[ianhorn]

I’d expand “tech” beyond computers. I’ve recently gotten into mini painting and sculpting. I can get paints and brushes and magic epoxy putties and sculptable thermoplastics and precision tools for less than a nice dinner out, which is so cool. I’d bet it’s not too long ago that this would have to be something you’re seriously pursuing to make the costs worth it. [0]

Or if we’re sticking with tech = computers, I can sculpt for free in blender (the software) and print it with a 3d printer. Or paint in procreate/photoshop on my ipad with this fantastic not-really-a-pencil (and somehow procreate is only $10??). Or learn to draw from the internet.

Or the fact that nothing like D&D Beyond existed for a game I’m playing, so I was able to put up an app based on free software (react + yjs) on cloud servers god knows where for dirt cheap without knowing much of anything about any of those things.

Hobbies and leisure activities seem to be pretty accessible (in price). The downside for me is that all the accessible addictive stuff (like this site) makes it hard to actually dedicate time to the hobbies I want to spend time on.

[0] Unfortunately, I couldn’t find data on prices of various art supplies going very far back.