@thor Ham Radio because it's a tight community, it's not nerdy and you might get special privileges. In the US, certified ham radio operators are considered essential personnel and allowed free movement even under military control. It's because they can get some coms working after a disaster.

I can't think of any activities that would be enjoyable on the level that nerdy stuff is. From what I've heard of hacker/maker spaces, perhaps you selected the wrong difficulty and need to move up the ranks.