Top hobbies for geeks: embrace your inner tech enthusiast

We all have hobbies that help us kill spare time – or cause us to waste time we don’t have! But so what?** Hobbies are fun and relaxing, and you can learn interesting things and meet cool people.**

Plus, we don’t all have to have the same hobbies. Take rock collecting for example. Some people might find that kind of boring, but there are plenty of others who find it endlessly fascinating. If you have any doubt, pay a visit to an online rock collector community (just don’t troll anyone by posting, “so…what’s the big deal about rock collecting, anyway?”).

As for me, I’m kind of an honorary geek – which means I have some geek tendencies, and some non-geek tendencies. But when it comes to hobbies, you could definitely say that I Get My Geek On. Below are some of my favorites.

Metal Earth

Metal Earth modeling isn’t that well known, but you should try it! I had tons of fun making these. Basically, you buy one of these models and assemble it. In the package is a sheet of metal. You take some needle-nose pliers and fold the metal pieces. It takes a lot of time, and you need plenty of patience. But your reward is an amazing metal model. And one of the coolest things about Metal Earth modeling is that there are lot of different design options to suit every preference. There are buildings, mythic cars, superheroes, Star Wars related objects (the Falcon Millennium is a masterpiece!), and so much more.

Retro Gaming

While a lot of you want to play the latest games, some of us prefer the classics. But what happens if you no longer own cool vintage games? No problem – that’s where emulation comes to the rescue! You simply install an emulator on your computer, and you go back in time. I built a RetroPie Station using a Raspberry Pi (a tiny computer), and I can now run all of my favorite NES, SNES, Sega, PlayStation 1, N64, MAME, and Gameboy games. How cool is that? By the way, my favorite childhood game is TMNT: Turtles in Time on SNES. What’s yours?

Lego

It’s amazing to me how some people still think Lego is outdated. Lego will never get old! Plus, with the current Star Wars trend, there’s even more reason to be Livin’ La Vida Lego. Just beware: if you aren’t an experienced Lego Master, then make sure you have plenty of space. Once you start your little creations, you have to add more…and more…and more…! Plus, there's many ways to have while assembling your little creations. Example you could try to assemble a little model while it's still in the bag like this guy from Reddit.

Home Brewing

Everybody knows that IT pros love beer. In fact, IT pros have a favorite day of the week for beer. Know which one? It’s called “today”. But have you ever considered brewing your own beer? You can save money, plus you can craft it to suit your specific preferences and palette. And it’s pretty easy to do, too. You can buy starter packs off the web and be home brewing right away. There are also TONS of articles, videos and ebooks out there to turn you into a master brewer. You’ll be the most popular geek in town!

Fiction Books and Comic Books

Fans of both types of books are probably screaming right now. I know these are two separates worlds, but I’m putting them in the same bucket – because I think they belong together. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a fiction book, and other times only a comic book will do (or comic strip if you’re a Sysadminotaur fan!). If you’re a book lover or a comic book lover (or both) please send me your suggestions. What should I put on my reading list?

Board Games

As you may know, I’ve already written about my love of board games – and I know I’m not the only one! Check out my post and try some of the recommendations with your family and friends. And if you don’t have someone to play with, don’t worry. There are tons of online board games that you can play against people from all around the world.

TV Shows

Nowadays, everybody’s binge-watching shows, and “watching TV” is more of an event than just something to do. Some people even have parties and join clubs dedicated to shows. Well, I’m certainly not a TV snob.** Here are some of my favorite shows:**

• Game of Thrones
• Stranger Things
• The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead
• Vikings
• Heroes
• Lost
• Prison Break
• Breaking Bad
• The Hundred

Are there any other shows I should be watching? Please help me and your fellow geeks spend even more time in front of the screen :) What's your pick?

Did I miss something?

These are just some of my favorite geeky hobbies. I’d love to hear what you’re up to. Are you a professional knot creator, an experienced photobomber or a soap maker? Share your hobbies with our community.