[jimr-pdx]

I guess the tent-trailer was about $6k so camping comes in 2nd after astronomy
I've probably spent that much on imaging but net from resale I haven't sunk that deep (yet).

[Racer X 69]

That would be like selling your K5 IIs for $100 after you used it for a yr.

Well they do depreciate pretty fast.

[BlackTalon]

...and now Arlington Washington.

Arlington in the Washington DC area, or an Arlington in the State of Washington?

[Racer X 69]

Arlington in the Washington DC area, or an Arlington in the State of Washington?

State.

The other Washington.

That Arlington is in Virginia. I've been there but never lived there.

[Sage97]

Guitar collecting, playing and recording are various parts of a single hobby. It is my most expensive hobby.

[BlackTalon]

State.

The other Washington.

That Arlington is in Virginia. I've been there but never lived there.

Arlington, VA is just a few minutes away from Alexandria (my home). I'm used to people in Northern Virginia saying 'DC' because it's just, well, easier to give people an idea of where you actually live. Anyway, if you make it back through the Arlington, VA area for work, there are plenty of car/ track guys around to BS and drink with.


Okay, another kind of expensive hobby -- straight razors.

[Racer X 69]

Anyway, if you make it back through the Arlington, VA area for work, there are plenty of car/ track guys around to BS and drink with.

I'll keep that in mind!

Okay, another kind of expensive hobby -- straight razors.

I know. I use a brush and a mug when I shave at home, and recently looked at getting a straight razor.

Kinda spendy!

[monochrome]

And that bike will be stolen

Why I don't patronize Craig's List.

[magkelly]

Uh, no. As much money as I have put into my gear kit it totally pales in comparison to my doll collection. Lately it's BJD's too which is pretty dangerous as some BJD's are about the most expensive dolls on the planet and getting hooked on them is a bit like getting hooked on dolly meth. You can wreck your whole financial life just trying to pay for them and their STUFF if you let yourself go overboard. I keep to used dolls mostly and none of mine are high end except for my Saint. He's a hybrid doll, a Saint head on a very cheap body. I actually got him for about 1/3 of what a Saint head normally costs because he was badly yellowed and I have to put some major work into him to make him look good again. Otherwise I would not ever have a Saint. He's way too pricey a doll for my wallet.

I trade a lot for stuff and I make most of their clothes and that so I'm not spending mega bucks like some people, but still I have a good chunk of change invested in resin toys these days. I feel guilty about that sometimes. Spending some $$$ on dolls instead of just on my gear and my work, but the dolls do serve a purpose when it comes to my photography. I use them as models to practice my portrait lighting skills all the time. But more than that they're dolly therapy. Sometimes the real people I photograph tend to get on my nerves, the people in my home life too. Dolls don't give you a hard time. Mine they just zen me out and sometimes I really need that. The way I see it they're cheaper than hiring a shrink, lol...

This is a Saint. He was a grail doll for me for a long time. I don't mind sanding a lot and making a hybrid of him to finally get me one. Mine isn't faced up as yet, but when I am done he will probably have very similar coloring and styling to this one. That's why I have gotten so much into BJD's though, being able to do all this, customization. It's a lot of fun.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jARp_WOE2Lo/T8492XXMHaI/AAAAAAAADGg/gF8QCz-rF48/s1..._alientune.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2IC9ZCC2Xw/T8493tBD0SI/AAAAAAAADG4/xtlGRMFbgww/s1...d9627ccf24.jpg

[VoiceOfReason]

Uh, no. As much money as I have put into my gear kit it totally pales in comparison to my doll collection. Lately it's BJD's too which is pretty dangerous as some BJD's are about the most expensive dolls on the planet and getting hooked on them is a bit like getting hooked on dolly meth. You can wreck your whole financial life just trying to pay for them and their STUFF if you let yourself go overboard. I keep to used dolls mostly and none of mine are high end except for my Saint. He's a hybrid doll, a Saint head on a very cheap body. I actually got him for about 1/3 of what a Saint head normally costs because he was badly yellowed and I have to put some major work into him to make him look good again. Otherwise I would not ever have a Saint. He's way too pricey a doll for my wallet.

I trade a lot for stuff and I make most of their clothes and that so I'm not spending mega bucks like some people, but still I have a good chunk of change invested in resin toys these days. I feel guilty about that sometimes. Spending some $$$ on dolls instead of just on my gear and my work, but the dolls do serve a purpose when it comes to my photography. I use them as models to practice my portrait lighting skills all the time. But more than that they're dolly therapy. Sometimes the real people I photograph tend to get on my nerves, the people in my home life too. Dolls don't give you a hard time. Mine they just zen me out and sometimes I really need that. The way I see it they're cheaper than hiring a shrink, lol...

This is a Saint. He was a grail doll for me for a long time. I don't mind sanding a lot and making a hybrid of him to finally get me one. Mine isn't faced up as yet, but when I am done he will probably have very similar coloring and styling to this one. That's why I have gotten so much into BJD's though, being able to do all this, customization. It's a lot of fun.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jARp_WOE2Lo/T8492XXMHaI/AAAAAAAADGg/gF8QCz-rF48/s1..._alientune.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2IC9ZCC2Xw/T8493tBD0SI/AAAAAAAADG4/xtlGRMFbgww/s1...d9627ccf24.jpg

I do a lot of anime cons and I see people carrying around BJDs quite a bit. I collect anime figurines (I have about 150 of them) and since one of the series I like is Rozen Maiden I checked into what the actual BJDs from them would cost to add to my collection. Needless to say I did not add them to my collection. I think the closest I have to a BJD is a 12 inch Miku Hatsune Pullip that I bought from someone who needed the cash. I paid WAY under what it was valued at, and now she's a part of my collection.

[Racer X 69]

I have another "hobby" that can consume much more financial resources than photography.

I collect "experiences".

Like the day sail on the Adventuress, an old 2 masted schooner built in 1913. $55 per person for a participatory day adventure, or take a longer experience, a 3 day adults only sail is $495 for non members, and they offer youth, family and other programs.

All proceeds go towards keeping her afloat.

Read more about her here: Sound Experience


I have a thing for airplanes, and although I have never obtained a pilot's license, I have many hours operating light planes. A few years ago the Collings Foundation had 3 of their WWII bombers at an airport near my home, selling rides to raise money for their flying museum. I went to get a ride, in the Mitchell B25, but they were sold out for the day.

The guy told me I could buy a "flight lesson", essentially an hour of right seat time, where I would have full control of the aircraft, save for takeoff and landing.

Cost?

$2,000.

I nearly choked.

But then I said, "You throw in a couple t-shirts and its a deal".

They said OK, and up we went.

As soon as the wheels left the runway the guy gave me the controls, and said, "Take it up to 3,000 feet, turn left, level off and trim it."

I did, and the he asked me where I wanted to go. I said, "Well, I live about 26 miles that way", and pointed.

He said, "You're driving!"

I flew out over my house, did a bank and turn taking 2 turns over the house, dropped down below a couple ridges and raced through a canyon in the Cascade mountains nearby (he said that was how those planes were meant to fly, sneak in low, below the radar) at about 320 knots, and then flew back, giving the controls back over just a few hundred feet from the runway.

Would I do it again?

In a heartbeat!




Read more about the Collings Foundation here: http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm

[VoiceOfReason]

That would be an awesome experience.

[dansamy]

YOLO! My husband's stroke last year hit me hard with the finiteness of our existence.

[Racer X 69]

That would be an awesome experience.

For sure. They now have a P51 with a second seat, and a couple Vietnam era jets.

I also meant to mention some other experiences.

I've jumped out of perfectly good airplanes just to feel what it is like to plummet Earthward at 120 miles an hour. The high cost of parachutes and jump plane time kept that from being an ongoing pursuit. I could own several K3's for the cost of one parachute.

The sports car club I race with holds high performance driving schools a couple times each year. Senior drivers (like me) volunteer as instructors. Over the last 24 years I have had the opportunity to ride in, and drive some very cool and exotic cars at speeds 2 or 3 times the speed limit. Porsche, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, American muscle cars, purpose built race cars, the list could fill a book.

Cost?

Priceless.

Three years ago I was stuck in Alabama at truck stop for a couple days. The fastest two and a half miles on the planet, Talladega Motor Speedway, was just a short drive away, so I ditched my trailer and bobtailed over to check it out. The lady at the museum told me they were letting people take laps in their cars for a donation to raise money to help the people affected y the tornado that ripped through Birmingham that May.

I pointed to my truck and she shrugged and told me to ask the guy at the gate.

Well the tunnel is too small for big trucks, the race car haulers get to the infield through a gate on the backstretch (the only superspeedway that doesn't have a big tunnel). Since the track was hot I couldn't take laps in my truck.

But.

For a $75 donation Dale Earnhardt's grandson Jeffery could take me for a few turns in the new Camaro pace car. Again, I didn't have to spend much time thinking about it.

The car's ECM limited the top speed to about 158 miles an hour, so he ran it up to 155 and held it there fr 5 or 6 laps.

I took a few pictures, here is one.



If I had more cash on me I would have done it more.

[VoiceOfReason]

You know, while I don't quite have the cash for a 2k plane trip, I do have the cash for experiences like that. I've bungee jumped, hiked some awesome trails, and roadtripped to various places. I think I may start getting a new experience a few times a year. That sounds awesome.