Top 20 Manly Hobbies

For some this post of mine may seem controversial as there is nothing that men do and women cannot, specially in these day. But the gender bias or perspective aside, if we start to think logically and rationally, we will find many hobbies that only men adopt and likewise many hobbies that women adopt. Now when I say men and women, I should have added the term 'generally' or 'mostly' - and this generally or mostly thing make hobbies many or feminist.

Some of the Top 20 Manly Hobbies

For instance hobbies like knitting, baking, film-stars' poster collecting, reading and gossiping are generally taken to be feminist hobbies or hobbies adopted by women and girls. But hobbies like hunting, fishing, trekking or even playing chess are generally adopted by men and can be called as manly hobbies. 

But this does not mean women do not go fishing or hunting, but the comparative ratio of hobbies generally labeled as manly are  seldom adopted by women.

Since Hobby Shobbys is a blog exclusive for hobbyists, I thought of listing down popular hobbies adopted by men to start with. In my next post, I will list down feminist hobbies or hobbies adopted by women and girls.

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Men and boys, mainly because of the biology, are interested in doing things that require muscles and brains or a combination of both. Mostly the manly hobbies are outside the comforts of one's house and into the wilderness require stamina, confronting dangers and even wild animals and at times risking one's life. And when it comes to indoors, card games like poker and bridge and board games like chess and scrabble, collecting coins, antiques, stamps and matchboxes add to men's leisure.

So I sat and start listing all such hobbies that require usage of muscles and brians or a combination thereof and come upon following listing:

1. Hunting
2. Shooting
3. Arcehry
4. Fishing
5. Camping
6. Free Falling
7. Mountaineering
8. Woodwork
9. Collecting
10. Gardening
11. RC Gadgets
12. Body Building
13. Photography
14. Painting
15. Flying
16. Astronomy
17. Genealogy
18. Card/Board Games
19. Magic
20. Playing Guitar

This is my listing - there can be many more that can be added here. I have three of my hobbies, collecting, photography and genealogy, in the list. Those who have been regular visitor of Hobby Shobbys, would have observed my thrust and interest in these fields more than the rest.

I have already written separately on some of the hobbies listed above in my earlier posts (which have been highlighted and links to previous posts given) and would write more which have not been covered earlier. 

However, there is a catch here - these are the hobbies which generally people had before the advent of the digital age. Now the trends have changed in adopting hobbies. I will write about these trends separately which has had a profound effect in the domain of hobbies once  happily adopted.

You may add or subtract hobbies from ly listing for being manly or otherwise through your comments.

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10 Mouth Watering Recipes for your Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers

Well the Thanksgiving is over and am sure you must eaten lot of Turkey meat in as number of dishes, fkavours and recipes as one can think of. It must have been fun fun eating Turkey - the healthy big bird exclusive to Thanksgiving.

Recipes for your Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers [Photo: Mashable]

But what have yoy done about the leftover Turkey? Well if you intend preserving it in your refrigerator for taking frequent 'casual bites,' I have some good news and alternatives for you.

Herein under are 10 ways you can re-use your left over Turkey in new ways and make new dishes, probably not tried before:

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• Turkey Pot Pies
• Turkey Lettuce Wraps
• Turkey Noodle Casserole
• Spicy Turkey Soup
• Terrific Leftover Turkey Recipe
• Turkey Curry
• Turkey and Mushroom Stroganoff 
• White Chili with Turkey Leftovers
• Turkey Jambalaya 
• Turkey Calzone

I came across these recipes at Mashable and would want you to go to the site and get details / recipes to make new dishes out of your Turkey leftovers.

Take a tour of the video gallery HERE to have something new out of your Turkey for you and your family and friends - and don't forget to invite me when you try any or even all of the above recipes!!

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Discounted Gameloft Games Available on Play Store and App Store @$0.99

What are you going to do in the upcoming holiday season while it snows outside?

I would sit down sipping hot coffee and play Gameloft games. And you know why? The company is offering some of hottest Android and iOS titles for as low as $0.99. Amazing, isn't it, specially as these games otherwise cost $6.99 and more?

The games are being offered for download starting 21 November - that means you have already missed a day of funloading.

The titles availabale for Android and iOS are as under:

Google Play Store

• The Adventures of Tintin
• The Amazing Spider Man
• BackStab
• Gangstar Rio: City of Saints

iOS - App Store

• The Amazing Spider Man
• Gangstar Rio: City of Saints
• Backstab
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard

And if you are Kindle Fire man, don't worry you may have fun too as following three Gameloft titles on Amazon’s Android App store that are offered for $0.99 as well:

• The Amazing Spider Man
• BackStab HD
• N.O.V.A. 3

Go on and funload these games and build a good stock for the holiday season - do not forget to buy coffee and coffee-mate :)

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[ via Chip Hazard ]

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November - the month of the migratory birds to the delight of bird watchers

November brings along hundred and thousands of migratory birds from frozen and freezing Siberia and the cold struck Central Asian Republics to the rather 'warmer' waters of Pakistan and remain our guests till March, when they start to go back to their homes where the snow would soon start to melt.

Black Swans, Houbara Bustard and swarms of migratory birds arrive Pakistan in November

The in-numerous wetlands of Pakistan stretched from north to south provide natural habitat to these migratory birds, who not only survive the winters but also lay eggs and rear their young ones to take them back home.

The birds include  majestic swans and Flamingos, beside many other species like the Marbled Teal, White-headed Duck, Eurasian Spoonbill, Dalmatian Pelican which throng the wetlands in Pakistan. 

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For the bird watchers, the arrival of these countless migratory birds’ provides an opportunity to flock the wetlands and enjoy their presence. I am witness to a large flock of a birds in an artificial lake in Sandh and Gabbar villages inside the desert near Rahim Yar Kha, in the Southern Punjab province of Pakistan. I still remember the majestic black swans flying over me beside a horde of other species. 

One of the endangered species that comes along with the migratory birds is the Houbara Bustard - now almost on the verge of extinction. It is sad to see this bird being hunted by the Arab dignitaries through specially tamed falcons which are let lose and then they prey the poor Houbara Bustard right in the air and bring these back. 

Read more:
Wetland of Pakistan (Pakistanpaedia)
Bird Watching in Pakistan (Pakistanpaedia)

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Ratti Gali - A Replica of Heavens

I have been introducing beautiful landscape of Pakistan to my readers in my blog Jaho Jalal. However, on request from some of my viewers, I am sharing some of the best posts here at Hobby Shobbys as travel is also one of he widely adopted hobby around the world. This post is a part of series of posts I have earlier written to describe the heavenly beauty of Pakistan, specially the northern region, which generally remain obscured due to inaccessibility for ordinary travelers and vacation spenders.

A Flickr friend of mine Khurram Saddiqui is an avid traveler and a good photographer – a combination which is must in a travelers  because in the absence of a keen eye for the ground and taking a shot, travelers  travelogue remain incomplete. A few days back while going through his updated Flickr photo-stream, I was amazed and dazed to see his visit to Ratti Galli Lake in Azad Kashmir, in the north of Pakistan. And with his kind permission, I am sharing the pictorial travelogue of Ratti Galli Lake – an awe inspiring and breathtaking account of the place, very few people know about.

The name Ratti Galli means a red (from local language Ratta meaning red colour) mountain (Galli means a mountain top).  The lake is in the foothills of the red mountains when the sun is setting and looks heavenly blessed place on earth. Ratti Galli can be accessed in many ways. One can either approach the place from Duwariyan in Neelam Valley (which is quite difficult), or from Duwariyan again through Jhalkhand (the longest), or else from the Noori Top.

To get to Ratti Galli Lake from Noori Top, one has to first go to Naran in the famous Kaghan Valley. The journey usually begin from Islamabad towards Abbottabad, Mansehra, Balakot and Naran. From Naran, Khurrum and his travel group of 10 moved ahead and camped at a place called Bata Kundai. And it is from here that the trekking to Ratti Galli Lake commences.

Noori top is 12,900 ft pass and is the boundary of Kaghan and Azad Kashmir. So from here our real journey was started. The group trekked from the Noori Top towards Dara Duwariyan. The Duwarian Pass is located at a height of 14,000 feet and from Noori Top, it is another 1,100 feet ascend trekking. The Duwarian Pass finally leads to the awe inspiring Ratti Galli Lake – a lake where one would like to live on forever as time stops there once you are there. 


Continue scrolling down to find some of the most fascinating natural landscape photos of Ratti Galli Lake and commentary by Khurrum:

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Noori Top

The very unknown lake located in Azad Kashmir Pakistan we were on the way of Ratti Gali lake and from 3 hours before it we have a look a lake which was large in size and it was really beautiful. The water was clear and reflection of the lake I captured it. It is for the first time that photos of place are being uploaded on the net. We asked the locals the name of the lake and they told us Hans Raj - the majestic Swan. 

One of memorable evening of my life when i was at this beautiful place last sun rays were on the mountain of Ratti gali and it look like a red then I came to knew why people call it ratti. Ratta is a punjabi word means red so when you can see in this picture ratta at the mountains.

Children of the mountains

I am sure you would have liked the beautiful Ratti Gali Lake and appreciated Nature for what wonderful landscape it has created for us - only we are less thanking....

[via Jaho Jalal]
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Wisteria Tunnel - The most 'Flowery' place on the earth

In my childhood I saw a film 'The greatest show on the earth,' the memory of which I have not been able to erase from my memory. But that was fiction and just a couple hours of entertainment, though with a life time nostalgia.

But those who have been to the the Wisteria Tunnel at Kawachi Fuji Gardens, in Kitakyushu, Japan  would not only carry the nostalgia, but the fragrance too in their memory lane for as long as the live.

When I first saw the photos of Wisteria Tunnel, I took these for paintings, but then it dawned on me that I was seeing something natural, very aesthetically laid with countless flowers of different hues and fragrance, giving one a rare sight of one's life. 

The multicoloured flowers hang artistically overhead and sideways when one passes through the densely flowered tunnel of the Wisteria at Kawachi Fuji Gardens. And the fragrance of these flowers is so rich and awe inspiring that one doesn't want the tunnel to end or even to leave the gardens after the tour is over.

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I have not been to the Wisteria Tunnel at Kawachi Fuji Gardens, but it would be my wish to be there somehow and see this heavenly garden and preserve it beautiful landscape in my memory lane forever.

All photos are courtesy Jeannie 

[via Jaho Jalal]
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Top Creative Re-usage of the Discarded Objects from the Junkyard

There is never a limit to imagination and one can stretch to any limit. And the same is true for bringing the use to old furniture. Those not opting to use imagination would dump their old and discarded furniture outside their homes for others to carry away.

But those who have a passion and hobby of recreating, would think twice throwing away their old furniture and may come up with a better use of their otherwise useless old rusty and faded furniture into something that looks elegant, useful, attractive and inspiring.

Why throw away your old piano with which you have nostalgic memories attached. Remember, your grandfather sang love songs for your grandmother and it was the same piano on you got your first lesson? So why through it away. And then the old bicycle you used to ride as a young man. And the old white Mercedes now rusting in your garage, you don't want to part with.

Well if you have imaginative and innovative mind, use your pastime by re-creating something useful from the antiques stored in the junk yard and bring these to life by bringing these from junkyard to your house - you would certainly enjoy doing that.

No?? Find out how and what can you do:

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As for me, the use of the bicycle and the old white Mercedes is the best, what is yours?

All photos above have been shared with exclusive permission from Techzug
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Obstacle avoiding drones developed

Those hobbyists who love flying remotely controlled airplanes and helicopters often experience their machines bumping into trees or building and get destroyed or damaged in these 'unwanted' encounters. Controllers with remote control devices controlling the flight of these flying machines often find it difficult to manoeuvre around their machines and save those form damage or even destruction.

Obstacle avoiding drone helicopter

But not anymore. 

Researchers at Cornell University have developed software that, coupled with a camera and hardware that mimics a brain, helps a small drone to dodge obstacles like trees or poles.

The software makes the drone turn an image taken with its camera into a 3D model of the environment. The robotic brain can then determine which objects are obstacles and change its route accordingly. This would solve one of the biggest hurdles towards fully autonomous drones: their lack of good “sense and avoid” systems.

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Watch the video below for a demonstration of the outcome of the research that can save the drones/helicopters from damage and save money of the poor RC gadget hobbyists:

The lead researcher, Ashutosh Saxena, hopes to further develop the software capabilities making the drone able to calculate wind patterns and avoid moving objects, like birds.

via Mashable

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Amazing Elephant Trunk Hill

Travelers are always seeking for new, unique and extra ordinary place around the globe to visit and add their memories to their travel nostalgia. While it is easy to count places like Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls or Taj Mahal, there are many hidden places, structures or natural features that are either not known or are located in such remote areas that only a handful travelers reach there.

And one of such natural features is the Elephant Trunk Hill. As the name denotes, this natural feature looks like an elephant.

Located in the city of Guilin in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, this rocky hill, which looks like an elephant with its trunk submerged into the Li River, is said to be 3.6 hundred million years old. 

The feature is formed from the seabed limestone of the river. The hill feature, 200 meters elevation, 55 meters in height, 108 meters in length and 100 meters in width, is covered on top with lush green trees and foliage and has become a symbol of tourist attraction of the Guilin city.

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There is a pagoda located atop the 'back of the elephant' which resembles like the hilt of a sword. 

As a local legend goes, Emperor of Heaven decided to conquer the Earth riding on the back of his elephant. Kind-hearted and dedicated to the poor, the elephant came down to Earth to help the humans in their labor but finally got sick. With the Emperor so angry at seeing his elephant helping the humans, he deserted him, letting the poor sick elephant's fate at its own course. Grateful for its help, humans nursed the sick elephant back to health, making the elephant wishes to stay definitely on Earth along with the humans, helping them plow their fields and forget about its master. Infuriated by the scene that was occurring on Earth, the Emperor of Heaven threw his sword on the elephant drinking at the river's edge, finally turned it into stone. Passed away in the world of humans, the elephant is still near to the friendly people that helped him, guarding the city forever and ever.

It is a cool scenic spot near to the city center, recalling locals and visitors about the beauty and power of Mother Nature. The green water of Li River in front of it and the clear spring at the foot make Elephant Trunk Hill one of the most famous hills in Guilin City.

As the sun sets, the Elephant Trunk Hill gives the final stunning view of its presence on the Li River, which fascinates the onlookers and travelers who cherish its memory for the rest of their lives. If you happen to be visiting China, beside climbing the Great Wall of China, do plan a visit to the Guilin city to pay a visit to this stony features that really resembles like an elephant drinking water from the Li River.

All Photos above are courtesy Funzug
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