Caving $ 🎓 💪💪

I've done a lot of caving, but mostly on tours.   They have climbing tours where you climb, floating tours where you float down an underground river, as well as the far more common walking tours.

Almost all caving tours are cheap - minimal equipment and training required.  Do NOT just go into a cave without a lot of training and safety equipment.  That way lies death.  Getting lost or hurt is easy without a guide, and human presence can dramatically affect the cave - your hand print leaves oil that will affect the wildlife that lives there.  Going on a tour doesn't take much skill, but without a guide, you need a lot of knowledge.  Basically, going without a guide is for experts, and if you are getting any information about caving from me, you are not an expert.

Everyone likes to check out caves - young and old, men and women.  You obviously need a flashlight.  If you are in a river cave, you will need a life jacket and possibly a wet suit.  You definitely want water shoes of some kind.  Tours should provide this.

Walking and floating tours require you to be in reasonable good shape, but not more than that.  Climbing tours are for the more advanced people.  They take more skill and muscle.

Of the tours I have taken, I liked the floating tour the best.   It was in Mexico, near Cozumel, at the Rio Secreto:
http://www.riosecreto.com/

Butter Churning $ 🎓 💪

This is not a euphemism,  It's remarkably easy to make butter.   Here are the steps:

1. Buy a  cartoon of heavy cream.  Open it up.  We want bacteria in there.  You can optionally add a bit of yogurt or cheese cultures.
2. Leave it on the counter for a day.  Yes, open to the air for the full day.
3. The next day, mix it up.  You can use an electric mixer/whisk for 3-10 minutes.  Or you can put it in a mason jar and shake it for 10-20 minutes. 
4. Strain out the liquid buttermilk, leaving the solid, sweet butter. 
5. Rinse with cold water removing any remains of the buttermilk
6. If desired, add any flavorings you want (salt, herbs, whatever fancy thing you like.) and refrigerate.

Anyone can do this, even the youngest of kids or the oldest of seniors.  Women are more likely to be interested.   

You don't need to go anywhere else or learn anything else to do it.  Just buy some heavy cream at the grocery store and go to your kitchen.  Or you could do some internet searches for desired flavorings.

Fly an airplane $$ 🎓🎓🎓 💪💪

Flying an airplane is a strange experience.  It combines a sense of power-fullness and power-lessness.   Yes, you have the ability to fly, yes you move faster than you have ever done before. 
But, at least in the small airplanes I was taught in, errant wind push you around like you were a feather.

Don't expect to take off or land on your first flight - those come later (if at all).   But on your first class you can definitely take the 'wheel' of a small aircraft and be in total control of it.

I did it in Texas, and it was a gift, but places in NY area tend to charge more than $100.  If you can get it for $150, that's a good price. While basic control of the plane is easy in air, dealing with an emergency, taking off, and landing all take a significant amount of training.   It takes a bit of muscle, but not a huge amount.

Flying trends male and older.   People over 40 are more likely to have the time and money to spend on this hobby.  You can start as a teenager, but it's rare.  Note, in Alaska, some places need an airplane to get, so it may be more female and younger there.    You can turn this into a job - if you are young and talented at it, particularly in Alaska.

Most small airport should have someone selling lessons of some kind.   Do a google search and you should be able to find it.

Holographs $$$ 🎓🎓 💪

Holographs are 3d pictures made using a laser on film.  You shine the right light on the film (doesn't always have to be a laser light), and you get the 3d picture popping up.  Holographs are actually better resolution than normal printed photos - theoretically you could take a holograph of a leaf and use a microscope to view the nucleus of bacteria on the leaf. 

All you need is a dark area to take the holograph, the right laser(s), the right film, and a bit of knowledge.   And a good subject for the holograph.  I used a small fire hydrant I made in a glassblowing class.

It is a bit expensive - both to learn how to do it and to set something up in your home.   It's not that hard to do any one kind of holography, but there are a lot of techniques and variations to learn.   So to truly master it, you can easily spend thousands of dollars.   Also, you are working with film and chemicals, not merely computer chips, so there are quite a few expendables you need to purchase.   But it takes no muscle.


Holography trends male, and older.  Yes, kids like to view holography, but it is just hard enough to deter all but the most determined teenagers from trying it.   Classes are very small - you work in a dark room.  That's another reason why it is so expensive.

I took classes here:
http://www.holographer.com/

Laser Rapid Protyping $$ 🎓🎓 💪

There are two kinds of automated milling  machine, also called computer numerical controlled (CNC): Additive and Subtractive.

1. Additive CNC machines go by the common phrase "3D printing".   They slowly add more and more stuff - usually plastics, but metal and/or glass are possible - until you achieve the programmed result.
2. Subtractive is the opposite. You start with a big block of something and carve away, removing the stuff you don't want, till you achieve the programmed result.

Laser Rapid Prototyping is a laser subtractive CNC machine that burns away wood, plastic, etc. till you get the desired result.

NYC Resistor is a 'hacker collective' in Brooklyn that offers space to do projects, as well as a ton of interesting classes about how to do projects.  They are part of the "Maker Movement".  Note, while Laser Rapid Prototyping is not itself social, NYC Resistor is a very social group.  I suspect that any other group that offers similar access to a laser rapid prototyping machine will be similarly social.

They offer both a class:

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/fire-the-lazzzzor-learn-to-rapid-prototype-using-the-60-watt-epilog-laser-tickets-25776657677

and the right to use the laser (minimal supervision) after you complete the class.  You can carve plastic sheets, wood, plywood, and similar objects with the laser.  You can also etch stuff into aluminum - but their laser is not powerful enough to cut something made out of aluminum.  (with the possible exception of aluminum foil).

You can make everything from signs to complex machines - I made a rubber band gun.

The laser class is moderately priced, and while it takes some effort for most projects, no muscle is required. 


Gender wise, it's fairly well balanced - NYC Resistor offers everything from sewing to computer construction classes so they tend to attract a wide range of people.  It does trend younger - 20's, 30's more than 40's or 50's.   Kids are generally welcome.


Note, NYC resistor has other classes as well - but Lasers are the hottest class.   And the coolest class.  They also offer a good social environment to work on various projects while surrounded by the kind of people that have interesting hobbies.   If you live in NYC and have room mates, this alone makes them worth taking a look at.  
 

Watch Making $$$ 🎓🎓🎓 💪

I am talking about the old style analog, mechanical gear watches here, not the electronic versions.

Analog watches are complex arrangements of gears, springs, and an escapement to slow down the transfer of energy from the spring to the gears.

They get built by hand.  You can learn how to do it.  It's very finicky work, but you come away with a really nice watch.  It's not easy, can be very frustrating, nor is it cheap.  But it doesn't take much muscle.

You get to pick what the watch looks like - skeleton versions that show 'the action' are popular - and what gems to use as friction-less pivots.

You also come away with a whole set of interesting tools for micro work.  For me, that was a plus.

My class was small (3 people) 100% male, and all adults, no senior citizens.  It's a nerdy hobby.   Kids could do it, except it's expensive.


Even fifty years ago, NYC was a major center for watch making.  It's still cheaper to buy a watch on the streets of NYC than most places, but few people are making them by hand anymore.   It's a great hobby if you can deal with the extremely delicate, fussy bits.

I took classes here:
http://nkiruamerica.org/

Genetic Engineering $ 🎓🎓 💪

The invention of "CRISPR" and similar technology has taken genetic engineering away from the mad scientists and given it to the backyard scientist.   No, you can't make South Park's four assed monkey, but you can do some amazing things with bacteria.  Making them smell like bananas or giving them a strong, vibrant color (for use as ink) are just a couple of the things you can do.  Not to mention learning how to do DNA comparisons, just like CSI.

The intro lectures and workshops are fairly cheap, but if you want to make your own ink be prepared to spend hundreds of dollars.    Similarly, the brain work depends a lot on how deep you want to go.  You can learn the basic tasks without too much effort, but fully understanding everything will take a lot.  But you never need muscle, even for the hard stuff.

You don't need to worry about amateurs making a disease, while it's pretty easy to identify stuff, if you to make anything interesting, you need to buy building blocks from people that  check for the nasty things.  Making the building blocks is expensive, takes time, and a lot more skill than an amateur can do.

In addition, adding code to bacteria is a lot easier than adding code to more complex life form.   You just need to insert the DNA into the cell, while with more advanced life forms, you need to get it into the cell's nucleus.

Most genetic engineering hobby associations take people of all ages - kids welcome.   Men and women are again both present in large numbers.

I took classes with Genspace:
http://www.genspace.org/

Soap Making $$🎓🎓 💪

Soap is made from combining caustic lye with fat.  Lye is a very strong base (ph 13-14 range), which makes it more dangerous than most acids.    Worse the reaction creates heat.  Because making soap involves dealing with hot lye, you really need a teacher , not to mention some basic safety equipment.  In addition, lye is used for certain illegal activities, so you need a bit of help dealing with legalities.   But if you take reasonable precautions, it's not significantly more dangerous than certain cleaning supplies (do not mix ammonia and bleach), so a smart person can easily make a lot of soap.  While there is a bit of math, it's not hard to do - there are online calculators to help - and requires no muscle.
 
You can take online classes, but I suggest you hunt down a live one, at least for the first class.  When you take a class, they don't just teach you how to make basic soaps, they also teach you about additives.  Scents, moisturizers, exfoliants - all the stuff they put into specialty soaps.  So you can make soap that is customized for your needs. 

Classes are definitely more female than male, but there are some male students.  Seniors welcome.   You can do it with a smart, safety conscious teenager.   As it involves dangerous hot lye, I do not recommend sandals or skirts.  Try long sneakers, pants, and long sleeve shirts.   


The place I took lessons in closed down.  :(  Sorry.  Group-ons are good places to keep it at $$, rather than going for the more expensive classes $$$.  Brooklyn Creative Studio has group-ons for less than $100 per person, but I did not attend their class.

https://www.groupon.com/