How to Walk (12 miles a day) • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#191

Post by lawkwok » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:43 PM UTC

kendallpark wrote: post #130

dionidium wrote: post #83

> I will end by saying, as a guy, I have never had any problems from other people. In all my years walking all over. But that it is sadly very very different for women. He's either only walking in exceptionally safe areas, he's very large, or I have a particularly punchable face. I biked every road in St. Louis a few years ago, which required biking every street in some high-crime neighborhoods. I was frequently made…

I had a conversation with a cyclist who grew up in one of those "high crime neighborhoods" in St. Louis. He said that he received strange looks and comments when he visited his old neighborhood with a road bike attached to his car. He belonged; the bike did not. I suspect that more-than-casual cycling is a cultural oddity in some areas. I'm not sure that walking would garner the same reaction.

Whenever I see a bike in a car I assume the person has a lot of free time and therefore is somehow what well-off. Perhaps people were subconsciously judging his wealth?

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#192

Post by ajuc » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:47 PM UTC

gandalfff wrote: post #4

I've thought about incorporating such long walks into my lifestyle but I'm not certain the benefits add up. Definitely a fun idea though!

Try 1 hour a day for a few weeks. You'll have the benefits and time commitment isn't too bad. People do more than that because they get hooked.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#193

Post by jxm262 » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:49 PM UTC

stevesearer wrote: post #8

After walking to and from work for 5 years along the same route, I found that I prefer walking without listening to anything on headphones. Just thinking increases awareness of my surroundings, allows me time to process existing thoughts as opposed to consuming more inputs, and connects me to the people I would inevitably see on a semi-regular basis. Personally, I have found that 1 hour + is a good threshold to aim f…

I've been taking a walk every day since covid. Part of my daily routine now, early as soon as the sun comes up. It's usuallly 30(ish) mins, but your comment just made me change tomorrow's time to 90 mins.

Just wanted to say thanks, ill seriously give this a try.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#194

Post by SapporoChris » Tue, May 03, 2022, 11:58 PM UTC

lupire wrote: post #96

cheeze wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a good hiking pack designed to sit off of your back a bit was a godsend to me. I'm with you that I won't carry one if it's hot out, but I'll gladly carry a smaller pack all the time otherwise. Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a fanny pack.

Spin it around so it's not on your fanny (or is, pending what side of the pond you are on) and it will be less offensive to bigots.

Sorry, no it won't. Then it's just a crotch pack, or a worse name. -bigot But I applaud your effort!

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#195

Post by creaghpatr » Wed, May 04, 2022, 12:36 AM UTC

gautamcgoel wrote: post #148

aerostable_slug wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would invert your statement and posit you were riding in very dangerous areas. Most of the US is very safe compared to St. Louis, Chicago, Oakland, Richmond (CA), Detroit, Atlanta, etc. Don't go to stupid places filled with stupid people doing stupid things and you'll likely be okay — and this includes bars after midnight just about anywhere. Nothing good happens after midnight, but I digress. I agree with you that…

I'm from Atlanta, and it's interesting to see ATL on this list. Does ATL have a reputation as a "rough" city? Not offended, just curious.

Depending on the neighborhood YMMV, imagine that's the case for most of these cities.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#196

Post by JZL003 » Wed, May 04, 2022, 12:44 AM UTC

runjake wrote: post #160

Based on the author’s advice, I downloaded that Overdrive app and signed in with my library card. So far, every single audiobook I want to check out is reserved at least 6 months out and more commonly a year out. Is there some other scheme for borrowing audiobooks? I used to subscribe to Audible but it wasn’t a very good deal.

I'm a really heavy overdrive user, and I wouldn't trust the waiting time. Join multiple libraries as well - the limiting factor is if the library has bought the book not the waiting time. Their prediction algorithm seems to assume everyone keeps it for the full 14/21 and many people don't. Also most libraries have multiple copies which speeds things up a ton

Because the best secret tip is that overdrive doesn't encrypt their mp3's. They even admit it at [1]. I don't know about iOS but on android it's just stored plaintext in the android system. So you just get on hold for books and whenever they come in, download then, and don't have to worry about loans. I try to be nice about this and buy the book for author's books I've enjoyed because I want to support artists. But it's nice to not have the limitations of 21 days, especially for longer books

Overdrive is trying to go to libby where they obfuscate the mp3s but they might not push it through

Also don't discount text to speech. It's not as nice as a real narrator but I also walk 5+ hours on weekends and it's nice to be able to listen to arbitrary text. Google's TTS is pretty readable and has a generous free tier

[1] https://help.overdrive.com/en-us/0004.html

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#197

Post by at_a_remove » Wed, May 04, 2022, 1:10 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #189

at_a_remove wrote: post #141

I was thinking of taking up walking again, despite getting stopped by police more than I would really like. But I considered getting some kind of MP3 player and have gone down the bizarre rabbit hole of trying to find out if those even exist now, do they use .m3u playlists, and so forth. I haven't had as much time to listen to my music and I am not a user of streaming services (I want to listen to what I want to list…

I got the Oakcastle color MP3 player for my birthday last year. I had an AGPTek I think, before that. I like them. AGPTek is a good brand in my experience. I do try to pay a bit higher than the baseline $20 USD range to get a better quality player, and sort by newest-to-market first, to get fresher batteries & firmware. For walking or hiking the ones with buttons and clips are really great. They are very easy to use…

AGPTek looks great, now I just have to winnow the products to see which has what I want. Thank you.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#198

Post by eclipticplane » Wed, May 04, 2022, 1:11 AM UTC

bmj wrote: post #64

cheeze wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting a good hiking pack designed to sit off of your back a bit was a godsend to me. I'm with you that I won't carry one if it's hot out, but I'll gladly carry a smaller pack all the time otherwise. Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a fanny pack.

Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a fanny pack. Yes, my teenagers were shocked and appalled when they saw it, and made me promise I would only wear it while on the bike.

Are you not obligated to wear it _more_ due to your teenagers being appalled...?

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#199

Post by balaji1 » Wed, May 04, 2022, 1:29 AM UTC

stevesearer wrote: post #179

balaji1 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a benefit of re-listening to certain audiobooks, lectures or podcasts. If there was a sophisticated way to just have content on-repeat, that would be cool. New content all the time is over-consumption, while repeating could be used for learning. Also if walking alone, people should try calling friends and family. It's a great way to reconnect and stay connected with friends. Handsfree, heads up, it's good fu…

In seasons of life where there are a lot of new things happening I tend to re-read books or re-listen to familiar music whereas other times I find myself in more of an exploratory mood. The Count of Monte Cristo is my current go to re-read.

> In seasons of life where there are a lot of new things happening...

that's a neat idea to allow us to be cognizant of life. And to keep other things simple to create mental and physical bandwidth for the main things.

Re: How to Walk (12 miles a day)

#200

Post by presentation » Wed, May 04, 2022, 1:53 AM UTC

stevesearer wrote: post #8

After walking to and from work for 5 years along the same route, I found that I prefer walking without listening to anything on headphones. Just thinking increases awareness of my surroundings, allows me time to process existing thoughts as opposed to consuming more inputs, and connects me to the people I would inevitably see on a semi-regular basis. Personally, I have found that 1 hour + is a good threshold to aim f…

I've been the same lately, I already think so much at work so I don't need more things to think about.

However I did have a great time learning Chinese and Japanese via audio courses while taking long walks - without that time it's hard for me now to find the time to do the same.