Things I *don't* do as a hobby

[compilerbitch]

Inspired by Scott Adams' wonderful oneliner from his current Dilbert blog:

Atheism is religion the same way that NOT collecting stamps is a hobby

I just started wondering if you lot had antihobbies. An antihobby isn't the absence of a hobby -- I mean, there are loads of things I don't do, like polevaulting for example, but I can't say that I make a hobby of not polevaulting.

<flamebait>Vegetarianism, for some people, appears indistinguishable to others as making a hobby of not eating meat.</flamebait>

Discuss.

Edit: ¶ #

[Poll #918141]

Comments

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Isolating transformer. RCD. Variac.

(Ex- power supply designer who managed to avoid going voom or pining for the fjords)

[andrewwyld.livejournal.com]

The Fender uses ground as a return path, so there's very little I can do about the potentially-fatal voltages other than not ever touch them while the amp is hot.

Andy did make some interesting sparks with the filter caps one time, and blew the fuses ... fortunately his guitar was grounded as well.

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a deathtrap to me, however nice it may sound. I have an antihobby associated with avoiding things that could capriciously decide to kill me. Like horses, or poisonous snakes. Or people from the wrong bit of Oakland. That kind of thing.

[andrewwyld.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I told you about the ground switch?  Old American amps, predating the introduction of grounds into domestic circuits, tend to let you connect the chassis to the neutral pin instead.  Ungrounded, unpolarized plugs being symmetrical, though, this pin could be the live pin.  Fortunately the chassis contains a metal switch that lets you choose which pin is connected to the chassis.

The connection from the pin to the chassis is, admittedly, via a very small value capacitor ... an electrolytic one.

I'm sure you know what happens to electrolytics after thirty years.

We pulled out the ground switch before we powered the amp up.

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Rather you than me.