The Evening Walk • Hacker News Board

Re: The Evening Walk

#21

Post by mfincham » Mon, Feb 04, 2013, 1:37 AM UTC

n0cturne wrote: post #19

mfincham wrote: post #14

I wrote this random walk generator a while ago: http://hotplate.co.nz/files/walk/ I should publish the code properly at some point, but it's all client side and not very complex, so if anyone wants to run their own local copy that is fine by me. Accuracy or usefulness not guaranteed but it works well for the suburb where I live :) I'd like to add a loop generator (find the endpoint, plot another random path back) but…

Nice tool! I can see myself using this to plot new walks around the city. But this walk from downtown Seattle is priceless :-) https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7z4aybpv6kjldx/Screen%20Shot%2020... Walk to the ferry terminal, board the ferry, jump off midway across!

Yeah I just noticed. When I wrote this I lived a substantial distance from the ocean, however now running it against my current address (which is across the road from a marina) it advises I ought to take a ferry sometimes.

Not sure what I can do about this. I have a vague idea you might be able to flag the Google Maps API to avoid ferries.

Re: The Evening Walk

#22

Post by PakG1 » Mon, Feb 04, 2013, 3:01 AM UTC

I wonder what people in unsafe neighbourhoods can do. My family didn't live in an unsafe neighbourhood. But one night, when going out on a walk with my dad, we got attacked by a bunch of kids with mace. It was totally set up. We walked by a kid, he yelled, "don't push me!" Then a bunch of his friends and him came to us and said, "hey, this guy says you pushed him." They surrounded us. One kid hit the back of my head, my dad saw that he was about to do something and yelled at him, then that kid sprayed my dad's face. I've never seen someone in so much agony. It was like my dad had lost all sense of reasoning.

This is a benefit of living in a nice area and should not be taken for granted.

The weirdest experience about all of that? Just a bunch of high school kids, I was bigger than all of them. If we came to blows, I'm pretty sure I could have taken them. But my mind was processing everything in super slow motion. I'm not sure if it was panic; maybe more like incredulous shock - I can't believe this is actually happening, deer in headlights kind of thing. And it was dark, so during the session when we were trying to identify the kids from photos the next day at the police station, I actually couldn't recognize anyone in the photos. Weird, because I thought I should have been able to do so.

Re: The Evening Walk

#23

Post by YZF » Mon, Feb 04, 2013, 6:02 AM UTC

PakG1 wrote: post #22

I wonder what people in unsafe neighbourhoods can do. My family didn't live in an unsafe neighbourhood. But one night, when going out on a walk with my dad, we got attacked by a bunch of kids with mace. It was totally set up. We walked by a kid, he yelled, "don't push me!" Then a bunch of his friends and him came to us and said, "hey, this guy says you pushed him." They surrounded us. One kid hit the back of my head,…

That sucks. This slow motion perception is a typical fight or flight response. If you are interested in gaining more control over these sorts of situations (and I hope you won't need to) I would recommend taking up a martial art. You can do that with your dad!

Re: The Evening Walk

#24

Post by rytis » Mon, Feb 04, 2013, 6:06 AM UTC

trumbitta2 wrote: post #15

rytis wrote: post #4

Cycle to work, if at all possible. For me it's an hour each way, but apart from the obvious health benefit it also serves as some sort of day markers. In the morning it's really good way to get you up to speed (increase heart rate, get some extra oxygen in), and in the evening it's perfect to finish and leave all the "work stuff" behind. Added bonus - money saved on public transport, and no gym subscription required.

How do you manage the sweat from a 1hr long bike ride?

The building I'm working in (there are multiple companies and the building is managed) has showers, so it is quite convenient. The only annoying bit is that there are no lockers, so I pre-dry my sports gear with a heardryer (this is actually quite quick, takes two minutes to nearly completely dry three layers), and then keep it under my desk. Might look bit "unprofessional", but once everyone accepts the slightly "eccentric" behaviour ("did you really cycle in today? In the snow?! crazy.."), it's not that bad.

Re: The Evening Walk

#25

Post by xijuan » Mon, Feb 04, 2013, 7:25 AM UTC

swah wrote: post #20

xijuan wrote: post #10

I like to go running at night. The night is so beautiful and peaceful. It allows me to reflect upon many things.

On the streets? Where I run, its too dark at night, but the temperature is perfect.

Yes on a busy street.

Re: The Evening Walk

#26

Post by PakG1 » Mon, Feb 04, 2013, 7:31 AM UTC

YZF wrote: post #23

PakG1 wrote: post #22

I wonder what people in unsafe neighbourhoods can do. My family didn't live in an unsafe neighbourhood. But one night, when going out on a walk with my dad, we got attacked by a bunch of kids with mace. It was totally set up. We walked by a kid, he yelled, "don't push me!" Then a bunch of his friends and him came to us and said, "hey, this guy says you pushed him." They surrounded us. One kid hit the back of my head,…

That sucks. This slow motion perception is a typical fight or flight response. If you are interested in gaining more control over these sorts of situations (and I hope you won't need to) I would recommend taking up a martial art. You can do that with your dad!

Well, it was a few years ago, and I'm not at home anymore. As well, like I said, it's a safe neighbourhood in general. Yeah, I can see how a martial art will help. I bet it develops mental focus in that type of situation, as well as muscle memory as to what to do.