Considering Amateur Radio Crossover Hobbies

Isn't it true that our hobbies make our lives more meaningful?  I Ask this rhetorically; with the full realization that other activities are far more important and far more meaningfull.

Take child-rearing, for example.  It would be difficult for any hobby, much less Amateur Radio, to compete with the importance and fulfillment derived from  raising children to be responsible, productive members of society.

Having said this, the importance and value of our hobbies can't be understated.  They make our lives more interesting and advance us along the road to self actualization. Furthermore, our hobbies can and often do, help us interact within our communities and give us the opportunity to meet with other like-minded individuals.  So why not  consider some cross-over hobbies that have interested me and a few friends.

With my Amateur Radio hobby, I have blended the following:   photography, videography, cycling, computers, blogging and  internet technology.

The idea for this post came after a ham friend, Jim - AB5YS, asked me about setting up a live video/ audio internet stream from his ham shack.

From there Jim explained about a new camera he obtained and how he had always been interested in cameras since he was a boy.  I'm the same way.
   
My first camera was a Kodak 110.  It used  the little flash bulbs on top and took lousy pictures, but I sure had fun riding my bike all over the Adirondack state park snapping nature  photos.

Back then you had to take your film to a PhotMat and wait a week.  Now-a-days, all I have to do is upload the digital pictures to my computer and, BAM,, there they are.

Another cross over hobby, is blogging.  I'm doing it right now, in fact.  This entails writing coherent sentences that other people might enjoy reading... something I've struggled with.  But, alas, I'm trying.

Hams frequently upload video blog posts, or upload their videos to Youtube.  If you are reading this, you are probably aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands of ham shack videos out  there in cyberspace.  This illustrates the popularity of cross over hobbies.

So, if you have not yet dabbled into other hobbies, you might consider incorporating amateur radio with some crossovers.

The following video illustrates how I have embraced some cross-over hobbys. check out the pictures taken of the bayou at the end of this video. I think they are very good.