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How to Take a Walk

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Re: How to Take a Walk

#171

Post by balding_n_tired »

eru wrote: post #135
balding_n_tired wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fairly large stretches of the Washington, DC, suburbs have no or few sidewalks once you are off main streets. I have read the explanation that the developers wanted to give the original buyers, 55 or 60 years ago, the feeling that they were out in the country. (Given that some of these streets had little bungalows wedged tightly together, the buyers must have been oddly susceptible.) A number of neighborhoods within…

What's listserv?

For an example of neighborhood fun, see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/nyregion/10bigcity.html?_r...

Re: How to Take a Walk

#172

Post by whimsy »

qwzybug wrote: post #39
rdtsc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a hack because it is an unusual or counter-intuitive way of solving a problem. Or meta-solve a problem -- recharge your mental batteries so when you get back you solve your real problem better, if you wish. This is just as much a hack as articles about exercise or nutrition are a hack. They hack the hackers, who ... hack.

Yes, and that's why it's dumb to call articles about exercise and nutrition "hacks". When all of human endeavor falls under the rubric of the "hack" the word ceases to mean anything. Hack your commute, take public transit! Hack your next dinner party with parlour games. Delightfully clever key hack keeps all your keys on the same ring. Hack Mexican food with a "burrito" sized tortilla! Hack your brain with REM sleep.…

Well said. This is exactly what I meant.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#173

Post by brianpan »

philwelch wrote: post #169
brianpan wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see culture, not birthplace. Those are different things. If you see me on the street, I believe you will see my family culture (Chinese) and where I was brought up (American Midwest). You will not see where I was born (East Coast).

I bet if I saw you on the street, you would register as American to me. (East Coast and Midwest register the same to me.) I would be able to tell you apart from someone who was actually born and raised in China. Conversely, if you went to China, the people there would be able to identify you as foreign-born. Your culture is similar and related to, but very different from, the culture of people still living in China.…

Me specifically, yes. But I was born and grew up in the same country. I still think it's presumptuous to say that you can at a glance determine a person's place of birth. I have friends- people I've known for some time- that surprise me both because they were born overseas when I thought they were born in the states and vice versa.

And I'm talking about a relatively easy case of Chinese vs American. Are you going to tell me you can tell a Canadian-born person from an American-born at a glance?

Yes, many times you can tell where someone is from because of stereotypical cultural things that are difficult to hide. But to assume you can go for a walk and identify with certainty who is American born and who is not is ridiculous.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#174

Post by foxtrot »

I am amazed at how may people are saying they grew up with no pavements (sidewalks), is it because they found no need for them as the location was too remote for anyone to walk to anywhere they may need to go or that they thought no one bothered to walk so why spend money laying down something that no one will use?

I take "walks", however not in the sense of the article. I find that a walk before work is great and on your lunch if you have had a crappy morning. However I walk with a purpose, I think about thinks I see, get my brain interested in stuff I wouldn't usually think about. It gives inspiration and helps figure out problems that otherwise seemed impossible to overcome.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#175

Post by philwelch »

brianpan wrote: post #173
philwelch wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet if I saw you on the street, you would register as American to me. (East Coast and Midwest register the same to me.) I would be able to tell you apart from someone who was actually born and raised in China. Conversely, if you went to China, the people there would be able to identify you as foreign-born. Your culture is similar and related to, but very different from, the culture of people still living in China.…

Me specifically, yes. But I was born and grew up in the same country. I still think it's presumptuous to say that you can at a glance determine a person's place of birth. I have friends- people I've known for some time- that surprise me both because they were born overseas when I thought they were born in the states and vice versa. And I'm talking about a relatively easy case of Chinese vs American. Are you going to…

Yes, technically if you're born in Azerbaijan but whisked away at age 2 and grow up in America you'll read as American. And technically if you were raised in a culture almost identical to American culture (like Canada) you'll also read as American. That's a quibble, not the main point.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#176

Post by thyrsus »

foxtrot wrote: post #174

I am amazed at how may people are saying they grew up with no pavements (sidewalks), is it because they found no need for them as the location was too remote for anyone to walk to anywhere they may need to go or that they thought no one bothered to walk so why spend money laying down something that no one will use? I take "walks", however not in the sense of the article. I find that a walk before work is great and on…

On my suburban street, without sidewalks, the pedestrians and children playing own the street nearly as much as the cars - the traffic is sparse, and there are stop signs on just about every corner. The kid's games are suspended to allow cars to pass. There are pedestrians; I'm not enough of a connoisseur to know if they're "walking" ;-).

Re: How to Take a Walk

#177

Post by ghettovegies »

qwzybug wrote: post #39
rdtsc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a hack because it is an unusual or counter-intuitive way of solving a problem. Or meta-solve a problem -- recharge your mental batteries so when you get back you solve your real problem better, if you wish. This is just as much a hack as articles about exercise or nutrition are a hack. They hack the hackers, who ... hack.

Yes, and that's why it's dumb to call articles about exercise and nutrition "hacks". When all of human endeavor falls under the rubric of the "hack" the word ceases to mean anything. Hack your commute, take public transit! Hack your next dinner party with parlour games. Delightfully clever key hack keeps all your keys on the same ring. Hack Mexican food with a "burrito" sized tortilla! Hack your brain with REM sleep.…

I'm gonna hack your face to pieces! (jk, don't call the police)

Re: How to Take a Walk

#178

Post by starf_sgod »

qwzybug wrote: post #39
rdtsc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a hack because it is an unusual or counter-intuitive way of solving a problem. Or meta-solve a problem -- recharge your mental batteries so when you get back you solve your real problem better, if you wish. This is just as much a hack as articles about exercise or nutrition are a hack. They hack the hackers, who ... hack.

Yes, and that's why it's dumb to call articles about exercise and nutrition "hacks". When all of human endeavor falls under the rubric of the "hack" the word ceases to mean anything. Hack your commute, take public transit! Hack your next dinner party with parlour games. Delightfully clever key hack keeps all your keys on the same ring. Hack Mexican food with a "burrito" sized tortilla! Hack your brain with REM sleep.…

To me, hack is a word for a modification you could make that 1) takes only a short time to master/implement, and 2) shows immediate desired results

Thus, learning to play guitar is not a hack, since it satisfies neither criteria, but learning to put some TP into the toilet first when you do #2 in order to prevent splashback is a hack.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#179

Post by softbuilder »

qwzybug wrote: post #39
rdtsc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a hack because it is an unusual or counter-intuitive way of solving a problem. Or meta-solve a problem -- recharge your mental batteries so when you get back you solve your real problem better, if you wish. This is just as much a hack as articles about exercise or nutrition are a hack. They hack the hackers, who ... hack.

Yes, and that's why it's dumb to call articles about exercise and nutrition "hacks". When all of human endeavor falls under the rubric of the "hack" the word ceases to mean anything. Hack your commute, take public transit! Hack your next dinner party with parlour games. Delightfully clever key hack keeps all your keys on the same ring. Hack Mexican food with a "burrito" sized tortilla! Hack your brain with REM sleep.…

You could make the exact same argument for art. Certainly a lot of supposed 'hacks' aren't. But someone creating a clever way of doing something in almost any field that makes me think "cool hack" still counts as a hack in my book.

Re: How to Take a Walk

#180

Post by szpindel »

qwzybug wrote: post #39
rdtsc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a hack because it is an unusual or counter-intuitive way of solving a problem. Or meta-solve a problem -- recharge your mental batteries so when you get back you solve your real problem better, if you wish. This is just as much a hack as articles about exercise or nutrition are a hack. They hack the hackers, who ... hack.

Yes, and that's why it's dumb to call articles about exercise and nutrition "hacks". When all of human endeavor falls under the rubric of the "hack" the word ceases to mean anything. Hack your commute, take public transit! Hack your next dinner party with parlour games. Delightfully clever key hack keeps all your keys on the same ring. Hack Mexican food with a "burrito" sized tortilla! Hack your brain with REM sleep.…

I agree entirely. This needed posted.
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