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If you are developing software as a life, you don't have one; if on the other hand you are developing software for fun, you are having it; if you are just devel

If you are developing software as a life, you don't have one; if on the other hand you are developing software for fun, you are having it; if you are just developing software for money; leave it at work. It's hard to be buried 100% in software and realize the rest of life is more important.

pc86 10y ago
The best thing I ever did for my professional life was acquiring new interests that had nothing to do with software but were still intellectually and/or physically stimulating. Weightlifting is cheap, has proven physical and psychological benefits, and is eventually fun (sucks for the first few weeks/months though). I just recently starting taking lessons to get a private pilot's license. GA is expensive (relatively - anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it) but it's no more dangerous than riding a motorcycle and is a fairly rare skill. And it has the added benefit of being pretty mentally taxing as I am still very new to it.
- dexwiz 10y ago
  What is GA?
  - Humdeee 10y ago
    General aviation I imagine.
    - bioapparatus 10y ago
      Makes a lot more sense to read it that way. Auto-pilot (...I guess I just did that) caused me to read it as Google Analytics.
      - WalterSear 10y ago
        That's expensive, but it's also pretty dangerous :)
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- klausa 10y ago
  Not everyone on HN earns SV money. Best of luck in becoming a pilot!
  - tybit 10y ago
    And not every hobby is as expensive as training to be a pilot.
  - pc86 10y ago
    Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it's cheap. I know it's not, and statistically is prohibitively expensive for ~half of America. What I meant was if it's a priority, you can do it without huge lifestyle sacrifices provided you make a minimum of $40-45k/yr depending on your COL. Obviously if you have a mortgage and two kids and make $50k it's probably not the best idea. If you're a single 22 year old making $45k and you live in a cheap studio? You can do it without breaking the bank.
- nunez 10y ago
  > anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it LOL come on now. It costs $5-10k to get a private pilot's license which requires at least 40 hours of flying time. Most schools will recommend that you do at least 2 hours per week, which usually comes out to $200-$400. (It's easy to forget things.) Shit's expensive.
  - galdosdi 10y ago
    Eh, it's a matter of priorities. By "can afford" I'm sure the OP meant "it's even an option at all" not "it's so cheap it does not require any real tradeoffs" What percentage of USA residents would you say have spent $7k to $12k or more on a car, when only $2k is necessary to get you around safely? But yeah, it's expensive, and someone earning more can afford to do it if they're merely interested in it, as opposed to having to be obsessed enough to make major sacrifices to afford it That said, I have a friend who _is_ a (graduate) student and flies. He bought a gyrocopter for a couple thousand dollars, uses some license class that required minimal/no training but limits the weight of the aircraft severely (ultralight or experimental or something like that, sorry, not sure) and has ultimately spent relatively quite little over time on the hobby. Where there's a will there's (often but admittedly not always!) a way, but that doesn't mean it's not a way requiring sacrifices and tradeoffs
  - pc86 10y ago
    Industry average seems to about $12k (but that's from my flight school which obviously has an incentive to make the assumed cost just a little higher than it need be). galdosdi is 100% correct that I didn't mean it's cheap. I meant if it's something you really want to do, you can afford it without selling your car or living in a hovel.
    - nunez 10y ago
      Fair points. I agree!
- manish_gill 10y ago
  > (relatively - anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it) I know you mean well but this is the epitome of living in a bubble. :)
  - pc86 10y ago
    Yes that didn't come off the way I meant it. See sibling comments here :)
- tom_wilde 10y ago
  I strongly recommend running as a burnout cure...

pc86 10y ago

The best thing I ever did for my professional life was acquiring new interests that had nothing to do with software but were still intellectually and/or physically stimulating. Weightlifting is cheap, has proven physical and psychological benefits, and is eventually fun (sucks for the first few weeks/months though). I just recently starting taking lessons to get a private pilot's license. GA is expensive (relatively - anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it) but it's no more dangerous than riding a motorcycle and is a fairly rare skill. And it has the added benefit of being pretty mentally taxing as I am still very new to it.

dexwiz 10y ago
What is GA?
- Humdeee 10y ago
  General aviation I imagine.
  - bioapparatus 10y ago
    Makes a lot more sense to read it that way. Auto-pilot (...I guess I just did that) caused me to read it as Google Analytics.
    - WalterSear 10y ago
      That's expensive, but it's also pretty dangerous :)
  - deleted 10y ago
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- deleted 10y ago
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- deleted 10y ago
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klausa 10y ago
Not everyone on HN earns SV money. Best of luck in becoming a pilot!
- tybit 10y ago
  And not every hobby is as expensive as training to be a pilot.
- pc86 10y ago
  Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it's cheap. I know it's not, and statistically is prohibitively expensive for ~half of America. What I meant was if it's a priority, you can do it without huge lifestyle sacrifices provided you make a minimum of $40-45k/yr depending on your COL. Obviously if you have a mortgage and two kids and make $50k it's probably not the best idea. If you're a single 22 year old making $45k and you live in a cheap studio? You can do it without breaking the bank.
nunez 10y ago
> anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it LOL come on now. It costs $5-10k to get a private pilot's license which requires at least 40 hours of flying time. Most schools will recommend that you do at least 2 hours per week, which usually comes out to $200-$400. (It's easy to forget things.) Shit's expensive.
- galdosdi 10y ago
  Eh, it's a matter of priorities. By "can afford" I'm sure the OP meant "it's even an option at all" not "it's so cheap it does not require any real tradeoffs" What percentage of USA residents would you say have spent $7k to $12k or more on a car, when only $2k is necessary to get you around safely? But yeah, it's expensive, and someone earning more can afford to do it if they're merely interested in it, as opposed to having to be obsessed enough to make major sacrifices to afford it That said, I have a friend who _is_ a (graduate) student and flies. He bought a gyrocopter for a couple thousand dollars, uses some license class that required minimal/no training but limits the weight of the aircraft severely (ultralight or experimental or something like that, sorry, not sure) and has ultimately spent relatively quite little over time on the hobby. Where there's a will there's (often but admittedly not always!) a way, but that doesn't mean it's not a way requiring sacrifices and tradeoffs
- pc86 10y ago
  Industry average seems to about $12k (but that's from my flight school which obviously has an incentive to make the assumed cost just a little higher than it need be). galdosdi is 100% correct that I didn't mean it's cheap. I meant if it's something you really want to do, you can afford it without selling your car or living in a hovel.
  - nunez 10y ago
    Fair points. I agree!
manish_gill 10y ago
> (relatively - anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it) I know you mean well but this is the epitome of living in a bubble. :)
- pc86 10y ago
  Yes that didn't come off the way I meant it. See sibling comments here :)
tom_wilde 10y ago
I strongly recommend running as a burnout cure...