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It should be possible to get a decent used bicycle for under $200.
In response to
Bragging Thread January 2015
Pointed out to my boss that my new job responsibilities will mean I've dramatically underpaid compared to industry average. He went from "we see this as a role where you'll be learning a lot, so that's the extra compensation and there's no need to change the pay" to giving me a 20% raise. (Actually did this late December.)
In response to
Group Rationality Diary, November 16-30
I went back to scheduling my life using my phone. It's basic stuff like workout or clean on this day at this time. This has been an utter failure so far. The reason I originally stopped using the schedule is because, after some initial success, I wasn't following it then either. I need to get into a habit of following it, but breaking the schedule when I've only barely started is a really bad sign.
I'm having good results from using HabitRPG for this sort of thing. Your character gets experience points as you accomplish various daily, weekly, or one-off tasks, and it also records how many times in a row you've successfully done each recurring task. It's kind of silly, but I really feel good about my 37-day streak of actually eating breakfast.
In response to
November 2014 Monthly Bragging Thread
I have done a number of things.
I have a problem staying awake when I drive. Unrelated, I wanted more intellectual stimulation in my life. So I started downloading podcasts to listen to while I drive instead of music, which, while not the intended benefit, engage my brain and keep me more awake. Intellectual stimulation is up too.
I started getting back into trying to read and post (albeit under the name of a new account not tied closely to my real name) on LW, tumblr, and a couple others.
I got a promotion (well, I'm training for the promotion that I'll get in a couple months) for a job I'm really enjoying. I was disliking my previous job more and more, so this is a welcome change.
For at least 10 years, I've wondered why men don't wear skirts, because I've always imagined that they are fantastically comfortable. It only recently occurred to me that, as a human with money, I can give that money to people who will deliver skirts to my front door, and I can wear them around the house for increased comfort without embarrassment because I live alone. I can officially confirm that they are wonderfully comfortable, at least in my opinion. However this does run contrary to the opinion of, well, pretty much every woman I've talked to.
As a woman, I find skirts super comfortable but with some major problems that don't come up if you're just hanging around the house.
The lack of pockets is extremely inconvenient. I'd be afraid of losing a purse with a wallet in it, so I basically can't go out in a skirt unless it's cool enough out that it's reasonable to wear a jacket (since those have pockets). There do exist skirts with acceptable pockets, but the selection is very small and if you're as cheap as I am there just aren't any options.
Some skirts (not all!) restrict leg motion enough to make it inconvenient to bike or run.
In response to
The Danger of Invisible Problems
A chiropractor?
Am I delusional or am I correct in thinking chiropractors are practitioners of something a little above blood letting and way below actual modern medicine?
I mean, there's always the argument that you should do whatever it is that makes pain go away, but is there a reason to have a chiropractor do this rather than a medical professional?
I don't want to diss this post which seems quite good, I just wanted to highlight this point.
My first google result led me to this: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/science-and-chiropractic/
However, I haven't done any real research on this subject. The idea that chiropractors are practicing sham medicine is just kind of background knowledge that I'm not really sure where I picked up.
They're plausibly pretty legit for some joint-related issues. However there's also a whole set of claims that they can treat totally unrelated issues, for example curing the flu by adjusting the spine. Not all chiropractors make this sort of claim, but enough do to make it background knowledge.
If it's windy out, you might want to cover your face with something, such as a scarf.
When choosing clothing, pay attention to what type of fabric it is made of. You want something that is warm, but also that can dry quickly. If you get snow on you, it will melt at some point, even if you can brush most of it off. Twill is pretty good for pants and dries faster than denim. Knit fabrics like yoga pants aren't warm enough to be used in the freezing cold by themselves, but they can be ok as a layer underneath. Polartec is a nice fabric for hats. It is soft and warm and breathable and dries quickly. A waterproof and windproof outer layer on a jacket helps keep out the wind.
You might want to have more than one set of hat and gloves so that one set can dry while you use the other set. Having a place set to dry them helps, even if it's just a coat peg or hanger in a closet.
It helps to anticipate just what conditions you are going to face while you are out, and prepare for that. There won't necessarily be just one approach needed. If you are going to be out for both day while it is sunny and while it is cold at night, you might need to take more clothes with you. It might be as simple as an extra set of gloves that are warmer, to put on at night.
Checking the weather prediction, and thinking through in your mind all of the environments you will encounter, and at what times of day, can help with clothing choice.
For footwear traction matters, and how much maintenance is required to deal with the salt from the roads.
If you will be spending time sitting outside, much warmer clothing is required. Snow pants are helpful for this.
Snow pants and ski jackets sold at ski hills, or at stores that have skiers as clientele, are usually warmer and of higher quality than ones found in department stores. They are designed for people who spend an entire day outside in the cold.
Twill is pretty good for pants and dries faster than denim.
Denim is just a specific type of twill that's made from cotton. Fiber type is generally more relevant than how it's woven.
In response to
Open thread, Nov. 3 - Nov. 9, 2014
I enjoy taking long walks outside, but it's starting to get cold out. I'd like to continue my walks, but I need better protective gear.
People who live in cold climates: How do you dress up to stay warm for long periods outside when it's freezing / windy / snowing? What advice would you give for choosing appropriate clothing? Any specific brands you'd recommend? Any links to guides for choosing appropriate clothing?
My area (Baltimore, MD) doesn't usually get much colder than around 0 degrees Fahrenheit even with the wind chill, so I don't need the type of gear that really cold climates require.
Layering is good, but it's much easier to apply to the torso and arms than the legs. So a coat that goes at least down to your knees is very handy. I also recommend wool socks and mittens, since unlike many fibers wool is just as insulating when wet. Source: used to live in Boston.
over six-to-nine months to get the Sequences eBook proofread
This is one of the things that keep me puzzled. How can proofreading a book by a group of volunteers take more time than translating the whole book by a single person?
Is it because people don't volunteer enough for the work because proofreading seems low status? Is it a bystander effect, where everyone assumes that someone else is already working on it? Are all people just reading LW for fun, but unwilling to do any real work to help? Is it a communication problem, where MIRI has a lack of volunteers, but the potential volunteers are not aware of it?
Just print the whole fucking thing on paper, each chapter separately. Bring the papers to a LW meetup, and ask people to spend 30 minutes proofreading some chapter. Assuming many of them haven't read the whole Sequences, they can just pick a chapter they haven't read yet, and just read it, while marking the found errors on the paper. Put a signature at the end of the chapter, so it is known how many people have seen it.
I used to work as a proofreader for MIRI, and was sometimes given documents with volunteers' comments to help me out. In most cases, the quality of the comments was poor enough that in the time it took me to review the comments, decide which ones were valid, and apply the changes, I could have just read the whole thing and caught the same errors (or at least an equivalent number thereof) myself.
There's also the fact that many errors are only such because they're inconsistent with the overall style. It's presumably not practical to get all your volunteers to read the Chicago Manual of Style and agree on what gets a hyphen and such before doing anything.
In response to
Stupid Questions (10/27/2014)
I've read that the CEO of Levi's recommends washing jeans very infrequently.
Won't they smell? I have a pretty clean white-collar lifestyle, but I'm concerned about wearing mine even once or twice between machine washing. Is it considered socially acceptable to re-wear jeans?
I can see how freezing might help with smell, but what confuses me is sweat. If I wear pants more than about 4 times in a row, they start to itch, and I don't see how freezing would help with that. I don't think I sweat unusually much.
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I've been using LyX for preparing my doctoral dissertation and I'm amazed that such a complete and capable tool isn't more widely known and used. I can't imagine preparing scientific documents now with anything other than LyX, and I can't imagine that I used to use software like MS Word for this purpose. Anyone have any other examples of obscure but amazingly capable software?
I was introduced to LaTeX via LyX as a freshman and found the interface very off-putting and confusing and forgot about the whole thing for years. When I found out I could just type a text file instead, run a few commands, and get the same gorgeous result, it was a revelation and I never went back to OpenOffice.
Probably not news to anyone here, but learning to use a good text editor like vim or emacs is hugely useful and I wish I hadn't waited so long to do it. Git for version control is pretty great too.