Expensive hobbies

[XeonSam]

I was just wondering, do any of you have similar problems:

1. Browse ebay to find deals for SSD's that would cost a normal person the price of a new PC
2. Avoid talking to coworkers about your hobbies because they may think you're crazy (if they ever saw your lab)
3. Realize your hobbies cost more than your job provides
4. Have boxes of wires and cables that once had a purpose but now you can't get yourself to throw them out
5. Make decisions based on whether you will be caught by your wife
6. Have so many packages coming to you that the mail man knows your family personally
7. Heart stops everytime the electricity bill comes out; wondering what excuse or what you will have to give up to your wife
8. Deny its an addiction because you can stop whenever you want. But you like flashy lights.
9. Do things not because you need to but because you can (like.... upgrade home network to 10G, constantly adding more storage to your NAS, build a SAN for 1 user)

.....Because I certainly don't. Uhm....

 

[lstink]

Hay I thought these were my problems? but then
1. Going through the monthly bank statement and trying to come up excuse after excuse for almost each line.
2. Trying to find creative ways to dispose of all the cardboard boxes to give the impression that not many things have been bought.
3. Installing all the subsystems and giving the impression that its just one big purchase.
4. Creating a totally unnecessary service in the hope of passing of the purchases as really useful one(like an lcd display and orange pi became digital photo display at the living room, justification for more storage in NAS)

but its still lot more easier to justify than all those D&D miniatures

 

[Evan]

Oh I hate seeing good prices on large SSD’s or big disks... do I really need to replace 8TB with 12TB ??
Granted I have not gone crazy at all but still having all primary data on SSD probably is overkill.

Do I really need a HA cluster at home ? Probably not but good to learn on.

Given my desire to keep all my stuff as low power as reasonable thankfully the power bill is manageable (hardware costs more though)

 

[fohdeesha]

It can get bad, but I try to keep it in perspective and remind myself it can get MUCH worse. I used to race ( Jon Sands ) but had to slow down and eventually stop due to health reasons. A single race weekend costs much more than I spend on IT gear in a calendar year, and I spend a lot. And when the race weekend is over, it's over. You don't have any cool gear you can still dick with, and eventually resell.

From that point of view, I think we're doing alright, especially when you factor in the amount of time we get out of our purchases, and even the eventual return if you cycle through selling unused gear. In my experience any hobby tends to act like a gas, and expands to fill whatever spare cash you have in your wallet every month - it's never some set amount. Whether it's fishing, D&D, home lab, whatever

Given that, I think we picked a pretty healthy hobby, especially since pretty much every purchase in this space brings with it some learning - whether it's usable in employment or not is another matter, but learning is learning. When my girlfriend reminds me that some people spend this much money a month just drinking by themselves, suddenly I don't feel too bad running an MPLS lab in my basement, but to each their own

Don't be afraid to bring up your hobby with your coworkers/friends/etc, you'd be surprised how many people out there have "weird" hobbies (which aren't weird, once you get to talking to them)

 

[kapone]

I was just wondering, do any of you have similar problems:

1. Browse ebay to find deals for SSD's that would cost a normal person the price of a new PC
2. Avoid talking to coworkers about your hobbies because they may think you're crazy (if they ever saw your lab)
3. Realize your hobbies cost more than your job provides
4. Have boxes of wires and cables that once had a purpose but now you can't get yourself to throw them out
5. Make decisions based on whether you will be caught by your wife
6. Have so many packages coming to you that the mail man knows your family personally
7. Heart stops everytime the electricity bill comes out; wondering what excuse or what you will have to give up to your wife
8. Deny its an addiction because you can stop whenever you want. But you like flashy lights.
9. Do things not because you need to but because you can (like.... upgrade home network to 10G, constantly adding more storage to your NAS, build a SAN for 1 user)

.....Because I certainly don't. Uhm....

All of the above, plus....

10. Take a break from playing with computers.
11. Buy a fast car (I bought a Lotus Esprit). When the wife sees it in the driveway..."oh honey...uhm..uhm...wanna go for a ride?"
12. Build a home theater. Umm....honey, look at that 135" screen!!
13. Build a car stereo that...let's just say, cost more than the car. Honey...do you like it? Yes, what did it cost? Umm...Umm...
14. Take her to Paris on a surprise trip. Best sex of my life.

 

[XeonSam]

I showed a picture of my home lab to a coworker once and the first thing he asked was how much money are you making from bitcoin. I tried to explain it was a homelab where I fiddle and play with things.

He still doesn't believe me.... and started spreading rumors that I got rich from mining and would likely quit my job.

That's the last time I show pics to coworkers.

 

[Dawg10]

My other 'hobby' prior to discovering virtualization was Harleys; there's still 6 in the shop. Here's the last one I built before getting a good offer for a couple tonnes of parts they don't make anymore:


It's custom built for my 5' nothing wife, and has the exact same seat & hand/foot geometry as her '03 LowRider; note the raised floorboards and brake pedal. Frame is a '88 softail, dual-disc narrowglide front end w. PM brakes, 5-speed tranny, belt drive primary, Shotgun rear air shock w. onboard compressor, 6-puck Jay Brake rear, tuned SuperTrapp muffler, GPS speedo that does 1/4 mile times, and a 103" high-compression S&S panhead motor. I built the fenders, the exhaust pipes and the tank filler strip. Took 2 years to put on the road after collecting parts for 5 or 6.

In 2 years of being a virt.addict, I now have 12 servers, with 3 or 4 online all the time and over 100TB storage recently connected by 10/40G thanks to knowledge shared here. My entire electronics outlay doesn't come close to paying for the panhead motor, which was half the cost of the bike.

 

[XeonSam]

In 2 years of being a virt.addict, I now have 12 servers, with 3 or 4 online all the time and over 100TB storage recently connected by 10/40G thanks to knowledge shared here. My entire electronics outlay doesn't come close to paying for the panhead motor, which was half the cost of the bike.

Yea... STH has helped a lot when I started building my first lab. I started off with making my own servers, then modifying used servers, to getting branded servers. My logic at the end was, why waste so much time troubleshooting parts when Dell and HP does that all for you.

12 Servers is rediculous! What is your electricity bill like? 3 servers online all the time comes close to $500/month in Korea. That's with low powered xeons and SSD's. Do you have a dedicated line or do you use no-ip?

 

[Dawg10]

I'm just getting started. I have spousal permission to pursue running fiber: we're 5.6km from the Alberta Supernet backbone, recently acquired by Bell Canada. There's seven neighbors in that 6km, so with a little luck this might happen. Worst case; I could sell a bike and pay for the fiber myself.

 

[XeonSam]

OMG... that's so like what I would do. Sell a toy to buy another one.

How about electricity? How do you tackle that?

 

[Dawg10]

OMG... that's so like what I would do. Sell a toy to buy another one.

How about electricity? How do you tackle that?

This is old-boy Ukrainian territory; 1900's they settled a swath of prairies from Manitoba to BC. My wife's parents were born in northern Alberta to immigrant farmers. The 'Rural Electrification Association' that owns the lines has a sweetheart deal with the grid suppliers; we pay a hefty monthly fee but most of it is riders and attachments, the actual power is cheap. So using more power doesn't hurt much.

Having said that, I still practice carbon hygiene where it makes sense to.

 

[cactus]

I used to race ( Jon Sands )

Aww that 917 is nice.

HPDE is my expensive hobby and I'm just running a reasonably inexpensive BRZ on street tires.

 

[fohdeesha]

Aww that 917 is nice.

HPDE is my expensive hobby and I'm just running a reasonably inexpensive BRZ on street tires.

BRZ's are fun! A friend has one and we trade every once in a while - what they lack in power they more than make up for in weight (or lack thereof)

 

[Terry Kennedy]

It can get bad, but I try to keep it in perspective and remind myself it can get MUCH worse. I used to race ( Jon Sands ) but had to slow down and eventually stop due to health reasons. A single race weekend costs much more than I spend on IT gear in a calendar year, and I spend a lot. And when the race weekend is over, it's over. You don't have any cool gear you can still dick with, and eventually resell.

A lot depends on the type of car and where you're racing. I used to have an Ariel Atom which is very low-maintenance for a track car. And out in the boonies you can get a good track inexpensively. Hallett outside of Tulsa was $1500/day (weekdays) for the whole track, including fire / ambulance onsite and corner workers. And they're the friendliest people you could imagine - if you break something and need shop work, they ask if you want to do it yourself or if they should do it for you. None of that "millionaire's club" attitude you get on either coast. OTOH, I did have a friend who said "I just rented Laguna Seca for 3 days - want to come out and have some fun?" (I did!)

From that point of view, I think we're doing alright, especially when you factor in the amount of time we get out of our purchases, and even the eventual return if you cycle through selling unused gear. In my experience any hobby tends to act like a gas, and expands to fill whatever spare cash you have in your wallet every month - it's never some set amount. Whether it's fishing, D&D, home lab, whatever.

My current computer-related plaything is giant printers:

Don't be afraid to bring up your hobby with your coworkers/friends/etc, you'd be surprised how many people out there have "weird" hobbies (which aren't weird, once you get to talking to them)

I also do mine exploring. Which is funny, because I sold the Atom because as I approach 60, getting in/out of it was too much of a hassle, not to mention doing 500-mile days on cross-country drives and getting rained on - "you know why they call 'em bucket seats? 'cause they fill up with water!" and now I'm climbing 1000' or more down (and then back up, which is a lot harder) a mine.

 

[T_Minus]

I don't know of any more expensive hobby than the ones I'm already involved in... ok, I lied... owning a plane would be more expensive.

Farm - Make a million/year? Probably will spend $1.5m/year kind of hobby... or in our case, buy a new dog, spend $$ for fence, tractor equipment, etc, to DIY everything related to owning a farm, enjoy your own food, spend more! Very rewarding yet costly.

Auto racing/off-road racing - We used to do this weekly certain times of year and as most know you rarely escape without breaking something... $200-$1k+/weekend, adds up fast and that's just maintenance/replacement parts! PC/Server stuff is cheap vs. buying a new $10k+ axle.

Jetski/inland lakes boating - I'm sure everyone is familiar with the costs associated here... fuel, repairs, upgrades, maintenance, etc. Have done this since I was born, wouldn't have it any other way.

Sailing - Just getting into this and feels like farming + auto racing + boating combined with a dash of servers/solar/etc thrown in. The ultimate DIY adventure that's mixing a lot of things I'm interested in and combining the costs associated too LOL!


You may be in an expensive hobby if your wife asks "So since you got a new ___ are you selling the old ___"

 

[T_Minus]

A lot depends on the type of car and where you're racing. I used to have an Ariel Atom which is very low-maintenance for a track car. And out in the boonies you can get a good track inexpensively. Hallett outside of Tulsa was $1500/day (weekdays) for the whole track, including fire / ambulance onsite and corner workers. And they're the friendliest people you could imagine - if you break something and need shop work, they ask if you want to do it yourself or if they should do it for you. None of that "millionaire's club" attitude you get on either coast. OTOH, I did have a friend who said "I just rented Laguna Seca for 3 days - want to come out and have some fun?" (I did!)

My current computer-related plaything is giant printers:

I also do mine exploring. Which is funny, because I sold the Atom because as I approach 60, getting in/out of it was too much of a hassle, not to mention doing 500-mile days on cross-country drives and getting rained on - "you know why they call 'em bucket seats? 'cause they fill up with water!" and now I'm climbing 1000' or more down (and then back up, which is a lot harder) a mine.

Are you doing side-gigs with the printers or just epxloring new options?

Mine exploring -- Are you going in old mine shafts or exploring natural mines? (I"m unsure of the words here/your meaning) Around here going in old mine shafts is a great way to never be heard from again.

 

[Terry Kennedy]

Are you doing side-gigs with the printers or just epxloring new options?

Mostly just having fun with my photography hobby. I do some printing for friends for the cost of ink + paper (the printer does accounting down to the penny - see below) because these big printers are designed to be run pretty much constantly and can suffer expensive clogs if not run for a while. Here's a sample job cost:

Mine exploring -- Are you going in old mine shafts or exploring natural mines? (I"m unsure of the words here/your meaning) Around here going in old mine shafts is a great way to never be heard from again.

Old mines, not natural caves. It's something I've been doing off and on for over 40 years (see 1976 photos here) and I'm still around. You need a lot of expensive, specialized equipment to do this properly. Having said that, the vast majority of people who are injured / killed in mines weren't exploring. The major cause of death / injury is people who didn't know there was a mine there falling in - undergrowth or terrain can camouflage entrances and people fall in, either on foot or on off-road vehicles. Sadly, the next most common cause of people being found dead in mines is because they were killed and dumped there, like this. Exploring is quite a ways down the list.

Some mines are safe and easy (hard rock, level ground, no water or dry rot, well-explored and mapped) and I have no problem taking interested people in, as long as they each have head protection, flashlights (plural), and appropriate clothing. [I used to be a docent for commercial coal mine tours, so this isn't as crazy as it sounds.] Other mines are missing at least one of those criteria, and those require a lot more effort and equipment (rope, harnesses, etc.)

 

[ipkpjersi]

Data storage and storage servers is definitely my most expensive hobby. Hard drives cost hundreds and with RAID you end up needing more of them, and then of course you can never have enough space. It really adds up quickly.

 

[Mishka]

Motorbike here (also my vehicle for commuting to work) so that ends up also being bike trips around the UK so can easily be £150-200 in a weekend due to hotels, fuel and food

Photography (Action stuff) too Canon 7D DSLR, Sigma 100-400 Lens, Eyeing up a 150-600 lens (£700), Am slowly collecting annual passes to Zoo's around the UK, so far I have 5, which then coincides with the bike trips if the zoo is further afield.

Server gear on homelab.......actually the cheapest of the lot due to longevity, I do small upgrades occasionally but only having two servers (but parts for 4)

Mine seem so cheap compared to everyone elses!

 

[TLN]

1. Snowboarding - I own may be 7-8 boards: from normal one, to alpine and race boards. I race too, gotta renew my USASA membership.
2. Road bikes - Recently got into it. Keeps my body in shape, or at least I'm not getting extra weight. 1st bike was stolen (Chicago), solution? Get more expensive one, and don't use it for commute.
3. Wakeboarding: Never expected it to be so fuuun. Need to get own setup, but it's relatively inexpensive.
4. Photography: I'm doing less photos right now, but still have fullframe and bynch of L lenses.
5. Audio: Recently got myself LS50 Wireless, which should be more then enough till I get my own place.
6. Getting motorcycle license soon