Hobbies

Pickleball to woodcarving, ham radio to bread baking. Find a new thing to love and the people who do it too.

The Pickleball GuideRules in plain English, how to call the score, a first-game walkthrough, gear on a budget, drills and courts near you.Learn to play

GuideDean ShawNov 7, 20265 min

The Best Tools at an Estate Sale Cost Almost Nothing

A rusty hand plane, forty dollars of supplies and one Saturday morning. Here's how to turn a dead man's garage into your best hobby.

The Garage Wall Is the Best Dinking Partner You'll Ever Have

From the Hobbies archive

Older stories

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Pickleball Etiquette That Gets You Invited Back

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

How to Find Pickleball Open Play and Leagues Near You

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

The Kitchen, the Score and Your First Night of Open Play

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20265 min

Buy Your First Pickleball Paddle Without Overspending

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Win More Pickleball Points With the Dink and the Third Shot Drop

Hobbies on video

Worth an hour of your evening

From channels we rate. Plays on YouTube.

Ham Radio 2.0Sep 9

Ham Radio For Dummies | How To Get Started in Ham Radio

Ham Radio Crash CourseOct 19

What No One Told You About Amateur Radio

TheSmokinApe Ham RadioAug 22

Top 3 Ham Radios for Beginners

Ham Radio PrepNov 22

Top 5 HF Ham Radios for Beginners!

ThatPickleballGuy - Kyle KoszutaMar 12

How to Play Pickleball: The Ultimate Guide on Pickleball Rules

PlayPickleball.comOct 9

Pickleball Rules | The Definitive Beginner's Resource to How to Play Pickleball

Tennis ExpressMar 23

How to Play: Pickleball for Beginners

The Pickleball ClinicMay 15

4 Things Beginners MUST Learn | The Pickleball Clinic

PlayPickleball.comJun 13

How to Play Pickleball in 5 Minutes

PrimeTime PickleballJun 8

Pickleball Basics: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Pickleball Rules & How To Play (Scoring & More)

Pickleball WillMar 22

How to Play Pickleball (THE BASICS)

ThatPickleballGuy - Kyle KoszutaApr 3

Pickleball SINGLES Rules Breakdown

Cracked PickleballJan 1

How to Play Pickleball | Rules and Scoring Guide

PIQLJun 8

Pickleball 101: Beginner's Guide to Mastering the Basics

Better PickleballJan 17

The Beginner’s Guide on How to Play Pickleball

Briones Pickleball AcademyNov 24

How To Play Pickleball For Beginners | Rules and Scoring Explained

Hobbies quizzes

Quiz yourself, then your friends

All quizzes

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Antique Collecting Starts With a Flashlight and a Magnet

Where the good stuff actually hides, what's undervalued right now, and the five-second checks that keep you from paying real money for a clever fake.

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Hobbies That Get You Out of the House and Into a Real Group

Six hobbies with a standing meeting time, a beginner on-ramp and gear under $200, plus how to find the local group this week.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

Ask it

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Start Painting With Watercolors for About Sixty Dollars

A pad of paper, three tubes of paint and one good brush will get you further than a 48-color set ever will. Start tonight.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

6 min read

Start Welding in Your Garage With a Flux-Core Machine

For about the price of a decent grill, you can join two pieces of steel forever and start fixing things instead of replacing them.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Your First Kayak and Your First Calm Lake

Rent twice, buy used, and paddle into the wind first. What a beginner kayak setup really costs and where to find people who'll paddle with you.

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

How to Find the Local Club for Almost Any Hobby

The club already exists in your town. It's just terrible at advertising. These are the searches, phone calls and counter conversations that turn it up.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Start a Coin or Stamp Collection That Isn't Just a Jar

Pick a theme, spend twenty bucks, and never clean a coin. The beginner's path into two hobbies that reward patience over money.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

Start a Board Game Night People Actually Show Up To

One good game, a hard start time and a host who knows the rules cold will beat a shelf full of shrink-wrapped boxes every time.

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Social Dancing Is the Couples Hobby That Actually Sticks

Under $100 of gear, a $15 Tuesday lesson, and about three weeks of being bad at it before something clicks.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

Ask it

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Your First Bow Should Be Lighter Than You Think

Two numbers, one lesson, and about $350 gets you shooting arrows this month. Most beginners buy the wrong bow before they figure any of that out.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Take Better Pictures With the Phone You've Already Got

No new camera, no jargon. Clean the lens, move your feet, and learn the four controls that actually change the picture.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Birdwatching Is a Pair of Binoculars and a Slower Walk

Spend about $150 once, learn to raise the glass without losing the bird, and your own backyard turns into somewhere worth standing still.

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Learning Guitar at 40 Without Quitting in Week Three

What it really costs to start, what to do in your first seven days, and the one $60 fix that keeps most adult beginners from giving up.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Your First Model Railroad Fits on a Sheet of Plywood

A 4x8 sheet, a loop with a siding, one good locomotive, and you're running trains by the weekend. What it costs and what nobody tells you.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

6 min

Where You Can Legally Metal Detect and What You'll Actually Dig

5 min

Leatherworking Is Two Needles, a Knife and a Piece of Hide

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

Ask it

GuideDean ShawSep 23, 20266 min

Your First Beehive and Your First Jar of Honey

Bees sell out in February, most beginners kill their first colony the same way, and year two is when the honey shows up. Start here.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

6 min read

How to Play Mixed Doubles With Your Spouse and Still Like Each Other

Settle the middle ball in the car, not at 7-6. A practical guide to playing pickleball as a couple without the silent drive home.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

Older articles

Older Hobbies stories

Hobbies

The Best Tools at an Estate Sale Cost Almost Nothing

A Cutting Board Is the Right First Woodworking Project

Two hundred dollars buys a real hand tool shop if you skip the set

Fly Fishing Starts on a Lawn, Not a River

Getting Next, Calling Fouls and Getting Picked Again at Pickup

The Garage Wall Is the Best Dinking Partner You'll Ever Have

From the Hobbies archive

Pickleball Etiquette That Gets You Invited Back

How to Find Pickleball Open Play and Leagues Near You

The Kitchen, the Score and Your First Night of Open Play

Buy Your First Pickleball Paddle Without Overspending

Win More Pickleball Points With the Dink and the Third Shot Drop

Worth an hour of your evening

Quiz yourself, then your friends

Antique Collecting Starts With a Flashlight and a Magnet

Hobbies That Get You Out of the House and Into a Real Group

Start Painting With Watercolors for About Sixty Dollars

Start Welding in Your Garage With a Flux-Core Machine

Your First Kayak and Your First Calm Lake

How to Find the Local Club for Almost Any Hobby

Start a Coin or Stamp Collection That Isn't Just a Jar

Start a Board Game Night People Actually Show Up To

Social Dancing Is the Couples Hobby That Actually Sticks

Your First Bow Should Be Lighter Than You Think

Take Better Pictures With the Phone You've Already Got

Birdwatching Is a Pair of Binoculars and a Slower Walk

Learning Guitar at 40 Without Quitting in Week Three

Your First Model Railroad Fits on a Sheet of Plywood

Where You Can Legally Metal Detect and What You'll Actually Dig

Leatherworking Is Two Needles, a Knife and a Piece of Hide

Your First Beehive and Your First Jar of Honey

How to Play Mixed Doubles With Your Spouse and Still Like Each Other