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Enlightenment GUI Entertainment

Why Do Other Geeks Leave the House? 262

Posted by Cliff from the become-a-hermit! dept.
JG_Elliott asks: "Being a geek getting more and more frustrated with shopping trips, I've turned to the internet to buy things to save time and effort. This made me wonder, other than leaving the house for work/lectures/school, why do other geeks leave the house? What is in the big wide-world that you can't get online (other than real sex)? What do other geeks get up to in their spare time, that they recommend, as something to do out of the house?"
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Why Do Other Geeks Leave the House? More

Why Do Other Geeks Leave the House?

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  • I go out to eat often. I'm also a frequent movie goer and love playing darts if I can find people to go out with.

    • Re:Food, Movies, Darts (Score:3, Insightful)

      by saden1 ( 581102 )
      While video games are fun there are other fun activities that can be had. In the summer I like to go for a walk at the beach or just drive around. Playing some basketball or tenist also requires getting out of the house. Also, being locked up in your house 24/7 will surely make you go insane.

  • Life (Score:2, Interesting)

    by empaler ( 130732 )
    Excercise, fresh air, sun.
    The ability to poke at my greens before paying for them.
    Oh yeah, and I have WLAN and my are is heavily saturated by unsecured networks.

    • Re:Life (Score:2, Funny)

      by mroch ( 715318 )
      Exercise outside? I can type just as well indoors...

      • Re:Life (Score:3, Funny)

        by stfvon007 ( 632997 )
        My college has a couple miles of nature trails that I often use to jog on. There was also my trip to florida during which time I only spent a few minutes on a computer. ( still gotta check my email ;) )

    • Re:Life (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Wolfrider ( 856 )
      --One word that helps me to retain my fragile sanity in a sea of economic madness:

      Motorcycling.

      --If you think you might enjoy it, take a safety course to get your license. It is *definitely* worth the training.

  • Life (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cranx ( 456394 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:40PM (#8740806)
    Life is out there.
    • BOOYA!

      Leaving the house was the best thing that ever happened to me.

      As Geeks, we may be mostly 'in our heads' but by weight and by volume, we're mostly body. We're mostly human. Humans have human needs.

      • Re:Life (Score:5, Funny)

        by chrismear ( 535657 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @03:08AM (#8744794) Homepage

        Leaving the house was the best thing that ever happened to me. ... Humans have human needs.

        You do know they make indoor toilets now, right?

      • My wife (the best thing that ever happened to me) isn't much of a computer user (an understatement to say the least). She helps me balance my life with things like backpacking, sea kayaking (our latest passion), walking, winemaking (and grape picking) as well as dining out.

    • Re:Life (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Metal_Demon ( 694989 )
      (rant) Okay I don't want to comment on this, but I HAVE to. For starters (Score:5,Insightful) for a one line opinion (that doesn't even answer the question) is silly. That however, is not my main issue. Instead I must argue that life is EVERYWHERE. I am constantly busy and extremely happy and I almost never leave my room when I don't have to. The only thing "out there" is people, most of whom suck, oh yeah and the sun (the bain of my existence). Anyways, point being the outdoors isn't for everybody and I wi

  • Uh.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by hookedup ( 630460 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:41PM (#8740820)
    To go see the new star wars..duh.

  • Only one thing (Score:5, Funny)

    by pen ( 7191 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:42PM (#8740830)
    Buying a new house. If my current house runs out, I have to buy a new one. In order to do that, I have to leave my current house.

  • eat,sex,shit (Score:5, Funny)

    by el00343 ( 728678 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:44PM (#8740848)
    ...that's about everything I can't do online. Of course,if you have a laptop,everything changes

  • 'enlightenment' topic (Score:3, Funny)

    by Mandrake ( 3939 ) <mandrake@mandrake.net> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:44PM (#8740849) Homepage Journal
    I like the fact that 'enlightenment' was the topic for this. hilarious.

    although to actually answer the question, it is nice to go for walks outside of the house, and you do need a change of scenery every so often.

  • I'm in college, so naturally I have to go to class and things like that. After that, I assume I will have a job to support myself and that I'll be working there (whether that is the US or India, I don't know). For recreation, I typically leave for sex, mountain biking, or swimming. Yes, I do have non-computer interests. That doesn't mean they're non-geeky though :).
  • PUT DOWN THE MOUSE.... TURN OFF THE PC.... THROW THE MONITOR OUT THE WINDOW..... THIS IS AN INTERVENTION!!!!

    By throwing your pc out the window you will be overcome with the need to go out of the house for things like... food... shopping.. CONTACT WITH OTHER PEOPLE.

    This might in turn lead to things like... a social life.... friends... things to do.

    Remarakbly this actually leads non-internet people to opertunity to do things out of the house as will as get them invited to such events.

    Think about it.

  • Supermarket (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dacarr ( 562277 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:45PM (#8740862) Homepage Journal
    Because, quite frankly, you can't get decent produce by sending somebody else to get it.

  • It's depressing to be in the same place always (Score:4, Insightful)

    by daviddennis ( 10926 ) <david@amazing.com> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @04:52PM (#8740916) Homepage
    I like to shop because it takes me out of the house, and out of Geekdom for a while. I also like being able to see and touch things before I plunk down my hard-earned.

    I find that a bit of human contact, even if it's saying hi to the cheerful checker at Gelson's, leaves me reenergised and ready to take on new items back in the Geek Castle :-).

    Besides, how could I check out the latest Apple stuff without visiting the Apple Store?

    D
  • Go watch that movie. It should answer your question.

    • Re:THX1138 (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MillionthMonkey ( 240664 )
      Unfortunately, this little gem is only available on VHS. Hey George Lucas! This is the best movie you ever made. Release it on DVD!

      THX is about a bleak futuristic society that lives underground following some unmentioned apocalypse. (The movie doesn't elaborate on this, but the people that still live on the surface- "shell-dwellers"- are short little bearded mutants who grunt instead of talking, so I guess the movie takes place after a nuclear war.) Life underground is highly efficient and regulated, sex i

      • Re:THX1138 (Score:2, Insightful)

        by dasheel ( 218574 )
        The "unmentioned apocalypse" was really just the end result of the Bush Administration.

      • Re:THX1138 (Score:3, Informative)

        by MillionthMonkey ( 240664 )
        Well what do you know? It appears [r2-dvd.org] that a DVD restoration of THX-1138 is due out in June. Lucas has been promising additional special effects. Hopefully this does not mean airbrushed walkie talkies.
  • April Fool to you, too...

    I just got back from a walk around the building where I work. Sunny, mild breeze, low 70's (F). Gorgeous day. Too nice to spend all of it sitting in front of a computer screen.

    Bye now...

  • Mountain biking (Score:3, Funny)

    by real_smiff ( 611054 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:04PM (#8741058)
    It's been mentioned once, but seriously, it's so much better outdoors. I've heard sex outdoors can also be good (wanking outside doesn't count - but is still probably healthier. um, don't get caught).

    (btw, is this topic amusing or depressing? insightful or flamebait? not sure.)

    • Shagging under the sun, moon or stars, given a mild evening, is a wonderful thing to do!!! Particularly if there's a miniature golf course nearby, as the greens are soft and won't spike you or your beloved (or belusted) in the arse as make the beast with two backs.

  • My Car (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Sheeplet ( 120355 )
    I can't race my car inside, that's why I go out there.

  • Why not? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Vincman ( 584156 ) <vincent.vanwylick@gmail . c om> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:09PM (#8741123) Homepage
    I think a more interesting and honest question is 'Why do people not leave the house?'. Is is related to past experiences? Is it a result or cause of social phobia? Is it related to the satisfying of short-term objectives? Is it related to intelligence or laziness? Is there a correlation between any variable (e.g. happiness) and time spent ouside?
    So does the good of outside-activity outweigh the bad, or vice versa? The relationship between obesity and inmobility has already been discussed numerous times [google.com].
    In my opinion, there are lots of reasons to leave the house, which outweigh spending time inside. The best answer was already given: Life is out there! Nothing beats the sweet smell/feel/taste of ... (fill in gap yourself)!

    • Re:Why not? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @07:39PM (#8742497)
      > I think a more interesting and honest question is 'Why do people not leave the house?'

      What's outside the hosue is as boring as the Sims, but it's even slower, the speed-up key can only be used once a day, and it only works at night, when you're at home trying to game, rather than you just pushing fast-forward during the day when nobody's home!

      The list of defects goes on. Like, there's no fucking save/restore feature either! Spend six weeks setting up a menage-a-trois with your boss' wife and just one lousy goat, and you might as well pull out the old .45 and reformat.

      No way, man. The game outside the house is teh sux. I wouldn't even warez it.

    • Whenever I leave the house I end up coming home WAY too late with WAY too high a blood alcohol content.

      I've found that by staying home during the week I can get much more done and feel much healthier.

    • Re:Why not? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by slaker ( 53818 )
      I'll bite and respond in a serious fashion:

      1. Allergies make 3 of four seasons unpleasant for me. Snow handles the other one. I usually have to wear gloves and a mask to be outside for more than 10 minutes.
      2. No social life. In my case, this is a literal truth. Zero. None. I'm severely depressed and suffer from accute social anxiety. Theoretically, the proper treatments for those conditions involve medication and acclimating myself to different conditions, but this has been an entirely negative experience

  • Lots of stuff... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by AlphaOne ( 209575 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:13PM (#8741189)
    What is in the big wide-world that you can't get online[...]

    Well, sunshine and fresh air come to mind.

    You'll also find there's far more opportunity to expand your horizons out in the "big wide-world" than there will be within your residence.
    • There's fresh air where you live? Usually it seems like a nice choice betwean car fumes, garbage fumes, or inconsiderate people hacking their diseases into everyone elses breathing space for me.

  • Two reasons... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by immortal ( 145467 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:14PM (#8741197) Homepage
    One, fresh vegatables at the local farmers market, and two, basics like milk and eggs.

  • joy? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by M1FCJ ( 586251 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:16PM (#8741208) Homepage
    Taking photographs. Walking to the riverside and watching swans. To feel the sun shining, wind blowing. For going to the pub and having a couple of pints of warm ale. To go and lay down on the grass in the park and read a good book. For fun and joy.
  • What do other geeks get up to in their spare time, that they recommend, as something to do out of the house?

    A job?

    SB

  • Train Spotting (Score:2, Interesting)

    by nukenerd ( 172703 )
    You put on an anorak, find somewhere you can watch trains going past, and write down their numbers.

    • "Train spotting" is now a loaded term, being associated with heroin use.

      The politically correct term for someone who does this is "railway enthusiast" or "rail fan". If you wear an anorak, "gunzel" [urbandictionary.com] may also be appropriate.

  • My Top 3 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by wolf- ( 54587 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:41PM (#8741462) Homepage
    Soccer, Kneeboarding, paintball.
    All non-computer related activities.
    All semi-healthy.
    All adrenaline pumping.

  • A lotta slashdot types love photography. Look for digital camera articles and count the comments...

    Many others like me also have radio-controlled devices like airplanes to fly. Beside these, I enjoy travel in general, camping, visiting nearby cities and large scientific installations like the Brookhaven National Labs, although I have to visit the Sudbury Neutrino obs. up here. Aircraft museums arent too bad either.

    Beside these, I also happen to work. I cant quite debug a crashed firewall from home. I stil

  • Re: Why Do Other Geeks Leave the House? (Score:4, Funny)

    by manavendra ( 688020 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:43PM (#8741484) Homepage Journal
    To throw garbage

    (The cleaning company refused to send their employees inside my house to pick up the garbage bags)
    • However, you'll have to find a hardware company that delivers, or for those without a good set of tools, you can look into kits [catapultkits.com] and I'd suggest changing to heavier trash bags [truevalue.com].

      But really, in the whole scheme of things, one trip outside to make your own [trebuchet.com] would save countless other trips.

      My other thought was to dig a tunnel to the edge of my property, and installing an elevator there that I can lower, put the trash on, and raise back into position, but I still need something to dispose of all of the dirt that

  • Leave the House (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 01, 2004 @05:51PM (#8741571)
    Apart from work, I leave the house to be Rejected by Women at parties.

    It's better than drinking alone alone.

    (I'm joking THey Run screaming before they can reject me :P )

  • Coffee shops (Score:3, Insightful)

    by greywire ( 78262 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @06:00PM (#8741662) Homepage
    Go to your local coffee shop and relax with a cup of java. Then do one of the following, depending on who you are:

    1. Feel good about yourself as you observe the fact that you are not like the other complete losers who frequent coffee shops because they have no life, no job, and have nothing but superficial "friends" and juvenile dramas. Then go home and truly appreciate it.

    2. Revel in the fact that all your friends are there and enjoy the sense of community and belongingness that comes from being just like everyone else while you enjoy your Starbucks coffee which you think is just the pinnacle of fine coffee enjoyment. Then go home and be patheticaly depressed.
  • Ha ha that was really funny, until I realized that since I've been engaged I rarely leave the house for any reason other than work, family obligations (includes things I do "for" my fiance) and food shopping.

    My entire life is now ruled by work and a girl with an unending supply of ballet tickets!

  • Sun (Score:2, Insightful)

    by DAldredge ( 2353 )
    Sunlight.
    Wind.
    Clouds.
    Sounds of Nature.

  • to get away... (Score:2, Funny)

    by d_p ( 63654 )
    ...from all of the stupid April Fools posts on /.
  • What is in the big wide-world that you can't get online (other than real sex)?

    Many online escort services make house calls. If you promise to tip them nicely, they'll even bring pizza and beer.

  • to get away from the gear (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tverbeek ( 457094 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:19PM (#8743094) Homepage
    The last time I was at peace with the universe was a week I spent backpacking in the wilderness. In some ways it was like being at home (i.e. sleeping alone, almost no human interaction), but the only electronic device I had on me (or within a few days' hike) was my camera. No TV, no computer, no PDA, no phone, no pager, no radio, not even a watch... nada. Just me, the trails, the moose, the lakes, the wolf tracks, and the stars.

  • oddly enough, golf (Score:2, Interesting)

    by grocer ( 718489 )
    golf is good and relaxing...not to mention a fine way to enjoy a cigar outside. If that doesn't lose my geek statues nothing will...although I probably lost my geek status sometime around getting married and dealing with children...

    currently, tho, I do have to admin the house...which consists of 4 desktops and 3 or 4 laptops...of which I have 2 iBooks, 1 WinXP, 1 Win98, 3 WinME, 1 FreeBSD, and 1 RedHat...plus the collection in the basment..oh, well...

  • fresh air (Score:3, Informative)

    by SanityInAnarchy ( 655584 ) <ninja@slaphack.com> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:07PM (#8743369) Journal
    The geek habitat is warm, cozy, and smells like bawls [thinkgeek.com] mixed with sweat, blood, and sorrow. Sometimes you just need to get out to breathe after drowning your memories in brute force [thinkgeek.com].

  • Easy! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pseudonym ( 62607 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:35PM (#8743505)

    If you don't go out of the house, you can't justify the purchase of your mobile (cell) phone, PDA, portable MP3 player and so on. So clearly, one important reason to go outside is to use your personal gadgetry.

  • scuba diving (Score:2, Funny)

    by Bishop ( 4500 )
    I find it hard to go scuba diving indoors. Even if I did have a deep pool I think I would miss the pretty fish and stuff.

  • Playing with GPS (Score:3, Informative)

    by Devar ( 312672 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @12:26AM (#8744147) Homepage Journal
    To go Geocaching [geocaching.com]!
  • Two things I try to get first in the real world, and only resort to the net when that fails.

  • The usual. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Vanieter ( 613996 )
    Beer, shows, beer, cinema, beer, D&D, beer, beer.

  • D & D (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) * on Friday April 02, 2004 @12:59AM (#8744318)
    Playing D & D is usually a lot more fun in Real Life vs. over the internet. Actually using Dice and having a paper stat sheet. A board with squares and some putter figurines (I Have monorail operator Homer Simon from Simpons Monopoly). It is just better that way. It is not always can I do it Online but more of is it better offline.

  • My list... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SphericalCrusher ( 739397 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @01:07AM (#8744357) Journal
    Go to the movies. (I work there, so I get in free.) I LOVE movies. Also, this includes my date.

    Seeing my girlfriend in general. Pretty weird for a geek to have a girlfriend, eh?

    Radiohead concerts. Concerts in general though.

    Hanging out with friends

    Besides this, I stay at home programming/hacking/playing video games/talking online/talking on the phone/social engineering/etc.

  • Work From Home (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Tarwn ( 458323 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @09:16AM (#8745752) Homepage
    I work from home, which means a guaranteed 9+ hour stretch of having to be indoors. Then I get off work and have to play a few minutes of stress relief in the form of HL or BF1942. By that time I have to go sit down and relax cuz I'm tired from the long work day. After about 30 minutes of that my computer chimes and starts up Stargate, so 50/50 chance I'll watch it live rather than let it record it (I never go back to watch the recorded ones, wierd I know). Then I or my fiance makes dinner (she has now come home from work). Then I sit with her for a while, then a little more gaming or work on a side project. Then bed time.

    Complete list of Leaving the House:
    - I smoke and my cat has fragile respiratory (projectile cat snot sucks) so I smoke outside. 15-ish trips/day tothe side patio
    - We just moved a month ago and have a horrendous lawn, so 3 afternoons outside doing yardwork and 1 trip to Lowes for way to expensive equipment
    - Food shopping. I eat better than my fiance (I grew up eating fresh food) so I have to be there to do stuff like order the deli meat and pick out fruit and such. Haven't signed up for the Lowes food delivery pogram yet :)

    Food shopping and buying cigarettes are the only reoccurring trips out of the driveway. Sometimes it worries me that I don't leave as much as I used to, but one plus side is that for the first time in 6 years I am putting less than average mileage on my car...and while I do enjoy things that can't be done at my house, there are many more things that I enjoy more at my house. Plus we have pampas grass. It's evil. I cut the 12 foot one down to two feet, I feel the need for a maniacal laugh coming on....

  • The sun (Score:2, Funny)

    by Lewis Daggart ( 539805 )
    That bright yellow thing outside that keeps us warm. I've yet to find a sutable replacement online. ..of course, I live in Seattle, so I've yet to find the real thing either.
  • Beacuse buying tangible products for your tangible body is tricky business. Unless you want to lose your ass on shipping charges.

    I've bought stuff from Old Navy once or twice. Sometimes I'm a M, others a S, and once I was an XS. And that was in the same visit. Other times, you may like it online, only to find out its junk. The camera does hide a lot.

    Then there are things where you care more than a store staff would. Think fruits and vegitables. You pick the best ones, and you expend your measure of "decen
  • It's amazing how much a trip to the park can brighten the day of your average four year old.

    I spent an hour and a half there yesterday with my little ones, climbing in the jungle jim (or at least the super duper triply safe child exploration environment that has replaced what we grew up with), jumping from the swings, and just generally being a kid again myself.

    Now that spring has firmly taken hold here, I plan on at least two trips to the park a week. Knowing me though, it will probably be more like 3-4
  • Please go out and see the desert, especially Death Valley. Experience the perfect silence and more stars than you've ever seen. Go out on a moonless or cresent-moon night and feel completely encased in darkness so perfect you can't even see your hand in front of your face.

  • Sometimes it's nice to get out of the house and do things, like take a walk, read at a cafe, socialize with people, enjoy a nice spring day, go skiing, vacation, and to live life!

    While the world is wired, there still is a world out there to explore and see and experience. [wvu.edu]

  • what's this "outside" shit, overclocking or something?

  • When the opportunity arises... Sailing, skiing, walking...

    Or just the good old dinner and movie with the wife.

  • Friends: It's nice to go visit them sometimes.

    Frisbee: Most houses dont let you get that distance

    Firetwirling: You really need good ventilation and high ceilings to do this indoors, and the smoke can cause sooting on the walls and ceiling, meaning you lose your bond.
  • The kind of weird SHIT they have outside? I never go out there anymore.

    I'll tell you. This one time, I went outside, and there was this little brown thing, with a long fuzzy protuberance from the posterior quarter of it's torso. It chittered at me, and snapped it's protuberance in the air, and then - I kid you not! - it ran STRAIGHT UP the side of a TREE.

    That can't be natural.

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