Sounds like a 1-way ticket to burnout.
I program on the subway
161–170 of 213 posts
Re: I program on the subway
#162A few years ago, I spotted a guy on the underground in Warsaw, hacking on some code in a language I didn't recognize, but it was definitely assembly of some sort. Being shy, I resorted to throwing curious glimpses at his laptop for a few stations, but eventually curiosity got the better of me and I asked ‘sorry, is this ARM’? To which the guy replies, smiling, ‘ah no, it’s MIPS!’
Now I program casually in public spaces, including the underground, on my GPD Micro PC [0]. It, too, has attracted numerous glimpses and been a conversation starter on some occasions.
[0]: https://blog.danieljanus.pl/2022/08/18/i-love-my-gpd-micro-p...
Re: I program on the subway
#163A few years ago, I spotted a guy on the underground in Warsaw, hacking on some code in a language I didn't recognize, but it was definitely assembly of some sort. Being shy, I resorted to throwing curious glimpses at his laptop for a few stations, but eventually curiosity got the better of me and I asked ‘sorry, is this ARM’? To which the guy replies, smiling, ‘ah no, it’s MIPS!’ Now I program casually in public spac…
that's a fun story! i program on the train often due to occasional long commute (hour one way), but I live in finland so people are much less likely to talk to me, a stranger on the train, out of blue. On couple occasions I wanted to talk to another coder on the train when I notice their laptop stickers (a gamejam sticker or a sticker saying that this laptop is property of company X) but felt too self-conscious to do that cause they looked very focused
Re: I program on the subway
#164Coding on metros, trains, buses and planes is exactly the reason I always make sure my dev environments work 100% offline, with dummy services in place of the real ones.
One thing I love about coding on public transport is the sense of urgency can be fun.
Being on the verge of figuring out a bugfix or whatever when you know train is pulling into the station and you have maybe a minute to go, cracking it, quick test, bundle the laptop quickly back into your bag as you step off the train is quite a nice feeling.
Re: I program on the subway
#165I recently bought a GPD MicroPC 2, a 7” laptop with a real keyboard. It runs Linux just fine, and it has been a fun experience of having a “real” computer with me much more often than I otherwise would. My version of programming on the subway has been programming on a park bench—it fits in a jacket pocket, or even the back pocket of some of my pants. The keyboard is tiny but easy enough to use with thumbs, or, with s…
> GPD MicroPC 2, a 7” laptop with a real keyboard Is it actually decent for typing on? I'm perennially tempted, but I'm somewhat skeptical of a small keyboard vs touch typing.
Another GPD MicroPC owner here. It’s not quite as comfortable as a normal-sized keyboard, but much more comfortable than it looks. It’s quite decent for occasional recreational programming, and I’ve also used it to write daily blog posts from a long-distance cycling trip.
Re: I program on the subway
#166I've done a lot of programming in public transport. It helps to shut out the environment with blasting black metal, pick an album that is almost entirely screaming tremolos, and then run a script with a sleep or Process.send_after or something that throws up send-notify bubbles when it's about time to pack up.
Re: I program on the subway
#167When I was living in Paris I had a 20 min ride from home to work each day. I picked up the habit to read during those 40 total minutes and I was going through books like I had never been able to, because while 40 min is not a lot, it’s about 150h per year. One easily underestimates the power of consistency.
I do the same with language learning. Makes me actually enjoy commuting to work since I find it hard to study at home. I just pop in the headphones, take a seat, and sit for 40 mins twice a day. Sometimes I even intentionally take the non-rapid so I can study a bit more (plus the train is less packed so I'm always guaranteed a seat)
Re: I program on the subway
#168> they would have to do it at a station, where they could immediately get off the train. I think, though, that this would be risky, given that subway stops generally have a lot of people getting on/off the train in the first place. I've seen a phone jacking in this exact scenario and nobody moved to stop the guy running. Nobody on the train can help cause the doors have closed, and nobody on the platform has any idea…
On my phone, I have a faceid requirement on basically any app, so getting it ripped off my hands would be just a minor inconvenience. Laptop on the other hand... Many times working on the train i've been thinking about some accelerometer based emergency lockdown. Can't be that hard to do.
There is software to shutdown/lock based on removal of a usb device that you have looped onto your wrist.
Re: I program on the subway
#169> they would have to do it at a station, where they could immediately get off the train. I think, though, that this would be risky, given that subway stops generally have a lot of people getting on/off the train in the first place. I've seen a phone jacking in this exact scenario and nobody moved to stop the guy running. Nobody on the train can help cause the doors have closed, and nobody on the platform has any idea…
I'm not worried about the laptop. Pretty much everyone knows that any valuable laptop is a tracking device anyway. You should be worried about getting actually robbed, or even being attacked for no reason, while you're not paying attention. Also, yes, nobody's going to help you. Some of it is because of general unawareness, as you point out. Then, it's difficult to know who's the aggressor. Even if that's all crystal…
What's the source for this "successful interventions often lead to prosecutions"?
Re: I program on the subway
#170A couple of weeks ago I was in Copenhagen, and had to take the metro back and forth a bunch of times throughout the day. I noticed some guy riding the "Cityringen" line, which goes in a loop, working on his laptop - coding in some CLI editor. Noticed the same guy a couple of times throughout the day, sitting in the same spot.
Figured he just used the metro as his workplace.