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Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

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Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#101

Post by slumpt_ »

danilocesar wrote: post #82
hammock wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to go if you don't want to. Surely your indignation would be better directed at employers, schools and others who are requiring in-person attendance.

This kind of answer shows why covid is hitting so hard in america. "I do whatever I want, you do whatever you want" it's not about the individual, what he wants or do. It's about this individual spreading the virus to the community later on.

It makes me sad seeing a community I’d otherwise regard as intelligent being so profoundly ignorant.

But I also acknowledge this is a western culture issue more than one of intelligence alone.

Discouraging nonetheless. We’ve really messed up.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#102

Post by dec0dedab0de »

DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #31

Did the "shutdown normal gym" mean that patrons would be violating whatever policies forced the gym to shutdown in the first place? If so, that really bothers me. Any excess contagion would endanger everyone, not just the gym users. Please consider reporting the details to the appropriate authorities. EDIT: If someone is inclined to downvote this comment, I'd be very grateful for a clarification why (comment or DM).…

on HN it is common practice to downvote when you do not agree with someone, but don't have any new information to add that is worthy of a comment. So basically don't worry about votes. If you start getting flagged that is a different story.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#103

Post by esrauch »

ReptileMan wrote: post #57
DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #31

Did the "shutdown normal gym" mean that patrons would be violating whatever policies forced the gym to shutdown in the first place? If so, that really bothers me. Any excess contagion would endanger everyone, not just the gym users. Please consider reporting the details to the appropriate authorities. EDIT: If someone is inclined to downvote this comment, I'd be very grateful for a clarification why (comment or DM).…

And what if the polices were wrong? I have looked at the data and came to the conclusion that the danger from covid is tiny (to see how low - check qatar - probably the country with most extensive testing) and preventing is totally not worth it the sacrifices and damage to society. Qatar has 44000 cases per 1m pop and 69 deaths per 1m. That is not much higher than flu.

The US is going to be something close to 1 death per 1k total population with the policies we have. It doesn't make logical sense to think the number could be orders of magnitudes lower in the US if we didn't close businesses.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#104

Post by komali2 »

ls612 wrote: post #94
reaperducer wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last couple months has done more damage than good to me. I'm that type of person who'll lose muscle quickly if stops working out for mote than 2 weeks. It's not about you. It's about everyone else. How can someone be so selfish and self-absorbed that they think their "muscle mass" is more important than the health of hundreds or thousands of other people? I know this question may violate some HN policy, but I can…

This same argument can be made about any infectious disease season. The only difference is a matter of degree. This virus is probably ~5 times as bad as the flu so we should spend ~5 times as much to mitigate the externalities. Not ~500 times as much like we have. I fear that after this every time there's a bad flu season we will see this same shit again because "think of the most vulnerable among us, you're literall…

Are you only comparing death rates?

My coworker has been told he may never taste or smell again as he "recovers" from covid.

There's evidence that COVID survivors might have long term heart conditions https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseas...

Think of the most vulnerable among us. You are killing them.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#105

Post by flanbiscuit »

hammock wrote: post #48
Ansil849 wrote: post #29

This seems incredibly dangerous. Are the speakeasy gyms requiring negative COVID tests? Are they doing temperature screenings upon entry? How diligently are they sanitizing equipment? How well ventilated are these various areas? Why are people ignoring all of these risks, what kind of threat model do they have?

You don't have to go if you don't want to. Surely your indignation would be better directed at employers, schools and others who are requiring in-person attendance.

> You don't have to go if you don't want to...

Except that these people go there and then go home and spread it to their family and other friends. They go to grocery stores and other locations and touch things or cough/sneeze it in to the air. It's never about one person's individual choice.

> Surely your indignation would be better directed at employers, schools and others who are requiring in-person attendance.

Yes this deserves it as well but that does not negate the concerns

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#106

Post by throwaway0a5e »

twic wrote: post #36
crazygringo wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Lift a heavy stone"? That's a joke, right? Barbells and dumbbells are appropriately ergonomic (handles, balance, etc.) and won't ruin your back if you use proper technique. Lifting a heavy stone is a recipe for injuring yourself severely . People need specific indoor gym equipment if they lift, which is a very valid form of exercise. Or, you know, if it's raining or thunderstorming or a humid 100°F outside. And body…

Where would i even find a heavy stone?

Craigslist.

You can usually find a threadbare heavy equipment tire more easily though since most people with stones just let them sit whereas tires need to be disposed of.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#107

Post by ativzzz »

sharadov wrote: post #46
jcomis wrote: post #3

While trying to buy workout equipment off craig's list I was solicited twice to join "speakeasy" gyms. They had ads for a bunch of gear and when I inquired they sent me a detailed response on working out in their private gym. One was a large neighborhood garage that offered solo time by the hour, one was a shutdown normal gym. Pretty expensive too!

I wonder how Anytime fitness is doing now? There is a market for a by the session small gyms. How about outdoor gyms, seem some in LA which are on rooftops.

The Anytime fitness near me is open and there are always 5-6 cars there. Not sure what policies, if any, they have in place for safety.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#108

Post by oarsinsync »

dragosmocrii wrote: post #62
matz1 wrote: post #42

Bad policies deserve to be violated. > Please consider reporting the details to the appropriate authorities No, on the contrary I'm encouraging people to go out and resume their normal activities.

This. The last couple months has done more damage than good to me. I'm that type of person who'll lose muscle quickly if stops working out for mote than 2 weeks. I also played a couple games of volleyball and tennis, and I'm so clumsy I'm embarrassed I lost control of my body. Meanwhile, thr local gyms havr silly rules to restrict people's access...

> The last couple months has done more damage than good to me.

Me too. I live alone, and for the first 110 days of lockdown in the UK, I saw another human being that I know in person for 6 of those days. The toll that has taken on my mental health is huge.

Combine the lack of human interaction with the loss of everything that has value to me and my life outside of my job: restaurants, museums, sporting events, theatres, gyms, sporting activities, all of these things disappeared overnight, and most of them haven't returned still.

Instead, I've taken up volunteering (while still holding down a 60hr/week job) with local charities, helping those in the community around me who are more vulnerable and more in need than I am. Mostly helping out with food deliveries, which makes for good exercise, but often collecting drugs for them and delivering to them, which can make for decent cardio if the distances are right.

TL;DR: There are ways to achieve the goals you need for yourself, and simultaneously helping others rather than endangering them.

EDIT: watching the count on this post is amusing. Maybe it's worth being explicitly clear: despite the volunteering work, I am absolutely still depressed, and will continue to be until I can make meaningful changes to improve my life. There's no magic bullet when you sacrifice the things that give you meaning.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#109

Post by dx87 »

henriquez wrote: post #79
adolph wrote: post #14

Unlike actual prohibition, the social agreement behind "lockdowns" is subject to time contingencies. The activities considered "essential" grow as time passes. While there are nominal categories of "essential" defined by community/political leaders, that contract depends on agreement. Since each person's conception of "essential" is different, as time passes "essential" grows exponentially instead of linearly.

An extension of this is the notion of emergency authorities and people’s perception of the weight they carry. An emergency is an emergent situation, which must be new, evolving, and carry the risk of serious harm. Emergency orders are based upon the idea that executive authority must be wielded to quickly mitigate an emergency situation. But a key attribute of an emergency (by definition) is “new” - if emergency powe…

> Now we have a lot of governors issuing decrees based on emergency authorities that they’ve been using for six months. This is quite simply a conflict with our basic notion of democracy. We do not have rulers, yet our governors are issuing rules purportedly carrying the weight of law with no oversight from legislature.

That was my biggest issue with the whole situation in the USA. All of these emergency measures were done without any mention of timelines, all the while a vocal part of the population was saying "fuck your freedoms", and "millions of people will die if they lift the lockdown". It's like everyone forgot about the Patriot Act overnight, and doesn't realize that the government doesn't like giving up control after whatever "emergency" situation happens. Something needed to be done, but this whole situation made me lose a lot of faith in the government and my fellow Americans.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#110

Post by blargmaster33 »

reaperducer wrote: post #78
dragosmocrii wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. The last couple months has done more damage than good to me. I'm that type of person who'll lose muscle quickly if stops working out for mote than 2 weeks. I also played a couple games of volleyball and tennis, and I'm so clumsy I'm embarrassed I lost control of my body. Meanwhile, thr local gyms havr silly rules to restrict people's access...

The last couple months has done more damage than good to me. I'm that type of person who'll lose muscle quickly if stops working out for mote than 2 weeks. It's not about you. It's about everyone else. How can someone be so selfish and self-absorbed that they think their "muscle mass" is more important than the health of hundreds or thousands of other people? I know this question may violate some HN policy, but I can…

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