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I don't have many hobbies. One thing I always go back to and at this point I guess you could call it a hobby is drawing. I started again last August after not having tried to draw anything in 10 or 15 years, maybe more. Growing up I wanted to draw for comic books. My art background as in schooling was not very in depth. Art classes were easy A's just because I could draw. this turned into the normal routine. I actually had one art class where it wasn't just an auto pass. And I didn't know what to make of it at the time. Looking back that teacher probably had a lot to teach that would have been worth learning but we moved mid year.
So, coming back to drawing started with joining my brothers D&D game. I had to find the face of my wizard and it just kinda took off again from there. Most recently my brother posts character descriptions and I draw them for him. these will be npc's or odd monsters we ave met or will encounter. He's put a folder together for us to reference so we know where and when we have met these characters to save time.
It's been a real treat to draw these for him. Lots of fun for me. I am amazed now that I can scratch out a sketch in pencil send him a picture get feed back, put on the ink resend then color and send all in an evening. I think so far I have done 3 in one evening, as a record. It's getting better and better too as I am in a way not having to try as hard to get a character drawn and a "first time go". I have had two of the last say 20 pictures where it wasn't what he had in mind, kicked back. haha.
I'm nearly through my 100 page notebook. I plan to gift it to my brother when it's full. I don't have the pictures posted anywhere on line currently, I may add them to my blog at some point. Other than that I read the news, drink and smoke a pipe when I have the time for it. I guess pipe's are also a hobby.

Besides video games I raise a vegetable garden. I have coached pole vaulting at a local high school. One of my favorite hobbies is playing paintball with my son. We usually do scenario games. The best part is getting the chance to shoot my son. Don't worry he's 27. The tradition started when he was in college. His buddies thought it was hysterical. I would keep telling I was going to do it and he would blow me off. The game would start and that would be it.

It’s really cool reading everyone’s posts on this thread. It’s kind of interesting reading everyone’s individual take on their hobbies.

SamusDrake wrote:

 SkavenLord wrote:
Programming, albeit as an amateur. Python is my jam, followed by Java and then R. It's incredible the number of things you can come up with if you add a bit of imagination. All three of these languages are also free, if anyone else feels like giving them a shot.

Used to make tabletop games when I was a kid, but mainly for myself. If I couldn't buy a video game, I would turn it into a board game. No Pokemon Mystery Dungeon? Bootleg Dungeons and Dragons with phoned-in Mystery Dungeon stuff. No System Shock? Steal the cyber-module leveling system and convert to a tabletop RPG. I'm trying to get into this habit again to reduce the amount of time spent in front of a screen. I mentioned in an earlier thread converting the Necromunda rules to Team Fortress 2, and I'd like to see if I can get put a Crusader Kings board game together.

Potential for a games designer, methinks.

Man, you would be surprised how much effort goes into those. The Unity engine gets a lot of flak these days, but you would need knowledge of C# and object-oriented concepts to get the thing working. Then there’s making the models, getting the sound together, organizing your code so it’s not a mess of letters and numbers, making sure that same code doesn’t melt your CPU (presumably). Even then, that’s assuming you don’t use any Unity assets.
Waaaay out of my league. Will settle for Doom modding for now.

tneva82 wrote:

 SkavenLord wrote:
Those are gorgeous! I love the way the mountains "pop out" like that. Nicely done!

Thanks. As with other Bob Ross stuff it's surprisingly easy to get decent result but still plenty to learn. He has couple ways to do mountains but the base one goes roughly like with painting knife start with mix of brown, black, crimson and blue(weird colour mix...) with which you define the rough shape of mountain pushing hard and making sure not leave too much. Then with brush you pull it filling in center. During this you make initial shape of the mountain figuring where lighter part and darker parts are but these can be done and redone at ease at this point. Then with pure white with knife you LIGHTLY(and this is the trick. My first piece(the one I gave to my mother was basically 2nd oil painting ever in my life. 1st one was similar practice piece though orientation was flipped accidentally) I screwed up this part) pull it along the parts you want to be light. No pressure. Too much pressure and you mix the colours(mud mixing as Bob calls it). Soft enough and the original colour shows in random spots. Then mix of blue and white and same for shadows. Done.

Quick, easy and gives surprisingly good effect if you aren't obsessed with details(nothing wrong with that if you can and prefer that ). It's definitely more abstract giving impression rather than aiming for realistic details but that's the Bob Ross style in general.

Interesting. Never realized there was that much detail involved. I imagine you must have to have a lot of patience to pull this off.
Weird question, how do you translate whatever you visualize onto the canvas? Is there some kind of plan you make ahead of time, or do you just “wing it?”

Like Many others have said, video games is a pretty big hobby.

I also spend a lot of time learning new software and technologies, and I'm lucky that I enjoy it and it benefits my work.

Magic is probably my biggest hobby though. I really enjoy playing and collecting.

I enjoy DnD and pathfinder as well.

Hmm videos games like a lot of people here although do t put as many hours in like a did before having kids.

Military history whether it’s book or watching documentaries , I’m like a sponge and just soak it all up.

Airsoft but that’s on hold until further notice which is a shame as have spent a fair bit of time and cash upgrading a sniper rifle with new parts and crafting a sniper hood.

Also wanted to get back down the range this summer and use some real steel. Haven’t been on the range for a fair few years now and have the itch big time.

Started to get back in the my running but the lock down kicked in and work got pretty busy so was totally worn out at the end of the day but it’s starting to slow down a bit so hopefully will be able to soon.

Music,,, used to dj now and again. Music tastes have changed massively since those days and what was dance and a bit of light metal is now full on heavy metal of all types.
Do love me some Amon Amarth and Five Finger Death lunch.

Will slow down and chill with a bit of Wardruna now and again.

Lego,,, yeah I’ve said it lol. Love to build Lego with the boys and also have a healthy collection of Star Wars Lego but running out of displaying space.

 SkavenLord wrote:

Interesting. Never realized there was that much detail involved. I imagine you must have to have a lot of patience to pull this off.
Weird question, how do you translate whatever you visualize onto the canvas? Is there some kind of plan you make ahead of time, or do you just “wing it?”

Actually no. As said Bob Ross is fairly simple going for abstraction and indication rather than photo realism. He pulls these off(and in better quality than me...) in about half an hour. For me it takes about 1-1.5h.

As for visualization as I already said before I'm borrowing heavily on Bob's videos so basic shape and steps are there with some minor differences based on taste(added treeline to mountain on 1st and on 3rd didn't cover water fully on bottom on 3rd, on 4th rather than one huge mountain 2 smaller hills) and some due to screwing up and needing to "wing it"(the northern lights in Bob's work cabin was on left but as I had my hills tad too low I ran out of space so moved it to right instead).

BTW one thing about oil paints. As they take ages to dry you can alter and even fix things later. One episode Bob even shows how he "failed" his painting and then using paint knife basically scraped the paint off from canvas and painted over it.

And if you need break...well putting brushesh away, preparing lunch, eating and getting back isn't problem.

I quite want to get into airsoft with some friends, but otherwise, reading, military history, and video games

When I can, I want to get some more canvas and paint again. I found it very relaxing.

This Pandemic I have mostly been...

reading comic books, another week and the backlog should be gone

Tend to follow writers over characters although Doom Patrol and Constantine always get a shot for an issue or three regardless

Bschwi1 wrote:
I quite want to get into airsoft with some friends, but otherwise, reading, military history, and video games

You have to give airsoft a go when you can bud. It’s very addictive. My wife hates it when I walk in to a gun shop. Lol.

Wargaming is my main hobby but I also have a number of other interests:

Video games; I mainly play campaign or single players as I generally prefer the immersion/storyline to multiplayer play. Been going through Halo MCC recently, which is particularly enjoyable with the Sputnik skull so the physics are all messed up.

Guitar: Playing guitar is something I want so badly to be good at but I find it so difficult. I suspect it may be to do as I'm cross-dominant, a form of handedness where you're completely mixed, found in about 1% of the population. For example, with my left hand I write, use a kitchen knife, with my right I use a hobby knife, play guitar, or fence, and with both I can shoot, use tools, use a mouse. I suspect this may be why I'm having difficulties.

Fencing: I used to love fencing. Was part of a club in Brighton years ago, although the clubs in London are prohibitively expensive at the moment. I primarily use epee as I've found the lack of priority rules to be more enjoyable.

Reading: My fiance bought me a Kindle last Christmas and while I was primarily against them, I now love it. A couple of weeks ago I finished the Ravenor series and am now reading Moby Dick and The Stand (very relevant for the current global situation).

While you cant beat having a real book, kindles do offer the advantage of being able to de-clutter your shelves of the hordes of paperback novels you might accumulate and leave room for the nicer hardbacks or copies of books you know you'rd going to keep.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
While you cant beat having a real book, kindles do offer the advantage of being able to de-clutter your shelves of the hordes of paperback novels you might accumulate and leave room for the nicer hardbacks or copies of books you know you'rd going to keep.

Oh definitely, especially after having to carry a paperback on the Tube, it's far better to just have a Kindle.

My main hobbies/interests outside of 40k (well, 40k is a small hobby for me nowadays, I spend more time on here than the actual hobby I now find)

- Martial arts, specifically Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA, though MMA has been on the Blackburn for a few years now, though I'm looking to fight again now, maybe this year if possible.

- Strength Training/Fitness/Gym Bro stuff - goes hand in hand with the above, and to be honest, I do enjoy lifting, and lifting heavy, I wouldn't say it is powerlifting but it is similar, I don't max out too often any more but maximal strength has been a predominant goal, along with aesthetics etc as well.

- Sport Performance Analysis - I teach this as part of my job, but I genuinely enjoy it and am currently in the process of building a platform from the ground up specifically for MMA. And who knows, I may actually at some point to achieve the dream of everyone, turning a hobby/passion into a career.

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
My main hobbies/interests outside of 40k (well, 40k is a small hobby for me nowadays, I spend more time on here than the actual hobby I now find)

- Martial arts, specifically Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA, though MMA has been on the Blackburn for a few years now, though I'm looking to fight again now, maybe this year if possible.

- Strength Training/Fitness/Gym Bro stuff - goes hand in hand with the above, and to be honest, I do enjoy lifting, and lifting heavy, I wouldn't say it is powerlifting but it is similar, I don't max out too often any more but maximal strength has been a predominant goal, along with aesthetics etc as well.

- Sport Performance Analysis - I teach this as part of my job, but I genuinely enjoy it and am currently in the process of building a platform from the ground up specifically for MMA. And who knows, I may actually at some point to achieve the dream of everyone, turning a hobby/passion into a career.

This rate, you’ll be strong enough to fight off an Ork!

How do you keep your physical activity a consistent habit? Been trying to do the same with yoga, but with some difficulty.
Never heard of sport performance analysis. Is that like data collection/analysis, but within the context of a sport?

They key to making physical activity of any kind a habit is to do a type or types you genuinely enjoy, or giving it enough time to realise you enjoy it.

I've been running a lot lately, I've always not really enjoyed running, because it is hard, but now I've been doing enough volume of it, the labour of it is not so tough any more so I can enjoy it.

I've tried loads of sports/training types and I just do what I enjoy, and because I enjoy it, I make time for it, it is a priority for me. I should do far more mobility than I currently do, but I don't enjoy it so I keep it to a minimum. There's fun ways to get flexible, kickboxing for example, Gymnastics and/or tumbling, you can get the training adaptation in different ways, just try loads of things and keep the things you enjoy.

Another motivating factor is improving also, there's some things I hate conditioning wise, like burpees, but the benefit in my main passions (martial arts) make them worth it. Having an end goal to train to, like a competition as well is also a great motivator, especially if I have to make weight... Because it is something I absolutely must do or I can't compete.


In terms of sport performance analysis, yeah its data extraction, analysis and presentation. And it can be as simple as stats from a match, to measuring training intensity, even mental capability and readiness, physical preparedness... There's loads to it, my focus is on competition analysis currently though, as I won't have access to a lot of athletes to do any more in depth, and well, I'll be stepping on coaches toes etc then as well.

Great idea for a thread, and interesting to read some of the comments here.

One of the few positives from the lockdown situation is the amount of extra spare time now available, both from not having to commute and doing things like food shopping online (which saves a hell of a lot of time once you have initially set up) leaving a lot more time for other things.

I suppose on a similar track to wargaming, I've got quite into plastic/model kit building and have managed to finish 3 kits so far this year, specifically aircraft at 1/72 scale. There are definitely some skills that you can carry over from miniature painting, but some new ones too and I'm learning the ways of the airbrush as well as in 'finish' and weathering, varnishes and that kind of thing. I found there is also a whole world of other nerds that occupy another discipline just a short distance away, and are just as passionate about it as a pastime!

Otherwise am massively into motorbike racing (obvs not much of that on at the moment!), mostly MotoGP, but also superbikes, national series and endurance. This will be the first year I think in about 25 years that I haven't been to see a race, and I've travelled around Europe following the circus and visiting the various tracks. Definitely something I'm really missing at the moment.

Finally! Gaming and retro gaming - have built up a nice collection of old 16-bit titles (mostly for the Megadrive/Genesis but some SNES also) which I find are great in that you can spend 30 mins or an hour and have fun with a game. You don't need hundreds of hours like a lot of modern titles these days. That being said, I have been spending a LOT of time playing the new Streets of Rage (which is bloody brilliant!)

Videogames - RTS / Turn Strategy games - Total War Warhammer has taken my attention for about 400 hours over the last year. Arguably half of that has been in the last few months with 'working' from home.

Working out - I've been running with my two four legged friends for the last several months; keeps the Weimaraner energy levels down and I have always enjoyed running.

Cooking - the wife picks the meals and I get to learn from a cookbook. After I've cooked something several times I'll change some ingredients and try a slight variation. I'm enjoying that as well.

I have been working from home with a toddler, so besides painting miniatures I haven't had time for much else. I have been getting out for a 4.5 mile run with intervals, and doing 50 press ups and sit ups every day though (except Sundays.) I've been learning Italian as well, and do lessons or practice every day. I read a lot, but as I'm an English teacher, I've been doing more reading to support A-level students than for my own enjoyment lately.

I'm building a new budget game PC system. My current one I built 5 years ago and is still working, but it's being left behind in hardware terms. I'm ordering it part by part and it's arriving part by part. I got my mobo today. I've had my cpu for a while. My ram in coming.

in my experienced opinion, putting the cpu in the socket is the most nerve wracking part of building a pc until it's time to hit the power button. Its the point where if something goes south with the build that is due to the buy putting it together it's most likely to happen.

Well, my cpu went straight into the socket. I could not have hoped or asked for an easier insertion. It was like dropping a quarter in a coin slot. I flipped the retention lever into locked position and that was that.

Maybe so much experience with miniatures helped a little...

Whilst I was at it I checked the cooler fit onto the board. My last mobo had the ram slots too close to the cooler, i had to take the cooler off to add more ram them pit it back. My new mobo has the ram so far away mu cooler edge was at least a half inch away from them. No issue there.

I said this was a budget build and it is. I'm using a ryzen 5 1600AF cpu. Not a monster processor but a damn good one for the money, good bang to buck ratio. My last AMD cpu has ran 5 years just fine. So has my gigabyte mobo, which is why i'm using a new one for this build.

In fact someone on youtube who has an expert air to him did a video on using the ryzen 5 1600af and he picked the same mobo I just got. He seems to know what he's doing.

https://youtu.be/yxKfjSMFh90

As to performance,hey I need reading glasses to see my monitor cleary at the desk. 1080 res is all i need. massive frame rates? 60 is fine. See here:

https://www.gamingscan.com/best-fps-gaming/

So yeah looks like I'm going to get everything I need for a pc for way under 1k$ and I'm fine with that.

Here's my case.



I don't want all that rgb led animated lights and lighted fans with cyclng and chaser effects. It's a computer, not a christmas tree.

Originally i was likely going to use a full ATX mobo but ended up with a micro at one. Oh well, plenty of space for airflow and cable management. Plus i like the look of it. It has a look of solidity, quiet strength and a certain authority. It also has a kind of darth vader feel AFAIC.

I tried using this case once before and things went south thru no technical issue. A friend of mine's brother had been railroaded and falsely convicted on a case that some people needed a quick conviction on. After a few years he was proven innocent and released. His brother wanted to get him a pc. He was having real issued with what happened in prison, and i picked this case for value, quality and ease of use.

He could not stand it. It reminded him of the barred gates and screened windows of the prison he was at. Plus I guess that authoritarian look. He just could not use it, so we got a different looking case and he was happy. More open, lots of colored lights, etc.(He has PTSD and was traumatized in prison, you know what i mean, so i was sympathetic.)

So now this case gets hauled out of my closet and will hopefully soon have a computer it it.

Wish me luck guys

I love reading.
Writing.
Music, especially.
Belly dancer for over 15 years.
Cooking
Traveling
RPGs
Exploring the oddities of life.

 ProtoClone wrote:
I love reading.
Writing.
Music, especially.
Belly dancer for over 15 years.
Cooking
Traveling
RPGs
Exploring the oddities of life.

Interesting. We don’t hear about belly dancing all that often up here. How easy is it to learn? Tried swing dancing a few times, but never had the creativity to improvise.
And of course, it’s always fun learning just how odd these lives of ours can get.

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
They key to making physical activity of any kind a habit is to do a type or types you genuinely enjoy, or giving it enough time to realise you enjoy it.

I've been running a lot lately, I've always not really enjoyed running, because it is hard, but now I've been doing enough volume of it, the labour of it is not so tough any more so I can enjoy it.

I've tried loads of sports/training types and I just do what I enjoy, and because I enjoy it, I make time for it, it is a priority for me. I should do far more mobility than I currently do, but I don't enjoy it so I keep it to a minimum. There's fun ways to get flexible, kickboxing for example, Gymnastics and/or tumbling, you can get the training adaptation in different ways, just try loads of things and keep the things you enjoy.

Another motivating factor is improving also, there's some things I hate conditioning wise, like burpees, but the benefit in my main passions (martial arts) make them worth it. Having an end goal to train to, like a competition as well is also a great motivator, especially if I have to make weight... Because it is something I absolutely must do or I can't compete.

Thanks for the advice! Hadn’t considered the idea of using competition as a motivator. Will also try to remember your advice on enjoying the exercise too. Surprising how easily that can slip your mind.

 SkavenLord wrote:

 ProtoClone wrote:
I love reading.
Writing.
Music, especially.
Belly dancer for over 15 years.
Cooking
Traveling
RPGs
Exploring the oddities of life.

Interesting. We don’t hear about belly dancing all that often up here. How easy is it to learn? Tried swing dancing a few times, but never had the creativity to improvise.
And of course, it’s always fun learning just how odd these lives of ours can get.

Belly dancing isn't as easy as it would seem, of course.
The biggest obstacle is learning to move different segments of your body from each other. Also being very flexible. It's relatively low impact but it does give you a much better idea of your own spacial awareness.

Well, as Ive been saying i've been accumulating parts for a new PC build, first new one in 5 years as opposed to upgrades.

After assembling the parts and hitting the big scary power button for the first time....

https://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U

I'm actually unorganized about my daily tasks (honesty my whole life ), but for several years I modeled red clay, mostly to make fictional characters or historical soldiers. I wanted to learn real pottery but never did. I don't know if reading specific topics on the internet counts, but also many physical history books and online papers.
Before the lockdown, I liked to go to the mountains and night walk around my neighborhood.
Thanks to the OP for creating this thread.

One of the things I've always wanted was to get a nice aquarium. Now that I have my own place I have been able to make moves in this direction.

I decided to start from scratch and go full budget. So so far I have been doing a lot of reading and research and purchased my first aquarium. I decided to go for a very cheap but servicable aquarium thats second hand. I like the idea of taking stuff and restoring it. I have scrubbed it up and down thrown away anything that I dont want (I..e Im going to buy a new heater and filter because I dont want to risk transfering any bad bacteria to the new eco system)

I am aiming for an Iwagumi style aquarium build first so I have been hunting for perfect rocks. I am planing an almost stone henge style vibe. Its basically like building a diorama.. but one that will be underwater and have stuff living in it!! Pretty cool right ?

I'm now hunting for the rest of the rocks that will form the aqua scape as well as finalising a plan regarding the plants I will be using and also substrates...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Matt Swain wrote:
Well, as Ive been saying i've been accumulating parts for a new PC build, first new one in 5 years as opposed to upgrades.

After assembling the parts and hitting the big scary power button for the first time....

https://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U

Congrats!

I picked the wrong damn case when I built mine and had to chop a chunk of it out in order to fit a fancy GPU

 Argive wrote:
One of the things I've always wanted was to get a nice aquarium. Now that I have my own place I have been able to make moves in this direction.

I decided to start from scratch and go full budget. So so far I have been doing a lot of reading and research and purchased my first aquarium. I decided to go for a very cheap but servicable aquarium thats second hand. I like the idea of taking stuff and restoring it. I have scrubbed it up and down thrown away anything that I dont want (I..e Im going to buy a new heater and filter because I dont want to risk transfering any bad bacteria to the new eco system)

I am aiming for an Iwagumi style aquarium build first so I have been hunting for perfect rocks. I am planing an almost stone henge style vibe. Its basically like building a diorama.. but one that will be underwater and have stuff living in it!! Pretty cool right ?

I'm now hunting for the rest of the rocks that will form the aqua scape as well as finalising a plan regarding the plants I will be using and also substrates...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Matt Swain wrote:
Well, as Ive been saying i've been accumulating parts for a new PC build, first new one in 5 years as opposed to upgrades.

After assembling the parts and hitting the big scary power button for the first time....

https://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U

Congrats!

I picked the wrong damn case when I built mine and had to chop a chunk of it out in order to fit a fancy GPU

Well I had a few problems too, nothing serious yet.

I used a micro atx mobo, a gigabyte b450m DS3H. I have a good track record with gigabyte but never used a micro atx board before. My rather long video card is blocking a sata port or two on the mobo. Not an issue , yet.,

Also, i really can't get a second ssd into the provided slot. Again not really an issue as a ssd can be placed with a sticky pad if needs must.

I started writing a novel about a year and a half ago, realized I didn't like the plotting, and abandoned it. I've been meaning to restart it, but it's such a task. The one I started is 70,000 words deep and that's not including some chapters I wrote for later in. I was around 3/4 of the way finished with first draft.

 Matt Swain wrote:

 Argive wrote:
One of the things I've always wanted was to get a nice aquarium. Now that I have my own place I have been able to make moves in this direction.

I decided to start from scratch and go full budget. So so far I have been doing a lot of reading and research and purchased my first aquarium. I decided to go for a very cheap but servicable aquarium thats second hand. I like the idea of taking stuff and restoring it. I have scrubbed it up and down thrown away anything that I dont want (I..e Im going to buy a new heater and filter because I dont want to risk transfering any bad bacteria to the new eco system)

I am aiming for an Iwagumi style aquarium build first so I have been hunting for perfect rocks. I am planing an almost stone henge style vibe. Its basically like building a diorama.. but one that will be underwater and have stuff living in it!! Pretty cool right ?

I'm now hunting for the rest of the rocks that will form the aqua scape as well as finalising a plan regarding the plants I will be using and also substrates...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Matt Swain wrote:
Well, as Ive been saying i've been accumulating parts for a new PC build, first new one in 5 years as opposed to upgrades.

After assembling the parts and hitting the big scary power button for the first time....

https://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U

Congrats!

I picked the wrong damn case when I built mine and had to chop a chunk of it out in order to fit a fancy GPU

Well I had a few problems too, nothing serious yet.

I used a micro atx mobo, a gigabyte b450m DS3H. I have a good track record with gigabyte but never used a micro atx board before. My rather long video card is blocking a sata port or two on the mobo. Not an issue , yet.,

Also, i really can't get a second ssd into the provided slot. Again not really an issue as a ssd can be placed with a sticky pad if needs must.

Yeah Im not sold on micro MB... I think next time im going to try get a full sized one and a big ass case. Just makes the build so much easier and stuff doesn't feel tight.

 Argive wrote:

 Matt Swain wrote:

 Argive wrote:
One of the things I've always wanted was to get a nice aquarium. Now that I have my own place I have been able to make moves in this direction.

I decided to start from scratch and go full budget. So so far I have been doing a lot of reading and research and purchased my first aquarium. I decided to go for a very cheap but servicable aquarium thats second hand. I like the idea of taking stuff and restoring it. I have scrubbed it up and down thrown away anything that I dont want (I..e Im going to buy a new heater and filter because I dont want to risk transfering any bad bacteria to the new eco system)

I am aiming for an Iwagumi style aquarium build first so I have been hunting for perfect rocks. I am planing an almost stone henge style vibe. Its basically like building a diorama.. but one that will be underwater and have stuff living in it!! Pretty cool right ?

I'm now hunting for the rest of the rocks that will form the aqua scape as well as finalising a plan regarding the plants I will be using and also substrates...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Matt Swain wrote:
Well, as Ive been saying i've been accumulating parts for a new PC build, first new one in 5 years as opposed to upgrades.

After assembling the parts and hitting the big scary power button for the first time....

https://youtu.be/QuoKNZjr8_U

Congrats!

I picked the wrong damn case when I built mine and had to chop a chunk of it out in order to fit a fancy GPU

Well I had a few problems too, nothing serious yet.

I used a micro atx mobo, a gigabyte b450m DS3H. I have a good track record with gigabyte but never used a micro atx board before. My rather long video card is blocking a sata port or two on the mobo. Not an issue , yet.,

Also, i really can't get a second ssd into the provided slot. Again not really an issue as a ssd can be placed with a sticky pad if needs must.

Yeah Im not sold on micro MB... I think next time im going to try get a full sized one and a big ass case. Just makes the build so much easier and stuff doesn't feel tight.

Yeah, might not to micro atx again either. My longish video card blocks one SATA port, and the power connectors on top of the board may block top fan mounts.

Got the last part for my build today.

103308366_3625022777514079_6845466423535029006_o by matt swain, on Flickr

Then I installed it.

101953522_3625023014180722_5849803684268542896_o by matt swain, on Flickr