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Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

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Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#561
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As for me, I stopped giving tech support by saying "I don't use Windows anymore, probably I forgot how to do it; if you want to install Linux, I'm happy to help".

It doesn't work. I've been playing that game with Mac for the last eight years, and now I get "and I use a Mac" in my tech support requests.

Worked reasonably well for me. My realatives support requests went down to about 1/10. Now they are only the serious requests left, like my backup stopped working.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#562
post #453

Thinking about hard problems in terms of lambda calculus. I took a day to read about all that stuff and at some point so many things fell into place. I learned CS theory in school, learned ML, but it's not the same as being confronted by a seemingly monstrous software project and then realizing ... omg, everything is relational and I can just write an interpreter. No longer asking "how do I write this in ruby/java/js…

Do you have any good sources for reading up on lambda calculus?

I really enjoyed An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus - by Greg Michaelson

It helps you build it up through basic building blocks

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#564
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree with all three, but #2 for me has now become the very important due an incident last week. I pulled an all nighter and next day rear ended a vehicle near a traffic signal because I dozed off for a second. The impact was minimal and no one was harmed. It was the first accident with my fault in 15 years of driving. I am approaching 40 and have 2 young kids. I cannot get my priorities wrong at this point. Many liv…

Good call. I'm curious, what is your solution to getting more sleep? Frequently those all-nighters come as a result of deadlines and pressure from work. The usual tradeoff is work vs family vs sleep, where often you only get to pick 1. Have you had any success in getting 2 or even 3 of those together?

I see this all too much, my reasoning for working 8-9 hour days and nothing more is its being dishonest to the company to put in longer hours. Obviously estimates (and estimates always turn into deadlines) have been done wrong and by putting in those all nighters/extra hours you are only covering up those bad estimates. I find it much better to learn from mistakes so next time the estimates are done better.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

my doctor friends believe that eating less is the secret to increasing life span I've heard this before and it makes some sense. Don't know how to reconcile it against my desire to get out of the 17-18 BMI pit I've been in, and put on some healthy muscle (which requires a lot of food).

BMI means little for an individual. As an example, there are several world class athletes with high BMIs; according to the CDC dedinitions, LeBron James is "overweight" with a BMI of 27.5, and Didier Defago (one of the best downhill skiers) has 29 which is bordering on obese (according to the definition).

I'm not a world class athlete. I personally believe BMI is perfectly reasonable for ordinary people. If your BMI is 32, odds are very good it's not because you're actually a competitive powerlifter...

The point is, I'm too skinny, want to put on some muscle for general health, but have to eat a lot to do it.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what could possibly be 'scientific backing' for meditation. Sounds ridiculous to even ask.

If its effects are observable then it can surely be the object of scientific analysis?

>If its effects are observable then it can surely be the object of scientific analysis?

it can't be because all the variables involved cannot be tightly controlled. Same reason why all the Psychology studies have been lately relegated to snake oil status.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#567
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just so happen to be currently reading about this in The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb. He says: "From predator-prey models (the so-called Lotka-Volterra type of population dynamics), I knew that populations experience [potentially high] variability, hence predators will necessarily go through periods of feast and famine. That's us, humans--we had to have been designed to experience extreme hunger and extreme abundanc…

> "So where on earth does this idea of "steady" exercise come from? Nobody in the Pleistocene jogged for forty-two minutes three days a week, lifted weights every Teusday and Friday, etc... Not hunters. We swung between extremes: we sprinted when chased or when chasing (once in a while in an extremely exerting way), and walked about aimlessly the rest of the time."" Based on my own experiences, I agree with the main…

One more data point about steady but intense exercise versus very dynamic exercises: I find 20 minutes of serious HIIT scarier than running for an hour at 160 bpm.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#568

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are lots of maladaptive tendencies that can go along hobbies, if they are just another form of escapism. Filling your time so you are never alone with your own thoughts is unhealthy over the long term. But if you can crack walking/standing meditation, things like gardening or endurance exercise can complement rather than hinder your efforts to just be instead of trying to send your mind somewhere else. If you c…

Does that mean that, instead of paying attention to what someone is saying, you are standing, meditating?

Unfortunately I don't have a solution for that particular problem. Forced interactions with no payoff are sticky. Maybe I should try switching the topic to religion or politics?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congrats, but there is no fricking way you are natty. At 235lb 15% body fat, and perhaps 5'11" - ish? Whoever is readying this, don't think you can get that amount of muscle in a natural way so fast. Only Testosterone, trenbolone and other stuff will make you that large. According to a simple calculator, if you cut down below 8% fat (which is pro body builder territory), you'd still be at above 205lbs, which is no wa…

That's easily possible all natural. I have a few friends who look like that, and these people would never experiment with testosterone, etc. I'll add that having good genetics does seem to be a strong component for how quickly one can bulk up though.

>That's easily possible all natural.

I disagree. Research has shown that it is extremely rare for natural bodybuilders to achieve an FFMI (fat-free mass index) of 28 or higher. Based on OP's stats, his FFMI is 27.94. So either OP has godly genetics rivaling those of Mr. America winners, or he is using PEDs. I have no problems with PEDs, but it is disingenuous to claim that his results are purely from diet and exercise.

So sure, OP's physique is possible to achieve naturally, but it is by no means easy (requires winning the genetic lottery).

Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/natural_bodybuilding.htm

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#570
post #180
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, took the words out of my mouth. Mediation has been a game changer for me. Understanding the amount of sleep I need has been a big one as well. Also, trying to optimise the way I do things / my systems. We all have them, whether we realise it or not. I'm just trying to better get on top of mine: wake -> meditation -> exercise -> breakfast -> office -- etc.

Honest question. How is meditation different from being engrossed with a hobby? Say doing gardening or fishing, and being totally mentally in it. Just wondering..

I do both gardening and fishing and can say when I am doing both my mind is definitely not at rest. I am constantly scanning the water, thinking of a different way to retrieve my lure or present my bait. Hobbies are something you are interested in that excite you and I don't think are analogous to meditation.
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