Any related hobbies?

[Evan Brown]

I thought this might be an interesting way to find fellow likeminded sliders. Does anyone have any other hobbies related to...well I guess be as broad as you want, we are an eclectic community. I myself am fascinated mainly by the ability of some organisms to store away a spark of life for later. As esoteric as that sounds. I raise triops, sea monkeys, yeasts(lost most of them), and fungi, in addition to collecting seeds and spores. Essentially I collect spores, molds, and fungi.  My interests are incredibly broad though and I have more hobbies than I need, but hey, it's fun. Actually I've been working on starting a gourmet culinary mushroom business with my now Fiancée. So does anyone else do anything they think is interesting and want to share?

[RyChu]

Not really bc too busy with school... although I do wonder whether or not I could try cooking slime molds.

Once I get the basics down with raising slime molds, I do want to start analyzing their psychology so that I can create art.

[Evan Brown]

I have yet to try, but I hear they taste awful. The Psychology of a slime mold, now that sounds interesting. I'd love to hear more about that.

[RyChu]

Hmmm...I wonder what their nutritional value is.

[ian]

They taste awful when raw - bitter mud ( it was an accident, things happen when you're trying to raise a thousand portions) but a couple of species are used as food in South America. I have wondered about cocktail bitters.... 

[ian]

Metal casting, brewing, lapidary and beekeeping. I'm about to quit the bees - I love them but the only place I can keep them in inside the workshop and it's a massive pain in the arse when you want to do anything involving electric motors ( the noise gets the really stroppy) so when they absconded I didn't fancy spending another £300 on colony 

[Eleanor Relf]

My mother borrows other people's land for her bees, and grows and divides much like I sense you do with slimes. I'm surprised you haven't become so addicted that £300 feels like nothing. That seems to be what happens to bee people and you're a geeky sort. Anyway, I'm sure you can grab a swarm from somewhere without the cost....  They are verrry interesting. ;)

[ian]

I can't drive so the off site apiaries ( I could have access to two ) aren't helpful. It's not the cost so much as the paying that much to make my workshop incredibly inconvenient to work in - at the height of summer it's basically a no go zone, despite having a bee tunnel the place is still a metal box full of stingy things. I'll keep the kit and probably go back to it - when I run out of beeswax for casting most likely..

[Eleanor Relf]

Ah well, it's probably best not to keep them if it's inconvenient and it sounds like you have rather a lot else on to really focus on them the way you need to! Perhaps a deal could be struck with Mum for wax if you need it. I'm not sure what she currently does with it. I don't think she filters or cleans it up. I get the odd bit for making polish or sealing things.