re: What is your favorite/most head clearing hobby of yours?

Rock climbing. In all the years and countless hours I have been on a route not a single time has the world outside my immediate surrounding forced its way in.

Hand tool woodworking. While I am a hybrid woodworker and use machines more than hand tools the sound and feel of a well-tuned plane sliding across wood while watching a near-transparent shaving curl up in the throat can produce a zen-like experience. It is also one of the most satisfying parts of woodworking knowing wood takes finish so much better planed than sanded.