I try to make something that looks good (or at least doesn’t look like random static) by running pictures I’ve taken through audio editing software. There are some extra steps that go into it to “trick” the program into importing the picture as if it were a sound file, making sure the header (information that tells your computer that this is a picture) doesn’t get fucked with, and then exporting the data in a way that it will be saved as a picture and not an mp3 or something else.

On the rare occasion I do bring it up, I can literally watch people’s eyes glaze over. Until I show them a picture

Edit: internet is really bad right now, will reply with an image when I can

Edit2: picture was too big at 7MB. Hopefully a screenshot of the picture doesn’t look too bad

Listening to jpop.

I’m a math teacher. I use my video game making knowledge from Godot to make little video games to review skills. Each takes a few weeks to make with game design, making all the art, programming, and making the worksheet.

Here is my Disco Dj-Demo if you were curious what I mean.

I think it’s fun, it’s not something I can really chat with others about.

Contributing to OpenStreetMap. I try to bring it up because it would be great to get more contributors to the project, but either I have to explain “It’s Wikipedia, but a map” or they come out with misunderstandings about the project that aren’t worth correcting. E.g not liking the icons used to display points on the map.

I like learning about random ass hobbies without ever indulging in them.

I watch an ungodly amount of aquarium / terrarium videos, lurk a ton of aquascaping communities. I owned a betta fish in an empty bowl when I was 12 and that’s it. (poor fish)

I read all you could know about book binding fanfiction, never done it.

I read a hundred pages long horse breeding guide for the game black desert online and I have no idea why. I only played the game for a month, spent most of it reading a google doc about horse. I’m not even sure I owned a horse in the game.

Sometimes I try the hobby, for example mini painting, and don’t have the patience for it. But I still watch some random dudes on youtube paint for hours and sometimes they don’t even talk!

No idea why I am like this

Model trains. I don’t bring it up because it’s obscure, but I’ve definitely found there’s a stigma. “Oh he’s the guy who plays with trains”. Screw the haters, I like to relax after work and do a bit of escapism. Eventually I got over it though and talk about it with friends, but it’s not the first thing I bring up either

I’ve spent a good chunk of the year making ebooks from out-of-print dead tree books. Proofing and formatting takes a ton of time. Nobody reads them but me.

Downloading and occasionally playing games from the flip phone era (j2me games). They seem to be mostly forgotten. They’re basically the best alternative to the ad ridden, micro-transactions galore of today’s android games and there’s a surprisingly high amount of very high quality games.

I am learning lockpicking for fun. It helps me relax. I used a practice lock at first, then a cheap real lock. I’ve just learned that my firearms lock…yup, can be picked open in about 10 seconds. Equal parts cool and terrifying. Locks are waaay less secure than people think.

It has the same “internet hacker” stigma so I avoid talking about it.

Contributing to localization in my language. (I use Localizor or weblate) I’ve helped translation for the Godot Engine and many released games. It’s a free hobby granted you have a PC and some knowledge. I’ve always liked translating stuff for those who can’t speak English. And it keeps my language skills sharp in both.

Pretty much all of them at this point, I’m in the construction industry. Video games, reading, computer repair, anime, dungeons and dragons, miniature painting, watch making, chess… There are a few brave exceptions, but most people give me that glazed over look when I bring it up.

In a way, my interest in internet privacy is almost always met with uninterested “ah” IRL. Even when I dont come off as preachy, when I just try to sell it as “watching YT without ads”, people often don’t care.