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The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#131

Post by hrayr »

Spooky23 wrote: post #102
kleiba wrote: post #11

There were times in my life (thesis writing) where I'd go and sit in the library all day to work and come home in the early evening. The psychological stress on me during that time was tremendous. Every evening, after coming home, I'd have a small dinner and then go for a one-hour walk, always the same route. At that time, I lived in a small town, and my route would take me down a dead-end street, across another one,…

A guy I went to high school with is in the process of walking across the United States. He's pushing his gear in a cart that looks like a baby carriage. His first week on the road, someone frantically called the cops to report a man walking down the road with a dead baby in a stroller.

I think you may be referring to this guy. He did an AMA on reddit [1]. He also posts updates on his instagram[2].

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4iqo3g/im_the_guy_wal...

[2] https://www.instagram.com/bendoeslife/

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#132

Post by sirtastic »

kleiba wrote: post #11

There were times in my life (thesis writing) where I'd go and sit in the library all day to work and come home in the early evening. The psychological stress on me during that time was tremendous. Every evening, after coming home, I'd have a small dinner and then go for a one-hour walk, always the same route. At that time, I lived in a small town, and my route would take me down a dead-end street, across another one,…

Walking meditation is a thing. I found it highly effective in my life and a big part of why I'm an avid hiker/backpacker enthusiast.

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#133

Post by slededit »

lgieron wrote: post #128
wil421 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's say your a drug addict but don't happen to have anything on you, they look you up and your background has prior arrest for drugs. Maybe you look like your on drugs and have all the tell tale signs. In this case your gonna go to jail. What if you're a tourist or someone who got lost trying to go to find Ikea. They would hassle you and most likely give you a lecture then lead you out of the area. These types of a…

> Maybe you look like your on drugs and have all the tell tale signs. In this case your gonna go to jail. Wait, the illegal possesion laws extend to the drugs being already in your blood?

Public intoxication is a crime.

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#134

Post by jff »

Spooky23 wrote: post #102
kleiba wrote: post #11

There were times in my life (thesis writing) where I'd go and sit in the library all day to work and come home in the early evening. The psychological stress on me during that time was tremendous. Every evening, after coming home, I'd have a small dinner and then go for a one-hour walk, always the same route. At that time, I lived in a small town, and my route would take me down a dead-end street, across another one,…

A guy I went to high school with is in the process of walking across the United States. He's pushing his gear in a cart that looks like a baby carriage. His first week on the road, someone frantically called the cops to report a man walking down the road with a dead baby in a stroller.

Man, how many people are doing this? There was a guy on the Something Awful forums who tried this, but his cart was a tow-behind bicycle trailer that he was pushing by hand and a wheel broke after less than 20 miles... also he hadn't been eating anything so he called an Uber and went home. It's probably for the best because his route took him through Nevada and New Mexico in the height of summer.

Does your friend also cite Hobo Nick as inspiration?

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#135

Post by Tenhundfeld »

iopq wrote: post #92
awesomerobot wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The aimless walk seems alive and well in most of the major cities I've been to. Get up before noon and talk a walk and the streets are filled with people strolling along with babies, walking dogs, or just hanging out with someone.

It's pretty much dead in the suburbs. I only see people with dogs and babies. At this point it gains an aim and ceases being aimless.

I'll accept your point about walking a dog, as it's often functional, i.e., just long enough to let them pee or poop, and the walker is often glued to their phone.

But why does strolling a baby or walking with a child necessarily "gain an aim"?

I'm asking because much of my walking is with my 2yo daughter, and I'd classify it as aimless walking. We'll just stroll around our neighborhood, taking whatever path strikes our fancy, and talk about the things we see: birds, squirrels, odd shaped leaves, puddles, people doing yard work – or just walk in silence and enjoy the fresh air. I guess I have the "aim" of getting a little physical activity and getting away from the distractions of technology, but if you dig deep enough, everything has a purpose – even if it's just to do something purposeless for a while.

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#137

Post by yumaikas »

tluyben2 wrote: post #13

I walk insane lengths as it clears the mind and fosters creativity. I talk into my phone during that; either to colleagues or to a recorder and then type it in at home (no, speech to text does not work; if someone wants to work with me to get that working, that would be great but for now, it does not even work a bit; only gibberish comes out; it seems to have something to do with my way of talking which I am trying t…

Sounds like learning VI or ed might be helpful for that, since they are designed to be mouse free. It may not be the exact thing you need, but they offer a lot from the keyboard.

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#138

Post by oh_sigh »

SilasX wrote: post #127
mseebach wrote: post #9

> But are people losing their love of the purposeless walk? BBC Magazine strikes again. No, they're not losing it, it's not "slowly dying". Did "people" at large ever have that? Having the time and energy to go aimlessly wandering was a luxurious privilege until very recently. If anything, the existence of "[a] number of recent books [that] have lauded the connection between walking - just for its own sake - and thin…

I'm not sure it was even popular for the American well-off (upper middle-class). In Mad Men , I remember them making a point of the characters ridiculing a woman who said she liked to take walks (though she was abnormal in other ways, like being divorced). (I know it's not top-grade historic research, but they tried to highlight what was known about the 60s, and this matches the environment that inspired Bradbury's s…

They made fun of her because they were all hyper focused on business. To do anything aimlessly, including walking, was basically burning money.

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#139

Post by [deleted] »

SilasX wrote: post #127
mseebach wrote: post #9

> But are people losing their love of the purposeless walk? BBC Magazine strikes again. No, they're not losing it, it's not "slowly dying". Did "people" at large ever have that? Having the time and energy to go aimlessly wandering was a luxurious privilege until very recently. If anything, the existence of "[a] number of recent books [that] have lauded the connection between walking - just for its own sake - and thin…

I'm not sure it was even popular for the American well-off (upper middle-class). In Mad Men , I remember them making a point of the characters ridiculing a woman who said she liked to take walks (though she was abnormal in other ways, like being divorced). (I know it's not top-grade historic research, but they tried to highlight what was known about the 60s, and this matches the environment that inspired Bradbury's s…

[deleted]

Re: The slow death of purposeless walking (2014)

#140

Post by igivanov »

tluyben2 wrote: post #13

I walk insane lengths as it clears the mind and fosters creativity. I talk into my phone during that; either to colleagues or to a recorder and then type it in at home (no, speech to text does not work; if someone wants to work with me to get that working, that would be great but for now, it does not even work a bit; only gibberish comes out; it seems to have something to do with my way of talking which I am trying t…

Almost exactly my experience, and with programming as well. I solved a bunch of problems while hiking in the mountains. Except that I don't miss coding because they are more architectural problems than pure coding.
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