rsl12's recent activity
-
Comment on The most dangerous building in Manhattan in ~engineering
-
The most dangerous building in Manhattan
9 votes -
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 Link ParentHappy for you. Doing anything on your own can be difficult.Happy for you. Doing anything on your own can be difficult.
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 LinkI just finished a 6-week army running plan that was designed to take a soldier from a 16-minute two mile down to 14 minutes (BTW I'm not a soldier ,and I'm in my 50s). I don't think I started the...I just finished a 6-week army running plan that was designed to take a soldier from a 16-minute two mile down to 14 minutes (BTW I'm not a soldier ,and I'm in my 50s). I don't think I started the program being able to do 16 minutes, so I'm pretty sure my time of 15:32 yesterday is an improvement! Compared to my previous half marathon goal, I'm finding the recovery very quick, so I'm going to do a long run today!
I'm tempted to do the plan all over again, but first I'm going to try the Garmin plan built into my brand new running watch. I want to see for myself if it's any good.
-
Comment on Which challenging book was worth the effort for you? in ~books
rsl12 Link ParentI hated that book! I agree with you about the style being impenetrable, but the worse thing for me was believing the characters. Just prior to reading it, I had read one of Oliver's Sach's books...I hated that book! I agree with you about the style being impenetrable, but the worse thing for me was believing the characters. Just prior to reading it, I had read one of Oliver's Sach's books that detailed real life cases of people overcoming neurological disorders. The contrast between the two books brought into sharp contrast how unrealistic and unhuman Saramago's characters acted.
He was less interested in realism than in making a metaphor about society, which is fine if done well. But the metaphor was heavy-handed and my lack of credulity in the characters made me care not a whit about any of them.
-
Comment on Confess your food crimes in ~food
rsl12 LinkWhen a pizza has what I consider an unacceptably large cornicione (outer crust), I tear it off, "unfold" it so that the hard crusty part is all on one side, then put it on top of the pizza, making...When a pizza has what I consider an unacceptably large cornicione (outer crust), I tear it off, "unfold" it so that the hard crusty part is all on one side, then put it on top of the pizza, making basically a pizza sandwich.
-
Comment on Confess your food crimes in ~food
rsl12 Link ParentIt really doesn't sound too awful. Since there's already plenty of tomato paste and salt on the pizza, the most significant ingredients you're adding are sugar and vinegar. Without having tried...It really doesn't sound too awful. Since there's already plenty of tomato paste and salt on the pizza, the most significant ingredients you're adding are sugar and vinegar. Without having tried it, it sounds like I wouldn't care for it, but I could understand why others might. But I'll try for myself someday!
Edit: I think I've seen cheeseburger pizzas with squirts of ketchup and mustard on top. It sounds pretty good in that context.
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 LinkWhat a project! I like staying fit, but I don't think I have the discipline to count and limit calories (and luckily I've never had to). The closest thing I did was limit what I called Junk Food...What a project! I like staying fit, but I don't think I have the discipline to count and limit calories (and luckily I've never had to). The closest thing I did was limit what I called Junk Food Servings (JFS). A serving would be a standard serving of ice cream, cookies, cream sauce pasta, etc. I started with an allowance of 5 JFS/week, and gradually brought it down to 3. Even that felt like privation.
Good luck, and I hope you can manage it safely without yoyoing.
-
Comment on What are some traditional internet forums that you still use? in ~tech
rsl12 LinkI'm a mod at Pianotell, a forum for anyone interested in piano playing/tuning/collecting. All levels welcome. Compared to Reddit (or even Tildes) it's really a community--you can have extended...I'm a mod at Pianotell, a forum for anyone interested in piano playing/tuning/collecting. All levels welcome. Compared to Reddit (or even Tildes) it's really a community--you can have extended conversations with other piano beginners/experts/enthusiasts. Quarterly recitals are a great way to perform for an audience without much pressure and a great way to get encouraging and useful feedback.
The site's userbase primarily comes from the biggest forum for Piano, pianoworld.com. Pianoworld was bought a few years ago by VerticalScope, a company known for running traditional forums to the ground by maximizing ad revenue and minimizing maintenance. A lot of users from pianoworld migrated to pianotell about a year ago. Pianotell, run by piano amateur, is friendly, free, and decidedly non-corporate.
-
Comment on Carl Bloch's lost masterpiece finds fame again in Athens – work that made its Danish creator a superstar then mysteriously disappeared is mesmerising art lovers once more in ~arts
rsl12 LinkIt looks gorgeous even on my phone. And what a back story!It looks gorgeous even on my phone. And what a back story!
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 LinkFor the last three months, deciding how to exercise was as simple as looking at the training schedule. Now that the big race is over and I'm well recovered, I need a new fitness goal. I want...For the last three months, deciding how to exercise was as simple as looking at the training schedule. Now that the big race is over and I'm well recovered, I need a new fitness goal. I want something fun, quickly achievable, with minimal running. Some ideas in current order of preference:
- Get anywhere close to a front/side split
- Learn a crazy dance move (maybe coffee grinder?)
- Get better at unicycling
- Reach a body-weight exercise milestone (like pistol squats or handstands)
I'm open to any other ideas.
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 LinkThe half-marathon I've been training for was yesterday! It's all over. My target was under 2:00:00; my chip time was 2:01:45. Lots of little things conspired against me: I entered the port-o-potty...The half-marathon I've been training for was yesterday! It's all over. My target was under 2:00:00; my chip time was 2:01:45. Lots of little things conspired against me: I entered the port-o-potty line 20 minutes before the start--it ended up taking 18 minutes. So I started far in the back of the pack and spent two miles dodging people trying to find the pacer I planned to keep up with (which clearly I never did). I retied a shoe that was too tight. The weather was not the greatest, and the course was more hilly than I was expecting. But anyways the goal served its purpose, which was to give me a reason to exercise. I'm a little sore, but I'm happy to be done with running, at least until I come up with a new fitness goal (which may or may not be running--I'm of two minds).
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 (edited )Link ParentBoredom is a problem. For the 1/2 Marathon training plan I'm using, it's rare for training runs to be a single monotonous pace. I've never done a properly structured plan like this, and it makes...And i can run a full 10km now, dunno how anyone does more than that though cause im bored to death by that point.
Boredom is a problem. For the 1/2 Marathon training plan I'm using, it's rare for training runs to be a single monotonous pace. I've never done a properly structured plan like this, and it makes running long distances less boring (but unfortunately, it makes it more about torture tolerance).
In addition, since I found music doesn't help me at all (instead of making the run less torturous, it makes me associate whatever I'm listening to with torture), my normal method of coping is to count my breaths. For most paces, 100 breaths equals about a quarter of a mile. So I'm constantly calculating how many breaths I have left. It's kind of meditative, and it also helps relieve the sense of endless running. But bottom line--I totally understand why people think long-distance running is boring.
Congratulations on the big weight drop! I hope you don't focus too much on BMI, as it's an abused statistic.
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 Link ParentThank you, and thanks for your concern. Walking pneumonia hasn't been too bad, other than the first day or two. The lingering mucus overdrive caused some messy (but fortunately solo) runs. I was...Thank you, and thanks for your concern. Walking pneumonia hasn't been too bad, other than the first day or two. The lingering mucus overdrive caused some messy (but fortunately solo) runs. I was happy to find I could keep to the training schedule, though with slower times. I've definitely been taking it a bit easier. For the race, I'm going try to keep a 9:05 pace for as long as I can. And if it feels easy even after 9 miles, I don't have any real desire to push any faster. I'm looking forward to having a fun and not-too-stressful race!
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 (edited )LinkI'm the first person to post on this thread? I thought that all the new years resolutions would spur more activity! I now have six days until the half marathon (target time 2:00:00, target pace...I'm the first person to post on this thread? I thought that all the new years resolutions would spur more activity!
I now have six days until the half marathon (target time 2:00:00, target pace 9:09 per mile). I'm happy to have started the tapering phase of my 12-week training plan! I'm going to enjoy all the extra time it affords me this week. I'm hopeful that my cranky calves, who have complained at every step down the stairs for the last three months, will finally be pacified. At least until the race.
The final hard training run was yesterday--a 10k time trial (53:20, 8:35 pace). I have been recovering from walking pneumonia since Christmas, and my body's response to the trial makes me think I'm recovered. I had resigned myself to not making my target, but given how smoothly the time trial went, I think I'm going to go for it!
-
Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
rsl12 LinkI've run casually for a while. A couple months ago I got talked into running a half marathon in January, and I decided to take it half seriously. I am doing a free 12-week training program from...I've run casually for a while. A couple months ago I got talked into running a half marathon in January, and I decided to take it half seriously. I am doing a free 12-week training program from runnersworld.com. Goal is under two hours (9:00 per mile pace).
This kind of training is very different from casual running! Before training, I would have expected a 60% effort training to be fairly light. Now I know it to be 60% of the torture I can withstand. My torture tolerance is increasing, but I'm starting to feel a little ptsd from it! My daughter has run cross-country for two years, and now I understand why she is triggered by any mention of running.
On the plus side, my resting heart rate is under 60 bpm and my sleeping heart rate is near 40 bpm. It's probably the healthiest my heart has been in a long while.
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~food
rsl12 Link ParentKorean cuisine is pretty different from Chinese. It's closer to Japanese, but it's still pretty distinct. Cornstarch-thickened sauces are used in Korean kitchens mostly for foreign-influenced...Korean cuisine is pretty different from Chinese. It's closer to Japanese, but it's still pretty distinct. Cornstarch-thickened sauces are used in Korean kitchens mostly for foreign-influenced foods. The main role of cornstarch is in batters for fried foods.
-
Comment on What's your attitude about Russian classic literature? in ~books
rsl12 (edited )LinkI heard that many Ukrainians avoid all Russian culture, for obvious reasons. Is this correct? Do many people avoid classic Russian literature for this reason? I'm curious about your feelings. I...I heard that many Ukrainians avoid all Russian culture, for obvious reasons. Is this correct? Do many people avoid classic Russian literature for this reason?
I'm curious about your feelings. I have read some Dostoevsky (The Double, Crime & Punishment, Brothers Karamasov), Tolstoy (War and Peace, Anna Karenina), Solzhenitsyn (One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a little bit of Gulag Archipelago), and Nabokov (Lolita, Pale Fire). In both Dostoevsky's and Tolstoy's works, there is a tiny bit of patriotism. Both authors spend a couple of paragraphs exulting the Russian soul and spirit. But if I remember right, they never say "Russia is superior to all other countries" (or if they do, they do it in the same way a person would say "My mother is the best mother," without meaning that all other mothers are inferior).
Do Ukrainians feel that Dostoevsky's and Tolstoy's works are jingoistic? If so, I'm curious about how they were taught in Ukrainian schools, because as an outsider, I didn't have that impression at all.
My feelings about the authors:
Tolstoy: he's like a scientist, the way he studies personalities and how to depict them. I feel like my internal library of "personality types" expanded by reading his works.
Dostoevsky: "Brothers Karamazov" was my favorite book when I was in university. I love how it depicts three different ways of finding salvation (even though I'm not religious, I understand what it means to feel spiritual). And the plot that bound everything together was also gripping. One thing I loved about both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky was how easy they were to read, both in terms of how interesting they were, and how clearly the plot and characters were described.
Solzhenitsyn: He shares so many stylistic similarities with Tolstoy and Dostoevsky--they way characters are described, the length and detail, the way he goes off on philosophical tangents.
Nabokov: Quite different from the other writers I mentioned above. I enjoyed Lolita--it was colorful, his use of the English language was outstanding, and he managed to throw in many thoughtful ideas into his crazy plot. Pale Fire was less interesting to me. I liked the opening poem section, but after that it felt like a crossword puzzle, both in terms of how much brain power I needed to understand it, and in terms of the amount of emotional weight it held (almost none).
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - July 2024 - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman in ~books
rsl12 Link ParentIf one were judging strictly by plot, it would be a pretty typical kid's story: child from the mundane world meets a girl with magic powers. The two go to a fantasy setting to confront a monster,...If one were judging strictly by plot, it would be a pretty typical kid's story: child from the mundane world meets a girl with magic powers. The two go to a fantasy setting to confront a monster, and then because of a mistake they have to confront a bigger monster. It looks like a sad ending until magic makes everything okay.
But I think the details are designed to trigger adults more than children. Money worries and obsession is handled in a way that rings true, even if exaggerated. Unhealthy scenes of coping with loneliness seem very adult.
I really enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting my finger on why it moved me, given its standard fantasy plot. But there is definitely poetry in the details.
-
Comment on Tildes Book Club - How are you doing with Ocean at the End of the Lane? in ~books
rsl12 Link ParentI finished the book before that news broke... I don't think it colors how I feel about the novel's plot or characters, but it does make me sad to hear.I finished the book before that news broke... I don't think it colors how I feel about the novel's plot or characters, but it does make me sad to hear.
1979. It's been a year since the completion of an innovative Manhattan skyscraper you, a structural engineer, helped design. A series of circumstances make you go back over your calculations, and you find there have been mistakes. The building could topple in the next 16-year storm. What would you do? What is the moral way to correct it, and what will happen to your professional career? This is the well-told, true story thriller of calculation, engineering, and a ticking time bomb in the form of a skyscraper. Those with engineering degrees will enjoy all the technical details that are included.