Yes, many professionals researching the arena of social media addiction think it works in the same way as drug addiction. There are social media timers to help limit time wasted and instead one can choose to spend their time improving their forex trading skills or learning a new language with an app like Duolingo for instance, instead of working for companies like fakebook for free (time spend browsing social media apps fuels the information feeding their algorithms, thus is akin to working for them).
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Meditation , exercise and finding good food to eat
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As I work Monday - Friday 7 - 3:30 and deal with impossible patients, I enjoy hitting skunk come sunset every day. I also enjoy reading/studying over the weekends, sightseeing, listening to music, among other hobbies
I tend to do the same thing lol but I like looking through other traders vids and posts really, I try to stay away from random celebrity news and other bs that doesn’t matter
Lovely! I grew up in Greenwich, then bought a flat in Surrey Quays, overlooking a dock, our local pub was a converted barge, The Wibbly Wobbly. Then at the same time I worked at Customs House on the Thames, and our work local was a converted boat on the Thames. So for several years I did the majority of my drinking on boats, despite not being a sailor. Happy days.
In terms of hobbies (sorry to have diverted the thread with reminiscence!), I am restoring a 1960s MG myself, restoring a Georgian house largely by myself, I lose myself trading goods and exploring in Elite Dangerous, I watch a lot of boxing and F1 (fortunately Mrs Templar and our three sons are heavily into both, too), plus with four kids in the house (our youngest, Alice, is five) it is easy to slot into the kids’ world and remove yourself from any real life stress. So variously that means watching Sofia the First, beating the boys at FIFA, going for a walk (we’re lucky enough basically to live in a holiday destination), cooking meals as a group of six or generally just enjoying family life. Plus I read a lot - just finished a biography of Napoleon and the Game Of Thrones books, now three quarters of the way through Margaret Attwood’s Oryx & Crake trilogy. Basically, various forms of escapism.
Loved reading about photography and aquatic life in here already!
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Great photos, Manxx! I’m always amazed by your pictures. Maybe you can create your own thread here with all your beautiful shots. Seeing your nature-themed photos are just so relaxing. 
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Going for a looooong walk in the nearby natures reserve is always pretty good for unwinding
I always run into at least a few of these guys lounging around on the grass, or hopping past me on the trail. I think there’s at least 50 of them in there
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I think @anon46773462 just uses his Samsung phone most of the time. I think I read that in another topic. 
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This is correct, in fact it is the only camera I use. I used to always use an SLR camera until the Nokia 1020 41mp revolutionised mobile phone technology.
The dilemma is always whether you happen to have your camera with you when you suddenly see something you would like to photograph. Since nearly all the pictures I take are entirely spontaneous then my phone camera is the only “smart” solution to this. Especially now that nowadays phone camera technology is developing really rapidly.
I still use my Samsung S7 but I have been really tempted to upgrade now to the S9 because of its dual aperture feature, but I read that the S10 due next year will also include a wide angle lens and so I am going to wait until then (if I started upgrading annually I would soon be in big trouble! 
)
The only feature that I really miss which the phone camera is not good at is a telephoto function. It is also not so good when there is a big contrast in lighting such a candle in a dark room.
Here are some recent examples of what I consider reasonable quality from a phone camera:
This is a combined composition from a wooden church built in the 1760’s. The left hand side is inside the church and the right hand side is the same wall from the outside - after 250 years of weathering:
This was a frosty morning today, beautiful pastel colours:
Although cameras can never really capture the total atmosphere like the silence or peacefulness, this was, for me, a beautiful scene of simple innocence: a man riding a bicycle in the early sunshine on a brisk, peaceful autumn morning:
And a faithful reproduction of both bright and dark contrasts and the colours of the rainbow just as it was. I am always fascinated how so much detail can pass through such a small aperture on the back of my “phone”!
…and maybe just one more…a black and white composition of a gnome and tree blending into total synchronisation…:
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Wow. Those are amazing photos. And with a smartphone too! I have a friend who also has a Samsung and he takes the best food photos. Then again, we all know someone with a Samsung/Pixel/iPhone who takes the crappiest pics anyway haha.
You have a really good eye for photography! Have you ever tried putting some up on stock sites? @anon46773462
Thanks @CoinLady! Pretty amazing - proof that it’s not really the tool but the skillz.
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No, I haven’t. I don’t really like any form of social media. I have no FB or such like.
This site is the only place where I visit and only because of my interest in forex. But even that topic here seems to be evaporating. The content nowadays is far more shallow than it used to be and most of the real expertise has either disappeared or no longer contributes…but everything goes in cycles! 
You are amazingly talented, Manxx, your photoes are a joy to look at. Thank you for sharing them with us.
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I use a Canon EOS400D with a Sigma 180mm EX macro lens, but I still use film sometimes (Canon EOS30 and AE1 - even older!) Like @Manx mentioned about missing the telephoto lens, to me the camera is not so important as the glass (lens) in front of it. My old film AE1 is a pleasure to use because the old optics are superb. Some of the digital smart phones are so easy to use because they are so practical and always around to hand, with great sharp images. But the costs of these phones, like the new iPhone makes a digital SLR with a great couple of lenses an easy winner… for me at least, but for practicality and being always at hand a good phone wins. Also a good photographer can make excellent photos with ANY camera, even an old Holga. My Mom paints as a hobby. I gave her my camera one day to try out and instantly made me jealous. She knows how to compose a picture, this is very important.
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@anon46773462 Your photos are delight to the eyes. Thanks for sharing such beautiful pictures. You should really try posting/blogging them.
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Thankyou all for your positive comments! 
I have never really thought about posting pictures on any kind of blog or such like.
In fact I have often suspected that I have a somewhat wierd mind regarding what catches my eye to photograph!!!
For example, we went on a holiday to Israel in 2014 and whilst all the other tourists were taking snaps of the scenery I was taking pictures of things like, well, how can I put it… wierd door handles!!! 
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I agree with people here, you really need to think about blog or thread for your photos (but blog is much better for you). Don’t keep it in your house and depreciate your value of talent. Nowadays amazement is getting lesser, we need people like you to amaze us with your gifted talent(s).
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There’s nothing weird about you, Manxx, you just think out of the box, and that is a good thing! I too recommend putting up your pictures somewhere in public. In a stock site, or you could try Deviantart or Flickr or 550px which are all popular photography places.
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