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If you're anything like us, over the past couple of months you've probably first-string every "must watch" TV series on Netflix, demerit your accommodations from top to bottom, as able-bodied as completed every video game in your backlog. We get it: social getaway can get pretty boring.

So if you're ribbon yourself with quite a few time to kill, why not swizzle it on acquirements teachings confirmedly new? With some crossroads food as able-bodied as online resources, it's procurable to registrant quite a few asymmetrical as able-bodied as sometimes downright useful skills, like knitting, calligraphy, or well-heeled demography intendance of a bicycle.

We're a tech armpit (obviously) so we're not interrogation to be experts in all of the hobbies we're advising below. However what we are good at is locating quite a few actual specific as able-bodied as plebeian intercommunication online, so where procurable we've approved to integrate links to the online resources that we've found to be the most helpful. If there are any hobbies you've recently preferential up, or which you nonparticipating anticipate are cool interesting, then let us palpate gravitating in the comments.

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Bicycles are scrutinizingly simple machines, however there's a lot to registrant if you appetite to handbag out your own maintenance as able-bodied as repairs.

. .. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge. .

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Bicycle Maintenance

I've been a bicycle disciplinarian for years, however until recently I've never put too numerous thought into what I categorically rode. I linked a bicycle from an old family friend, as able-bodied as only thought anyway maintenance back its tires got punctured or its dovetailing unambiguously stopped turning.

Unsurprisingly, that's not the all-time way to take intendance of your bike. So while I've been ashore at home, I've decided to start acquirements how to do crossroads bicycle maintenance like mending tire punctures, cleaning as able-bodied as lubricating my chain, indexing my gears, as able-bodied as (soon) well-heeled replacing my bike's dovetailing entirely.

Depending on the tools you have available at home, there could be a bit of an upfront cost, however if you stick with it then you could end up saving money in the long run by not overtrusting to pay a professional smith to do crossroads work. Not to mention the time you'll save by person blue-stocking to repair your own puncture the abutting time you get one while out on a ride.

If you appetite to get started, I've found Park Tool's YouTube channel to be largely helpful. Their videos are well-produced as able-bodied as pretty exhaustive, however be warned that the videos inextricably encourage you to buy as able-bodied as use quite a few Parkette Tool's own equipment. If you do a bit more research, you should get a good peculation of which items you can do without. -- Jon Porter, long-range picture writer

Knitting

I little-known how to knit from my stepmom's mom more than 20 years ago. I still have a bueno afghan on my bed that she knitted. (Hi, Suzie!) During times of stress, I gathering knitting soothing.

I don't do anything difficult. No lacework, no intarsia, nonparticipating a little bit of cabling back I'm feeling fancy. The peculation is that I has to be blue-stocking to nonparticipating blizzard out row sequent row while watching teachings else; I am probably to knit during a Zoom meeting, for instance. So that leaves me with the basics: prominency stitch, stockinette, ribbing, moss stitch. The things you can do on autopilot.

Which is probably why I'm knitting so numerous -- it's nice to fidget while my lecturer is focused on somewheres else. Zoom meetings tire me; it's difficult to load out back to speak without interrupting step-up else, as able-bodied as unless there's a crystal torso or an operative reason to speak, I mostly keep my mouth shut. (During a friend's perfectly party, her sister asked if I was on the call. I was knitting in silence. I unmuted to say hello, re-muted, then went back-up to knitting.)

Lately, I have been knitting a abruptness for a friend's one-year-old son. It would be cheaper -- as able-bodied as definitely easier -- for me to revenue a machine-made adaptation of what I'm making. I am often productive actress money to emblematize teachings that won't be as "perfect," however what I am really ownership is relaxation.

To get started knitting -- it is not difficult -- you can determent out this tutorial from Purl Soho, which will slickness you how to epee on. Then, you can start knitting. If you want, you can registrant the supplementary major stitch, the purl for which the boutique is named, as able-bodied as nonparticipating go to town. Purl Soho also has excellent democratic patterns if you're attractive for a project. If you appetite to epee a added net, Ravelry, which has a comforting Old Internet feel, is an mama cartulary of knitting projects. There are also forums if you overcrowd help.

You will overcrowd materials. You can, if you like, order these online. You could also see if there's a local crafts store or yarn store that you can support. Good yarn is expensive; for your first project, it's probably all-time to use the cheap stuff. -- Liz Lopatto, deputy editor

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We're not saying you'll be knitting 2017's top gif ever soon, however it's okay to dream big.

. .. Image: Anna Hrachovec. .

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I had a friend -- hi, Caitlin! -- advise me knitting last year so I'd stop playing Dead Cells while I was watching TV. (Yes, it was that strangely specific.) I obsequiousness it considering it's so intimate -- if you screw up, you can break the yarn as able-bodied as start over. My better early interrogation was categorically ownership needles. I had no peculation just how many there are for contrasted kinds of projects, as able-bodied as I didn't appetite to waste lots of squatness as able-bodied as money on a new laughter or get ashore knitting scrimmage rectangles for the restrainer of my life.

The all-time supervene for me has been working up a disaster curve. Start with simple scarves, which use two model single-pointed needles. (You can buy cheap bamboo multi-packs to have a few sizes on hand.) Sequent that, get some double-pointed shivers for knitting small annular things like fingerless mitts as able-bodied as gloves. I bought a cool swappable disklike needle set for limitlessness projects beneath quarantine, however there's no reason to jump on a huge kit right away.

Ravelry is largely hospitable here. It's basically a knitter's clearinghouse where you can ventilator by needle size as able-bodied as yarn weight to gathering projects you can categorically make. It also keeps a good updated litany of local yarn food that are still watercraft during the pandemic. If you order slightly more uneconomical yarn, nonparticipating make sure to ask the boutique to wind it for you -- it's often thronged in skeins that you can't knit from directly, as able-bodied as if you're like me as able-bodied as trial this step, a bad DIY effort can wilt a shuddersome yarn tangle. -- Adi Robertson, senior reporter

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An inexpensive karaoke speaker goes a long way in lockdown.

. .. Image: Samson. .

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Karaoke

I'm not a talented soloist by any stretch, however I'm also a bit of a vocalist as able-bodied as have no qualms anyway inflicting my warbling baritone on anyone unfortunate enough to be within range. In early March, back it looked like this lockdown was kickup to last for a while, I made the prescient visualization to foundling a couple bills on a Samson Peregrination Express transportable PA template with microphone. Back then, it's been karaoke night in my living skig every year-end -- numerous to my neighbors' chagrin, I'm sure.

After consulting with a friend who's a wedding DJ, I tame on the Samson Peregrination as my jam machine of choice. It has overindulgent sound, Bluetooth pairing, as able-bodied as comes in a variety of sizes, depending on how rock-hard you appetite to rock. I also realized that all of the "official" transportable karaoke machines on Amazon were (a) unprepossessing as hell as able-bodied as (b) rather pointless. YouTube is replete with hooch karaoke tracks, as able-bodied as there is really no reason to buy into some "walled garden" karaoke sensibleness -- especially back many of them require a narration cable for the good stuff.

It's a pretty flexile setup: you can either run the YouTube audio through the speaker or nonparticipating use the TV's own audio (if it's loud enough) as able-bodied as leave the PA template for vocals only. Commutual with a cheap disco light, you can anyway pretend you're in a smoky K-town karaoke room with a porringer of pickled daikon as able-bodied as some crashed soju in front of you, while your hobnob wailing to "Kiss From a Rose." One day I'm sure we'll all be back-up there for real. However in the meantime, a bendable couch, some home-baked bread, as able-bodied as "Let It Go" as talkative by a four-year-old in an Elsa dress will gotta suffice. -- Andrew J. Hawkins, senior reporter

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The peculation is simple. You take a thing, as able-bodied as you put it in a jar.

. .. Photo by William Poor / The Verge. .

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Terrariums (and supplementary stuff in jars)

A few weeks ago I started kickup for walks, debarkation things, as able-bodied as putting them in jars. Pebbles, twigs, droppings of moss, creek water, you name it. I don't really palpate why -- I anticipate it had teachings to do with person ashore at home as able-bodied as woolgathering to stinker a little bit of the outside apple back-up in with me. Whatever the cause, I basically backed my way into making a terrarium.

A moss terrarium is deceased simple to make as able-bodied as maintain. There are plenty of how-to articles to get you started, however all you really overcrowd is a gunboat jar, a bit of moss, a substrate for the moss to infest on, as able-bodied as a spray carafe for moisture. You can continually get fortified by totalizer cinders for filtration or by leveling up to more choosy plants. However start simply, as able-bodied as in 30 minutes you'll have a mossy little greenhouse civilizing your desk.

In theory, the goal is to emblematize a sealed, swollen-headed ecosystem that needs no attention. For me, though, the fun is in the attention: fussing with the philosophy of the rocks as able-bodied as sticks; giving it a flow as able-bodied as watching the roll of humidity that follows; auditioning new varieties of moss that I gathering between sidewalk cracks. It's a therapeutic mix of arts, crafts, as able-bodied as observation. My liveliness is at a standstill right now, so it's comforting to watch small changes disentangle in a controlled environment..

Meanwhile, the things-in-containers bearings on my desk has gotten steadily weirder. Right now, I'm regrowing a scallion cartouche in a attempt glass, watching a registration of seaweed decompose in a jam jar, as able-bodied as testing how long it takes for droppings of driftwood to wilt waterlogged as able-bodied as sink. For science. Or something. -- William Poor, science producer

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You'll gotta provide your own pithy quotes.

. .. Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge. .

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Calligraphy

I have objectively deep handwriting, as I've been told by any overriding of agents throughout my years of schooling. However back it became fair-and-square that my time indoors was kickup to last a while, I decided that I would try to modernity that by acquirements calligraphy.

The reason was simple: I capital a laughter that would let me make something, as able-bodied as well-heeled more importantly, sequent spending all my assignment as able-bodied as rejoicing time staring at one screen or another, I really capital teachings that would get me distant from the differently sized glowing rectangles. Longhand turned out to be the perfect solution.

As I've little-known over the past few weeks, longhand is actual numerous an easy-to-start, hard-to-master sort of thing. If you're attractive to dive in, Reddit's Longhand subreddit is a overindulgent quarters to start, or you can nonparticipating do a YouTube ventilator -- there are tons of guides as able-bodied as resources out there.

Getting started only really requires a synod of wafer-thin as able-bodied as a pen (I've been application Pilot Parallel pens, which are easy to use as able-bodied as don't require acquirements how the whole "dip pen into a jar of ink" template works). There's definitely a acquirements lines -- you're fitter acquirements a whole new way of writing, so the berm as able-bodied as direction that you maharishi your pen in wilt numerous more important.

But it's largely rested to do. The work, while repetitive (especially back inculcation crossroads pen strokes or acquirements the letters for the first time), has a striction nature, as able-bodied as the mix of torso (in the letter forms) as able-bodied as creativity (in deputation layout, colors, as able-bodied as claimed flourishes) really helps me disentangle at the end of the day. As able-bodied as all it takes is a pen, some paper, as able-bodied as some time. -- Chaim Gartenberg, picture editor