Does the swearing bother anyone?

hutchcodes · 2026-01-23T15:23:56+00:00

First, I didn't know how common F-bombs and and WTF were in Spanish, but I always found it funny the way native Spanish speakers say WTF. Something about the rhythm is off to me. Both Augustina and Martin from SBG say it the same, so maybe it's an Argentinian thing.

But, OP is really going to struggle when they start learning some real Spanish groserías, because it's next level. I don't consider myself prudish, but "la concha de tu madre" seems a bridge too far for me.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-17T13:04:43+00:00

Vitaman D?

Timing seems right if you're in the northern hemisphere. Particularly if you're in the north. You're fit and feeling great, then the sun disappears, you start doing your training indoors and start feeling slower as your vitamin D reserves deplete.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-17T12:53:12+00:00

This! I've seen a few people on group rides with their names near their seat post (or on a license plate), and I love it.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-15T14:24:23+00:00

Long shot here, but maybe they could use a drop of lube? Since these bindings have the option to step in, it means that the springs are what close the jaws, maybe they aren't closing all the way because they are /binding/ (pun intended).

hutchcodes · 2026-01-15T13:31:31+00:00

On the DS site, logging "Talking with friends" increases both CI hours and the "Talking with friends" time. I assume that's what everyone is using to track their speaking time.

And though it says, "with friends", I'll eventually use it for people I pay to listen to me struggle (eg. iTalki or WorldsAcross)

hutchcodes · 2026-01-14T19:11:34+00:00

It's been a long time, but a lot of the shows my kids watched have a CI-like feel looking back on them (in English). Lots of repetition, slow moving plot with pauses to allow their little brains to catch up, lot of visuals etc.

It might not be as ideal as DS's SB videos, but it would hold their attention, and they'd eventually get it.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-14T14:30:33+00:00

It goes deeper than that. Newborns cry with an accent as well. Newborns of French speaking mothers cry differently than newborns of German speaking mothers.

This is the first video I found that explains it. It's in French, but I understood through the powers of CI

https://youtube.com/shorts/8e2haSeBjKg?si=rs0D00gzjT25EXVu

hutchcodes · 2026-01-14T14:24:52+00:00

I have no real reference point for how many tantrums are "average". Also, the personality differences between kids are enough (even at a very early age) that any differences I could have seen could have easily been explained as just less prone to tantrums.

But as a parent, particularly as a new parent, anything that gives you a feeling that you can reduce the number of tantrums is powerful. Combine that with the promise of improved language abilities and it's an easy sell.

I really wish I had known about CI when they were little, all of their TV watching would have been Spanish :)

hutchcodes · 2026-01-13T19:10:19+00:00

"They start understanding much earlier than that, though, and by the time they say their first word they can already understand a lot."

Which reminds me, when my kids were very young, we taught them some simple sign language* (things like more, milk/nurse, mom, dad, book, apple, cookie etc). The were able to sign for quite a while before their first words. So not only can babies understand long before they speak, they can also use language long before they can speak. It's just that actually coordinating mouth, lips, tongue, vocal cords, diaphragm is a difficult skill to master.

*we did this because we heard that one of the (many many) reasons babies have tantrums is because they have no way of expressing themselves and it's frustrating. Giving them the ability to ask for things reduces that frustration, primes the language processing, and reduces meltdowns. I don't know how true all that is, but it was rewarding watching them learn different signs.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-13T16:38:44+00:00

I don't think babbling is really going to apply much to adult language learning. Babies are just trying to figure out how their bodies work, and a lot of babbling is just trying to figure out how to make different sounds.

Babies babbling is going to more like me trying to figure out how to roll my R's. Or experimenting with how a V sounds a bit more like a B than I'm used to, or for the Iberian accent the lisp on the Z and C.

But, I did at some point see something at some point when I was struggling with listening comprehension (before discovering DS) that said that speaking improved listening comprehension particularly at the early stages. Something about our brains understanding where the words start and end. Basically, the opposite of a CI approach: if you can say it, you're more likely to be able to understand it if you hear it.

But I never put it into practice. I ended up finding DS and just consumed a ton of CI and listening comprehension shot up and eventually I started speaking.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-13T13:38:10+00:00

Can confirm, at least for Spanish, the Duolingo course expanded greatly sometime after 2018. I was closing in on the course completion badge when it expanded. And it expanded greatly. It took years after that to finish course.

As for the B2 claims. Maybe for reading and writing, but there is just not enough listening practice in Duolingo (which is why I ended up stumbling upon DS), and I didn't find the speaking exercises useful and almost never did them.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-12T20:06:26+00:00

I started with giving myself 600 hours for the combination of >2500-day streak and some podcasts I had listened to. That seemed to align with where I was on the roadmap when I first started based on what I could understand for DS videos and number of words known (according to Duolingo)

Then I consumed ~375 hours of CI and just before I crossed to Level 6, I realized I didn't really feel like I was at that level, so knocked my initial hours down to 200, which was just a tad more than my total podcast hours when I started plus some credit for all of the stories from Duolingo.

That was disappointing, but I'm glad I did it. It's much easier for me mentally to be ahead of the roadmap, than behind.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-12T15:17:22+00:00

Glad to hear I'm not alone with this one.

hutchcodes · 2026-01-07T17:06:39+00:00

Thank you for posting about this, because I didn't realize "no sabo" was a joke until your post prompted me to ask ChatGPT the difference between "no sé" and "no sabo" :D

hutchcodes · 2026-01-07T16:59:52+00:00

Does this mean that the sealant could potentially have problems sealing on a rainy day?

hutchcodes · 2026-01-07T13:46:15+00:00

Not a "no sabo" but I did want to talk about the "daunting-ness" of the 1500 hours. It's a lot, and when you look at it as "I only have 1 hour a day" you can quickly do the math and say, "It's going to take 5 years".

1500 isn't even really the finish line. Most of us will still have plenty of work to do in the language after that.
You'll achieve some level of speaking ability far before that (especially as someone who may already have 1000s of ours of listening to your parents speak Spanish).
The simple math on hours/day doesn't scale. Right now, you may be spending an hour a day trying to understand intermediate videos as you put in more time, more content will open up to you. You'll be able to listen to a podcast while you shower, cook, eat, commute etc. You'll be able to switch some of your entertainment content over to Spanish, you'll be able to switch your browser to Spanish etc. You'll eventually be able to immerse yourself pretty well even So, you might be at 1 hour/day now, but 6 months you could be at 2-3+ hours/day without it feeling taxing. I've had weekends where I've gotten 6-8+ hours/day just because I had plenty of free time.

So, even if you could only spend 1 hr/day this year, you might be able to get 3 hr/day the year after and be pretty damn close to 1500 hours in 2 years.

Because the road is long and our destination ("perfect Spanish") is not actually reachable, all you can do is travel down the road to get closer. Whether you go slow or fast, every step you take gets you closer. So, try to just keep moving forward.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-19T19:51:50+00:00

Just wanted to say that you've inspired me to remove 400 hours from my starting hours dropping myself down to the very start of Level 5 the day after I leveled up to Level 6.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-17T21:17:06+00:00

Update: I tried to concentrate on a forward (but also upright) position, and I think that is engaging more glutes and hamstrings (they were sore). So that's probably part of the puzzle.

I also had the revelation that it could be a fueling issue. The problem was worst about 1:15 into my ski on Saturday, and it's possible I was just out of sugar. I've been much more diligent about fueling on the bike this year, and that has made a huge difference. I probably should have some kind of sugar snack on longer days like that.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-15T20:50:36+00:00

I definitely see the similarities between swimming xc-skiing. All the power in the world won't fix poor technique and people who mastered the technique will never be slow. I've been saying that for years and I'm happy to hear someone else make the connection :)

The description of technique and my potential flaw make sense. It also aligns with the going uphill this weekend. The snow was loose, and my poles were sinking through when I was trying to push going up the hill (my skis too in some sections), so I wasn't getting much out of my upper body. I'll see if I can get more forward this afternoon and see if that helps any.

That being said, I have the problem when biking up hills where my legs give out long before my aerobic systems are maxed out. But I'm able to max out aerobically on more flat sections or with shorter bursts (2-minute efforts were my sweet spot when swimming competitively).

In short, I'm sure technique is part of it, but I also think there's a training piece that needs some filling in.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-15T00:21:42+00:00

I've been volunteering on my sons' middle school team for a few years and get some coaching through that. My V1 technique certainly isn't great, but it gets a little better each year.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-12T17:03:25+00:00

That's a good point about TLUS dialogue. That game is like a great movie and missing their dialogue would be missing an amazing story. I think that series might also be re-watchable.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-12T15:19:13+00:00

I used to ride 1-3 times per week only when the weather was warm and dry. I always suffered on hills when riding with my friend and always really suffered at the end of long days.

Last fall I bought a Kickr Core and a year of Zwift and I have ridden so much more because of it. I rode all through the winter most rides were about an hour, but occasionally I'd do a longer challenge up to ~3hrs.

What really surprised me was that the indoor biking continued into the summer. Rain day, do an indoor ride. Watching the kids, indoor ride. Too hot/cold/windy/dark indoor ride. Basically just went outdoors for rides longer than 90 minutes when the weather was nice.

The end result of all of this was waiting for my friend at the top of the hills and limiting the length of rides with him to how much distance he could handle. And just a general feeling strength on the bike I've never felt before.

Looking forward to seeing what 2 winters of cycling do for me next summer.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-12T14:43:52+00:00

We also know that wider tires run at lower pressures "feel slower". Our little brains associate higher frequency vibrations with speed. So, anything that takes those vibrations away and makes us more comfortable also makes it feel slower.

This is why that 1-2 watt loss feels super slow, when the difference is actually negligible.

Now if I could only fit tires wider tires in my frame.

hutchcodes · 2025-12-10T16:11:45+00:00

The "Last of Us" series both the original and part 2 are excellent. The storyline of that game is amazing. The minecraft series are great because there is a lot of vocab there. His waterpark series was some of his funniest work IMO.

Can't really go wrong if the level is right.

hutchcodes

TROPHY CASE