krumpet

I still play Ultima IV at least a couple times a year. Never gets old.

What is the time period for this statement? I'm assuming that must be weekly, but everywhere else in the report, the units are daily.

"Adults aged 18–64 years should do at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity;"

EDIT: Added quotes for clarity.

Great question. The approach I've always taken (now that I'm past my prime) is to just show up. If I train 15 minutes and call it a day, at least I was active and sustained the habit of being active. If I train for a couple hours, that's great too. What I try very, very hard to avoid is doing nothing.

I suspect I get the majority of the gains from the first 20 minutes or so. And since I'm no longer training to compete at a high level, I don't need to eek out as much from my training as possible...but I have no data to back that up.

I've always wondered what the health trade-off is for a less mentally stimulating role if it dramatically reduces your stress levels and offers better work/life balance.

I used to be a high school teacher and, though not as physically taxing as working on a farm, I feel the same about how much easier my current tech job is.

Teaching is just sooooo exhausting.

This is my focus. Though admittedly selfish, I'm spending time learning more songs on the guitar, improving my cooking skills, mastering a new language, etc. Once our children are out of the house, I plan to also become more involved in supporting our community.

It took time to understand that my time is better spent supporting our kids' activities and maintaining an organized home than chasing another promotion.

My kids are 12 and 14 and I can't get them interested in coding beyond what they might do at school. They showed an interest in Scratch, but I believe I introduced it WAY too early. Moreover, it moved them too quickly past the creative aspects and into writing code. Also, years later, I showed them PICO-8 and they weren't terribly interested.

In hindsight, I would recommend working with them at a young age (<10) to design game art and ideas. Then, the parent implements it and ports it to a portable platform. The child sees the creative aspects and the final output, but is shielded from the coding side in the early days. I imagine a child playing a game they designed on paper with crayons would be really satisfying. It would almost be like magic!

Then, let the transition to the coding side happen more organically or through a school program or some such. Maybe when they finally ask, "So, parent, how do I actually code these games?"

Just my non-data backed opinion...

I've always considered Stack Overflow research to be very valuable. Less for the answer to my question and more for the related topics, edge cases, and other details that frequently are included in thorough answers / comments / discussions.

When AI answers your question (and only your question), that's great for that specific instance, but it feels to me like it's lacking in breadth. I wonder if that results in the user becoming really, really reliant on said AI as they don't fully grasp the interconnectedness of coding? Just a thought.

I've noticed the exact same effect from playing the guitar.

I would do I everything I could to connect with others pursuing that same goal with the hope being that by working together we could increase everyone's chances of success.

Becoming an expert in anything is going to be full of challenging days where you question why you're doing this, just want to give up, get distracted, etc. Having others to lean on (and be leaned on) can help get everyone through those challenges. Additionally, knowing you're part of a group may give you some sense of responsibility do you won't be as likely to slack off.

Lastly, in my opinion, working with others and building friendships along the way makes the entire journey more fun.

What would happen if you just let them get up and get to school on their own? They might be late initially, but I bet they would figure it out and be on time after a short adjustment period.

I tried conveying the same to my teen children. It went over like a lead zeppelin.

I completely agree with this comment. I could have spent all day on my C64 without even having a game to play or knowing how to code beyond PRINT and GOTO. Hacking around on a computer back in the 80s made me feel like I was part of a secret club and that, at any moment, I was going to live out War Games or some such (especially once we had a modem). The possibilities seemed limitless!

That's not how I interpreted it, but it's a fair point.

"but he's the only person you could find who changed the way people played their instruments"

Louis Armstrong yes. But let's not forget Jimi Hendrix.

And, depending on your situation, be careful. I was a collegiate athlete back in the day and recently tried to recapture some of that. The result? Torn labrum in my left hip that really can't be repaired (per doctor). I'm all for hard workouts, but respect your age (and prior injuries) if you're going to go down this path. Definitely ease your way into it.

Excellent work. Hidden sherry acquired!

You're spot on.

My wife is a middle school mathematics teacher (and a damn good one). Sooooo many former students (now high schoolers) have approached her and said, "Because of you, I excelled in math in high school...and I love it!"

She had a student last year who actually told her in a very long letter, "You taught me that math matters. You taught me that I MATTER."

The earliest teachers / coaches / mentors set the foundation which is absolutely critical for all future learning.

Want to experience the highest of highs? Become a teacher. Alas, being do close to kids who are changing so rapidly (and often struggling with things outside of school) it also comes with some pretty deep lows.

Honestly, I don't understand what the pull is either. This is just cow clicker for music. I appreciate the design and interactivity, which is nice, but maybe because I'm a musician, I don't understand what is fun about this.

Agreed! And a skilled teacher would start by teaching Smoke on the Water with dyads (two-note chords) and then use that as a starting point for two discussions. First, one about barre chords and second, one about the same chords in their open format.

If the student is into classic rock, it's easy to expand this lesson into Cat Scratch Fever, Rock You Like a Hurricane, and Iron Man which are all similar to Smoke on the Water.

Nobody should work with a pompous instructor who decides what is / isn't acceptable on an instrument. As a former guitar teacher, I would help my students learn whatever they wanted - Van Halen, Brittany Spears, Garth Brooks, whatever.

All music has something of merit if you're willing to look for it.

Agreed. The older I get, the less I'm interested in drinking alcohol. When I do choose to have a drink, I'm definitely reaching for a Guinness (4.2% ABV).

I realize everyone has different dietary needs, so I'm not saying this is for everyone, but it's very, very rare for me to finish a meal at a restaurant in one sitting. I used to, but leaving and feeling stuffed got old.

I've found if I stop early, it turns out it was only my brain that wanted more food. Physically, I've had enough and am satisfied. I just need to give my brain time to catch up to my body.

Additionally, I drink a lot of water with my meals. This helps prevent overeating.

Lastly, it's always great to get two meals (dinner and tomorrow's lunch) from one restaurant dinner.

Good on you! Something I preach to my children is that success comes from showing up every day to do a little and not from a sudden burst of a lot. Well done.

I turn 50 this year and have committed to doing 50,000 pushups before 2024. It sounds like a lot, but after the first month, doing 200-300 a day isn't really that difficult (when broken up into smaller sets). Honestly, it's a LOT more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge.

It's all about showing up every day.

The very first game I built was a Breakout clone. Getting the game to work wasn't difficult. Getting the game to work well definitely was.

Not trying to convince you to chase strenuous cardio. There are many, many activities that can support living a healthy life.

That being said...

I really don't know any serious athletes who enjoy going to practices or going to the gym to workout. In my opinion it's rarely about enjoying the moment. Rather, it's about the way it makes a person feel when they're done. Or, it's about reaching a long-term goal and the joy that comes with accomplishing something currently out of reach.

And, of course, that type of joy can come from a wide variety of activities - exercise, coding, music, arts, etc.

Edit: Removed unnecessary quotes.

I use an Aeropress at work, but at home, Trader Joe's Joe Light Roast Ground Coffee 100% Arabica Ground in our drip coffee maker is just fine.

And it retails for $4.99 / 14oz!

AM radio is still my go-to for sports. Nothing like summertime and MLB on the radio while I work on a side project in the garage. College football and basketball too. Love those hometown announcers!

I'm married and older so I'm not trying to speak with any dating authority here, but my advice would be to get involved. Volunteer in your community. Join a recreational group. Get to know your neighbors. Basically, expand your social network and do it face-to-face.

I'm not saying to ditch dating apps. Rather, supplement by getting out and getting to know the people around you.

Consider a Baking Steel to take your pizza to the next level.

https://bakingsteel.com/