6 ms·

Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

• _pias 12y ago
  You may consider downloading various talks from USI. Those are really insightful and interesting. https://m.youtube.com/user/usievents https://m.youtube.com/user/usievents
• nathan_f77 12y ago
  I really wish there was a way to go back and download the first 5 pages of Reddit for any given day, including an offline cache of every comment thread, image, video, web page, etc. Then you could go back and get 10 weeks worth of front-pages to keep you entertained. Otherwise, just take a couple of good books.
  • gurkendoktor 12y ago
    Not quite the same as what you said, but I really wish any of the offline reading apps would automatically scrape comments from HN/reddit/disqus along with the page itself. Reading articles on Instapaper/Pocket/... without being able to check out the top comments feels incomplete :(
  • jaredsohn 12y ago
    You can (although you'd need to write or use a script to make an offline copy.) https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.reddit.com https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.reddit.com Also: http://www.redditarchive.com/ http://www.redditarchive.com/
    • nathan_f77 12y ago
      Awesome, thankyou! I hadn't heard of reddit archive before, that's exactly what I was looking for. I might also need to start from scratch, so that I can get my own personal front-page for each day.
• bad_user 12y ago
  Read some fiction instead.
• maaku 12y ago
  Go to a book store.
• walterbell 12y ago
  Areas of interest? Free or paid? Edit: book suggestion: "African Fractals", by Ron Eglash, http://www.amazon.com/African-Fractals-Modern-Computing-Indigenous/dp/0813526140 http://www.amazon.com/African-Fractals-Modern-Computing-Indi... "..traditional African settlements tend to use fractal structures-circles of circles of circular dwellings, rectangular walls enclosing ever-smaller rectangles, and streets in which broad avenues branch down to tiny footpaths with striking geometric repetition. These indigenous fractals are not limited to architecture; their recursive patterns echo throughout many disparate African designs and knowledge systems."
  • refrigerator 12y ago
    Thanks for the reply. Updated the OP - my areas of interest are the kinds of things that get posted about on HN, but I'd really like to broaden my horizons and learn about things like politics and economics and philosophy, anything interesting really. I'm leaving tomorrow so the only requirement is that I need to be able to get it before then. I had planned on downloading/buying stuff for this during the weeks before I leave but just never got round to it. African Fractals looks interesting though, I'll check it out. Thanks
• kefs 12y ago
  Create several wikipedia books on topics that interest you.. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&bookcmd=book_creator https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&book...
  • refrigerator 12y ago
    This is awesome - never knew it existed. Thanks a lot
  • k-mcgrady 12y ago
    This is the first time I've ever seen this. I can already see myself using it a lot. I just created a book on blues music including a history of the music, technical details, and biographies of all the most famous players in about 10 minutes. Wikipedia has produced a 420 page book (PDF about 50mb in size) for me which includes all images, charts, and full attribution and I'm looking forward to reading it. This should be way more publicised.
• oftenwrong 12y ago
  I recommend not bringing anything. Avoid the digital world as much as possible. Dedicate your attention to the analog world around you instead.
  • refrigerator 12y ago
    I wholeheartedly agree. The problem is that I won't be able to go out exploring after dark unless I'm with someone (which won't be every day) for safety reasons so I'll definitely have a few hours stuck in my room every day.
    • reuwsaat 12y ago
      Pick something up locally. Don't bring "home" with you.
• corpselord420 12y ago
  hahaha seriously? get some books or something. or like, talk to people in real life
• patmcguire 12y ago
  Wikipedia archive. https://dumps.wikimedia.org/other/static_html_dumps/ https://dumps.wikimedia.org/other/static_html_dumps/ Gutenberg archive. http://www.gutenberg.org/robot/harvest http://www.gutenberg.org/robot/harvest Should be enough for anyone, and way less space than you would expect. Also, something on the languages for where you're going? And some docs for the work you'll be doing?
  • iwalton3 12y ago
    There is a Wikipedia archive now that includes images: http://www.kiwix.org/wiki/Wikipedia_in_all_languages http://www.kiwix.org/wiki/Wikipedia_in_all_languages
  • Ecio78 12y ago
    +1 for Wikipedia, not just for reading something but as a reference if you want to verify something as the old Encyclopedias we used to use. To just fill the hours, I would suggest some nice book, even better good series, like Foundation and Robot Series by Isaac Asimov, A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin etc.. With those I think those 5 weeks will fly..
• Broken_Hippo 12y ago
  5 weeks is a decent time: at first glance it seems like you'll need all sorts of materials. Seriously, it depends on how much free time you anticipate having and whether or not you could use a lot of that time having experience. All that said, I'm pretty sure you can survive on what my spouse and I view as our own travel pack: Bring a few physical books - I read 1.5 during a 5 day stay in Amsterdam and it was much more comfortable carrying around a paperback than a laptop and much less risk of people taking it. Otherwise, just download away in any category you find interesting. I use an app called pocket on my phone to save long articles for later reading, right now my it centers around long occult articles, in depth current events, and tech news. These prove to be more timeless than other things - at least in short term. Movies and shows, that's fun. I hesitate to suggest movies or shows, but if I were going to suggest, might try Six String Samurai - but I'll warn you, it is a bit odd. Also, I do suggest downloading some free games to take with you that can be played offline just for some variety. I partially agree with those that say to not bring it, though - use the laptop lightly, if possible, but I'd not leave it at home. Go out with a camera (gasp) and enjoy :)
  • PeterisP 12y ago
    I feel the exact opposite about physical books nowadays - they are nice to read, but they're practical only at home. When traveling, the bulk and weight matters a lot, and books are too heavy to lug around. Take a Kindle or something like that - it's smaller and lighter than any book; the full sized books can wait for you back in your home.
    • k-mcgrady 12y ago
      Unless you have an e-ink device like a Kindle it's much better to bring a physical book. When on holiday a lot of people seem to read outside and if you use something like an iPad for reading ebooks it'll be a nightmare. Not all physical books are huge. I've got two Hemingway novels sitting next to me which would last a few weeks if you were reading a few hours per day and they are compact (about 6" by 4") and very light.
      • 12y ago
• chris_overseas 12y ago
  Over the past few years I've spent a total of five months travelling through or living in various remote corners of Africa. My advice would be to forget the Internet and all that is on it. Take a decent camera, learn photography. Take a local dictionary, learn the language. Take some art supplies, learn to paint. Take a guidebook and learn about the animals and plants. Get up for sunrise. Immerse yourself in the culture and the environment. You'll get far more out of your trip that way than if you're glued to a computer screen the whole time.
  • grownseed 12y ago
    "Forget the Internet and all that is on it" > I think this is very good advice. I found writing was a very nice activity when you're not connected. When I was travelling, I always carried a small notebook and a pen. It just started as random scribbles, notes and doodles about various things I was experiencing, but after a while my writing started having more substance. I realized it helped me understand cultures, people, languages etc. a lot better. For example, I'd see/hear a word I couldn't understand, write it down in the original language and phonetically, then would ask various people how they'd explain the word (or expression). Translations are very rarely 1:1, so people have different ways of explaining the same thing, which I find very insightful. Writing these things down was a good way to organize and etch those things in my mind.
• rcoder 12y ago
  I'd highly recommend fiction, history, and biographies. If you can, find things written about people and events in the region(s) you're visiting. Detailed maps are also great, because they let you go wander around and get a bit lost, then find your way back to wherever you've staying. My usual media/gadget inventory while traveling is a compact camera, Kindle and a paperback or two, and a battery-powered speaker for listening to music at night. No headphones (too isolating), no tech books (distracting, and honestly frustrating w/o the Internet to do additional research) and only as many hours of video as I need to keep myself distracted during the flight.
• sebii 12y ago
  5 hours of lectures on deep learning: http://www.trivedigaurav.com/blog/quoc-les-lectures-on-deep-learning/ http://www.trivedigaurav.com/blog/quoc-les-lectures-on-deep-...
• nvr219 12y ago
  Download a dictionary to translate to and from English and whatever language they'll be speaking where you are.
• mbillie1 12y ago
  I've always enjoyed fiction in situations like yours. Iain M. Banks has some accessible but interesting sci-fi (recommendations: Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons), and it's hard to go wrong with anything Jose Saramago wrote (recommendations: All the Names, Blindness, Death With Interruptions).
• skrebbel 12y ago
  Did you consider writing instead of reading? You'll be amazed what you find once you just start writing down your thoughts, uncensored, stream-of-consciousness style. So bring a notepad. :-)
• wicknicks 12y ago
  It depends on personal taste. But if I were going to a country I never visited before, there would be very little time to do anything else other than sightseeing, mingling with the locals, learning about their culture, their history, the food, and if you are anywhere near one, visit the national parks and take the safari. Document everything you see. Take a good camera with you, and if you don't know how to use an SLR, this is the perfect time to learn some basic tricks. Once you pick a camera, you can find some tutorial on the web, which teaches you the basics for that brand/model. I would use this time out to "take a break" from computer science. But if you can't stay away from it, pick up a book like SICP (http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/). This is one of those books which you want to read away from all distractions and think deeply about. If you can, download the accompanying video lectures: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/video-lectures/ http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput...
  • kazagistar 12y ago
    5 weeks is a long time. I could spend a week or two mingling and sightseeing, but burnout will eventually set in, and I would need a small break.
• KhalilK 12y ago
  Depends on where in Africa, you are going to, it's not like the whole continent has no internet.
• egypturnash 12y ago
  Spend those hours in your room writing a diary about your trip, doodling on your own projects, meditating. You're going to be overloaded with new input already. You don't need more.
  • thirdtruck 12y ago
    Seconded. In fact, I'm going to schedule time this week to do nothing but be in a park, sans eBooks, games, or the like.
• txutxu 12y ago
  Why read/watch? I mean... maybe you can enjoy coding offline ? You can git clone many things... the linux kernel, the openbsd source tree, the bootstrap project, whatever you love. And then hack on it ! On my external HDD, I use to bring with me a Debian mirror and a CPAN mirror, so I can hack offline (building system scripts, etc). On the other side, if you want to take a rest of coding, there are free publications and podcasts for many knowledge topics, I think a search engine will drive you to some ebooks in the areas of your personal interest. Just two suggestions if you want to explore them: "modern perl" (http://onyxneon.com/books/modern_perl/ http://onyxneon.com/books/modern_perl/) "Higher-Order Perl" (http://hop.perl.plover.com http://hop.perl.plover.com) First one is refreshing if you think "perl is perl4 of 1990", second one is an enlightening experience whatever programming language you like (even if not Perl). But don't discard to make a git clone of your favourite project, tool, etc and pass the time "reading" source code (and even touching it!!). Enjoy in Africa!
  • icebraining 12y ago
    Who said OP is a programmer?
    • kachnuv_ocasek 12y ago
      >my areas of interest are the largely the kind of things that get posted about on HN seems to imply that. Either way, it could be an advice for OP to learn a language. What's wrong with that?
    • txutxu 12y ago
      Well, I did made some assumptions, you're right on that. kachnuv_ocasek did cite the relevant part which did bring me there. I was a little bit selfish with my recommendation. I myself did start into programming just because I did use an open source desktop, by ethical interests, and I did want it to behave as I like and to learn about it. It did become my job and my income. To learn to program if you don't know, nowadays, does not hurt to anybody with interest in progress as an actual person with a computer. Let's say it maybe brain exercise, the same than a sudoku or music. Anyway you're right, I did make some assumptions, and maybe I could give a different recommendation with your question in mind.
• bmorsh 12y ago
  Just enjoy something different during the 5 weeks.
• deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
• fsk 12y ago
  1. Buy or download a bunch of E-Books. 2. Buy or download a bunch of games. I use myanonamouse, a good E-Book torrent tracker. It's also good for just browsing.
• d0m 12y ago
  SICP
• 8125375 12y ago
  "Computer Vision: Models, Learning, and Inference" Great book, and the PDF is available on the author's website: http://computervisionmodels.com/ http://computervisionmodels.com/
• mud_dauber 12y ago
  Longreads archive.
• Thiz 12y ago
  Atlas Shrugged.
  • reuwsaat 12y ago
    Good god no. I love that book, but not the right place or time.
• Jacobs 12y ago
  Animal liberation by Peter Singer.
• IvyMike 12y ago
  The internet, including forums like HN, encourage tiny little "soundbites" of reading. How many internet stories do you read that are more than five minutes of reading? If you're like me, very few. But "deep" reading, thinking about one subject or story for a long time--hours or even days--is very rare on the internet. This has been talked about before on HN, and the effects are much debated. Here's one take on it. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127370598 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1273705... In any case, I would encourage you to take this chance exercise your deep-reading muscles. Read a long book. Read a hard book. Read a book outside of the genres you normally read. The goal is to read something very different than the internet, and something different than you're used to. I'd suggest looking at a list of "great books" and picking out some that seem appealing to you, and picking out a few more that you have heard of but don't seem like your cup of tea. You'll grow in different ways with each type. Here's a list with a lot of variety: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6.Best_Books_of_the_20th_Century https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6.Best_Books_of_the_20th... (I don't know where you're going to be, but if it's Uganda, you might want to pick up "The Last King of Scotland", which I enjoyed reading during my stay in Kampala.)
  • elorant 12y ago
    The internet, including forums like HN, encourage tiny little "soundbites" of reading. How many internet stories do you read that are more than five minutes of reading? If you're like me, very few. Funny you should say that because one of the prime reasons I visit HN is because long form articles tend to be promoted more. For example, the article about autism that made top news today is 7.500+ words long.
• lancewiggs 12y ago
  Great question, and one that I asked just before going to Mozambique for 10 weeks a few years back. I'd just bought a kindle, which were not available outside the USA back then, and asked a few interesting folks I was chatting to at Foo. Here are my resulting first few kindle purchases: The Match King Heros Die (I bought the rest of them) The city and the city Every patient tells a story Blindsight Born to Run Hot, Flat & Crowded The Autobiography of Ben Franklin The Hunger Games (!) And on it went - asking for recommendations was a fantastic thing to do. I'd asked for fiction as I was going there to work and would be too exhausted at first to do much else. So I do encourage everyone to give some names of books. And yes - do take a good camera, do take binoculars - Leica if you can afford them, and embrace the experience. A few years later I went to Antarctica on a boat for 30 days offline. By then I had hundreds of books on kindle, and several devices to read them. This is basically a solved problem now. I did take Wikipedia in offline state, which was useful. In decades previous when traveling I cared about weight and price per word and focused on "good" books - books that you know you should read but which need a bit of effort. When you are off the grid and in countries where there are few English books then it was a great way to read great books. But now the Internet is everywhere. It might be flaky, and it might be painful to access, but you'll be able to find access to buy and download books relatively easily. Three recommendations, aside from the above which I enjoyed a lot. Bill Aulet: Disciplined Entrepreneurship, covers the topic very well and generously references everything else. The Circle by Dave Eggers paints a picture that's creepily familiar already. League of Denial will have you shake your head gently and sadly at NFL and other contact sports.
• spindritf 12y ago
  Read books you always wanted but wouldn't get around to with all the distractions available at home. Be it classics, political theory, maybe something light and scientific? Generally, whatever doesn't require additional materials. Here are some titles of that kind I enjoyed. Anabasis by Xenophon Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Antifragile by Nassim Taleb Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman The Son also Rises by Gregory Clark
• ChrisCinelli 12y ago
  Read something that will be still relevant in 10 years. Peter Thiel's CS183: Startup notes essays: http://meetingdelleidee.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/cs183-startup-stanford-spring-2012.pdf http://meetingdelleidee.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/cs183-st... And Paul Graham's Essays https://github.com/wcember/pg_complete_essays/blob/master/Paul%20Graham%20--%20Complete%20Essays.pdf https://github.com/wcember/pg_complete_essays/blob/master/Pa... I am not sure how fast you read and how fast your think but those should do it. If you have extra time, open a doc and for each essay, answer these questions: (1) What is relevant here for me that will help in 10 years from now? (2) What is relevant here for me that can help me right now? (3) What are 3 things that I can do right now to put what I read into practice.
• reuwsaat 12y ago
  You're going to Africa. Unless you go there regularly, why on earth would you bring anything. Meet people. Let Africa make an impression upon you.
• b_emery 12y ago
  While traveling through Africa I read A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. Reading about the history while being there makes it all very real. I also just read A Primate's Memoir by Robert Sapolsky, which has some of the wildest travel stories about Africa you could ever imagine. A must read if only to prepare you for what you are about to experience. Those two could keep you busy for a few weeks.