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That sounds like a completely depressing way to approach life.

by paulgb 17y ago

run4yourlives 17y ago
Not if you consider that it was a joke it doesn't :-)
- mhb 17y ago
  So is it?
  - run4yourlives 17y ago
    In that you're pointing out that it's ludicrous to spend all that time in airports when life in each of those cities is much more interesting and could be better explored in pretty much any other way possible, yeah, I think it is pretty funny. I think it's painfully obvious that you aren't challenging the hackish nature of the project, but the actual project itself. So, people who don't seem to get that aren't getting the "joke".
    - mhb 17y ago
      So your contention is that since the premise is so lame, the "joke" is that it raises awareness about what it means to actually visit a place? In the same sense that the presumably unintentional misunderstanding of irony in the song Ironic can be spun to actually be a (supposed) clever joke about irony.
      - run4yourlives 17y ago
        No, I mean you were "joking". I'm not talking about the "experiment", I'm talking about the guy who got all uppity about you not being able to enjoy life. I was saying he should be taking your comment (somewhat) in jest.
        paulgb 17y ago
        I didn't mean to get "all uppity". If it sounded that way it's because I sarcastically borrowed some of mhb's wording to make my point. I was just a little surprised that the top comment on HN is "...completely miserable way to waste a month" instead of "hey, this isn't for me, but it's an interesting idea."
        run4yourlives 17y ago
        I didn't think it was that big a deal to begin with, hence my emoction. Agreed though that it's rated pretty high, but at the same time that is most people's first reaction, including mine.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
mhb 17y ago
Really. What aspect of the project do you find most appealing? Standing on line, seeing the inside of many airports and sometimes the same ones many times, negotiating airport security, eating unhealthy food from airport concessionaires, not getting any exercise, constantly being concerned about your schedule? But I am looking forward to the incredible web page which I am sure Dustin will create based on the miserable experience.
- paulgb 17y ago
  The challenge and adventure. How many people can say they've been to 43 cities in a month? It may well be a miserable way to spend a month, but I think it's cool that someone is trying. Let me put it this way: I'd rather be the one traveling the planet than the internet cynic talking about how miserable he will be.
  - ryanwaggoner 17y ago
    He's not traveling the planet. He's traveling airports in the US. And just because something can be done doesn't mean it should and sure as hell doesn't mean that it's not a waste of time. Next up: random internet guy tries to spend ten years visiting every trash dump in the world and spending a night on a pile of garbage. How exciting!
    - hughprime 17y ago
      Reminds me of the guy who was trying to visit every Starbucks in the world. He'd get pissed off when they didn't offer him free coffee.
  - nazgulnarsil 17y ago
    he's traveling only in the sense that his body will be transported many miles. seeing the inside of airports and planes for a month doesn't strike me as being worth the cost, monetary, physiological, or psychological.
  - hughprime 17y ago
    Going to 43 cities in a month is reasonably easy (for a reasonably generous definition of "city") if you go on a road trip. You'd almost certainly see a lot more, and have a lot more fun, if you set out to visit the 43 largest cities in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by... ) in one month. On the downside you'd also spend a bunch more money, and you wouldn't get the warm fuzzy feeling that only comes from taking maximum advantage of a cheap offer.
larrykubin 17y ago
I think a more exciting approach to life would be to pick a handful of the cities, and spend some time enjoying each of them. Airports are not that interesting.
yef 17y ago
30 days on a plane is just an awful lifestyle choice; it's a bad way to treat your body. There are other, more positive ways to challenge yourself. On the bright side, maybe that much flying will give them some sort of insight into a travel-related startup...
- paulgb 17y ago
  He's working on a startup. Is 30 days on a plane any worse than 30 days in front of a computer screen?
  - yef 17y ago
    Yes, absolutely. When you're at the computer, you can step outside for some fresh air and to stretch your legs. There's a long list of startup-compatible lifestyle choices that become much more difficult when doing a stunt like this.
jasonkester 17y ago
Not really. Just a guy with some common sense. Pick anybody else taking those same 30 days off work, and chances are they're going to be enjoying themselves more than these kids. As it happens, I'll probably overlap with them for the 30 days they're in the air. During which time I'll hike the Inca Trail, take a banana boat down the Amazon, and otherwise hitchike, surf and dirtbag my way from Peru northwards toward Columbia. All for about the same amount of money. So yeah, if you have a month to blow and a grand to do it with, you could certainly have a lot better time than these guys. That said, I wish them luck.

That sounds like a completely depressing way to approach life.

by paulgb 17y ago

That sounds like a completely depressing way to approach life.

run4yourlives 17y ago

Not if you consider that it was a joke it doesn't :-)

mhb 17y ago
So is it?
- run4yourlives 17y ago
  In that you're pointing out that it's ludicrous to spend all that time in airports when life in each of those cities is much more interesting and could be better explored in pretty much any other way possible, yeah, I think it is pretty funny. I think it's painfully obvious that you aren't challenging the hackish nature of the project, but the actual project itself. So, people who don't seem to get that aren't getting the "joke".
  - mhb 17y ago
    So your contention is that since the premise is so lame, the "joke" is that it raises awareness about what it means to actually visit a place? In the same sense that the presumably unintentional misunderstanding of irony in the song Ironic can be spun to actually be a (supposed) clever joke about irony.
    - run4yourlives 17y ago
      No, I mean you were "joking". I'm not talking about the "experiment", I'm talking about the guy who got all uppity about you not being able to enjoy life. I was saying he should be taking your comment (somewhat) in jest.
      - paulgb 17y ago
        I didn't mean to get "all uppity". If it sounded that way it's because I sarcastically borrowed some of mhb's wording to make my point. I was just a little surprised that the top comment on HN is "...completely miserable way to waste a month" instead of "hey, this isn't for me, but it's an interesting idea."
        run4yourlives 17y ago
        I didn't think it was that big a deal to begin with, hence my emoction. Agreed though that it's rated pretty high, but at the same time that is most people's first reaction, including mine.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

mhb 17y ago

Really. What aspect of the project do you find most appealing? Standing on line, seeing the inside of many airports and sometimes the same ones many times, negotiating airport security, eating unhealthy food from airport concessionaires, not getting any exercise, constantly being concerned about your schedule? But I am looking forward to the incredible web page which I am sure Dustin will create based on the miserable experience.

paulgb 17y ago
The challenge and adventure. How many people can say they've been to 43 cities in a month? It may well be a miserable way to spend a month, but I think it's cool that someone is trying. Let me put it this way: I'd rather be the one traveling the planet than the internet cynic talking about how miserable he will be.
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  He's not traveling the planet. He's traveling airports in the US. And just because something can be done doesn't mean it should and sure as hell doesn't mean that it's not a waste of time. Next up: random internet guy tries to spend ten years visiting every trash dump in the world and spending a night on a pile of garbage. How exciting!
  - hughprime 17y ago
    Reminds me of the guy who was trying to visit every Starbucks in the world. He'd get pissed off when they didn't offer him free coffee.
- nazgulnarsil 17y ago
  he's traveling only in the sense that his body will be transported many miles. seeing the inside of airports and planes for a month doesn't strike me as being worth the cost, monetary, physiological, or psychological.
- hughprime 17y ago
  Going to 43 cities in a month is reasonably easy (for a reasonably generous definition of "city") if you go on a road trip. You'd almost certainly see a lot more, and have a lot more fun, if you set out to visit the 43 largest cities in the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by... ) in one month. On the downside you'd also spend a bunch more money, and you wouldn't get the warm fuzzy feeling that only comes from taking maximum advantage of a cheap offer.

larrykubin 17y ago

I think a more exciting approach to life would be to pick a handful of the cities, and spend some time enjoying each of them. Airports are not that interesting.

yef 17y ago

30 days on a plane is just an awful lifestyle choice; it's a bad way to treat your body. There are other, more positive ways to challenge yourself. On the bright side, maybe that much flying will give them some sort of insight into a travel-related startup...

paulgb 17y ago
He's working on a startup. Is 30 days on a plane any worse than 30 days in front of a computer screen?
- yef 17y ago
  Yes, absolutely. When you're at the computer, you can step outside for some fresh air and to stretch your legs. There's a long list of startup-compatible lifestyle choices that become much more difficult when doing a stunt like this.

jasonkester 17y ago

Not really. Just a guy with some common sense. Pick anybody else taking those same 30 days off work, and chances are they're going to be enjoying themselves more than these kids. As it happens, I'll probably overlap with them for the 30 days they're in the air. During which time I'll hike the Inca Trail, take a banana boat down the Amazon, and otherwise hitchike, surf and dirtbag my way from Peru northwards toward Columbia. All for about the same amount of money. So yeah, if you have a month to blow and a grand to do it with, you could certainly have a lot better time than these guys. That said, I wish them luck.