[aoriste]

Gardening. I give my self one computer-free-day each week in which I garden. Working with one's hands instead of one's head provides a much needed relief after a week of programming, designing, and hacking at software. During the winter, cooking and baking fill a similar, but not quite as satisfactory, experience.

The contrast from coding intrinsic to vegetable gardening is especially satisfying - one can sit back and watch the fruits of one's labor manifest themselves. When one codes, one knows that his inactivity results in nothing. Not so with gardening, aside from some maintenance, the initial work constitutes a self-fulfilling promise.