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How to Take a Walk

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Re: How to Take a Walk

#71

Post by jasonkester »

[deleted] wrote: post #64
jasonkester wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are few things more relaxing than coming home on a Friday afternoon, mixing a nice cocktail, and cranking some truly embarrassing music from your youth on the stereo, at full volume through big speakers. To pull that off, you need thick skin or thick walls.

[deleted]

or headphones.

That was the entire point of my comment. No matter how loud you crank music on headphones, nothing will fall off the shelves, and you won't feel any bowel-loosening vibration coursing through your body.

That's an essential part of the experience. And if it's happening because of cheezy butt rock from the 80's, you'd best have thick stone walls or live well out in the country.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#72

Post by smutticus »

simonw wrote: post #51
neilk wrote: post #31

Tangent, on "having a life". I met a woman from New York who was visiting SF. We both had been to Burning Man. She expressed her distaste at how much time San Franciscans spend on their art projects. According to her, New Yorkers "have a life". So, that bar conversation ended pretty quickly. But later on I got to thinking about it. There might be positive senses of "having a life", but I think she meant it in the mor…

I get really infuriated by the phrase "too much time on their hands", when used to dismiss acts of creativity (like building a model of the Eiffel tower out of match sticks). At least they weren't watching TV.

Amen to that.

I also get terribly infuriated by this. It reminds me of being in high school when any display of creativity or intelligence was frowned upon.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#73

Post by smutticus »

jonsen wrote: post #61
rdtsc wrote: post #13

This is very important for programmers. You need to take a walk to recharge your batteries. To clear you mind. Well, it works for me anyway. Do it during lunch, after work, after dinner. On the weekend , for a longer walk. Parks and trails work best. Less crowded streets in the city work as well. Don't rush, just walk slowly. Observe things. If you end up thinking about the problem your are working on, that's fine, i…

Observe things. ... , look around. Also look up. In city streets there are things to see above the horizontal plane we strongly tend to confine our view to.

No one ever looks up. No really. No one ever looks up.

I used to have a balcony over a very crowded alley with constant foot traffic. I would stand there quietly and watch people think they were alone in this alley all the time.

Drunk people were the best. One corner of the alley was constantly getting pee'd in so they installed a metal skirt that bounced the pee back on the pee'r. You could watch drunk people pee in that corner then walk away with a wet pant leg without ever noticing. Hilarious. And not once in the 3 years I lived there did someone look up.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#74

Post by smutticus »

timknauf wrote: post #66
nhebb wrote: post #30

I grew up in a SW Portland neighborhood with no sidewalks. The road shoulders were narrow, unsafe, and often muddy. I never saw people out for leisure walks. It just wasn't enjoyable. Now I live in the outskirts of Portland, in a place with modern suburbs grown up around a quaint old town. Sidewalks are everywhere. I take walks all the time, and I see other people out for walks daily. It's seems like common sense tha…

Woah, we've had some 'pack 'em in' zoning here in New Zealand but I've never seen anything where they left out footpaths entirely. Has anyone got a representative Google street view link for SW Portland or something similar? (And is this really quite common across the US?)

This is the American suburbia I know best. Falls Church VA. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&#38...

Portland is not a good example of American urban planning gone awry. As it's probably one of the most sensible cities in the US.

And yes, unfortunately neighborhoods without sidewalks are all too common in American suburbs.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#75

Post by Tichy »

simonw wrote: post #51
neilk wrote: post #31

Tangent, on "having a life". I met a woman from New York who was visiting SF. We both had been to Burning Man. She expressed her distaste at how much time San Franciscans spend on their art projects. According to her, New Yorkers "have a life". So, that bar conversation ended pretty quickly. But later on I got to thinking about it. There might be positive senses of "having a life", but I think she meant it in the mor…

I get really infuriated by the phrase "too much time on their hands", when used to dismiss acts of creativity (like building a model of the Eiffel tower out of match sticks). At least they weren't watching TV.

Some TV shows might be more worthwhile than building an Eiffel tower out of match sticks.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#76

Post by kleiba »

yason wrote: post #62
kranner wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are already too many instructions. When someone provides a plan, for some reason I am compelled to follow it meticulously or reject it entirely. I could use an Ask HN on how to loosen up.

How's this: "Be."

Kitschy.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#77

Post by frobozz »

I strongly disagree with this point:

> If you pass anybody, you are not walking slowly enough for it to be “taking a walk.”

There are people around who walk painfully slowly. When I go for a walk, I let my legs swing at a natural cadence, with my natural stride length. If I have to change that, to ensure I don't overtake some dawdler, it places a stupidly unnecessary restriction on the definition of "taking a walk". IMO, it removes some of the idleness from it if you have to actually think about how you are walking.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#78

Post by eitally »

The author's implication "taking a walk" as somehow preferable to those other ambulatory activities is more than a little biased. Walking for the sake of walking is still a conscious decision to act, and whether the act of leisure is superlative is a completely subjective decision -- as neilk positive in his reply.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#79

Post by simonw »

Tichy wrote: post #75
simonw wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get really infuriated by the phrase "too much time on their hands", when used to dismiss acts of creativity (like building a model of the Eiffel tower out of match sticks). At least they weren't watching TV.

Some TV shows might be more worthwhile than building an Eiffel tower out of match sticks.

http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/01/04/eiffel-tower-m...

Re: How to Take a Walk

#80

Post by lars512 »

smutticus wrote: post #74
timknauf wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Woah, we've had some 'pack 'em in' zoning here in New Zealand but I've never seen anything where they left out footpaths entirely. Has anyone got a representative Google street view link for SW Portland or something similar? (And is this really quite common across the US?)

This is the American suburbia I know best. Falls Church VA. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&#38... Portland is not a good example of American urban planning gone awry. As it's probably one of the most sensible cities in the US. And yes, unfortunately neighborhoods without sidewalks are all too common in American suburbs.

Wow. I've travelled to many countries and lived in a few, but I've never been somewhere without sidewalks. I looked at that street view and thought: "that's weird, grassy sidewalks". I had to pan 360 degrees a few times to realise it was people's front gardens, not public space. It feels very alien to me.
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