Walking, and add a weighted vest or backpack. Start light, like 5lb/2.5kg for a week or two, then increase by that much a week until you get to 40% of your body weight in a few months.

I find that 30lb/15kg is a great place to stop though, much more feels pretty rough.

Then just walk around. You can listen to music, podcasts, nature, bird sounds.

Do that 45 a day and you'll be significantly healthier in a few months.

1mo ago

The Steam Controller 2 Got A New Icon And It Further Confirms The Layout

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 1mo ago

I seriously hope it's like the rendering at the bottom of the article with two physical button areas (4 each), two physical joysticks, and two touch pads. That feels like the best of all worlds.

I want to love the Steam Controller 1 so much but the missing right joystick and the touch pad for the left dpad just feels so bad for so many games that were designed for two joysticks. It's so hard to get the muscle memory right. I'm always trying to use the left pad as a dpad and tapping it wrong.

I wish someone could show me what I'm missing but it feels so frustrating

1mo ago

Did it really used to be common for guys to go to a bar every night like in Cheers or The Simpsons?

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 1mo ago

It really is the dream

1mo ago

Did it really used to be common for guys to go to a bar every night like in Cheers or The Simpsons?

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 1mo ago

I live in a tiny NE college town where that happens but for breakfast at a dive coffeeshop. It's loud, packed, the food and coffee are meh, but every single day I can walk in there and see 5-10 locals eating breakfast and shooting the breeze. There's cliques who always sit together, and social butterflies who pick a different group every morning. A bottomless mug of coffee is $3, so folks will just come and hang out from like 8-11am. It's great fun.

There's a brewery next door that's often busy at night but generally it's a quiet town so folks are home chilling after dinner.

1mo ago

After you're done you eat the bowl

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 1mo ago

Who cares, it doesn't have to be OC, and maybe they don't have the credit to attribute

1mo ago

Why the fuck does it cost money to get smarter??

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 1mo ago

To be fair a lot of college graduates learn very little.

Khan Academy is also free and amazing. It's possible with free YouTube and KA to learn nearly any subject you desire.

2mo ago

American cops think they're what American firemen ARE.

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

Yuuup some really low taxes and also a lot of money gets turned into fighter jets and missiles which are of limited use in a structure fire. If they asked me I'd shave off a cheeky 5% of our defense budget and turn it into emergency response but they don't ask

2mo ago

American cops think they're what American firemen ARE.

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

Some are, for sure, but not all.

I know it's corny, but thank you for your service. You know we still need your help to keep the fire service a welcoming place for new volunteers. Maybe you could sign back up at your new local in a more limited capacity? The more of us there are the better for everyone.

2mo ago

American cops think they're what American firemen ARE.

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

I've never met firefighter who carries a taser. We've got our hands full with crowbars, axes, ladders, hose, radio, thermal imaging camera, and air monitors. I legit don't know where I'd even store a taser.

Maybe it's fire police who are carrying tasers?

2mo ago

American cops think they're what American firemen ARE.

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

Every volunteer fire/EMS organization in the USA is struggling to keep the trucks filled. Most stations in the country are one or two volunteers away from just shutting down entirely.

If you can show up, please volunteer! My station desperately needs not just firefighters - these roles at my station are barely covered by a few overworked volunteers:

accountants to track gear and vehicle deprecation and keep our books
grant writers to get us new equipment
social media people to spread the word
photographers to tell a story at the fire scene
cooks to help us with social events and build community
mechanics to work on the apparatus
drivers to drive the apparatus (even just back and forth to mechanic shops takes a lot of time)
detailed people to inventory equipment / replacement schedules
artists to make cool banners for community events
people to manage renting out the building to the community to help pay for the station upkeep
IT folks to help fix station Internet / manage digital records / select vendors / deal with station computers and email accounts
Web developers to make and manage our website
leadership to sit on the board and direct the organization
finance people to help manage investments

Most fire companies would be thrilled to have someone show up and join as a member with the goal of just doing one or more of these roles. We don't just need firefighters, we need a whole host of other things to keep the organization healthy and stable. We've seen what happens when these roles are neglected: we lose memberhip and when we lose membership we lose the bench needed to keep the trucks filled and ready to respond.

(I will say, if you do try to respond and find the people at the station are grumpy, generally it's because they're extremely overworked and lash out because of it. Don't let them push you away, you are doing this for your community, not for someone at the station)

2mo ago

What do ambulances do with patients cars?

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

We leave them there and if it's damaged call a tow truck to come pick it up. If it's not damaged we'll maybe drive it out of the way or see if a patient's family member can come pick it up. Sometimes the cops will just have it towed anyway since it can't just stay on the road.

2mo ago

Is Star Trek Discovery that bad?

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

The worst Trek is still better to watch than a heck of a lot of other TV

2mo ago

What body changes would y'all want in a trans humanist sci-fi future?

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

I have pretty good smell, like I can sometimes follow a person's scent trail, can tell who are related, smell cooking in neighbors houses, etc.

I suspect we would decide that farts are socially acceptable. Lots more people sneak farts than you'd think, and you just get used to it. Calling it out is crass and childish. Same with bad breath, general BO, skin, stuff on shoes. But also mold and yeast in places you wouldn't suspect. We'd instantly ban all scented soaps, dishwasher detergents, and especially dryer sheets, those smell awful.

I definitely have a higher tolerance for natural smells but much lower tolerance for synthetic smells from the average person.

2mo ago

[ Weekly Challenge #99 ] forgotten places

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 2mo ago

3mo ago

Not trying to disparage first responders on 911. Why aren't nurses included with fire and police departments? Did we not take care of people on the backend of the rescuing?

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Pencilnoob @lemmy.world 3mo ago

Keep in mind most firefighters in the USA are volunteers who just drive to the station when there's a fire - not paid professionals.

My station just hired our first full time paramedics, we have a few part time paid firefighter+EMTs, and some volunteer firefighter+EMTs.

While we're not getting that many fire calls, the few we get are pretty bad. Like, would burn down a neighborhood bad, because everything is now made from fast burning plastics. Sofas, carpets, house paint, siding, roofs, furniture, and clothes are all pretty much petroleum based. And will burn extremely hot and fast when it catches, spreading to all the surrounding exposure buildings.

My buddy works at Underwriters Laboratories and was saying they just did a burn test that showed the typical house today will catch neighboring houses on fire just from the infrared radiation through their windows. Even if the neighboring houses are soaking wet, the insides can still catch fire through the windows.

So we're in a jam - we hardly ever have real house fires, but they are extremely dangerous and will burn the whole town down if we don't get there asap.

Not to mention all the car crashes, hazmat spills, EMS lift assists. I'm sure there's a way we can improve the situation, but I honestly don't know what it would look like. The US is a huge place that's very spread out, I don't think we're ever going to fully go away from volunteer firefighters, as much as I think it would be more efficient.

Long story short, if you're able to lift a 30lb box overhead, the volunteer fire service is desperate in most places. Volunteerism is down like 90% from it's peak. But most fire stations are entirely volunteer. So there's a very real need for more folks to pitch in. I'm happy to chat with anyone who is curious and wants to get into it. I highly recommend it, it's done wonders for my personal life.