How to Find the Right Co-Founders - <AUTHOR> http://steveblank.com/2014/09/16/who-do-you-need-on-your-startup-team/ <comment><USER2> You need the Business Model Canvas to Canvas the Business Model Canvas. Once you've Business Modelled on the Canvas, the Canvas Businesses the Model. Business Model Canvas, interstitial words, Business Model Canvas.

Malkovitch? Business Model Canvas.

<comment><USER3> Had this article posted anywhere else, given Steve Blanc's air, it would have started defining new rules.

At HN, you don't BS, not even, when you are @sgblank.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> "Co-founders Skills are the First Derivative of the Business Model Canvas"

My Internet safety helmet snapped shut after that line.

<comment><USER5> You're right, it really should be expressed the other way: integrate skill with respect to time and you get the company's business model. Presumably skill is a vector-valued function that traces out the company's core competencies over time, and naturally the "Business Model Canvas" is a surface that represents the accumulated area along this function.

The point the article is making is a corollary of this. You want to choose co- founders that are linearly-independent in skill-space and maximize the magnitude of each of the desired components over time. Over a large enough interval, this is the same as optimizing on the first derivative of skill, or maximizing in skill-learning space (preferring higher values at t=0, ceteris paribus).

<comment><USER6> uh, right. in english, is you want to find people you can actually work day to day with, who are actually capable of learning things and doing things on time while communicating problems.

in reality this tends to be the following kind of people:

* generally not your childhood friends, though i've given contract work to childhood friends and it turned out fine.

* professional acquaintances / previous coworkers / someone you've seen work on a day to day basis

* people you've talked with on irc for years and who aren't insane

* major contributors to open source software you use

* a reference from someone in an entrepreneurial network

<comment><USER7> The interesting thing I've noticed about cofounders is that basically every rule about cofounders has been broken by at least one billion-dollar startup:

"Don't be a single founder"? E-bay.

"Don't do a shotgun wedding. The founders have to have known each other for a while and worked on projects together before they jump into the stress of a startup"? DropBox (met through a mutual classmate's introduction after Drew's first YC application) and GitHub (met at a networking meetup).

"Don't do an uneven equity split"? Microsoft, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, Netscape.

"Don't be an asshole"? Apple, Oracle, SnapChat.

"Make sure everyone's willing to quit their day job or not return to school"? Apple (Steve Wozniak initially wasn't willing to leave HP until their VC convinced him), Google (Larry and Sergey tried to sell the company and finish their Ph.Ds, but nobody was willing to buy at the price they wanted, < $1M).

"Get a technical cofounder"? This one's harder, the only companies I can think of are Auctomatic (which had technical cofounders after it merged with the Collison brothers), Digg (which didn't do so well), and Travelocity (which was a spin-off of American Airlines).

This doesn't mean the rules are invalid, but it does point out how many exceptions there are. I think that usually a good test is simply that it feels right, that you want to work with that person.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> The title and content of this post seem to address vastly different subjects. Nowhere in the article does it attempt to address the task of "finding the right co-founders." I must admit, I was a bit let down...

<comment><USER9> Agreed. It had more to do with determining the skill sets required for a successful founding team. Which is only one step. The next (and probably much harder step) is finding people WITH these skills that are willing to work together on a startup.

<comment><USER10> That would be a meet-up worth attending - one where the attendees were vetted for skills and willingness.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Just so everyone is aware, Steve has ghost writers. This may or may not have actually been written by him.

<comment><USER12> really? I'd love to meet them.

<comment><USER11> Hi Steve. :) Yes, If I can remember the young woman's name I'll let you know. She had brunette hair IIRC.

[edit] To further that, if you're telling the truth, then I can't imagine why someone would lie about having that job.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> This is, "how to define your ideal startup roster", like some people define their ideal mate. This has nothing to do with actually finding said people.

</comment><comment><USER14> This is an ad.

</comment><comment><USER15> Hmmm. This is more about findign the right employee.

Everything looks like a nail when all you ever want to sell is a hammer.

</comment><comment><USER16> Apart from techniacl competency, If the guy loves the same sitcom as you- he's the guy !!

</comment><comment><USER17> Is this a joke?

</comment><comment><USER18> Common wisdom is that cofounders should be sought early on. However, this is not the only approach. The ideal cofounder is a socially awkward genius, a proverbial Wozniak. He is capable of long hours, engineering feats and brilliant work. Such a man is hard to seduce, by traditional means.

So, finding your Woz is one problem. An even trickier problem is ensnaring him. This requires some craftiness. One thing to avoid is ideas. Ideas just introduce the possibility of boring the Woz with a job he doesn't want to be doing. Instead, go straight to recruiting interns. I am really hesitant to say this, considering the moral implications but this is unavoidable: young attractive, impressionable interns. Female will usually work best, but you can't be certain. Some days an unusual bait will outfish everything so don't discount young men or other non traditional choices. Avoid over the top and extroverted beauty. An understated, geeky 23 year old brunette with a tendency to wide eyed admiration is a good, safe choice. Interns are available at affordable prices at your nearest University.

Once you've baited your hook, approach slowly. Ask questions. Advice. Try to use pose interesting challenges. This is a game of seduction. Her job is to bring him to you. You're job is to be hapless, but good hearted. Egalitarianism tendencies can be overpowering, Your Woz will not let this beautiful young woman (or man, do I have to keep doing this?) set herself up for failure. You must encourage an inescapable desire to be helpful, fueled by poorly understood romantic desires and a touch of fatherly care.

Step 2 underpants.

Step 3 profit

EDIT: I see this comment has been poorly received. Would anyone like to join me as junior cofounder of an internship startup?

<comment><USER19> What the fuck am I reading?

<comment><USER20> Seriously, this is what gives Hacker News a bad name.</comment></comment></comment>


Quit university and went on to make this game - <AUTHOR> https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mai/id591908802?ls=1&mt=8

<comment><AUTHOR> what you think guys?</comment>


Groupon acquires Glassmap (YC S11) - <AUTHOR> http://glassmap.posterous.com/glassmap-joins-groupon

<comment><USER2> Any details about the deal? Cash or stock? Vesting? Last year the price of the Groupon stock dropped a lot, now it appears to be stable, but ...

[http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/grpn/interactive- chart?timefram...](http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/grpn/interactive- chart?timeframe=1y&charttype=line)

<comment><USER3> Yeah, it's really interesting what happens if you sell to a company which is having tough times in the stock market in a largely-stock deal. If you had something (either tech or a great team) who could help turn it around, you could have a lot of the upside of a successful startup, with less risk.

Turning Groupon around is probably easier than making an arbitrary startup successful, too.

I guess it depends on what kind of problems you like to solve. You could probably find a bunch of scale-related or efficiency problems at a lot of faltering larger companies during a turnaround, so if that's your thing, that might be better than overbuilding an earlier stage startup.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Congrats to the team as Glassmap, and good on Groupon for going to get some talent from outside.

But I always hate when an announcement like this ends with "... and our service will be discontinued as of..." which means Groupon wasn't interested in the business so much as the talent.

</comment><comment><USER5> Groupon is still a thing?

<comment><USER6> awakeasleep: your account is dead. also you use too many words words words words.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> [http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/11/groupon-acquires- realtime-l...](http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/11/groupon-acquires-realtime- location-aware-service-glassmap-to-help-you-find-deals/)

"No word on what the purchase price was, but this sounds like one of those fancy acquisition/hires that we talk about all of the time, mostly surrounding Facebook and Google. Is Groupon about to get more hip? We'll find out."

</comment><comment><USER7> Poor bastards.

</comment><comment><USER3> Should be really exciting to see what they end up doing at Groupon.

<comment><USER8> Suckering more local businesses out of money, I'd assume.

Edit: Hurts cause its true.

<comment><USER3> I assume you mean Groupon suckers people out of money, not Glassmap. As far as I can tell Glassmap never charged anyone anything, so either they're _really_ good at suckering local businesses out of money, or they weren't doing so.

I also have some issues with Groupon's business practices (mainly, in that they have taken relatively unsophisticated small businesses for a ride at times, and the early cash-out by their finance guys was shady), but:

1) Glassmap looks like a mostly-tech/design team, and are good people. They're not going to be involved in anything shady, and are moral/ethical enough that they're exactly the kind of people you want to have working at a company like Groupon.

2) Groupon actually works great for certain kinds of businesses. For someone with high customer acquisition costs and good lifetime value, and low marginal cost, it's amazing. Like, "get one free laser hair removal session for $25", works great when you then sell the resulting 5 sessions at a "special discount of 25% if you pay after the first session". It's shitty for something like an airport restaurant, and in some cases those businesses stupidly went with the daily deals because they didn't think it through.

In a few years, I suspect the daily deals model will be evolved even more, and local/mobile will have a lot to do with that.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Has anyone used Glassmap? It has pretty good reviews on the app store.

</comment><comment><USER10> Congrats guys!</comment>


AWS ECS Service Discovery Solution? - <AUTHOR> Amazon EC2 Container Service (ECS) hasn't any Service Discovery or even Key/Value store integrated. That makes dynamic Service Configuration practicaly impossible without custom tools. Maybe i'm wrong but didn't found anything so far.
As Use Case imagine Micrsoservices spawn in the ECS. The need: - knowledge about DB and other resources they suppose to use - Sometimes additional configuration depending on case or environment - SSL Server Sertificates/Keys
I know people provision kubernetes on top of AWS it solves issues i'm asking here... But i need
ECS+something to have it at least simmilar to k8n, but without provision to much stuff on EC2 level in best case managed by AWS self.
We have strong opinions by some people i work with. They want avoid any efforts on EC2 level or any managed services as far as possible. <comment><USER2> Have you considered [https://www.consul.io/](https://www.consul.io/)?

<comment><AUTHOR> Consul is brilliant. But we then have to provision it to EC2 instances in cluster somehowe. Do you know the way how to minimize maintenace effort there? Especially with Autoscaling in in ECS?

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Some people propose usage of S3. But this is not really convinient.</comment>


Quora's Two Routes - One To Failure, One To Success - <AUTHOR> http://mmoorejones.com/2011/01/23/quoras-two-routes/

<comment><USER2> I loved it when Paul Carr during the 2010 Crunchies made the joke "hey look into the crowd, are there Quora users in the room? Oh wait, I mean to say all Quora users are in this room". I love Quora because it provides me with a lot of inside knowledge

I feel bad for Quora because of the valuation they got, people are hating on them. It is a simple service that provides a community for techies / entrepreneurs like us. People hate on it because it's prospering with a simple solution, but yet if it's so simple, why didn't they come up with it?

keep in mind the value of Quora also lies within its developers. Adam D'Angelo was the CTO of Facebook, and he is quite amazing. Many original key developers of Facebook is building Quora, thus they have extensive experience and knowledge in this area.

<comment><USER3> I think the reason it gets ragged on is two things:

\- The hype is immensely disproportionate to what they're doing and how successful they are - they're the millionth Q&A site both chronologically and by traffic.

\- TC hype it like they own a piece of it. Quora's got potential and it might even live up to the hype eventually, until then we're constantly pushed to pretend it already won.</comment></comment>


GitHub DMCA - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/github/DMCA

<comment><USER2> Interesting.

On 10/30, Qualcomm DMCA'd a few files:

[https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2014-10-30-Qualco...](https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2014-10-30-Qualcomm.md)

Then, a few days later on 11/10, requested to rescind their original request, for all files:

[https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2014-11-10-Qualco...](https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2014-11-10-Qualcomm- retraction.md)

I guess it's better than no request to rescind...</comment>


Ask HN: What are some example of low tech improving your life? - <AUTHOR> I saw the same questions asked on the Bogleheads forums and I'm curious to see what the HN crowd says. <comment><USER5> I hiked across the Alps, alone, on foot and camping in the wild for 3 months. I had no phone with me (no GPS) and just paper maps, and a pen to keep notes on paper. It was the best time I ever had my whole life. I thought I might get lonely but being in the flow of walking every day actually created some kind of an internal dialogue in my head which never made me feel lonely. I met others who were on a similar trail but they all looked and talked like they needed to achieve some kind of a "goal" by posting shit on Insta and none of them would do it without GPS. Since I didn't grow up with all that nonsense and have been using Tech since I turned 20 - I really appreciated being "bored" again after so many years of being distracted. Paper and pen (and your ability to walk) are all you really need. Tech is what makes things complex and as soon as you remove all of it is an empowering experience unlike nothing else.

<comment><USER6> I did a 10 day trek in Patagonia last year. Best experience of my life.

I totally agree. Not having any any tech with me, allowed me to live in the moment. I remember every part vividly, and have some of the best memories spending time with others on the trail, cooking breakfast, setting up and tearing down camp, and enduring crazy weather. Just simple things that we take for granted everyday, just felt rewarding and great to do. It was a crazy realization that you don't need all of this stuff we filled our lives with. You really can get by just fine with less.

I can't wait for the next opportunity I have to just get away from all the tech noise.

<comment><USER5> Patagonia is one of my biggest dreams, I envy you!! :)

What you describe about making your day work, e.g. being forced to think about simple things like weather/food was also what took my mind off (and why I never got as bored as I thought I might).

There was some level of alertness in my head all the time (not really adrenaline because it was a much more peaceful feeling) ... something kept me focused even I had not much "to do". I remember every time I came across some cave in the rocks, or some hunters-lookout I took a mental note and checked my time so I would know how far back I'd have to walk back in case the weather turns. I have never done anything this useless that made me this happy. E.g. having a beer and a warm meal in a mountain lodge, or a hot shower after a week in the woods ... impossible to put into words!

Nature is the best really :)

There is a cheesy series on History channel called "Alone" where one season is about Patagonia. I think Patagonia is a lot more difficult than anywhere in the Alps or Western Europe. Check out that season of Alone, you might like it. :)

Also I too can't wait for spring to be here. Then I'll be off again.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Low-tech wellness.

Apple Cider Vinegar instead of acid reducers (Tums, Zantac, Prilosec) for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion.

Water Fasting instead of caloric restriction, weight loss pills, and diet fads for curing metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, mid-section fat buildup, inflammation, diabetes).

Kettlebell, mace, stretching, and sprinting instead of a gym membership with classes and steady state cardio (or a Peloton).

Barefoot foot strength and 0-drop shoes instead of surgery and lift-pads for fasciitis and tendonitis.

A whole food, conservative, omnivorous diet of your ancestors instead of becoming vegan or carnivore.

Journaling (#bujo), practicing meditation, and studying stoicism instead of counseling and medicating.

Reading books and leaving your devices "default off" instead of aimlessly scrolling all day.

Cast iron and glass for cooking/storing instead of Teflon and plastic.

<comment><USER8> This list makes me think that I'd love if you could elaborate with a few sentences for each item. I somehow perceive a lot of quality and study behind these things, and it makes me curious to hear more.

e.g. most notable things I am very curious about: 0-drop shoes, apple cider vinegar, glass for cooking

<comment><USER9> My wife used to have to throw up every day, sometimes multiple times, for years. It was miserable. Doctors, including a gastroenterologist, prescribed antacids which made it worse. We read an article online that said her acid might be low, and it recommended apple cider vinegar. It literally cured her daily vomiting overnight.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I'd say reading books and spending time with friends and family are the main low tech that shouldn't be replaced by the digital version.

The other big thing is taking time off from smartphones.

I haven't written more than maybe a page a month on paper in years, I never buy incandescent bulbs, I don't want a film camera or a record player. There's very few appliances I wouldn't chose the smart version of.

But nothing is going to replace planting things in the garden, lighting a campfire, or reading a book(Although e readers are just fine now).

In general, I'm not a fan of low tech. Man-made items done without silicon tend to be heavy, delicate, and hard to use compared to the digital ones, and things made of modern materials.

Things that actively involve living beings very closely, like clothes and food, are sometimes but not always better off low tech.

Things that are, or should be be, mostly hands off, like the insulation material in a house, the network stack in a computer, or a power plant, should usually be as high tech as possible.

<comment><USER11> It's odd that we've reached the point where this comment is the odd one out, despite being (I imagine) the way the that the vast majority of people live.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I recently got my first multitool and it has sort of changed something fundamental about how I view the world to have a small, basic toolkit in the bottom of my bag at all times.

I live a life where cycling everywhere is very feasible. My bike is cheap, I get exercise.

I made a sunscreen for my laptop out of illustration board, drafting tape, and some magnets. When the weather's nice (and I live somewhere where it's nice a lot) I can go out to a park and work in the middle of trees while debating if I should share my snacks with the raccoons and squirrels and birds.

I meditate. There is not much lower tech than "sitting quietly in one place for a while". It has done some very interesting things to my brain.

A lot of my reading has been physical books again after most of a decade of e-books. I'm supporting my local economy when I buy some from actual stores instead of Amazon, and being able to pick up a pen and take notes in the margin is really really pleasant.

<comment><USER13> "sitting quietly in one place for a while". One of the hard thing to do in today's times. I am also planning to do same every morning :)

<comment><USER12> It's well worth the effort IMHO.

If you need more detail on technique I have found _The Mind Illuminated_ to be a super good book on the subject.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I don't know if this counts as low enough tech, but I disabled the equivalent of "auto advance to next episode" on my Netflix and Prime Video subscriptions.

This means that watching the next episode of a show has to be a conscious choice on my part as opposed to the inertia of just letting it happen. Just the small added friction of having to hunt down the remote control and hit "Play" gives me a few seconds to (albeit involuntarily) reflect on whether I really need to watch the next episode, or if I could really be doing other hobbies / chores around the flat.

The result has been a notable decrease in binge-watching, a cleaner and more organised home, more/better sleep, and the subsequent improved health that follows the aforesaid.

<comment><USER15> I did the same thing and I enjoy Netflix much more. My maim gripe was that it always treated the ending music and credits as disposable. However, sitting and listening to the music and reading the credits helps me reflect on what I just watched and get the full experience the artist intended.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Stretch ~15 minutes a day. You don't need a special routine or a bunch of research. Stretch whatever is sore/stiff. If you can't think of anything start by touching your toes. Think of it as general maintenance on your joints. The effort compounds and starts to feel really good after a few months.

<comment><USER17> Overall good advice! But trying to touch your toes, while not inherently a bad thing to do, is one of the last things a typical person should be doing in terms of hips, shoulders, etc.* Similar kind of thing going on with planks, reverse planks are going to help a lot more for most people.

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i69PC4PJdAQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i69PC4PJdAQ)

<comment><USER18> Great share. Cavaliere's content always solid. Thanks!

The J-Curl would seem to mimic the same range of motion as touching ones toes.

Yet, comes highly recommended > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AYwOuNBzqk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AYwOuNBzqk)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> At night, I plug my phone in across the room from my bed, turn it on airplane mode, then power it down.

It's a wonderful moment that marks a healthy "disconnection" from the outside world, allowing me to have some quiet time with myself (or my partner).

Airplane mode ensures sure I'm not flooded with notifications first thing upon turning on my phone in the morning. Even if I need to use an app in the morning, I can take 15 minutes to an hour before I switch off airplane mode, which makes for calmer and more centered mornings.

The only thing you'll need if you want to adopt this change is an old school cheap alarm clock. I've been doing this for probably five years, and haven't looked back.

If you're anxious about missing emergency calls, you can optionally get a landline phone whose number only close friends & family have, and know only to use in case of emergency -- this step is optional, but can be achieved with Google Voice & some hardware for under $100.

<comment><USER20> I do the same, but I just turn WiFi and mobile data off. Nobody _calls_ me anyway, especially not in the middle of the night, so it's still available for emergencies. Also I still use the phones alarm clock, that ensures that I really have to get out of bed to turn it off.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> It's not as low-tech as some of the examples here, but I'll say that an e-reader with Pocket sync functionality has dramatically improved my life.

Reading long form articles on an offline device with no incoming notifications, no games, no podcasts etc has been a great boon to my ability to focus and really dig into what I'm reading. Plus these days, getting any kind of screen-off time is valuable.

<comment><USER22> Oh my! I've wanted this for a while now. Which reader do you use?

<comment><USER21> Kobo Mini e-reader from 2013. It had been sitting in a drawer unused for years until one day I turned it on, and an updated installed over wifi with the Pocket sync option.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> 1\. A powered height-adjustable table. Now when I work I stand more often, and sit less. It has a 4 position memory, which makes changing the height as simple as a button push, so I switch between standing and sitting as frequently as I wish.

2\. An oven with electric grill and a timer. It makes cooking healthy whole food so easy. Just throw it in, set the timer, pull it out, and eat. I use the oven to cook chicken, fish, beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet pepper, zucchinis, and eggplants. It's low-effort, requires little time, and tastes great. The timer is important for someone whose work requires a lot of focus concentration. The louder, the better :)

<comment><USER24> So many ovens come with timers that just beep - yet they keep on cooking.

Who on earth thought that was a good plan? If I wanted a timer, I'd have used my phone.

<comment><USER25> Turning the oven off isn't going to help much anyways because most of the heat will remain and continue cooking the food

<comment><USER24> Slightly burnt pizza still beats 'literaly on fire' pizza any day.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Casio F-91W watch, as "low-tech" of a digital watch as you can get.

\- They cost about $15 USD, so I can travel with a spare, and have lost at least one.

\- Feature wise, it's a watch with a timer, a dead simple interface I am very familiar with, and perfect for taking to the gym to time myself between sets without getting distracted by my phone.

<comment><USER27> Oh, I use the A158, which looks like a metal version of the F-91W. Really basic, but functional tech.

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> More like less-tech but my phone is on permanent-silent mode. I miss calls, but see exactly who called and can return the call or text as needed.

<comment><USER7> Same.

The iPhone is slowly getting there. Latest updates make robo-calling less of a thing.

Wish list: allow perm do not disturb, enable whitelisting for allowed callers, allow total removal of phone app.

<comment><USER29> > allow total removal of phone app

Apple still produces the iPod touch, and it runs iOS 13!

<comment><USER30> iPod touch or like Android product that doesnt have a phone but still has access to mobile data would be killer. I know you could carry a hotspot with you but thats another device...

<comment><USER31> It's a little big for pockets but the iPad mini would work well if you carry a bag.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> I got back into working out about a year ago. The amount of workout apps and online resources was SO overwhelming, I didn't know where to start. I decided to just ask my brother (who is big into working out) to show me a few basic exercises with dumbbells and body weight that I could do at home. Then I just used a notebook and pen to keep track of my progress. I love not having the phone around while working out. I feel like it can be such a distraction. And there's something about writing out a log with pen and paper that is just really satisfying. I love looking back and seeing pages and pages of workouts that I wrote out. It really helped me to get back into working out on a regular basis and make it a habit.

</comment><comment><USER33> Sewing machine.

It turns out that making basic garments for oneself is really relaxing, and, if you have a hard time finding things that fit well in stores, practical.

It felt like a clear upgrade from DIY wearable electronics and suchlike as a hobby. It's not as bloggable, but the price- and effort- to payoff ratios are immeasurably better. It's nice to be rediscovering some leisure activities that don't involve screens, too.

</comment><comment><USER34> A 17th century farm with all that comes with such: cooking on a wood-burning stove, heating the house with wood, building out the place with wood taken from the forest (I have a log saw for this purpose, driven by a 5KW electric motor but still fairly low-tech). Farm life combined with more intellectual pursuits make for a good mixture of the manual, the menial and the more mentally challenging activities.

</comment><comment><USER35> For most of my very high tech life, I ignored gardens.

Now in my later years, my garden is one of my most treasured pursuits.

It is pretty low-tech, although you'd be surprised at how valuable debugging skills can be when it comes to the seed-box and sprouts and things.

Mostly, you just do a couple basic things - care for the plants, encourage a system, use your resources - and things will grow.

A garden will always heal you.

</comment><comment><USER36> Going back from ToDo-Lists in Apps to simple paper and tick mark them.

<comment><USER21> I have tried and failed to follow the GTD philosophy many times. After a while, I too went with a simple checklist. I can indent that list with sub- tasks, but that's it.

Mark as checked if it's completed. Leave as it is if it's not and come back to it the next day. Kinda refreshing.

<comment><USER37> Check out Bullet journaling. It's a simple checklist plus one or two other "tick types" that's quite helpful.

<comment><USER38> I tried adopting the standard Bujo symbols, but they weren't intuitive to me. i.e.

⋅ = task, ⊙ = in-progress, × = completed.

I replaced them with my own, which to me made more sense.

◯ = task, ◐ = in-progress, ● = completed.

<comment><USER39> The ones I use are:

      [ ] - <USER2>
      [/] - in progress
      [x] - <USER3>
      [-] - <USER4>
      [|] - moved to next day / another time

This is all with pen and paper, of course, with the [ ] being boxes. Once something is marked in-progress, I can still mark it completed, canceled, or moved by just adding another line.

<comment><USER38> This makes much more sense. How do you move from in-progress to canceled or moved though? If you do a horizontal/vertical strikethrough, doesn't that create a new symbol which look like completed upon glancing?

With the standard Bujo symbols, you can't really move from in-progress to completed without a making a completely new mark. Also, I need more visual differentiation than just tiny dots so I can scan a page of bullets quickly.

<comment><USER39> > doesn't that create a new symbol which look like completed upon glancing?

Well, not if you make your diagonals hit the corners and your verticals/horizontals hit the sides/top/bottom. In ASCII, they look like they're contained inside, but I actually make the lines cross the box border. For multiple contiguous items that I'm moving, I may even just make a single line to cross multiple boxes. I'm trying to reduce over-committing, though.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER40> I guess a French Press would be an example of "low tech" I've embraced to make an awesome cup of coffee every morning.

But being a perfectionist tech geek, I had to ruin it by investing in an expensive Barzata conical burr grinder, so I guess it's not low tech anymore.

Does it still count if I switch to a manual burr hand-grinder? :P

<comment><USER41> It's funny I just posted about the same thing. If you're interested, check out vintage Elma grinders on ebay. I have one we restored and it looks nice. If something smaller, Kalita makes nice ones too. Somehow I now have 3 total. It's not as fast or simple as electric, of course, but there is some satisfaction to its simplicity.

<comment><USER42> I have them grind it for me at the store. It's definitely improved my quality of life. I prefer drip to press, but my wife is the other way around, so I deal with it.

<comment><USER40> The problem with grinding them at the store is you vastly decrease the lifespan of the beans in terms of quality. Whole bean coffee, properly stored, can keep in the pantry for months. Once the coffee is ground, it starts losing its aromatic qualities within hours (even if you are storing it in an airtight, opaque container). It won't go _stale_ or rancid that quickly, but there will be a noticeable drop in quality. So I really wouldn't recommend pre-grinding unless you go through the bag within a week.

<comment><USER41> This mirrors my own experience. I was grinding a lot at home and storing it, but the next day it just felt flat. I'm one of those people that likes heavy aromatic Konas. Grinding for what you're making now is the way to go for sure.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER43> Exercise. Standing desk. Focusing on productivity. Dieting (not _that_ goal- oriented, just trying different diets (keto, vegan, carnivore, paleo, IF) and seeing the effect they have on my body). Meditation (not as much as I'd want though). Talking to people (come in positive, usually making a funny comment on something or just introducing myself). Buying stuff (carefully chosen... like new socks, new gym shorts, kitchen aid like a stick blender... with high total lifetime expected value).

</comment><comment><USER44> I got a mechanical automatic watch with a day and date window (Seiko 5, affordable and well featured). It was a direct result of a few days with a soft bricked phone due to Lineage OS issues, I realized the thing I missed the most was knowing the time and everything else was replaceable (texting too due to Google voice).

Also I've found a wall mounted white board with colored markers to be quite helpful for personal organization and brainstorming. It's also great for leaving messages and pictionary.

</comment><comment><USER45> I started journaling daily back in 2016. No apps, no computer. just paper and pen. Some days pages pour forth of writing. Other days I simply set a task of finding and writing down a good quote to save for later. This investment of time for me has yielded better discernment as I can look back at interactions I've documented and how I felt when events unfolded. Bonus, there are no notifications to interrupt you and in a world full of interruptions, the pen and paper have none.

</comment><comment><USER46> I recently started using scissors more in the kitchen. It made my life easier. / I hope it's what you mean by low tech.

<comment><USER11> Do you cut meat? Vegetables?

<comment><USER46> Yes vegetables and paxkagings. A solid steel scissors can do anything

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER47> I use candles in the evening to get more pleasant, soothing light in my apartment. Much better for the mood than LEDs.

Does Aeropress still count?

<comment><USER48> I've considered more candles in the evening. How long before bedtime do you switch to candles? do you use them in multiple rooms? Obviously it wouldn't make sense to use a computer by candle light, but what activities are you able to do productively?

<comment><USER47> Usually not more than 2h, just in the living room. No light at all in the bedroom, no devices/food either.

I try hard to get away from my laptop by 11pm. Then it's just Kindle without backlight/paper books or small chores like folding laundry.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER49> The referenced Bogleheads thread: [https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=302399...](https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=302399&newpost=5002942)

</comment><comment><USER22> Not sure it qualifies as low enough tech but: a power socket with a timer. I would put my laundry in the washing machine and set the socket to turn on at 7:30. It would finish at about 9:00, I'd hang the laundry to dry then leave for work.

</comment><comment><USER50> Using a bidet instead of toilet paper. I live in Canada, and this is an uncommon practice.

<comment><USER51> I bought this inexpensive one from amazon and my life has never been the same. Once you go bidet there's no going back.

[https://www.amazon.com/Astor-Non-Electric-Mechanical- Attachm...](https://www.amazon.com/Astor-Non-Electric-Mechanical-Attachment- CB-1000/dp/B003TPGPUW)

<comment><USER38> I've always wondered, do you connect it to the cold water supply? How would this work in the winter where cold water can be really cold?

<comment> blaser-waffle Also in Canada and yeah that would be a concern.

Might be a good replacement for coffee -- that jolt would wake me up quickly in the mornings...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER52> Switching back to dumbphone. It turns out whole economy didn't crash when I read and replied to emails next day and I didn't die of boredom during 30 min commute.

<comment><USER7> Which one did you go with?

<comment><USER52> Nokia 225. Three weeks on one charge.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER53> I hired a housekeeper that comes every other week. This raised the base line of how tidy my home is that I can focus household chore time on organizing and refining my living space. This has created a virtuous cycle of constant improvement and much more enjoyment at home.

</comment><comment><USER54> I bought a 2 stroke gasoline engine kit for a bicycle last year for about $80 and it was the best money I spent in a long time. The thing is a POS, it hurts to ride long distances, it drops parts all over the road, breaks down all the time, and the original engine wore out after 2,500 miles or so. I have a larger motorcycle but still, for $80, three moving parts, and a couple hours work there is nothing more fun than this thing. I've got some motor parts coming in the mail to get it ready for spring.

I love lawn tractors too. Done up right they can be just as much fun as a typical 4 wheeler but for a fraction of the price. There's just something about detonating dollar bills that put a smile on my face.

</comment><comment><USER55> I have a bicycle I built myself from components and frame.

the only electronic thing on it is the dynamo hub, which frees me from recharging headlight batteries.

it is made of leather and steel and aluminum and rubber, and it's freedom on two wheels.

<comment><USER56> Sounds awesome, do you have a build log or anything?

</comment></comment><comment><USER57> When my Apple Watch battery broke I bought, with the little money I received from selling it for spare parts, a cheap CASIO G-Shock.

This low-tech CASIO does all I needed from my smart watch: shows time and date and gives me a timer for cooking.

I never have to charge it or take it off and I can even shower with it.

Added advantage is that it doesn't constantly radiate on the WiFi / Bluetooth spectrum.

<comment><USER58> I still don't understand what drove me to buying an Apple Watch years ago, I had to force myself to wear it, and it only brought more distractions. I ended up muting all notifications, so eventually it was just a dumb piece of tech on my wrist, especially since it only showed me the time when I twisted my arm (which didn't work like 25% of the time).

I was told it would improve my health, but I never felt the effect. It's been lying in a drawer for over a year now.

<comment><USER59> I've been noticing the same thing. I mute all notifications since it was too distracting.

I do really like having it to track runs, but I'm considering purchasing a dumb watch for everything else.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER41> I have a few, which have happened one at a time over the years. Mostly between tired of cheap junk breaking, tired of plastic, or tired of staring into a screen, so I'll share a few.

I wear a watch. Sometimes solar, but usually automatic. It looks nice, and lets me avoid getting trapped into staring at my phone in public.

When I want to send a long communication, I use a fountain pen and write it on paper and mail it. Not for everything of course, but it elicits a different reaction from folks vs an email or text.

I shave with a Feather ASD2. I never liked shaving before, so I turned it from a chore to a pleasure, with the soaps, brushes, hot towels, smells, etc. Now I genuinely look forward to it! I also appreciate the lack of plastic waste vs disposables.

If my wife or I make coffee, we use an old school Elma coffee grinder, a kettle, and a metal aeropress. It's so much nicer than drip.

<comment><USER29> > I use a fountain pen

As an experiment in waste reduction and to see if it could end up less expensive as well, I started to use a fountain pen instead of my favorite Pilot Uni-Ball Deluxe pens.

I paid $45 for a pen, converter and 50mL of ink. At this point, I have definitely reduced waste but I'm not sure that it will end up being less expensive. The pen will need to last for ~4 years of daily writing to succeed and I don't know if it will.

<comment><USER60> FWIW, I got a decent fountain pen at Daiso for $5.

(Shout out for Uni-Ball Deluxe!)

<comment><USER29> Does it have a refillable reservoir? If so, that's a great bargain if you like the way it writes!

Part of what spurred me to try this experiment is the feeling that the quality of the Uni-Ball lineup has been dropping, including the Deluxe. I still have some 10+ year old Uni-Balls (matte black plastic, not sure the real model name) that are better writers than recently purchased Deluxe modules. A true shame :(

<comment><USER60> > Does it have a refillable reservoir?

No, plastic cartridges, but you can get a refillable cartridge.

I was worried it would be crap, because who makes a good fountain pen for $5, right? But no, it's sturdy and serviceable. You wouldn't write wedding invitations with it, but for day to day handwriting it's fine. (Daiso is a Japanese "dollar store", and everything in there is about $1.50, so $5 is high-end there, eh?)

I know what you mean about Uni-Ball's quality. I had some of the old black ones from my dad (it was his favorite pen as well) and it does feel like the new silver ones aren't quite the same, eh?

[https://uniballco.com/uni-products/deluxe/](https://uniballco.com/uni- products/deluxe/)

It might be something as simple and subtle as weight of the plastic.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER61> Solar cooking, most people don't believe how easy and effective it can be until they try it.

Just one example of many - [https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Windshield_Shade_Solar_...](https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Windshield_Shade_Solar_Cooker)

</comment><comment><USER20> I got one of those old-school double edge razors. Blades are essentially free (bought a 100 pack 5 years ago for 15$, and half of them are still there), and it doesn't terribly clog like a cartridge would even if you have a longer beard.

</comment><comment><USER62> I use a typewriter and write letters. It's distraction free and produces a hard copy. I use a cast iron pan daily and use a French Press/Aeropress to make my coffee. I use candles for soothing light.

</comment><comment><USER63> Might not be super low-tech, but I just got a bunch of Schiit Audio gear for my desk. I wanted analog controls for things like volume, EQ, input / output selection, etc. In an era where everything has a remote and tactility is an afterthought, I still enjoy a good analog potentiometer / switch.

I detailed the setup on my blog if you're curious: [https://ethanaa.com/blog/thats-a-lot-of- schiit/](https://ethanaa.com/blog/thats-a-lot-of-schiit/)

</comment><comment><USER15> French press coffee maker, silicone dish sponge, manual food processor machine, sliding glass shower doors, and an old radio/tape player.

These are all things I've purchased recently to replace the standard way of doing things that are outperforming the alternatives.

For example, I wanted some coffee one day. I had coffee and a coffee machine (a kcup machine) but no pods. I couldn't make coffee. I realized that while the kcup machine has it's use cases, as a home coffee machine it was way over engineered for the problem.

</comment><comment><USER64> Ever since graduating and getting my own place, I love my dishwasher and laundry machine. I love setting the delay for the dishes to wash at night, and I wake up to clean dishes! It really is robots doing something useful for us

There's some story where they ask 2 very old ladies (100+) what there favorite inventions were of their lifetime, and they both answer laundry and dishwasher, because it saves them so much time!

<comment><USER65> I didn't appreciate how big of a deal washing machines were until mine broke down and I had to do all my laundry in the bathtub for a couple of weeks waiting for a replacement. Hand-washing is a lot more of a workout than you'd expect, and getting things dry without a spin-cycle afterwards is a pain too.

</comment></comment><comment><USER66> Blankets within reach of anywhere we sit at home. Our new house has a programmable (i.e. difficult and sometimes disobedient) thermostat, so this was our lazy solution. Turns out, it's a much better solution.

Writing "to do" lists on notecards and sticking them in my keyboard when I leave work or go to lunch. Also lets other people know I'll be away from my desk for a while.

</comment><comment> blaser-waffle Knife sharpening course. I do a lot of cooking at home and it's definitely sped things up

Cast iron pans and dutch ovens -- cook big dishes low and slow, store for the week

Walking a lot -- health benefits plus getting out of my head

Getting a lot of jeans / pants / clothes (but mostly the 2 former) tailored or patched. Ditto for some good glue, a bandsaw, and resole-ing my boots.

Whiteboards and simple paper calendars

</comment><comment><USER67> A good, reasonably large, covered in laundry basket.

When things have a place it's easier to automate the process of cleaning.

Packing cells for travel.

Maybe cheating for low tech but throwing out dishes that are not dishwasher safe (Or just dishwash them until they maybe break) Similar for undergarments and dryers.

</comment><comment><USER68> Coffee grinder to make great coffee for cheap. Saves ton of time than going out to buy. Unless you walk which then you'd lose exercise.

Pepper grinder, tastes way better.

Get lots of extra Dish washable utensils so you don't run out and need to wash until end of each day. Dishwasher Required.

</comment><comment><USER69> Going for a hike in nature. Both the exercise and the nature are great for your health.

</comment><comment><USER70> I keep most of my notes of things I need to do in a given day on paper. Also, if I'm walking around for meetings I often draw a paper map rather than relying on my phone. Easier to mentally visualize.

</comment><comment> jerome-jh An hot-glue gun. Glue is very cheap, non stain, serves in many situations.

</comment><comment><USER71> A Danish dough whisk for mixing bread dough. It might not be an actual improvement but at least I feel better, baking bread every week, not having to rely on an electrical mixer.

</comment><comment><USER72> box cutter. I get so many boxes and having a tool actually designed for this is just so awesome. It's cheap, the blades are cheap, and it just does the job.

</comment><comment><USER73> Manual kitchen tools - fork instead of mixer, string pull food processor instead of electric.

Less washing, space, cost, and I can take them camping.

</comment><comment><USER74> The cognitive dissonance with describing hiking in Pategonia as low tech is amazing. How exactly did you get there? Probably in a jet powered aircraft. What were you wearing? I'm guessing it wasn't wool and cotton but some of the most sophisticated synthetic materials produced.

I'm sure it was a great time and it sounds like loads of fun but let's not pretend that tech wasn't involved because you didn't have your phone with you.

</comment><comment><USER75> Tubeless bike tires. Lower tire pressures improve comfort, reliability, and traction even on the roads.

</comment><comment><USER76> I use the "screen time" feature on my iphone, and aim to have <1h average for the week.

</comment><comment><USER77> I ditched webpack for a day and built a site using JS in script tags.

</comment><comment><USER78> How low is low? Wheel good, fire good. Knife, mixed results.

<comment><USER79> I suppose anything where there's a higher tech option. Clothes and bread are still the highest tech option for the same solution. Pencil vs smartphone counts. Or recently, maybe TV vs online streaming.

</comment></comment><comment><USER80> buy albums on cd/lp/cassette/mp3.

</comment><comment><USER81> I use a pencil to type on the keyboard.

</comment><comment><USER82> Dead tree books.

<comment><USER7> Underrated comment.

</comment></comment><comment><USER83> I enjoy carrying a paper diary and using it along with a fountain pen to take notes and remembrances. Looking back through them is much more valuable than looking back through any sort of digital calendar or journal, while being much less expensive and prone to disintegration.

Gardening and the simple joy of starting seedlings and watching them grow into fruitful plants is another life-improver enhanced by the most minimal of tech (although choosing seeds online and their low cost delivery to my home is probably mediated by some considerable tech nowadays).

<comment><USER5> I vouched for your comment since it seems to have been downvoted into oblivion. I don't understand why people took offense with what you had to say. paper diaries are a lot more valuable and require totally different parts of the brain than idiotic cloud enabled note-taking apps.

<comment><USER84> I don't believe this person was downvoted; look at their history: [https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dx7tnt](https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dx7tnt) Most of their posts are dead going back to, roughly: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20280125](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20280125)

This person was a little naughty seven or so months ago, and the result of that has carried forward.

<comment><USER5> thanks that explains it. fwiw I don't think it's OK to punish them because they've been naughty in the past. there are a lot of depressed and ill people here too. Remember the templeOS guy who was constantly ousted from HN for his remarks? After he killed himself the HN crowd was all "what a sad story". you don't know what people go through on the other end of the wire. people do deserve a chance I think and downvoting stuff that is OK is like saying "f you there is no way in hell we're going to put up with you even if you try".

<comment><USER85> In point of fact, there was nothing at all "naughty" about their comment in the first place. It was just a comment. A comment that the Nazi mods of this place, in their Naziism, didn't like.

For the record, this is my second ever account on HN. The first account was a few months ago. It was shadowbanned within 15 posts. Simply for expressing my opinion.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: How long should a partnership wait before legally organizing? - <AUTHOR> I am in a group with 4 members. I'm a developer on it - we've agreed to an equal 25% split regardless of whatever expenses we personally incur before organizing (pretty small stuff, a $10 subscription here and there - but also some medium stuff, like paying a contractor a few grand for illustrations).
Now we are about ready to think about launching and selling product - I was thinking we were going to be testing by giving away licenses for free to relevant users - but it seems like the plan is to charge.
This is fine because it's not too shoddily built for what I'd call a market-testable prototype - but I know that this means there's going to be potential liability introduced.
Also in terms of just protecting our interests and ensuring nobody can try to grab for more ownership when we do organize is important to me. I like working with these teammates in general, but we have clashed more than once - so it's not beyond the ralm of possibility that things might not be amicable at that point in time.
When should I put my foot down regarding organizing legally? Should it be before we launch to paying customer? Should it be before we even test with customers? Or should I just chill out and wait until we're making enough money that we know the fees aren't wasted? <comment><USER2> Now. You don't want it to be a distraction/issue later.

<comment><AUTHOR> I appreciate the advice. I've had partners before who always got defensive when I brought up partnerships, and I can already feel some slight resistance. I hadn't thought about the fact that it would actually be a distraction later.</comment></comment>


Markov Chain Monte Carlo and the Eurovision Song Contest - <AUTHOR> http://mewo2.github.com/nerdery/2012/05/20/ive-got-eurosong-fever-ted/

<comment><USER2> Interesting part: "In 2009, it was reported that the 43 Azerbaijanis who texted in votes for Armenia in that year's contest were summoned to the National Security Ministry to explain their actions".

I'm surprised that this country was allowed to stay in the EBU after such a behavior. Really shocking.

Lebanon was more or less thrown out of the competition for not playing by the rules ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_in_the_Eurovision_Song...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest)), so I'm surprised the EBU did not do the same here.

<comment><USER3> And Azerbaijan is hosting the contest right now. A journalist friend of mine currently reporting from Baku was presented with a newspaper on hir hotel room, reading:

"[...] tourists and visitors coming to Azerbaijan will be able to personally become convinced that the Azerbaijani society is tolerant. Political pluralism and human rights have been fully ensured in Azerbaijan. The rules of our civil society do not lag behind European ones."

The EBU is a pretty tolerant organization, I guess, but tracking down people voting in the contest... What can I say? Yay nationalism.

<comment><USER4> If this happened at all, I would expect that the EBU wasn't involved. A 'sufficiently powerful' state does not need cooperation of the owner of a phone number to check who SMSes what to it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> _For the 2012 contest, I assume that all friendship values remain the same as in previous years._

Being in Europe, I'd say that the love for several countries has been in constant review over the past year. Just how and by how much will be clear after we do the exercise again, after Eurosong 2012.

P.S. that title ("I've got Eurosong fever, Ted") is from a TV series called "Father Ted". I recommend.

</comment><comment><USER6> Gotta love statistician logic! _The increase in certainty is probably due to additional information gleaned from actually listening to the song._

<comment><USER7> It is quite a good song, considering the genre.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Living in a multinational household Eurovision is always a fun evening of cheesy euro-pop and European geopolitics. I've always preferred Terry Wogan's humourous coverage of the event, which he's attributed to getting progressively more drunk as the night goes on[1]. I imagine this year that no matter how good the song, Greece will be getting _nil point_ from Germany and vice versa. Of course, Cyprus and Greece get nil point in our household, thanks to the Turkish element. Likewise, the French get nil point from the English side. I imagine for Americans it must all be rather bemusing and strange.

The post misses a substantial point about the Czech song Aven Romale[2], that many eastern european countries that would normally bloc vote would be against voting for a Gypsy song based on cultural reasons. I do like the point about the Azeris and Nagorno Karabakh though.

[1] - [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/may/15/eurovision- song-...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/may/15/eurovision-song-contest- graham-norton-terry-wogan)

[2] - <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3CgUmzl4sk>

</comment><comment><USER9> Does anyone know what twitter (data) is predicting about the final? Twitter has done quite will in picking recent elections, sporting events etc

The recent crisis in Europe should make the voting interesting.

</comment><comment><USER10> Very interesting, and not too hard to follow with little knowledge of statistics. I might even start taking an interest in the contest, despite the Netherlands coming up with terrible songs to enter every year.

</comment><comment><USER11> slight sidestep but it would be interesting to see how the friendship factors have changed over the years. Could be fun to map on a news timeline to see how it evolves with the geopolitical events.

</comment><comment><USER12> There's also a Million Song Dataset Challenge going on on Kaggle now: <http://www.kaggle.com/c/msdchallenge>

</comment><comment><USER13> The Israel numbers seem off - they have a large issue getting votes right now, as evidenced by this semifinal when they (subjectively) had one of the top three songs but didn't make it to the finals.

There may be a big change in public opinion, but I don't remember Israel being popular in Europe for at least the last few years...

(From one of the very few Americans to actually know about Eurovision, much less watch it.)

<comment><USER14> Israel's numbers are actually fairly middle-of-the-road. They don't have any habitual points donors (except maybe France), but they've only failed to qualify three times (four if you include last night). They made the top ten in both 2005 and 2008, and they won in 1998.

I think you may just have a different opinion of what makes a good song than the voters of Europe.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> In a similar note... ( American Idol prediction based on social media ) <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4015553></comment>


Why Elon Musk Keeps Promising the Impossible - <AUTHOR> http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2016/05/tesla_s_elon_musk_keeps_promising_the_impossible_i_think_i_know_why.html <comment><USER2> I once read that one of the fathers of the Internet (don't remember who) said that the Internet should span the whole galaxy, because engineers always under deliver and he could live with a version that just spans the Earth.</comment>


Get Ready for the Future: A High Tech Video Time Capsule - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/javascript-scene/get-ready-for-the-future-f4cf7610b985

<comment><AUTHOR> What future technologies are you most excited about?

<comment><USER2> What you had to say about VR intersecting with other technologies. VR will not only be an incredible communications platform but many technologies will converge on it.

<comment><AUTHOR> Do you have any particular technologies in mind?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Great videos!</comment>


Build a network map of your development process - <AUTHOR> http://systemmeasure.com/dev <comment><USER2> You might want to repost as a "SHOW HN". Also, it's not completely clear to me from the landing page what systemmeasure is or what it does. For example, what are the elements of a system measure map? Goals? Tasks? Workers?</comment>


Inactive account policy - <AUTHOR> https://support.twitter.com/articles/15362

<comment><USER2> I've been using the same alias practically everywhere, but I can't use it on Twitter because of some Russian guy who registered a Twitter account, followed 10 people and never posted a single freaking tweet.

</comment><comment><USER3> at least twitter handles trademarks. Other social media sites are not so friendly</comment>


Sleep is just the same as ever, say scientists - <AUTHOR> http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/15/modern-life-is-rubbish-sleep-is-just-the-same-as-ever-say-scientists <comment><USER2> There's a little more detail in this article imo: [http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/the- many-...](http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/the-many-myths- of-paleo-sleeping/410707/)

Including the question I was wondering about: do the authors think the historians who have argued medieval Europeans had segmented sleep were therefore wrong, and humans have never slept like that? The answer seems to be "no", but here the explanation gets to be what sounds, to me at least, plausible but a bit speculative,

 _[The historian Roger] Ekirch combed through centuries of Western literature and documents to show that Europeans used to sleep in two segments, separated by an hour or two of wakefulness. [Author of the present study Jerome] Siegel doesn't dispute Ekirch's analysis; he just thinks that the old two-block pattern was preceded by an even older single-block one. "The two-sleep pattern was probably due to humans migrating so far from the equator that they had long dark periods," he says. "The long nights caused this pathological sleep pattern and the advent of electric lights and heating restored the primal one."_

<comment><USER3> Very interesting. It is also much more informative than the Guardian article, for instance: "The data revealed that these groups all sleep for nightly blocks of 6.9 and 8.5 hours, and they spend at least 5.7 to 7.1 hours of those soundly asleep."

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> This seems pretty random as usual.

There's an easy test that applies to yourself only though. Go to a place without tv/internet/books (electricity is fine) for a week, where you exercise outdoors and spend time with people.

I always end up sleeping 2-3h more (from 6h regularly to 9h!), wake up earlier, and sleep earlier - and in fact, feel better.

Most of the rest is just the stress inducing work/city life most of us zombies "have" to go through.

<comment><USER5> There are plenty of confounding factors with your own "easy test", some of which you admit yourself- the stress of the life in general. Who's to say that living a neolithic existence isn't stressful? Indeed, it probably is far more stressful. This has nothing to do with electric lights and computers. This is just life in general. At least you can take a break every so often.

<comment><USER4> yes id guess the no computer and tv helps with the stress levels, rather than being "because of looking at the screen" by itself.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It is interesting that they suggest that a room that progressively gets colder through the night might help you sleep better. I'm currently living in a fairly warm part of Japan and we have no heat in the house (or air conditioning). I definitely sleep better here than I do when I'm in Canada or the UK.

There are probably many other factors (for example, I sleep on the floor in Japan and use a "pillow" that is really just a sack of grain -- it might sound strange, but it is _so_ much nicer than the overly soft trappings of western bedrooms IMHO). I had never really considered temperature as being a factor, though.

<comment><USER7> I knew temperature was a factor. I have severe difficulty falling asleep unless I'm slightly chilly, preferably with a fan blowing on me. So probably around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything more than 70 degrees and I start to have problems.

78 degrees or higher and I will probably be jumping in the shower, applying wet towels to my legs, maybe bring a cold pack out of the freezer, sit in front of the open refrigerator door for several minutes, anything to try to cool me off, and it will take a couple hours to fall asleep, unless I'm already super exhausted.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Also [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/112251/](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/112251/) via [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10396087](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10396087).

</comment><comment><USER9> _Having unrealistic expectations of sleep can be dangerous, he said. "If you go to your GP and say doctor I really think I should sleep more, they'll give you whatever the last sleeping pill rep who was in their office was handing out."_

It seems to me that unrealistic expectations are the least dangerous issue in this situation.

</comment><comment><USER10> "Scientists say" Or perhaps "one researcher says" I found it interesting that his study was done on people living as they did millenia ago, but they were ok wearing fitbits. Tht other big question that pops up in my mind is" What about siesta?

</comment><comment><USER11> Interestingly, this seems to contradict findings of segmented sleep ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep)).

</comment><comment><USER12> The write-up of this article on the economist reported an insignificant % of people suffering from insomnia in premodern communities vs 20% of moderns</comment>


Android fans accuse Apple of copying Samsung first - <AUTHOR> http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/04/19/android_fans_accuse_apple_of_copying_samsung_first.html

<comment><USER2> And Apple fans retaliate. What's the point?

<comment><USER3> Accuracy ethics the incentive to build a good product and support it. Why bother investing in a new and better way of doing things if someone can copy you to the last icon and trick users into buying something cheaper. The one phone was sold as just like a iPhone to unsuspecting coustomers before ATT lost exclusivity. Note many of the android fans hated the knock off just as much as Apple. The copied interface was not as polished as the standard Android is. Personally this seems a profound disservice to open source and android. They can stand on their own merit without stealing.</comment></comment>


Goldman Sachs Has Started Giving Away Its Most Valuable Software - <AUTHOR> http://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-has-started-giving-away-its-most-valuable-software-1473242401 <comment><USER2> Serious discussion has started here: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12443678](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12443678)

</comment><comment><USER3> I read this as implying GS has decided the software has no value.

<comment><USER2> See the thread I referenced, which has comments that theorize why allowing others to use parts of it could be of value to GS.

The overall system is of such fantastic value it's hard to overstate it. GS can in a matter of minutes/hours play "what if" games, and otherwise determine risk and figure out what their position is, when other companies at worst depend on people manually scraping data from spreadsheets and submitting that upwards via email. Played a major role in their minimal losses during the last financial crisis, it's a crown jewel in their industry.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Google Analytics Referral Spam Ninja - <AUTHOR> http://ninjaspam.com/

<comment><USER2> Or you could start using another web analytics platform which spammers don't know and you'll have total control: [https://github.com/fiatjaf/microanalytics](https://github.com/fiatjaf/microanalytics)

</comment><comment><USER3> This is actually a good idea. Those spam referers really grind my gears.

I feel like it's just a Google bug though. But they don't seem to want to fix it.

</comment><comment><USER4> Love the long sell website, always makes me trust the author and production... Also the page is an 'Untitled Document'.

</comment><comment><USER5> The page is an 'Untitled Document' \- I was like yeah no plz go back and update it lol.</comment>


Explanation of Why Open Source isn't Inherently More Secure - <AUTHOR>

http://theinvisiblethings.blogspot.com/2009/01/closed-source-conspiracy.html <comment><USER2> I don't think the author compeletely gets it.

Here's a sample of a Microsoft EULA:

""" LIMITATIONS ON REVERSE ENGINEERING, DECOMPILATION, AND DISASSEMBLY. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation. """

Have you actually looked up those laws to know if what you're doing is legal? Would you be willing to bet on your ability to interpret legal code? I sure haven't and sure wouldn't. I'm not interesting in putting myself in a position where I might have to fight Microsoft in a legal battle. I can already tell you who will win that one. Billions of dollars almost always wins.

Also, if there is a bug in Excel that you find problematic, there's nothing at all you can do about it except stop using Excel. If you're using open source, you can fix it and get on with your work.

The author also points to an issue that existed with Debian for about 2 years. In open source terms, that's an extremely long lived bug. If security is a huge issue for you (and it isn't for most computer use cases), use open bsd, where security bugs are fixed almost immediately. Even so, I have to ask, how long is the longest a security hole has remained open in Windows (that's assuming you don't consider Windows itself a security hole, and I'm not sure you can be so generous)? How would you even know? Do you think Microsoft is going to tell you, "Oh yeah, we had this huge security bug for about 10 years that we finally fixed up?"

Finally, the author is attacking a straw man anyway:

""" I only resist the open-source fundamentalism, that defines every proprietary software as inherently insecure, and everything open source as ultimately secure. """

Who actually think that everything open source is automatically secure? No one. Here's some open source code for backing up your computer: "rm -rf /". Show of hands, who thinks this is secure system backup software?

(Just in case you don't know any better, DO NOT FOR ANY REASON RUN "rm -rf /" ON A UNIX-BASED MACHINE.)

The argument that people actually make is that open source software has a tendency to be more secure... that the culture is more inclined to produce secure software. If you attack that instead of a straw man, you'll have a much harder time.

</comment><comment><USER3> [http://theinvisiblethings.blogspot.com/2009/01/closed- source...](http://theinvisiblethings.blogspot.com/2009/01/closed-source- conspiracy.html) clicky

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks. Apparently I suck at the internet.</comment></comment>


Snapdrop – share files with people near by through the browser - <AUTHOR> https://snapdrop.net <comment><USER2> Animation stops on Opera Mobile after few seconds</comment>


Ask HN: Web IDE (Eclipse)? - <AUTHOR>

A friend of mine mentioned that he'd like to take the open-source Eclipse code and make it into a web app. You'd be able to code and do everything you want, all in the browser.<p>I'm just a beginner, and don't have much perspective on this. What do you guys think? Good idea? Would you use it? Is this the future? <comment><USER2> <http://kodingen.com/>

Below is the Founder talking about his product. It looks like a great site, with about 6000 users now:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPrvnlvnu-k&feature=playe...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPrvnlvnu-k&feature=player_embedded#t=26m35s)

</comment><comment><USER3> Check out <http://coderun.com/> Is this what you had in mind?</comment>


Ask HN: Is a digital marketer a slave to the developers? - <AUTHOR> Quite often digital marketer relies a lot on the developer to set up a lot of things for him for eg: Events tracking, Landing pages, integrating with other tools etc.
This reduces the productivity of digital marketers drastically.
What are your thoughts on this? <comment><USER2> No. No team member at a company should ever be a slave to another, regardless of their role and function.

Teamwork and participation in a group is all about service, not slavery. The developer acts in service to the marketer, who needs assistance with things like funnel tweaks, event wiring, analytics add one, and more. The digital marketer is in service to the developer, as they can add fresh users to a platform, which can provide insights and illuminate opportunities for improvement.

If we keep looking throughout an organization, all roles manifest themselves this way. Whether it be finance, support, operations, design, product, or legal. If we position our perspective from that as an adversarial one (a la slavery), the perspective does look like one where productivity is reduced drastically because we are blocked on one another. If we view it positively (a la in service of one another), and act accordingly, we find that whatever slowdowns we perceive at a micro level are made up for in major macro improvements.

So, to answer your original question, no. Marketers are not slaves to developers.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, slavery could've framed better. However, I wanted to get the message across.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Pretty weird thing to say, and it signals that your organization design is incorrect.

What you should have in place is:

1) A department solely dedicated to product design, development and management

2) A department dedicated to offline and online marketing. This includes people who are able to create marketing assets including web developers, content designers and even video editors (e.g. for creating content for TV or YouTube)

Because what you mean with "slave" is that the people running your marketing department currently seem dependent on the people working on your product who have ZERO time to put into marketing efforts because their schedules are filled to the brink with product work, which is not really strange

What is strange however is that you created this dependency which seems to completely destroy your ability to do digital marketing.

So hire yourself a small team to help your marketing department out with all things they are incapable to do. Right now I'm thinking about the following roles: a designer (which hopefully can double as a frontend developer), a front developer (in case the forementioned designer only can design -- yes they still exist), a developer with knowledge of the CMS system you are using and someone who is able to keep your marketing related systems up and running (this could also be the forementioned developer). Let them report to your head of marketing, let them work solely on marketing related taks and your problem is solved.

<comment><AUTHOR> Sorry, I wasn't talking about our organization. I was talking in general.

End of the day, marketers still need developers to do their day-to-day jobs.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I would say if they cannot operate third-party services like Google Tag Manager, then yes. But that's on them. A warning sign of an ineffective department (marketing, ads, comms, etc) is when they insist that anything involving a web site gets clumped under "tech".

<comment><AUTHOR> Unfortunately, we can't have tech in-house in 90% of the businesses worldwide.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> My thoughts are that invoking slavery to denote a dependency is ridiculous.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, I agree with you. Could've framed that better.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> The way most companies handle this is by giving the marketing team a budget to have their own dedicated developer or two.

To that extent they are no more a slave to the developer than a person dining at a restaurant is a slave to their wait staff. Sure the water could take extra long to deliver the food but that does not mean they are in control.

To be a slave the other person needs to be exercising control over you.

As a developer, ever try to tell marketing that they can't do something for technical reasons, scheduling, or because it is just a bad idea? Extreme example, the way I have seen it work mostly:

1\. Marketing wants to make all advertisement autoplay audio

2\. Development says: we are busy until next week working on a major deadline, and even if we did have the time autoplaying audio ads is a terrible idea because it has been shows repeatedly to turn off people from your brand

3\. Marketing talks to the CEO

4\. The ad are autoplaying audio that night and now the developers have to work extra hours because the deadline they were working on still needs to be done.

If anything it is the other way around... devs are a slave to marketing. Marketing says "jump" the devs have to say "how high?" regardless of what else they were working on.

You say:

> This reduces the productivity of digital marketers drastically.

But in reality unless marketing has it's own developers you are in fact decreasing developers productivity and costing the company a lot of time, potentially money, and in many cases decreasing the work-life balance of the developers.

Think about what those developers needed to stop working on to do your task. I doubt they were sitting on their hands.

Edit: with that said, there doesn't mean it's not a problem that needs to be fixed. But put yourself in the developers shoe's for a minute. They don't like the arrangement any more than marketing does.

And it doesn't help when marketing shows no respect for the developers time. Real world example: a marketing team at one of our clients has been working on a TV ad campaign for months. They finished the TV campaign and now they need a landing page for it... they just told us about this landing page Wednesday. The ad campaign "absolutely has to start Friday"... the amount of disrespect you need to have for developers to do something like that is incredible. They new about the need for a landing page for months and gave dev 3 days when they got months to make their 30 second video...

<comment><AUTHOR> Agree with every point you said.

On a slightly lighter note, are you a developer?

<comment><USER6> I am a developer who also has a business background.

For the record I think marketing is a vital job and marketing should be given the attention, respect, and help they need to succeed.

The question just hit a nerve because there are a certain segment of marketers who don't show any respect for developers. They think because the thing they need done isn't done immediately that the developer must be either doing something wrong or deliberately ignoring their request. Usually it is neither of those things, they are just really busy and last minute requests throw off their whole day.

<comment><AUTHOR> Sure, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. It's just that priorities don't align with both the teams all the time.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Developers experience the same issue with users. Relying on users to.give feedback, initial requirements.etc.

</comment><comment><USER8> Most of the things you've listen can be done (and are routinely done) by marketers. Because they're marketers doesn't mean they can't use a computer.

There are cases where developers may be required (e.g. building a custom tool for some campaign) but that work can often be outsourced.

</comment><comment><USER9> No. Marketing / Sales / Support should have its own technology budget to run systems it needs.

<comment><AUTHOR> Small and medium sized business cannot have a separate budget. Esp when the marketing is the cost center, most of the time cannot have a developer full time assisting them.

<comment><USER9> I would take this point further as evidence why a developer, who does not wish to spend time on non-product engineering, should not join a small or medium sized business.

It is fine to have an engineer do both jobs, but my stance is that time spent on non-product engineering needs to be accounted under the proper accounting bucket, in order to avoid diffusion of responsibilities.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> A number of companies now let you drop an SDK into your app build and let marketers manage some aspects of the app via a web GUI (push notification campaigns and a/b testing at least).

Check out www.leanplum.com

</comment><comment><USER11> Time for MarketOps...</comment>


HN Dynamics - I just do not understand - <AUTHOR> http://halfaclick.blogspot.com/2011/08/hn-dynamics-i-just-do-not-understand.html

<comment><USER2> You need to understand that HN is now huge, and no longer truly a community. There are people who have internalised the original ethos and take opinions and arguments on their merit, whether they agree or not, but now there are people who just down-vote anything they disagree with, even without reading it carefully, and certainly without thinking about it.

If you express an opinion and get a drive-by down-vote from someone who happens to disagree with you, or simply dislike your comment (no matter how well argued) then you can easily get several others pile on in a group-think down-vote mob.

It happens.

Shrug and move on. You can't buy anything with karma, and there will always be people who unthinkingly disagree and down-vote without regard for your opinion or argument.

Move on, contribute positively, and you will gain karma, and perhaps eventually recognition, reputation and respect.

You can also choose to use this as an opportunity to hone your debating skills. If you're about to express an unpopular or unexpected opinion, think not only about the rational aspects, but also the rhetorical and emotional aspects. Perhaps you can deflect the unthinking while still engaging those worth engaging.

<comment><AUTHOR> I have actually grown in a friend circle where if you disagree, you keep on debating till we arrive on a consensus, or at least understand that ours points have reduced to personal preferences or till one of us is _really_ hungry. I was probably expecting the same here. People are not as idle as I am.

And I guess, there is still a lot to learn (and that will be the case forever). Thank you!

<comment><USER2> This is not a circle of friends. Nor is it (any longer) a village. It has grown to be a city. There are still circles of friends, or the closest thing to it, but HN is no longer a small community where people come to know and respect each other's opinions and differences.

It's a city, full of strangers whose faces you might vaguely recognise because you see them semi-regularly, but who you don't really know. And so people will down-vote you based on a whim. They don't know you, and never will, so they'll just express their opinion in the easiest and fastest way possible and move on.

They don't want to get involved.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> <http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

      > Please don't post on HN to ask or tell us something (e.g. to ask us questions about Y Combinator, or to ask or complain about moderation). If you want to say something to us, please send it to email@example.com.

In your blog, you write:

      > And I expect explanations, if I am downvoted. Yes, I have checked FAQs; I don't think I am abusing the facility. So, I still don't understand when does the HN community downvote?

Obviously, you didn't bother to read the guidelines/FAQ very carefully or you would not have made this submission to HN.

This submission of yours is meta-discussion (discussion about discussion) and as such, it is "not interesting" to many. In fact, many consider it outright annoying. If wasn't in an unusually benevolent mood, I'd flag it.

It _seems_ you know HN well enough to realize that "Ask HN" posts (i.e. submissions that do not have an external URL) are weighted differently and drop from the listing quicker than submissions of external URLs. In other words, from an outside perspective it seems your choice of using an external blog post with a follow-up submission to HN to ask a question is intentional manipulation. Whether intentional or not, it either makes you look like an ass or makes you look like you're too lazy to figure out how HN works.

Your expectation of receiving explanations for down-votes has no basis in reality. A down-vote means different things to different people. It could disagreement with your opinion. It could be a hint that you're acting in a way that makes you seem like an ass. It could be your tone is a bit too sharp. You may have poor writing skills or rushed your response and failed to write clearly (happens to me a _lot_ ). You might have failed to consider the international aspect of this forum or realize civility can be quite different in different cultures. You might have had a bad day, or wrose, a "bad typing day" --When I have a bad typing day, my text looks like it was passed through ROT13.

Though there is no prohibition on humor here on HN, be very, very, very careful with it. One-liners, memes, and similar humor-only posts are considered by many to detract from the discussion, and hence are discouraged by down-votes. The safe bet is to let your sense of humor add spice to your attempt of adding to the discussion in a positive way. No, I'm not smart enough to take my own advice, so yes, I can admit to occasionally posting relevant and original one-liners... and of course, sometimes I pay dearly in down-votes for letting my sense of humor get the better of me.

Regardless of the reason for any down-vote or up-vote, the fact that someone took the time to give you feedback, positive or negative, is something you should always appreciate. Feedback helps you learn what _other people_ consider to be useful, beneficial, and civil/polite _contributions_ to a discussion.

</comment><comment><USER4> One more point in addition to the other comments here: Whenever topics like Apple come up (as in your example), a lot of people for whatever reason are instantly emotionally involved (either that, or it attracts the emotionally involved ones). I believe the emotional involvement prevents a lot of productive discussion from happening.

Choose nearly any other topic and I would overall expect better discussion and less apparent subjectivity.

</comment><comment><USER5> Last I heard, HN was up to 80K uniques a day. I have no idea how many are registered members who actually can vote and all that, but the human mind can only deal with a "tribe" of about 150 people. In most online forums, where roughly 20% of people actively participate, this means you can sustain the sense of community up to about 700 members. HN is waaaay beyond that. Flaky things happen. It took me a while to adjust. I still have bad moments where I just think some people here are buttheads. But most days it's okay. The good news is that the scale of the place tends to prevent the cliques and such that can cause so much trouble in so many online forums.

Take care.</comment>


Things you can't do in Rust: destructure function arguments in declaration - andrew-lucker https://medium.com/@andrew_subarctic/things-you-cant-do-in-rust-destructure-function-arguments-in-declaration-51f631aa3f3e <comment><AUTHOR> > shorthand for a function with only a pattern as its body.

Only an _expression_ as its body seems more like it.

Just to be clear, would you require the last function clause to be a catch- all/wildcard pattern? Or could you just define a function on 0 & 1? Separate question: would you want to be able to add a new clause for your function f _below_ main? It's okay to want either outcome, I'm just curious. Third question: would you want/accept a delimiter between a function's clauses like ; or | ?

I like the idea. Especially if you can still refer to pattern-matched parameters by name, too.

<comment> andrew-lucker Not married to the syntax, just wanted to highlight the absence of this syntax form. The syntax used was mainly meant to mirror the existing Rust pattern syntax.

As for partial matching, other languages give warnings or errors if a pattern doesn't cover all cases.</comment></comment>