Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

tynan.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 322 posts

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#211

Post by lmm »

snogglethorpe wrote: post #203
peteforde wrote: post #140

Earlier this year I wrote about how shrinking my business size down to one (me) allows me to work from trains. Specifically, I wrote that post while on board VIA Rail's The Canadian, which goes to/from Toronto to Vancouver in four days. It was awesome, and if you know where to look, these trips are always 50% off. http://hackertourism.com/growing-by-shrinking

I totally second this... I took the Toronto to Vancouver train in 1984, and although I understand the details of that route have changed quite a bit since, it was a wonderful experience. 95% of the trip is through wilderness, with occasional stops in small cities that seem to just spring up in the middle of nowhere (Winnipeg...). Once past Thunder Bay, the train suddenly empties out a bit, so it doesn't feel crowded,…

I went London-Osaka by train and ferry, which was great fun, but the longest single train was two and a half days (Moscow - Shymkent) and I wouldn't've wanted it to be any longer, even travelling with a friend and a tablet. Possibly the scenery was more repetitive than yours - empty snowfields as far as the eye can see is beautiful for a day or two, but does become boring.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#212

Post by enko »

sanskritabelt wrote: post #142
ssharp wrote: post #54

Having been of a few cruises, I'd like to point out a few things: 1) Listed prices generally DO NOT include gratuities. Low level cruise employees like the cleaning crew, cabin stewards, waiters, cooks, etc. are paid ridiculously low wages, because cruise ships are registered to countries like Panama and the companies do not need to adhere to U.S. standards. I don't recall offhand, but for a 7-day cruise the "automat…

He says room service is "free", which suggests that he's not tipping. Someone pointed out down thread that this guy's a pickup artist ( http://www.pualingo.com/pua-profiles/herbal-tynan/ ), which is empirically correlated with "asshole", which in turn is correlated with "does not tip".

I am annoyed with this comment. You do not seem to realise that there are many parallels between the "PUA" community and the startup community. Both are about people striving to meet their goals.

You should read "The Game", by Neil Strauss. He documents the process of becoming a pickup artist, the people he met, the stages he went through. And as you read it, you will realise something - the only surefire way to becoming a successful PUA is to improve yourself, to become the best version of yourself, and at the end of it all, that's what these guys were trying to do.

Yeah, there are assholes. There's always assholes. But at the end of the day, this so-called "PUA" culture is about turning yourself into the best version of yourself you can be. And isn't that what all us startup types are trying to do? Rising to a challenge? Stepping into those shoes? Pushing ourselves beyond what we thought possible? Closing the deal?

There are more parallels than you think. Read that book. And don't be so eager to judge people. They're more like you than you realise.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#213

Post by ceol »

parasubvert wrote: post #205
wpietri wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generalizing about groups can be problematic. However, not so when you're generalizing based on what the group has in common. The whole PUA thing is about manipulating vulnerable people so you can have sex with them. It's definitionally assholish. Assuming that a given PUA is an asshole is like assuming an Englishman speaks English. It's not a perfect correlation, but it's certainly the way to bet.

Or, perhaps the whole PUA thing is about offering a list of techniques of social interaction that some people intuitively aren't born with, and need actual coaching. Neil Strauss documents this pretty well in his "The Game" books about how he fell into pickup culture. Such techniques of course can be abused by assholes against the vulnerable as well.

Nobody's buying it, man. PUA techniques are for the socially awkward the same way blown glass pipes are for tobacco smokers. What people claim and what the vast majority use it for are two different things.

All you have to do is look at the OP's profile to find this picture.[0] That sure doesn't look like some poor bloke who has trouble talking to people.

[0]: (slightly NSFW) http://www.pualingo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/herbal-ty...

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#214

Post by reeses »

busterarm wrote: post #167
busterarm wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In ship lingo it is. A trip from Florida across the Suez Canal and out to Singapore is also considered "Transatlantic". Basically it just matters what your starting ocean is and if it's round trip or not.

Ugh. I meant to say Panama, and I'm wrong anyway. Derp moment. Disregard.

Thanks for coming back for that. I was scratching my head trying to figure out if there was some horrid route cruise ships took to get to the Mediterranean from Florida that involved them not going into the Atlantic.

"And then everyone gets out to help carry the ship over the Darien Gap..." or possibly,"Shackleton, the adventure."

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#215

Post by byoung2 »

specialist wrote: post #178
ssharp wrote: post #54

Having been of a few cruises, I'd like to point out a few things: 1) Listed prices generally DO NOT include gratuities. Low level cruise employees like the cleaning crew, cabin stewards, waiters, cooks, etc. are paid ridiculously low wages, because cruise ships are registered to countries like Panama and the companies do not need to adhere to U.S. standards. I don't recall offhand, but for a 7-day cruise the "automat…

Low level cruise employees ... are paid ridiculously low wages The service staff work for tips. No wages. No benefits. I was shocked when I first heard this. I asked around, a lot. Everyone confirmed. I personally hate the cruise ship experience. The master/servant dynamic makes me very uncomfortable.

My wife is from the Philippines and her friend works for Princess cruises and he loves it (he is a bartender). He gets to travel, meet interesting people, and he makes several times what he would make at home. I doubt the experience of the staff is much different from the experience of those working the same jobs back home, or possibly better.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#216

Post by mindcrime »

wpietri wrote: post #197
auctiontheory wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(1) I have personally met Tynan, and he's not an asshole. In fact, he's quite sweet in person. Even if you read his blog, there's nothing assholish about it. He doesn't lie. He does his own thing. (2) People who generalize about an entire class of people being "assholes" ... maybe should look in the mirror.

Generalizing about groups can be problematic. However, not so when you're generalizing based on what the group has in common. The whole PUA thing is about manipulating vulnerable people so you can have sex with them. It's definitionally assholish. Assuming that a given PUA is an asshole is like assuming an Englishman speaks English. It's not a perfect correlation, but it's certainly the way to bet.

The whole PUA thing is about manipulating vulnerable people so you can have sex with them.

No it isn't.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#217

Post by mindcrime »

justathrow2k wrote: post #159
veemjeem wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't your conclusion a bit of a stretch? Anyone who is a pickup artist is an asshole, and every asshole doesn't tip? Tynan is actually a pretty nice guy if you meet him in person. If I found an asshole that does tip, would that destroy your theory?

If you're a pickup artist doesn't this imply a certain degree of dishonesty and manipulation? Not sure these are things a nice person engages in.

If you're a pickup artist doesn't this imply a certain degree of dishonesty and manipulation?

No, it doesn't. More than any single other thing, "being a PUA" is about learning not to be scared of / intimidated by, women. And about learning not to supplicate and do stupid shit, in order to try to manipulate women into having sex with you. The thing is, most so called "nice guys" are far more manipulative than a PUA! They just aren't as honest with themselves, OR the person they're trying to connect with.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#218

Post by byoung2 »

erichocean wrote: post #171
ssharp wrote: post #54

Having been of a few cruises, I'd like to point out a few things: 1) Listed prices generally DO NOT include gratuities. Low level cruise employees like the cleaning crew, cabin stewards, waiters, cooks, etc. are paid ridiculously low wages, because cruise ships are registered to countries like Panama and the companies do not need to adhere to U.S. standards. I don't recall offhand, but for a 7-day cruise the "automat…

2) Internet is expensive, slow, and charges by the minute). I worked remotely from a cruise ship that went around Hawaii for a week in 2007 (long story). I had a small Verizon cellular router that I set up in my room. It worked well enough, and I didn't have to use the ship's (presumably) crappy wi-fi, or pay by the minute or whatever. Plus, when I'm coding, my bandwidth needs aren't that great. I'd assume that using…

Now that T-Mobile has unlimited international roaming I can't wait to try this out on my next trip. It is only 2G but that is faster than ship internet.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#219

Post by prutschman »

enko wrote: post #212
sanskritabelt wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He says room service is "free", which suggests that he's not tipping. Someone pointed out down thread that this guy's a pickup artist ( http://www.pualingo.com/pua-profiles/herbal-tynan/ ), which is empirically correlated with "asshole", which in turn is correlated with "does not tip".

I am annoyed with this comment. You do not seem to realise that there are many parallels between the "PUA" community and the startup community. Both are about people striving to meet their goals. You should read "The Game", by Neil Strauss. He documents the process of becoming a pickup artist, the people he met, the stages he went through. And as you read it, you will realise something - the only surefire way to beco…

One big difference between PUA culture and startup culture is that the former is generally more expressly proud of its misogyny.

Re: Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location

#220

Post by justathrow2k »

lmm wrote: post #210
justathrow2k wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a pickup artist doesn't this imply a certain degree of dishonesty and manipulation? Not sure these are things a nice person engages in.

It could just mean communicating effectively. An untrained person would do terribly if they tried to plead a case in court, even if they knew all the relevant facts, because they don't know how to phrase their arguments in the way lawyers want them. But learning to "speak legalese" isn't learning dishonesty or manipulation - it's just about phrasing things the right way.

Sorry, what could mean communicating effectively? Describing a 'pick up artist' as simply being a student of rhetoric seems a bit disingenuous.
Post reply on HN