I work on quick iterations based on an ongoing design and make decisions based on data.
This requires an expansive, ergonomic, and responsive environment. Optimally, three displays running at 1920x1080.
This doesn't mean I somehow shut my brain off when making design decisions or thinking into the future of my code just because I'm not sitting there for 30 minutes before hammering out a punchcard.
Stop romanticizing the bad old days, the whole reason Unix was made was so that we could have fully interactive programming environments.
That's half of why I moved out here. The fact that this place is a programmer's mecca and I've wanted to live here since I was a kid was the other half.
Don't forget that http://hnofficehours.com exists as a way to let people get ahold of you and to indicate when you're specifically available to chit-chat. It also helps in finding people with specific skillsets.
Disclaimer: I worked on hnofficehours with ezl and guz.
http://hnofficehours.com/search/ if you want to search for a specific subject/skill to discuss with someone. You register for the site using your existing hackerne.ws account like hnhackers.
That's not always accidental.