4 ms·

I really don't know what's happening with Segway, but an antidote: I was at the grocery store, and an older lady was riding one of those cheap-looking hover bo

I really don't know what's happening with Segway, but an antidote: I was at the grocery store, and an older lady was riding one of those cheap-looking hover board type contraptions inside the store - except that there was a post, and seat attached to it. She was whizzing all over the place on it with ease and grace. It was an excellent sight.

sjwright 8y ago
> an antidote: Definitely an antidote to making them “cool”.
ukulele 8y ago
Regarding the other comment: you probably meant "anecdote"
- sjwright 8y ago
  That's right, that's definitely what he meant. It's funny how mobile operating systems have so dramatically changed the very nature of a typo into an autocorrected "wordo". As for my other post—like all comedy, not everyone is going to like every joke. It amuses me that some people think that because they didn't recognise the comedy genius (perhaps it wasn't clever enough) their reaction is to get the endorphins hit that comes from hitting the down-vote button. Personally I'm glad that I was able to contribute to the regulation of other people's brain chemistry. Hopefully I can make more people feel better about themselves with this post too. Press that button, people!
- justinator 8y ago
  Haha! Thanks, I did! Sometimes I think I have a mild speech impediment; other times, it's probably my brain's internal autocorrect before it comes out of my mouth (or out of my fingers, as it is)
rsync 8y ago
"She was whizzing all over the place on it with ease and grace. It was an excellent sight." I was in a country other than the United States and I saw an older lady run to catch a bus. She was easily 65, maybe 70. It was neither interesting nor noteworthy to any of the other (swiss) people on the street with her. Walking is the universal medicine and we live with an enormous burden of health, fitness and longevity problems (including obesity, diabetes, "lower back problems", knee and hip issues, etc.) due to the car culture that we live in and the related near refusal to walk anywhere. No, this was not an excellent sight - it's the sign of a sick society that will do anything to avoid the simple, free and easy remedy to almost all of their problems.
- buzzert 8y ago
  You must be fun at parties!
- pvg 8y ago
  Walking is not a universal medicine for someone who has trouble walking. You don't see that person running to catch the bus because they can't. They might not even be able to get to the bus stop. They can't get their own groceries. Sure, you can try to tie this to some generic tangent about 'car culture' or whatever, but the idea that a person (whose health history you know nothing about) being able to exercise their autonomy is somehow a bad thing is pretty odd.
  - arcticbull 8y ago
    I think the argument being made is a lifetime of neglecting your body (poor diet, lack of exercise) leads to an inability to use your body, which in turn encourages you to use these assistive devices, which makes the problem worse still in a viscous cycle. A biological analog would be Type II. You consume too much glucose, you develop insulin resistance, you take insulin, which makes your insulin resistance worse, and so on. The problem there too, is diet and exercise.
    - pvg 8y ago
      Right, but there's nothing in the story posted that suggests this argument is relevant or appropriate - it's just judgy, tangential ranting. You can be the world heavyweight champion of walking and still end up disabled late in life.
  - dionidium 8y ago
    This comment is a totally unnecessary distraction. Yes, of course, obviously there's no statement that applies to literally 100% of the population, but that doesn't mean that we should alter everyday language to drone on with endless hedges and caveats in an attempt to cover every combination of human traits. I know you’re coming from a good place, but I think it’s misguided.

sjwright 8y ago

> an antidote: Definitely an antidote to making them “cool”.

ukulele 8y ago

Regarding the other comment: you probably meant "anecdote"

sjwright 8y ago
That's right, that's definitely what he meant. It's funny how mobile operating systems have so dramatically changed the very nature of a typo into an autocorrected "wordo". As for my other post—like all comedy, not everyone is going to like every joke. It amuses me that some people think that because they didn't recognise the comedy genius (perhaps it wasn't clever enough) their reaction is to get the endorphins hit that comes from hitting the down-vote button. Personally I'm glad that I was able to contribute to the regulation of other people's brain chemistry. Hopefully I can make more people feel better about themselves with this post too. Press that button, people!
justinator 8y ago
Haha! Thanks, I did! Sometimes I think I have a mild speech impediment; other times, it's probably my brain's internal autocorrect before it comes out of my mouth (or out of my fingers, as it is)

rsync 8y ago

"She was whizzing all over the place on it with ease and grace. It was an excellent sight." I was in a country other than the United States and I saw an older lady run to catch a bus. She was easily 65, maybe 70. It was neither interesting nor noteworthy to any of the other (swiss) people on the street with her. Walking is the universal medicine and we live with an enormous burden of health, fitness and longevity problems (including obesity, diabetes, "lower back problems", knee and hip issues, etc.) due to the car culture that we live in and the related near refusal to walk anywhere. No, this was not an excellent sight - it's the sign of a sick society that will do anything to avoid the simple, free and easy remedy to almost all of their problems.

buzzert 8y ago
You must be fun at parties!
pvg 8y ago
Walking is not a universal medicine for someone who has trouble walking. You don't see that person running to catch the bus because they can't. They might not even be able to get to the bus stop. They can't get their own groceries. Sure, you can try to tie this to some generic tangent about 'car culture' or whatever, but the idea that a person (whose health history you know nothing about) being able to exercise their autonomy is somehow a bad thing is pretty odd.
- arcticbull 8y ago
  I think the argument being made is a lifetime of neglecting your body (poor diet, lack of exercise) leads to an inability to use your body, which in turn encourages you to use these assistive devices, which makes the problem worse still in a viscous cycle. A biological analog would be Type II. You consume too much glucose, you develop insulin resistance, you take insulin, which makes your insulin resistance worse, and so on. The problem there too, is diet and exercise.
  - pvg 8y ago
    Right, but there's nothing in the story posted that suggests this argument is relevant or appropriate - it's just judgy, tangential ranting. You can be the world heavyweight champion of walking and still end up disabled late in life.
- dionidium 8y ago
  This comment is a totally unnecessary distraction. Yes, of course, obviously there's no statement that applies to literally 100% of the population, but that doesn't mean that we should alter everyday language to drone on with endless hedges and caveats in an attempt to cover every combination of human traits. I know you’re coming from a good place, but I think it’s misguided.