I just read this incredibly long thread now, so I'll offer my take on it the best I can.
First off, the original question. I've never been asked this with one exception--late night at hotels. On a team trip or something where a bunch of guys go together, I always get a single room because of insomnia which would keep everyone else up late. (If you ever notice some of my posts come at 2:00 AM eastern time then you probably have found out I have sleeping problems). Anyway, for the past few years, I've taken my Game Cube with MLB 2004/2005 (depending on the year I went) and played baseball games at night to help me relax. I didn't want to take my laptop since it cost $1700 when I got it new in 2000 and the Game Cube was only $250 when you add the game in there too (I got the Game Cube in 2001 so I could play the then-new version of baseball).
Any time other than 11:00-2:00 AM on trips, nobody's ever asked me if I play too many video games. In fact, I often have been asked if I even own a system. I think it's because I don't talk about the games that much unless I'm talking about some baseball team I put together.
Second, the train collection issue. I actually have a wooden set of trains called "Brio" from Sweden. They used to sell them at a store called "Walden Kids" and I had a whole set when I was younger. Today I still get it out to put it under my Christmas tree. It's not one of those electric Lionel sets like my grandfather has, but it's unique. I'm not a serious train collector though I do have all the original boxes for my set. My grandfather and uncle, however, are Lionel collectors, though they don't go out of their way to get parts or anything. They just keep using the sets from when they were young every Christmas.
If you really are into trains, I suggest the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. They have a room about half the size of a gymnasium with a huge model railroad village set up, complete with lighting and sound effects. It's a truly unique exhibit for anyone, train collector or not.
And finally, about buying new systems for a game. I wanted a Game Cube baseball game for the improvement in graphics. I've found they can actually improve the graphics over time with these games. The reason I bought the Nintendo system is because nobody ever made one for my iBook. However, I've grown to like the controls of the baseball game on the Nintendo. I probably won't be buying a next generation Nintendo (it's called the Wi now, right?) unless some really cool baseball game even better than MLB 2005 comes out for it. But since E.A. Sports quit developing baseball games, I've been disappointed in not having a new one to look forward to every now and then.
I also see posts about chess and board games. I'm more a card game player myself, but I have chess on my computer and I like to play it before I have to take a huge math or science exam so I can get my brain going. Of course, I also usually have AIM in the background and will chat during my games. This might explain why I usually only win at chess 25% of the time against the computer.
