apart in the 1850s over the issue of slavery, and how the Civil War began - but NOT a short book);
The Origins of the Second World War, by A. J. P. Taylor (engrossing, provocative, outrageous, blood-boiling - and it will make you think!).

 

I specialize in tribes of the southern plains but enjoy a lot of different subjects in History, some of the books I'd suggest would be:
Castles of Steel by Robert Massie, it is about the sea war during WWI and is an exceptionally good read.
The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon Wood.
History or Rome by Livy, an oldie but a goodie.

I can also second The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861.

Massie is very readable and I could honestly recommend pretty much any of his books, especially if you like Russian history.

 

Appreciate both your replies.

I just read a generalist type history book and you’re right - it wasn’t great despite solid reviews. I’m not sure which part of history fascinates me most, but I’m sure if it’s well written and the subject is intriguing, I’ll enjoy learning.

Appreciate your recommendations and will check them out. Thank you.

 

You're welcome and I just realized we both left out the most important history book for a watch nut, Longitude by Dava Sobel. Not an academic work necessarily but a very fun read.

 

Since I'm on OmegaForums... taking all kind of space-related information Omega released with a pinch of salt ... or rather a salt mine

 

I assigned Longitude as a classroom read for high school sophomores about seven years ago. It didn't go as well as I thought it would, but once we discussed the book in class, and the students got a chance to see photos of the Harrison chronometers, they perked up a bit. (I loved the book myself!)

 

Year-round backcountry pursuits. Skiing, hiking, fly fishing, canoeing, hunting.

 

Longitude would be an excellent book for students when teaching about the age of exploration. Cook having carried K1 with him on his last two voyages is a great way to tie the book in to the time period and drive home just how important accurate navigation was in the eighteenth century.

 

Little doodles of people living their lives....doodling all the time

 

Heaven!

 

The aquarium was in the house way before I joined. There are no fancy fish in sight, I have always preferred community tanks, right now I have 4 Angelfish, one honey gourami(her pair passed away a long time ago), three pearl gouramis and a couple of xiphos. If you're wondering about the "mixture" of plants it's because I'm redecorating and have not made my mind up yet.

 

Freemasonry takes up alot of my time. I'm a deacon at church, antique cars (I have a 1969 Lincoln Mark III), motorcycles, firearms collecting. Whatever my 9 year old is into at the time!!! He plays soccer, and baseball. Cant say I'm the least bit interested in minecraft, or other games he has on his tablet.