

[Ask HN Commuters]: What do you do on your commute to work? - apgwoz

I recently moved to Brooklyn, NY and commute via the B or Q train to 21st Street every day. It takes about 20-25 minutes, and normally is pretty difficult to move around making it difficult to read from a book. I wish it was possible to predict when I will get a seat, as I would consider purchasing a Netbook for the commute and do real work.<p>I've considered using the time to catch up on RSS feeds, though the lack of any real way to get an Internet connection would make this next to impossible (since some feeds of course only post summaries) unless there was some sort of offline mode in the feed reader. Are there any apps for an iPod Touch that might work in this case?<p>Alternatively or, in conjunction with, I'd love to find a few semi-weekly/daily podcasts that can be listened through entirely on one trip (again, 20-25 minutes), though I wouldn't mind some video podcasts that were short, say 5 minutes or so.<p>So, Hacker News, what would you suggest? Do you know of such apps in the App Store to read offline content? Do you have any recommendations for (video | audio) podcasts that fit the criteria of being short and interesting? Thanks.<p><i>Edit: asking more directly now</i>
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bkovitz
I used to take Caltrain to work (Silicon Valley). It was always possible to
get a seat, so my experience might not be useful to you, but here goes. Some
things I did while commuting:

\- Practice starting conversations with strangers. (I got a few dates from
Caltrain, even.)

\- Taught myself the basics of Scheme by doing a tutorial.

\- Read the next book for my book club.

\- Read and wrote personal email. There was no Internet connection. My
outgoing messages would get queued up and sent later.

\- Veged out. The value of vegging out is not to be discounted. Trying to fill
every moment of life with something "productive" is mostly a way to make
yourself a frazzled wreck.

~~~
apgwoz
> Practice starting conversations with strangers. (I got a few dates from
> Caltrain, even.)

I have tried talking to people, though not to get a date, as I'm happily
married. In my experience so far, New Yorkers don't like to chat with
strangers (note: This is obviously based on a small sample size).

~~~
bkovitz
Actually, I was usually following the strategy of "just start a conversation,
and be open to the possibility of it leading to a date." I started
conversations with men no less than women. The object was just to discover
something interesting, something that I couldn't have found by forethought.
For example, I once had an interesting conversation with a geologist about the
difficulty of communicating with mathematicians, and once joined a couple frat
boys as they walked down the train handing out cans of beer they had brought
along.

I've heard that it's harder to start conversations with New Yorkers. Dunno.
I've also heard that it's impossible to start a conversation with people on
Caltrain, since everyone there is so "cold".

------
igrekel
I got myself in a similar situation about three years ago, and since then
moved and now need to use my car.

Magazines are easier to read because you can fold them and you need to turn
the pages less often than books. Sadly, the ACM Queue magazine is no longer
available in printed form. I also read research articles on the commute,
pocket books only if I could sit down.

I initially tried and don't recommend the netbook as it is difficult to do
anything meaningful in 20 to 25 minutes. And more importantly if you phase out
and nearly miss your stop, they are hard to fold and put back in the bag in a
hurry while you rush for the exit. I don't really know about using apps on an
iPod touch or iPhone since I didn't have one back then. I found podcasts and
audiobooks are the best. Some of them are hard to listen to at a safe volume
in a busy and noisy place like a train or a bus. So look for good sound
quality.

I change podcasts I listen to often but some I have enjoyed when commuting
were things like (I may get the names wrong)

    
    
      - Big Ideas
      - Stanford Entrepreneurial thought leaders seminars
      - The project management podcast (mostly for its great sound quality)

~~~
domodomo
I second audiobooks. I read mostly fiction in print form, but I find I have
trouble getting through longer (400+ page) non-fiction books in traditional
format. However these are perfect for audiobooks, as a good reader can really
bring it to life.

I can usually get through a 10-hour non fiction book in 2-3 weeks with my 30
minute commute.

I usually enjoy a nice podcast at lunch, when I am looking for something more
entertaining and less thought provoking.

------
sown
I pedal really hard followed by bouts of not pedaling at all.

Before the time when I biked to work and took either the bus or VTA light rail
I did manage to read most of two of the intel architecture books plus some
other books on my ebook reader whereas before I never would have done so.

~~~
apgwoz
Pedaling would be nice, but hot and humid days make the rest of the day at
work less than fun. It's about 6 miles, with both kinds of hills.

------
jakestein
I highly recommend Instapaper for offline reading on the iPhone. It also has
an added benefit that I spend less time reading long articles while at work.
Instead, I just click the Read Later bookmarklet, and the article is waiting
for me on my phone in easy to read, text only format.

~~~
apgwoz
Oooooh, instapaper now works on the iPod touch too. Perfect. This may be worth
upgrading from iPod Touch 1.2 to 3.0 for. Thanks for the pointer!

------
pmichaud
I normally rub my eyes, and maybe scratch my ass on the way from my bed to my
office, which is right next to my bedroom.

------
zacharydanger
Reading a bunch of these answers I think, "It must be nice to live in a place
where you don't need a car to get _anywhere_ ". In Texas (specifically DFW),
commuting means sitting in traffic for 30 minutes to an hour.

------
dhimes
I kept a voice recorder in my car. I could dictate to myself the rough draft
of memos and letters. I would also ponder certain problems, and the vr would
let me easily note thoughts or ideas I thought important along the way.

This worked well, but I found that I had to have an objective when I got into
the car; that is, I had to plan it like my other work.

I still have a vr in my car, as a matter of fact, but I no longer commute so I
use it far less. I can, however, take a phone call, and make notes to myself
for follow-up actions.

------
abyssknight
Byline for the iPhone/iPod Touch does offline caching. It integrates with
Google Reader to get the data.

~~~
apgwoz
Byline looks to be exactly what I need. Thanks.

------
yan
I had to take the same exact commute (B or Q from south Brooklyn to DeKalb). I
used to read mostly, and sometimes listen to music. I live in Maryland now and
have a 5 minute drive to work (and anywhere else).

In terms of podcasts, I listen to "The Brain Science Podcast" and "Books and
Ideas" from Dr. Ginger Campbell. I also listen to "Skeptic's Guide to the
Universe". "Radiolab" is great. None of these are daily though.

------
cpr
I would use the time to simply reflect & muse on the (work or home life)
issues of the day (daydream, even), something which is apparently quite
important for any serious progress on any intellectual project.

(See recent HN articles on same, e.g.,
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=605379> .)

------
fortes
I read the New Yorker on my Kindle.

It's very well written, and covers topics I wouldn't normally read up on.
Well-researched, and thorough. Only risk is that sometimes I get too into the
articles and miss my stop, but that's a reasonable trade off :)

I can usually finish an issue before the week's up, so I keep a bunch of other
books on there as well that I'll pick at as well.

I've tried writing / sketching before, but it's difficult given the shakes and
turns of the subway (a little easier if you can get a seat, but that can be
tough as well).

I've also tried podcasts / audiobooks, but the subway is a noisy place
(announcements, train sounds) and it can be hard to catch all the words.
Rewinding to catch things I missed is just too annoying.

------
Poiesis
I highly recommend bicycling, even when it's hot and humid and hilly. I do it,
and it's an awesome start and end to the day. Also, for that distance I'd bet
your commute would be negligibly longer--for me it's about 10 minutes
difference for about the same distance and I'd bet you'd be even faster in
NYC.

You get your exercise in, and you can't back out of the afternoon workout. You
feel great, and you can ditch the gym membership. You generally have to shower
in the AM anyway, so you're not wasting any time if you do it at work vice
home.

If you remain unconvinced, listen to software development podcasts; I've been
following the Stanford iPhone development class.

------
kez
I've had some time to perfect the art of commuting, London style. My first
comment is that your 20-25 commute sounds quite pleasant, I'm lucky to make it
in 45 (although this is, of course, a function of where I chose to live).

Commuting essentials for me are the iPhone, usually with some TV episodes on,
and obviously a bit of music. I have found a good book to be the most engaging
activity...newspapers or articles can be a bit too flitty; you need to be
properly engaged for the "gloss over" the commute.

Having tried the RSS catch-up idea, I would advise against it, as you arrive
at work/home and all those items you've trawled through are still marked as
unread.

------
synnik
Buy a motorcycle. You won't get any more reading done, but you'll have much
more fun.

~~~
krschultz
Not much fun in NYC during rush hour.

------
logic
I read incessantly back when I was commuting, until I was given a smartphone
(older blackberry) for work, with a rudimentary web browser. I still read
incessantly, but on a screen instead of on dead trees.

Today, with a modern smartphone and decent web browser, it's hard to imagine
not being able to get something useful done during travel downtime; my iPhone
and my wife's G1 are fantastic portable desktops if, like us, most of your
interesting bits are online already anyway.

------
HeyLaughingBoy
My drive to/from work is about 30-45 minutes of almost zero traffic most of
the way, so it's very low stress. I listen to various podcasts. Mostly stuff
from IT Conversations or VentureVoice. Otherwise it's Public Radio or the
local jazz station.

When I used to commute by train, I read a lot. Mostly fiction (discovered
there was going to be a Jurassic Park movie when someone next to me noticed I
was reading the book!). Still haven't finished Njal's Saga...

------
arantius
I commute about an hour (40 minutes on the subway) Brooklyn<->Manhattan. I
live at the end of the line, so I get a seat in the morning _every_ time. I
always take the local train, and get a seat almost every time in the evening,
perhaps once a month I end up standing.

I play music to drown out the nasty noise, and usually read, sometimes play
Nintendo DS. Plus the occasional nap.

------
krschultz
The subways are different from other types of commuting. On the train I use my
netbook but once I transfer to the subway I'm either reading a newspaper or
listening to my iPod. Audiobooks are hard to follow in that short of a stretch
+ the interruptions of noise on the subway, so I go with podcasts.

For me espn.com has a lot - especially Bill Simmons, if you are into sports.

------
kierank
A while back I had a long, 1 hour train journey underground. In the mornings
when I had a Palm Vx, then later one of those generic HTC phones I used this:
<http://www.plkr.org/> and synced up all the news sources I read (bbc,
guardian etc) - even with dialup it didn't take that long.

Audiobooks too.

------
darkxanthos
Social Skydiving (thankfully I'm almost done!)

------
gmcerveny
Everyday I take a 15 minute bus to a 15 minute train. On the bus I'll either
veg out or listen to short podcasts.

Short Podcasts I recommend: -stuff you missed in history class -moth podcast
-BBC global news

On the train, I'll read books off my hacker reading list (c programming,
programming pearls, design patterns, etc)

------
rodrigo
I listen to podcasts, Humanities courses found in TunesU, or French lessons
also via podcast, depending on my mood. Search for older threads here, theres
great recommendations there; A couple from my ipod: Hardcore History, The
History of Rome, Philosophy Bites, French Cafe.

------
quellhorst
I grab my laptop, ruby my eyes then walk to the next room, place my laptop on
the desk and sit down.

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eswat
I scour HN shortly before I leave for my 45-minute commute on a bunch of
buses. I'll Instapaper any pages I find interesting and read them on my iPod
touch.

I don't do this when I get back home though. I use that time to think up ideas
for my projects.

------
tsbardella
I used to ride my bicyle but now I drive really really fast on my motorcyle
for 5 mins. all the while singing "Breakin the law" by acdc as loud as I can.

------
Mankhool
I flip open yet another Moleskine and brainstorm it full of ideas. That's 1.5
hours per day that I otherwise wouldn't have completely to myself.

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ken
Learn a foreign language, e.g., japanesepod101.com.

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vaksel
Nothing, since my 'work" is 3 feet away.

I'd suggest "reading" audiobooks. Or if you don't get motion sick, reading
actual books.

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whitcot
I read Real World Haskell on my kindle.

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bkudria
Try Byline, it syncs with Google Reader, and caches feed items, and the pages
they link to.

------
lsc
used to be I'd listen to language tapes while driving.

------
pageman
Hopefully do a Rin/Robert Bernocco -
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/world/asia/20japan.html>

