6 ms·

Trying something new with Github. Help make my US holiday awesome?

78 points by xzyfer 14y ago

richo 14y ago
Pull request sent.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  Haha I should have guessed!
smiler 14y ago
I think crowd sourcing should be for gaining knowledge you don't have yourself. It should not be a replacement for being lazy - you can google tour dates for all those bands and comedians yourself - you don't need others to do that for you. And also, you might want to spell San Francisco correctly :)
- Blahah 14y ago
  Agreed - some of the stuff he's asking for is plain lazy. @OP: Google it yourself!
- richo 14y ago
  Is that necessarily true though? I reckon it's cool to draw on the collective experience of a group to find out nichey stuff, underground bands in that genre, for example.
- sophacles 14y ago
  I got the impression that it wasn't about seeing those specific artists, so much as "these are bands I like, any similar music in the area in that time frame?" Yes, there may be a certain amount of laziness to it, but there is also something else. When I travel, I have a tendency to leave a lot of gaps in my plan, and just go find locals at the watering hole or whatever, and flat out ask: "hey I'm visiting the area, whats neat to do around here" and usuall get great ideas from people. They know the good stuff locally, they know the stuff that is overhyped, and so on. I see this experiment as an extension of that.
  - xzyfer 14y ago
    Correct :) Discovering new music is awesome. Plus someone put me onto Songkick. Awesome discovery
- xzyfer 14y ago
  My bad on the spelling error. Fixed here: https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/781b63dff4266a1ff40c23dda79f461338e76091 https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/781b63d... On the up side my shame is public :/
mratzloff 14y ago
I'm feeling pretty lazy this morning, too... certainly too lazy to fork a repo, clone it, edit a file and save, commit and push, and create a pull request just to give you some travel advice. Try starting a Reddit thread instead. :-)
- ma2rten 14y ago
  Github as a GUI which lets you edit text files in the browser.
  - xzyfer 14y ago
    I've been managing the whole thing via the UI. It's been great
- milkshakes 14y ago
  You can accomplish this all in exactly three clicks, without ever leaving your browser. Hell I'm pretty sure there's even a keyboard shortcut for it somewhere.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  Already done :) http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1bau70/trying_something_new_with_github_help_make_my_us/ http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1bau70/trying_so... An issue would do just fine as well
jeremymcanally 14y ago
Thinking of "non-touristy" things for a tourist to do is difficult, especially one from a similar western country like Australia. I'm pretty sure they have bars, restaurants, etc. in Australia. I guess a HN'er would enjoy hitting up user groups and what not. But in reality, all the stuff that makes America "America" is considered touristy. Heck, half the stuff he lists is something I'd consider touristy. In any event, I think a grand tour in America from any other country and not visiting a Disney park is just Plain Wrong™. :) Then again, it might be too "touristy."
- xzyfer 14y ago
  I'll be up there working in our SF office, so I'll be spending a lot of time with locals.
- sophacles 14y ago
  Well theres "touristy", the theres "touristy". Last summer I went with a friend to visit southern Utah. We did a day in Zion National Park. It was cool and utterly beautiful. Then, because she knew the area and had friends there, we went off into the actual wilderness of the Grand Staircase. We hit some real back woods areas, explored canyons and hiked a lot of crazy places. We rarely saw evidence of other people, let alone actual people. I think in the 3 days we were out in the back country we only saw 2 other people and that was close to (what passes for) a road. When we went back through Zion on the way home, I actually experience civilization shock - there were like 20 people visible at once, and other cars! They were both great experiences but I value the latter far more for a couple reasons: * I would never have been able to find it, known how to do that exploration, and been too timid to do it without local knowledge. *It was an adventure rather than a curated experience. The park is great, but I never felt like I was seeing reality. Like going to Epcot vs going to actual places. It was still a totally touristy experience. The locals thought I was cute for wanting to go wander in the desert to see places I had to walk for a long way to get to, without knowing anything about the desert. I was still just there to see the sights. Yet different - they all were really eager to tell me about their favorite spots off the beaten path. I guess what I'm saying is that I tend to interpret, and mean, touristy as "not really worth the effort, it's too curated and sanitized and expensive. It's designed to Disneyify some approximation of local experience and does so poorly". Similarly when I talk to people visiting my hometown of Chicago, I always recommend the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Art institute. "touristy" yeah, but also the stuff I would do once or twice a year when I lived there, and I still try to do it every couple of years when I'm visiting the family.
josscrowcroft 14y ago
Wow, this is super relevant. I'm traveling to SF for a couple weeks next month and will watch out in case any advice pops up! My advice, though: offer something in return for the best advice. I dunno what, maybe free lunch. That'd be an interesting activity in itself.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  I was hoping that adding updates to repo in the form of videos, pictures and mini-blogs would accomplish just that.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  I like your idea though. Lunch is on me! https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/c09178e6e25c038c1c6951976a34645b4ad79206 https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/c09178e...
xzyfer 14y ago
Wow the response has been way beyond my expectations. 13 issues in less than an hour :) too cool. FWIW this isn't about being lazy. The intention was to tap into the minds of like minded locals, and past travellers for hidden gems. Anyone who's travelled to Melbourne, Australia (my home town) knows that that is the only way to experience Melbourne. My hope is that this will reach some demi-viral state and be forever remembered in Google for anyone else wanting to experience SF the way I do.
astar 14y ago
A list on Github (or anywhere else) is an inefficient format for this...why not a google spreadsheet that anyone can edit, so that you can sort by city, category, cost, etc?
- xzyfer 14y ago
  I felt like that would be mayhem to manage, and curate. I'm trying to curate a list of unique, individual experiences.
wting 14y ago
Without knowing you personally, it's hard to suggest things to do. I would suggest you check out wikitravel.org. I found it a great guide when I was backpacking through Europe. http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco Edit: Switched to wikivoyage due to comments below.
- mratzloff 14y ago
  Please, avoid Wikitravel. Use Wikivoyage instead. http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel#Community_fork_in_2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel#Community_fork_in_20...
  - xzyfer 14y ago
    This was interesting. Thanks.
ruswick 14y ago
This sort of seems like a misuse of Github. Github is a place where individuals or organizations can store an actual product and the community can interact with and contribute to said product. It's not a place where one should solicit life advice or ask the community to perform trivial tasks unrelated to development or an actual product of any sort. It's not that asking for this kind of thing is necessarily bad, but I think that it's inappropriate for Github. Quora or maybe HN itself would be a better forum on which to ask for suggestions about travel to the US.
- icambron 14y ago
  Why? I don't see any reason that Github has to be that just because that's how most people use it. I find this particular project a bit silly, but there's nothing wrong with it as a use of Github.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  I don't see how it's any different from a gist. By using Github I've intentionally limited my audience.
shalmanese 14y ago
Hey, fellow Aussie here. Swing by our offices in the Mission and I can show you around the area. Email is in my profile.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  Don't mind if I do :) https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/7ca2239f3387aa2f63e30894a2c60fb8b072fdcb https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/7ca2239...
antoncohen 14y ago
My theory on visiting a city is to do/see things that are unique to the city, but are not tourist traps, and to experience local flavor. I don't want to do a pull request because I don't want to do one pull request per item, which I would have to do so you can pick and choose what interests you. Things to do: - Go to a Giants baseball game. Sit in the Bleachers. Even if you aren't that interested in sports, it's a worthwhile experience. If you are working for a startup you are probably in SOMA/South Beach, so the baseball park in near by. Get tickets on http://www.stubhub.com/ http://www.stubhub.com/ they are dirt cheap ($5-15). Remember, sit in the bleachers. Drink Lagunitas IPA while you are there. And eat garlic fries and hot dogs. - Go to the Castro, and go to a bar there. It's a nice neighborhood, not very touristy, and quite unique to SF. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castro,_San_Francisco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castro,_San_Francisco - Eat Mexican food from a run-down looking taqueria. I think the best one outside the Mission (in SOMA-ish) is Taqueria Cancun. I recommend trying an Al Pastor Super Burrito. And then the next time get some tacos. - For fancy Mexican food + Tequila check out Tres, probably closer to where you will be working than Tommy's. http://tressf.com/ http://tressf.com/ - You like drinking early on Sunday? Try brunch with bottomless mimosas. Lots of places have them. Ironside has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet and bottomless mimosas. Farmerbrown has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet, no bottomless mimosas, but they will happily serve you cocktails (I think the mimosas come in pitchers). - Eat at a food truck (Korean tacos are yummy!). http://roaminghunger.com/sf http://roaminghunger.com/sf http://offthegridsf.com/ http://offthegridsf.com/ - Hmm, pizza. It depends on the type of Pizza you like. Tony's Pizza Napoletana is probably the best traditional Italian pizza. If you've never tried a deep dish pizza you should give Patxi's or Little Star a try. Other than that, whatever pizza place is open near you when the club/bar closes at 2am is probably where you will go, which might be DNA Pizza, but I'd cross the street and go to Crepes A Go Go. Or maybe I'd get a bacon wrapped hot dog from a push cart, mmm, with peppers and onions. - American beer doesn't suck, you wouldn't want us judging your beer by Foster's, so don't judge our beer by Budweiser! For brew pubs in SOMA check out 21st Amendment Brewery and ThirstyBear. If you are at a bar, find out what beer is local and order it, it will be way better than the big name beers. - Drink cocktails at Bourbon & Branch (need to make reservations well in advance). - Take a tour/tasting of Hanger One Vodka (really good vodka). http://www.hangarone.com/ http://www.hangarone.com/ - No need to see big name comedians, just watch local comedians at any comedy club. http://www.yelp.com/c/sf/comedyclubs http://www.yelp.com/c/sf/comedyclubs - Alcatraz is actually interesting if you like historial things, even though it is a tourist destination. - Use Yelp to find places. http://www.yelp.com/ http://www.yelp.com/ - Use Meetup to find meetups. http://www.meetup.com/ http://www.meetup.com/ (Damn, you are going to be very drunk and full after completing my list.) Things to avoid: - Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf should be avoided, they are just tourist traps. If you get stuck there, the Sea Lions and Musée Mécanique (Penny Arcade) are the best things there. - People in San Francisco don't eat bread bowls, and neither should you. - Cable cars are pure tourist.
mehulkar 14y ago
I live in the city and I will be following this to get suggestions for what I should do too :)
beatpanda 14y ago
A really great way to see a place like a local is to use Couchsurfing(.org) for your accommodations - more often than not your host also ends up being a tour guide. (Disclosure: I work at Couchsurfing, but I was a very satisfied user before I was an employee.)
xzyfer 14y ago
Had a power nap, and now I'm back. Your feedback has been awesome

78 points by xzyfer 14y ago

richo 14y ago

Pull request sent.

xzyfer 14y ago
Haha I should have guessed!

smiler 14y ago

I think crowd sourcing should be for gaining knowledge you don't have yourself. It should not be a replacement for being lazy - you can google tour dates for all those bands and comedians yourself - you don't need others to do that for you. And also, you might want to spell San Francisco correctly :)

Blahah 14y ago
Agreed - some of the stuff he's asking for is plain lazy. @OP: Google it yourself!
richo 14y ago
Is that necessarily true though? I reckon it's cool to draw on the collective experience of a group to find out nichey stuff, underground bands in that genre, for example.
sophacles 14y ago
I got the impression that it wasn't about seeing those specific artists, so much as "these are bands I like, any similar music in the area in that time frame?" Yes, there may be a certain amount of laziness to it, but there is also something else. When I travel, I have a tendency to leave a lot of gaps in my plan, and just go find locals at the watering hole or whatever, and flat out ask: "hey I'm visiting the area, whats neat to do around here" and usuall get great ideas from people. They know the good stuff locally, they know the stuff that is overhyped, and so on. I see this experiment as an extension of that.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  Correct :) Discovering new music is awesome. Plus someone put me onto Songkick. Awesome discovery
xzyfer 14y ago
My bad on the spelling error. Fixed here: https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/781b63dff4266a1ff40c23dda79f461338e76091 https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/781b63d... On the up side my shame is public :/

mratzloff 14y ago

I'm feeling pretty lazy this morning, too... certainly too lazy to fork a repo, clone it, edit a file and save, commit and push, and create a pull request just to give you some travel advice. Try starting a Reddit thread instead. :-)

ma2rten 14y ago
Github as a GUI which lets you edit text files in the browser.
- xzyfer 14y ago
  I've been managing the whole thing via the UI. It's been great
milkshakes 14y ago
You can accomplish this all in exactly three clicks, without ever leaving your browser. Hell I'm pretty sure there's even a keyboard shortcut for it somewhere.
xzyfer 14y ago
Already done :) http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1bau70/trying_something_new_with_github_help_make_my_us/ http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1bau70/trying_so... An issue would do just fine as well

jeremymcanally 14y ago

Thinking of "non-touristy" things for a tourist to do is difficult, especially one from a similar western country like Australia. I'm pretty sure they have bars, restaurants, etc. in Australia. I guess a HN'er would enjoy hitting up user groups and what not. But in reality, all the stuff that makes America "America" is considered touristy. Heck, half the stuff he lists is something I'd consider touristy. In any event, I think a grand tour in America from any other country and not visiting a Disney park is just Plain Wrong™. :) Then again, it might be too "touristy."

xzyfer 14y ago
I'll be up there working in our SF office, so I'll be spending a lot of time with locals.
sophacles 14y ago
Well theres "touristy", the theres "touristy". Last summer I went with a friend to visit southern Utah. We did a day in Zion National Park. It was cool and utterly beautiful. Then, because she knew the area and had friends there, we went off into the actual wilderness of the Grand Staircase. We hit some real back woods areas, explored canyons and hiked a lot of crazy places. We rarely saw evidence of other people, let alone actual people. I think in the 3 days we were out in the back country we only saw 2 other people and that was close to (what passes for) a road. When we went back through Zion on the way home, I actually experience civilization shock - there were like 20 people visible at once, and other cars! They were both great experiences but I value the latter far more for a couple reasons: * I would never have been able to find it, known how to do that exploration, and been too timid to do it without local knowledge. *It was an adventure rather than a curated experience. The park is great, but I never felt like I was seeing reality. Like going to Epcot vs going to actual places. It was still a totally touristy experience. The locals thought I was cute for wanting to go wander in the desert to see places I had to walk for a long way to get to, without knowing anything about the desert. I was still just there to see the sights. Yet different - they all were really eager to tell me about their favorite spots off the beaten path. I guess what I'm saying is that I tend to interpret, and mean, touristy as "not really worth the effort, it's too curated and sanitized and expensive. It's designed to Disneyify some approximation of local experience and does so poorly". Similarly when I talk to people visiting my hometown of Chicago, I always recommend the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Art institute. "touristy" yeah, but also the stuff I would do once or twice a year when I lived there, and I still try to do it every couple of years when I'm visiting the family.

josscrowcroft 14y ago

Wow, this is super relevant. I'm traveling to SF for a couple weeks next month and will watch out in case any advice pops up! My advice, though: offer something in return for the best advice. I dunno what, maybe free lunch. That'd be an interesting activity in itself.

xzyfer 14y ago
I was hoping that adding updates to repo in the form of videos, pictures and mini-blogs would accomplish just that.
xzyfer 14y ago
I like your idea though. Lunch is on me! https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/c09178e6e25c038c1c6951976a34645b4ad79206 https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/c09178e...

xzyfer 14y ago

Wow the response has been way beyond my expectations. 13 issues in less than an hour :) too cool. FWIW this isn't about being lazy. The intention was to tap into the minds of like minded locals, and past travellers for hidden gems. Anyone who's travelled to Melbourne, Australia (my home town) knows that that is the only way to experience Melbourne. My hope is that this will reach some demi-viral state and be forever remembered in Google for anyone else wanting to experience SF the way I do.

astar 14y ago

A list on Github (or anywhere else) is an inefficient format for this...why not a google spreadsheet that anyone can edit, so that you can sort by city, category, cost, etc?

xzyfer 14y ago
I felt like that would be mayhem to manage, and curate. I'm trying to curate a list of unique, individual experiences.

wting 14y ago

Without knowing you personally, it's hard to suggest things to do. I would suggest you check out wikitravel.org. I found it a great guide when I was backpacking through Europe. http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco Edit: Switched to wikivoyage due to comments below.

mratzloff 14y ago
Please, avoid Wikitravel. Use Wikivoyage instead. http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Francisco For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel#Community_fork_in_2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel#Community_fork_in_20...
- xzyfer 14y ago
  This was interesting. Thanks.

ruswick 14y ago

This sort of seems like a misuse of Github. Github is a place where individuals or organizations can store an actual product and the community can interact with and contribute to said product. It's not a place where one should solicit life advice or ask the community to perform trivial tasks unrelated to development or an actual product of any sort. It's not that asking for this kind of thing is necessarily bad, but I think that it's inappropriate for Github. Quora or maybe HN itself would be a better forum on which to ask for suggestions about travel to the US.

icambron 14y ago
Why? I don't see any reason that Github has to be that just because that's how most people use it. I find this particular project a bit silly, but there's nothing wrong with it as a use of Github.
xzyfer 14y ago
I don't see how it's any different from a gist. By using Github I've intentionally limited my audience.

shalmanese 14y ago

Hey, fellow Aussie here. Swing by our offices in the Mission and I can show you around the area. Email is in my profile.

xzyfer 14y ago
Don't mind if I do :) https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/7ca2239f3387aa2f63e30894a2c60fb8b072fdcb https://github.com/xzyfer/us-travel-checklist/commit/7ca2239...

antoncohen 14y ago

My theory on visiting a city is to do/see things that are unique to the city, but are not tourist traps, and to experience local flavor. I don't want to do a pull request because I don't want to do one pull request per item, which I would have to do so you can pick and choose what interests you. Things to do: - Go to a Giants baseball game. Sit in the Bleachers. Even if you aren't that interested in sports, it's a worthwhile experience. If you are working for a startup you are probably in SOMA/South Beach, so the baseball park in near by. Get tickets on http://www.stubhub.com/ http://www.stubhub.com/ they are dirt cheap ($5-15). Remember, sit in the bleachers. Drink Lagunitas IPA while you are there. And eat garlic fries and hot dogs. - Go to the Castro, and go to a bar there. It's a nice neighborhood, not very touristy, and quite unique to SF. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castro,_San_Francisco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castro,_San_Francisco - Eat Mexican food from a run-down looking taqueria. I think the best one outside the Mission (in SOMA-ish) is Taqueria Cancun. I recommend trying an Al Pastor Super Burrito. And then the next time get some tacos. - For fancy Mexican food + Tequila check out Tres, probably closer to where you will be working than Tommy's. http://tressf.com/ http://tressf.com/ - You like drinking early on Sunday? Try brunch with bottomless mimosas. Lots of places have them. Ironside has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet and bottomless mimosas. Farmerbrown has an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet, no bottomless mimosas, but they will happily serve you cocktails (I think the mimosas come in pitchers). - Eat at a food truck (Korean tacos are yummy!). http://roaminghunger.com/sf http://roaminghunger.com/sf http://offthegridsf.com/ http://offthegridsf.com/ - Hmm, pizza. It depends on the type of Pizza you like. Tony's Pizza Napoletana is probably the best traditional Italian pizza. If you've never tried a deep dish pizza you should give Patxi's or Little Star a try. Other than that, whatever pizza place is open near you when the club/bar closes at 2am is probably where you will go, which might be DNA Pizza, but I'd cross the street and go to Crepes A Go Go. Or maybe I'd get a bacon wrapped hot dog from a push cart, mmm, with peppers and onions. - American beer doesn't suck, you wouldn't want us judging your beer by Foster's, so don't judge our beer by Budweiser! For brew pubs in SOMA check out 21st Amendment Brewery and ThirstyBear. If you are at a bar, find out what beer is local and order it, it will be way better than the big name beers. - Drink cocktails at Bourbon & Branch (need to make reservations well in advance). - Take a tour/tasting of Hanger One Vodka (really good vodka). http://www.hangarone.com/ http://www.hangarone.com/ - No need to see big name comedians, just watch local comedians at any comedy club. http://www.yelp.com/c/sf/comedyclubs http://www.yelp.com/c/sf/comedyclubs - Alcatraz is actually interesting if you like historial things, even though it is a tourist destination. - Use Yelp to find places. http://www.yelp.com/ http://www.yelp.com/ - Use Meetup to find meetups. http://www.meetup.com/ http://www.meetup.com/ (Damn, you are going to be very drunk and full after completing my list.) Things to avoid: - Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf should be avoided, they are just tourist traps. If you get stuck there, the Sea Lions and Musée Mécanique (Penny Arcade) are the best things there. - People in San Francisco don't eat bread bowls, and neither should you. - Cable cars are pure tourist.

mehulkar 14y ago

I live in the city and I will be following this to get suggestions for what I should do too :)

beatpanda 14y ago

A really great way to see a place like a local is to use Couchsurfing(.org) for your accommodations - more often than not your host also ends up being a tour guide. (Disclosure: I work at Couchsurfing, but I was a very satisfied user before I was an employee.)

xzyfer 14y ago

Had a power nap, and now I'm back. Your feedback has been awesome