LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? - <AUTHOR> http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70015?currentPage=all <comment><USER2> The Geek's wonder drug is Hacking itself.

The chemical alternatives are all depressingly poor substitutes.

<comment><USER3> ^ from someone who's never tried it...

<comment><USER2> How would you know?</comment></comment></comment>


The Productivity Cycle - <AUTHOR> https://alexsexton.com/blog/2014/1/the-productivity-cycle/ <comment><USER2> I just wish articles like this would lead with a tiny bit of research. The web is flooded with "here's how I think you can work better" articles, but very few go beyond personal anecdotes. As such, many of them are just not that useful.

Here are few things that would've been beneficial in giving a better foundation to this article - it would've been a much better starting point for actually taking action, for one thing.

BRAC/ultradian rhythm cover the basic idea of a cyclical nature of focus.

Basic neurological effects of caffeine and withdrawal cover the idea that caffeine is a zero-sum game.

The Hawthorne effect[1] covers the idea of "Macro-caffeine"

There are quite a few case studies[2] to support the idea that stress reduction improves productivity.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect) [2] [http://www.amazon.com/Preventing-Stress-Improving- Productivi...](http://www.amazon.com/Preventing-Stress-Improving-Productivity- Case-Studies- ebook/dp/B000PWQMJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389827676&sr=8-1&keywords=Preventing+Stress%2C+Improving+Productivity%3A+European+Case+Studies+in+the)

<comment><USER3> While the Hawthorne Effect is widely cited, even after many years the results have not been reliably reproduced so it should be invoked cautiously.

<comment><USER2> It is certainly a debated effect, but at least it'd be a starting point for a discussion. As is, the article is "well, for me...". Any further discussion or research is impossible since it is a purely personal anecdote.

(N.B., since on re-reading this is less than clear from my original post: I did not intend to give a definitive answer to any of the items raised in the article. I do not possess the knowledge to do so. I merely intended to point out trivial starting points for research for this article)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Nice work! In order to balance my project and school I ended up taking 2 hour naps around 6pm (right after school) to refresh my brain for coding between 8pm and 4am, then napping again till 8am for the 9am till 5pm cycle. The good news was that the project I was building allowed me to post all of my side projects for others to be able to contribute to and see all cool projects done around me ( [http://doerhub.com](http://doerhub.com) ) , so now that both helps me jump back on the bandwagon faster and energizes my new cycle of work.

<comment><USER5> Why don't go fuck yourself ? Every time I see your comment I always wonder why the FUCK you post link to your website. I mean, just see your own comment history. We all know you are girl who code, so there are thousands many like you , more smarter , brilliant than you. Don't for FUCKING sake relate everything to you. Its like saying I am super hard worker and everyone else is stupid. Again, go fuck yourself

<comment><USER6> Hey, I'm sorry that somebody else is getting you down. Is everything okay? Are you going through any sort of trouble?

I ask not to be condescending or sarcastic, but because there are usually deeper causes for such anger and aggression. You can talk to me if you like, email or whatever. Take care.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> The coolest thing about caffeine is that it does actually help with mental agility and various cognitive tasks. But surprisingly few cognitive tasks. It actually only increases your working memory and positively influences your ability to concentrate on a task. That's it.

More interestingly still, it doesn't have any cognitive effects at all unless you're sleep deprived. It also doesn't have any cognitive effects in the morning. So that coffee people drink in the morning to wake up, that's just a placebo (unless they slept less than 6 hours, then it helps a bit).

But it does have a bunch of physical effects. Like increased blood flow to the brain, which helps with various things regardless of the fact that blocking adenosine receptors is doing jack shit. It also increases your stamina and physical strength. Which can be useful. Also why a lot of sports bars and most flu medicine contain a bunch of caffeine.

I write about this a lot in my book about Why programmers work at night: [https://leanpub.com/nightowls](https://leanpub.com/nightowls) (shameless plug :))

<comment><USER8> Flu medicine has caffeine because often people unknowing go through caffeine withdrawal unknowingly while they have the flu. Excedrin has it because people with headaches often just hadn't had their fix recently enough. Headaches are one of the major things a day or two after stopping.

<comment><USER9> Caffeine also potentiates the effects of OTC painkillers

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2012456](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2012456)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I am a big fan of these ideas. I've long since concluded that caffeine is a tool best used sparingly.

As for the macro productivity cycles, I totally agree that they exist and I very much think that burn out is essentially a case of ignoring those cycles. Sometimes you just need to ease off and coast the downtrend.

I'm hoping to, at some point in the near future, experiment with working/traveling across hemispheres in order to see if I can induce highs in productivity by abruptly placing myself in nicer weather. I have a hunch that your typical seasonal depression has a manic phase and I want to see if I can exploit that.

<comment><USER11> I too wish to make the same personal experiment. As I seem to be almost exclusively solar powered, I've resolved to spend my next winter as a summer, or at least as close to the equator as possible. :)

<comment><USER10> if I make it to Argentina next winter consider yourself invited

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> "I'll hop off my projects with deadlines and build something that I know probably won't ever even get finished, but that I'm just excited to build."

That's sooo me... I always tell myself and my wife that these keep me sane.

PS: I don't drink coffee or mt dew though...

</comment><comment><USER13> I have stopped paying attention (well, obviously not entirely) to all the coffee stories, because I realized how tiny the effect of coffee is compared to other things.

Trying to solve a tricky problem that I already know well (that is I don't have to read tons of background material first) keeps me very focused regardless of time of day. Same thing with some kinds of debates I have with people. Time of day only makes a difference when I'm not focused to begin with, and that difference is huge.

The other thing is that standing up and moving around is orders of magnitude more effective than any substance. It works instantly.

</comment><comment><USER14> When I read one of these Lifehackery blogs with a section that is entitled 'The Nap Month' it makes me feel that the author was procrastinating and trying to justify behaviour they felt guilty about.

I have zero caffeine in my diet, try to sleep between 7 and 10 hours a night - the latter is preferred when I am learning new concepts as it gives my brain a chance to rewire. Walking will stop my sedentary work from leading to constipation more than high-fibre alone.

Really, the secret to productivity is understanding the nature of the problem you are working on. All too often you can think it is all about solving X when in fact it is more about Z. No one really sets aside sufficient time to take stock and review the trajectory of their work so that they smooth the path that lies ahead with proper insight into what constitutes the essential aspects of the solution. As a designer it is vital for me to list every feature I aspire to include and then rank them mercilessly in order of most essential constraining and ultimately eliminating subsequent dilemmas of choice further down the list towards those aspects that would be nice to have but are not essential should you run out of time.

Even if you don't know enough about a highly ranked feature in this list its position in the list should not be influenced by your ignorance of it. It merely represents an area of on the job training that you need to budget for (or realise that you have no time to learn about, in which case you should probably ditch the whole endeavour and pick a project more suited to your skill set, don't pretend that you can reshape your design without it as it will just remind you of its compromised state each time you test it and make you unhappy with your craft).

</comment><comment><USER15> Intentionally inducing manic depressive swings seems like a bad idea. The first-order problem is that you're self-administering, causing changes to your mental state while you have to make decisions about your mental state. But even if you have a physician on standby trying to optimize your state you're still only human.

The theme in the post that resonated with me is that we're subject to waves in the day, the year, etc.. This jibes with my experience. We're only so effective at any given time, and certain times we're far more effective than others.

Rather than trying to create more of those times, I've come to the conclusion that I already get plenty of those times. I just don't always see it. Realizing this, life becomes more like surfing: sharpen awareness of opportunity, be ready when the opportunity comes, and then ride it to see where it takes you.

</comment><comment><USER16> Enjoyed the read, but not so sure that "caffeine is a zero-sum game." \- [http://www.futurity.org/caffeine-stimulates-long-term- memory...](http://www.futurity.org/caffeine-stimulates-long-term-memory/)

<comment><USER17> From your link:

        The subjects—*none of whom regularly ate or drank caffeinated products*—

Tolerance is the main reason why caffeine is a (mostly) zero sum game.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> These "optimizations", assuming they are correct and will work, would give some 5% "improvement" as so many optimizations do.)

Another thing is all linked to this very meaningless term "creativity", and, perhaps, caffeine could somehow boost it, but in context of real craftsmanship we probably should talk about artistic sense and inspirations, insights, "flow" and "aha-moments" which, it seems, follow much more complex and subtle patterns than just sleep, routine, glucose and caffeine. This will definitely work for sports, but programming is not a sport, it is an art. And for an artist a Muse is required, not a military routine.

Of course, routines and rituals has tremendous power - entire religions are still standing on nothing but them, but this quite another subject.

</comment><comment><USER19> I like the macronap concept

</comment><comment><USER20> _I can't help but lead with "ego" and "legacy" because the entire ability to create something from nothing (programming) and to get disproportionally rewarded for doing so (programming salaries) comes along with more than a touch of blind privilege._

#Fail

[http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/software- engi...](http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/software-engineer- salaries-arent-inflated-at-least-not-for-the-99/)

Programmers are well-compensated compared to most people outside of the 1%, but this idea that we're this overpaid class of people is ludicrous. Look at the Bay Area: there's immense value being created entirely by some of the world's top programmers, most of whom can't even afford to buy a house there.

We make enough money that no one should pity us, but the general payoff we get is on the low side of fair, especially in VC-istan where the upside is mostly hogged while the downside risks (damaged careers, sudden firings, constant reorgs, rapid obsolescence of skills) are externalized to the engineers, who are almost _trained_ to personalize their failures amid the dysfunctional institutional miasma (marginal, poorly-managed companies) the VCs have created.

Even if it were true, it would be against our interest to say that we're an overpaid, entitled class. The fact that it's not true makes it even more ridiculous when I hear people say it.

<comment><AUTHOR> I don't know if I can properly distinguish the difference between programmers being overpaid and the rest of humanity being underpaid.

> Even if it were true, it would be against our interest to say that we're an > overpaid, entitled class.

Not everything that's true or right has to be in our interest.

<comment><USER21> I think everyone can agree that what you are paid to work should be near the value your work provides to whomever is paying you.

Therefore people are underpaid if they provide a lot of value and receive a lot less in return and vice versa.

Therefore are lawyers who create bad patents and then sue people over them, thus destroying value and producing none themselves overpaid? Yes

Is a fast food worker working for minimum wage for a company that makes billions of dollars in profits underpaid? Yes.

Unfortunately supply and demand determine our salaries and not strictly the value our labor produces.

<comment><USER22> _Therefore people are underpaid if they provide a lot of value and receive a lot less in return and vice versa._

The problem is determining the value those people provide.

If a business owner invests $10 million dollars in a complex machine that creates $10 million dollars a year, is the employee who flips the machine on and off every day and replaces toner cartridges producing $10 million dollars in value? Hardly. The person/company who created the machine more directly produced the value and he/they determined to sell it to the business owner for $10 million dollars.

 _Is a fast food worker working for minimum wage for a company that makes billions of dollars in profits underpaid? Yes._

No.

This has similarities to my contrived scenario. Billions of dollars were spent in creating fast food companies that can mostly be operated by teenagers with little or no skills. What creates the profit, the investment in all of the infrastructure that lets the teenagers follow simple instructions or the easily replaceable teenagers themselves?</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Rand Paul Pledges to Immediately End NSA Mass Surveillance If Elected President - <AUTHOR> http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/rand-paul-pledges-to-immediately-end-nsa-mass-surveillance-if-elected-president-20150407 <comment><USER3> This is not surprising. Rand Paul, similar to his father Ron Paul, has very libertarian political views which means they prefer no government involvement, not just in the Internet but anywhere. This is not as good as it sounds.

For example, he doesn't support FED in controlling money supply. But FED was instrumental in making USD the most stable currency in the last 100 years.

He doesn't like energy regulations and believes free market should dictate the energy prices. Too bad when California deregulated their energy market, the prices went up 10x in some cases due to market manipulations by Enron and similar.

And then there is his religious agenda like anti-abortion, anti same-sex marriages, anti mandatory vaccination etc...

Just because he supports one or two policies we like, doesn't make him good candidate overall. Even a broken clock is right two times a day.

<comment><USER4> I don't think it's fair to call someone who advocates against abortion and same-sex marriages a libertarian.

<comment><USER5> > I don't think it's fair to call someone who advocates against abortion and > same-sex marriages a libertarian.

Regarding abortion: Libertarians believe in individual liberties. So if you believe that an unborn child is a person, it is very consistent with libertarian-ism to protect its life. The crux of the debate is when does does a fetus become a person.

Regarding same-sex marriages: Again, relating this question to personal freedom, a typical libertarian position is that in the eyes of the law and gov't, a gay marriage should be the same as a heterosexual marriage. However, an individual should have the freedom to not participate in a gay marriage. In other words, saying one person has the freedom to marry who they wish and another has the freedom to not participate in the wedding is very consistent with libertarian views.

<comment><USER4> > So if you believe that an unborn child is a person, it is very consistent > with libertarian-ism to protect its life.

Is it though? Most libertarians say the government shouldn't force you to feed a starving person, but banning abortion means forcing a mother to feed and care for another person (even if you consider a fetus a person).

> Regarding same-sex marriages:

Can you explain how a governmental (even at the state level) distinction between marriage types is consistent with libertarian philosophy?

<comment><USER5> > banning abortion means forcing a mother to feed and care for another person > (even if you consider a fetus a person).

There's a difference between murdering a person and being forced to feed him. So assuming for this argument that a fetus is a person, an abortion would be akin to murder. Being forced to care for the person would be akin to being forced to raise him. Libertarians who believe fetuses are persons are arguing you can't abort the baby, but you can have the baby adopted.

> Can you explain how a governmental (even at the state level) distinction > between marriage types is consistent with libertarian philosophy?

I might not understand the question, but many libertarians want the government out of the business of defining marriage at all except where it relates to interacting with the government. Paul seems to have dithered on this issue quite a bit, but this quote of his to National Review in 2013 seems fairly libertarian: "I'm an old-fashioned traditionalist. I believe in the historic and religious definition of marriage...That being said, I'm not for eliminating contracts between adults. I think there are ways to make the tax code more neutral, so it doesn't mention marriage. Then we don't have to redefine what marriage is; we just don't have marriage in the tax code."

<comment><USER4> > Being forced to care for the person would be akin to being forced to raise > him.

Until the baby is born, it does depend entirely on the mother's resources. It literally pulls energy out of her blood stream.

Now, I don't think fetuses are people, but if you believe they are then you have to admit that for the duration of the pregnancy the mother is compelled to feed and provide for that "person."

<comment><USER5> Yeah, it gets tricky to pick the policy that maximizes individual liberty when one person is biologically dependent on another to live. One way to analyze it is to look at which person sacrifices the greater freedom. If the mother terminates the pregnancy, the baby loses its life. If the baby is allowed to live off the mother's resources until birth, the mother sacrifices 9 months of her body's resources. Again, this all assumes the fetus is a person, which I believe is Rand Paul's position.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> One thing I'm confident in is that the further Rand Paul makes in the election process, the more discussion and awareness of mass surveillance's threat to democracy itself.

<comment><USER7> I remember when Ron Paul ran in the primaries, and in one of the first debates from 2011 I believe, they asked the Republican candidates whether they support a _stronger_ Patriot Act or not. Like all the other 4 or 5 other candidates tried to out-match each other in _how much stronger_ they would like the Patriot Act and other such laws to be.

Ron Paul? He was the only one who said he would do away with it. Full stop. If only Rand Paul could reverse that majority of opinion this time in the debates, and force most candidates to say they'd _also_ scale back on the mass surveillance, support repealing the Patriot, FISAA, EO12333, and possibly even pardon Snowden (probably even promising that in the campaign would be the _best_ litmus test to see whether a candidate is actually serious about truly reforming the surveillance powers).

<comment><USER8> > I believe, they asked the Republican candidates whether they support a > stronger Patriot Act or not. Like all the other 4 or 5 other candidates > tried to out-match each other in how much stronger they would like the > Patriot Act and other such laws to be.

It's worth thinking about the significance of that. These guys aren't doing it because it's wildly unpopular with voters.

<comment><USER9> That's true but it's only GOP primary voters they were concerned about.

<comment><USER10> I think you're overestimating the degree to which the average US voter gives a shit about the Patriot Act (or NSA surveillance, for that matter). The response was red meat for the primary voters, sure, but it's not likely to be significant negative for the wider electorate.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> If anyone is a threat to the Establishment, it is Rand Paul. He is not perfect but he can't be if he wants to win. He has a serious chance of getting the nomination and will help propel the conversation on surveillance reform and criminal justice reform. In another article, it said that he wants to eliminate jail time on all non-violent drug misdemeanors.

<comment><USER12> > If anyone is a threat to the Establishment, it is Rand Paul.

He's not a threat to the part of the Establishment which wants government regulation rolled back so they can pollute and play games with energy prices.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I would be interested in understanding how he proposes to balance US national security interests with scaling back the NSAs capabilities and Total Information Awareness. I am aware (totally ;)) that Rand Paul is considered a bit of a 'dove' and in that way represents me and many other citizens very well.

However, this dovish attitude failed to express itself before when it came to ISIS - just as it is likely to fail in the face of the Wolfowitz Doctrine - the primary US national security concern has been for the past 25 years that there should be no nation that grows mightily enough to challenge the United States. The defense industry is so bent on this doctrine, and the US allies and obligations so tangled up in it, it would take at least a full 8 years of effort to unravel. What's more, these absolutely radical changes to the United States would alter it inexorably (I'm not saying terribly) from its current state (perhaps closer to 1800's traditional America).

Provided the current challenges to US power, a retirement of global bullying would seem to represent a peaceful option in the short term - but its exactly the sort of thing that causes long term defense strategists heart attacks.

What's more - the NSA capabilities means are disjoint from their ends. I'm not sure whether Paul means to say that he would reverse the NSA's ends to apply their capabilities toward American citizens: thus ending surveillance - <USER2> then only by the same sort of policy that is represented by the FISA courts. He could possibly mean that he would scale back the NSA's _means_ , but doing so would be absolutely untenable to anyone close to Washington especially as cyber is seen as one of the key weak areas of US defense. On this note does anyone know who would make up Rand's security council? Is he proposing to elect general doves?

Overall, the statement that he would end surveillance means nothing. We need to know how he would propose to end it. What would it entail? What trade-offs are being made on interacting fronts?

I applaud the lip service though. Even if it's bunk, let's hear some more promises to end mass surveillance. (I'd also like them to mention the DEA, FBI and other intelligence orgs - it ain't just NSA). Clinton?

</comment><comment><USER14> All presidential candidates make similar promises when they run, and then, when they get elected, they get exposed to the true reasons why most of these programs exist and they realize the reality is not as simple as it seemed from outside. And then, they perpetuate the status quo.

Besides, I just can't stand libertarians who contradict their own positions saying that they want the government out of their lives except when it pertains to contraception, abortion, mandatory vaccinations and same-sex marriage.

<comment><USER7> On this issue I think Rand Paul has been quite consistent. He was among only a handful of Senators against the FISA Amendments Act renewal from 2012, when he proposed a "4th amendment act" that would require a warrant for all data requests:

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

[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/why-we-should-all- care...](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/why-we-should-all-care-about- senates-vote-fisa-amendments-act-warrantless-domestic)

He's been against the Patriot Act as well:

[http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/02/rand- pau...](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/02/rand-paul-vs-the- patriot-act/71323/)

He filibustered John Brennan's CIA nomination and the idea that the US government can assassinate an American with drones:

[http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/rand-paul- filibuster-j...](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/rand-paul-filibuster- john-brennan-cia-nominee-88507.html)

And he supports abolishing the TSA:

[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2012/0504/Sen....](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2012/0504/Sen.-Rand- Paul-knows-how-to-fix-the-TSA-end-it)

This guy has been preaching this stuff for years and _voted_ like that as well.

Obama on the other hand came out of nowhere, told us nice things we wanted to hear and then did a 180 when he became president. Oh, and just before he won his first mandate he voted for the Patriot Act's renewal while still in Senate - all while he was promoting an "end to illegal mass surveillance" in his campaign.

I'm just saying, at least on this issue, he might be a little different than Obama. I would've still preferred his dad much more...but I'm not really seeing anyone fighting for this _major issue_. It's not a "privacy" issue...it's a _liberty_ issue - I think that stuff used to be pretty important for Americans, no? I'm not seeing Elizabeth Warren, not seeing Bernie Sanders, nor Hillary Clinton pushing against the surveillance state from the Democratic side.

<comment><USER14> None of what you say contradicts anything that I said.

He's not against government, he's against government when it bothers him and in favor of government when it suits him.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> "The president created this vast dragnet by executive order." That's a remarkable simplification. Makes a good sound bite, but demonstrates, to me anyway, that he doesn't mean what he's saying.

Falsifying the origin of a problem you claim to intend to fix puts that claim in quite a bit of doubt.

</comment><comment><USER16> This is my litmus test for all future elections until this issue is resolved. There is and will never be a candidate that reflects all or even most of my positions. But, if a candidate is willing to unequivocally say that they will end domestic surveillance programs and uphold the 4th amendment, they will get my vote over anyone else who shows even the slightest hesitation, period.

<comment><USER17> Even over the candidate who promises to end the 2-party system? In other words, make real and lasting overall change, instead of just a single issue.

<comment><USER16> This is the single most important issue of the internet era. The current policy will erase the concept of privacy altogether. It is hardly "just a single issue".

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I'm not in favor of a rand paul president, or even nominee. However I think it's great to at least have one candidate who can steer the conversation towards these issues.

Hopefully he will go after candidates on the left and right about this.

</comment><comment><USER19> It will be a mildly entertaining distraction to watch establishment politicians squirm with this issue. Will anyone really argue in favor of dragnet surveillance?

But in the end it will be just that, a mildly entertaining distraction. Rand Paul has no chance, and even if he were to be elected President in a fluke, nothing much would change.

<comment><USER20> >Will anyone really argue in favor of dragnet surveillance?

Absolutely. In fact, I'd _expect_ them to argue in favor of dragnet surveillance, saying that it's necessary to prevent another 9/11.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Given the current field of candidates, it's pretty much Rand Paul or More-Of- The-Same. Seriously, Hillary is just Obama-term-three and Jeb... oh Lord, talk about _scary_.

<comment><USER22> as someone who vehemently hated Bush Jr, I am beginning to wonder which would ultimately be more dangerous and damaging to the states; the sneakily nefarious third term Obama cabinet which will say one thing and do the other while ignoring the people calling them out on it to gradually gain small amounts of power, or the recklessly irresponsible and blatant nature of the Bush cowboy genes and the power grabs that are so obvious that half of his own party disagrees.

God, it makes me sick to my stomach to sound _pro Bush_. I promise I don't mean it that way.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> This is a sad reminder that the _current_ president, who we were all so hopeful of, has the power to end this B.S. today.

<comment><USER24> Why would he revert his legacy? He has fought pretty hard for surveillance.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> A politician pledging something? I'm sold. Sign me up!

</comment><comment><USER26> Great, the man also wants to destroy public funding of science. I understand that that is his opinion, but well fuck that. I want to be a scientist and need REUs. Science is more important than capitalism. Capitalism has failed the world.

edit: that last sentence was a bit much, I'll admit.

<comment><USER27> Capitalism is the reason you are using the wonderful machine in front of you. Capitalism is the reason you have food. Capitalism is the reason you are not right now waiting in line for toilet paper. Capitalism has far from failed.

Very little actual good and a lot of bad science has come from public funding.

<comment><USER26> >Very little actual good and a lot of bad science has come from public funding.

Many, many private and public universities depend on federal grants to do the important research in every field.

Perhaps what you say about capitalism is correct, but an increasingly automated society can probably do without it. Look up post-scarcity economics.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> It almost sounds too good to be true.

<comment><USER28> Given he was one of the Senators forcing the government shutdown based on values, I suspect he is one of the more honest politicians.

That being said, an honest politician...

It's almost like we need another word other than politician.

<comment><USER29> This wasn't so many years ago.. Wasn't just about everything that group was doing, or not doing, around that time an attempt to sabotage the POTUS?

I mean, that did happen didn't it?

<comment><USER30> They were trying to keep POTUS from sabotaging the United Stated of America. That is what they were doing.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> Every country with an intelligence service is working as hard at spying on the Internet as the NSA. (Albeit with less funding.)

I haven't heard a reasonable proposal to put that cat back into its bag, and without one Rand's statement sounds impractical and misguided, at best.

<comment><USER32> > _Albeit with less funding._

Latvia deploy surveillance potato! You now scared!

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> This seems like a slightly more plausible version of Newt Gingrich promising a moon colony if elected President. And by slightly more I mean something that he would most likely not fulfill once in office. All candidates promise big things to get elected and most of those things never happen.

</comment><comment><USER34> Yeah, and Nixon had a secret plan to end the war. Twice.

<comment><USER30> The war that was started by the Democratic Party:

[http://blogs.britannica.com/2009/01/2-the-vietnam-war- top-10...](http://blogs.britannica.com/2009/01/2-the-vietnam-war- top-10-mistakes-by-us-presidents/)

"President John F. Kennedy had sent military advisors and then troops into South Vietnam. After Kennedy's assassination, what to do about the Vietnam War became a pressing matter of business for the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson."

From there see the VietNam War link: [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628478/Vietnam- War](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628478/Vietnam-War)

"Accepting the de facto partition of Vietnam as unavoidable but still pledging to halt the spread of communism in Asia, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower began a crash program of assistance to the State of Vietnam—or South Vietnam, as it was invariably called. The Saigon Military Mission, a covert operation to conduct psychological warfare and paramilitary activities in South Vietnam, was launched on June 1, 1954"

<comment><USER35> Oh, well in that case I'll definitely vote for Rand Paul.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> Rand supporters can expect persecution.

</comment><comment><USER37> "If elected." Right, so there you go.

</comment><comment><USER38> Who gives a fuck, he's unelectable.

</comment><comment><USER39> The man is such a disaster in so many other ways, that getting one thing right is more of a half-cup of punch in a turd-bowl.

<comment><USER28> Could you expand?

Your comment doesn't really add anything to the conversation, expand my knowledge, or even explain why anyone should value your opinion...

I don't mean to be rude, but it was a rather harsh comment, without much (if any) addition to the conversation.

<comment><USER40> [http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/paul-repeats-baseless- vacci...](http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/paul-repeats-baseless-vaccine- claims)

[http://religiondispatches.org/rand-paul-we-wouldnt-need- laws...](http://religiondispatches.org/rand-paul-we-wouldnt-need-laws-if- everyone-were-christian/)

<comment><USER41> >[http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/paul-repeats-baseless- vacci...](http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/paul-repeats-baseless-vaccine- claims)

That quote is taken out of context. To quote the entire thing:

"The point is that I have heard of – I mean who hasn't ever met a child who has a profound disability and in the parents' mind they see a connection," Paul said. "But I didn't allege there is a connection. I said I heard of people who believe there is a connection. I do think that vaccines are a good idea. I've been vaccinated. My kids have been vaccinated."

>[http://religiondispatches.org/rand-paul-we-wouldnt-need- laws...](http://religiondispatches.org/rand-paul-we-wouldnt-need-laws-if- everyone-were-christian/)

The headlines says "Rand Paul: We Wouldn't Need Laws If Everyone Were Christian". Paul never said anything like that. He said that "Christian values" like non-violence and such are good.

<comment><USER42> > _Paul, Feb. 2: I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal > children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines._

> _That quote is taken out of context. To quote the entire thing_

That wasn't out of context, that's him later trying to walk back his quote. They link directly to a video of him saying what they quoted[1]

(and even ignoring that, his point that parents should essentially use their instincts for setting a vaccination schedule is irresponsible and would make for incredibly poor public policy)

[1] [http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000351424](http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000351424) at 1:53

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER43> I understand that Rand Paul is heavily into the "rights" of corporations. Is that actually true?

I personally am rather more worried about corporate surveillance than NSA surveillance. That's why I pay cash for everything, and take pains to blackhole web analytics servers with my hosts file.

<comment><USER44> Corporations are not as worrisome as government because their power to act on that data is less. No company in america is going to bust down my door with rifles or throw me in prison because I think things they don't like. The worst they can do (assuming the government doesn't totally break down) is refuse to do business with me. But the government can do a lot worse and have a history of doing a lot worse.

<comment><USER45> No, but corporations can lean on the government to do that on their behalf. Such as forcibly evicting a tenant from a foreclosed home [1] or confiscating equipment from a journalist who wrote about your unreleased products [2].

[1]: [http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/10/15/florissant-police- arr...](http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/10/15/florissant-police-arrest-man- distraught-over-foreclosure-eviction/) [2]: [http://gizmodo.com/5524843/police-seize-jason-chens- computer...](http://gizmodo.com/5524843/police-seize-jason-chens-computers)

<comment><USER44> Agreed. If the corps use the government to do their bidding that is bad. In the case of this candidate I think the pitch is that he won't allow that either (or at least that' me general understanding of the libertarian position).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER46> Yep.</comment>


Ask HN: Starting my first development job. How should I focus my first month? - <AUTHOR> I have just accepted an offer for a junior developer role. This is my first job in development and I'm hoping to avoid getting fired for being incompetent in the first month.
I have a background in startups working in app support/DB analyst roles.
The role I'm starting is a backend node.js role focused mostly on AWS Lambda/API Gateway tech. The company is pretty small (3 people).
What should I focus on in the first month to have the best foundation? E.g should I focus mostly on reading the existing codebase, start working on small bugs ASAP, self-study on the tech stack areas I'm less familiar with, etc. <comment><USER2> All the questions you're asking now will be asked by another junior engineer down the line. Keep good notes on how you answer them at your current company and then share them with other junior engineers. So practice taking notes and learn to use or develop your own system for keeping track of them in a way that enhances what you're learning.

That's not advice specific to your current job. That's general advice I wish someone had given me when I started writing software. A good knowledge/note management system is a worthwhile investment and the earlier you start the better.

Also, HN has a search function. I searched for the phrases "junior developer" "advice" and this is what I found: [https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...](https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=junior%20developer%20advice&sort=byPopularity&type=all). There are some good references that might be applicable to your situation.

</comment><comment><USER3> I want to suggest what to try and understand between an task and the next one, and during coffee breaks.

I'd start by getting acquainted with the people, the tools, the projects and the processes in the company.

The idea is to understand what projects are being worked on, by whom, with what tools (languages, libraries etc) and following which process -- so that you can have an idea of what you don't know yet and who to ask to, should you need.</comment>


No offense HN - <AUTHOR> https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=%22No+offense%22

<comment><USER2> A novel system for identifying Canadians on HN:

[https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=sorry&start=0](https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=sorry&start=0)

<comment><USER3> this could be even more accurate [https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=eh&start=0](https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=eh&start=0)

<comment><USER4> Then I should stop using 'eh' on account of me not being Canadian, eh?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> You realize HN

[https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=%22you+realize...](https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=%22you+realize%22+%22%2C+right%3F%22)

<comment><USER6> Ah yes, the most condescending phrase in HN's lexicon

<comment><USER4> I have a feeling, usage of this phrase is inversely proportional to the poster's age. I don't think I see this as much on Slashdot, but I do see it a whole lot on /r/programming[1]

[1] Completely subjective assessment.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Ad hominem [https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=ad+hominem&sta...](https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=ad+hominem&start=0)

<comment><USER8> Ad hominems make me a mad hominem.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I never see this word anywhere but here

[https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=conflate&start...](https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=conflate&start=0)

</comment><comment><USER8> You realize [that] you just re-invented the Language Log, amirite ?</comment>


Ask HN: If you were building a HFT system today, what language would you use? - <AUTHOR> Back in 2003 I wrote my first high frequency trading system -- we used a mix of C and C#. Java was also a popular choice at that time.
Much has changed since then!
If you were building an order book or trading system today, what would be your goto language and why? <comment><USER2> Golang. For performance with support for coroutines and garbage collection. The other choice would be C++ since tooling has improved greatly since 2003.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks -- yeah, Golang GC seems very performant.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Ada/SPARK for anything that modifies a currency value, because safety is worth a few microseconds overhead.

</comment><comment><USER4> Lisp

<comment><AUTHOR> Lisp seems great for describing certain classes of trading algorithm, but what about the underlying platform?

<comment><USER4> Underlying platform? Since it does sockets nicely no need for more.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah -- I can see what you're getting at.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Container orchestration for APIs and microservices - <AUTHOR> https://www.lunchbadger.com/container-orchestration-apis-microservices/ <comment><USER2> Good article. Would love if you share thoughts on tracking container density during scheduling and orchestration. Containers on VMs is like going backwards in design. VM tools have made life easy with auto-scaling et all on public clouds, however the future is containers on bare metal. Gets you much higher performance and server density #vmless.

<comment><AUTHOR> That's true to a certain degree. Bare metal VMs running containers server give you OS ioslation but at a cost of an abstraction layer that is not necessarily needed if your interest is only at the container level. That's pretty much why CoreOS, RancherOS and other technologies are out there to be as slim of an OS to just run containers and the bare minimum system processes required. Even system processes are run as containers in RancherOS! APM and other system monitoring tools need to be tweaked for a huge multiplier of processes that are now your distributed app versus that one process that might've been your JVM for example. There's a concerted ops and devops effort that's required to hook into your orchestration layer to get that kind of insight. Roman's next post is going to cover the reasons why we chose the OSS orchestrator that we did.

When it comes to APIs and microservices, you're almost inevitably faced with container sprawl - especially with the ability to deploy quickly and deploy often. Having a good orchestration as described in this post gives you the ability to mind those containers across multiple machines - bare metal or VM, doesn't matter.</comment></comment>


Craigslist ignores my issues with paid ad - <AUTHOR> So I recently posted my car for sale on Craigslist. I went through their obnoxious hoops, even after paying $5 for the listing, you have to go to your inbox, click such and such link, then return to your email, screenshot the email, then reply to a different email with that screenshot. So I do all this.
And I wait. And I don't get responses to my posting. Instead I get responses to someone else's posting! Hundreds of them! I wrote to Craigslist about this issue three separate times. They have ignored me.
Anyone got any advice? <comment><USER2> Helpdesk forum?

[https://forums.craigslist.org/?forumID=9](https://forums.craigslist.org/?forumID=9)

<comment><AUTHOR> But thanks</comment></comment>


Show HN: Clikan – a simple personal kanban board that runs in a CLI - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/kitplummer/clikan <comment><USER2> Thanks for this. I've used kanban.bash [0] but I'm not married to it. I'll have to try clikan soon. I did make a slight modification to kanban.bash so that I could have a kanban board per directory/project [1].

[0] [https://github.com/coderofsalvation/kanban.bash](https://github.com/coderofsalvation/kanban.bash)

[1] [https://github.com/lpsantil/kanban.bash/commit/598505dfd91f2...](https://github.com/lpsantil/kanban.bash/commit/598505dfd91f262d2e23740ba914cc94027c0f13)

</comment><comment><USER3> Very nice looking! Didn't even know terminal-based kanban was a thing. A quick search turned up a couple of other [0] [1] similar looking projects (in addition to kanban.bash which was already mentioned)

[0] [https://github.com/klauscfhq/taskbook](https://github.com/klauscfhq/taskbook)

[1] [https://github.com/smallhadroncollider/taskell](https://github.com/smallhadroncollider/taskell)

</comment><comment><USER4> is there particular reason why the commands take seemingly superfluous option thing; i.e. why `clikan promote --id [task id]` instead of just `clikan promote [task id]` etc?

<comment><AUTHOR> probably me being dumb. IIRC the CLI library in play is Click, and it wasn't the most flexible things to work with - though infinitely better than parsing args manually. tis a good note though. will look into it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> It seems the columns are hardcoded (todo, in-progress, done). Is it possible to create different columns from the configuration or would that require a code change?

<comment><AUTHOR> They are hard-coded. I think they _could_ be made configurable, just managed as "strings" with in the code. If you're really interested please create an issue at the Github project.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Just an idea: create also addon for Blender's _" Python Console"_.[0]

[0] [https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/python_con...](https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/editors/python_console.html)

<comment><AUTHOR> That's an interesting thought. I suppose if it works from the Python REPL it'd work there. Will dig into that a bit when I can. Thanks for the feedback!</comment></comment>


Full JVM implementation for 8bit AVR devices - <AUTHOR> http://dmitry.gr/index.php?r=05.Projects&proj=12.%20uJ%20-%20a%20micro%20JVM <comment><USER2> Dmitry has been pumping put some very interesting stuff</comment>


Startup lessons learned after two and a half years - <AUTHOR> http://blog.latentflip.com/post/33902095607/startup-lessons-learned <comment><USER2> First I really enjoyed the post. I'm even more intrigued now though, you have 100 paying customers at a maximum of £12 pound a month, this is only £14,400 a year. Between two of you?!?

How long can you continue to live like that? How do you live on that amount of money? Have you thought about raising the price?

<comment><USER3> Hi Alan,

There are a few extra factors at play here,

\- Our price is somewhat anchored by the accounting packages we integrate with, but we do intend to try and push that price up eventually (I should add: by adding more powerful features, rather than just hiking it).

\- We offer founder plans for people keen to support us (think kickstarter) which works out about 2-3 worth of lifetime value up front, and has really helped us month-to-month.

\- I was still working a full-time, then part-time, job for the first 10 months or so. \- We were partly incubated for a year or so by my co-founder's web design company, which allowed him to keep drawing a salary from that and gave us an effectively free office. Although we are now both full-time on Float.

\- We've spent a number of our weekends this year helping start an incubation space (by literally knocking down walls) which has got us free office space while it's being finished off (<http://techcube-ed.tumblr.com/>).

\- We have raised a tiny amount of money, which obviously helps.

\- We live in Scotland which I am sure has a much lower cost of living than London/the Valley.

\- I have a _very_ supportive wife who works full-time.

<comment><USER2> Thanks Philip,

I find myself letting the fear factor of not having money completely control my life and actions. I am very impressed by anyone who's able to overcome this fear.

Your story is truly inspiring, and I wish you the very best of luck!

<comment><USER3> It's not been easy.

It took me a long time to get up the courage to leave my job, and fear of running out of money still paralyses me from time to time.

Fortunately my wife is amazingly supportive, and my cofounder is less paralysed by little details like running out of money than I am and helps me forge-ahead.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Hi everyone,

I didn't post this, but I am the author. Thanks for all the kind words on the post.

As far as Float goes, it currently only works with www.freeagent.com, so if you are a FreeAgent user, feel free to sign up.

I am (as we speak) working on integration with www.xero.com, and there's more detail on that here if you want to try the beta: <http://floatapp.com/xero>.

All thoughts and feedback on either the post of the product are more than welcome :)

Thanks! Phil

<comment><USER4> Hi Phil,

I am probably in a position similar to yours 2 years ago: I am working and learning to code on the side.

Could I ask you how did you get the integration with xero and freeagent? I am working on an app too (vendors and orders management) and I keep wondering how to reach out potential customers.

<comment><USER3> We are listed here: <http://www.freeagent.com/developers/goodies> which drives some traffic our way.

FreeAgent and our customers have mentioned us on twitter/blogged about us sporadically over the last couple of years.

Don't just wait. We are still working on our Xero integration (I only really started on it last week), and I stuck up <http://floatapp.com/xero> so we could collect emails of people who wanted to try the beta, and we've got ~70 replies (mostly from accountants) by sharing it on twitter/facebook/linked in/Xero's support forums.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I think you should really invest in your website. I did not know about Float before, but so it happens that I´m shopping for a financial/accounting/cash flow app and I got to be honest: Float might work and maybe is all I need but your site really does not convey the value it might provide me if I become a user (I´m refering to the home page, the tour page does a bit better but you could improve it by tweaking a few things)

I suspect your metrics might have some key info relating to what I´m about to tell you: grab the whole tour page and include it below the Start your free trial in the home page. See if that helps your conversions.

Good luck!

<comment><USER3> Hi Fabian,

We are currently quite focused on our target marget of FreeAgent customers, and Float is not currently mass-market (yet) but you are right.

We recently released a page, more like you are suggesting, for Xero customers here: <http://floatapp.com/xero> what do you think?

<comment><USER5> Your words:

When you're working on your product, you've got some beta testers, it looks shit but you're making progress, and you've a huge list of things you want to do, it's easy to put off marketing.

"We're not ready for loads of customers yet"

"We've too much to do to be marketing"

"Let's wait till the product is great, then marketing will be easier"

The truth is, marketing is really hard. It takes time to work, it can be hard to know when it is working, and you don't see instant results so it doesn't feel very productive.

Getting started earlier, and doing a little as you go along is, I think, a much better strategy than waiting till you launch. It gives you time to learn about what works and what doesn't, it let's you learn about the process and get better at it, and it gives your marketing time to work.

Market the hell out of the app man!

EDIT: What I meant to say is that as you put it marketing is very hard (I know, that´s what I do) so don´t narrow it down. Go for it, right now!

<comment><USER3> Fair play sir, fair play.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Its quiet a big feat that tht OP moved from writing first line of code to lauching a company in 10 months. Wonder how did he manage it?

I have been writing code/Mobile apps for 2.5 years still scared to take the leap.

<comment><USER3> Just launch. Seriously what's the worst that can happen.

I say that like it was easy, it clearly wasn't, but you just have to suck it up and try it.

<comment><USER6> I am finding it hard to figure out the right co-founder. All my coder pals are risk averse :(.

I have made a decision to quit my day job on 31/03/2013 no matter what. will keep you guys updated on the journey.

<comment><USER3> Somebody else just emailed me asking basically the same question, and looking for my advice. My immediate thoughts were:

\- Do you need a cofounder immediately, or can you just try and do less. I know that's easier said than done, but scale back your projects into what you think the most important pain/solution is and focus on that, and see if you can get some traction. It will be easier to convince someone else to join you if you can get some traction.

\- Similarly: don't look for people to take a big leap, break it into smaller steps. Do you know anyone who would do something for an evening a week. Or hack on something at the weekend. Treat it more as a fun side-project, and people might be more excited about getting involved. Then once they are in, and you have some momentum, try and grow the committment (that's basically what we did).

<comment><USER7> I agree with this.

I'd try and learn the basics of coding, put together a prototype and get some initial feedback. It will be much better to seek a co-founder at this point, who can help you complete the product and launch it.

It's not easy, and it is going to take time but that's probably the best way to go about it.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What does your development environment look like? - <AUTHOR> I'm curious as to what others' development environments look like. Screenshots are best. I'll kick it off. <comment><USER2>
      +</comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment>=+
      | >                             |
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      +</comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment>=+

<comment><USER3> It's been a very long time since I've seen DOS.

<comment><USER4> I doubt you're seeing it here, either - I would peg this as some POSIX shell before I pegged it as a DOS shell.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> <http://aphyr.com/media/desktop.jpg>

Vim, vim, vim, vim, vim, vim, vim, vim, vim, logging, bacon, irb. I try to keep large methods I'm actively editing on the big windows and reference material on the smaller ones. I also arrange them physically to match the control flow--the deepest methods in the stack live to the left, and successively higher ones live to the right, up to the controller and view for MVC. I usually have an IRB session open to test new ideas, one window for running the test suite, and one to watch the logfile or run the server.

On the other monitor, usually docs, whatever I'm building, and more docs. On a single 24" display (at work), I usually fold the docs over my bacon/irb terminals. I run 6 workspaces in Openbox. Almost everything has a hotkey.

[edit]

Folks at my office know me as "that guy with all the terminals". I think part of it is that my working memory is not fantastic, and that I'm a really visual thinker. Having everything laid out in space really helps me keep track of a complex, modular system.

<comment><USER6> I spy Summer Glau on your wall :)

<comment><USER7> She needs to learn some trigger discipline.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> <http://imgur.com/LYjiE.jpg>

It's a pretty standard Rails hipster setup on a Mac using TextMate as the editor.

I'm using a 27" Dell U2711 display.

The left hand Terminal is used for monitoring autotest (an automatic test suite runner for Ruby/Rails) and messing around with the interactive Ruby shell (IRB), git, etc.

The right hand Terminal is used for monitoring requests as they come into the development environment's web server.

The Windows XP Professional is running on VMware Fusion and used for IE testing. I use Visual Web Developer 2008 for debugging in IE.

I've got two Chrome windows, one for API documentation and one for testing, with a permanent Developer Tools window at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

<comment><USER8> I'm curious - why XP with VS for IE debugging? IE6?

I've been using Win7 and IE developer tools, switching between 7 & 8 for testing and it's been working out pretty good lately.

<comment><AUTHOR> IE6 yes. I use VS because IE Developer Tools doesn't offer sophisticated enough JavaScript debugging. I work with large JS-heavy projects, like entire clients built in JS that talk JSON/REST to a backend server.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Not my site, but you may also find <http://usesthis.com/> interesting. It has short interviews with well-known developers/designers that focus on the tools they use and how they work.

</comment><comment><USER10> <http://technomancy.us/137>

tl;dr - Basically just Emacs and Conkeror on Ubuntu. The combo of xbindkeys and devilspie help me not have to worry about the WM; apps for which it makes sense are full-screened for me. Emacs does pretty much everything for me including git, shells, IRC, and IM. The only thing I leave Emacs for is browsing via Conkeror (which feels a lot like Emacs) and the occasional photo edit in Gimp. For working on remote hosts and pairing with remote devs, tmux is a blessing.

All this on a 1.1kg Thinkpad X200s with a Kinesis Freestyle keyboard. Nexus One with Cyanogen is used as a 3G modem when I'm out and about.

</comment><comment><USER11> <http://imgur.com/37L7Z.png>

Django site. WingIDE, two terminals for runserver and test django commands respectively, and the browser (currently showing my tool for viewing and debugging data in the app).

There's a space in the top left corner because I have the left monitor in a vertical setup and the right in a horizontal.

EDIT - View from my office:

<http://twitpic.com/23rg8a>

</comment><comment><USER12> [http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4774485856_e9aa9d81cf_b....](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4774485856_e9aa9d81cf_b.jpg)

30" Dell LCD, typically 2/3 emacs 1/3 terminal (no, I don't use a terminal inside emacs).

I use my ThinkPad's keyboard by choice because I really like it, and the laptop screen is where I flip between browser / IRC / etc.

Ubuntu, xmonad, Chrome, Emacs, gnome-terminal. Nothing too special.

</comment><comment><USER13> Super+e:

<http://i.imgur.com/UgrxJ.png>

The normal workspaces on my laptop, running Ubuntu 10.04 64-bit. From left to right:

vim, Gmail/Chrome, Songbird, spare/documentation/second terminal

It's quite cramped with just one screen. I _really_ need to get some good monitors and a solid desk.

Oh, and perhaps most importantly a pad of paper when away from home, and a glass whiteboard when at home.

</comment><comment><USER14> Hmmmm - harder to do a viewable screenshot of a dual monitor setup...

<http://imgur.com/9JDT3.jpg>

Left monitor = coding, research notes Right monitor = testing, virtual machines All running Windows 2008 R2 Firefox with Firebug, Web Developer Toolbar, Greasemonkey, Gears, Page Saver Visual Studio 2010

</comment><comment><USER15> <http://i.imgur.com/ZCADh.jpg>

Beautiful Vancouver weather today...

<comment><USER16> What's the startup scene in Vancouver like?

<comment><USER15> This post can answer far more completely than I can: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1565375>

Vancouver gets a nod from pg as one of the best places to do a startup outside of the US.

I only recently moved here, so I am not very involved in the local scene, although I would like to start meeting people.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Mine's pretty simple:

<http://imgur.com/aiyfw.png>

VIM on the left; on the right top is a terminal, each tab is a different virtualenv, on the bottom is a bpython shell. All my other screens (OSX) are running Chrome, Mail.app/Adium and VMware (lots of that).

</comment><comment><USER18> Dual 22" widesceen monitors. left is mac mini, right is Fedora. I use synergy+ to share the mac keyboard and Logitech trackball between the systems. Workspaces separate out distractions - 1 is a pair of gnome-terminal sessions with screen running on each and lots of vim. 2 is firefox + vimperator, 3 thunderbird, 4 xchat, 5 for virt-manager and 6 for misc stuff.

I ran xmonad for a while and found I really liked the full-screen orientation, but missed being able to cut and paste from terminals easily, so now its GNOME with everything full-screen. I've re-mapped the keys in Fedora to take advantage of the command key on the mac keyboard, so I can work most of the day without touching the trackball.

<comment><USER19> I suppose it depends on what terminal you're using, but gnome-terminal at least copies and pastes fine in xmonad - use C-S-c and C-S-v.

If you mean without the pointer, please tell me if you have a way to manage that in normal gnome - it's almost the only time I have to use my ball.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> At work I have a Windows laptop connected to a dock with two monitors. I have a Kinesis freestyle keyboard. Most of my development is done on a remote Linux box, so pretty much everything I do is through SSH. I use a variety of software to make this as pleasant as possible:

dtach - this is a life saver whenever I get disconnected from the interwebs. It detaches a process from the controlling terminal.

dvtm - a tiling terminal manager. I used to use gnu screen but I prefer the layouts that dvtm offers. This plus dtach replaces 99% of what I used screen for.

Vim - my text editor of choice.

pyclewn - integrates gdb with vim nicely.

<comment><USER21> if dtach is a lifesaver for you, gnu screen will really blow your mind -- it can let you detach the controlling terminal from the session

(and as a bonus, if you are working with other people, you can connect to the terminal simultaneously to work together)

<comment><USER20> As I said I used to use gnu screen. However I didn't like the limited layout options so I started using dvtm and would nest it inside screen so that I could detach from a session.

However I felt it was kind of silly to be using such a heavy/complex program such as screen for one feature so I switched to dtach.

And actually as long as you set file permissions correctly (dtach uses a file as a socket) you can share terminals with others using dtach.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Terminal and Emacs on OS X. I have VMWare Fusion running XP with cygwin and rxvt, Emacs, and Visual Studio 2008. I write C# code in Visual Studio and Ruby code in Emacs on Windows for our main project, and I do most everything else (mostly Clojure, some Ruby) in Emacs and Terminal on OS X. Org-mode is a crucial part of my daily routine.

On the physical side, I use whatever 17" NEC LCD this is here, plugged into a 13" MBP. I occasionally go into the office and use another monitor, so I also use an Apple Wireless Keyboard (the aluminum one) and a Logitech laser laptop mouse.

</comment><comment><USER23> <http://bit.ly/dpG5Og>

<comment><USER24> It's the first time I see somebody actually using Xeyes, I'm impressed!

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> Monitors are cheap nowadays, why can't everyone just get the dual 24+, 27, or even 30 inch monitors? Why have to stay with the smaller screen where one can go big?

Just googled and found 27" for less than $400 on Amazon: [http://www.amazon.com/Acer-B273H-bmidhz-27-Inch- Widescreen/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Acer-B273H-bmidhz-27-Inch- Widescreen/dp/B003E1Z44E/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1283276289&sr=1-10)

<comment><USER26> And here I am, looking for new monitor, and the best deal so far is 21.5" for 300 euro... But it's not TN and it's certainly not an Acer.

edit: ... and it has the same resolution than the linked 27". What use is large screen if you can't show more stuff with it? Waste of desk space, if you ask me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> [http://appdelegateinc.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/2010/08/de...](http://appdelegateinc.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/2010/08/desk.jpg)

</comment><comment><USER28> I posted this screenshot the last time similar question was asked:

<http://alteredqualia.com/tmp/img/dev.png>

It's more or less the same now, just the code is different.

Usually I have open at any time: SciTE, Notepad++, many browsers, Python shell, XAMPP/nginx, Gimp, Cygwin shell.

Most of times, just one window is fullscreen and I switch when needed (or just use magic hover feature from Windows 7).

<comment><USER29> I'm curious - why both SciTE and Notepad++?

<comment><USER28> Mostly for grouping. In general I use SciTE for code, Notepad++ for everything else (I use zillions of text files).

Two separate applications give two distinct icons in taskbar, allowing me to switch fast between two groups (as opposed to figuring out which content tab in one editor has the right file).

Also, I like them both, and don't have a heart to drop using one of them :). BTW I do the same with browsers (and OSes, I keep "affair" with Ubuntu in VirtualBox).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> Currently: Opera + (Komodo Edit + CoffeeScript) + (Console2 + cygwin) + (VirtualBox + (CentOS + emacs)) + (VirtualBox + Ubuntu Server) + Outlook

</comment><comment><USER31> <http://drp.ly/1DCKfG>

MBP screen: Skype + email

Dell 24: Browsers (testing + docs)

Dell 22 (vertical): Code (Netbeans) + terminals

<comment><USER32> What are you using to get the second external monitor working on a MBP? I'm thinking of doing the same, but haven't researched the best way.

<comment><USER31> <http://www.diamondmm.com/BVU195.php>

There are better ones out there that can do high resolution, but this one handles the 22 inch at 1050x1680 like a champ.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> Boomerang-shaped desk with two monitors: one large, one small. The large monitor shares space with Windows apps and the VNC to my Linux session. On my Linux fvwm2 desktop I primarily use konsole to tab around different xterms, and gvim + NerdTree to edit my RTL source code.

Almost every hardware designer I know uses vim. I guess we're not very lispy.

<comment><USER29> Well, I'm using SciTE for VHDL coding (on Windows). Armed with a snippets plugin and connected to multiple Python scripts it's quite a beast.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> [http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtrencseni/4842660613/in/set-72...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtrencseni/4842660613/in/set-72157624614348814/)

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtrencseni/4843277432/in/set-72...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtrencseni/4843277432/in/set-72157624614348814/)

</comment><comment><USER35> I recently became a nomad. Just a Macbook Air, no external monitor, I switch between windows using Spaces extensively.

</comment><comment><USER36> Desktop computer, running Windows XP (looking to upgrade computer, and then move to Windows 7).

2 Monitors, 26" Samsung and a 22" Asus.

Most of the time, I've got open Sublime Text for coding, Chrome for browsing, Firefox + Extensions for debugging sites, Photoshop, and a few command prompts for mercurial and django commands.

</comment><comment><USER37> Emacs, since 14 years.

I was looking for something better each 2 years or so -- yeah emacs isn't perfect -- but didn't find.

</comment><comment><USER38> This was not specifically for showing my coding development but my computer setup. Linux on the left 2 monitors, Windows on the right 2 for VS2010 (dayjob).

<http://www.provokedguild.org/images/rig/Pic8.jpg>

</comment><comment><USER39> 12 work spaces (I prefer not having more than 2 or 3 windows in a work space). Contents depend on what I'm working on, but right now - 4 with emacs (3 different projects), 2 with browsers, 1 with IM. The rest contains terminal windows and one or 2 file browsers.

</comment><comment><USER40> On windows, gvim.

On mac (we primarily do iPhone apps), Xcode, with MacVim as the external editor with keybindings setup to build/build-run, etc.

All this spanned over 2 windows monitors, 1 mac laptop and an external mac monitor, with an iPad sometimes becoming a 3rd mac monitor.

</comment><comment><USER41> L shaped desk with 3 monitors on the long leg - 2 24" monitors hooked to a PC and 1 24" monitor hooked to a Mac Mini - sharing 1 wireless keyboard/mouse via Synergy. The short leg of the L has a Dell 10V with Ubuntu.

</comment><comment><USER42> At work: 27" iMac + Textmate + Virtualbox + Transmit + ExpanDrive + Shimo + Navicat

At home: Custom PC w/ 24" Samsung monitor + e Text Editor + Virtualbox + PuTTY + Filezilla + ExpanDrive + Navicat

</comment><comment><USER43> <http://img.ly/zY3>

this is my home setup. unfortunately the big screen is best used only for reference, otherwise it strains my neck.

</comment><comment><USER44> at work: iMac + 13" macbook with synergy. iMac usually has chrome, textmate, thunderbird, and titanium all on one workspace. fullscreen iterm on the other. adium, itunes, irssi, etc on macbook screen.

at home, same macbook with an external monitor. one workspace is iterm on the right screen, usually photoshop, adium, + other misc apps on left. other workspace is textmate on right screen, chrome and cyberduck (if necessary) on left screen.

</comment><comment> cool-RR This is a picture of my desk: <http://cool-rr.com/cv/images/desk.jpg>

Wing IDE is taking both of my screens.

<comment><USER27> You are too organized for me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> dual 20"s 1600x1200. windows 7 w/ ultramon.

i'm fairly newbish... juggle 1 of (zend studio | eclipse | vs 2010) with photoshop, filezilla, putty, firefox, and notepad++.

currently i'm developing php that runs on an ec2 box w/ memcached... i can't get true memcached on windows and not really a vim/emacs/whatever hardcore text editor type. also need windows for photoshop and whatnot. any tips?

<comment><USER46> Ubuntu on VMWare = problem solved.

</comment></comment><comment><USER47> Terminal and Emacs on OS X. 21" ASUS monitor and a late 2007 Macbook Pro. Firefox, Chrome, and Safari open all the time.

</comment><comment> adam-_- I'm curious as to why no mac people are using SizeUp. Looks like everyone is manually dragging the windows about?

</comment><comment><USER48> black, like my men: <http://i.imgur.com/SciNb.png>

</comment><comment><USER49> My main workspace has several terminals, each with multiple tabs open, mostly with copies of vim running.

</comment><comment><USER50> i'm using terminator as my terminal which lets me split my terminal windows.

As my programming editor I use vim with nerdtree and bunch of other plugins.

Ubuntu is my distro.

</comment><comment><USER51> Emacs über alles:

StumpWM managing Emacs & Conkeror.

On opensolaris, RIP.

</comment><comment><USER52> vim for rails, javascript, html, php xcode for objective c google docs gmail

</comment><comment><USER53> emacs+firefox on Ubuntu

</comment><comment><USER54> Copy and paste the following into the address bar to view images

        javascript:var tags=document.getElementsByTagName("a"); for (var i in tags) { if (tags[i].href.search(/jpeg|jpg|png/) !== -1) { var img = document.createElement("img"); img.src = tags[i].href;img.width = '400';tags[i].parentNode.appendChild(img); } }

EDIT: Eh... It could use some help ..

<comment><USER55> This works:

        javascript:(function(){function I(u){var t=u.split('.'),e=t[t.length-1].toLowerCase();return {gif:1,jpg:1,jpeg:1,png:1,mng:1}[e]}function hE(s){return s.replace(/&/g,'&').replace(/>/g,'>').replace(/</g,'<').replace(/"/g,'"');}var q,h,i,z=open().document;z.write('
Images linked to by '+hE(location.href)+':

');for(i=0;q=document.links[i];++i){h=q.href;if(h&&I(h))z.write('
'+q.innerHTML+' ('+hE(h)+')
');}z.close();})()</comment></comment>


Jony Ive Is Making People Uneasy - <AUTHOR> http://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2016/8/25/jony-ive-is-making-people-uneasy <comment><USER2> Interesting spin on the legacy of Steve Jobs. At Apple, design is king. Engineering is an implementation detail.

</comment><comment><USER3> We live in the age of design</comment>


Cracking the Airlines' Dress Code - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/business/airlines-dress-code-travel.html <comment><USER2> I fly to Asia once a month. I spend more time in Japan in the last 10 years then I have in the Bay Area where I live. I feel naked without a sports coat in Tokyo. It is just not normal. And that is slacking as you should have a suite. For a flight that coat maybe with jeans, but the shirt had buttons and a collar. On JAL when you get onboard every business class seat has a hanger in it. You put you coat on and they take them and hang them up. The premium economy and economy have a hook of back of the seat in front of you for a jacket.

I can be a bit of a primadona here however because I also think that men in suites should only wear shirts with cuff links... but to each their own.

</comment><comment><USER3> Where do passengers put the pajamas on?

<comment><USER2> In first class on JAL..

You go into the large bathroom and change. There is someone waiting outside the door that takes you clothing and folds it and stores it until it is time to change for landing..

Used miles to fly for vacation once first class on JAL.

The seat has a adjustable table in the middle and my wife wa/ able to join me on the other side of the table seat for dinner. It was very cool.

Asian airlines have amazing service.</comment></comment>


Implicitly-parallelizing programming - Flow Manifesto - <AUTHOR> http://www.flowlang.net/p/flow-manifesto.html

<comment><USER2> I think it's quite telling that in all of that text there are actually no real examples as to how a program will actually look like.

Call me old if you like, but I've seen countless of similar "manifestos" covering everything from flight simulators to, yes, programming languages. Only on very rare occasions do they result in something concrete.

</comment><comment><USER3> >"Write once, parallelize anywhere" -- With very little modification, the same Flow code should be able to target hadoop / Google's MapReduce, the JVM using Java Threads, C using pthreads, MPI or a GPU using CUDA. By understanding the big-Oh complexity of computations in Flow programs, The compiler will produce code that optimally partitions the workload in systems with nonuniform computing speeds and/or communication costs, e.g. CPU/GPU combinations.

That's a big promise.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> When I read through the text, it didn't once think "this can't work". It seems plausible and if implemented, this could indeed be a big step forward.

I hope this, or a similar effort, will be actually be realized.</comment>


The number of pedestrians killed by cars keeps going up - <AUTHOR> https://www.fastcompany.com/90294569/the-number-of-pedestrians-killed-by-cars-keeps-going-up <comment><USER2> I wish the article would have some comparative statistics from other countries, with different city/traffic design.

I would guess that the accident rate is lower for most of Europe, but I would not know about (South-) East Asia, for example.

<comment><USER3> It would be interesting to compare the effect of vehicle type as well: I'd imagine being hit by an SUV is much more likely to kill than by a smaller car with a lower, softer front.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Headline incorrect.

The number of humans killed by indifferent human engineering keeps going up.

Cars don't kill - road designers and human drivers do.

</comment><comment><USER5> No mention of texting-either drivers or pedestrians.</comment>


Ask HN: Why doesn't HN use tags? - <AUTHOR> Are tags bad or counterproductive? I mean tags like "computer security", "law", "biology" etc. I ask because I am sometimes in the mood to read specific topic rather than just front page. Was curious if this would help new posts get more eyes and also make searching easier. Sometimes I try to find a post I've previously seen and have a harder time even thought i know what "category" it is.<p>Thanks for reading. <comment><USER2> I remember somebody made a site which automatically categorized HN posts based on machine learning. Was there on the homepage of both HN and Product Hunt.

Can't find it now as it was hosted on some less used TLD that I can't remember. But that is definitely one way to do it.

<comment><USER3> Yes me too. I can't find the project, but I remember it is from a hackathon.

Does anyone have the link?

<comment><USER4> Here is the link: [https://www.taggernews.com/](https://www.taggernews.com/) and here is the article describing how it was built: [http://varianceexplained.org/programming/tagger- news/](http://varianceexplained.org/programming/tagger-news/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I believe part of the philosophy of HN is to keep it all "one community". Although we do have a large range of topics, categorizing them in any way might encourage sub-communities to form.

</comment><comment><USER6> The problem is: who is going to tag? If it is the submitter they may get it wrong. Who will police that? Mods have enough to do.

What if the mods tag it? Well they have enough to do!

You'd need community moderation like StackOverflow for something like this to work. On HN there is just flagging and upvoting. Flagging for a wrong tag seem OTT though.</comment>


Show HN: Micro JavaScript framework inspired by finite-state machine - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/stepanvanzuriak/Finite <comment><USER3> Some feedback on the API design and README:

\- Having a global registry of machines does not scale. Anyone building an app won't want to deal with the name conflicts. Having a `displayName` for debugging is fine but that's all. Having people pass the Machine instance to transitions directly is much more reliable/scalable.

\- This [...rest] for event handlers is not good. Put those in a dedicated object because if you don't any new prop you add has the potential to break users. It's also bad because it looks like memory gets merged with those methods, making it likely the keys will conflict in view().

\- Find a better name for T, it's confusing with Transition. Since it looks like a simple struct, maybe just have people pass {name, to} as plain data.

\- You don't provide a rejected Promise example. I am interested how that works since it is something people tend to overlook.

\- How the heck do I test my machines?

\- A micro-framework that doesn't mention byte-size? Probably worth adding that statistic. My idea of a micro-framework is one that fits in a tweet.

\- Write up how you expect this to be used. I don't think you could use this to build a real app because there's no way compose machines, only switch between them. You'd end up with huge machines because UIs are trees.

Happy to discuss more.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for feedback, I agree about T, testing and Promise rejection. I should improve README and API to fix this.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I like the use of template strings for, well, templating, with automatic differentiation between data values and event handlers, nice touch. The state mechanism seems similar to Elm and its derivatives (e.g. Redux), which I guess is a plus considering how much of a convention that's becoming.

<comment><USER5> Automatic differentiation? I'm unfamiliar with the term and it didn't appear on the page.

Mind elaborating?

<comment><USER6> Although unasked: My best guess is that the functionality provided by [https://polymer.github.io/lit-html/](https://polymer.github.io/lit-html/) was meant (mistakenly attributing the feature to the micro framework).

<comment><USER4> Thanks for pointing this out to me. I hadn't heard of lit-html before. Another case of learning about something very useful via HN :) Yes it is lit-html that I was impressed by more so than the micro framework that uses it. When I say automatic differentiation I mean treating different binding types (text value vs event handler) differently.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> In the "Simple Counter Example", it seems odd to me that both increment and decrement keys have the same "INCREMENT" parameter (ie Finite.Transition("INCREMENT" <\- this).

I'd have expected "DECREMENT" for the decrement key... is that a bug or just me not understanding how it works?

<comment><AUTHOR> It's just typo, but (yes it's confusing) it work the same.

Let me explain: the name of Transition like 'INCREMENT' or 'DECREMENT' in this example have same "endpoint" \- Counter itself. So in case like this there is no difference what Transition use, payload do all job (count + 1 or count - 1). So it's only important for debug (like action name in Redux).

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Looks really similar to react + redux.

</comment><comment><USER9> btw - what's the state of JS Frameworks Madness in 2018? Did you guys stop producing and throwing away JS frameworks 500 times a day? Have React/Angular devoured the world?

<comment><USER10> Weird how it has been 4-5 years since people - without proper knowledge - <USER2> shouting about JS framework fatigue, while the three top frameworks (React, Angular and Vue) remain the same. (Same as in leading, Angular has been reworked quite a lot, I do not want to do anything with it.)</comment></comment>


Xobni: Email startup takes on filmmaking - <AUTHOR> http://valleywag.com/tech/xobni/email-startup-takes-on-filmmaking-305865.php <comment><USER2> They have redefined hiring too :-)</comment>


Ask HN: Is there a time tracker that will pop up? - <AUTHOR>

I'm looking for an app to track how I use my time at my PC, but annoyingly can't find the thing I'm looking for.
I don't want the RescueTime approach of just tracking apps, because I use text editors, say, for a lot of different things. And I don't want the type of time tracker that you have to manually change task on, because I'll never remember.
What I'm looking for is something that'll pop up a brief question every 15 minutes or so about what I'm doing - I answer that and go back to work.
I know there are such things for iOS and Android, but is there one for Windows? <comment><USER2> what question will pop every 15 minutes

what activity should be tracked

<comment><AUTHOR> I'd hope I could customise the question, and thus what activity was tracked :)

I'm looking for something like [http://last5.co/](http://last5.co/), but not terribly, terribly buggy :)</comment></comment>


Over 50% of Nigeria's web traffic is from mobile phones - <AUTHOR> http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2012/02/q4_2011_mobile.html <comment><USER2> ... And almost 80-90% of them use Opera mini.

I run a Nigerian news site here but most of our traffic is from Nigeria, we get about 1500 uniques a day, only 200-300 of them will be from the web, all the rest is mobile. I finally went and pulled up our site on opera mini using Opera's emulator and was shocked to find that our ads do not appear on those handsets ... so all our revenue is coming from 200-300 people each day.

Analytics is a lovely thing.

</comment><comment><USER3> The vital question: Is mobile traffic going to (proportionally) increase in the UK, or is desktop traffic going to increase in Nigeria?

Are people using mobile in Nigeria because they don't have a laptop? Will they be using their Raspberry Pi in a couple of years? Or is the UK behind in the adoption of using mobile internet? I guess it's a bit of both.

<comment><USER4> _Will they be using their Raspberry Pi in a couple of years?_

I don't think most Nigerian mobile users will have access to a HDMI-capable TV within the next couple of years, so the Raspberry isn't the way.

The appealing thing about mobile phones in Africa is that they are physically small: they're reasonably easy to import (legally or otherwise) and can be carried on your person, so they are less susceptible to theft. Large electronics like notebooks and TVs don't have these advantages, and so they are only accessible to the small middle class that can afford them and have a secured house in which to keep them.

<comment><USER5> _I don't think most Nigerian mobile users will have access to a HDMI-capable TV within the next couple of years, so the Raspberry isn't the way._

Raspberry Pi also has RCA and stereo output, so could quite easily connect to a any standard TV with scart socket.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It's amazing to see how developing countries simply jumped to wireless technologies without having the need to build expensive cable based phone networks like what developed countries had to go through. I read a story of a farmer in China who sells his crops to a shady middleman who lies to him about the market price of grain. Finally when he got a cellphone and was able to subscribe to a messaging service that gives him live updates on prices he was able to negotiate better and improve his standard of living. This is truly empowering.

<comment><USER7> information can be pretty empowering. that's a great story

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> On a similar note, Cisco predicts that "in 2015, wired devices will account for 46 percent of IP traffic, while Wi-Fi and mobile devices will account for 54 percent of IP traffic [globally]."

For more stats and figures from their Networking Index Forecast, check out [http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/...](http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-481360_ns827_Networking_Solutions_White_Paper.html)

</comment><comment><USER9> For India: [http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_vs_desktop-IN- monthly-2011...](http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_vs_desktop-IN- monthly-201101-201201)

</comment><comment><USER10> The situation in Nigeria is unique. Because of the power situation (mobile phones have longer lasting battery), the very poor infracstructure (wired last mile is non existent), and of course pricing ($40/month is the minimum package on WiMax vs $7 on mobile). Non-mobile browsing stands no chance.

Just a thought: Are tablets considered mobile in this context? Because that is where I see major growth potential)

<comment><USER11> Yes, many tablets are "mobile" in this sense. The majority of modern tablets have support for "WiFi" (802.11?) networks and also the same cellular data networks (EVDO, GPRS, EDGE, HS?PA, LTE, ...) used in mobile phones.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I've read that in some countries, a single person with a cell phone can act as a money transfer office for an entire village. Here's how:

1\. A friend or family member in the U.S. wants to send $50 to someone in the village. The friend buys a $50 prepaid minutes card and transfers the minutes to the cell phone in the village.

2\. The cell phone owner in the village checks his minutes, sees that he now has $50 worth of minutes and gives $50 to the person the minutes were for, minus his fee.

It's amazing how ingenious people can be when you let them.

</comment><comment><USER13> The other 50% is from Nigerian scammers.

<comment><USER10> Take a deep breath, read your comment again, try to think and then ask yourself if it makes sense in ANY context.

<comment><USER13> It's a non-sequitur.</comment></comment></comment>


Seedcamp 2008 applications are open - <AUTHOR> http://blog.seedcamp.com/2008/06/2008-applications-are-open.html

<comment><USER2> Personally I think YC benefits from clearer leadership and vision. Its simplicity is what makes it so strong. It is easier for people to conceptualise and understand the model and the benefits they get.

People I speak to, even those who initially know nothing about YC or Seedcamp, seem to understand how YC is led and works and its preference towards making product-focused companies. They also appreciate how being on YC gets insight/advice from many influential experienced people, such as pg and the guest speakers, and (easier) access to funding at later stages.

The message Seedcamp sends is not as clear and most people I have spoken to have a harder time understanding the model and the benefits Seedcamp offers and compare it to traditional VC. I am usually asked about the funding model, what they give, what they want, what are the benefits other than money, the people behind it (as there seems to be a lot of them) etc. If there was more transparency and a simpler message, it would be easier for them?

However, most of this can be attributed to awareness, and promotion as Seedcamp certainly does not have the same awareness and hence profile as YC, even in London, especially among the tech entrepreneurs and startups (or want to be) I know. Hopefully, in the next few cycles Seedcamp will address some of these issues.

</comment><comment><USER3> The major problem with Seedcamp is they don't have a product-focused, developer-loving guy like PG. Its too much about the business/marketing/lawyers etc. That's important, but they need to find a PG equivalent who will get his/her hands dirty in the product and technology aspects. I've given this feedback to some of the VCs who are involved with the program.

BTW, the people behind the program, especially some of the VCs, are great. So with a few tweaks, I think they are in good shape.

</comment><comment><USER4> Are people from the US allowed to apply?

<comment><USER5> Yes, but I don't like your odds. There weren't any US founders in the last seedcamp round.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I stopped reading at "€50K each in 5 teams for a 10% stake".

<comment><USER7> Why? It seems to be much more money than YC offers? Although YC probably is much more valuable overall.</comment></comment>


Python to Shell to Ruby - <AUTHOR> http://blog.extracheese.org/2010/06/screencast-python-to-shell-to-ruby.html

<comment><USER3> Goes to show you how versatile modern programming languages are. I'm just starting to look at Python for a massive GREP-ing project (searching through millions of server log entries looking for some signs of suspicious activity) and I'm already impressed with the crafstmanship that went into creating it.

</comment><comment><USER4> I enjoyed that. One can learn much from watching good developers work - <USER2> when solving mundane problems. While I've watched many 'professional'-grade casts (e.g. peepcode) - I find it curious that there aren't more of this type of 'unpolished' casts.

<comment><AUTHOR> I agree. You may also like this screencast:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=977358>

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Why hack around this when you can use JSON?

<comment><USER6> I don't think that Google Reader can export as JSON... ?

<comment><USER7> I often use vim for your python step. A sequence of 3 commands to convert opml to a file with feed urls, one on a line.

      :%!grep xmlUrl
      :%s/.*xmlUrl="//
      :%s/".*//

_Edit:_ it relies on idiosyncracies about how google reader formats OPML, though.

<comment><USER6> I considered using Vim at the time. The nice thing about doing it all on the command line is that it's repeatable and persistent. I have a huge shell history, and that command will now be in my history for months. I rely so heavily on my history that I'll often remember a related command from a month ago, find it, then modify it for my current use. :)

<comment><USER7> :) Yes I can relate. I started saving my shell logs in 2006 and one of my most commonly used commands is cmd_grep.

I'm now watching [http://blog.extracheese.org/2010/04/a-raw-view-into-my- unix-...](http://blog.extracheese.org/2010/04/a-raw-view-into-my-unix- hackery.html). I've ended up constructing my own vocabulary (column, freq, etc.) for most common uses of perl/awk in the commandline. <http://akkartik.name/bash.html></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


The American Soviet Mentality - <AUTHOR> https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/american-soviet-mentality <comment><USER2> I was sort of with him until he came to the defense of Bari Weiss.</comment>