You just now learned about CD-R?

Off course not

But for mainly moral reasons avoided it, until finances required the use of cdr's to play new retro games. Found out that yeah it's very convenient and almost free way to experience those games.

I take a break from buying LDs pretty much every time I watch an LD... and then start buying them again every time I swing by McCay's in Chattanooga and find something just barely interesting enough to justify spending $2 on.

Thankfully there are scant few LDs that I'm looking for these days, so I don't spend as much time searching for LDs as I used to.

I'm probably watching at least one LD a week, since I have a number I haven't watched yet.

I will admit that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has usurped A LOT of my free time as of late. To the point that I haven't had the time to play any other video games. Never thought I'd be wasting so much time catching fish and bugs and making dumb crap in a virtual world, but here we are . . .

My primary hobby was collecting and playing video games. I rarely have time to play video games anymore though, and the market prices for used stuff has basically forced me to abandon the hobby. Still by th odd new game at or just below MSRP, but the era of finding deals is extinct.

I moved into collecting anime, on DVD primarily, in 2007 when publishers began going under and stores were dumping titles at fire sale prices. I still manage to buy anime on average once a month, not big purchases mind, but even with anime the market is changing in strange ways where there are already titles which have gone OOP selling for hundreds of dollars now. Really this is no different than the LD market, save for market penetration of DVD being much higher with players still present in mainstream retail at highly affordable prices. But I am watching the market swing dynamically as DVDs are slowly being eliminated from the new product release format, and Blu-Ray just isn't capturing the market like DVD has done.

On top of these market changes, like others here my finances are just plain bad. I own three cars, all of them broken down. As last month I'm back to being unemployed... again. And as at least one other person has noted, the hunt for reasonably priced foodstuffs is the new reality of the present. Just can't seem to get ahead in life in things that actually matter to personal preservation and existence. I haven't had a annual income greater than $10,000 (USD) since the year 2016, honestly if I were not living with my parents I have no clue what i would do. I' trying to contend with selling off all of the stuff I have stored in one of the cars so that I can sell of that car, which obviously a broken down car isn't going to sell for much, but it will be one less mental frustration serving as a constant reminder that I'm a failure at life in general. But yeah, I was employed with a seasonal temp job (sadly part-time only) December through 3/4's of February else I'd be fantastically broke at present moment, surely Uncle Sam will resolve taking away my abysmal gains when I file my taxes this month to remind me how woeful my job hunting has actually been.

So yeah, employment issues, and thereby personal financial issues, are the new "hobbies" in my life that have taken over the hobbies I once thoroughly enjoyed.

My Laserdisc Playback is yet to re-commence.

I still have an reserved LD Order with Mr Nicholas Santini who now lives in Australia, and has done for the last around 8 years.
I have been trying to communicate with this Gentleman however so far there has been no reply.

The value of the above order is around $1.200.

Other Hobbies that ''Do not get in the way'' are Watching Home P.C builds part reviews ect YouTube is a great source, of which I get a great deal of satisfaction from.

Photography and Camera's, Nature walks, Hill and Mountain climbing.

Training to be an online Digital Marketer.

Playing EVE Online ever since I purchased my First Bespoke Built P.C in September 2021.

Eve is an interesting game for me, as I am a loner who is watching slowly and just taking my time with.

The passive daily Skills that are being added and invites from EVE are interesting but I am OK and to be honest I do not have the time to commit to this for many hours per day.

I have other minor interests such as researching World events and the lies we are being fed..... NOT ME I SEE STRAIGHT THROUGH THE LOT OF IT!

Listening to music and always looking for original releases worldwide.


Kindest Regards

From Mark

Photography is probably the best hobby I ever picked up. While I was into it as a kid, processed my own prints and such, I didn’t get super into it until 2012 when I bought a nice DSLR.

i stepped up to my first DSLR back in 2009, a NIKON D5000 brand new on the market at the time.
every photo i've taken since was through it, and it still operates flawlessly to this day.

just for the sake of owning a DSLR relic, i'd love to find myself a good condition 2000 NIKON D1 someday...