Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by keeringplastik 3077 days ago
I was expecting a lot of ambitious projects would be mentioned, but it seems as if a lot of HN wants the same as me.

I would Unplug.

Take the kids camping, explore a national park for a couple weeks and let nature do it's thing. Take the guitar, leave the tablet. Try to catch some fish, which I have never done.

Read a couple books that have been put off for too long. Maybe some Heinlein or Asimovs foundation series (which I seem to have never gotten around to reading). Definitely some Alan watts.

I would also try some of that legal cannabis I keep reading about.

Also: Take a nap every day.

2 comments

Hey, if you want to do the fishing thing, it doesn't take a month or a national park. Just thought I'd chime in with a simple recipe that will catch you fish about 99 days out of 100:

Buy a "cane pole" (they sell non-bamboo versions these days). Tie on a hook, bobber, etc. Get some live bait--you can usually buy worms where you buy your fishing pole.

Ask the guy who sells you your pole a good place to fish, if you don't know of a pond or lake nearby.

Go to the lake, and the way you use a cane pole is you swing it out. No casting or fussing with lines and reels etc. When the bobber gets tugged on, you lift up. It's almost like cheating, you just pull fish out of the water!

I started fishing this way when I was 3. I would start any kid the same way.

If you go the other route--artificial lures, casting reels, etc--you'll get skunked a lot. Getting skunked fishing beats a day of work, but it's not great for youngsters' morale.

I put off going fishing for months after I bought my pole because my 'recipe' wasn't simple enough. Now I try to MVP my hobbies. I keep a pole in the trunk, hit the gas station that sells worms, and drive up to a small reservoir. It's not the perfect serene fishing scene we picture in our heads, but it is a lifesaver.
Sometimes I think it is perfect. Hard to beat a sunny day on the side of the lake, with a snack and maybe a kid, if you like 'em.

There's many other perfect situations, too, like the cover of a river runs through it.

I'm with ya there. I would Unplug. I'd sit and stare at the wall. I go for a walk. I'd do nothing. (I'd quote Office Space here if I could remember exactly what Peter said) Fishing... sit and do nothing.

I know this is true because I was only given one month. It would be different if it was indefinite. Having a solid limit, and just a month, is not bad. Having nothing in front of me for the rest of my life would be different.

> (I'd quote Office Space here if I could remember exactly what Peter said)

"... two chicks at the same time, man."

No, wait, that was Lawrence.