FizzBuzz golf challenge ... - <AUTHOR> http://golf.shinh.org/p.rb?FizzBuzz

<comment><USER2> Am I missing something or does this totally miss the point about fizzbuzz testing?

<comment><AUTHOR> It depends on what you think the point of FizzBuzz testing is.

We use the FizzBuzz (or equivalent) test to get candidates warmed up to the interview, thinking about programming and design and technical issues. A good 60% can't even get it working, so that lets us terminate the interview early. For the remainder, we ask various technical questions that arise naturally.

On of the questions we sometimes ask is this: Suppose you're trying to fit the code on a really small embedded processor. In truth, of course, you'd have to write it in assembler, but let's assume we already have a C interpreter. How small can you make the code?

This isn't a stretch. Some of the systems I used to work on were small (in implementation) for exactly this reason. We wrote a miniature interpreter, then wrote the working code in something nicer to program in. It was possible to save overall space that way.

The ROM in the BBC micro had a built-in BASIC interpreter (of course), but if you look closely, some of the OS on the ROM were written in BASIC. I've been told it was for reasons of space.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> My standard response to this sort of challenge.

I've just invented a language where if you give it an empty source file, it produces an executable that (the challenge's requirements). Here's the source... ""

Zero characters.

(It's not funny any more, if it ever was.)

<comment><USER4> Somewhat more seriously, that page did introduce me to: <http://www.golfscript.com/golfscript/>

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> woop 57 characters, now will you hire me?</comment>


How a lazy bitch like me learned to be productive - <AUTHOR> https://www.madisontaskett.com/lazy-bastard-productivity/ <comment><USER2> There are strategies that tend to have better success rates than others—and to be clear, I think this blog post gives good advice—but I'm suspicious of any "successful" strategy that is merely the most recent in a long line of attempts.

I think people change slowly—much more slowly than we usually assume. Every time you try something to fix your life and you fail, you actually make a little bit of progress on yourself, just not enough to switch your behavior into something recognizably better. When you try a new strategy and succeed, there is a strong chance that you would not have been successful had you not made all of that incremental progress on yourself from all your failures. That's why it's important to never give up on yourself.

I've had "breakthroughs" that were basically just me trying the same thing I tried (and failed at) years earlier. The difference was that I'd gotten stronger in subtle ways over that time. Then, 6 months later, I'm back to my old habits. This is depressing, but when I remember that this is the first time I was able to stick with something for _months_ instead of _weeks_ , I realize I've actually made progress on myself.

Even though this isn't strictly about productivity, I think the best lesson from OP is that things get easier as you practice them. This seems obvious, but when we talk about building skills, we often frame it as us _rising_ to the challenge. I.e., there's this very hard thing we want to do, and we need to become stronger to be able to do it. This isn't wrong _per se_ , but I think it's bad for motivation because it frames progress as doing as doing increasingly more difficult things. Instead of thinking about _getting better_ , I think it's more helpful to frame progress as things _becoming easier_. No matter how weak you feel you are, the things you find difficult in life will become easier as you work on them.

<comment><USER3> You're quite right. It's amazing what one can accomplish if one lets oneself be satisfied what incremental progress, no matter how small.

For example, I dislike doing pullups. Many times over the decades, I embarked on a program of daily doing as many pullups as I could. I failed because it just took too much willpower.

I finally hit on a solution. I started with doing 3 pullups a day. 3 pullups are easy. It didn't take much willpower at all. After a few months, I "graduated" to 4, which then was just as easy. After several years, I am now up to 10, which is easy, and something I had kept failing at before.

You might think "why wait several years", but my goal with this is long term, so that doesn't bother me.

<comment><USER4> This is good advice. However, I've seen this advice before and the example is usually something where it's easy to imagine what an incremental step is. The advice is when you want to do n just do < n. This is great for some things but I find it doesn't work for everything. So I'd like to just expand on this for tasks where doing < n doesn't really make sense.

For example, if you're trying to solve a difficult bug it can be overwhelming and you feel like you're not making progress and you procrastinate because you don't have the time to dive in for five hours and you feel like spending thirty minutes isn't enough to accomplish anything.

My advice, if you're struggling with tasks like these is to make excessive notes. Save the link to the Stack Overflow question you looked at. Write down file names and line numbers with your thoughts. Copy bits of relevant documentation right into your notes. The basic idea is that if you can ramp up from your notes in less time than it took you to make them then you have made progress.

<comment><USER5> +1 to notes and documentation.

30 minutes won't be enough to solve many nasty bugs, but it can be enough time to rule out a possible cause, or rule out a possible technique as not being helpful for tracking the bug down.

One of my nastier crashes took two weeks to root cause - I eventually ruled out every smart technique I could think of, and resorted to dumb ones. 15 or so build + test cycles later (taking maybe 10 minutes of work each and another 2 hours of waiting for builds to complete) I'd bisected VCS history and found the cause. Turned out to be a change to use some third party code that looked completely unrelated. So unrelated that I spent another 10 minutes creating a completely isolated standalone repro case to verify I'd actually found the culprit (I had) instead of something that would hide the symptoms.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I hate running. I'd do it because it seems like the easiest way for me to get a cardio workout to hopefully live longer. But I couldn't get past some kind of 4 mile barrier in my head. It was just too boring. But I started pushing myself like 10 more feet every run. Why not just go to that next bench, that next tree I told myself. I'd make sure to even stop myself if I was feeling good. "Nope, don't go any further or I'll have to go even further tomorrow." It took a long time obviously, and eventually I started enjoying the runs more and more. The 10 foot limit got pushed longer. But I finally got to 11 miles and began to understand what everyone is enjoying in these long runs. Now I LOVE 11 mile runs and am sad I've had to stop doing them (covid related time yada yada).

And now I apply this pattern to a lot of things. I hate waking up early. Well... after months of inching up the wake up alarm I'm now a consistent 5:30am riser and dig the early quiet morning productivity.

This small, continuous, incremental that you barely notice stuff is a powerful weapon.

<comment><USER7> For me it took having a friend. We started out as two fat guys, bringing beer on our lazy hikes. Slowly we started competing with each other, trying not to let the other one get too far ahead. Over 2 years we went from lazy fat guys to pulling 12-25 mile hikes and running as much as we could tolerate. I ended up in a shape I never would have imagined, being overweight and un-athletic most of my life.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Maybe it's just best to let go instead of trying to mini-max your life's productivity, train yourself like Pavlov's dogs with XYZ productivity systems, and guilt-shame yourself over each day you miss out on part of an evergrowing habit list of shoulda-coulda-woulda's.

Maybe procrastination is an emotional regulation problem and tying your self- worth to your productivity leads to more internal conflict between guilt of not doing enough vs fear of failure.

Maybe we could approach improvement out of a place of genuine interest or self-care, instead of treating ourselves like a computer on a cron schedule and then inevitably getting frustrated when we discover that we're human.

<comment><USER9> Yup. If you tie your self worth to your productivity then it makes emotionally difficult tasks even more difficult.

Ask yourself:

'Why do I want to make this change?'

'Why does doing this thing make me feel bad?'

The answer to the first question is just for you and it should be solid. If you don't believe it then it's not going to work. The answer to the second question is usually either because you have had a bad experience in the past or because it's enough out of your comfort zone that it challenges your identity. It takes a lot less than you would imagine to challenge your identity.

If you can work through these issues a little bit before you start on your journey of change and continue working on them as you go it will be a much smoother ride and you will be far less likely to give up. It involves being OK with negative emotion during the act and taking the time to process those feelings afterwards.

The cool thing is this doesn't just apply to productivity but anything you want to change in your life. Sometimes you need change and sometimes you are just guilting yourself into doing things other people told you were good for you. That is why you start by asking 'why?'.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> "A couple of months ago, I was a train wreck that ate too many cinnamon rolls and watched Netflix while laying in sweats on the couch. Yesterday, I ran 3 miles, did 40 minutes of yoga, meditated, ate steel cut oats with berries for breakfast, then turned on my favorite business podcast while I showered, all before work started."

Kudos to your success. Please do not get complacent. I had a similar brief transformation at the start of this year and felt on top of the world for a couple months.

Then I got Achilles tendonitis which made even walking extremely painful for about 6 weeks. My son's mom died after a long fight with cancer. That same week my current girlfriend was diagnosed with cancer. And then quarantine happened.

I let these events allow me to regress back to worse off than I was when I started. And it all felt so easy at first

<comment><USER11> Yeah it's easy to stick with this kind of thing for a few months when everything is going well.

The challenge is keeping it up beyond the few months when the novelty wears off, life gets in the way, and it becomes difficult.

I personally find that these kinds of things keep my interest for about about three months so I have to find ways to make progress towards goals while also changing whatever I'm doing enough to continue to hold my interesting. Examples might include changing my workout routine in a way that is different enough to hold my interest but similar enough to continue making progress. Or switch to learning a different style of guitar. Stuff like that.

Having defined goals to begin with helps a lot.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes I agree. I call it the 'dip of doom' that happens at the 4-6 month mark. If you push through it, you're golden, but so many people give up.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> >A couple of months ago, I was a train wreck that ate too many cinnamon rolls and watched Netflix while laying in sweats on the couch. Yesterday, I ran 3 miles, did 40 minutes of yoga, meditated, ate steel cut oats with berries for breakfast, then turned on my favorite business podcast while I showered, all before work started.

This reminds me of this guy with the bookshelf in his garage that went viral on youtube years ago. I honestly don't think gamifying your life and jumping on the hedonistic treatmill is a step up from eating cinnamon rolls at 3 am, just the flip side of the same coin. It Reminds me of Baudrillard in _America_

 _" The skateboarder with his Walkman, the intellectual working on his wordprocessor, the Bronx breakdancer whirling frantically in the Roxy, the jogger and the body-builder: everywhere, whether in regard to the body or the mental faculties, you find the same blank solitude, the same narcissistic refraction. This omnipresent cult of the body is extraordinary. It is the only object on which everyone is made to concentrate, not as a source of pleasure, but as an object of frantic concern, in the obsessive fear of failure or substandard performance, a sign and an anticipation of death, that death to which no one can any longer give a meaning, but which everyone knows has at all times to be prevented. The body is cherished in the perverse certainty of its uselessness, in the total certainty of its non-resurrection. Now, pleasure is an effect of the resurrection of the body, by which it exceeds that hormonal, vascular and dietetic equilibrium in which we seek to imprison it, that exorcism by fitness and hygiene. So the body has to be made to forget pleasure as present grace, to forget its possible metamorphosis into other forms of appearance and become dedicated to the Utopian preservation of a youth that is, in any case, already lost. For the body which doubts its own existence is already half-dead, and the current semi-yogic, semi-ecstatic cult of the body is a morbid preoccupation. The care taken of the body while it is alive prefigures the way it will be made up in the funeral home, where it will be given a smile that is really 'into' death."_

<comment><USER13> > _This omnipresent cult of the body is extraordinary. It is the only object > on which everyone is made to concentrate, not as a source of pleasure, but > as an object of frantic concern, in the obsessive fear of failure or > substandard performance, a sign and an anticipation of death, that death to > which no one can any longer give a meaning, but which everyone knows has at > all times to be prevented._

It's a huge rhetorical jump to go from "people engaging in focused activity" to "ritualistic pre-enactment of inevitable death", and even after re-reading this quote several times, I'm confused by how that jump is supposed to make sense?

<comment><USER12> is it really such a jump with a reference like this in the original post?

 _" And it's almost effortless now. Like, wtf. Have I too become one of those insane Patrick Bateman-like beings that I thought all productive people were a few months ago? How did I finally pull it together? Here's the deal."_

It may be a tongue in cheek reference but the comparison to Bateman is apt. He is actually the logical endpoint of this sort of life optimization, surface without anything beneath it and symbolic death. I'm not so sure how large the number of people is who unironically thing Bateman is a rolemodel rather than a parody and symbol of the sort of yuppie culture on display here.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> It isn't mentioned in the blog as far as I can see but the author appears to be advocating "micro habits" (also known under similar and other monikers, small habits, BJ Fogg's method etc).

The idea being you pick up a new habit using similar techniques to pomodoro, a little bit at a time.

Example of similar reflections:

[https://hackernoon.com/micro-habits-changed-my- life-47f572bf...](https://hackernoon.com/micro-habits-changed-my- life-47f572bfc153)

One thing I did find useful in this particular essay (the OP) was a reminder of the relative difficulty of spending X amount of time doing something new compared to the same amount of time doing something second nature - which is magnified further according to how boring, painful, or just plain irritating it is.

<comment><USER13> I saw similar advice from a very different source a couple of months ago. It was a book about exercise with the following advice for stretching: don't go until hurts, but go until it's slightly uncomfortable, then try to relax there, then repeat. Maybe a little trite, but I feel that advice is pretty widely applicable.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> I recently got my life together and wanted to share what's been working for me.

<comment><USER15> I definitely relate to this.

Sometimes the anxiety of doing something important makes that something seem much harder than it actually is.

Lowering the bar helps ease that anxiety.

I've picked up a whole flossing habit just by starting with "at least one tooth and then you can stop if you'd like" ha

<comment><AUTHOR> I did the same thing with flossing! Almost at one year streak now. Glad you've found something that works for you too. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I've been trying to build habits forever. The problem is I try to do too many things at once - exercise, get more sleep, read more, write, study.

As much as I know that habits need to be stacked, I just can't get myself to be patient and do one thing at a time.

<comment><USER17> Recently started running again and I have to consistently remind myself to take it easy and not overdo it. 3 weeks ago getting through 20 mins was a struggle. Now after 20 mins I feel like I can do 20 more. That's a good way to get hurt.

Consistency is like compound interest. If you get 15-20 mins of easy-paced exercise in 6 times a week (or even daily), you will get more exercise done than if you do 2-3 hard workouts. In addition, you reduce the chances of injury.

<comment><USER18> This seems to be true of learning as well. It's strange how easy it is (for me at least) to break the cycle of doing something every day--I tell myself that it's okay to skip today so long as I make it up tomorrow (or on the weekend or whatever). At that point it's easy to keep putting it off just through inertia.

<comment><USER17> I learned this over and over again in college. Cramming is never as effective as smaller chucks of daily studying.

Learning a new mathematical technique or programming paradigm is similar to exercise. Your brain needs to develop some "muscle" memory for a new way of thinking to stick.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Some books that helped me:

\- _The War of Art_ by Steven Pressfield

\- _Can 't Hurt Me_ by David Goggins

\- _Indistractable_ by Nir Eyal

\- _Mastery_ by Robert Greene

<comment><USER20> Why "Can't Hurt Me" is so popular?

<comment><USER19> Say whatever bad you want about this book, I probably agree. Regardless of its obvious flaws, it changed my life for the better.

I first started listening to the audio in the gym. I did 2x as many rows as my previous set just because of what Goggins had to say at that moment. I did the impossible. He gave me 2x the endurance with words alone.

At times it gave me those, "people and the world are so god damn beautiful" teary eyes

<comment><USER20> No, I didn't read it but I wanted to know what all the fuzz is about. Recently I had a collection on my kindle called "Regrets" for the books that I bought and found out it was trash, so I am a little skeptical about new books.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Ha! Well that was a pure treat - instantly grabby title leading to a concise, witty, well-constructed article, containing good advice. Loved it for all those reasons.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you!!

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> The advice to start really slowly is good. It also makes sense to have a kind of plan, on paper, to commit to, and to remind yourself, holding yourself accountable. Blogging about that is not a bad idea, either.

What I did wrong (and sometimes still do) is that you cannot just add new things without removing other things. It helps to be fully aware of what kinds of things you'll have to remove from your life. What is the habit you're replacing(!) with a new habit? Food for thought ... ;).

</comment><comment><USER23> Apocryphal? Reads like a self-help magazine article. Sure this could work, for some. But nothing about falling off the wagon (and how to get back on), padding/rounding effort until its all padding and no effort, folks tearing you down because _they_ can't imagine succeeding and wanting you to fail too, and so on.

Life isn't "This one thing that changed my life".

<comment><USER24> > Sure this could work, for some. But nothing about

Yeah its a blog post not a doctors orders. Someone shared some positivity, on their personal blog, with a clearly playful title.

If it helps "some" people then its a success. Everything doesn't have to work for everyone.

Lighten up

<comment><USER23> Sure, its a puff piece. Like I said.

Got any ideas about really improving your life to share? Addressing anything I brought up? Something to move the conversation forward?

Anything that could help a person like me, who could really use help on this.

<comment><AUTHOR> Hi Joe. I recommend finding a therapist that you really connect with, and perhaps looking into various 12 step groups, as there are many addictions that we humans struggle with that aren't necessarily drugs or alcohol. Wishing you the best.

<comment><USER23> Is there one for procrastination and malaise?

<comment><AUTHOR> strangely, workaholics anonymous has meetings specifically for work avoidance aka procrastination (I used to struggle with that a lot too) [http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org/meetings/13-meeting- det...](http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org/meetings/13-meeting- details?meetingid=a047000000HmB8ZAAV)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Speaking of lazy, if your brain is lazy like mine it might interpret this sentence differently:

"I only make one or two habits each month."

The words above it combined with the expectation that I thought it said "baby habits" made my brain flash "I only hit 1 or 2 babies each month." Hopefully I'm not the only person that experienced this.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yikes, thanks for pointing that out!

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Related to this is Scott Adams' Goals vs. Systems - [https://www.scottadamssays.com/2013/11/18/goals-vs- systems/](https://www.scottadamssays.com/2013/11/18/goals-vs-systems/)

<comment><USER27> Also Atomic Habits[1], based in part on Adams' system[2].

1\. [https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build- Break/dp/0...](https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build- Break/dp/0735211299)

2\. [https://jamesclear.com/goals-systems](https://jamesclear.com/goals- systems)

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> It's amazing how many things exist in modern western culture that are geared around the most basic principles that used to be automatic, like "work hard", "make your bed", etc.

However, it's easy to draw a strong correlation between this and the the departure from farm / manufacturing life into modern urban / suburban office life.

In, perhaps, 60 years, we will be at a point where the vast majority of people won't even know anyone who works hard (from today's perspective, such as a garbage man or farm hand). In the long run, these kinds of jobs simply won't be valued; they'll all have been "tractored out".

<comment><USER29> Won't be valued, or won't exist? The way automation is going, in 60 years your trash will take itself out.

<comment><USER30> Like all things in life, it's about balance so you don't become accustomed. Can't wait for the day I only have to cook when I _want_ to; because automated, healthy, home-cooked meals are possible.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> A little bit too soon to give advice on how to be productive after only two months. You haven't conquered laziness unless you're consistently productive over the course of the years and that state becomes your normal.

Most people have these bursts of productivity for a short time that follows a slump and a realization.

Sometimes you try new technique and that trust in the technique provides enough motivation to get you going for a while.

But in fact, relying on a technique is relying on outside factors not having trust in you. Trust in yourself is the beginning of the lasting change.

</comment><comment><USER32> If you'd like to troubleshoot why you are unable to perform certain actions/behaviors based on a framework, I highly recommend reading about Fogg Behavior Model [0].

It's a simple yet powerful framework that you can use to gain a better understanding of your behaviors.

[0]: [https://captology.stanford.edu/wp- content/uploads/2010/11/Be...](https://captology.stanford.edu/wp- content/uploads/2010/11/Behavior-Model-for-Persuasive-Design.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER33> Every productivity advice: "make routines".

ADHD sufferers: uuuugh...

<comment><USER34> Or people with bipolar disorder or health issues. As someone who had to get my thyroid removed due to cancer last year, it's been a challenge to feel the same everyday. Still working hard at routines - morning yoga, breathing exercise, etc

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> I've recently gotten my shit together by deciding to stop making new habits and worrying about what I do or don't accomplish

It's been incredibly freeing to not worry so much about hitting these arbitrary KPIs and instead just see what I feel like doing in any given moment

You'll struggle to find any blog posts about this perspective though... we're all too busy enjoying life

</comment><comment><USER36> Thanks for sharing. Not going to lie it was the title of your post that got me to click. But the content was solid too.

<comment><USER37> a little datapoint that she might not be a bad growth marketer then.

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> It's hard to take advice from someone who says "in a couple of months i became this" at the start of the blog, and who ends it with actually telling us it was 6 months.

</comment><comment><USER39> I find myself suspicious of anyone that starts off comparing themselves with Patrick Bateman.

</comment><comment><USER40> Self care counts as productivity now?

<comment><USER41> Absolutely! A huge amount of "yak-shaving" is fundamentally caused by a lack of maintenance. Self-care is maintenance for your mental and physical health. It might feel like a distraction in the moment, but in the long run, it's a time saver.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> Serious question / Genuinely Curious

Why would the author call herself a bitch? why implicitly promote objectification of women by explicitly being ok with (crazy in my opinion) the personal choice of objectifying onseself?

I understand that she is a growth hacker and her thinking may be perhaps a title like this Only to get clicks. If so, even then, it still seems conflicting and contradicting to a personal beliefs of herself not being an object. On the other hand if she like to objectify herself why would somebody sane do thst ?

<comment><AUTHOR> 1\. Thank you for the question; I do think it's worth asking and discussing. 2\. I'm not sure 'bitch' should be a negative term, and my self-esteem is high enough that I feel comfortable owning the term. 3\. I'm a growth marketer and I knew it would get a bunch of clicks.

<comment><USER42> I agree with you that bitch should not be a negative term. After all it just a female dog. But colloquially it is used as a negative term. That's the society/world we live in. It dosnt matter what you and I believe how it should be used. What matters is how's it is actually used. You wouldn't get the clicks you were after if the word was used as you think it should be would you? And my question comes from that perspective of grounding in our world's reality. Given that, by used the term, it promotes objectification - May be not yours since your self esteem allows you to own it - but of women in general. And that might be too selfish of an action perhaps?

<comment><AUTHOR> Maybe. But maybe it's like calling Voldemort 'he who shall not be named.'"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself." By using 'taboo words' like bitch, we decrease the stigma around them.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER43> I know it's meant to be a punchy title to entice people to read (mission accomplished), but just be careful with the language you use and internalize about yourself.

From skimming some of your other articles you seem anything but lazy.

Glad to see there is some acknowledgement in your article about setting realistic goals and putting some limits on what you consider "enough".</comment>


Mozilla Firefox 3 RC3 Released - <AUTHOR> http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0rc3/releasenotes/ Firefox 3 (Release Candidate 3) fixed this bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=436575 Only relevant to Mac users. <comment><USER2> Has anyone noticed the people complaining about memory usage don't mention what plugins they're running? At a certain point, I'm not sure what approach can resolve the plugin-has-a-problem-but-firefox-gets-blamed issue.

In firefox 2, I notice I get crashes periodically, but if I disable the firebug plugin at the browser level (as opposed to within firebug), the crashes disappear entirely.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> There was only one bug fixed, and it is only relevant to Mac users: <https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=436575>

<comment><USER3> Thanks, are you sure? I was looking for a changelog or /something/ about what's new in this RC.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yep, look here: <http://tinyurl.com/5wrbfq></comment></comment></comment>


Teenage schoolgirl 'electrocuted after rolling on to iPhone cable in her sleep' - <AUTHOR> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/teenage-schoolgirl-electrocuted-iphone-cable-sleep-died-le-thi-xoan-vietnam-apple-hanoi-a8056831.html <comment><USER2> OK, even granting the crazy notion that the charger put line voltage (which google tells me is 220V@50Hz in Vietnam) into the charger cable:

How do you electrocute yourself in bed with such a setup? That cable is going to short through the electronics easily. The tiny conductors in the connectors on both ends are going to melt and break. And even assuming you get unlucky enough to have them fail closed so you have the phone case energized... where is the ground in a bedroom situation to complete the circuit? Rolling onto a phone case at 220V is going to hurt like hell, but it won't kill you unless you can get a current across your heart.

I don't buy it.

<comment><USER3> It only takes 100 or 200 mA to kill. This is probably not enough current to melt or break any conductors, the chargers are typically designed to deliver 1,000 mA or more. Off-brand chargers are known electrocution hazards and this is not the first case of injury, not even remotely.

Remember that heating follows P = I^2 R law, so it is entirely reasonable that the conductors wouldn't melt before the attached person dies. Current across the heart is not the only way to die from electricity, but it's not really that hard to accidentally get current across the heart anyway. For example, if your arm touches the energized phone case and your leg brushes against a metal pipe in the house, that could easily complete a lethal circuit.

<comment><USER4> >It only takes 100 or 200 mA to kill

yes, but the actual amount of current that your organs are exposed to depends on the the resistance and voltage. that's why you can't electrocute yourself by putting your fingers on a 9v battery even though it's well over 200mA.

<comment><USER5> > that's why you can't electrocute yourself by putting your fingers on a 9v > battery even though it's well over 200mA.

If you break the skin a 9v battery can kill.

[http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-50.html](http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-50.html)

<comment><USER6> Exactly. If you create a 9v voltage between an artery and a vein (though 0.1v is plenty) and you generate more than around 160mA current (any battery and static electricity can do that).

Essentially you'd have to get a conductor into an artery and one into a vein, and if there is a millisecond where both are in there but not touching the skin your heart will stop. It can be restarted for a minute or so afterwards, but it won't restart on it's own.

Your skin has a "safe" (more or less) conductive layer to prevent this from occurring, with another layer with enormous insulation below that. That's why humans usually survive getting hit by lightning, yet succumb to such a stupid tiny amount of current if it gets past the skin.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> > The Independent has contacted Apple for comment but none had arrived at the > time of publication.

Not sure why you would expect a comment from Apple when an off-brand chinese (I assume) charger turned out to be unsafe.

<comment><USER8> My charger that came with the Macbook Air 2011 is heavily frayed. I could see it happening with genuine cables. Not my photo but mine is very similar: [https://i.snag.gy/9xXhyf.jpg](https://i.snag.gy/9xXhyf.jpg)

<comment><USER9> The difference is that those cables only carry low voltage DC. To get line voltage AC on them you'd need a short inside the power brick bridging from one side of the rectifier to the other.

Apple is very careful to isolate those two sides. Knockoff chargers, not so much. See this teardown comparing a genuine Macbook charger with a counterfeit version:

[http://www.righto.com/2016/03/counterfeit-macbook-charger- te...](http://www.righto.com/2016/03/counterfeit-macbook-charger- teardown.html)

 _High voltage and low voltage should be separated by a safety gap of at least 4mm (to simplify the UL 's creepage and clearance rules). On the circuit board below, the high voltage input section is at the bottom and the low voltage output section is at the top. On the right half of the board, the two sections are separated by a large gap, which is good. On the left, there should be a gap (bridged by the optoisolator). Unfortunately, traces and components pass through this area making the gap dangerously small, under 1 mm. Any moisture or loose solder could bridge this gap sending high voltage to the output._

<comment><USER10> Any particular reason that the regs just require and air gap and not a solid insulation barrier?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> What will be interesting is what happens if/when this happens in the US with counterfeit parts sold by Amazon. Amazon through their comingling of inventory is playing fast and loose with the safety of its customers. They have gotten lucky so far, but eventually one of the counterfeit chargers/cables they sell is going to cause issues.

<comment><USER12> Nothing will happen. They will say sorry and provide you a credit and tell you not to use the device...like they do now.

<comment><USER13> I'm sure there is at least one product liabilty attorney ready to illustrate chain of commerce liability for defective products sold to consumers with a big fat wrongful death award at stake.

And even if there wasn't, the bigger deal is that someone actually getting killed would bring more media attention to both Amazon's counterfeit goods problem and the deliberate choices Amazon makes that enable that problem.

<comment><USER12> I would like this think so, but am too cynical and pessimistic when it comes to business. The avg cost of a human life is ~7.5 million [1] (old stat, may be different), that is a minor accounting issue for Amazon if they were actually sued and lost for this.

[1] [https://www.theglobalist.com/the-cost-of-a-human-life- statis...](https://www.theglobalist.com/the-cost-of-a-human-life- statistically-speaking/)

<comment><USER13> That's actually why I said the bigger issue than the liability one is the PR one.

<comment><USER12> I think Amazon is too big and too global for a couple deaths to really affect them at this point.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> EEVBlog has a good tear down of the cheap chargers vs brand name chargers - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-b9k-0KfE)

</comment><comment><USER15> > _Police said a "broken-down" charging brick and frayed cable were also found > in the 14-year-old's bed. It is not thought those devices were made by > Apple._

As much as I don't like apples certify program for cables and chargers, this is exactly the reason we need it to exist.

<comment><USER13> No, its the reason we need brand-independent safety certification of electrical gear, of the style provided by, e.g., UL.

Its also why we need actors in the chain of commerce to have strong protection against counterfeits, which negate the protection of any safety certification program.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> > ... rolling onto iPhone cable ...

> Police said a "broken-down" charging brick and frayed cable were also found > in the 14-year-old's bed. It is not thought those devices were made by > Apple.

So, teenager gets electrocuted by frayed off-brand cable. How is this news?

<comment><USER17> The cable shouldn't be carrying mains voltage at all. It's USB; isn't that low enough current to be mostly harmless?

<comment><USER18> The cable probably was carrying mains voltage. Most of the cheap third-party chargers have very poor clearances inside, and tend to skimp on protection. It's not that rare for them to end up with a 5V DC atop a 120/240V AC mains. The phone will often still charge just fine, but the cable is dangerous.

Also, depending on the resistance as little as 10mA can be dangerous. That would mostly be wet or abraded skin, 100mA is a more general value for dangerous currents. But USB can charge at 500mA to 4A or so, depending on the version. It's only the low voltage and high resistance of skin that limits the current.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I still have my iPhone 3GS and the original cable supplied with it. This cable is pristine, pure white, no fraying of the exterior coating, completely safe to use. If you did not see the cable ends, you would think I purchased in the last year. Number of replacement cables purchased equals ZERO.

I replaced the 3GS with an iPhone 5. This phone's Lightening cable was visibly frayed within 6 months. Within a year, the interior wires' insulation cracked. I replaced the 5 cable with another cable. And another. Then stopped buying Apple cables because they are shit. I don't even want the cable provided with a new phone. Apple should offer phones without any cable and drop the price accordingly, exiting a market they clearly can't handle.

The 3GS cable and the 5 cable were used in exactly the same fashion by the same persion. The 3GS cable is still going strong after, gosh, 10 years?

I started to worry about Apple's commitment to manufacturing quality years ago because of what I saw with their cabling. This concern hasn't been allayed with the keyboard issues on their MBP line. I'd like to buy a new MBP (mine finally died after an 8 year run) but I am not going to until I see evidence that Apple irons out their quality issues. I just can't justify the cost premium when there are obvious problems.

Edit: somehow entire missing grammatically horrible!

</comment><comment><USER20> > "Police said a "broken-down" charging brick and frayed cable were also found > in the 14-year-old's bed. It is not thought those devices were made by > Apple."

Moral of the story: Don't use a charger or power cable if it's visibly damaged. Physically damaged power electronics can put electricity in places it doesn't belong, creating a risk of fire or electric shock.

<comment><USER21> It's not even an iPhone cable. It's a random company cable. This is obnoxious clickbait.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Something similar happened in Ireland earlier in the year: [https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/warning- issue...](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/warning-issued-over- electrical-items-after-fatal-fire-1.3070243)

> It is believed the fire started as a result of an electrical fault involving > a mobile phone charger in the bedroom where Ms McDermott was sleeping.

</comment><comment><USER23> A kid got electrocuted trying to charge his phone at a cybercafe in China. There was a good discussion about what circumstances would be necessary for this to happen:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/watchpeopledie/comments/7aywfl/teen...](https://www.reddit.com/r/watchpeopledie/comments/7aywfl/teen_charging_his_phone_at_a_cybercafe_is/)

</comment><comment><USER24> Recently my original macbook charger died with a bang and tripped 20A breakers (220v). It was in perfect condition before that. Maybe 5 years of use but rarely ever away from my desk.

First time any charger I owned did such a thing and I had many very shady chargers for various pc laptops, phones and batteries.

Replcement charger in local store, 100$. I wasn't happy.

</comment><comment><USER25> WOW what the hell is wrong with that site it's cancer. Then i remember i am trying out the new firefox and don't have an ad blocker installed.

Scrolling videos, entire half screen ads between or in the middle of paragraphs of text.

Is this the internet norm now and ad block has just been hiding it from me?

</comment><comment><USER26> That is bonkers. Even with turbochargers, a USB outlet of a charger should not put out more than 5V. I tested about 10 different chargers with a multimeter in the last two weeks and each one was anywhere from 4.9V to 5.1V. The isolation in the brick must have been total junk

</comment><comment><USER27> Yikes, how would this be possible? Short in the charger that caused AC to be put on to the cable is the only thing I can think of.

<comment><USER28> If the charger has no transformer (and no galvanic isolation) then you can get electric shock by touching output contacts (or metal parts of a phone) and any grounded piece of metal, for example a water pipe.

By the way, would not it be better to have lower AC voltage? For example, 75V or 60V don't look as dangerous as 230V.

<comment><USER29> lower voltage means more transmission losses as well as heavier/more expensive cabling to deliver the same power.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> Would a GFCI be protection enough against something like this?

<comment><USER3> Probably, but it's possible for this to happen without a ground fault.

<comment><USER4> it would need to be a pretty contrived situation where the cable is frayed in two separate places, the cable is frayed in such a way that the path of least resistance is through your body (and not through the other conductor in the cable), your body is in contact with those two places at the same time, and the contact points allow the current to go through some vital organs.</comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: I'm building a cool Tower Defense game to be released soon - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kca25guzSo <comment><AUTHOR> I've been also posting GIFs on each update, if you don't want to watch the video.

[https://twitter.com/victorqribeiro/status/129158940021278720...](https://twitter.com/victorqribeiro/status/1291589400212787200)

But on the video I talk about the level generator</comment>


Caring for Your Introvert - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200303/rauch

<comment><USER2> Unfortunately, introverts don't always do so well in captivity. In addition, their habitats in corporate America, known as "offices," are disappearing as walls are torn down in the name of improving communication.

I liked this quote: "many actors, I've read, are introverts, and many introverts, when socializing, feel like actors"

<comment><USER3> "In addition, their habitats in corporate America, known as "offices," are disappearing as walls are torn down in the name of improving communication."

After a 1+ year complete-gut-and-teardown renovation, we will be shortly moving into our newly renovated offices which has one scrum room per team. No offices, no cubicles (well there are college library type privacy booths but..) I don't know how I'll adjust. Noise-Cancellation Headphones?

<comment><USER4> Bose QC-2 and a music player - iPod or whatever. The QC-2 by itself isn't enough. I find any low level of music is enough to keep out modest conversations. Keep spare batteries with you at all times. ^_^

I bought my first pair in response to an officemate who conducted loud meetings. Now it's nearly as if I'm cloistered with the QC-2.

I grok the frustration, but the QC-2 is worth the money and is an investment in personal sanity.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I had to laugh so hard on some of those points, and more when I saw it was almost 5 years old. Give me a large group for presenting things, and I can do it, if I know - live, breathe, embody - the material. I need time to prepare psychically, and then I need recovery time afterwards. I'm the one who loathes group meals, even if they're paid by someone else. One person will say, "Think of it as a free meal!" I'd rather starve.

I'm an introvert. Now let me have time alone please. Thank you.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> _"... Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice? ..."_

Especially early AM. Yes, recongnise this one. The introversion bit actually helps when you _need to get things done_ because of the skills & effort required to do things yourself align well.

</comment><comment><USER5> Perhaps we should stop paying taxes.

"No taxation without representation".</comment>


Technical interview process updated for the 21 century - <AUTHOR> 1. skype or phone initial tech interview
2. reimburse $20-$40 for pluralsight.com(or another one) for a month.(why seem cheap)
3. highlight deficiencies from interview and courses they could study
4. re-offer interview(different but similar questions)2 weeks later. <comment><USER2> A huge part of interviewing is "soft", and if you have the right attitude you can get away without a lot of book knowledge. Asking good questions and not choking goes a long way.

For instance, "look it up in a hash table" and "look it up in the literature" will answer a wide range of questions.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> 1\. shows they're willing to do home work

2\. shows delta from learning

3\. not everyone knows everything your looking for.

downside slower hiring process.</comment>


Grub 2.04 Bootloader Released; RISC-V Support, UEFI Secure Boot, Btrfs Raid - <AUTHOR> https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GRUB-2.04-Released <comment><USER2> As comments on the source say, shame no zfs. Oracle/GPL the concerns.</comment>


Napster boss set to buy Metallica's record label - <AUTHOR> http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/napster-boss-set-to-buy-metallicas-record-label/1034/ <comment><USER2> WB isn't Metallica's label, they are their distributor in North Americ, and only on the last 3 records - a deal which ended a while ago.

Very very very very big difference, in that they don't own Metallica's music. Metallica music has been owned by their own 'label'/corp since the first album (which is why they went to court, directly).

Though the association they have creates a nice narrative for the story, so I can see why this writer jumped on it.

<comment><USER3> Not entirely accurate actually. All of Metallica's records came out (at least in North America, not sure about the rest of the world) under the Warner Music Group umbrella, which is what Sean is allegedly bidding on. Going all the way back to Master of Puppets they were signed in NA to Elektra Records, which is owned by WMG, and then more recently Warner Bros. Records (they moved them to WBR when Elektra briefly closed about 10 years ago), which is also owned by WMG.

Technically, if Sean and co. was to successfully purchase Warner Music Group, they would be in control of the company that has negotiated rights to Metallica's records, at least for the time being. So it is actually kind of a (potentially) juicy story.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Maybe he is trying to buy a record label for Facebook, as that is pretty much the only thing FB are not able to get into fast - music. Buying Warner Music (via SP) would enable FB to rapidly sell music via FB like iTunes. Also putting the recent FB purchase of Israeli startup Snaptu in the same context, they might well be trying to create their own mobile OS - which will be FREE to mobile phone manufactures similar to Android. Massive advantage to FB if they do this is they have 550+m users that mobile operators would love to tap into with very litte marketing effort.

</comment><comment><USER5> They mention that Warner Music is also Metallica's label, but in my opinion this would probably not factor into a business decision to purchase a record label. Warner is a huge label, and in many ways has not adapted to modern times. If Sean were to purchase Warner, I can't imagine him allowing the label to continue operating as it has. Maybe he would shape it in way which would be more appealing to how people wish to consume music. Who knows, maybe even music start ups will have a much easier time with legal problems and costs? That would be cool.

</comment><comment><USER6> Whether or not WMG is Metallica's record label, if he does pull this off, that would be pretty Epic.

Come to think of it, why has someone else from Silicon Valley not done this ?

Why has Steve Jobs not bought a major record label ? I think the music business needs a good old fashioned changing of the guard and some techifying.

If Bill G. or Jobs or Zuck or anyone that has a ton of money bought one (or some) of those large labels, that could be pretty momentous.

<comment><USER7> I think a better question is why hasn't Apple created the modern-day replacement for the record label of olde? You know, doing stuff to increase visibility of artists and pump up the various scenes than they currently do with their current "you upload, we take a cut" mode. Like having local iTunes concerts, performed by artists selling on iTunes. Free admission if you buy a $20 iTunes card. Or putting on impromptu gigs at various venues like coffee houses, dive bars, or local music clubs to generate some buzz around talent. Get Woz involved and resurrect the Us Festival under the iTunes brand, with indie artists from all sorts of genres. Music is about so much more than pumping sound into your ears.

I agree with the "changing of the guard" sentiment, but I think it better to disrupt from the outside, rather than prop up the old guard for a while longer. There's on old saying "once a pickle, never a cucumber". I just don't believe the industry can be un-pickled.

<comment><USER8> <http://www.itunesfestival.com/>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> This would be great for the music business and music start-ups. Im thinking music start-ups would be given better terms and or breathing room to create innovative services that in turn strengthens the music industries's bottom line.

</comment><comment><USER10> Napster boss? Parker? Uh. No.

</comment><comment><USER11> Turnabout is fair play.

</comment><comment><USER12> ha ha ha... maybe I will return later with a better comment, but have been overcome by a fit of the giggles...

</comment><comment><USER13> Sean Parker seems to have a huge problem with grudges. He should let it go, grudges and desire for revenge make for bad business decisions.

<comment><USER14> It could be a great business decision, hes an advisor for Spotify. There is more going on than meets the eye in this instance.

<comment><USER4> Now that makes sense iani, if what I predict below is correct about FB and the fact that Spotify have secured a US deal with Sony and EMI + they might buy Warner Music. All of these put together would give them a tried and tested advertising model away from search ads, at better margins than Apple. Plus maybe musicians would possibly feel better, as less companies are taking cuts before the musicians get paid. That said Spotify have 1m paid customers and musicians are sort of only just understanding this new model...imagine their tunes were selling (bought or in exchange of an add) to 550m+ listeners. Plus why do you want a Spotify app when you could access it all from FB. Love it or hate it, but for the end user simplicity counts.</comment></comment></comment>


Inside Sears' death spiral - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-failing-stores-closing-edward-lampert-bankruptcy-chances-2017-1 <comment><USER2> Sears has been fubar for the longest time.

Sears is the only company that has ever denied me credit. They solicited applications on a college campus and then refused me because I lived in student housing.

One time I used a Tv-b-gone at sears and turned off half of their TVs and they were still off a year later.

Then there was the time I walked to sears in the cold at 7pm to pick up my car. The salesman insisted on charging me for one tire instead of four. I argued with him but he would not relent.

I am an honest guy but having worked more than a normal day, walked two miles in the dark and the cold, what am I going to do? Call the manager to say I want to pay another $250?</comment>


Ask HN: What app or site you check first? - <AUTHOR> In the morning Or when you use smartphone? <comment><USER2> Reddit, 4chan, medium and hacker news.

At first I only browsed /g/ om 4chan. They were a big fan of bitcoin back then but I ignored it since it's minor opiniot on minor internet forum. But after it reaching over thousands dollars I realized checking those internet forums amd keeping note could earm me a lot of money.

Now I check a few hundreds of subreddits and 12 4chan boards, almost every articles on hacker news&medium and summarize them on my diary every night.

Now I'm planning to learn Chinese to check Chinese websites.

</comment><comment><USER3> Telegram. In Brazil, most people use WhatsApp. I don't like WhatsApp. I use telegram to talk my family, close friends and girlfriend. I also use iMessage but some people do not have Apple devices.</comment>


Show HN: TED video downloader to MKV with subtitles embedded - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/oxplot/ted2mkv <comment><USER2> Glad to see the mkv container format get some attention -- I quite like it that I can have one file all tidy and nice that contains multiple audio tracks, subtitles, etc.

I'd love to see it catch more attention and wider use.

But, for a new challenge for you: construct a similar script that downloads Youtube videos to MKV with subtitles :)

<comment><USER3> I wanted to respond that _everything_ I saw in the past 5 years has been mkv, but then I realised it was all pirated high definition rips.

Pirates, always one technological step ahead.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> What is the best web player supporting maximum MKV features, like switching subtitles or audio tracks or playing / showing multiple of them at once? Thanks!

</comment><comment><USER5> I haven't tried this yet, but the promise is fantastic! Can't wait to download the videos I've bookmarked so I can watch them through XBMC.

</comment><comment><USER6> MKV file sizes are outrageously large. MP4 is a great alternative (less than half the file size) that doesn't sacrifice resolution. With that said, not sure if it supports multiple audio tracks, subtitles, etc.

<comment><USER7> MKV is a container format, not a codec. It's great, and can contain an arbitrary number of audio, video, subtitle, etc tracks. This is why the file sizes can generally end up inflated, people will put all dubs and subtitles into one file. The video stream rarely has anything to do with this (other than the tendency for very high def rips to use mkv).

Secondly, mp4 is a container format as well, but is less generic. MPEG-4 is actually a series of standards. MPEG-4 Part 14 describes the mp4 container format, and MPEG-4 Part 10 describes the H.264 codec.

<comment><USER6> Ahhhh gotcha, now I feel dumb. Thanks for the explanation! (:

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Now do Netflix! ;)</comment>


Ask HN: How do you develop crossplatform desktop applications in 2019? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> We do a lot of the work ourselves with our own engine used for games, 3D graphics, video playback and editing tools. Targeting all desktop, mobile and console platforms.

Using c++ we have a quite minimal amount of platform specific code by making tight abstractions and trying to work on shared code as much as possible.

We use open source where possible to save time and repeated work. Using things like ImGui for Ui..

But all platform specific things we abstract ourselves (window creation, graphics apis, video decoders, input, timers, threads etc)

I have worked on proprietary game engines for over 10 years and while it may sound a lot of work to reinvent the wheel, when you know how and can do it well the end of cycle development can be a breeze when everything is bespoke to your needs...

alternatively I have worked on products using unity, qt and other frameworks and have spend months of optimisation grinding to ship..

</comment><comment><USER3> The far more common approach at the moment is to use Electron though hopefully Google will create Linux, macOS, and Windows targets for compiled binary Flutter applications in the future.

</comment><comment><USER4> It would depend on what it needed to do, but most likely my goto would be Qt for anything with any complexity or need to access hardware or needing performance in anyway.

I have used Qt quite a few times in the past and it has always proven very capable. It isn't perfect, no framework is, but it is powerful and you can work with it, plus there are tons of examples and people with experience with it.

</comment><comment><USER5> I find Qt and JavaFX applications are both generally nice to use. Of course anybody can write a bad application with any framework, so the framework alone won't save you.

While I only have firsthand experience developing with JavaFX, if I were doing something in C++ or Python I'd reach for Qt.

</comment><comment><USER6> Flutter or JavaFX

</comment><comment><USER7> Browser extensions are an option.

</comment><comment><USER8> I would use Qt. It's nice.</comment>


ChocoDB - will be a kind of nosql database running on SQLite - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jclevy/chocolatejs#Choco-DB

<comment><USER2> I wrote something _like_ this: [https://github.com/stochastic- technologies/goatfish](https://github.com/stochastic-technologies/goatfish)

I very much support NoSQL (schemaless, really) databases on SQLite, as it's a great RDBMS and schemaless databases are very handy for various things. I'd love an embedded Redis, but this is pretty much the second best thing.

<comment><USER3> hehe, I wrote something like this as well :P [https://github.com/joelmartinez/TattooDB- Android](https://github.com/joelmartinez/TattooDB-Android)

This particular one is for Android ... but I had/have plans on creating a version for objective-c and C# (for Xamarin). The idea is to have a cross- platform and dead simple to use schemaless data-store for mobile devices at the ready :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> It is not clear to me from the committed CoffeeScript how this will work, but is this going to build on top of ejdb project [0] mentioned here a month or so ago?

[0] [https://github.com/Softmotions/ejdb](https://github.com/Softmotions/ejdb)

<comment><USER5> No it's something I've had in mind for many year and that I wanted to build and test before being forced to used MongoDB or EJDB.

The source is in /server/reserve.coffee

<comment><USER4> Cool, thanks. I will check it out this evening.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Why would you do this, instead of just building something on the metal?

On a slow platform (ok, an iPhone!) serialization of a 20 field object to a file is approximately 50x faster than running an update statement against SQLite.

You are giving up a LOT of performance, even with a platform that's relatively fast, such as SQLite.

<comment><USER5> You are right. On an iPhone, I will not use a SQL database.

Dealing with performance, ChocoDB is currently fast enough for me (2x times slower that classic SQLite ; my first version was 8x slower!)

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> how does this compare to pouchdb / touchdb?

they implement couchdb's api and replication, but are implemented in localStorage / sqlite (respectively).

<comment><USER5> TouchDB is interesting but not immediately accessible for my node.js projects. And CouchDB is to heavy for my needs.

ChocoDB wants to (re)experiment new ways of dealing with database. It want to keep it simple and accessible.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> How does this compare to SQLite 4's key/value store?

<comment><USER5> I have to look deeper at SQLite4 spec...

I would say that my objective with ChocoDB is to make it accessible and useful to people who want to manage database structures and queries in a more natural way.

I want the database to help manage different types of relations: inclusion, group, structure, association...

Key/value is simple but it does not help to manage relations. Relational DB don't either help to manage different types of relations.

<comment><USER8> Would a graph database be closer to what you are looking to do?

<comment><USER5> Probably, but I haven't found yet my dreamed graph DB (serverless, Node.js compatible...).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Seems like a lot of people are building databases these days.

<comment><USER5> Yes ;-)

I think there is a need for light embedded schemaless databases.</comment></comment>


News site continuously online since 1995 - <AUTHOR> https://consortiumnews.com/2020/05/22/consortium-news-is-tied-for-the-10th-oldest-active-website/ <comment><USER2> I didn't realize that pay walls on news sites were this old:

> The Wall Street Journal first published online on April 29, 1996, > introducing the first "pay wall"</comment>


Trump tariffs are set to cost U.S. households $2k in 2020 - <AUTHOR> https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-tariffs-cost-2020-research-151755274.html <comment><USER2> Yet another transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich by taxation with corrupt non-representation.</comment>


Show HN: Outpan – App store for web-apps - <AUTHOR> https://www.outpan.com/developers <comment><USER2> That's pretty cool. Our team is currently working on making an addons marketplace for our service. I'd love to read some lessons learned about how you made it easy for devs to make apps, publish them, what they wanted, what hurdles and shortcuts you ran into while making the marketplace.

</comment><comment><USER3> I just played to level 15 on Push Box. Super addictive. :)</comment>


Ask HN: Places to see in Netherlands ? - <AUTHOR>

I am visiting Netherlands for next two months on business trip. What are the Places I can see in the weekends? <comment><USER2> I've been there a few times and can comment on Amsterdamn from a tourist perspective.

Counterculture: This is the best part of Amsterdam. The red light district and the coffee shops are both a must see. Go at night.

Museums: The Van Gogh Museum was good. But the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House were disappointing.

Other: Heineken was fun afternoon.

We also rented a car for a few days and drove up the coast, which was a lot of fun. Lots of little villages, some touristy, some not. Edam was my favorite (where they make the cheese); lots of people in traditional dress, cute cheese girls everywhere. But we were there on the same day the Queen visited, so it may not always be that fun.

Don't forget you can take trains to other cities on the weekends. Look into getting a Rail Pass--you have to order it in advance and it saves you lots of money on the trains.

I'm trying to think of something geeky for the HN crowd. But I can't. Sorry.

<comment><USER3> The Rijksmuseum has a couple of pieces of such excellent craftsmanship in it, that if you like design, just seeing those can make it worth the visit.

The ivory-hilted matchlock pistols are some of the most beautiful weaponry I've ever seen. There's some excellent fencing swords in the museum as well. If you like arms, it's worth it just to see them - but I've fenced and like marksmanship, so I've got a bit of a bias. Night Watch is in there too, and it's gigantic and a fun painting. You can cruise the whole museum in a couple hours even while dedicating some time to a few really interesting pieces, and I enjoyed it much.

So I'll put in a vote for the Rijksmuseum, I do like it. If you like electronic music, lots of good DJs spin in Amsterdam but you'll have to look up where the party is. The Westerhousefabric district outside of the city has more of a local nightlife scene, as opposed to the hardcore tourism you see in central AMS.

If you're by chance going to England after Holland, taking the ferry from Hoek van Holland to Harwich is an incredible experience. Hoek van Holland is a really, really wonderful little town, with some great cafes, restaurants, and friendly people. The train ride there from AMS is beautiful. Then the ferry is lots of fun if you like boats.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Amsterdam is amazing and it is possible to spend days just wandering around and exploring all the markets, fresh meats, cheeses etc, it is a short trip on the ferry (behind the train station) to some of the inter-connected islands with large parks etc. And I recommend visiting Rotterdam which is only a train ride away.</comment>


Ask HN: Socializing or making friends without the internet? - <AUTHOR>

It's hit me recently that I'm 30 years old, and most of my relationships are fake, existing only on Facebook and Twitter. Life didn't start out this way, but I'm hoping to change this. I know it's possible, sure I met my ex-wife at a dating site .. but I was working there.<p>So, has anybody done it? I just deleted my twitter and facebook accounts and am taking the plunge. I want to meet new people and not even tell them that I'm a technologist.  Any advice? <comment><USER2> _...but I was working there._

Here's the answer to your problem. _Do_ things. Be active. You can find extracurriculars — dancing and yoga are wonderful activities, as are any sorts of gatherings that involve intellectual conversation of any sort — but the fastest, simplest, stupidest answer is that if you're active in things that require other people, you're getting out and meeting them and bonding with them.

On paper, I have perhaps the most antisocial set of interests you'll ever find. I spend hours and hours on the computer, I delight in writing essays and similar longform, I'm fascinated with both postmodern and classical literature, I listen to bizarre avante garde music. Essentially if you wrote up a list of things you weren't supposed to do if you wanted friends, I'd be everything there. And last year it was true: I didn't talk to many people, I spent hours in chat rooms, I tried not to leave my room.

This year I've changed that, and now I find myself going out several times a week purely socially, with several bunches of people with whom I'm also making things. The work simply gives us a reason to get together.

Curiously, I also find myself using Twitter and Facebook more and more as I become more social, because as I've _stopped_ looking at them as tools of communication and started to use them more playfully, there's less inhibition involved.

Let me throw a twist in, however, because thus far I might as well be describing entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs, while fun, may not be the sorts of people you want to get involved in. My twist is this: Find people who aren't anything like you. If you're a technologist, don't bud around with technologists. Find people with other talents. Take advantage of the fact that everybody's good at something, and let them take advantage of you. That way you're playing to your strengths but you're meeting different people who do things you're not familiar with. Then, if you want to shed the image of yourself as a geek who spends his time, say, writing five-paragraph responses late at night on Hacker News, learn about whatever all those other people know. Let them teach you things. It makes you well-rounded, it gives them the pleasure of talking about what they love, and it lets you exist without falling back on that geek crutch.

</comment><comment><USER3> I've been having some of the same problems making new friends since I've graduated college and started work. I have a subset of my old friends that I am still in good contact with, and have made some new friends at work, but not really much outside of that.

Sorry I don't have any advice, hoping that other people can help.

</comment><comment><USER4> Team sports? Alpha Course ( <http://alpha.org> , appears to be down at the moment)? Art class?

</comment><comment><USER5> How do you define a "real" relationship? (No, I'm not trying to be snarky.) I tend to prefer to discuss stuff online -- though, admittedly, I am not big on FB and have yet to participate in Twitter. As I understand it, those media are both prone to very shallow types of interaction. Discussion boards, IM, and email are all more inclined to encourage serious, in depth conversation. I have belonged to email lists and discussion boards that foster in person meetings for members and lead to real relationships (sometimes including marriage). I don't happen to think interacting face-to-face makes a relationship automatically more "real".

Food for thought: I find that being without a car and accepting rides to and from work has been an interesting social experience. Some of these folks really become friends. A car is a private setting where two strangers can be alone together in relative safety, in part because you have privacy in terms of speaking but the outside world can still see you. Therefore, you can have more personal discussions than what typically happens at work in the break room or at someone's desk. The whole awkwardness of trying to determine how much eye contact is right is avoided because you sit next to each other and face forward. The driver has no choice but to keep their eye on the road if they are actually going to drive.

I guess accepting rides has some parallels to the practice of making friends via hobbies: It provides an opportunity to talk if you happen to hit it off without requiring it. It seems to me if you want to make friends, you need a means to experience that kind of thing with people -- the ability/opportunity to talk openly without pressure or expectation to do so.

Good luck with this.</comment>


Russian Cybercrime Boss Burkov Pleads Guilty - <AUTHOR> https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/01/russian-cybercrime-boss-burkov-pleads-guilty/ <comment><USER2> > the Russians then imprisoned a young Israeli woman on trumped-up drug > charges in a bid to trade prisoners.

Amazing, how western media do not miss a single chance to slur Russia and Russians.

What's so improbable about Israeli woman actually having drugs in her luggage? India is notoriously famous for available and cheap drugs and for many years drug trade in touristic places in India was run by Israelis. It's a common knowledge among locals and long stayers.

There's no evidence that drugs were planted. And of course every sensible drug trader will deny the fact and say that "it was planted by the police". That allows her to whitewash her image on return to Israel: "I'm innocent, those evil Russians set me up".

So it's a dirty trick intended to create an impression for the reader: "Not only those evil Russians commit crimes all over the world, but they also plant fake evidence to condemn innocent people".

What's so important about this guy? He's a carder, so probably he's of very little importance for any intelligence work. Authorities resist extraditing for the same reason as USA doesn't want to extradite its own citizen, even if they indeed committed a crime. It's what every government does.

<comment><USER3> > There's no evidence that drugs were planted.

Only reputation of Russian police.

Which makes the rest kinda missing the point.

<comment><USER2> Reputation of Russian police in Russia is quite high. Coincidentally, crime rates in Russia are less than in some of "more developed" countries. Especially considering that even theft of $1 in Russia is considered a crime and investigated by police, whereas in many developed countries police doesn't even attempt to investigate thefts for sums less than $100-$300 or theft of an insured property (bike, car), and that greatly distorts crime rate statistics making comparison difficult if even possible.

Also, it doesn't really matter in this case. There's no reason for them to plant drugs on this woman and they would not do that.

On planes from India people are regularly caught with drugs. This is because India (among many other reasons) popular as a place where you can easily and cheaply buy any kind of drug, especially marijuana and hashish. It happened many times before this young woman and will happen after. I wouldn't be surprised if luggage on every plane departing India is thoroughly checked, you'll find some amount of drugs on any plane. There's no need to plant anything.</comment></comment></comment>


Hello, World Wide IndieWeb - <AUTHOR> http://keithjgrant.com/posts/2017/01/hello-indieweb/ <comment><USER2> How does this work with GNU Social, the federated free/libre software Twitter clone/social network software?

[https://www.gnu.io/social/](https://www.gnu.io/social/)</comment>


Google buys UK comparison website BeatThatQuote.com for £37.7 million - <AUTHOR> http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/03/07/google-buys-uk-comparison-website-beatthatquote-com/ <comment><USER2> "It was the fastest growing website in the UK in 2007, eclipsing the number of pageviews generated by popular social networks, including Facebook."

What does this mean? It can't mean it has more traffic than Facebook, does it mean it provided more outbound traffic to other sites than Facebook? Actually it says 2007, Facebook was quite small here in 2007 I guess, seems like a misleading and silly comparison to make.

<comment><USER3> maybe they mean (2007Traffic-2006Traffic)/2006Traffic (aka by %).

<comment><USER4> Its a percentage increase and pretty meaningless in my opinion. I was the first employee there and Head of Technology in 2006.

From the original press release re increase: The report reveals that BeatThatQuote.com grew its monthly audience of unique visitors by 1,165% from December 2006 to December 2007. Facebook came second in percentage terms with an increase of just 781% in comparison. [http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=369...](http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=36978)

<comment><USER5> It's 2011 now - 2007 is like half a century ago in this field...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It's an odd acquisition for Google - the UK comparison website market is highly competitive with the larger competitors spending a fortune on television advertising. BeatThatQuote are relative minnows, even if they are highly likely to be profitable minnows. Probably they're more notable for the white label sites they run for the likes of MSN and Yahoo...

SEO Book has their own theory about how BeatThatQuote might be achieving their much trumpeted growth statistics without _assault_ the average UK consumer's ears with meerkat mascots or opera singers in every single commercial break <http://www.seobook.com/beatthatquote-buythoselinks></comment>