this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 2 points 19 minutes ago (1 children)

I am an IT guy and a hobby photographer, judge for yourself:

@stoy@metapixl.com

https://metapixl.com/Stoy

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 2 points 9 minutes ago (1 children)

I won't lie, some of your work I'd give five stars.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 minutes ago
[–] MIDItheKID@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

I used to be really good at video games, but now I just don't have the time. I remember being able to jump in any CS lobby and jump to the top of the server. I got kicked for supposedly cheating all the time. That was always a good feeling. Knowing that I'm kicking so much ass that people assume I must be cheating.

My crowning achievement is beating Super Ghouls and Ghosts - both times through (second time with the farie bracelet). This was using an original SNES, no save states or anything. Dedicated an entire summer of my teenage life to it. Game is hard, man.

Computers used to be a hobby but I turned that into a career. I'm a principal systems engineer and I like to think I'm good at what I do.

I got really into cooking, and it was maybe a hobby at some point, but now with a family it's more of a necessity. A lot of the things I learned while cooking as a hobby turned into skills though. I'm not sure how to explain it, but like having cooking intuition. Knowing when to add more or less of something just by knowing. Also just being able to freestyle meals out of what is laying around or knowing what can be substituted with what or how to make ingredients out of other ingredients.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

Best part of having hobbies is that you don't need to be good!

[–] Lexam@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

Why do you have to bring up my shortcomings like that?

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 3 points 3 hours ago

I barely start them and then I jump to something else. I have a big problem

[–] Shellbeach@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Type 2 fun and overthinking. I am good at enjoying both.

Bouldering: I enjoy it, even though I’m not great at it. My short wingspan doesn’t help, and neither does my fear of heights. Every climb is a mix of determination and second-guessing my life choices and I'm excellent at the latest.

Gardening: It sounds relaxing, but in reality, it’s a cycle of overthinking. First, I stress about planting. Then I wait. And once/if it grows, there’s a whole lineup of threats: slugs, cats, deer, boars, hail… basically, everything conspiring against success. Not sure what I enjoy about it but I'd say I am moderately successful and can eat a self planted potato every year

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

I really just play video games, and the game I was best at was Rocket League. When I played, I was in the top rank and would regularly end up in matches with actual pros. I wanted to try going to RLCS, but I could never find teammates to sign up with.

But I also have 100% achievements in all 3 dark souls and elden ring, while currently going for Bloodborne's. Sekiro I haven't even beaten yet... Gonna have to cheese Owl.

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Depends on the hobby. I tend to collect hobbies and then grow bored of them, then return to them a while later.

I'll become absolutely obsessed with learning about "hobby x", and spend two months basically getting as close to an expert on it as I can with self-teaching. (Video Editing, filmmaking, screenwriting, 3D modelling for flight simulators, Graphic Design, etc...)

Then I'll grow bored and move onto a new obsession from the above list, focus on that long enough that at least 25% of my knowledge of the previous obsession vanishes and I have to relearn a bunch the next time that obsession rolls around.

I've been told that's possibly ADHD, but since I suffer from depression I'll take my bursts of obsessiveness over lack of any motivation any day.

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

This is me!!!!!! Especially the relearning part 😆 Side bonus is I'm really good at reading docs(programming) now!

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

Awful! But the fun is having something i don't need to be good at. Though i now have a lot of things i'm at least mediocre at, those are just old hobbies.

I usually learn my hobbies at small fraction of the rate i would have learned something in school. Years instead of weeks/months. I learn them deeper this way and don't develop burnout.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 7 points 11 hours ago

Jack of all trades; master of none.

[–] Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com 8 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I am an aggressively mediocre singer but the 2 hour rehearsal on Monday is the highlight of my week. It's so fucking fun man!

[–] Monster96@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

Well I turned one of my major hobbies into a job so I'm pretty good at it. But now that I do it for work I don't do it for fun anymore.

I feel bullied by this question

[–] cobysev@lemmy.world 3 points 12 hours ago

Hobbies are about enjoyment, not skill. You should never measure your accomplishments with hobbies based on how good you are at them.

That said... when I was younger, I only indulged in hobbies that I had any skill in. If I sucked at something, I typically gave it up quickly and looked for something else to do.

Video games were an exception. I enjoyed the gameplay so much, it didn't matter that I was awful at them. I'd grind the same levels over and over, hoping to finally beat it this time.

Interestingly enough, I'm actually really good at video games now. Not professionally so, but I have a lot more skill than most of my friends. I'm usually appointed team leader in any co-op games I play with my friends because I'm really good at tracking the mission objective and keeping everyone together. And now that I'm retired young, I spend a lot of time gaming throughout the days, which only makes me better.

I don't play games for the challenge or skill, though. I mostly play to enjoy an interactive story. So I usually turn the difficulty down to the easiest option so I don't get stuck from progression at any point. I can handle really difficult games, but I just don't want to. Unless my friends want a challenge, then I'll crank it up and then be constantly bailing them out from the nightmare they chose to play.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 5 points 14 hours ago (2 children)
  • Creating games: Good enough that my IT teacher was impressed enough that he recommended that I go into the game industry

  • Drawing: Good enough that I've got hundreds of followers and a lot of people like my art

  • Games: I can beat the original Pikmin in 7 in-game days and I also beat Mushihimesama Futari's final boss on Ultra Mode.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 1 points 3 hours ago

This is some dope ass shit

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Lovely drawing style. My compliments.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 2 points 9 hours ago

Aw thank you so much! ❤️

[–] emb@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

Not good at all, but I'm just happy to be there.

[–] Marthirial@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

A hobby becomes a job when you worry if you are good at it.

[–] CozyOtters@lemm.ee 7 points 16 hours ago

I don't think that's universally true, I agree with some other posters here that a big part of enjoying a hobby is the learning process and getting better at it.

Yes, excessive comparison to others and worries about performance and the like are killers for enjoyment, but the pursuit of skill is a major part of a fulfilling hobby for me.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 6 points 17 hours ago

As good as I care to be. Hobbies are supposed to be fun.

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 5 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

Um, I beat Noita once. I beat FTL: Faster Than Light on Hard sometimes. I beat Pocket Rogue once. I also scored first-place in some hard-difficulty Moon Rider VR beatmaps, but I gotta get back into that.

[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Video games? Bad at them. I play lowest difficulty and still die but I have fun. Baking? Pretty good! People like my baked goods and they are almost always eaten before they go bad (unless I make far too much)

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I'm awful at video games to the point I can't progress. Instead I watch twitch which I really like. What kind of gaming do you do?

[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

A lot of roguelikes/lites where I just don't win runs. Also a lot of rpgs, but those usually on the lower levels give ways of reviving! Which is nice.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 2 points 12 hours ago

Sounds great I'm glad you have fun

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 4 points 17 hours ago

Not very good, but that's sort of the point for me; my favourite part of any hobby is the learning. I did a woodworking class the other day!

It's taken a lot of work to get to the point where I can be comfortable with being mediocre at something and just doing it for the joy of it. I'm quite an intense person, with perfectionist tendencies, so it's nice to be able to carve out some things that I can be more chill about.

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 2 points 14 hours ago

In a few of my creative hobbies, I've been complimented by others in a way that I would consider sincere to the work.

I'm shit at video games.

[–] Sonor@lemmy.world 14 points 23 hours ago

I think it is a trap to think about it this way. My hobbies are meant to bring me joy and challenge, no matter what level i am on

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 6 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Mediocre at best, and I lack the mental fortitude to work at much of anything these days, so wherever I'm at, I'm not going to improve much.

Some people relish the feeling of swimming through molasses* for the next hit of progress dopamine, or they don't get that feeling at all, but that's what happens to me and it basically short-circuits something in my brain. It's bad enough that I struggled to write the last part of that sentence, and it's happening while I'm proofreading this as well.

* or treacle if the unintended concept of small mammal anatomy bothers you.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Hey mate, are things a bit tricky for you right now?

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 2 points 6 hours ago

Thanks for your concern. I'm getting by.

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 5 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I'm a good enough cook that several friends have seriously suggested I apply for Masterchef, but I have no interest in the restaurant side of the competition.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Holy shit!! How did you get to that level?

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 2 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

I'm not entirely sure, a lot of it is instinctive. My weakness is baking because I'm mostly a 'measure by eye' kind of cook and baking requires more precision than that. I guess I also have quite a good ability to imagine flavor; if I can imagine how a combination of ingredients will taste then it'll usually be a pretty good meal even if I've never tried it before.

Also, I enjoy cooking which helps a lot. I like playing with good ingredients, learning how they react to different cooking techniques and so on. And I love to entertain and watch people eat food I've prepared. Food is love!

[Come on over to !recipes@feddit.uk and !cooking_with_fire@feddit.uk - both could do with more regulars!]

[–] confuser@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Wait so you are telling me that people don't instinctively have this skill? Maybe I should take a stab at cooking sometime too lol

I'm in a similar boat where generally everything I make comes out tasting pretty good even when I haven't tried it before, I wouldn't say anything has been like worldclass or anything but I also haven't looked up much to level up my cooking.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 2 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Ahhh that's a big issue for me. Even when I'm tasting a spice I can't figure out how it'll make the dish taste (unless it's obvious like chilli). Good links thanks!

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

But I bet your cheese toastie game is on point!

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Well I don't want to boast... but yes, yes it is.

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

I love a cheese toastie. I do mine in a cast iron skillet these days because one less specialist gadget in my cluttered kitchen is a good thing and because the clean up is easier.

But seriously, post your cheese toastie recipe to !recipes@feddit.uk! It's not for gourmet meals, it's for recipes that people actually use and love. For e.g., here's mine for a Sausage, fried egg, and Reggae Reggae Sauce sarnie.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 1 points 11 hours ago

Oh wow that looks amazing

[–] TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Unless it’s programming or sysadmin, I’m mediocre at all my hobbies, but I enjoy them a lot. It’s great not feeling pressured to do them professionally like a paid job.

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[–] ace_garp@lemmy.world 4 points 20 hours ago

Boardgames, around 75%

Badminton, around 55%

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