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The Aging Programmer [video]

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Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#141

Post by swah »

numba888 wrote: post #121
danbmil wrote: post #38

My peak programming skills are close to what they were 30 years ago, but I cannot sustain that level of concentration for long periods as I once could. I feel like a pinch hitter: I can do a couple innings at a high level of performance, but I can't keep that level up as long as I used to. OTOH I think I have better judgement when it comes to deep, complex questions of long-term architecture choices. My "meta-program…

> but I cannot sustain that level of concentration for long periods You can fix this by paying attention to it. When your mind starts wondering acknowledge this, take 5 min 'break' lazily thinking about the task. Then get back to the task. This is sort of mind hack. Another way to control your thoughts is through meditation. A lot can be done this way. To summarize it: you can consciously control what you are thinkin…

Can I read more about this? The "lazy break" in particular - is this something you personally came up with?

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#143

Post by scotty79 »

keybored wrote: post #15

I haven’t seen the submission (video) but I need to shift from my focus from "this is just what it is now" to dealing with problems head-on and mitigating. Also absorbing experiences and knowledge from people who have been where I am at. "This is just how it is now" (you know the refrain) becomes a self-fulfilling phrophecy. Could most problems simply be avoided and mitigated until a long time in the future? I don’t…

What I learned so far, at 45, is that you can't rely on your body retaining capabilities just from you not being completely sedentary, as it was the case for me before.

You get to keep only the abilities, movements that you actively use in daily (or perhaps weekly) life. For example if you don't squat you'll gradually lose ability to squat even if you run a mile every day. If you don't jump, or jump down regularly you'll lose that ability too.

I think it's a good idea to enrich your environment so that you are forced to do the things you'd like to retain. For example sleep on the mattress on the floor to get up from floor level every day. Another idea is barefoot shoes so you don't lose stability and active amortization your feet should provide. If you live in a house with multiple floors and bathrooms always use bathroom on another floor. What's infeasible to implement you'll need to supplant with regular intentional exercise like hip abductions.

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#144

Post by keybored »

scotty79 wrote: post #143
keybored wrote: post #15

I haven’t seen the submission (video) but I need to shift from my focus from "this is just what it is now" to dealing with problems head-on and mitigating. Also absorbing experiences and knowledge from people who have been where I am at. "This is just how it is now" (you know the refrain) becomes a self-fulfilling phrophecy. Could most problems simply be avoided and mitigated until a long time in the future? I don’t…

What I learned so far, at 45, is that you can't rely on your body retaining capabilities just from you not being completely sedentary, as it was the case for me before. You get to keep only the abilities, movements that you actively use in daily (or perhaps weekly) life. For example if you don't squat you'll gradually lose ability to squat even if you run a mile every day. If you don't jump, or jump down regularly yo…

I listened through Move Your DNA last year (biomechanics) so this makes a lot of sense.

On the whole it doesn’t seem that bad, at least this aspect. We just need to do better than sitting for 12+ hours. And I like movement. Not being lethargic.

Some things (out of the deluge of information from everywhere) discourage me, like learning that you have been drinking water wrong your whole life or whatever microhabit is ruining your life this week. But I was and am mostly optimistic about the biomechanics stuff. Because there is a ton of potential to do better considering that even athletes can be habitual oversitters.

Thanks.

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#145

Post by 0x5f3759df-i »

pc86 wrote: post #108
0x5f3759df-i wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if you really want to up your game a treadmill desk has been an amazing upgrade. If I just live my typical WFH life I am usually hitting a dismal 2k steps a day. Doing two 45 min to an hour work sessions walking at the treadmill desk had me hitting 10k steps without having to devote any special extra time in my day to exercise.

Do you find it's difficult/impossible to type with a treadmill desk setup? That's my largest concern. Even when I'm not coding I spend a decent amount of time doing PRs, Slack, etc.

I haven’t had an issue with it but I’ve heard other people do depending on the speed they’re walking.

I actually find walking to help intensify my focus for coding if I’m deep in the flow of a problem. I find reading PRs while walking to actually be the more difficult thing vs coding.

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#146

Post by PaulHoule »

lurking_swe wrote: post #52
PaulHoule wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See also https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539720/ McKenzie's ideas helped me greatly with back pain but did not help with my neck pain I got later. After some years I discovered I had trouble in my jaw which caused referred pain to my neck and shoulders. My dentist recommended a bite guard for my tooth grinding, at which point the pain quickly localized in my jaw and slowly got better -- maybe it hurts a bit one…

I just wanted to point out that your preconceived notions about kettle bells are way off. nothing “girly” about them. They have origins in russia and europe actually. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettlebell

Hell yeah. I just wish I knew that 10 years ago!

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#147

Post by smallmouth »

tonymet wrote: post #137
troyvit wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physical appearance is also an informative indicator of age. Care to expand on what you think a 63 year old woman is supposed to look like? Any examples from Hollywood or Greek mythology that match what you're looking for here?

We all know what a healthy person looks like from toddler's age. It takes mental gymnastics to argue otherwise. The fact that we can only think of a couple examples of obviously fit folks who had health problems, like the other chap tried to do, is an exception that proves the rule. Do yourself a favor and try to break away from the overly legislative mindset. Meaning is not bounded by words and definitions. The thin…

Your post has great insight. I would just take ever so slight exception to your final paragraph based on two physicians I know that are 8n bad shape medically through no fault of their own. ;-)

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#148

Post by troyvit »

tonymet wrote: post #137
troyvit wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physical appearance is also an informative indicator of age. Care to expand on what you think a 63 year old woman is supposed to look like? Any examples from Hollywood or Greek mythology that match what you're looking for here?

We all know what a healthy person looks like from toddler's age. It takes mental gymnastics to argue otherwise. The fact that we can only think of a couple examples of obviously fit folks who had health problems, like the other chap tried to do, is an exception that proves the rule. Do yourself a favor and try to break away from the overly legislative mindset. Meaning is not bounded by words and definitions. The thin…

Really? Nah. What does a 63 year old healthy single woman look like? What about a 63 year old woman who had four kids? What about a 63 year old woman who beat stage IV metastatic melanoma?[1] A "healthy" 63 year old person is going to look mighty different depending on the curves life threw them.

So is it not overly legislative to bind a person's health choices to their looks when you don't have the whole story?

I can look at her (and listen to her) and see healthy mind behind a body that has done decades of hard work. I hope that you can too someday.

[1] http://www.gregcons.com/KateBlog/SurvivingIncurableCancer.as...

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#149

Post by wakawaka28 »

cjbgkagh wrote: post #20
carschno wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. That partly seems to be based on the advice to build (save/invest) money while you are younger, which seems a bit contradictory. I suppose everything is easier when you are rich, including ageing.

The current crop of old people had money when interest rates started high and ended low, which is far better than the opposite of starting low and ending high. There is a lower bound for interest rates and there is a risk component to the rate, especially for regular borrowers. Now consider that during the period of lowering interest rates the risk temporarily dips lower because in general all asset holders are makin…

It's good advice anyway. You have to try pretty hard to end up worse off for saving money. Much of what we're going through was experienced in the 70s, and those people lived through it. Even if things really fell apart, order would probably be restored within a decade. Lots of undesirable changes could happen as a result of a crisis, but it could also lead to positive outcomes like a renewed focus on the country's self-sufficiency.

Re: The Aging Programmer [video]

#150

Post by wakawaka28 »

HL33tibCe7 wrote: post #93

I was enjoying this, but then reached a point where the speaker said > BMI is just nonsense, and not only that, it’s almost certainly racist nonsense […] it has been shown to be healthier in the group they call overweight than the group they call normal Which makes me doubt the veracity of other claims made, to say the least

Yes, it is not necessarily a racist view to assume that people who look different have more in common than not. If American doctors conduct research on a group of people within their own demographics, and that does not apply to all of humanity for some unknown reason, that doesn't mean they are racists. It's a vague guideline anyway with many exceptions such as bodybuilders and people with unusual proportions.
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