Hobby and Outdoor Pursuits Essay Example for Free

Hobby and Outdoor Pursuits Essay Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved! ) Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since June 2006. A hobby-horse was a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like the real hobby. From this came the expression to ride ones hobby-horse, meaning to follow a favourite pastime, and in turn, hobby in the modern sense of recreation. Hobbies are practised for interest and enjoyment, rather than financial reward. Examples include collecting, creative and artistic pursuits, making, tinkering, sports and adult education. Engaging in a hobby can lead to acquiring substantial skill, knowledge, and experience. However, personal fulfillment is the aim. What are hobbies for some people are professions for others: a game tester may enjoy cooking as a hobby, while a professional chef might enjoy playing (and helping to debug) computer games. Generally speaking, the person who does something for fun, not remuneration, is called an amateur (or hobbyist), as distinct from a professional. An important determinant of what is considered a hobby, as distinct from a profession (beyond the lack of remuneration), is probably how easy it is to make a living at the activity. Almost no one can make a living at cigarette card or stamp collecting, but many people find it enjoyable; so it is commonly regarded as a hobby. Amateur astronomers often make meaningful contributions to the professionals. It is not entirely uncommon for a hobbyist to be the first to discover a celestial body or event. In the UK, the pejorative noun anorak (similar to the Japanese otaku, meaning a geek or enthusiast) is often applied to people who obsessively pursue a particular hobby that is considered boring, such as train spotting or stamp collecting. [edit] Development of hobbies into other ventures Whilst some hobbies strike many people as trivial or boring, hobbyists have found something compelling and entertaining about them (see geek). Much early scientific research was, in effect, a hobby of the wealthy; more recently, Linux began as a students hobby. A hobby may not be as trivial as it appears at a time when it has relatively few followers. Thus a British conservationist recalls that when seen wearing field glasses at a London station in the 1930s he was asked if he was going to the (horse) races. [citation needed] The anecdote indicates that at the time an interest in nature was not widely perceived as a credible hobby. Practitioners of that hobby went on to become the germs of the conservation movement that flourished in Britain from 1965 onwards and became a global political movement within a generation. Conversely, the hobby of aircraft spotting probably originated as part of a serious activity designed to detect arriving waves of enemy aircraft entering English airspace during World War II. [citation needed] In peacetime it clearly has no such practical or social purpose. Types of hobbies Collecting The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. These collections of things are often highly organized, carefully cataloged, and attractively displayed. Since collecting depends on the interests of the individual collector, it may deal with almost any subject. The depth and breadth of the collection may also vary. Some collectors choose to focus on a specific subtopic within their area of general interest: for example, 19th Century postage stamps, milk bottle labels from Sussex, or Mongolian harnesses and tack. Others prefer to keep a more general collection, accumulating Star Trek merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world. Some collections are capable of being completed, at least to the extent of owning one sample of each possible item in the collection (e. g. copy of every book by Agatha Christie). Collectors who specifically try to assemble complete collections in this way are sometimes called completists. Upon completing a particular collection, they may stop collecting, expand the collection to include related items, or begin an entirely new collection. The most popular fields in collecting have specialized commercial dealers that trade in the items being collected, as well as related accessories. Many of these dealers started as collectors themselves, then turned their hobby into a profession. There are some limitations on collecting, however. Someone who has the financial means to collect stamps might not be able to collect sports-cars, for example. One alternative to collecting physical objects is collecting experiences of a particular kind. Examples include collecting through observation or photography (especially popular for transportation, e. g. train spotting, aircraft spotting, metrophiles, bus spotting; see also I-Spy), bird-watching, and systematically visiting continents, countries, states, national parks, counties etc. Games [pic] [pic] Card game, 1895. A game is a structured or semi-structured recreational activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment (although sometimes for physical or vocational training). A goal that the players try to reach and a set of rules concerning what the players can or cannot do create the challenge and structure in a game, and are thus central to its definition. Known to have been played as far back as prehistoric times, games are generally distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration. Because a wide variety of activities are enjoyable, numerous types of games have developed. What creates an enjoyable game varies from one individual to the next. Age, understanding (of the game), intelligence level, and (to some extent) personality are factors that determine what games a person enjoys. Depending on these factors, people vary the number and complexity of objectives, rules, challenges, and participants to increase their enjoyment. Games generally involve mental and/or physical stimulation. For this reason, they are beneficial after a large meal or a long and tedious task, but counterproductive if played immediately before sleeping. Many games help develop practical skills and serve as exercise or perform an educational, simulational or psychological role. Outdoor recreation Outdoor pursuits can be loosely considered to be the group of sports and activities which are dependent on the great outdoors, incorporating such things as hill walking, trekking, canoeing, kayaking, climbing, caving, and arguably broader groups such as watersports and snowsport. While obviously enjoyed by many as a bit of fun, an adrenaline rush, or an escape from reality, outdoor sport is also frequently used as an extremely effective medium in education and teambuilding. It is this ethos that has given rise to links with young people, such as the Duke of Edinburghs Award and PGL, and large numbers of outdoor education centres being established, as the stress on the importance of a balanced and widespread education continues to grow. Depending on the persons desired level of adrenaline, outdoors can be considered a type of hobby. As interest increases, so has the rise of commercial outdoor pursuits, with outdoor kit stores opening up in large numbers and thriving, as well as outdoor pursuits journalism and magazines, both on paper (for example Trail [1]), and online (such as Eclipse Outdoor [2]). The increased accessibility of outdoor pursuits resources has been the source of some negative publicity over the years also, with complaints of destroying the landscape. A widely-seen example is the destruction of hillsides as footpaths are eroded by excessive numbers of visitors. Creative Hobbies Some hobbies result in an end product of sorts. Examples of this would be woodworking, software projects, artistic projects, creating models out of card or paper called papercraft up to higher end projects like building or restoring a car, or building a computer from scratch. While some of these may just be for the enjoyment of the hobbyist, there have been instances where it has come into demand at the request of friends or passerbys observing said project. At this point it has the potential to become a small business. Cooking Cooking is an act of preparing food for eating. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Constraints on success include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools and the skill of the individual cooking. The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the myriad nutritional, aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural and religious considerations that impact upon it. Cooking requires applying heat to a food which usually, though not always, chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture, appearance, and nutritional properties. Cooking proper, as opposed to roasting, requires the boiling of water in a receptacle, and was practiced at least since the 10th millennium BC with the introduction of pottery. There is archaeological evidence of roasted foodstuffs, both animal and vegetable, in human (Homo erectus) campsites dating from the earliest known use of fire some 800,000 years ago. [citation needed] [edit] Gardening Gardening is the art of growing plants with the goal of crafting a purposeful landscape. Residential gardening most often takes place in or about a residence, in a space referred to as the garden. Although a garden typically is located on the land near a residence, it may also be located in a roof, in an atrium, on a balcony, in a windowbox, or on a patio or vivarium. [pic] [pic] A gardener Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens (botanical gardens or zoological gardens), amusement and theme parks, along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and hotels. In these situations, a staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens. Indoor gardening is concerned with the growing of houseplants within a residence or building, in a conservatory, or in a greenhouse. Indoor gardens are sometimes incorporated as part of air conditioning or heating systems. Water gardening is concerned with growing plants adapted to pools and ponds. Bog gardens are also considered a type of water garden. These all require special conditions and considerations. A simple water garden may consist solely of a tub containing the water and plant(s).

Welcome to Life :: Essays Papers

Welcome to Life "Dear mother, can you hear me whining? (Green Day)" When something was difficult what did you do, especially when you were a young child? You whined. That was the way you got people to pay attention to you. You hoped that this way they could make life better for you. Complaining to your mother will make everything better. That is the logic that many young children are taught. Life is different as you reach different stages and becomes more difficult each time you reach a new challenge. The stages start with your being comfortable in your surroundings, well protected by your family. As you grow older, you begin to grow apart from the people and the area that you were once close to. You start to go on your own path. This path leads you to a new place with which you may not be as comfortable. The song "Welcome to Paradise" by the punk-rock band Green Day explains the difficulty of moving away from home and how eventually life will get better and you will find that you are not as dependant on your family. The song "Welcome to Paradise" begins a mere three weeks after the boy has left his home. He is writing a letter telling his mother how horrible it is to be away from home. He feels he is alone; this is a scary feeling. He reaches out to the audience by discussing a feeling that many young people have recently experienced. I remember when I first started college, whether I want to admit it or not, I was scared. I moved to a new location three hours away from my warm room and, for the first time, I had to do my own laundry, take care of myself, and keep my area clean and livable. These were new and challenging tasks. At times, even though there are forty-two thousand people here, it feels very lonely, as if you are the only one going through this situation. Everyone experiences some sort of uncomfortable feeling when they have to move to a new location and start a new stage in their lives. From personal experience a college senior explains how he felt the first day he moved to live at college, "I definitely felt like I was in some strange limbo Twilight Zone kind of place†¦It wasn’t a very comfortable feeling at all.

Classroom †Toelf Essay Essay

In general, most people tend to view things differently, even whether if classrooms environment should be interactive or not. To some people, they may think that classrooms are places where teachers lecture and the students listen. However, in my opinion, I believe that classrooms should be interactive. The following cases and examples will help support my point of view. People have different backgrounds. Students, especially in international schools, have varying backgrounds, which may result in different views. A classroom is a place for learning experiences, therefore, it is crucial that varying opinions are brought to the table. Take the example of a business class. In discussing whether or not coffee stands should be locate within the campus or outside, the teacher may Do you think that students will always understand every single thing the teacher lecture about if they weren’t allow to ask questions? In complicated classes such as math or science there are many things that usually confuse the students. It is nigh impossible for the teacher to be able to make sure that everyone understands, let alone knowing whom doesn’t what. Courage. When your kids grow up, they do not work alone. Courage is an important aspect in working with others, whether it is to lead or just to follow. In the case of Pearson Hardman, an international law firm, they seek not only people with knowledge but also people who have individuality, people who could think for themselves and are not afraid to express their opinion. Where is a better place to develop those traits than in classrooms. Classrooms where students are allowed, and encouraged, to speak out their mind. In conclusion, it is hard to make all people view things in the same way, even in the case of whether or not classrooms should be interactive. Some people may agree that it should not be because discussions may lead to the teacher not being able to teaches everything he intended to. However, to me, I strongly agree that classrooms should be interactive. The examples and cases mentioned above have supported my point of view to the best.

Biography of Mark Zuckerberg, Creator of Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is a former Harvard computer science student who along with a few friends launched Facebook, the worlds most popular social network, in February 2004. Zuckerberg also has the distinction of being the worlds youngest billionaire, which he achieved in 2008 at the age of 24. He was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 2010. Zuckerberg currently is the chief executive officer and president of Facebook. Fast Facts: Mark Zuckerberg Known For: Chief executive officer, president, and founder of Facebook, youngest billionaireBorn: May 14, 1984 in White Plains, New YorkParents: Edward and Karen ZuckerbergEducation: Phillips Exeter Academy, attended HarvardPublished Works: CourseWork, Synapse, FaceMash, FacebookAwards: Time magazines 2010 Man of the YearSpouse: Priscilla Chan (m. 2012)Children: Maxima Chan Zuckerberg, August Chan Zuckerberg Early Life Mark Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York, the second of four children born to dentist Edward Zuckerberg and his wife, psychiatrist Karen Zuckerberg. Mark and his three sisters, Randi, Donna, and Arielle, were raised in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a sleepy, well-to-do town on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Zuckerberg began using and programming computers in middle school, with the active support of his father. Edward taught the 11-year-old Mark Atari BASIC, and then hired a software developer David Newman to give his son private lessons. In 1997 when Mark was 13, he created a computer network for his family he called ZuckNet, which allowed the computers in his home and his fathers dental office to communicate via Ping, a primitive version of AOLs Instant Messenger that came out in 1998. He also developed computer games, such as a computer version of Monopoly and a version of Risk set in the Roman Empire. Early Computing For two years, Zuckerberg attended public high school Ardsley and then transferred to the Phillips Exeter Academy, where he excelled in classical studies and science. He won prizes for math, astronomy, and physics. By his high school graduation, Zuckerberg could read and write French, Hebrew, Latin, and ancient Greek. For his senior project at Exeter, Zuckerberg wrote a music player called the Synapse Media Player that used artificial intelligence to learn the users listening habits and recommend other music. He posted it online on AOL and it received thousands of positive reviews. Both Microsoft and AOL offered to buy Synapse for $1 million and hire Mark Zuckerberg as a developer, but he turned them both down and instead enrolled at Harvard University in September 2002. Harvard University Mark Zuckerberg attended Harvard University, where he studied psychology and computer science. In his sophomore year, he wrote a program he called Course Match, which allowed users to make class selection decisions based on the choices of other students and also to help them form study groups. He also invented Facemash, a program with the stated purpose of finding out who was the most attractive person on campus. Users would look at two pictures of people of the same sex and pick which was the hottest, and the software compiled and ranked the results. It was an astounding success, but it bogged down the network at Harvard, peoples pictures were being used without their permission, and it was offensive to people, particularly womens groups, on campus. Zuckerberg ended the project and apologized to the womens groups, saying he thought of it as a computer experiment. Harvard put him on probation. Inventing Facebook Zuckerbergs roommates at Harvard included Chris Hughes, a literature and history major; Billy Olson, a theater major; and Dustin Moskovitz, who was studying economics. There is no doubt that the conversational stew that occurred among them spurred and enhanced many of the ideas and projects that Zuckerberg was working on. While at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg founded TheFacebook, an application intended to be a reliable directory based on real information about students at Harvard. That software eventually led to the February 2004 launch of Facebook. Marriage and Family In his second year of college at Harvard University, Zuckerberg met medical student Priscilla Chan. In September 2010, Zuckerberg and Chan began living together, and on May 19, 2012, they were married. Today, Chan is a pediatrician and philanthropist. The couple has two children, Maxima Chan Zuckerberg (born December 1, 2015) and August Chan Zuckerberg (born August 28, 2017). The Zuckerberg family is of Jewish heritage, although Mark has stated he is an atheist. As of 2019, Mark Zuckerbergs personal wealth was estimated to be more than $60 billion. Together, he and his wife founded the philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, to leverage technology to support the aims of science, education, justice, and opportunity.   Mark is currently president and chief executive officer of Facebook and works at the companys office in Menlo Park, California. Other company executives include chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and chief financial officer Mike Ebersman. Zuckerberg Quotes By giving people the power to share, were making the world more transparent. When you give everyone a voice and give people power, the system usually ends up in a really good place. So, what we view our role as, is giving people that power. The web is at a really important turning point right now. Up until recently, the default on the web has been that most things aren’t social and most things don’t use your real identity. We’re building toward a web where the default is social. Sources An Interview with Mark Zuckerberg. Time Magazine.Mark Zuckerberg Interview, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.Amidon Là ¼sted, Marcia. Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Creator. Edina, Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company, 2012.Kirkpatrick, David. The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Computer That Is Connecting the World. New York: Simon Schuster, 2010.Lessig, Lawrence. Sorkin Vs. Zuckerberg. The New Republic, 30 Sept 2010.McNeill, Laurie. There Is No I in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Biography 35.1 (2012): 65-82.Schwartz, John. No Stopping Movie View of Mark Zuckerberg. The New York Times 3 Oct 2010.