Peachy Printer – Theft of Kickstarter Raised Funds - <AUTHOR> http://www.peachyprinter.com/ <comment><USER2> What kind of a knucklehead: <p>\--takes in ~$600k before a corporation is formed? <p>\--puts it into the account of a diesel mechanic, with no financial background? <p>\--relies on the mechanic's "assurance" that he will hold the money "in trust"? <p>\--when the theft is found fails to make a police report? <p>\--fails to immediately sue to seize the house paid for with the stolen money? And what kind of idiot: <p>\--makes a Youtube video in which he admits to stealing the money? Are the Crown prosecutors in Saskatchewan all on extended vacations? Assuming that lawyers in Saskatchewan are half-brain dead --the only possible explanation here--the lawsuit to seize the house should have been filed the day after the thieving mechanic failed to make a scheduled restitution payment. This is the problem with Kickstarter: vast funds are given to amateurs who are clueless when it comes to how to run a company.

<comment><USER3> >> vast funds are given to amateurs who are clueless when it comes to how to run a company.

I wonder - in the same way that are services that simplify everything else about making and selling products - would something like an affordable/scalable company creation platform would be possible to build ?

<comment><USER4> You mean, like Atlas? [https://stripe.com/atlas](https://stripe.com/atlas)

<comment><USER2> Here's the problem with Atlas: \--While a US bank account is key; there are major KYC issues here. \--For $500 you get 1\. a corporation 2\. a bank account 3\. a Stripe merchant account.

Since you might pay $500 for a corporation alone; this is a good bundle.

\--You get "access" to PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and Orrick, a local law firm.

If you have the telephone number of these two entities you already have "access." What "access" otherwise means isn't clear. If PwC are going to provide bespoke accounting and start-up legal service at a rate discounted through Stripe, you're not getting much of a bargain.

I'd be more confident if they laid out exactly what accounting and legal services Atlas is going to broker. After all, for start-ups none of this stuff is rocket science--it's all forms and software. But other than tax preparation, do you also get PwC's consulting services? And if so, how much? And will these services be discounted too? Who is the partner in charge? What are the lines of communication among start-up=>Atlas=>PwC? PwC will surely represent start-up's competitors--will they agree to Chinese Wall their services?

Finally, I won't address ethical issues here (attorneys referral service, conflicts of interest, etc.) because it seems that these haven't gotten Atlas' attention. There will be push-back, which they may or may not be able to resist.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> These people don't understand how construction mortgages work. Homeowners don't just magically get any amount of money from them; homeowners don't actually get any money from them at all. An escrow firm makes payments for contractors' and suppliers' verified invoices, _directly to the contractors and suppliers_. There isn't money left over for homeowners, because the point of a construction mortgage is that homeowners aren't paying for anything. The bank is paying, and it keeps close track of how much it pays, because banks intend to be repaid.

This diesel mechanic had admitted to stealing money; why would anyone (especially a lawyer?!) have believed his goofy theory for how he'd pay back the theft? _If_ he had a construction mortgage, then _that_ paid for the new house.

Where did the money really go? Most likely to the casino. This pattern of obfuscation and denial seems typical of problem gamblers. Perhaps it's fitting that the money had originally been gambled on the possibility that some random collection of dudes could create a new 3D printer, and the diesel mechanic just re-gambled it, in a sense.

[yes I'm bitter, but fortunately I'm just a little over $100 bitter]

<comment><USER6> He may have used the stolen funds to get a smaller mortgage, thinking it would speed things up (as was mentioned in the video). None the less it's all too fishy. Why wait a year hoping to get the funds and not sue right a way for embezzlement, sell the house pay the bank and the rest of the cash will be returned to the company. He did return 110k from somewhere so at least more than that would be returned to the company......

<comment><USER5> Yeah, if one pays for construction out of one's bank account then the construction loan will be smaller.

That doesn't explain how checks sent to contractors and suppliers would have helped the diesel mechanic pay back his theft from Peachy. I'm not going to watch any more videos from this pack of pranksters, but the explanation in TFA is: " _As stated in the repayment agreement, the plan was that as David reached each stage of his build, he would payout a percentage the draw to Peachy Printer._ " He would never see that money! How on earth could a licensed attorney have come up with such a mess? "We agree to pretend that banks are as stupid as we are, and we encourage the diesel mechanic to attempt to defraud them as he has us." Maybe Rylan can sue his "attorney" for malpractice, right after he sues his "investor" for theft.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Is there a way to tell if the crime has indeed been reported to the Saskatoon City police? This is the only outside source of the entire affair that could verify any part of this story. Everyone else is either Rylan or David's lawyer (assuming they ever had one), Rylan's family members or the two founders, Rylan and David themselves.

         I had high hopes that any one of these plans would be successful,
         and I didn't publicize this situation out of fear that doing so
         would have jeopardized our chances to fix the problem.

could also be read as "It took me a long time to come up with a consistent story that masks my role in stealing backers money"

</comment><comment><USER8> Transferring 550K to a personal account was maybe a slightly stupid thing to do.

<comment><USER5> It's totally possible that $20k would have been safe, but everyone's virtue has some price, and half a million would be too much temptation for _lots_ of people.

I don't recall David the diesel mechanic ever being introduced in the videos as "the guy into whose personal account we'll transfer your money". That would have raised some questions, I think. Did Rylan not have a bank account? Why wasn't obtaining a bank account his first priority after raising this much money?

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I feel bad for Rylan (not the one who stole), and the backers.

For me Kickstarter, and its peers, have become a wellspring of lessons in what NOT to do when starting a business.

<comment><USER10> Is there any arena of starting businesses that not a wellspring of negative lessons?

At least one difference with group funding is much higher visibility than any other I can think of.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Easily avoidable and now a tough spot to be in, but this is the best example of transparency I've seen for when a Kickstarter "fails" – and to get his cofounder's admission of guilt on video? Wow.

<comment><USER12> Utterly bizarre that they've spent the time putting together this polished video admitting to the criminal fraud of one of the business partners...with sad piano music and motion graphics!? No-one looks remotely good or free of suspicion in this.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> This Ryan guy stays pretty calm considering the circumstances.</comment>


Chinese scalpers booking up all Genius Bar appointments and selling online - jack-r-abbit http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/29/chinese-scalpers-booking-up-all-genius-bar-appointments-selling-online/

<comment><AUTHOR> Reminiscent of the old one-trip salad bar ploy:

[http://kotaku.com/how-chinese-ingenuity-destroyed-salad- bars...](http://kotaku.com/how-chinese-ingenuity-destroyed-salad-bars-at- pizza-hut-834835079)

</comment><comment><USER2> Stanford teaches an entrepreneurial course. During one of the courses students were given $5 to use to make money.

The group that made the most money did so by getting reservations to restaurants on Friday and Saturday nights and then selling them to groups who didn't have reservations.

I thought it was clever when I first heard about it but this type of thing is old hat by now:)

<comment><USER3> pretty sure Dwight did this (The Office, US version). That's where I first remember hearing it

<comment><USER4> Interesting, I don't remember that. I do, however, remember him buying up all the unicorn dolls at Christmas and then scalping them to last-minute parents.

</comment></comment></comment><comment> jack-r-abbit Brilliant! Is this actually illegal? I don't own any Apple products and have never booked a Genius Bar appointment so I don't know the terms of that booking. Maybe there is something in the fine print that your appointment is non-transferable? I wish the article went into more details about if this is illegal or just frowned upon. My gut tells me it is a loop hole that Apple will either change... or not care about. :)

<comment><USER5> Apple clearly does not wish to make money off Genius Bar appointments; if they did, they'd charge a fee. They're providing it as a service to their customers to improve their experience. This is akin to taking food from a soup kitchen and reselling it at the market rate. Nothing 'brilliant' about it.

<comment><USER6> If you can figure out how to take food from a soup kitchen, sell it at the market rate, and make a profit, you're brilliant.

<comment><USER7> Stand in front of the soup kitchen with a bat, declare the kitchen to be "yours", and demand people pay you tribute for admission.

That doesn't make you a genius, just an asshole.

<comment><USER8> That would make you arrested.

<comment><USER7> In an ideal world, yes. Homeless people are frequently preyed upon though, particularly in less developed parts of the world.

At a much different scale, consider warlords that sell intercepted donated food to the people it was meant to go to for free. They aren't geniuses, just _massive_ assholes.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Capitalism in action.

</comment><comment><USER10> Why don't you just check the names?

<comment> jack-r-abbit > _The reporter was sent login details for the booking by instant messenger, > and was then able to access the booking on the Apple site to change the > details to their own._

Once you buy the slot, you get access to it to change the name.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> The scalpers are just "adding liquidity to the market". /sarcasm

</comment><comment> o0-0o Clones will be clones.

</comment><comment><USER12> Charge a fee and refund to the person that shows up.

<comment><USER13> I'll still turn a profit; I'll just charge the actual customer what I was charged, plus a profit, plus some extra to cover slots I don't sell (or, alternatively, I'll just come in to those slots myself to pick up the refund).

<comment><USER14> Charge a fee. Require the credit card used to make reservation to be physically present to use the reservation.

<comment><USER15> I wonder what the credit card ownership rate is in China

<comment><USER16> Quite small. But everyone has a government-issued ID card, with a unique number. Except foreigners, most of whom complain about people telling them that their passport isn't an acceptable ID (at places like internet cafes, where registration is required for obvious reasons).</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Wolfram Alpha automatically generate code from natural language question - <AUTHOR> http://blog.wolfram.com/2016/12/12/launching-wolframalpha-open-code/ <comment><AUTHOR> I know a lot of people at HN don't like mma for whatever reason but this can really help people like me who are learning to code in that we can side-step the syntax/magic word barrier.

</comment><comment><USER2> Topic Discussion: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13370654](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13370654)</comment>


Follow Tim Ferriss and he donates $3 to charity - <AUTHOR> http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/03/09/tweet-to-beat/

<comment><USER2> Call me cynical or angry, but why do the marketeers and attention whores always have to ruin everything?

He says he's willing to donate up to $50K, and an anonymous other person will donate up to $100K. So just donate the money already, why I do I have to follow you? Not like my follow adds any value or interest in what you're doing.

There seems to be a growing trend of trying to use Twitter as a fundraising platform and as some kind of social-awareness medium. Hell, maybe that's their emerging business model, but if it is, I'm not interested.

This is really nothing new, but Twitter seems to really reduce the barrier to entry for attention whoreing more than anything else in the past. As that activity increases, I find my own use of Twitter decreasing.

<comment><USER3> I think this frustration comes from feeling that you're "playing by the rules", and believe that those who don't follow the rules should be punished. (Or at minimum, those who do play by the rules should be rewarded in such a way that they outperform the cheaters.)

This line of thought has only made me unhappy, and is deviously self-serving at always snatching a moral victory out of defeat. Don't worry about those who take the bus while you're out jogging.

<comment><USER2> Possibly.

However if I really felt slighted...

I have access to a proxy farm with ~500 diverse IP's. I also spend a fair bit of time on boring conference calls. If I were truly bothered by this, he would find himself with 10,000 new followers in 24 hours.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN - I'm in legal training, how can I help the startup community? - <AUTHOR>

I've got one year left until I obtain a law degree, then have a good few years of training and so on. My knowledge will be mostly UK based but I'm hoping to gain more knowledge of the US side of things.
Could my knowledge and eventually experience, be of benefit to the startup community and if so, how? Maybe a blog on law issues, an ask me questions blog, accessible rates for startups, maybe something else I haven't thought of?
The only snag is anything I publish (if I'm writing a blog) comes with the disclaimer that it shouldn't be taken as legal advice, which nearly defeats the purpose. Maybe I won't be of any use at all?! Maybe anything would be too boring for anyone not interested in law? <comment><USER2> I think that the number one legal issue that new startups/founders run into is partnership issues - how to structure your company, what's in the Buy/Sell, how to dissolve, how to create cliffs, how vesting works. These are issues all small startups face and they are generic enough to draw a big audience. Best of luck!

</comment><comment><USER3> I have all kinds of ideas for you. Why not drop me a line at pelle at the name of my blog which you can find in my profile.

</comment><comment><USER4> I can fairly easily think of how you can help.

The source and veracity of my legal knowledge is nebulous and not something I'll discuss here, but, I can help with the US side of things.

With regards to that, a procedural challenge has been made by the USPTO (patent office) to software patents. Investigate, pursue, and attempt to create a test case for it, see if you can reinforce it.

Should help open source, and startups in one shot. Have fun.</comment>


When is an attorney necessary? - <AUTHOR>

<comment><USER2> The basic answer, unfortunately, is that when it's apparent that you need an attorney, you almost always needed to have one yesterday.

Anything you expect to be legally binding, or that might wind up being dealt with in court someday -- such as incorporation, contracts, partnership agreements -- should be looked over by a lawyer. You'll most likely save yourself time and money in the long run if you meet a lawyer and develop a relationship long before you think you need to -- because that way, when you do need a lawyer, you'll know who to turn to and your lawyer will have some idea of who you are.

</comment><comment><USER3> We have some founders, some ideas, and some demo products...hopefully we'll start pitching in the next few weeks. Do we need a lawyer now? Or can we wait until we get a term sheet and go from there?

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> How long can you go without one and when must you have one?

</comment><comment><USER4> haha... I think you just know in your gut when you need one.

</comment><comment><USER5> in the case of MURDER

</comment><comment><USER6> Great topic. Does anyone have any recommendations for _affordable but competent_ (heh) lawyers in the Bay Area?

Also, since forming a C Corp is considered to be the Right Thing to Do, what about accounting? Can you just get QuickBooks and be ok, or do you really need a CPA?</comment>


Clean code practices with JavaScript - <AUTHOR> https://www.atyantik.com/clean-code-practices-javascript/ <comment><AUTHOR> Any improvement suggestions are welcome

</comment><comment><USER2> > Arrow functions are more compact and have shorter syntax than function > expression, and it utilises =>, that looks like a fat arrow.

It's probably worth noting that the arrow syntax isn't _just_ shorthand, it also maintains `this` from the outer scope. (or rather, doesn't define its own)

MDN has an excellent write up on the nuances: [https://developer.mozilla.org/en- US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Refe...](https://developer.mozilla.org/en- US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Functions/Arrow_functions)</comment>


What to Do If Your Boss Asks You to Break the Rules - <AUTHOR> https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-to-do-if-your-boss-asks-you-to-break-the-rules <comment><USER2> I would be better if it said "the law". As I see "the rules", is more like the status quo, that often, need to be broken</comment>


Survey: 69% of Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in Savings - <AUTHOR> http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2016/09/23/survey-69-of-americans-have-less-than-1000-in-savings-infographic/#2761220391ee <comment><USER2> That is scary, but not surprising.

Even if you gave someone without savings 600 bucks right now, chances are they'd turn around and buy a new iphone with it instead of saving it. And then you have all the people who are in a situation where they can't save if they wanted to, be it because of poor decisions or bad circumstances out of their control.

And honestly, even if you CAN save...I'm very lucky and quite privileged, and was looking at my 401k recently. It's doing quite well (yay!), but if I extrapolate to retirement, I'm not even close to what I'll need to have a comfy retirement. The majority of people are just flat out screwed.

How to solve this...who knows. Its a hard problem.

<comment><USER3> How did you arrive at the conclusion that most poor people would waste $600 on things they don't really need?

<comment><USER4> If more than the top 30% of people have iphones (or equally expensive phones), then some percentage of people did exactly that.

There is going to be a huge intersection of people with less than 1000$ in savings, but have an iPhone.

Perhaps that's WHY they have so little savings? I knew a family who filed for bankruptcy while having 3 macbooks they used for MS Word and Facebook. Bad spending habits and the need to keep up with the Jones are both issues.

Not all people are poor because they "waste" money, but when you consider that a lot of luxuries are considered "necessities", you have to question things.

<comment><USER5> > ... but when you consider that a lot of luxuries are considered > "necessities", you have to question things.

Sometimes "luxuries" _are_ necessities, in less obvious ways. For example, it may be very difficult to get certain types of jobs unless you display the right status symbols[1].

[1] [https://tressiemc.com/2013/10/29/the-logic-of-stupid-poor- pe...](https://tressiemc.com/2013/10/29/the-logic-of-stupid-poor-people/)

<comment><USER6> That's a nice site... The author has some really good points about for-profit colleges too.

      The $20 Principle

      I have written before about how $20 can change a
      student's life.

      The $20 is slightly euphemistic but not entirely so.

      We talk a lot about big money in higher education but I
      know for a fact that it's small money that can derail
      one's educational ambitions.

      I was a student in a doctoral preparation program. I was
      an older "non-traditional" student. I was independent. I
      didn't have children but neither was I still someone's
      child. To take advantage of this highly competitive
      program, I had to submit a $100 reservation fee.

      I didn't have it.

      I was $24 short.

\- [https://tressiemc.com/2016/08/30/the-20-principle/](https://tressiemc.com/2016/08/30/the-20-principle/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Given my savings account pays 0.01%, and a 30 day CD from my bank pays .75%, and the average dividend yield of the S&P 500 ETFs (like blackrock's IVV) net- of-fees is 2%, is it all surprising that nobody uses Savings Accounts anymore? Seems like rational behavior to me.

<comment><USER8> This response comes up every single time this statistic gets posted. I assure you that your condition is not typical for the 69% mentioned in the statistic quoted.

"The Fed asked respondents how they would pay for a $400 emergency. The answer: 47 percent of respondents said that either they would cover the expense by borrowing or selling something, or they would not be able to come up with the $400 at all. Four hundred dollars! Who knew?"

[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my- secre...](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my-secret- shame/476415/)

1 in 3 Americans has $0 saved for Retirement, and 56% have less than $10,000

[http://time.com/money/4258451/retirement-savings- survey/](http://time.com/money/4258451/retirement-savings-survey/)

<comment><USER9> I agree with the conclusion, but do not think you can get their just by looking at how people would pay for a $400 emergency.

For example, in my financial situation, I would borrow to cover an unexpected $400 expanse. However, that is because I have a prior agreement with my parents that they would loan me (at 0% interest) to cover unexpected expenses, so I have no reason to keep a surplus of money fully liquid when it could be earning better returns elsewhere.

My parents, for their part, base their savings on the assumption that they would cover unexpected expanses from their line of credit secured against their house. This, again, is not because they do not have the money to set aside for emergencies, but because they think that the opportunity cost of keeping the money liquid outweighs the cost of occasionally paying on credit. As it happens, they could pay for a $400 emergency out of pocket, but that is mostly because they are too rich to micromanage at the $400 dollar level.

With respect to retirement savings, I do not think that stat is as bad as it first appears (although I do think the typical American is underrepresented for retirement). The basic financial story is:

1) take on debt for big, lifetime purchases (education and a house).

2) Pay of debt

3) Accumulate wealth

4) Retire and live off of accumulated wealth

Given this, it is not unreasonable that young people would have no money set aside for retirement, because it might be more efficient to use that money to pay off debt.

<comment><USER10> I don't care what kind of plan B you have, having $500 or $1000 cash seems like common sense. What is the opportunity cost of $1000 not in the stock market... $50 a year?

<comment><USER11> Yes, that comment was ridiculously out of touch.

That's fantastic you have a safety net with your parents, with amazing credit, that can borrow at good rates, at any time.

What about the people paying double digit interest rates to get a crappy used car? People who can't borrow money because of no credit, without their parents to cover extreme interest rates?

It's great that some people have the luxury to somehow not have an emergency fund, but a huge portion of the population is unable to do that. The last thing they care about is return on investment in savings-they need money to get food next week.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Another poster asked this, but does this mean this group has less than $1000 in liquid assets, or less than $1000 in a "savings account"?

Also it would be helpful to see how this has changed over time.

<comment><USER13> What assets? That Ram on the driveway loaded with a bike/jetski/boat on a trailer? 50' TV? iphones all around? its all on lease 40 days away from being repo'd.

<comment><USER14> My house is an asset yet I owe quite a bit of money on it. Which way does it tilt the balance sheet for this survey?

<comment><USER15> Worth - mortgage principle = savings.

<comment><USER16> I can think of one reasonable instance in which home equity may have equivalent liquidity as a savings account: when filing for bankruptcy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Obviously "savings account" and "in savings" are not the same thing. This survey and article don't seem professional - basically this is clickbait or they are clueless.

But the main issue still is real. Regardless of "savings account" status, other studies show ~half of Americans are financially insecure today. Should an emergency expense of $2000 come up they don't have it.

The problem is getting worse as baby boomers retire. If you include underfunded retirement savings in the group at risk then the vast, vast majority of Americans are in a financially insecure position.

Pew Trusts did a study as well: "One in 3 American families reports having no savings at all, including 1 in 10 of those with incomes of more than $100,000 a year."

"41 percent did not have enough liquid savings to cover the $2,000 cost of the typical household's most expensive financial shock."

Link to Pew report [pdf] [http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2015/11/emergencysav...](http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2015/11/emergencysavingsreportnov2015.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER18> I think this is somewhat deceiving. I'm pretty most Americans have more than $1,000 in savings, maybe in their checking accounts, their stocks, etc.

<comment><USER19> Is it deceiving?

"The Fed asked respondents how they would pay for a $400 emergency. The answer: 47 percent of respondents said that either they would cover the expense by borrowing or selling something, or they would not be able to come up with the $400 at all."

[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my- secre...](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my-secret- shame/476415/)

<comment><USER20> Do stocks count as "something"?

<comment><USER3> Do many people invested heavily in the stock market not also have $400 in cash or equivalent?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> The article specifically says savings accounts. Only a damn fool would keep money there long term. My checking account earns 5x the interest and the money market account at my brokerage is about the same.

</comment><comment><USER22> Wow I was expecting a full blown article, and instead found something smaller than a write in opinion piece.

Even worse the source document has far more interesting data on it, sorting by gender/age/location. Even if it is a self serving study by a service that is in the business of selling savings accounts.

The data is pretty scary though. After finally getting a 6 month runway of living expenses I can't imagine going back. Even having a month or two runway makes it so easy to not make unreasonable mistakes.

</comment><comment><USER23> Similar study from the UK "Millions have less than £100 in savings" [http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37504449](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37504449)

<comment><USER24> I think it would be similar in lots of countries. Living in Australia, our household priority is to pay down debt. I don't understand the value of holding lots of cash while you have a mortgage. If cash is needed we can redraw.

Ofcourse public health care is free here and education is still affordable and there is a social security safety net and compulsory superannuation payments. So it isn't like a family sickness will see us lose our home and sleeping under a bridge.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> This is a stupid article. I don't even have a savings account. WTF is even the point when the interest is negligible? Money I need access to stays in my checking account, savings go in Vanguard.

</comment><comment><USER15> Without defining "savings" this article doesn't really say anything at all. Savings can be assumed as many things.</comment>


Second-Order Product Thinking - <AUTHOR> https://theproductperson.substack.com/p/-the-product-person-21-2nd-order?r=2j20m&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy <comment><AUTHOR> In this post, I thought of a few famous second order effects in tech.

For example,

In 2016, they remove headphone jack.

1st Order: Frustrating UX

2nd Order: Airpods are a ~$200B business

Anyone here know of any other good ones?</comment>


Design First, Everything Else Later - <AUTHOR> http://www.singhrahul.com/2012/04/design-first-everything-else-later.html

<comment><USER2> As a first time entrepreneur who started as a designer, I appreciate this article very much. Safe to say Steve Job's would have as well.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks a lot for your kind words Coeyman :) . Glad that you liked the article.</comment></comment>


Django-graphs: beautiful, extensible, and fast graph rendering library - <AUTHOR> http://labs.sixpixelsapart.com/projects/django-graphs

<comment><USER2> any screenshots of examples of the graphs it can create?

<comment><USER3> Ditto. Terrible omission from the project page for a graphing lib.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Great project but it needs LaTeX support. Where is the fun in drawing graphs if you cannot write in $e^y$ in for one of the axis?</comment>


The rise of the zero-day market - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/10/the-rise-of-the-zero-day-market/ <comment><USER2> It was a good article until Desaultel's ignorant claim that "full disclosure is a farce." His supporting arguments actually support a reasonable delay between disclosure to the software provider and to the public rather than entirely counter full disclosure. The difference between many companies' approach to handling vulnerability reports before and after full disclosure speaks for itself:

[https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2007/01/schneier_fu...](https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2007/01/schneier_full_disclo.html)

I got to experience plenty of that myself when I started. They (a) didn't care, (b) called me a liar, or (c) called me well-intentioned but too incompetent to assess the [non-existent] risk to their users/customers. This continued while Microsoft and other big names got smashed by more attacks than we could keep track of which were often easily prevented (eg buffer overflows). Eventually, many companies were forced to do something _for real_ about their software quality thanks to all the attacks and disclosures w/ exploits as proof. Microsoft adopting SDL and mitigation practices is probably the greatest success of full disclosure given their near monopoly on desktops.

Interesting enough, he kind of contradicts his own position later. He first argues against full disclosure as purely damaging with no benefit because nobody can keep systems updated at the necessary rate. Then, he says security in his testing improved from 4 minutes to 1 hour to break thanks to awareness from all the breaches in the news that he implies are partly due to full disclosure. So, did they have zero benefit or did they plus black hats benefit via awareness? Even he can't seem to buy his own claim twice in the same article...

<comment><USER3> > Then, he says security in his testing improved from 4 minutes to 1 hour to > break thanks to awareness from all the breaches in the news that he implies > are partly due to full disclosure.

We can think of it as a silver lining.

<comment><USER2> I think it's more a necessity given human nature and these types of people (i.e. head in sand). A known weakness of human mind is responding go immediate threats more than what data shows it even if data is clear and is a huge threat. People also react better to stories. Both full disclosure and breaches in media create the impression of immediate threat with incentives to CYA or do some real security. So, more like parents slapping their kids hands or spanking them for trying to touch a hot stove except with most kids continuing despite all the burned hands and sore asses around them.

Crazy stuff. It's why I don't worry what happens to the careless anymore as they cause their own problems. Full disclosure mainly benefits those who pay attention and try to keep a solid baseline.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> IMHO the most interesting part is the charts on page 4, showing that most vulns are used soon after disclosure, but most hacks use a few relatively old vulns. In other words, you probably can't protect yourself from zero-days, but you probably don't have to.

</comment><comment><USER5> My experience[1] in India has been kind of mixed. While many companies didn't have a proper email address where one could disclose the bugs, after disclosing the bugs some of them were very quick in fixing them. So, speaking of India, I think the IT industry is still in nascent stage where they do not think about bug bounties programme much. I hope that changes soon.

1\. [https://medium.com/@fallible/we-discovered-severe-bugs- in-11...](https://medium.com/@fallible/we-discovered-severe-bugs- in-11-startups-worth-3-billion-in-a-week-cf2a856edb94)

</comment><comment><USER6> Ah, from all could see, the article said next to nothing about how to detect an exploitation.

Also the article concentrated on _malicious_ , that is, _malware_ , exploitations.

Also can define _zero day_ as any problem never seen before. The cause might be software flaws, hardware failures, human system management errors, and more, all in addition to malicious causes.

Then for any and all zero day problems, need to detect, diagnose, and correct.

So, start at the beginning: How to detect?

Here issues are, what parts of, say, a server farm to monitor, what data to get and use, what to do about rates of false alarms and missed detections, and more.

</comment><comment><USER7> Does anyone know which CVE is in 2007 that everyone is exploiting?

</comment><comment><USER8> another negative use of bitcoin</comment>


Just How Sensitive Was the Information Trump Revealed to the Russians? - <AUTHOR> https://www.justsecurity.org/41020/sensitive-information-trump-reportedly-revealed-russians/ <comment><USER2> Testing</comment>


Ask HN: Why do I see jobs posting about Mino Games all the time? - <AUTHOR> Meta: I keep seeing headlines like "Mino Games is hiring developers in Montreal".
Am I the only one ? (I always assumed the frontpage was not personalized, is that the case?)
If it's the same for everybody... why ? Is there some soft of partnership between ycombinator and them ? Are they simply abusing the submit button ? Does this violate the guidelines of HN ? <comment><USER2> YC Companies, and only YC Companies, can place ads on HN, subject to certain rules.

</comment><comment><USER3> I, too, wondered this. Thanks for asking.</comment>


Edge vs. level triggered logic in Kubernetes - <AUTHOR> https://speakerdeck.com/thockin/edge-vs-level-triggered-logic <comment><AUTHOR> I find this interesting to use even with common web applications as a design pattern. It's usually easy to just dispatch events but parsing them is always complicated and if you need to do that in all clients youre essentially decoupling the logic. If you can provide already parsed state you are providing the view into that data.</comment>


Indexes in PostgreSQL, Part 4 (Btree) - <AUTHOR> https://habr.com/en/company/postgrespro/blog/443284/ <comment><USER2> Great writeup. The visualizations make it a lot easier to comprehend how these data structures are actually used to make queries faster.</comment>


Draft spec for records and pattern-matching in C# - <AUTHOR> https://roslyn.codeplex.com/discussions/560339 <comment><USER2> This is some pretty great stuff. Optimizing the null checking pattern will help a lot. It's a language feature that seems obvious after seeing the if let x = something as? SomeType in Swift.

I've only been a year away from C# and I was writing 3.5 code at that time. It's kind of amazing seeing how quickly C# has moved from year to year compared to it's closest competitors. I had the same experience when I was looking at web development after a couple years of not really touching it. It's really nice to just take a step back and realize how quickly these things are progressing.

<comment><USER3> Sorry to say, but writing 3.5 (I hope you mean 3.0) code a year ago mean't you were far behind. I myself feel that C# has not changed a lot in the last 2 years or more. C# 5.0 was released almost exactly 2 years ago, and even that didn't bring a lot of changes ( The biggest was of course async-await and the other one the callerinfo attributes, and that's about it.)

<comment><USER4> Async didn't change anything for you? It seems pretty big to us.

<comment><USER5> I used async for a WPF application. That worked out well. I also experimented with a scraper using async. I dug myself into holes very quickly (memory usage ballooned, difficult to debug and reason about application state despite the code being very easy to read, threads were being created all over the place which annoyed me even though I understood why).

I rewrote the scraper to use BlockingCollections and Take(), with async being used solely with the HttpClient (which really needs to learn how to play nicer with async in the face of network errors!). The code was more decoupled, and while slightly more difficult to follow because of this, far easier to test and debug because the working set of my application was explicit rather than hidden in tasks. This had the added benefit of making it easy to persist and restore state. For me, the concurrent collections introduced in .NET 4 have been the big winner (no more custom thread pools!).

Use of async needs to be matched carefully with the problem domain, especially in backend development.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Watched a FP demo in Scala last week. As an F# guy, I was curious about the syntax.

I probably didn't get it, but what I thought I saw was a bunch of cool FP concepts bolted on top of a pretty long-in-the-tooth OO language. About the time the guy added the third custom DSL, I decided I would never ever code like that.

I like C#. I love OO. And I'm crazy about pattern-matching. But why do we think that combining good things from other places, we always get something that's better?

Perhaps we should start defining languages by what they _don 't_ do? Otherwise, everything will do everything -- and that increases cognitive load on the developers and leads to lots of noob errors by those just starting out.

Could somebody explain to me what we would like to achieve with this?

<comment><USER4> Perhaps you'd like to explain why you think pattern matching has any necessary connection to functional programming? Sure, popularized by ML, but otherwise I'm not buying it. We already have switch and type-checking statements. Those are just special cases of pattern matching.

<comment><USER7> But do your "switch and type-checking statements" allow you to implement a single polymorphic function and also give you a helpful compiler error when your switch is non-exhaustive?

<comment><USER4> _allow you to implement a single polymorphic function_

What do you mean by this? And which type of polymorphism?

<comment><USER7> Parametric. In ML-family languages (SML, OCaml, Haskell) you can define a function that pattern-matches its signature.

For example (taken from the Wikipedia article on SML) I could define an algebraic datatype "shape" as such:

        datatype shape
           = Circle   of loc * real      (* center and radius *)
           | Square   of loc * real      (* upper-left corner and side length; axis-aligned *)
           | Triangle of loc * loc * loc (* corners *)

Then I could define an "area" function that takes this as a parameter and pattern-matches on its type as such, with a different implementation depending on the type:

        fun area (Circle (_, r)) = 3.14 * r * r
           | area (Square (_, s)) = s * s
           | area (Triangle (a, b, c)) = heron (a, b, c) (* call to Heron's formula function *)

Which is also syntactic sugar for:

        fun area shape =
           case shape
            of Circle (_, r) => 3.14 * r * r
             | Square (_, s) => s * s
             | Triangle (a, b, c) => heron (a, b, c)

If I were to implement the function like:

        fun area shape =
           case shape
            of Circle (_, r) => 3.14 * r * r
             | Square (_, s) => s * s

and forget to include the Triangle case, I would get a compiler error: "match nonexhaustive". Furthermore if I were to include a redundant case or an unreachable case, the compiler would also throw an error informing me of that. Very useful in preventing runtime errors, and languages like Java or C/C++ simply do not provide this.

<comment><USER4> Yes, that is how pattern matching works, and no, it has nothing to do with parametric polymorphism.

No plans to add extra sugar to immediately switch on the arguments of a function, but I'm pretty sure that switch(arg) is not terrible overhead.

I've addressed exhaustivity in a different comment.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> This is a really nice set of C# improvements that fit together to solve a big problem. I love it. I do have some minor questions, though!

The simplest improvement that confused me at first is the ability to declare a new inline local to handle an 'out' variable:

int x; foo(out x)

becomes

foo(int x)

This by itself is a quality-of-life improvement but it enables the really nice extraction of values for pattern matching. I'm happy to see this as a general language feature instead of a hack specific for records. (Was this already introduced in a proposed future C# version, and I missed it?)

The record classes considerably simplify the creation of simple data structures, trees, etc. This alone would kill thousands and thousands of lines of pointless duplicate code in JSIL, so I'm really happy to see it. Are the properties of record class instances read-only? (It's hard to tell from the draft spec. I'd be okay with mutable-by-default with opt-in readonly, but always-readonly would also be okay with me as a simpler design.)

The introduction of an overloaded 'is' operator that accepts user-defined arguments on the right-hand-side. You define the operator on a given type and give it out-parameters (and presumably it can accept value parameters, as well, so you can do more sophisticated matching), and the compiler converts that into a call to the matching function that, if successful, yields values from the match. Really clever way to introduce this - the syntax is slightly confusing, but it avoids introducing new keywords and almost all of this feature follows nicely from existing C# features.

And switch statements are expanded to be able to pattern-match! Lovely! This is a natural improvement given that switch statements are already compile-time sugar for dictionary lookups when you're switch()ing on non-integer values.

It seems like all of this is compile-time sugar that doesn't require any runtime changes. Is that true? If so, what version of the runtime do you think will be the minimum for Roslyn output that uses these features?

</comment><comment><USER9> Are the matches closed, enabling errors or warnings, when all the cases aren't matched on?

Otherwise it just seems like some sugar on switch.

Also, guarded matches would be nice.

<comment><USER4> This is in "open questions." Even without language support requiring exhaustion, this would be a pretty obvious Roslyn custom diagnostic to be introduced.

<comment><USER10> I think if it could be switched between a compile time error/warning then we'd be in a great place. I think even in Haskell you need to switch it on as a compiler option.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Appears similar to Scala w/ case classes, but I wish it was more vague and used extractors similar to Scala's unapply. It would make it much more amenable to existing classes.

<comment><USER4> One thing we could do here is expand the definition of extension methods to include extension operators. I think this makes sense for other reasons.

If we do that, you could provide pattern matching for existing classes, even ones from metadata, by simply manually specifying an extension is-operator for the class.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> It's interesting that I'm learning Groovy at the moment and I seem to see a lot of Groovy goodies in this draft. such as any.of?.these?.could?.be?.nullhey() or the record class very close to Lua.

<comment><USER3> Those kind of constructs have been there in many languages. Mostly, C# can be said to borrow stuff from its cousin F#.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> In the meanwhile, here's a little class I made that implemented just enough pattern matching as a fluent interface : [https://gist.github.com/neuschwanstein/6c0c9256c1dc5b370011](https://gist.github.com/neuschwanstein/6c0c9256c1dc5b370011).

Not pretty, but it works well enough for a pragmatic programmer.

<comment><USER14> One way to do very case specific pattern matching in C# is to write an extension method that takes a lambda for each case. For example, my maybe type for C# has `Match`:

        may.Match(
            () => print("None"),
            val => print("Some: " + val))

Not very flexible, or performant, but covers the basics of common cases.

<comment><USER15> I came up with some similar and wrote a long blog post[1] about it several years ago. I never ended up using it in practice because it felt too syntactically weird, but it was a fun little exercise.

[1]: [http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2009/05/13/ml-style- patter...](http://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2009/05/13/ml-style-pattern- matching-in-c/)

<comment><USER10> I created a very similar one to you also, and found the same. It's just a bit too clunky syntactically. The only time I'd use it would be if I'm using it as part of an expression where a (switch or series of if) statement would break the expression up.

As well as a generic extension on Object I started adding bespoke Match extension methods to a monads library that I've been working on [1] (which again was all about trying to coerce C# into a more expression based style).

So the Option monad Match method would work like so:

            Func<int> res = (from x in DoSomething()
                             from y in DoSomethingElse()
                             select x + y)
                            .Match(
                                 Just: v => v * 10,
                                 Nothing: 0
                            );

Or, the Either monad:

            var result =
                (from lhs in Two()
                 from rhs in Two()
                 select lhs + rhs)
                .Match(
                    Right: r => r * 2,
                    Left: l => 0
                );

[1] [https://github.com/louthy/csharp-monad](https://github.com/louthy/csharp- monad)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Presumably this doesn't prevent a developer from creating another "pattern class" subclassing some superclass in another package, thereby breaking existing pattern matches?

<comment><USER4> Mark all your types sealed. Roslyn can have a custom diagnostic analyzer to yell about unsealed pattern-matched public classes, but I'm not sure if we want to add language support for a closed set yet.

Scala allows you to seal a type hierarchy to a single file. That would work, but it seems hacky -- a file feels more like an implementation detail than a language construct to me. For one, the C# spec doesn't mention files at all -- from its perspective all your code may as well be in one giant file.

<comment><USER17> C# doesn't allow you to specify both abstract and sealed on the same class - something that would be really useful for implementing closed types. The restriction is artificial and unnecessary though - CIL allows the two to coexist, and it is how the F# compiler implements discriminated unions. I think it would be wise to aim for feature-compatibility with F#, to ensure you can pattern match over types defined in F# from C#, and vice-versa.

<comment><USER4> You're right of course -- I misspoke. Marking the types _internal_ , not sealed, would allow the compiler to guarantee that all it sees is all there is.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Kotlin: It's the little things - <AUTHOR> https://m.signalvnoise.com/kotlin-its-the-little-things-8c0f501bc6ea <comment><USER2> Groovy could really benefit from a marketing team. More and more blog posts about the nice sides of Kotlin offer snippets and arguments that have been in Groovy 2 for a while now. Good job on the Jetbrains folks for clearly doing a better job advocating their language as a replacement for Java.

<comment><USER3> Apache Groovy's lack of marketing is highlighted by the fact you're referring to it as "Groovy" instead of "Apache Groovy" which is what the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) recommend it be called on first use in all new contexts.

Groovy's controllers decided 2 years ago when they joined the ASF to simply milk the product while prolonging its lifespan as long as possible, rather than improve and promote it. It's obvious to everyone Groovy's on an irreversible decline:

* no-one uses the static typing features of Groovy, in fact none of the Java code in Groovy itself has been re-written in statically-typed Groovy

* virtually no-one's upgraded from Grails version 2 to 3, or starting new projects in Grails

* Gradleware are no doubt working on a tool to automatically convert Groovy build files to Kotlin ones for their next major release of Gradle, and thus also Android Studio, now that Google have chosen Kotlin as its preferred language for Android

Groovy will probably be used for basic scripting and gluing on the JVM for quite a while though, in the same way Bash is used for Linux.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> This is nice. I don't work in Java but I've studied Java in Sedgewick's Algorithms class. The syntax seemed straightforward and it comes across as a powerful professional-use language.

After reading just now I found that Kotlin is a JVM language and a project developed by JetBrains. For me the notable language feature is the null handling.

Would I be helping or hurting my facility with Java by using Kotlin for personal projects instead of Java?

<comment><USER5> I'm not a full time Java developer, but unless you have a really hard time adjusting to the syntactic differences or will grumble when you do something you know would be "so much easier in X", you should be fine. You'll learn the JVM, APIs, and libraries you'll need to be a Java programmer. That seems like a win to me.

<comment><USER4> thanks, that makes sense</comment></comment></comment>


Firefox 29 for Linux released - <AUTHOR> http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTY3NDc

<comment><USER2> (and Mac and Windows and Android.)</comment>


My MVP: Any feedback good/bad welcome - <AUTHOR> http://www.mysocialpromo.com/HowItWorks.aspx

<comment><USER2> Congrats on the MVP.

I don't usually watch videos until I have an idea what the product is so I kept scrolling and finally saw the "Easy as 1-2-3" graphic. That made a lot more sense to me. I'd suggest putting that before the videos.

<comment><AUTHOR> Great advice! Thanks</comment></comment>


Show HN: ApiAiRecognizer – Use api.ai instead of LUIS in Microsoft Bot Framework - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/GanadiniAkshay/ApiAiRecognizer <comment><USER2> I'd be interested to hear the pros/cons of API.ai vs LUIS

<comment><AUTHOR> The one thing I really love about Api.ai is the support for pre built domains..

However one problem is their api only directly the top intent while LUIS gives you score for all intents. This could be useful in some cases.</comment></comment>


Veracity 0.9.1 - <AUTHOR> http://www.ericsink.com/entries/veracity_0_9_1.html

<comment><USER2> Any use this yet and can share experience?

edit: no irc channel found for veracity-scm, does it exist anyone? also, I found the piping method they used to get their PGP key was causing issues with sudo, just wasn't accepting my pass with two sudo statements like that for some reason. It worked when I separated them.

<comment><USER3> Installed on OSX, messing with it. Initial impressions:

* Leans more towards Mercurial than Git

* No man pages :(

* Couldn't get the fancy web server thing running (`vv serve`, and it failboated on some config warning that I'm not sure how to resolve)

* Looks like they store some data as JSON internally

* There's a `vv lock` command...this makes me really sad, I thought we were beyond this mode of version control

* No idea how to turn colors on for diffs/status

* Can't clone local repositories _CORRECTION_ : This is possible, you have to use the "repo name" to clone. I did `vv init .` so that made a repo with the name of ".", and then you can run `vv clone . foo` to clone it.

* `vv init` does not work like `git init` at all...I think repos can have a "name" but only one can live in a directory at a time. (`.sgdrawer` is used for data)

* It looks like it keeps track of repo names at the user level, so you can't have more than one of the same "repo name" per your user (wtf?) This is kept in `~/.sgcloset`. There's a few sqlite3 dbs hanging out in there.

That's as far as I got. This feels like version control sudoku.

<comment><USER4> To get `vv serve` working you have to do something like this:

vv config set server/files /usr/local/share/veracity/server_files

Be sure to replace /usr/local/.. with the correct path to server_files.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> What need does this solve? Their homepage (<http://www.veracity-scm.com/>) lists a feature comparison chart, but that it has "user accounts" and "SHA-2" does not really help me figure out why I need this.

<comment><USER6> It also lists a lot of "Coming Soon" features for Veracity. Until they're released, they shouldn't be in the chart.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> For those wondering why Veracity, this might make interesting reading: <http://www.ericsink.com/articles/vcs_trends.html>

I suspect the aim is to build the foundation for an Enterprise-ready DVCS.

EDIT: See also Veracity: the next step in DVCS <http://www.ericsink.com/entries/veracity_early.html>

</comment><comment><USER8> Veracity looks definitely nice on paper and it will probably be viable option for new users / projects moving to DVCS.

However, the problem is that it doesn't offer any KILLER features that would make it worth migrating to it from Git/Mercurial/Baazar/Fossil.

</comment><comment><USER9> Without documentation it is of limited use whether or not it has killer features.

Hopefully they will have by version 1.0.0.

Open source projects live or die by their documentation - not their features.</comment>


We need fewer programmers; A rant.  - <AUTHOR>

I have been trying, for the past week, to learn Ruby. I hoped to become my own technical co-founder, get into YC, and change the world. Going through some tutorials had confirmed that Ruby's no more difficult than VBA or Matlab. However, installing RoR on my PC has been a goddamned nightmare. What's wrong here? I've taught myself enough code to get work done. A quick Google search can usually get me the right answer in 5 minutes. But in this case, I've been banging my head against the wall for a week and have had no success.
Then it hit me: Writing code is easy! Any middle schooler can tell you that after writing x = 5 + 3, x = 8. The reason they don't write code is not because it's hard, but because of the disaster surrounding it. What the hell is a module, a controller, a script, a git, a gem, any and all of the essential parts of the program that are located far away from where you actually write your code? Why do they all require impossibly finicky install mechanisms?
We don't need more programmers, more high priests of file folders, git commands, and opaque installations. We need a way for the rest of us to actually work on ideas. <comment><USER2> They're tools - git, gems, all those things.

I don't presume to come into a car repair shop, expecting to be capable of using all the tools there - I mean, if you put me in front of a wheel alignment visualizer, you'd get a blank stare. What the hell is a spark coil, a brake test, a jack, a compression, and all the essential parts of a car? Why do they all require impossibly finicky install mechanisms? We don't need more car mechanics, more high priests of all that _stuff_. It's easy to use, it should be easy to set up, right?

I guess I could start learning the tools, bit by bit. For any other profession, expecting a DWIMsuperTool which Does What I Mean, automatically, correctly and efficiently, would be seen as extreme sci-fi. Why would you expect it in this profession?

(oh, and if you plan to run the code server-side, you can get a pre-installed environment for a reasonable price, too)

And BTW, writing code _is_ easy. Writing good, efficient, maintainable code, which won't take your program down in flames just because the month has rolled over, now _that_ is hard. (NP-hard, you might even say. ;))

<comment><AUTHOR> Hmm... I guess I was pretty whiny that day.

After taking another commenter's advice, switching to Python let me get to the first "Hello, world!" tutorial in an hour rather than never.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> I am not a programmer but more of a BD person and outside thinker. I do agree a company should have both a BD/Programmer because a programmer doesn't want to sit around talking about a strategy or learn stats or projections. I don't know if that makes sense.

</comment><comment> saiko-chriskun lol

</comment><comment><USER4> Try Python with Django.

All the benefits of ROR, many fewer headaches.

Not knocking ROR, just saying I've been down this road and what I found was Python/Django was ultimately exactly what I was looking for.

Cheers!</comment>


Building a 3D Printed Electric Jet Powered Snowboard - <AUTHOR> http://www.judegomila.com/post/115814462784/building-a-3d-printed-electric-jet-powered

<comment><USER2> The amazing part is the energy density and discharge rate of LIPO batteries. Also the ducted fan is impressive for its size. As a hobby project its fun to watch. As a consumer product, the noise pollution would turn the average alpine ski resort into the audio equivalent of a highway.

</comment><comment><USER3> How much thrust would you need to move a person up hill on skis? I wonder if a paragliding motor might work?

<comment><USER4> So I tested the board without me standing on it uphill and it goes up. I estimate around 35lbs+ for my configuration for a slight incline.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Seems like using thrust is going to be a limitation here. What about some kind of belt that contacts the ground when activated?

<comment><USER6> Then he would just be making a snowmobile.

<comment><USER5> Similar, but you'd be standing on it and there's no steerable front. Much different if you ask me.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> The fact that it's 3D printed is just an eye-catcher. You could have done the same without any 3D printing.

<comment><USER8> I've never understood this brand of 3D printing detraction - yes, I could _absolutely_ make 80+% of the "glue" parts I make with my 3D printer using crap from the hardware store.

But then I would have to know what crap I needed in advance, and go to the hardware store. I like getting to be extra lazy, and 3D printing facilitates that nicely. The end result also usually functions well and looks great.

I personally wouldn't have designed that EDF mount the way it was designed, but it works and I can't argue with the totally cool end result.

On a side note I'm super glad the author of this blog post used LiPo fire bags. I thought the hype about LiPos as bombs was overblown until one in my homemade electric bike caught fire on the charger once. I was very lucky that I always kept the bike outdoors on my porch, but never again! Always on concrete, in a bag from now on.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Cool idea. I'd like to see it with a JetCat or similar hooked up to it.

[http://www.jetcatusa.com/p200.html](http://www.jetcatusa.com/p200.html)

</comment><comment><USER10> How would a gas turbine be safer? Much more heat, flammable fuel, so I'm curious as to the reasons.

<comment><USER11> Depending on the fuel, gas turbines can be much safer. The current and voltage he's working with is fairly dangerous for close contact, where it takes a great deal of effort to ignite kerosene or diesel fuel in an open air environment.

<comment><USER10> Ah, ok. That makes more sense now.

Still, I would expect the massive heat output of a gas turbine to be another danger as well. You are, after all, spitting extremely hot gases out the back, which could pose a great danger to anyone behind and might also melt a large amount of snow. Probably depends greatly on the method of mounting it though...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> This thing is dope!!

</comment><comment><USER13> Make sure you keep water (melting snow) away from the ESC, since it likes to kill ESCs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4z8QMgTEA4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4z8QMgTEA4).

</comment><comment><USER14> What about a design that uses kinect energy accumulated when you are going downhill?

</comment><comment><USER15> This guy is going places.</comment>


Ask HN: Who is hiring? (Climate change edition) - <AUTHOR> A thread for companies involved with climate change mitigation. This includes: renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal), nuclear power, greenhouse gas sequestering, electric vehicles, meat alternatives, energy conservation, forest preservation, etc.
Post only once if you are personally involved with the company. No recruiting firms or job boards. Explain how the company helps combat climate change prefixed with the usual header format: Name, location, FTE/Contract, REMOTE or ONSITE, INTERNS and/or VISA.
Commenters: Complaints and political discussions are off-topic.
Readers: Email if you, personally, are interested. <comment><USER2> This will be flagged …

What about a tag in the official thread?

[What prevents the abuse of the tags? Does a account system for a furniture manufacturer that uses sustainable wood source count? [The CO2 used to make the wood will be sequester for years, perhaps 50 or 100 years if it is good furniture.]]</comment>


Trans-Neptunian object discovered in the outer solar system - <AUTHOR> https://www.newscientist.com/article/2100700-mystery-object-in-weird-orbit-beyond-neptune-cannot-be-explained/ <comment><USER2> That video in the article was the biggest load of ... I can't even find a word to describe how awfully irrelevant and non informational it was. They obviously had an intern sitting around and they needed to give them a job creating some animations for a day...

In any case, if they do find planet 9.5, I hope they call it 'Rupert' as a tribute to Douglas Adams...

<comment><USER3> I just clicked into the comments here to say exactly that. The article is a load of cobblers.

There's not even an informative diagram to illustrate that planetary body's oddness.

As for that embedded video - yuck!

It would have been better for the submitter here to have just supplied the paper's URL, said paper even has informative diagrams : [http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.01808](http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.01808)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Sadly, they have a video embedded in the article that at first glance seems informational, but it's really just an "action" animation of the solar system. They could really just have shown the orbit this thing in a diagram or something.

<comment><USER5> New Scientist has gone horribly, horribly downhill over the last few decades. It's a pale shadow of its former self :(

<comment><USER6> I was on the verge of subscribing to it not too long ago till I did some research. It seems to have moved into a more sensationalist click-baitesque sphere.

A shame, but I suppose from their perspective it must have been a case of "if you can't beat them, join them".

<comment><USER7> I remember them being described as "The National Enquirer of Science" a good 10 years ago.

Just today I was in the Library and looking at "Science" and "Scientific American" both of which seem to be a lot more "popularist" than I remember them from when i was a kid, but maybe I just didn't notice then.

<comment> semi-extrinsic I'm planning on subscribing to one of these, currently favoring Scientific American after flipping through some copies at the library. What (if anything) would people recommend instead?

I work as a scientist, so I don't want over-popularised clickbait.

<comment><USER8> As a layman I find Scientific American goes into sufficient detail that I learn new things but is still approachable enough for me to grasp. They also seem to generally avoid sensationalist writing, providing plenty of caveats when discussing something theoretical or unproven.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> > This one is 160,000 times fainter than Neptune, which means the icy world > could be less than 200 kilometres in diameter. It's currently above the > plane of the solar system and with every passing day, it's moving upwards – > a fact that makes it an oddity.

We know of much bigger objects out that far, and highly inclined orbits ("moving upward") in that region are expected.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trans- Neptunian_object...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trans- Neptunian_objects)

</comment><comment><USER10> The original article says that estimated probability of observed configuration of objects appearing by random chance without some unknown, common cause is 3.8 sigma (0.016%).

For comparison (in an apples-to-oranges kind of a way), the recently falsified diphoton anomaly detected by CERN that made news in 2015 was 2.9 sigma or about 25 times more likely to appear by chance.

Although this is based on just 6 detected objects, it's a strong indication that some yet-unknown mechanism is in play.

</comment><comment><USER11> Small icy trans-neptune object in high ecliptic, very eccentric orbit, counter directional orbit.

So it was captured from inter-galactic space? I mainly like this theory because it'll force Bayesian Astronomers to re-calculate the density of inter- galactic planetoids.

I guess we can discuss multiple Neptune/Uranus like ice giants orbiting at the fringes of the Sun's gravity. But wouldn't that seem to violate Occam's Razor?

<comment><USER12> Interstellar, perhaps?

<comment><USER13> I'm guessing they were going for "ecliptic" rather than "epileptic", too...

<comment><USER11> Yes I was betrayed by spell check :(

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I have this fear that someday it might be about a teapot... Feeling relived for now

</comment><comment><USER15> Maybe it's a teapot?

</comment><comment><USER16> "It suggests that there's more going on in the outer solar system than we're fully aware of"

This sounds like a mild understatement...

</comment><comment><USER17> And I was hoping it was the 2016 Asteroid coming to take us out of our Trump/Brexit misery.

<comment><USER11> Don't get your hopes up. Even if it was on a free fall collision course it would take the better part of a decade for us to be wiped out.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> That's no moon...

</comment><comment><USER19> Aliens of course. Hum.

<comment><USER20> "Is such a thing even possible?

...

Yes it is."

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> > ... cannot be explained

In an allegedly scientific journal? I was aware that New Scientist had abandoned scientific standards, but this abandons even a patina of scientific standards.

<comment><USER22> I don't think the author and editor of that headline wants the wording to be taken literally, believing it to be supernatural and outside the realm of causality.

Instead, what they're trying to drum up attention for in the headline is that it can be explained, but only by the activity of a previously. unknown force, astronomical phenomenon, planet, or other new and interesting potential discovery. Such as aliens.

The headline should read "... is unlikely to be caused by existing models and behavioral simulations of the solar system", but that's less likely to get clicks.

That, or "Discovery of A New Retrograde Trans-Neptunian Object: Hint of A Common Orbital Plane for Low Semi-Major Axis, High Inclination TNOs and Centaurs", which is the title of the backing paper.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> "One Crazy Ball In Space That Top Astronomers Don't Want You To Know About!"

I can't be the only one who thought the title reeked of clickbait.

<comment><USER12> The level of quality for which the New Scientist is justly famed.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> It's a Mass Relay. Here, I explained it.

Who invents headlines like these?

</comment><comment><USER25> This headline is offensively stupid. Of course it can be explained, we just haven't explained it yet.

<comment><USER26> I read it as "cannot _currently_ be explained." I didn't think it was so bad. The rest of the article was kind of crummy though. Science journalism sucks.

<comment><USER25> That's a very generous interpretation.</comment></comment></comment>


Tell HN - Browsing HN new stories page is impossible  - <AUTHOR>

Have you checked out the new stories page (http://news.ycombinator.com/newest) lately? More than 50% of the stories are spammy. On the second page (new stories section), the percentage of spammy stories is even higher.
Check out these posts -
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3995191
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3995250
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3995154
I guess most of them are submitted by bots.
Can we do something about it? How about setting minimum karma requirements for posting new stories a la Stackoverflow? New users can take part in meaningful discussions and earn karma to get eligible for submitting stories. <comment><USER2> It's been like that for ages - flag them and move on.</comment>


Show HN: My 10yo's First Text Adventure  - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/shawndumas/adventure.lua/blob/master/theTenthFreighter.lua

<comment><USER2> Cool! If he turns out to be more interested in the story than coding from scratch, you might want to have a look at Inform7: <http://www.inform- fiction.org/I7/Welcome.html> It lets you save the generated game in several different formats, all of which have free players for multiple platforms.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you very much.

It's installed on his computer already. But he's not allowed to use it until he finishes making another adventure for his client (8yo sister).

The purpose was to motivate him to learn Sublime-Text, bash, git, project management, and Lua.

The pay off is his own iPad...

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Mom did spelling and grammar, dad (me) did the adventure engine and helped with coding (via sublime text snippets).

It's his story, puzzles, and he did the vast majority of the coding.</comment>


The State of Mexican Venture Capital - <AUTHOR> http://www.dennisvanderheijden.com/the-state-of-mexican-venture-capital/

<comment><USER2> As you have well mentioned, Mexico's entrepreneurship and startup investment scene is in its infancy. A notable barrier between this current state and a more mature ecosystem where capital is flowing in and out of innovative new companies is that we have yet to see big exits "coming out of Mexican soil", as you mentioned to Dave McClure in the comment section. It is something I believe we need to really work hard on, and not as individuals but as a Mexican community. Those of us involved in this line of work know how critical it is to much of our collective success for a Mexican startup to beef up, grow, expand and then be either acquired or go public in the near future. Which is also why I get frustrated when non-constructive criticism, rivalries, egos or lack of collaboration hinder us from getting closer to achieving this critical milestone. Investors are not stupid; they have money for a reason. They are also market-oriented people who are interested to a lesser or greater extent in making a profit. Give them a big profit resulting from a Mexico company, and capital will flood our scene and become abundantly available. Then again, it is a task we should ALL, as individual parts of this growing Mexican community, take to our hearts and one worthy of our serious commitment.</comment>


I spent a week in a Beijing startup, here's what I learned - <AUTHOR> https://www.techinasia.com/talk/insight-beijing-startup-scene-week-grabtalk <comment><USER2> _" Qian Haiyang explains that there are two reasons. One: they wanted to recreate some of that Bay Area magic for workplace energy and sense of collaboration. Two: the restaurants around the office serve an oily mess."_

The pg description of ideal startup location matches this somewhat. [0] Read the responses.

[0] [https://twitter.com/paulg/status/740354211410497536](https://twitter.com/paulg/status/740354211410497536)</comment>


France orders Google to scrub search globally in right to be forgotten requests - <AUTHOR> https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/06/15/france-orders-google-to-scrub-search-globally-in-right-to-be-forgotten-requests/

<comment><USER2> Gross.</comment>


Beyond Bing:  Applying Intentional Programming to Web Search - <AUTHOR>

What would happen if we apply intentional programming to web search?
Intentional programming is demonstrated in these videos:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tSnnfUj1XCQ
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZZDwB4-DPXE
Also see:
http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~gpollice/cs509-s04/Readings/simonyi95death.pdf
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/simonyi96intentional.html
For web search the idea would be to open up your search engine so that anyone can submit code for domain specific query entry, search, ranking, and presentation of results. Moreover, such code submissions would compete with each other, with more effective ones rising in popularity in their respective domains.
Unlike APIs that are currently available, the submissions made by users here would make up the core feature set of the service. <comment><USER2> First thing that'll happen is that shady SEO ppl would find ways to mess with it.

Followed by the devs locking it down, itunes-app-store-application-style, and everyone will gripe. And then go back to using Google.

<comment><AUTHOR> SEO people can mess with anything if reasonable precautions are not taken. Why is it a priori obvious that the situation here is unworkable?</comment></comment>


How much change is in a vending machine?  - <AUTHOR> http://www.pagetable.com/?p=353 <comment><USER2> I'm a big fan of estimation:

If you've ever seen the guys refilling the machine, you know it's got a slot for every drink button. There are about eight buttons on the average machine, and I'm guessing that each row holds about a case of soda -- 24 units (cans or bottles).

So, that's 192 refreshing beverages per machine.

Now, they don't just wait until everything is empty to refill, and not every customer is going to pay with two $1 bills. So, let's make a couple of assumptions:

1\. They refill the machine when it's about half-empty, so you only need change for about half of what the machine holds.

2\. If you put in $2, you get back $0.75 in change (if the soda is $1.25), but we don't need to do that every time.

3\. Given the usage patterns that I've observed, I'm figuring that we only need to provide change for about every third bottle, so we need about a quarter for every drink unit that we sell.

Put those together, and you get $24 in change.

<comment><USER3> This assumes that the change dispenser is emptied at the same time that the machine is refilled. This is a reasonable assumption, but not a self-evidently correct one.

<comment><USER4> I know in the grocery store (in the US) where I worked in high school, this was incorrect. The store was responsible for sticking the change, the armored truck was responsible for collecting the receipts, and the vendor was responsible for stocking the product. Granted, this is the most complex case and relies on the abnormal relationship that vendors have with supermarkets, but I would suspect that it represents a nontrivial percentage of machines.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> In most vending machines, inserting a coin and then hitting the change return button will return a different coin than the one that was inserted. Do this a large number of times and you will likely see all the coins. (Also useful for collecting the state quarters.)

</comment><comment><USER6> When I was a high school student, a friend found a brute force attack that worked on the machine in our campus (ie. kicking it right below where the coins go).

I can say he reached a similar result.

</comment><comment><USER7> I'm not interested in this question per se, however I am interested in vending machine design. It is only recently that some vending machines are able to take my money AND dispense my purchase (soda pop) fairly near waist level (3-4ft from the ground). However, the change dispenser of this machine is still less that 12" from the ground meaning serious bending over or kneeling to obtain the change. Why cannot change be dispensed at the same height as money in and product out - especially if there is a separate dispenser for it?

<comment><USER4> The design for the change dispenser is predicated on the same design principle as the soda dispenser: maximize the storage for items to be dispensed and utilize gravity to do the dispensing. If you move the slot up, you either change the dispensing mechanism or you reduce the quantity stored.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Vending machines in Ireland(my home country) don't have a change button, they have a return coin button(no notes usually). And once you have bought something, if there is no change in the machine it won't give you any back.

Some vending machines have small lcd's that say no change when out, most don't. And a can that should have cost Euro0.80 has now cost Euro1 or if your unlucky then Euro2(if you used the two Euro coin).

</comment><comment><USER9> Lets find out by tipping it over!

<comment><USER10> I don't know why this was modded down--it's a valid solution in the finest tradition of the Gordian Knot: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_Knot>

<comment><USER9> Sorry, I don't know what you mean. I just left my comment, which was just a joke about tipping over the vending machine, a common practice when you want to find out whats in it. Sorry for any confusion.

<comment><USER10> Wikipedia is down, so I'll tell the story as far as I remember it:

There was an infamous knot called the Gordian Knot. It was an actual knot, very difficult to untie. There was some prophecy or other that the person who was able to solve the Gordian Knot (by presenting the two separated ends of the knot) would rule all of Asia or something. Anyway, Alexander the Great faced the knot, carefully considered the problem for a minute or two, drew his sword, and cut it in half.

So a Gordian Knot is something that seems to be a complex intellectual puzzle you can spend a lot of time and effort meticulously working at, or you can just "cheat" and get the same result out of it, and it doesn't really matter in the end. There's a similar joke about a mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer finding the height of a building--the mathematician measures the building's shadow and the angle of the sun and derives the answer with trigonometry, the physicist drops a stopwatch off the roof and derives the height from the time on the stopwatch when it hits the ground and breaks, and the engineer steps inside and asks the superintendent how tall the building is.

<comment><USER11> "Wikipedia is down, so I'll tell the story as far as I remember it..."

Your introduction warmed my heart. An air-conditioning plant fails in Florida and the art of storytelling from memory is rekindled.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Why not just wait until the guy who changes the food comes in and ask him?

<comment><USER13> You could offer a barometer in exchange.

<comment><USER14> this references the "barometer problem" legend:

<http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/barometer.asp></comment></comment></comment>


Goose - Article Extractor now open source, same as Flipboard/Instapaper - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jiminoc/goose/wiki It's goal is to take a webpage, perform calculations and extract the main text of the article as well as make recommendations on what image might be the most relevant image on the page <comment><USER2> Excellent work!

</comment><comment><USER3> super super useful</comment>


StyleUp (YC W13): Daily Personalized Outfits Tailored To Your Style and Location - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/18/yc-backed-styleup-recommends-daily-personalized-outfits-tailored-to-your-style-and-location/ <comment><USER2> Like a lot of women I buy a ton of clothes/shoes/accessories. So far I've tried quite a few style recommendation sites and haven't purchased a thing from any of them... and yet, I've made a lot of online clothing purchases in the past year.

Here's my feedback for StyleUp: \- I just signed up but have to wait to get my first email til tonight. That's not very satisfying - I'm already bored. Give me something to look at immediately! (Now I see if I click a bunch of times I can start rating... why did you bury that?!) \- I want to see what styles look like on people who LOOK LIKE ME. I happen to be petite and busty - I want to know if that shirt or dress that's so cute on the 5'10" model with no boobs would look remotely good on me. Since you're clearly curating the styles and taking the photos, I'd suggest having a few models per outfit. You know what would be even better? If I could select the model and every day get outfits from the girl who best matches my body type. Do that and then you'll have a real shot of getting my credit card.

</comment><comment><USER3> This is a pretty good idea and one that if done correctly should have decent revenue potential. Hopefully they'll make it available for men sooner rather than later.

<comment><USER4> I would pay for the fashion advice alone.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> My absolute first question: will you ship overseas? Every fashion startup I want to try seemingly refuses to ship to my country, even at cost to me.

</comment><comment><USER6> Your fashion demand function has now been outsourced.

</comment><comment><USER7> Well, now we have proof there is an incubator bubble.

<comment><USER8> I actually disagree in this case, I think so far many startups have done a pretty poor job at engaging women. I feel like this could have more legs than you give it credit for.</comment></comment>


The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work - <AUTHOR> http://www.zacharyburt.com/2010/06/the-pleasures-and-sorrows-of-work/ <comment><USER2> This book is great - it is also a "photo journal" of all the people/industries that it focuses upon. I think the author definitely hit the mark with what he wanted to accomplish which was an adult version of the richard scary "what do people do all day" kids book. I wish he had followed both a "I hate my life" corporate software developer and a work from home start up developer.</comment>


Why Less Is More with a 4 Day Work Week - <AUTHOR> https://blog.30hourjobs.com/why-less-is-more-with-30-hour-workweeks/ <comment><USER2> If you see work as a finite chore to be done in order to feed the economic meter, working less in a well defined role may be preferred. If you see it as an infinite game to master the outcome of your own life, doing more can be beneficial.</comment>