Juul Co-Founder James Monsees Is Stepping Down - <AUTHOR> https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/juul-james-monsees-resigns <comment><USER2> Kate Conger pointed out on Twitter that today's a really good day to dump your corporate bad news.

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't like e-cigarettes one way or another but I have to say, I admire the decision to step down from any CEO. Too many of them hang on to the product for a long time even when they're already billionaires (or at least in the higher echelons of multimillionaires.) I'd much rather see the more successful people exercise mobility and try their hand at new projects. If you have the skills and knowledge to make a revolutionary product, why stop at one?

<comment><USER4> Bezos has been CEO for 25 years. Did he stop at one product?

<comment><USER3> Well, if you remain a CEO at the same company but keep making new products, that's good. I'm talking more about CEO's like Zuckerberg, who've been sitting on their throne for years without any fresh input into the creative field. Much as I dislike the guy, surely he has some ideas to try.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> But how much will his exit package be?

</comment><comment><USER6> Unethical and dangerous company. Hopefully the entire industry goes down.

</comment><comment><USER7> Even if I ignore all the different kinds of high school outreach they did, it's obvious that they designed it to look like a USB stick quite intentionally. Fuck this guy.

<comment><USER8> first of all, what is wrong with intentionally making it look like a USB stick? second, is it possible that a flat rectangular box just happens to be the ideal form factor for a small electronic device meant to go in someone's pocket? of all the nefarious intentions attributed to juul, this seems like an odd one.

<comment><USER9> It's to make it easier for teenagers to sneak into schools. This product was designed from the ground up with the goal of getting teens to use it.

<comment><USER10> That's a tenuous link to make. Vaping has contributed to harm reduction for a lot of people trying to get of cigarettes and they should be applauded for that.

<comment><USER11> You know full well that isn't all of it.

People don't choose mango flavour to stop smoking.

<comment><USER12> > People don't choose mango flavour to stop smoking.

Of course they do!

Fruit flavors help reduce the palatability of tobacco. I specifically chose them for that reason, and now my once cherished tobacco tastes disgusting, as intended. That one cheat cigarette while drinking is no longer desirable.

While I share the sentiment of the others responding to you, I won't echo it out of civility, but they're correct. People like you have just made it exponentially harder for people who want to quit, while doing nothing to keep vapes out of the hands of teens who want them.

<comment><USER13> In particular, Juul's tobacco carts tasted horrible. Same with their menthol.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Sort of off topic, but aside from addictive potential there is very little in the way of evidence that vaping is harmful. And it's been around for some 15 years now - probably long enough to show some degree of long term harm.

Similarly, nicotine is guilty by association, I've been unable to find any literature pointing harm from consumption.

Now here's some speculation to take with a grain of salt - nicotine may offer a protective effect against 2019-ncov. We've known for a while that nicotine downregulates ACE2 receptors, and someone did an unofficial, but comprehensive meta review for SARS, MERS, and 2019-ncov and found that former and current smokers were significantly underrepresented among infected cases. Yes, it's a Reddit post, but the sources are all there and you can review and judge them for yourself.[1]

1\. [https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/faluhv/an_exhausti...](https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/faluhv/an_exhaustive_lit_search_shows_that_only_585_sars/)

<comment><USER15> On the contrary, nicotine in and of itself is quite harmful. It's debatable if it causes cancer, but it definitely contributes to lung and heart disease, among other things. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/)

<comment><USER16> Was just about to post this. Nicotine vapor seems to be better than smoking, assuming legit products, but nicotine is still poison. Consume a little too much nicotine, whether smoking or vaping; that sickish feeling can be the onset of nicotine poisoning.

I've seen so many people stating basically the same as OP, claiming no data on vaping being harmful while completely ignoring the core substance that produces the addiction in the first place.

I smoked a pack per day+ for 27 years, quit a few months back, still using low nicotine vape products when overstressed and struggling with urges. I'm not a vape hater, but I'm not ignorant to it being poison. It's always a good idea to have as much knowledge about your vices as possible.

<comment><USER17> I am a cigar guy and have been for year. I also know what it's like when someone who doesn't smoke tries a strong cigar for the first time. I was once at my favorite cigar bar on Canal Street, talking with the owners as I usually did, when I saw some large men walk into the humidor. They were all WWE wrestlers.

The owner asked me to go help em out, so I walked in with them and they asked me what was the strongest cigar they had. I paused and then asked them about their experience level with cigar smoking. All of them rarely ever smoked and for some it was a first time thing. One of the guys had recently "won" the world title and they wanted to celebrate his good fortune.

I had to tell them that I wouldn't recommend the strongest to them, that's crazy if you haven't built a tolerance, and that if they felt nauseous, to stop smoking and eat something sweet. I instead pointed out a medium bodied, medium strength cigar and sent them on their way.

About an hour later two of them were sitting at the bar eating butter mints out of a dish with their heads in their hands.

Nicotine will mess you up.

<comment><USER18> Even a "weak" cigar will mess you up if you don't smoke. If you don't have nicotine tolerance, smoking a cigar is akin to getting drunk. Stumbling around and slurring words.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Good timing. Given Juul's popularity and their product's likely effect of weakening the lungs, I'm sure the lawsuits after COVID19 dust settles will be for the history books.

<comment><USER20> Benzoic acid (as sodium benzoate) is a preservative, so for all we know, Juul juice is protective against lung infections.

To be clear, I don't believe this. Just thought one data-deficient argument deserved another.</comment></comment>


Trump Suspends H-1B and Other Visas - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/trump-h1b-work-visas.html <comment><USER2> I think H1B visas should be obliterated. One of the justifications is that they bring in international talent to fill in "shortages" in America. However, according this article by the Harvard Business Review: [https://hbr.org/2017/05/the-h-1b-visa-debate- explained](https://hbr.org/2017/05/the-h-1b-visa-debate-explained)

\- There is mixed evidence that there are actually shortages in STEM

\- People are graduating from STEM fields at a rather high rate than in the past, but only half of them end up utilizing their degree; in sectors such as IT, one reason being why graduates aren't entering the field is due to a lack of job openings

\- Despite all the clamor about "shortages," some STEM fields pay embarrassingly low, and in fact pay STEM workers less than they have in the past

\- There is no requirement that entities show proof of workforce shortage before hiring workers on H-1B visas

\- Some workplaces have already had American workers train in their H1-B visa replacements and then were out of a job

Not in the article, but some of my own experiences having been in the STEM field

\- Many internationals seeking to get hired in the US STEM force don't actually have the "everyday technology" that the US uses, such as in molecular biology labs; this means quite a lot goes into training H1-B visa holders. Couple that with poor English-speaking skills. I found myself having to explain to an H1-B visa holder what a "pen" was, or a "shelf." Granted, some H1-B visa holders underwent formal education in the US, obtaining PhDs and whatnot, so you'd imagine their English would be better, however...

\- Many countries look down on the US. I have worked for many foreign employers in STEM, and have been insulted just for being an American, and their views of America are largely stereotyped (Americans love guns, they eat hamburgers and pizza and are fat, etc.)

\- It changes the workplace culture; I've worked in a variety of STEM environments that had a lot of internationals, and more than once I was out- grouped for being an American. I have had opportunities closed off to me simply because my group's sense of belonging was rooted in being "non- American." This was detrimental to my aspirations in entering the STEM field as an American.

I don't believe there is a shortage in STEM, and that corporations are touting an unproved "shortage" to cut costs to the detriment of Americans. The fact that it's hard to even get a well-paying job in STEM, especially tenure positions in STEM, and that once you do land a STEM position you can face discrimination for being an American in AMERICA, H1B visas should be obsolete.

Get rid of the internationals. Focus on your American workforce and create incentives to enter STEM. Create a better system for learning math, and inspiring aspirations in science Create environments that will nurture American students instead of block their opportunities. Give Americans a chance to contribute to their economy instead of shoveling money down the pockets of people who don't even like America or Americans and would go back home if they could.

This one stance supported by Trump is compelling me to vote for him in the next election, unless Biden can do better...

<comment><USER3> _> instead of shoveling money down the pockets of people who don't even like America or Americans and would go back home if they could._

 __looks at account age __

<comment><USER4> These prose generators are almost human by now. Is somebody using GANs to make them?</comment></comment></comment>


Trump to start process of sending Americans back to moon: White House - <AUTHOR> https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-space/trump-to-start-process-of-sending-americans-back-to-moon-white-house-idUSKBN1E51QP <comment><USER2> That process has been started and restarted by every President since the Apollo program. Nothing ever came of those processes, and it's hard to see how Congress would ever allocate enough funding to make this one fly.

<comment><USER3> I suspect politically it's DOA. Healthcare is on people's minds more than going to the moon, which has had no strategic use since the 60's, and that was more or less a propaganda war with the soviet union.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> It'll be interesting to see how this plays out; as we've seen before, there's often a long path from the president providing a directive like this and actually getting traction and accomplishing the mission.

Still, this is exciting news for space exploration. I've always wondered why everyone is so eager to jump directly to Mars and the asteroid belt when we've still done relatively little on the moon.

<comment><USER2> There's nothing of commercial value on the Moon (Helium-3 mining is entirely speculative) and the low gravity would probably make it unfit for human colonization even if the radiation and life support problems could be solved. So the only point of doing more manned missions to the Moon would be just to gain experience before going other places. (Geology research and other basic science could be accomplished far more cheaply with unmanned probes now.)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> If the only good thing to come out of a Trump presidency is that we actually go back to the moon, it would all have been worth it.

<comment><USER6> Unless you're taking Trump on a one way trip to the moon, no it fucking won't.

<comment><USER7> Thank you for this, I laughed so hard.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> and anti-trumpers around the country collectively sighed

"....cool"

<comment><USER9> It'd be cool if NASA would be allowed to plan anything long-term. I've watched every President of my lifetime nix the space exploration program of his predecessor in favor of a new one.

Maybe we need lifetime appointments for NASA administrators like we do for the Supreme Court, because right now it's impossible to do anything that takes more than a decade.

<comment><USER3> It would be cool if the US Congress can just pass a budget for a year or two years and not just continuing resolutions.</comment></comment></comment>


An FBI backdoor in OpenBSD? Further response from Gregory Perry - <AUTHOR> http://blogs.csoonline.com/1296/an_fbi_backdoor_in_openbsd

<comment><USER2> This guy is nuts. Anything approaching the level of backdoors is covered by layers of clearances, compartmentalization, and is almost always performed by government employees, not contractors. There is 0% chance something that important is covered by a stupid NDA. Especially not with the FBI.

<comment><USER3> I agree it probably isn't true. But I've seen this argument quite a few times about how there is not a chance something this important is covered by an NDA.

People make mistakes. I think this argument has nothing to do with the relevance of his claims. It could be covered by an NDA. Maybe he doesn't understand that it is covered by more. Either way. I just don't see this as an important point.

<comment><USER2> It _is_ an important point - especially if you've ever worked in the government contracting industry.

<comment><USER4> Care to elaborate? I never did...

<comment><USER5> Intelligence operations, such as this, don't use NDAs when performing contract work (at least not in any project I've ever seen). There's no reason for NDAs - they have a robust, developed clearance infrastructure that assures a much stronger legal commitment than any flimsy NDA can ever offer. As such, work like this is ALWAYS covered under classified rules.

Second, when you go through the clearance process, the consequences and nature of the legal ramifications are burned into you by the documentation and people you have to deal with.

Hence the suspicion that the original claim is bogus. Either that, or the guy who made the claim will most likely be brought up on some very serious charges.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> >>The person I reported to at EOSUA was Zal Azmi, who was later appointed to Chief Information Officer of the FBI by George W. Bush, and who was chosen to lead portions of the EOUSA VPN project based upon his previous experience with the Marines (prior to that, Zal was a mujadeen for Usama bin Laden in their fight against the Soviets...

That's just odd.

</comment><comment><USER7> His response reads like "How many important-sounding names and terms can I drop in this email?" Frothing-at-the-mouth levels of Proper Captialization and Acronym Usage.

</comment><comment><USER8> I find it suspicious that he mentions the use of scanning tunneling microscopy for analysis of circuit topologies. STM, as far as I know, is useful at the atomic level and would be complete overkill for analyzing ICs today, let alone ten years ago.

I'm not sure what to think, simple slip of the tongue or a sign he's making it all up as he goes along?

<comment><USER9> Scanning electron microscopy is necessary for analyzing wafers (we have one in the clean room at our university), but I'm not sure that the tunneling features are necessary. From what I understand, you can usually see deep enough with the SEM to see the bottom of the wafer. He does mention the use of SEM and STM as separate topics, though, so I'm not sure that it was a slip of the tongue.

Take a look at this very accessible article on Sparkfun.com for some more information on analysis of circuit topologies. They're analyzing 4-year-old circuits.

<http://www.sparkfun.com/news/384>

<comment><USER8> Yes, SEM is usefeul for analyzing circuits, but STM (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanning_tunneling_microscope>) is a completely different technique, which works at a scale about two orders of magnitude smaller.

In a nutshell, SEM scans the sample with an electron beam and senses the reflected electrons to produce an image, while in STM, a metal probe is scanned across the surface at a very close distance, and variations in the tunneling current between the probe and the sample produce a topological map of the sample (because tunneling current depends strongly on distance).

I don't see how you could use the same machine for both techniques, nor why you would need an STM in a semiconductor fab.</comment></comment></comment>


Plover: Thought to Text at 240 WPM (2013) [video] - <AUTHOR> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g <comment><USER2> Hot off the press: Please view my latest steno coding video, where I transcribe a somewhat longer snippet of Python from the Plover codebase!

[http://youtu.be/jRFKZGWrmrM](http://youtu.be/jRFKZGWrmrM)

I'm still just a Python novice, so obviously I didn't write this code originally; I'm just transcribing it from a text file into Vim to demonstrate how easily and fluently code can be written with steno. It's not primarily about speed, but about chunking commands and words into single strokes, as opposed to breaking them down into individual letters and typing each letter out one by one as in qwerty. Also notice how simple error correction is; an incorrect word is deleted with a single stroke.

For more information, visit: [http://openstenoproject.org](http://openstenoproject.org)

<comment><USER3> I'm not trying to be negative in any way, because this is awesome. I really believe there are so many ways to interact with machines that we haven't figured out yet.

But ... can't you achieve this level of efficiency, maybe even better with a combination of auto completion and snippets?

With python and vim, I use jedi-vim[0] and neosnippet[1] for textmate compatible snippet completion.

0 : [https://github.com/davidhalter/jedi- vim](https://github.com/davidhalter/jedi-vim) 1 : [https://github.com/Shougo/neosnippet.vim](https://github.com/Shougo/neosnippet.vim)

<comment><USER2> It would be cool to see a video demonstrating this using the same snippet of code! If you decide to make one, let me know, and I'll link it on the Plover blog.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Most people have no business using a pneumatic nail gun. No business at all. You won't hang pictures any faster, and your doghouse will probably look the same. Technically, everything done with a nail gun _could_ be done with a hammer.

But if you didn't know what a nail gun was, never imagined the thing, could you _imagine_ framing a 2-story house by hand? A large house might need teams of arms & hammers. Dozens. You wouldn't even see construction as the same kind of thing: more of a coordinated work of labor, like aisles of rowers on a trireme.

If I can type so fast I can think out loud _into the machine_ , the flow changes. It's likewise hard to argue how a REPL changes much anything, since saving & recompiling is fast, but I think flow is rather important.

<comment><USER5> Great analogy, but i'm not sure it's accurate. Any kind of abstraction (functions, interfaces, objects, macros, DSLs, frameworks) could be considered a pneumatic nail gun.

Software development is built on layers of abstraction that directly allow one human to frame a 2-story house, while typing very little. The amount of actual machine code generated by a simple CRUD application can be massive. Optimizing the raw typing is only useful when you have no control over the deeper abstractions (like if you are stuck with C++).

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Amazing that Mirabai is able to think in terms of semantic words, most of which can be entered in a single keystroke. If you're a programmer and you don't want to watch the whole video, at least jump to 32:50 and to hear what Mirabai's brain is thinking while coding. Very intriguing.

</comment><comment><USER7> As someone who has always been fascinated with alternative typing systems and shorthand, I took a look at Plover and Steno a couple of months ago. I bought myself an NKRO Keyboard - haven't turned it into a permanent STENO keyboard yet although I think that's the next step I should take if I want to be serious.

It seems difficult, but after about a week, you can write a lot of things without having to look them up in the STENO dictionary. The syllabic way of spelling words is systematic enough that you can derive most words, and there are multiple ways to spell something so most of your guesses are right.

Unfortunately, I think it will take (as said in the video) 3-6 months before I can go at a normal pace, and words not in STENO are not so easy to deal with. For any word not in the STENO dictionary, you either spell them out or generate a new set of chords for that word. So the system grows on you as you use it more and becomes more optimized and comfortable the longer you use it; it just takes a long time for you to become comfortable.

Steno keyboards also don't have arrow keys or modifier keys so you have to chord them out or remap all your shortcuts to things that make steno sense to you - that's even more of a learning curve.

I still really want to learn it; it is something that I think pays dividends after around 5 years or so. I would love to use it for stream of consciousness writing or note taking/transcription. Not sure about programming since there are so many tools (autocompletion, you can just write your own macros if you really want to save keystrokes) to help speed you up.

<comment><USER8> My impression from reading about steno is that a lot of the complexity in steno systems comes from disambiguating similar-sounding words. Have you found this to be the case?

If so I'm thinking predictive techniques could help.

<comment><USER7> While predictive techniques can help, you really want something that is accurate 100% of the time so you don't have to keep an eye on your output. I'd rather memorize two different chords to get 100% correctness on the I or eye problem rather than 99% correctness on it with a predictive engine - the fact that you have to keep track of what you're typing to catch its mistakes really makes predictive techniques not so good for speed.

<comment><USER8> That may depend on what you're using it for. But how often do you have to memorize different chords like that?

<comment><USER9> I mean, you have to memorize different spellings when typing normally. In Steno, I find that most homophone differentiators are given by spelling:

BAIR --> Bare (phonetic)

BAER --> Bear (spelling)

You do have a point, though, that predictive software could help. I just don't don't know how I'd feel when it gets it wrong.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Love her passion and eloquence.

If Plover can effectively make Steno keyboards understandable by our OS of choice... Should we start teaching our kids this thing _before_ they ever get hooked into qwerty?

<comment><USER11> The qwerty keyboard isn't going anywhere because of its prime advantage. It can be used when first encountered (albeit slowly) by someone who has never used one before.

That said, I wish for a time machine so I could go back and give a Plover to 8yo me so that I could internalize it like only a child can. Then I could pull it out, jam it into a USB port and type like a Jedi to the amazement of all in the present day while spouting platitudes about an elegant keyboard from a more civilized age...

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Very nice! She is a very good speaker. I want to add two things:

1\. A gentleman at the end says he's learning Colemak and that he's forgotten QWERTY as a cost. I type Dvorak every day, and I have to refute that claim! Sure, Colemak is a lot closer to QWERTY but I have a hard time believing he actually _forgot_ QWERTY. So don't worry about that, I encourage you to try a different layout (and recommend Dvorak for its prevalence in the wild.)

2\. There is a second gentleman asking if this could be done for iPhone. Such efforts are underway, I know there is some project at KTH doing this. It doesn't really work all too well but it is a nice concept. Perhaps if you could also properly see the screen while typing...

<comment><USER13> For anyone who has taken the time to learn Dvorak: From the point you began to learn it, how long did it take to become more proficient at Dvorak than QWERTY? How much more proficient do you consider yourself to be at typing as a result?

<comment><USER4> Took about a year to work most of the mistakes out. Lots of typos. An unimaginable amount of typos. I don't consider myself any more proficient. Typing dvorak is a bit different: I type word by word, instead of letter by letter. I still type on qwerty (who doesn't, at work?) but that feels more like stringing together an infinite sequence of letters. Dvorak tends to make words a bit easier to type in single fluid motions. So when I _actually_ start typing fast in dvorak it gets crazy fast pretty quickly. Hence the typos.

It took at least a few years before I could type dvorak with just my right hand, which is tricky _seeing_ the other letters when I'm staring at a qwerty keyboard.

I regret nothing. (:

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> While cool and useful if you have to write a lot quickly, I don't think it is very helpful for programming - typing speed is just not the limiting factor except in some rare cases.

<comment><USER15> My feeling is that the "tax" of typing slows down the flow of new ideas in the same way round-trip latency places an upper limit on bandwidth. By this reasoning I switched to Colemak on a Kinesis keyboard about a year ago and have been happy with my choice despite the initial learning costs. Ergonomics and a stable home row position are worthwhile benefits. I would like to try Steno if it means I can spend less time typing or thinking about typing so I can spend more time building stuff.

<comment><USER14> What does it typically look like? One hour thinking, five minutes typing? Yes, sometimes you have a sudden idea or insight and can't type it out as quickly as you want, but that is not the common case.

<comment><USER16> Yeah, people's strange fetish with programming really fast (e.g. "I use Vi because I can type faster in it, a mouse slows me down!") is completely out of touch with how I program professionally day to day.

For most code that I write there is a modicum of research (e.g. online docs, requirements, etc), some time spent thinking about how it should be laid out, and a whole lot of frameworking (e.g. putting the code into the agreed upon structures or interacting with the structures, which is often an internal research stage also).

The only thing I can imagine trying to write really really fast, is someone reproducing from memory various Computer Science 101 algorithms for funzies (you'd always use standard libraries in prod' anyway). Aside from that programming speed seems the opposite of how programming works.

Yet it is constantly talked out (e.g. "I purchased a $150 mechanical keyboard to type code better," "I use Vi/emacs because a mouse/IDE slows me down," "I code on the terminal because it has less distractions," etc).

<comment><USER8> I thought the same thing until I learned Vim. It's not about typing faster, it's about being able to make changes almost as fast as you think them up, and staying in flow instead of getting bored and frustrated.

<comment><USER16> You just ignored almost everything I said.

Writing raw code makes up a TINY proportion of what I do professionally day to day. Writing long code in a single stretch (e.g. without researching, checking other parts of the codebase) almost never ever happens (because code isn't created in a vacuum).

Also I am well versed on Vi's functionality. I choose to use an IDE.

<comment><USER8> Our experiences are different then. I spend a fair amount of my time actually editing code.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> The speed of steno is mostly due to having a huge number of macros, which chorded keyboards let you have a lot of. You could have a bunch of one-stroke macros for full sentences, for instance. There's no way someone spelling out words one letter at a time is going to be able to keep up with someone who can type a one-stroke macro to type a long word or even a sentence.

But you don't have to use a steno keyboard or a pre-defined steno system to type words phonetically nor to create macros. Both can be done on regular keyboards (or any other kind of keyboard). However, it is nice to get a keyboard that can chord more than 2 or 3 keys which most cheap keyboards are limited to. The more keys a keyboard lets you chord, the more one-stroke macros you can create.

</comment><comment><USER18> Something which was particularly striking to me about this presentation was how the steno input system seems very similar to the Korean alphabet and writing system, Hangul [1], a phonetic writing system in which each syllable is composed of a beginning consonant, a middle vowel, and an ending consonant. Steno seems to have a very, very steep learning curve, but Hangul has been around since the 15th century and is already used by over 50 million people. While the steno 'chords' seem to have as many as 5-6+ keys pressed at the same time, Hangul blocks are typically 2-3 characters. I've been learning Korean for about a month and though I only know a handful of words, I find the writing system easy to learn and use. While it doesn't allow for all combinations of consonants and vowel sounds that exist in western languages like English, with some modifications a hybrid writing/input system could be made which may not be as powerful as steno, but is easier to use and learn like Hangul, allows for all of the consonant and vowel sounds used by most languages, and gets you most of the efficiency gains of stenotype.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul)

<comment><USER19> Yes, one could for example start by forking the ibus-hangul engine and adapt it for english. Am I right that this is a similar aproach as the dutch velotype system has? [http://velotype.com/en/?Functioning_of_the_keyboard](http://velotype.com/en/?Functioning_of_the_keyboard) [http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/split-stenograph-with- num...](http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/split-stenograph-with- numpad-t8432.html)

<comment><USER20> As the author of the forum posts you linked to: yes

Velotype also works on a start-vowels-end system, just with letters instead of sounds.

<comment><USER19> great! i read your keys per stroke statistics overview. does this mean the velotype is a superior system compared to plover as it appears to be just as fast, easier to learn and without dictionary dependency?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> That was really cool. Thanks for the link.

I liked the discussion of unicode/multilingual stuff (brief and inconclusive though it was). Basically it sounded like if a language has a steno solution then this could work for it.

I liked the demos and the going over of the chords that were typed in to make the various outputs.

I liked the accessibility and efficiency side of things.

I really liked the conversational speech engine thing.

At first, I was a bit uncomfortable with how fast she was talking (it was very rapid fire), but she even addressed that (in giving the same presentation previously, she'd run out of time).

I liked the low cost aspect of it.

I thought her idea of a game (RPG or MUD) to learn how to type steno was interesting. I looked at the project website ([http://plover.stenoknight.com/](http://plover.stenoknight.com/)) and didn't see the game yet, so I am guessing nobody has taken up that torch yet.

I am skeptical about the keyboard as a long term input device, but I've been using it for 25+ years now, and it doesn't seem to be going away just yet.

Here's a site with an n-key rollover test, which should tell you if your keyboard will support this sort of stuff natively: [http://www.gigahype.com/nkey-rollover-test- page/](http://www.gigahype.com/nkey-rollover-test-page/)

I noticed that my keyboard supported, in some cases, up to 8 characters are a time -- but if I tried to hold WASD all down at the same time, it failed. So I guess it's not an n-key rollover supporting keyboard. (I vaguely remember reading something about this and how the key switches are laid out in a grid last year.)

I rarely seem to get problems with my fingers from typing, but one culprit is Tetris (which I play for hours every week, not sure why I'm not sick of it after so many years). It does cause some pain for me to play. I don't know if this sort of thing would ever help with that, but I am not sure.

Edit: Forgot to mention, the description of the logo was pretty neat.

<comment><USER22> The game idea reminds me of The Typing of the Dead[1]

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Typing_of_the_Dead](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Typing_of_the_Dead)

<comment><USER2> It was originally inspired by Typestriker, which I used quite a bit to get me through my early days in steno school: [http://www.acid- play.com/download/typestriker](http://www.acid-play.com/download/typestriker)

<comment><USER23> I think Z-Type would work great adapted for Plover. Heck, with Plover installed, it'd be great now!

[http://phoboslab.org/ztype/](http://phoboslab.org/ztype/)

<comment><USER9> ZType doesn't accept input from Plover for some reason. Typing of the Dead works fine though.

<comment><USER23> Odd, it's just a web game. Does Plover not support games?

<comment><USER2> Weird. You're right; it doesn't work. Must have something to do with the layer Plover's using for keyboard output. That's frustrating. I'll bring it up with the developers.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Typing source code with Plover is possible, but so far there have been lots of reports of unexpected whitespace. I think the ultimate test for plover is to beat something like the 23 minutes 28 seconds qwerty record on [http://www.ioccc.org/2013/cable3/cable3.c](http://www.ioccc.org/2013/cable3/cable3.c) with less keystrokes overall. IOCCC can be seen as an absolute worst case scenario for the sorts of code that might be encountered in day-to-day programming. So if a somewhat experienced Plover user can handle IOCCC without a problem, then programmers are in the clear.

[https://groups.google.com/d/msg/ploversteno/KJ2OcDqboCc/5iLn...](https://groups.google.com/d/msg/ploversteno/KJ2OcDqboCc/5iLncrRLrqsJ)

[https://groups.google.com/d/msg/ploversteno/KJ2OcDqboCc/GPWU...](https://groups.google.com/d/msg/ploversteno/KJ2OcDqboCc/GPWUpH9zFQMJ)

Meanwhile I have been working on reverse engineering the proprietary USB protocol for the Elan Cybra steno machine... [http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1400/803d4/products/3527/i...](http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1400/803d4/products/3527/images/3350/cybra1__94816.1410577774.1280.1280.jpg?c=2)

<comment><USER25> I think its great that this might be used to help people with disabilities. It doesn't seem great for programmers. There have been very few times where the bottleneck in my productivity was how fast I can type text. I spend a lot more time thinking.

The keyboard shortcut thing in vim is cool though.

<comment><USER24> > It doesn't seem great for programmers.

Well, what would it take to make it great for programmers? My primary concern at the moment is the excess whitespace it often adds after every keypress. Exact typing is very important to me when I am writing code. Are there other issues you're concerned about?

I think that ultimately everyone spends more time thinking than literally anything else in the world, including qwerty typing, so "I spend more time thinking" doesn't seem like a meaningful observation to make. Even a 1% improvement in typing rate applied globally, across all forms of work that might even trivially involve typing, can save millions of hours per year of labor.

Wait, let's check. Assume 500 million qwerty typists. Assume an average of 10 minutes per day spent typing every day for a year by everyone. So a 1% improvement would be 34,700 years of labor saved over a single year? Pretty cool.

Edit: yeah so it occurs to me that I shouldn't estimate 500 million qwerty users. Hmm. Maybe it would be better to estimate based on "75% of cellphone users worldwide send text messages" multiplied by maybe uh 1.5 billion users. So anyway, at least 1 billion typists (although not qwerty-specifically, cellphone typing is dramatically slower, so is safe to use here).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> With my knuckles getting stiffer, this is a really attractive idea - I just wish there were more obvious ways to get the stick on keys (cannot seem to find the links)

Edit: did not mean to sound so miserable. I think this is a great project and my plan before Xmas is to install it on a raspberry pi, buy or make the stick on keyboard and use the RPi as a pass through keyboard at work - so I am less dependant on each local hard disk

<comment><USER27> For anyone else looking. Plover is at [http://plover.stenoknight.com/](http://plover.stenoknight.com/), which links to the plover store for the keys [http://plover.deco- craft.com/shop/view_product/Laser_Cut_Ste...](http://plover.deco- craft.com/shop/view_product/Laser_Cut_Steno_Keys_Kit?n=2910988). They fit the MS Sidewinder X4 (maybe others), which is available still.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Since there wasn't yet a Wikipedia page, I've started one:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plover_%28software%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plover_%28software%29)

<comment><USER2> Thanks very much! Plover also has its own Wiki: [http://stenoknight.com/wiki/Main_Page](http://stenoknight.com/wiki/Main_Page)

<comment><USER23> I'm sure you steno folk with your impressive WPMs must be pretty good wiki editors :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Does anyone know if the macbook air (13-inch, Mid 2013) supports n-key rollever

I tried this link and it seems like I can press multiple keys at once: [http://www.gigahype.com/nkey-rollover-test- page/](http://www.gigahype.com/nkey-rollover-test-page/)

It looks like I get 6 keys so maybe that is not enough?

<comment><USER29> Did you try the advice on the page? Hold WASD and try every other key. On my 2014 macbook pro, even WASD by itself fails, so I'd be surprised if the Air is any different.

<comment><USER30> My MacBook Air can do 6 keys, but not any 6. They have to be horizontally disbursed. In particular tight triangles are impossible (AWS, WSE, etc.) and cannot be pressed at the same time. A fun site to use to see this for yourself is [http://benzguo.com/bayan/](http://benzguo.com/bayan/) .

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> I suppose this is a good place to ask.

Does anyone have a preferred system of shorthand? I've always wanted to learn shorthand because my thoughts sometimes escape me when I am writing. I haven't taken the step beyond choosing a shorthand system, so if anyone has a preference would you mind sharing?

Thank you.

<comment><USER32> Having tried Gregg and Pittman, I strongly prefer Gregg, in part because of the ease of finding instructional and reading material in the public domain, all the way to a complete transcription of Alice in Wonderland[1]. More importantly, though, is that Gregg is--in the terms used by the marketers of the system in the early 1900s--written and not drawn. It flows left-to-right at least as easily as the Latin alphabet, and can be adapted to suit whatever slant and curvature you typically write with in longhand. There was simply less of a barrier for entry as far as getting the shape down on paper for me.

Be advised, however, that learning shorthand can take a tremendous amount of time--at least to get "up to speed" at it. The system of strokes, hooks, and loops is not in and of itself difficult to master; it's the profusion of brief forms, detached endings, and so on that take a great deal of time to become fluent at. Having used Gregg every day for the past six months, I can say that I write and read with comfort, more or less--but I'm certainly not reading mine or others' shorthand at the speed at which I can read longhand. And I'm definitely not able to take dictation yet (not that I have need to), any more than I could do so typing on a QWERTY keyboard.

(As quick but hopefully instructive examples, the form "AL" can mean "I will," "allow," "ail," or "ale"; an attached "F" at the end of a form can mean "-ful", "-ify", or simply the sound "f"; there is nothing to distinguish the prefixes "es-" and "ex-" except by what follows them; "pend," "pent," "gend," and "gent" all look precisely the same; and so do "nt" and "nd," "det" and "ted," and "mem," "men," "min," "mim", and a handful of others.)

I've tried out Plover, and my experience with Gregg definitely made it more approachable than I think it would have been otherwise. One of the advantages it has over written shorthand, however, is that it is purely a writing, not a written, system. There is no need to learn to read it.

That said, I find shorthand a joy--and it is vastly more portable than a full QWERTY keyboard.

[1] [http://gregg.angelfishy.net/](http://gregg.angelfishy.net/) is a good compendium for English-language Gregg. The "Anniversary Edition" has the most texts. The "Simplified Edition" is a little more manageable in size, but is much more recent and still under copyright in most markets.

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> Great talk! I am excited by the possibility of seeing Mirabai Knight launch a Kickstarter campaign for a steno keyboard for programmers and other users. Given the promise of typing 200 WPM comfortably I think many of us would pay a premium for a new device and training software.

</comment><comment><USER34> I'm wondering about the user specific dictionaries and whether or not adoption would be aided by the communities trying to define sets of standard dictionaries that seem to be particularly efficient and effective at different tasks, like coding in brackets languages, or just general coding dictionaries.

If I tried to use it for something somewhat non standard and had to start defining a lot of my own chords, I'd pretty quickly wonder if I was handicapping myself by making bad choices in defining things. Might be that I'd quickly realize it doesn't matter for whatever reason.

Looks really rad, either way.

<comment><USER35> At work, in Lync (worst IM ever), email, and so forth, I just switched OSs and I'm getting alot of irritation from the spell checker.

The sheer amount of jargon that it thinks are misspellings and tries to fix is staggering. Dozens per day, at minimum.

I'm assuming _all_ of those would require custom definition. I can't seem myself going through the hassle. And even if the job is done collectively, our department has less than 50 people in it (maybe 70 if you include the data center). It's not a big enough community for it to spread thin.

Steno seems like last century's solution to the problem, not this century's.

<comment><USER28> Ya, would be interesting to rethink it. Seems cool, but like the question about using it on your phone. Since steno you need two hands you can't use it on your phone (keyboards on your pockets? lol :) )

<comment><USER2> The Android app is actually pretty decent; you use it Swype-style, but rather than employing Swype's predictive method, it's 100% deterministic, so you know what you're going to get every time.

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brentandjo...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brentandjody.stenoime&hl=en)

<comment><USER36> Neat! Is it proprietary, or could it be put on F-Droid? I don't use the Play Store.

<comment><USER2> It's open source, but you'd have to ask the developer to send you an apk, I think. Or compile your own, I guess: [https://github.com/brentn/StenoIME](https://github.com/brentn/StenoIME)

<comment><USER36> Fantastic, thanks!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> programming at the speed of thought; vim at 240 wpm [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb- dB6g#t=829](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g#t=829)

I wonder any of the Pycon 2013 participants try to learn plover and what their experiences were, perhaps they even read this topic on HN?

I'm already very proficient at dvorak typing (with the regular vim bindings), so I'm not sure if the 30% speed increase would justify taking 3 to 6 months of learning this, it'd be cool for substituting your speech with a text to speech engine, and with openeeg recognition one step closer to cyborghood. It's also nice to just have the skill to transcribe human speech real time and being able to apply for jobs in politics, justice or television. For example, here's an interview with the dutch transcriber in Dutch parliament: [http://www.intermediair.nl/carriere/een-baan- vinden/beroepen...](http://www.intermediair.nl/carriere/een-baan- vinden/beroepen-functies/stenograaf-bij-de-eerste-en-tweede-kamer-2400-euro- bruto)

I wonder if the steno chording could be optimized significantly by rearranging the keys and layout in a similar way as dvorak did with qwerty. Perhaps T9/autoexpand with Linux can be just as fast, but it cannot be used blind, can it? [http://code.google.com/p/autokey/](http://code.google.com/p/autokey/) [https://github.com/shaaniqbal/T9-QWERTY/](https://github.com/shaaniqbal/T9-QWERTY/)

</comment><comment><USER37> How about this versus coding by voice? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SkdfdXWYaI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SkdfdXWYaI)

</comment><comment><USER38> Am I the only one who spends far more time thinking about what I am writing than writing it?

I mean being able to type 240 wpm would be some bragging rights, but how would it be useful?

<comment><USER39> I hear you, for a lot of writing I'm thinking more than typing. but it's useful for transcription, also communication as you usually communicate quite fluently and without too much thought, so I could benefit there.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> I still have not found any information on using it with other languages than English.

<comment> Al-Khwarizmi And for those of us that regularly type in more than one language, it seems like we would need to learn one typing system per language, rather than using a common system (qwerty) for all languages that use the Latin alphabet. This appears to be a big drawback of steno.

</comment></comment><comment><USER41> It occurs to me that blind people who are proficient at writing braille would likely be able to learn steno with relative ease, because they're already used to routinely pressing several keys in one stroke (up to 8 at a time in 8-dot computer braille). Also, braille has several contractions, including dot combinations that don't map to single letters but to common two-letter sequences like 'th' and 'st'. Steno, being syllabic, requires fewer keystrokes per word than braille, but at least proficient braille users would already have the dexterity and some of the concepts.

Edit: On a more software-related topic, the interaction between Plover and a screen reader (assistive technology used by blind people) would be... interesting, particularly if the user is using text-to-speech output rather than a braille display. Plover simulates individual QWERTY keystrokes, and a screen reader often speaks in response to keystrokes. So to take the example of entering "Python", the screen reader would notice the backspaces produced by the second steno keystroke and would try to speak the backspaced characters, interrupting itself all along the way, before speaking the newly constructed word (assuming the user has word echo enabled). The response to the asterisk key would also be suboptimal. I don't know how best to solve that. On Windows, the best solution would probably be an add-on module for the open-source NVDA screen reader ([http://www.nvaccess.org/](http://www.nvaccess.org/)), which is in Python.

Edit 2: I belatedly remembered the correct answer to the above problem for Windows. On Windows, Plover should be using the Text Services Framework as an alternative to simulating keystrokes, where the TSF is available, which includes Microsoft Word and standard edit controls. I guess I should implement that.

</comment><comment><USER42> I never knew something like this was possible, very cool.

One (unrelated) part of the Q&A saddens me, the fallacy that an open source project cannot be commercially successful: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb- dB6g#t=1200](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g#t=1200)

<comment><USER43> I had the same thought. For reference, an initiative to assemble companies who reject that and other similar myths is undergoing at [http://opencompany.org](http://opencompany.org)

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> This is very cool, I've been thinking for a while of learning chorded keyboards, and this stops me having to spend a fortune to do so.

From the title I must admit I was wondering if it was going to be something like NASA's actual thought-to-text project - [http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/mar/HQ_04093_subvocal_s...](http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/mar/HQ_04093_subvocal_speech.html) \- It would be really cool if someone could make an open source version of that in python.

</comment><comment><USER45> The really great idea is the portable low cost steno keyboard, maybe backed by a Raspberry Pi. Just plug it in and you'd get your own customised input system with all your personal configurations and dictionaries and what not.

Also since it's phonetic, I'd imagine it'd work great with Chinese in Pinyin mode.

</comment><comment><USER2> Also, here's a transcript of the PyCon video for people who don't have time to watch it: [http://openstenoproject.org/transcripts/pycon-2013-video- tra...](http://openstenoproject.org/transcripts/pycon-2013-video- transcript.php)

</comment><comment><USER46> Here is a link to the code. Couldn't seem to find it anywhere on the website. [https://github.com/openstenoproject/plover](https://github.com/openstenoproject/plover)

</comment><comment><USER47> This seems interesting. I was going to install a steno keyboard on my phone to try it out, but then I noticed that it might only work with english.

Does anyone know if this project supports other dictionaries/layouts?

</comment><comment><USER48> A really good example of how to give a great talk.

</comment><comment><USER49> I was hoping this was a system that captured your thinking and put it as text in the computer. That's something I want.

<comment><USER44> You want some myoelectric sensors in a collar bolted to some machine learning libraries. The following links might be a good start.

[https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11776](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11776)

[http://pybrain.org/](http://pybrain.org/)

[http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/mar/HQ_04093_subvocal_s...](http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/mar/HQ_04093_subvocal_speech.html)</comment></comment>


VC Deals In Charts (Q1 2008)—Welcome To The Slowdown - <AUTHOR> http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/20/vc-deals-in-charts-q1-2008%e2%80%94welcome-to-the-slowdown/ <comment><USER2> From the link: "If you cut the numbers a different way and look at Internet- specific deals, those declined 7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to $1.310 billion, _but were slightly up year-over-year_ "

I wonder, does this fit with people's anecdotal experience? I haven't been trying to raise capital recently so I have no sense over whether the market is slowing down even though it's something I've been worrying about a little. All the more reason to bootstrap yourself though!

</comment><comment><USER3> This falls back to PG's "Bold VC's" essay -

this is the time for those bold VC's to make their move, are we going to see Ycomb spin off a Risk-ier fund?

<comment><USER4> What YC is doing now seems to be working and highly differentiated in the market. Doesn't seem like there's much reason to change it.</comment></comment>


Doctors in Scotland Are Prescribing Nature to Their Patients - <AUTHOR> https://www.sciencealert.com/doctors-in-scotland-are-literally-prescribing-nature-to-patients-shetland-gps-pilot-benefits-health-mental <comment><USER2> There's probably about 20,000+ titles on this, but if you've got a new twist, by all means ...</comment>


Ask HN: I want to divorce Google for mail. Recommendations on hosting providers? - <AUTHOR>

I'm starting to have second thoughts about leaving all my data with Google. I'm looking for another email provider.
I need something that is "plus addressing" friendly (because I don't want a bunch of accounts)
I also need something that will sync calendars.
I've looked at Rackspace, so far, and while their Exchange service is good, it doesn't support the "plus addressing" feature that would allow for easy organization of mail.
Do you guys have any recommendations / advice? <comment><USER2> <http://fastmail.fm> and <http://pobox.com/> are the services people keep recommending (for IMAP, SMTP, etc.).

Check out this blog post about fastmail.fm: [http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2012/03/from-gmail-to- fast...](http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2012/03/from-gmail-to-fastmail- moving.php)

I'm not sure how well either of the services does address books and most importantly sync'ing it to multiple devices. It could be as simple as LDAP – but then again, that's not trivial but probably still doable. :)

Personally, I also like google docs a lot. Something like Zoho Office wasn't an alternative for myself primarily because I didn't like the UI at all.

</comment><comment><USER3> Why not host yourself? There's little sense in leaving one silo just to go into another one. I have set up Postfix + Dovecot for my e-mail needs and DAViCal for my calendar. Works like a charm!

<comment><USER4> Someone should create (or link to) a turnkey AWS EC2 hosted solution that mimics the gmail/calendar suite. I'd spin up a micro instance in a heart beat. Funded by selling managed registration and dns.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I migrated from fastmail.fm, very happy with it. I don't know what plus addressing is.

I have also used pair.com for my email in the past, they do a very good job of that.

I'm not aware of an email provider, other than google, that also does calendar synch. That's frustrating because it's such a natural fit, even though the two techs are different.

You could consider a shared hosting account on pair.com, and install/run your own calendar.

Edit: I think google must be fastmail's best source of new customers.

<comment><AUTHOR> Plus addressing is as follows: assume your email address is email@example.com.

If you send an email to email@example.com, you'll still get the email in your Inbox, but you can make rules that allow you to send stuff addressed to +something to specific folders. It's great.

I thought it was just a Gmail thing, but it's part of one of the email RFCs.

<comment><USER5> Cool. I just tested that on my fastmail address and it works. email@example.com

Even cooler, I don't use my fastmail address, I use my own domain and point it at fastmail, and that still works. firstname.lastname@example.com

Edit: none of those are real addresses. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> fastmail.fm is fine for mail, but think twice before using them for XMPP. You _will_ be disconnected multiple times per hour once you get going at a fairly good pace. They are aware of it and it has been going on like this for a long time.

</comment><comment><USER7> Addressing is a big issue as people(me) who use Android phones have all their contacts tied to their Google account. I guess upon switching to another email provider I could keep my Gmail account just for my contacts on my phone.

</comment><comment><USER2> A friend of mine just recommended Kerio, or one of the resellers: [https://www.r1sync.com/shop.html?page=shop.browse&catego...](https://www.r1sync.com/shop.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=18)

</comment><comment><USER8> I did a similar thing, and ended up going with Zoho. My main reason was that they offered push email through their Exchange service, meaning push email on my phone. I've been super happy with them so far (about 2 months)

</comment><comment><USER9> I hadn't thought about the "plus addressing", but I'd been considering Hushmail for similar motivations. It does have a catch-all feature, which probably would do the same thing for you.

</comment><comment><USER10> Have you thought of Yahoo mail? It offers plus addresses and calendars, it's actually pretty good. I've used it since the late 90's, Gmail still can't convince me enough to swith.

<comment><USER5> How long is Yahoo going to be in business?

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> I've been using google apps for hosting my personal email and I've been looking to move away from it. I would like some recommendations too.

<comment><AUTHOR> Have you looked at anything else yet?

I'd stick with Rackspace if it weren't for the fact that Exchange doesn't support the plus addressing.

<comment><USER11> I haven't looked into anything yet. It's one of those projects that I'll embark on when I'm relatively free.

Personally, I would need the ability to add email aliases. I use plus addressing rarely.

<comment><USER5> pair.com has _very_ generous limits on how many addresses you can have per account.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Any of you fastmail.fm customers, can you tell me whether or not they support calendar sync/sharing? If so, how well does it work for you?

</comment><comment><USER12> Email From Mediatemple, (mt) mail, which itself is based on Atmail

You could get a Cloud Based version of Atmail from atmailcloud.com/

<comment><USER2> This looks pretty interesting though I had to sign-up to figure out what they offer exactly (for 2 USD/user/month):

* 10GB storage * Webmail * POP3/IMAP * Calendaring * Groupware * Mobile Sync

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Fastmail. Been happy with them for years.

</comment><comment><USER14> Fastmail, Fastmail, Fastmail. I'd happily pay double what they charge.

</comment><comment><USER15> fastmail.fm

I don't know about calendars, though.

</comment><comment><USER16> hostgator. I control my own procmail recipes, and prevent 99% of spam. If one slips through, I edit the recipes and voila.</comment>


Active shooter at YouTube HQ - <AUTHOR> https://twitter.com/lavrusik/status/981259304408788993?s=21 <comment><AUTHOR> [https://twitter.com/danafergan/status/981259647872000000?s=2...](https://twitter.com/danafergan/status/981259647872000000?s=21)</comment>


Catapult: Moving Beyond CPUs in the Cloud - <AUTHOR> http://blogs.technet.com/b/inside_microsoft_research/archive/2014/06/16/catapult-moving-beyond-cpus-in-the-cloud.aspx

<comment><USER2> The technet.com article is better since it at least has links to the paper and conference, but unfortunately, the previous submission from wired.com got all the discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7899220](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7899220)</comment>


Elon Musk teases electric plane design and smokes weed on Joe Rogan podcast - <AUTHOR> https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/7/17830810/elon-musk-smokes-weed-electric-plane-design-joe-rogan-podcast <comment><USER2> He didn't even inhale man, weak.

</comment><comment><USER3> Also worth watching is the JR podcast where misogynist and global heating denying psychologist Jordan Peterson describes his diet that consists exclusively of dead cows (and water and salt): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGikB-54Lwk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGikB-54Lwk)

Great stuff.

<comment><USER4> It's really dismaying that this whole constellation of goofballs passes as some kind of intelligentsia.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Micro Podcasting Made Easy - <AUTHOR> https://ykyz.com/ <comment><USER2> Please don't ask friends or fans to upvote your posts, and especially please not to post booster comments in the threads. This is against HN's rules (see [https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) and [https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html)), and we ban accounts and sites that do it. Also, HN users are really good at detecting this, and then they will flag your posts and complain to us and use unkind words like 'spam'.

</comment><comment><USER3> While some of the comments here may be legitimate, the very similar phrasing used in every other comment (excepting mine) expressing their love of the platform is tripping my spam sensors.

<comment> Addie-Caldwell I recognize some/most of the usernames, so I can assure you they're likely 99.9% real.

<comment><USER4> Seems like a huge influx of new users commenting...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> A few more details: The microcast channel of ykyz lets you record episodes of up to 90 seconds long, and automatically generates an iTunes compatible RSS feed from those episodes. Only episodes posted to the special microcast channel ([https://ykyz.com/c/microcast/](https://ykyz.com/c/microcast/)) are syndicated. Note you need to post a short introductory "Bleat" to c/intros before you can record microcast episodes.

</comment><comment><USER5> I love being part of the YKYZ community! Everyone is so friendly and offer interesting insights on the particular topics they share. The content I usually educate myself on is a really niche market so to be able to be on YKYZ and hear stories on just about anything really opens up my perspective on things! It's also such an easy, fun platform to work with. I would definitely recommend YKYZ to anyone (:

</comment><comment><USER6> I've been on YKYZ for about 3 weeks now and it's been amazing! I love listening to others' microcasts and learning so much in such little time. The people behind YKYZ have also never failed to guide us and support the community.

Definitely recommend those interested in making a microcast to join YKYZ. You don't only get to make friends but you get to talk about the things you love.

</comment><comment><USER7> I have been using this platform for like a week and I really enjoy it. I think it's really nice place to learn about new topics and meet new people. I highly recommend it to everyone :)

</comment><comment><USER8> I'm new to podcasting so i'm enjoying the site and the concept of micro casts. each post is less than 2 minutes long so it doesn't get boring.

</comment><comment><USER9> I use ykyz for my microcast and so far it's been a blast. The folks there have all been cool and helpful, and it's a good platform.

</comment><comment><USER10> I have learned so much at ykyz in the short amount of time I've been involved. Can't wait to contribute more!

</comment><comment><USER11> I enjoy using the ykyz site to share my thoughts. It's a friendly community and easy-to-use platform.

</comment><comment><USER12> It's pretty fun, and I like the interactive aspect as well.

</comment><comment><USER13> This is a great website and I have found it incredibly informative. There is a great supportive community on there and we are all interacting with each other and voicing our opinions. I haven't had a single unpleasant experience on there. It seems people are much more polite in comments when they have to use their voice. There's such a good variety of topics on there from Gamer News to Health and Wellness to Cat Facts and Mystery Stories. The platform is easy and accessible and it is so simple to upload a microcast and start a series. I definitely see it as the future for microcasting.

</comment><comment> Addie-Caldwell YKYZ has given me a new reason to look forward to getting up in the morning. It truly is a unique platform that makes it easy to connect with people on a more personal level, as well as learn something interesting about a topic you might not know about. It's like those days in school where you'd have each student get to teach the class about something they're knowledgeable about. It makes podcasting fun and personal and I have only good things to say about it!

</comment><comment><USER14> I've been on ykyz.com since October, and it really became my go-to site almost immediately. I know that sounds like a Hallmark card, but it's real people really talking... and the chance to have my own micro podcast has helped me use my actual voice to continue my work of helping people.

</comment><comment><USER15> Love the community on this site, very interactive and supportive. I recommend joining and expressing yourself through a micro cast about whatever interests you!

</comment><comment><USER16> Love the community! Super nice people and promotes interactive conversations.YKYZ has given me the motivation to do what I love and go out of my comfort zone.

</comment><comment><USER17> It's a really good site still in development but quickly growing and with a great community of passionate people. I love it <3

</comment><comment><USER18> It is so interactive and everyone is so friendly! I have learned so much and got so much useful advice. def recommend

</comment><comment><USER19> Loving the process so far. Can't wait to see the next stage of progress for this fun platform!

</comment><comment><USER20> Really happy I found the website, it's a great way to communicate and it's really fun.

</comment><comment><USER21> I really enjoy coming up with micro podcasts and recording, very simple and intuitive interface!

</comment><comment><USER22> I Look Forward to Listening to ykyz.com

</comment><comment><USER23> ykyz is such a fun site, too!

</comment><comment><USER24> Great new platform!</comment>


Bitcoin Adoption Right on Schedule - <AUTHOR> http://cs702.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/bitcoin-adoption-right-on-schedule/ <comment><USER2>
        >As financial, economic, and political crises of all kinds continue to erupt
        >all over the planet from time to time, demand for Bitcoin as a currency or
        >store of value of last resort should gradually expand from niche markets to
        >the broader population.

I don't buy that argument. There are all sorts of measures that people take during crises (barter, for example) that they don't continue with when the crisis fades. A true test of Bitcoin would be to determine if Iranians are _still_ using Bitcoin after the current crisis fades and the sanctions have receded somewhat. If they're still using Bitcoin then, you can make the case that Bitcoin is displacing the Iranian real as the currency of choice in Iran. But otherwise, all this proves is that Bitcoin is temporarily more convenient than the current currency system, which isn't a very strong assertion at all.

<comment><AUTHOR> quanticle: If Bitcoin survives the present crisis in Iran, surely it will gain credibility in the minds of Iranians as a medium of exchange and store of value _that can survive crises_. That's undeniable.

Next time there's a crisis, or even risk of crisis, more Iranians will turn to Bitcoin, just as they will turn to gold, silver, and the US dollar. Their thinking will be, "well, if it survived the last crisis, it will probably survive this new crisis too."

As a decentralized virtual asset, Bitcoin not only can survive financial crises, collapsed economies, toppled governments, and military conflicts; it's also SUPERIOR to the alternatives - easier to subdivide, recombine, store, secure, and transport than precious metals and hard currencies. One cannot encrypt an ounce of gold or upload silver to a remote server, let alone hide a dollar inside a jpeg file!

Over the coming years and decades, if Bitcoin successfully survives crisis after crisis, nothing prevents it from eventually gaining as much credibility in the public's mind as, say, gold.

<comment><USER2>
        >Over the coming years and decades, if Bitcoin successfully survives crisis
        >after crisis, nothing prevents it from eventually gaining as much credibility
        >in the public's mind as, say, gold.

You unintentionally prove my point. How much bullion do you have under your figurative mattress right now?

<comment><AUTHOR> quanticle: before I answer your question, I'm glad you're willing to compare gold to Bitcoin, because the world's total supply of gold, ~171,000 tons, is currently worth ~US$9.4 trillion,[1] whereas the total supply of Bitcoin is currently worth only ~US$130 million.[2] If Bitcoin ever gains anywhere near as much credibility as gold, the potential for appreciation is mind-boggling.

As it turns out, I do own a bit of physical gold (as well as some bitcoins), but that's irrelevant, because I'm one of the lucky people in this planet who currently lives in an advanced economy, so I'm not constantly worrying about impending financial, economic, governmental, or societal collapse. I have the luxury of taking it for granted that things will continue to function normally every day.

However, I have lived and/or worked in several so-called 'developing' economies, and have personally experienced hyper-inflation, and can tell you _with certainty_ that when people lose faith in their government-issued currency, they turn to _any alternative_ that can survive the crisis while retaining its value.

\--

[1] [http://www.gold.org/about_gold/story_of_gold/numbers_and_fac...](http://www.gold.org/about_gold/story_of_gold/numbers_and_facts)

[2] <http://www.bitcoincharts.com/bitcoin/>

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> At present, Bitcoin is primarily useful for moving funds between alternate asset types (ie. as a means of settlement) and NOT as a store of value or investment. This has been independently stated by formal financial bodies, plus by the Bitcoin lead developer. People need to understand this.

See also the three primary functions of money at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money>

</comment><comment><USER4> Isn't the Iranian govt planning on cutting the country off from the worldwide internet? Wouldn't that make the use of BTC much more difficult?

<comment><USER5> I would imagine few rogue machines connected somehow to outside internet and sharing blocks on iranian intranet. something like this. But yeah - it would be more dificult to deal with transactions which involve coins "from outside", but it should be fine for coins "from inside"

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I still think the fact that there's hard cap on the eventual total number of bitcoins will make them long run deflationary, create a strong incentive to horde, and eventually act as a restraint on their use in commerce - after all inflation is a prime motivator when it comes to spending what you have now.

<comment><USER7> I disagree. inflation is _a_ motivator for exchanging currency for other assets/services. But i don't think it is a primary motivator. Inflation/deflation is only a strong motivator in abnormal circumstances. With 2-3% inflation my primary motivation for buying things is way more about the transaction itself (do i want this thing) than any concerns about finding a durable store of value.

<comment><USER8> Bitcoin has much higher than 2-3% deflation. It's value is increasing at a very fast rate relative to the increase of the price of goods.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> The original article is very fuzzy and it isn't clear at all whether bitcoins are used in Iran (it's mostly about how bitcoins _could_ be useful).

</comment><comment><USER10> So I have a bunch of bitcoins, and I get to Iran, how do I withdraw some bitcoins to have local currency while abroad? Do I need to transfer to Dwalla first, and then wait for a bank transfer? Does anyone know the best way to convert my BTCs back into gov-backed currency when I need it?

<comment><USER11> You could use localbitcoins.com to find local people to exchange currency with.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Link to original article:

[http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-29/dollar- less-...](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-29/dollar-less- iranians-discover-virtual-currency)

</comment><comment><USER13> Are there any APIs to have people buy products and services with bitcoins? Also, How can I turn them into cash once people have bought services with those bitcoins?

</comment><comment><USER14> Does anyone have any good resources for Bitcoin in business?

</comment><comment><USER15> Supporters of Bitcoin really are their own worst enemy.

You only have to look at the comments to see why most normal people aren't going to touch it with a forty foot pole.

<comment><USER16> Examples? Your comment is basically content free here.

<comment><USER15> Let's start with the most popular: "Bitcoin is to the USD (and all fiat) what Kryptonite is to Superman."

People don't want a massive upheaval of the status quo. They don't want an anarchist, anything goes, regulation free environment. They want government involved in ensuring a level playing field.

<comment><USER17> If you ignore the anarcho-capitalism fanatics, you can see bitcoin has its uses. It is great for international trade without having to use Paypal. And there are no chargebacks.

The big problem with Bitcoin is that it is really slow to verify a transaction so it is not going to replace current solutions in the next decade. But it definitely has a niche.

However the price of bitcoins barely risen by $1 so I doubt Iranians have bought more than $10,000 worth of bitcoins.

<comment><USER18> "really slow to verify a transaction"

10 minutes to get into the block chain + 50 minutes (5 additional rounds) to shift the probabilities of a fraudulent transaction (e.g. double-spending) down near 0.

This may or may not be too slow depending on the transaction.

<comment><USER19> Not too slow for must purchases over the internet, one would think.

<comment><USER17> When you can buy something instantly with paypal on a competitor's site, it is too slow.

<comment><USER18> On the other had, for something like automatic subscription renewals it's fine.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What is company culture and why my company needs one? - <AUTHOR>

I run a small software company - about 7 full time employees. The business is 3 years old but I only started hiring people 8 months ago. Originally I started as a web developer and so does not have really big experience in managing companies, I am more of a product person than manager.
From that perspective, being the CEO I always question what I do and If I do it right. I read and listened to countless articles, interviews (mixergy etc) and many successful CEOs talk about company culture, how it affects hiring etc..
However, I didn't yet grasp a concept of what the culture should be. What I focus on is hiring people that can do job well. What I am missing? It is just a buzzword that everyone uses? <comment><USER2> _CEOs talk about company culture, how it affects hiring etc.._

It's essentially the personality of your business and more importantly, how other people perceive that personality.

Two key ways to find out: Speak to your staff & speak to your customers.

Provide your staff with an anonymous method of providing feedback on what it's like working for your company, what are the best bits, worst bits, etc. Approach some of your customers and ask them essentially the same questions, what was it like working with your company by comparison to others they have worked with before, etc.

 _What I focus on is hiring people that can do job well_

That's a great first step. The best follow-up to that is to ensure you do everything within your power to keep these people working for you. How you do that ultimately defines your companies culture. Listen to your staff.

I visit a lot of different companies in my line of work (IT Recruitment Consultant). I deal with small, niche software houses, global telco's, etc. and the atmosphere between companies varies immensely. Some places you will walk in to the floor where the developers are working and you could hear a pin drop, others can be vibrant, energetic and loud.

There is too many different schools of thought on what a companies culture 'should be'. The fact is, every company is different. If your staff & clients are happy and your company is making a profit then you are doing well. If you have ticked those boxes and you get really good people approaching you looking for work because they have heard good things about you & the company then you are doing great.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! I like that analogy that culture of the company is like a personality and how it is perceived rather than enforced :)

From your experience do most of the companies care about surveys and culture?

My problem is that I never saw how this was done successfuly, as an employee in previous companies, we had some performance surveys etc.. but the reality was that it was just a time-waster for everyone involved. As a business owner now I can't loose focus from the core business with unneccessary distractions. Altought I have a feeling it may bite me in the a.. in the future :)

<comment><USER2> It can be difficult when you're a big corporate and no-one cares about the CEO sitting at the top of the ladder. You are still a small business, surely you speak to your staff on a personal level still? Next time you all get together for a meeting, tell them you will be sending them a form with a few simple questions, emphasise the fact that it's completely anonymous and make sure you point out what you want to accomplish which is essentially a better place for them to work. Everyone likes to believe that their opinion matters so this is your way of proving it to them.

Also, exit interviews are brilliant. When a member of staff quits, gets fired, comes to the end of their contract or whatever, hold a no strings attached exit interview and let them tell you everything they liked and didn't like about working for you and your company.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> I see culture as a hygeine factor, meaning that as long as it meets minimum standards for my ability to get work done, I don't particularly care. Make sure I get paid on time, make sure I have something worthwhile to do and don't screw with my benefits or my ability to have a life outside of work and I'm fine.

I don't particularly care, for example, for places that have free beer on Fridays (I don't drink). Company parties and other events seem like a waste of time that I could spend with my real friends or my family. I enjoy a company that espouses employee autonomy where I can get it (think Southwest's customer service), but that's just because it makes it easier for me to get work done. Basically, I come to work to do something I find interesting and get paid for it. If I meet interesting people while there, that's icing on the cake, but I want to introduce them to my non-work life on my own terms and not in the name of "company culture."

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks. I think your post + the others makes me realize that everyone prefers different things.

what's hard though to figure out what those things are in the hiring process :) I think people often say everything about the interviews, or sometimes they dont realize what they actually want.

<comment><USER3> I agree, it's not an easy problem, and I think you're right that many people don't feel comfortable speaking up in an interview. I've never let my thoughts slip in a job interview the way I did above, because it makes me look like an asshole and that's a great way to not get a job. I am brutally honest in exit interviews,

Whatever culture you decide to push, I think intentionality is the best policy. If you want people to get lots of work done, make that clear and then set things up to reflect that. For example, you might tell people you're looking for results, and as long as they can get results you don't care if they go home early. If you want people to feel "at home" when they're at work, make that clear and think of perks that would minimize the "pain" of being at work instead of taking care of "real-world" problems. If you aren't intentional about culture, though, the message is just going to get lost in the noise of day-to-day operations.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> This talk about organizational culture is interesting : <http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Hacking-Your-Organization>

It's from Lloyd Taylor who was Director of Global Operations at Google during their growth. He explains the model he uses to shape cultures.

</comment><comment><USER5> No early manager's education is complete in my opinion without reading Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman's "First Break All The Rules".

Do yourself a favor, order a bunch of used copies for your staff to read. I've probably bought 200 or more copies of this book new and used and no other single book published in the micro-computing era has shaped my thinking more about running an organization.

I will add that starting from a good base of effective working culture, then working on culture as a theme will yield significant benefit.</comment>


Why Great Companies Get Started in the Downturns - <AUTHOR> http://www.vcconfidential.com/2009/02/why-great-companies-get-started-in-the-downturns.html <comment><USER2> Has this guy considered that it was just coincidence? That the founders were going to start a company anyway and just didn't let the fact that it was a down economy stop them? I mean, really: how many of you are specifically _not_ doing a startup because the economy is bad now?

<comment><USER3> Depends... If my contract runs out and an opportunity doesn't line up, there is a backup startup plan. How many people are writing iPhone apps due to unemployment? How many engineers are willing to take a chance on a startup because there's nothing else out there, or are willing to take lower salaries?

I would be more concerned with these examples being black swans: we notice them precisely because they're rare. I would like to see a fortune 1000 list by date compared to upturn/downturn of the economy to feel more comfortable about the observation.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Also, when the money is abundant, people tend to get some and do silly stuff, since it's so cheap you can afford losing it and starting over again. Which means people that take risks in risky times actually THINK before they raise 10 million dollars to fund a startup. The lenders (aka VCs) also get a lot more lenient (aka dumb) and invest on stuff that is very unlikely to ever succeed, when money is cheap...</comment>


What do you think of this seed pitch deck? - <AUTHOR> https://www.slideshare.net/YousefAbdulhassan/coinmall-seed-pitch-deck <comment><USER2> Low barrier to entry? Then show month on month numbers of people onboarding. Traction is key.</comment>


Automobile-IoT: A perfect marriage of IoT and A.I - chirag-parmar https://medium.com/@chiragparmar12209/automobile-iot-a-perfect-marriage-of-iot-and-a-i-947ffda2a93a <comment><AUTHOR> Great Article! saw the product on kickstarter- looks pretty neat.</comment>


Great, you're good at writing tests, but how about deleting them? - <AUTHOR> http://morganjohnstonsoftware.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/great-youre-good-at-writing-tests-but-how-about-deleting-them/

<comment><USER3> Surely there's a way to make a code coverage tool work in reverse - <USER2> out which tests don't apply to anything in the code?

Maybe someone should make one.</comment>


Facebook Patented Making NSA Data Handoffs Easier - <AUTHOR> http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8,438,181.PN.&OS=PN/8,438,181&RS=PN/8,438,181

<comment><USER2> This really needs to be upvoted and shared. In fact, I find the slashdot article to be particularly relevant:

"'While handing over data in response to a legitimate FISA request is a legal requirement,' the Times noted, 'making it easier for the government to get the information is not, which is why Twitter could decline to do so.'"

[http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/11/13/0358206/facebook- pate...](http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/11/13/0358206/facebook-patented- making-nsa-data-handoffs-easier)</comment>


The Great Mortality - <AUTHOR> http://reallifemag.com/the-great-mortality/ <comment><USER2> Plague basically hasnt existed in developed societies for quite some time. The traditional transmission vectors for plague have basically been cut down to zero. The only one that remains is airborne. All this fear is just dark fantasy.

The only rampant plague I see is plethora extremely poorly written articles with vague socially suicidal liberal elitist positions.

<comment><USER3> Wrong. Plagues still occur unfortunately in the developing world as the Gates Foundation has been gloriously struggling against. And even in the developed world as AIDS and flu epidemics have shown. Even more insidious is that microbes have been suggested in the common scourges of the 21st century such as artheoscelosis, cancer and Alzheimers, though far from proven.

<comment><USER2> If I write "Plague basically hasnt existed in developed societies for quite some time."

and you write "Wrong. Plagues still occur unfortunately in the developing world as the Gates Foundation has been gloriously struggling against."

What is my response suppose to be?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Maybe my attention span let me down here, but did I miss the part where the alleged taste-altering virus was identified? I enjoyed the article, but I was really interested in finding out more about that particular point.

<comment><USER5> Not sure whether it's my attention span or just this article's style of jumping around between subjects - I couldn't get past a third into it.

This may just be my taste but even in long form articles I want the central hypothesis stated right at the beginning. Don't waste my time with your personal annecdotes, except if the annecdote is so interesting that your whole article is about it, at least then I'll know what you're talking about right from the start. Otherwise it's like a film starting with a bunch of backstory instead of an inciting incident.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Diseases and host populations co-evolve. Disease co-opts a human civilisation's own behaviours and vectors of exchange for itself.

Kyle Harper's _The Fate of Rome_ develops this idea in the context of the Roman empire, showing how the co-development of trade, commerce, urbanisation, and medical knowledge (or ignorance), interacted with other factors, including wars, climate change, financial crises, and religion, to provide the conditions for the emergence and spread of disease.

Thinking we are beyond diseases' reach strikes me as extreme hubris.

[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kyle- harper/the-f...](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kyle-harper/the- fate-of-rome/)

</comment><comment><USER7> A little bit of Douglas Adams in there.

We say we need to control global warming to "save the earth". Save it for what? Well us of course.

But nature doesn't think or plan. There's no grand design. It's just as valid to assume our rabid desire for the latest iThing is merely the ant crawling to the top of the blade of grass.

We were just the necessary step to get the earth hotter for the next phase in microbe and insect development.

We are not the finished product, we're just the heater.

</comment><comment><USER8> > _Why can't we or won't we save ourselves?_

Because we only care about the short term. The very short term.

It's a great paradox that many philosophies tell us to only care about the present moment ("seize the day!") when in fact many if not all of our problems come from that exact behavior.

What we want, we want it now, and if a price will have to be paid _in the future_ , whatever the actual amount, we regard it as zero. But we're wrong.

<comment><USER9> Marcus Aurelius had the quote "Confine yourself to the present". He was one of the most respected roman emperors, and a famous stoic. Today living the present is associated with reckless living but for the old philosophies it was about questioning every day "what can I do today to improve myself as a human being?"

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I don't understand the phenomenon of "liberal guilt" described in this article. To me, it sounds anti-humanistic, life-hating, cruel and borderline sociopathic.

I love life, I love human civilization, and all things that technical and civil progress gave to us. I will work to get a better future for myself, my daughter, and everybody else. It saddens me deeply that there are people who want the civilization to end with some epidemic, who basically want people to die. What made them this cruel?

<comment><USER11> I think that's a mischaracterisation of guilt, _especially_ if you think it implies they want other people to die. It's based (as the article says) around survivor's guilt, and the worry that your life exists only because someone else's doesn't. Or is comfortable because of their suffering. Or the vegetarian impulse: at what cost in animal suffering is your life, and does it matter?

(Having this discussion work is going to require a certain minimum amount of empathy and non-assumption of malice)

<comment><USER10> OK, I understand the vegetarians. However, I don't understand how my happiness is supposed to cause other people's suffering (life isn't a zero sum game). Additionally, I presume there is a difference between "I cause other people's suffering, therefore I am unhappy and I don't deserve to exist" and "I hope that some sort of epidemics wipes out humanity; good riddance".

<comment><USER12> consider all the academic literature on how Western powers are built on slavery and exploitation, how evil the European powers were (colonialism) and how if you are a white American or European, you benefit indirectly from that exploitation though your nationality and heritage. It's true in a technical sense, but it's also something you have no control over. Some people feel guilty about the actions of their cultural forebears, and thus a sense of regret that they exist in comfort because of historical atrocities perpetrated on other people. I can understand how that feeling would be pretty pervasive if you spend a lot of time around these topics in art and social science circles.

<comment><USER13> It's worth noting that the exploitation and atrocity aren't only historical and associated with forebears -- it's ongoing and being done by folks in the present day.

Re : control : clearly, we can't influence past circumstance, but we can exert some influence over current activity by choosing what to buy and not buy, i.e., 'voting with our wallets.' All, or nearly all, all activity is driven by economic incentives.

(That said, I still drink coffee)

<comment><USER12> > It's worth noting that the exploitation and atrocity aren't only historical > and associated with forebears -- it's ongoing and being done by folks in the > present day.

Of course, but this "liberal guilt" phenomenon is specifically associated with people who try to act morally in general. Thus the only (or one of the few) thing they have left to feel guilty about is their cultural ancestry.

> (That said, I still drink coffee)

Monster!</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Social Search has Potential - <AUTHOR> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MobileMarketingWatch/~3/dfpooPLYH0E/

<comment><USER2> This makes me think of events like Michael Jackson's unexpected death. Social websites were crashing or having serious performance issues due to the volume of information being posted in such a short period of time. Users were posting what limited information could be shared on the topic. Unfortunately, searching for information on the big search engines (Bing, Google, Yahoo), relevant information was not indexed fast enough to display this breaking news in the top search results.

A day after MJ's death, Google announced they were going to modify their approach.</comment>


Topic Analysis of Marc Andreessen's Tweets - <AUTHOR> http://dhurley14.github.io/blog/2015/01/11/marc-andreessen-lda/ <comment><USER2> Get back to me when the implementation can group the topic words into a decent summary.

The rest of it is pretty bush league.

<comment><AUTHOR> So I did some research and found a way to access article body text without having to use diffbot so that'll be fun. I found a python wrapper for boilerpipe [1] so I plan on redoing this analysis. The amount of data I had to work with was pathetic. This time around I'll utilize jv22222 's suggestion on how to get the hyperlinks out of the tweets too. Thanks all! This was fun :)

[1]: [https://github.com/misja/python- boilerpipe](https://github.com/misja/python-boilerpipe)

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> So the 70% of the article explains the process of getting a list of URLs? Switch to Tweepy, please.

</comment><comment><USER4> Full links are a available as entity references in each tweet in the api.</comment>


Pycon Keynote on Being Average in Programming [video] - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIJdFxYlEKE

<comment><USER2> Isn't part of the problem that words such as average, mediocre and adequate is mostly used to refer to bad things?

My favourite joke from Community is in an episode where they are shooting a commercial for the University and how this gets completely out of hand.

In the end, when the review commite sees the final result one guy says "It's good" and the other chimes in "It's better than good, it's _good enough_ "

This is funny because "Good enough" is usually not considered to be good.</comment>