Timeshifting: Cram More Into Life 432
jimharris writes "The VCR started it - and then the DVR improved it, so now I want to apply the concept of timeshifting in other ways. I've always wanted an audio cassette player that worked like a VCR so I could listen to more radio talk shows. This morning's NY Times stirred my interest with After TiVo, Radio Rewound about a MP3 device that does just that. Better yet, is Replay Radio - software that is more flexible and you can download the results to a portable player.
I already use Audible.com to squeeze in more books in my life, by listening, rather than reading. I've completed 8 unabridged books in two months just by carrying around my Otis player when I get dressed in the morning, driving to and from work, doing housework, or when I exercise.
Now I'm wondering how I can timeshift even more."
Oh boy (Score:5, Insightful)
Faster pussycat! To the Library! (Score:5, Insightful)
Dontcha think it's possible to go a bit too far [fasterbook.com] with the cramming?
why timeshift? (Score:5, Insightful)
Quality vs Quantity (Score:1, Insightful)
Radio talk shows? I'd say the issue isn't having more time but how you are using the time you have already.
Re:Tivo2 (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think I've ever wanted to rewind radio. The need just doesn't seem to be that overwhelming.
Is timeshifting really /better/ ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Do you really absorb as much listening to something while you do other things as sitting down and reading? I have enough trouble getting it all to sink in and not skimming boring parts with a good ol' mass market paperback
Ghetto engineering (Score:5, Insightful)
Ghetto engineering! I jacked my stereo through the back of a VCR's audio in, used a VHS tape set on SLP, program the VCR to start and stop recording at a predetermined time, and abracadabra: 6 hours of hassle free recording.
Glad to know that there are less ghetto ways of doing it now, the Griffin Technology RadioSHARK looks promising for OSX. www.griffintechnology.com
Re:why timeshift? (Score:3, Insightful)
No-one's saying you've got to buy one of these, or even that if you've got one you have to use it all the time.
No more drivsway-moments? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:why timeshift? (Score:5, Insightful)
Damn, Unplug and take a walk (Score:5, Insightful)
Once a year for a week I just force myself to unplug. I yank the network cards and modems out of my machines, unplug the controllers on my game systems, take my tv remote, monitor power cord, PDA and cel phone - put it all in a box and drop it off at a friend's house.
No radio, no news, no newspapers, no magazines, no tv, no nothing. I allow myself books, but only stuff that I've been planning to read for at least a year and putting off. The first few days are a little stressing, I start to get jittery and keep panicking that I'm missing something important. But by the end of the week I've got more perspective on life, more perspective on all those little electronic leashes that I impose on myself and generally a much much much lower tolerance for most of the info-garbage that I regularly consume.
Someone who's unironically posting a message seeking help on ways to more efficiently consume more media than he already does has to step back and think about that for a second. I don't mean to sound judgemental at all - really - but damn man, if your problem is that you can't figure out how to cram a little more media into your life then you need to step back for a minute and really give your life a good hard ponder.
I don't mean to sound all hippy zen on you, but when was the last time you felt grass on your bare feet? Best of luck, but no one ever said on their death bed, "If only I had listened to more talk radio..."
Maybe we actually DONT need more distractions.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Really want more time? Throw the damn TIVO out! (Score:1, Insightful)
Alvin Toffler: Future Shock (Score:5, Insightful)
Future Shock [amazon.com] by Alvin Toffler [wired.com].
-kgj
Re:8 Book in 2 months? (Score:2, Insightful)
Just because YOU cannot finish War and Peace in one week does not mean its not interesting.
Re:Cram more into life ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Time compression (Score:5, Insightful)
On some shows eliminating pauses, laugh tracks, and speeding it up would be fine (talk shows, cooking shows, sports, reality shows) but for any work of fiction (movies, dramas, even sitcoms) timing and pacing are a significant part of what makes the show good or bad (sit through a poorly edited movie sometime, or watch any of the last several seasons of Friends and you'll see what I mean). Eliminating these subtle touches greatly affects the perception of the quality of the show.
be one with your thoughts, dude (Score:1, Insightful)
Stress is a major factor in heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and a list of other issues including even impotence.
When you're constantly "plugged in" - book while getting dressed, music in the car, music on headphones at work, book on tape on the way going home, Tivo to watch all evening, etc - when do you get to resolve or even consider stressful issues in your life?
When you make time to be alone with your thoughts, you'd be surprised at the results. You have time to mull over and address those issues in your life, and allow what is important to occupy your mind, rather than some mind numbing song or droning book filling your ears.
Of course, there are plenty of people in the world that would hear nothing at all in their heads if their iPod was ever turned off, but that's another issue.
Re:Time compression (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Good idea, actually (Score:1, Insightful)
Oh, you're right. It's sooo much better to have your attention divided while driving, as opposed to while coding.
Not enough free time (Score:4, Insightful)
People have been complaining about "not having enough free time - we used to have so much free time, but we don't anymore. We have too much work!" The theory was that we don't have as much leisure time as we once did - that work was somehow consuming it all.
So, they had these people record what they were doing for a few weeks.
They found that the people were correct in that the didn't have as much "free" (i.e. uncommitted) time. However, they had VASTLY more leisure time - it was just crammed full of leisure activities!
Yes, you can time shift/time compress TV and radio, listen to books on tape while you drive, read
But please, should you do this, don't bitch about not having enough "free" time - you chose to live that way, you have the problem with knowing what activities you cannot do without, YOU CONSUMED ALL YOUR FREE TIME!
Recommendations (Score:4, Insightful)
speedread - If you pronounce words in your mind as you read them, you are forced to read much slower than if you learn to read without that habit. Supposedly one can read and fully comprehend a few thousand of words a minute.
abridged books - You claim to read unabridged books, but if you're wanting to absorb more, why not read the versions that get to the point quicker?
read/listen/watch only shows/stories/articles recommended by trusted sources - People you know recommend that you should read/watch/listen to certain things. Some turn out to be a waste time, but some turn out to be truly enjoyable. Only listen to those who have usually recommended the latter.
ask for paraphrasings of stories - Maybe you don't need to read/watch a story. Maybe it's not worth your time/interest to go through every word. Just get someone who's good at summarizing to explain the story to you within 2 minutes. Maybe that will be entertaining enough.
fast forward - If you liked Alvin and the Chipmunks, then try this. A friend of mine watches all of his anime at double speed. I think he's nuts, but it works for him.
switch to cell phone-only - Here's something I follow. If you only have a cell-phone, you have an excuse to hang up on people who talk too much, "Sorry, using up too much airtime. Gotta go."
pay someone else to do housework - A maid can clean your house for a reasonable fee once a week. Please don't hire an illegal alien though.
carpool - You might have to drive to work and do your Otis listening routine sometimes, but othertimes, you can sit in the back while you speedread. This works best if you can ignore your talkative buddies and maintain focus.
drink more coffee - Just make sure it doesn't interfere with the sleep you need. Most people need enough sleep to maintain most of their ability to pay attention to what they read/listen to/watch.
work less hours - depends on your priorities in life. If you're an independent contractor who's being paid a lot, maybe you can take off a day every other week to get more reading in.
become financially independent - or maybe you don't have to work at all after you've saved your money enough or started a business that runs itself.
raise your slashdot filter - Most of the posts here are crap. You shouldn't bother with anything less than a rating of 4 unless you're moderating.
Re:Other ways to timeshift (not just audio) (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Oh boy (Score:2, Insightful)
Guilty? (Score:5, Insightful)
Timeshifting vs. Prioritizing (Score:5, Insightful)
Why are we trying to cram all this stuff into our lives? When you multitask your entertainment, all it does is take some of the pleasure out of it. I'd rather *read* a single book in two months and really take it in than squeeze 8 of them into the little gaps of time during the day.
I subscribe to the field of thought that it's better to make priorities of what makes you happiest and go after a few of them full bore in the spare time you have, rather than spend a little time with each of them and get nowhere. Accept the fact that you can't possibly do everything you want, and take seriously the things you *can* do.
Re:reading while distracted (Score:2, Insightful)
When I was being overwhelmed with material I found I was wasting my time reading some things too carefully and wasn't enjoying some novels b/c I read them too carefully.
Re:why timeshift? (Score:5, Insightful)
And yes, commercials can be considered 'dead' time, but I'd rather have 20 minutes of dead time in a row versus 20 minutes of dead time split into 3 minute chunks every 10 minutes.
The parent's insightful (Score:4, Insightful)
So in those days when our descendants won't have to sleep to stay alive, what will they REALLY do with all the extra hours?
Re:Other ways to timeshift (not just audio) (Score:5, Insightful)
These suggestions are totally half baked. Viz:
" Rearrange your work schedule so you start at 7am and get off at 3pm or 4pm. By hitting the streets at semi- off hours you will cut your commute time by possibly half (less traffic.)"
Better solution: find a place to live within 5 minute's walk of work or subway ride. Then you will save on your commute time and not have to get up early. If there is no subway and no residential neighborhoods near work, dump suburbia and move to a proper city. What's the point of freeing up all that time if you're stuck in Boonsville?
"By hitting your seat at 7am when the office is empty and quiet you can get more productive sooner, and get more done between 7am and 9am than most people have done by noon."
This only makes sense if you don't work closely with other people. If you do, you'll spend 2 hours from 7 to 9 waiting for the others to get in. If you can work for hours without needing to ask anyone else for anything, then ask your boss if you can work from home part-time.
"Let a woman take you clothes shopping, throw out everything in your closet and replace it with whatever she suggests. Make sure everything matches everything else. Time saved : none, but nobody will know you got dressed in the dark before you had caffeine in your system."
Wear a suit to work. You can wear the same suit everyday, with the same tie and a range of identical shirts, and no-one will think it odd.
"Don't sleep in on weekends. Get up at your regular time instead of 11am and you have effectively doubled the number of hours of daylight you get on each weekend day."
That may be true, but what's the point? Surely a big reason for saving time where it's not needed is to give you more relaxation time, not less.
"Get your news from FARK (www.fark.com) In the hour it takes to watch the news on TV you could have a synopsis of the important events around the globe from a hundred different news sources. If it is newsworthy, it's on FARK."
Listen to the radio news while doing other things. Try NPR and you might even learn something. Alternatively, admit that for 99.99% of what's reported, there's no reason why you need to know it straight away. So just catch up with the news weekly instead of daily.
"Cancel your MMORPG accounts (stop playing Everquest). This will give you back 1000 hours per year. Maybe more."
And stop reading slashdot. That will save even more.
Make your choice (Score:2, Insightful)
I am just the opposite.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Stop and smell the roses...sit in one place and daydream...meditate...lay in the sun streaming in through the screen door on a warm day and take a nap...watch an ant mound...observe the wind through the trees, and the fall of leaves.
I was far more creative and energetic when I spent more time doing those things than I am now, every waking moment crammed with some activity - either work or family oriented.
It is not the quantity, but the quality of the life you live that counts.
Re:Time compression (Score:3, Insightful)
I wouldn't be particularly surprised if you finished the Harry Potter series while in the shower or cooking or whatever, but that's not stuff that's going to stick with you. And so, IMHO, it's a waste of brain power anyway. There's a reason GEB hasn't ben released as an audiobook.
As a grad student I find that time valuable because I'm not reading. It allows me to "flush my buffer". I find that if I'm to really understand a paper I have to spend at least as much time thinking and not reading it as I do staring at the page. Indeed, quite frequently staring at the page is counterproductive.
And while the time not reading but thinking is valuable, what I find most valuable is the time spent not thinking of anything at all.
So reread your Thoreau people. No, REALLY read it, and simplify.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Guilty? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hey, wait, you're right.
Re:Tivo2 (Score:3, Insightful)
I would guess you don't commute in your car in the NYC metro area. If you only hear parts of a report about a road closing you'd want to hit the 8-second rewind a few times, too. Not to mention how many times have I (and others) just missed the latest traffic report "on the 8's" while listening to a CD.. i'd love to cache radio while playing cd's.
Re:Other ways to timeshift (not just audio) (Score:4, Insightful)
I bought a laptop to get work done during those stupid sadist meetings. It worked! I'm not invited to meetings anymore. (True Story.)
Re:Cram more into life ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Am I the only one who thinks modding up of comments like this is ignorant? "Don't do what you enjoy doing, instead, go outside because it's automatically better than using a computer for reasons I won't go into."
Re:Other ways to timeshift (not just audio) (Score:3, Insightful)
Productivity != Advancement
When layoff time comes around, is it better to be:
Or
The guy who's always here when things go to hell, even at 8:25 before anyone's had a cup of coffee, and yet he somehow manages to fix it before the 8:55 management meeting?
You have much to learn, PFY, before you can truly ascend to BOFHdom.
Re:I hope this trend doesn't continue... (Score:3, Insightful)
On the other hand, I've gone through a great time-shifing system myself. I got rid of any sort of TV reception. That all by itself has given me hours each day where I am free, instead of flipping through channels waiting for that ONE episode of Seinfeld I somehow missed.
I'm not a 'Kill your television' fanatic, but I do think it is a big huge timesink. And- it will make you fat! Just ask the people at Yahoo! Health [yahoo.com]