COVID Quarantine Hobbies

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IMGASMD said:
Noooooooooo............ say it ain’t so!

How about a “cheap” double boiler machine? Probably the best investment that we ever did. It was very expensive even on my first “real” paycheck. It has been going strong for almost 10 years. They all built like tanks. I figure it saves about $5 a day compare to getting Starbucks. It pays for itself in about a year. And you get to try different coffee, local roaster, fresher coffee or “fancy” beans....

but I also understand some people just don’t want to tinker with different parts, just want a decent coffee in the morning.

Or pour over, it makes me slow down a bit (~3-5mins) cannot be too impatient for a good cup of joe.
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Can you provide a link? to the double boiler machine?
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thegenius said:
Can you provide a link? to the double boiler machine?
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Yeah, I"m kinda curious what double boiler is 'cheap'. I have a breville infuse and smart grinder pro, which I estimate to be about the cheapest real espresso setup you can do (w/o going second hand or manual grinder). It cost me about $650 all in, but I'm quite happy w/ it.
 
turkeyjerky said:
Yeah, I"m kinda curious what double boiler is 'cheap'. I have a breville infuse and smart grinder pro, which I estimate to be about the cheapest real espresso setup you can do (w/o going second hand or manual grinder). It cost me about $650 all in, but I'm quite happy w/ it.
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How happy are you with the grinder? From working in a cafe I know dialing the grind is one of the most challenging parts of making espresso so you want a well calibrated machine. I also know that good reliable grinders are expensive (our were 5k apiece).
 
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“Cheap” is relative. For me and my SO, we were getting at least one Starbucks a day. ~$10. We now just make drinks ourselves. So the money we saved makes the machine “cheap” after a year.
 
Detective SnowBucket said:
How happy are you with the grinder? From working in a cafe I know dialing the grind is one of the most challenging parts of making espresso so you want a well calibrated machine. I also know that good reliable grinders are expensive (our were 5k apiece).
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It works well for me. I'm not a pro though. It's able to grind fine enough to choke the machine. But I probably don't have the palate to determine subtle difference in grind. I usually drink darkly roasted straight espresso or cold brew.
 
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Anybody else biking as a new hobby? I got a bike this spring after not riding one for 20 years and I have been enjoying getting out and getting more exercise. I'm considering buying a used second bike and converting it to an e-bike and doing some bike commuting and to make it a little easier to pull kids up hills in a trailer. The combination of features that I want in my e-bike would make buying a stock one more expensive than I really want to spend right now.
 
Welcome to me for the last 2 years. Been bike commuting to work, got a raleigh hybrid bike (cadent i8) with an internal gear hub (gears are on the inside) and a belt drive. rigged it with a rack, fenders and lights, along with an attachment for my trailer. Don't regret that decision at all. If you're just getting into biking, good luck getting an affordable bike in the 400-600 dollar range. Bike shops and department stores (which I would never buy bikes from) all sold out.

As for e-bikes, definitely a promising aspect of the industry. With their speed, a 10 mile one way commute becomes very doable. I am not confident enough in my mechanical skills to jury rig a manual bike into an electric one. You can get a decent one in the $1k-1200 range, affordable for most attendings.
 
PTPoeny said:
Anybody else biking as a new hobby? I got a bike this spring after not riding one for 20 years and I have been enjoying getting out and getting more exercise. I'm considering buying a used second bike and converting it to an e-bike and doing some bike commuting and to make it a little easier to pull kids up hills in a trailer. The combination of features that I want in my e-bike would make buying a stock one more expensive than I really want to spend right now.
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Yep. I have a nice road and mountain bike. I'm not a big fan of e-bikes but I'd support any feature or technology that got someone interested in biking. However, decent to good e-bikes are definitely NOT cheap. I used to hardcore road bike but I find myself leisurely mountain biking more and more these days. I'll ride for about an hour or so after the gym and am not trying to set records. I just legitimately find riding a lot of fun. Luckily, I've got some great paved multi-use trails as well as mountain bike trails right next to my house so I don't even have to load up the bike and drive anywhere. Enjoy the bike!
 
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Groove said:
Yep. I have a nice road and mountain bike. I'm not a big fan of e-bikes but I'd support any feature or technology that got someone interested in biking. However, decent to good e-bikes are definitely NOT cheap. I used to hardcore road bike but I find myself leisurely mountain biking more and more these days. I'll ride for about an hour or so after the gym and am not trying to set records. I just legitimately find riding a lot of fun. Luckily, I've got some great paved multi-use trails as well as mountain bike trails right next to my house so I don't even have to load up the bike and drive anywhere. Enjoy the bike!
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Love road bikes, amazing how light they can be. If I get another one, likely will be either a cyclocross or road bike.
 
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I know there are entry e-bikes for 1k to 1500. But I would prefer a bike with a mid-drive, internal gears and an upright riding posture, which I haven't found for less than 2500. And then I have trouble justifying buying a bike for that much that isn't what I really want which includes a belt drive and front suspension... And all of those bring it to 4k which is too much for me right now when I haven't ever done any bike commuting. Hence my plan to buy a solid, old bike with most of my desired features and add a mid drive motor. Then in a few years if I like bike commuting I will get the bike I really want!

I have been biking almost every day, but I would like to try commuting without arriving at work disgustingly sweaty hence my interest in an e-bike. I'm hoping that by doing the conversion the bike will be light enough to reasonable bike home with the assist turned off. We'll see, might be a total failure.
 
I used to play online poker all day long for weeks on end

I kicked the habit for a few years but I just started up again

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My COVID-quarantine hobby:

On March 20, 2020 I decided to start running daily since there was nothing else to do. Today makes 365 days in a row, 1 full year of running at least 1 mile, every day.

Streak total:

365 days, from 3/20/2020 to 3/19/2021

Total miles: 2469.
Runs ranged from 1 mile, to 26.2.
Averages: 47.4 miles per week, 6.7 miles per day.

I ran multiple 5K and 10K races, a half marathon and a full marathon.

I see no reason the streak has to end just because lockdown did...
 
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MechEDoc said:
She doubled down on how bad I am, we're now separated. Life is much less stressful.
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I know a guy who’s wife was constantly b**ching at him, telling him he should do this, he should do that, he should be this, he should be that, and on and on.

He mostly tolerated it, was hurt by it often and constantly was thinking about how he needed to change. Then one day he finally decided, he was just never going to be able to make her happy, so there was no point in trying to.

He finally told her, “If you don’t like me the way I am, leave! I’ll never be able to make you happy, so go! Quit wasting your time with me, and find someone who can while you’re still young. Do me a favor and go find someone who will enjoy being constantly told they’re not good enough.”

Unexpectedly, their relationship has been better ever since.
 
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Birdstrike said:
I know a guy who’s wife was constantly b**ching at him, telling him he should do this, he should do that, he should be this, he should be that, and on and on.

He mostly tolerated it, was hurt by it often and constantly was thinking about how he needed to change. Then one day he finally decided, he was just never going to be able to make her happy, so there was no point in trying to.

He finally told her, “If you don’t like me the way I am, leave! I’ll never be able to make you happy, so go! Quit wasting your time with me, and find someone who can while you’re still young. Do me a favor and go find someone who will enjoy being constantly told they’re not good enough.”

Unexpectedly, their relationship has been better ever since.
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I'm sure there is some nuance missing to this story, but it sounds like they're still together after he gave her an ultimatum to either stop complaining or leave. Unless something fundamental changed at the same time, this still sounds like a very unhappy marriage. The idea of being married to someone who would constantly complain about who I am (even if they've since stopped doing so) sounds miserable.
 
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MechEDoc said:
She doubled down on how bad I am, we're now separated. Life is much less stressful.
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Two of the best decisions I ever made happened in 2020:

1) Left CMG world

2) Divorced my exwife
 
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By the way, I didn’t realize I was the one who started this thread. But I looked back at my OP, and the “hobby” I started during COVID, which was to run every day (at least 1 mile) is still ongoing. Today will be my 808th day of running in a row. Not that anyone gives a rats behind about my daily running streak.

Crazy, how fast the last 2 years went.
 
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Birdstrike said:
By the way, I didn’t realize I was the one who started this thread. But I looked back at my OP, and the “hobby” I started during COVID, which was to run every day (at least 1 mile) is still ongoing. Today will be my 808th day of running in a row. Not that anyone gives a rats behind about my daily running streak.

Crazy, how fast the last 2 years went.
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Good for you man. Great on you for sticking with it as most don't
 
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Birdstrike said:
By the way, I didn’t realize I was the one who started this thread. But I looked back at my OP, and the “hobby” I started during COVID, which was to run every day (at least 1 mile) is still ongoing. Today will be my 808th day of running in a row. Not that anyone gives a rats behind about my daily running streak.

Crazy, how fast the last 2 years went.
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I like running. My ex would give me crap for having wasted time by having gone running twice(!) a week ago. I now take my lovely 1 year old for runs all the time. She sits in her stroller eating food, drinking water and enjoying everything in front her while her favorite old lab mix is panting alongside her. Those moments remind me of the beauty of life.
 
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I have a buddy who (is/was?) with a turbo-jealous, abandonment-issues type. The type that would give him static when their waitress was "too nice".

He told me that one day, he started going to the gym in a deliberate effort to get fit again. Early middle-aged guy, out of shape but not pudgy or anything. This, of course, arose suspicion in the gal, who asked him: "Who are you getting in shape for?" with the clear implication that he was inspired to "get in shape for another girl".

He told me that he responded with a single word... "Me."
 
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GonnaBeADoc2222 said:
Two of the best decisions I ever made happened in 2020:

1) Left CMG world

2) Divorced my exwife
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If you don't mind me asking, I'm kinda curious how the divorce hit you financially? I went through a divorce as a resident and got raked for cash by her lawyer that I didn't have and always thought it was an egregious money grab considering we'd only been married for 1.5 years with no kids. They wanted my entire sign on out of residency (50-100K) with 40K down on a house and 3 years of alimony. It was beyond ridiculous and based on that experience, I've always been shy about getting married again as an attending. It's like....the one thing in our lives that has the absolute most impact on retirement planning that is 50% outside our control. Literally, another person can decide to divorce me at any point in time and take half my retirement and God knows how many years of alimony. Did you at least get a fair deal? Pre-nup?

I've been debating getting engaged to my current SO but wanted to get an attorney consultation regarding prenups in my state. I've got a trauma surgeon buddy of mine that lives in another state that got divorced a few years ago and it wrecked his finances.
 
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MechEDoc said:
I like running. My ex would give me crap for having wasted time by having gone running twice(!) a week ago. I now take my lovely 1 year old for runs all the time. She sits in her stroller eating food, drinking water and enjoying everything in front her while her favorite old lab mix is panting alongside her. Those moments remind me of the beauty of life.
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I went running again today with my girl and my old dog. It was nice.

Also, she strongly considered putting the dog down and had previously threatened him. He's doing fine now.
 
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MechEDoc said:
I like running. My ex would give me crap for having wasted time by having gone running twice(!) a week ago. I now take my lovely 1 year old for runs all the time. She sits in her stroller eating food, drinking water and enjoying everything in front her while her favorite old lab mix is panting alongside her. Those moments remind me of the beauty of life.
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+1 for running with the kids.

Pros: outdoors
health benefits
means you get to combine exercise and child care.
Built in progression system (have more kids. kids get bigger. stroller gets heavier)

Cons:
Eventually kids start fighting in the double stroller and you have to turn the stroller around. Alternatively turn airpod pros to active noise cancelling and see who survives.
 
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