Apple ARM MacBook Benchmarks Leaked - <AUTHOR> https://bgr.com/2019/03/15/macbook-arm-processors-benchmarks-beat-intel-scores-leak-says/ <comment><USER2> This will be good once they license the tech to clone manufacturers! [1] It would be like 1996 all over again. I'd like to have an ARM Thinkpad that performs better than an Intel one.

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clone#Licensed_Macin...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clone#Licensed_Macintosh_clones)

<comment><USER3> I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not?

<comment><USER2> Yes I'm joking, Apple would never open their hardware again. A nice dream though.

<comment><USER3> Making their software available for licensing is widely understood to be a fairly fundamental to the _near bankruptcy_ of Apple in the mid 90s.

Similarly why would Apple sell their hardware to other companies at below consumer prices? The best case scenario is that they ... make less money?

Seriously, what is the reason that Apple should provide subsidized r&d for other companies?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> > It's unclear what these devices are, or whether Apple is getting ready to > launch an ARM-based macOS laptop. Also, _keep in mind there's a chance the > scores are fake_.

> 12-core at 3.1GHz: 6912 single and 24240 multi core

> 10-core up to 3.4GHz: 7335 single and 20580 multi.

The measurements at least appear plausible, knowing that the thermal conditions would affect the benchmarks. Such trade-offs would be expected in a notebook machine. However, 10 and 12 cores seem to bring too little compared to lower core x64 CPUs, that is less expected to be seen.</comment>


Ask HN: When should I apply for a job in the US? - <AUTHOR>

Hi everybody! I recently graduated my MSc in Italy and the US (double degree program). A couple months ago I applied at some interesting middle-sized US companies and I have been told to reapply after some months, as the h1b cap had been reached already. So I got a job in Germany, which is cool, but I'd really like to go back to the US and work for some of the most interesting companies right now. So, when would be the best time to apply in order to a)maximize my chances of getting an offer, b)maximize my chances of getting an h1b? <comment><USER2> IANAL, but I'm going to be frank. The H1B situation is a giant shitshow right now and for the foreseeable future, so don't hold your breath on this one. It has been since 2012 in case you haven't been paying attention since before this year.

To answer your question, the cap is expected to be reached in the very first week of the season because of the lottery, which will begin April 1. In the expected <60% (because you have an MS, otherwise <45%) chance that your application is actually even processed through the lottery, you can only join your employer in October of that year. So essentially you want to get your offer by March 10th at the latest, so have your interviews with them sometime by January. The important thing is you need to find a company with a position that is ok to be left unfilled by a perm till next October.

For most small-to-medium sized companies, this is a long and risky commitment without even getting the benefit of your service. It costs more than hiring a local in terms of USCIS and IRS fees as well as for the HR work. So most companies, unless pressed hard or you have such a compelling case, will shy from extending you an offer even if you are an excellent candidate for the job.

This was not the case till 2012, when it was just a matter of doing a small bit of paperwork pretty much anytime starting from April all the way till around November, and get the H1B ready by October. Until that date, the candidate could be brought on deferred payment with a B1 or other visa and get settled in before October too, and then transitioned when the H1B visa was ready. Now none of these things are available anymore due to much more stringent H1B rules, and essentially it's a logistics nightmare for a US company to hire a non-trade-partner-national.

In the meantime, I'm not sure if you've done it already, but you should have the OPT option available to you if you graduated from a US institute, which will give you a year + 18 months since you're in the STEM service. This is low overhead for any potential employer, and you can ask them to resolve an H1B or other visa while on your OPT.

Source: wrestling with USCIS for my visa for the last 3 years

<comment><USER3> Just a few corrections on the numbers on your post, the idea is correct: it's <55% for MS candiate, and <30% otherwise). Also OPT is 12 months + 15 months.

The chance for getting H1B has been steadily decreased in the last few years, and it's highly doubtful anything will change in the next 3-4 years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I have no idea on H1B, but in the meantime, you can Next Green Card Lottery is in Autumn (November IIRC, but you would have to send the papers to the US ambassy in your country one or two months before).

[http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/other-ways-get-green- card/gr...](http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/other-ways-get-green-card/green- card-through-diversity-immigration-visa-program/green-card-through-diversity- immigrant-visa-program)

But really, you want to go the the USA? [http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/us/gun-drone- connecticut/i...](http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/us/gun-drone- connecticut/index.html)

<comment><AUTHOR> I thought about the green card lottery as well, and I will probably participate, but it's nothing one can count on :)

And yes, although the US have many flaws, I'd like to live and work there for some time (probably not forever) :) Coming back is easy and can be done at any time, while getting there is hard part..</comment></comment>


Brewfile for macOS homebrew – our settings for developers - <AUTHOR> I'm collecting Brewfile ideas from many developers.
Here are the best so far:
https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/brewfile
If you use macOS, and you use brew, then this file may be able to save you a bunch of time, or give you ideas. <comment><AUTHOR> Link: [https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/brewfile](https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/brewfile)</comment>


'Hot migrating' from SVN to mercurial, and why we choosed HG over GIT. - <AUTHOR> http://pedro.larroy.com/blog/?p=272 <comment><USER2> TL;DR: They have windows developers, git isn't optimized for use on windows, whereas HG runs well wherever Python is available.

<comment><USER3> How strange. In my experience TortoiseGit is far superior to TortoiseHG, and as a result as a windows developer I always choose git instead of Mercurial.

<comment><USER4> Can you extrapolate? I've never liked Tortoise*, preferring to stick to the command line - how is T-Git better?

<comment><USER3> TortoiseGit's UI is much better designed than TortoiseHG's - operations you want to perform tend to be exposed in more obvious places, with clearer names and simpler UIs. In many cases it offers commands that encapsulate a set of underlying operations; for example, TortoiseGit offers subversion-style Commit and Revert dialog boxes that behave like the equivalent dialog boxes in TortoiseSvn, even though Git has no directly analogous commands. This is really good if you want to get work done without being a Git expert.

In particular, Rebase in TortoiseGit has an excellent user interface that takes Git's command line rebasing process and turns it into a user-friendly graphical equivalent. I've yet to find any equivalently pleasant user interfaces in TortoiseHG; pretty much all of TortoiseHG's user interfaces are tangled messes of dropdown menus and checkboxes that try to reproduce every mercurial configuration switch.

TortoiseGit is also faster and more stable than TortoiseHG. I'm not sure if this is because TortoiseHG is largely written in Python+QT, or just because TortoiseGit is more mature - I use TortoiseHG a lot at work when interacting with mercurial repositories, and it crashes frequently, but I've never had TortoiseGit crash or freeze on me.

There are also a lot of UX problems with TortoiseHG that seem to originate in the design of Mercurial, though, so this may come down to my personal taste.

<comment><USER5> Given that both tools have their ups and downs, my reasons for picking TortoiseHg for Windows development are listed on SO: [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2550091/best-support- now-...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2550091/best-support-now-on- windows-mercurial-or-git/2575991#2575991)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> _With mercurial I think is better to abandon the idea of rewriting history to make it look nicer or more linear. The good point is that your history reflects precisely what happened and how developers merged the code_

Rewriting history doesn't just make the git log look nicer. It gives you the ability to more easily create atomic commits, and it ensures that commits in a branch that is later merged back to master are contiguous instead of sprinkled among all of the other commits from all other branches. If you are tracking down a bug, this helps a lot, especially if you use git bisect.

<comment><USER7> There are two different philosophies of branches as near as I can make out.

* Branches as 'records of effort'/'who did what when on what project'.

* Separating lines of development to keep mainline builds from falling over.

In a 'audit-thy-process' environment, immutable history and records of projects have a high importance. If the goal is 'simply' to separate lines of development - well then you can squash commits and it doesn't matter.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> _"I understand how it works internally but I have trouble remembering the unnecesary complex command to do simple tasks"_

I would like to know more which commands these are. Is there something other than push, pull, commit, add, branch, checkout for 'simple' tasks? Or are we talking about syntaxes for setting up like init or doing origin-master stuff?

</comment><comment><USER9> I work for a company which uses hg exclusively. I think it's a great version control system, but it suffers from an annoying implementation problem which gets in the way of our workflow.

When an hg pull is performed the pulling repository must let the other repo know about the state of each of it's branches. This includes closed branches.

In addition, hg uses HTTP as it's network protocol. I think it transmits it's branch info as part of the headers in a GET request. The result is that once you have a certain number of branches in your repo the pulls fail because there isn't enough room in the headers to transmit the state of the repo.

We are heavy users of branches for features/bugfixes as this helps us to improve quality control. This hg shortfall means we have to rethink our souce control procedures, we only learned about this problem when we encountered it - several thousand changesets into using hg. Apparently a fix is several months away from being in an hg release.

hg is great, but the above problem + the mutable changesets offered by git now has me leaning more towards the git camp.

<comment><USER5> Did you try altering web server heading settings? [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/686217/maximum-on-http- he...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/686217/maximum-on-http-header- values)

Just curious, how many branches do you have in the repository?

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> My experience with git in windows has been great. It just works, and is no slower than Linux machines. I use msysgit and tortoisegit on large and complex projects, with no issues.

</comment><comment><USER11> "Choosed" Seriously? I "choosed" to not read this article.

<comment><USER12> Please be nice when pointing out mistakes. Not everyone is a native English speaker here.</comment></comment>


List of free stock API for fintech startups - <AUTHOR> https://towardsdatascience.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-stock-market-apis-for-2020-1de6f55adbb <comment><USER2> Shameless plug but we have an API at [https://dev.last10k.com](https://dev.last10k.com) that returns data from SEC Filings including 10K/Q annual & quarterly reports.

</comment><comment><USER3> Doesn't it cost money to obtain tick data? How can these services offer it for free?</comment>


Opposite of what Y teaches us (Single Founders better off) - <AUTHOR> https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/solo-founders-entrepreneurs-success-nyu-wharton-research.html<p>NYU/Penn research shows solo founders have a higher probability of success. So why is Y biased to multiple founders? <comment><USER2> I believe it's because PG is opposed to the idea and HN has inherited that philosophy.

It's worth pointing out that Thomas Edison, Edwin Land (Polaroid), George Eastman (Kodak), Nicola Tesla (lots!), and Walt Disney were all single founders.

</comment><comment><USER3> Completely different datasets here. The research was self-reported data from surveys sent to Kickstarter "founders" across all categories. Y Combinator uses actual portfolio data for tech-based startups looking to create large- scale, $100M+ businesses. Success in the former is largely not going to predict success in the latter.</comment>


Ask HN:  Airbnb for office space, or anyone got some space? - <AUTHOR>

I'm in SF for the next 2 weeks and looking to see if I can do a bit better than a laptop on my lap to work on.
Is there something like Airbnb for office space?
Failing that, anyone got a spare desk I could use?  Would be awesome if it included a nice big monitor I could jack into.  I can pay. :) <comment><USER2> Do not know of anything directly, but a few years ago I had good luck with some law offices loaning me space and conference rooms in Manhattan. In most cases it was a good deal, the office admins treated me like the rest of the actual employees. Paying $25 for an office or conference room and having an admin in $400 stilettos bring you coffee or order your lunch is a highly motivating environment. YMMV.

</comment><comment><USER3> I think loosecubes does what you're looking for. <http://loosecubes.com/home>

</comment><comment><USER4> What you're looking for is called coworking space... there are plenty of places that do it (especially in SF). Usually the rates are monthly, but I'm sure if you called and asked at a place you could get a 2 week price. Just give a search on google or yelp, you should get dozens of results.

<comment><AUTHOR> Awesome. Thanks for that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I would suggest TechShop. Desk space, internet access, and $25/day.</comment>


The culture shock of coming home from Silicon Valley - <AUTHOR> http://swizec.com/blog/i-returned-to-slovenia-after-3-months-and-i-am-culturally-shocked/swizec/6530

<comment><USER2> I'm originally from Northern California and did my time in the Bay Area, and even though it would be better for my startup* to be there, I'm in France and very, very happy here.

Every day spent is one you'll never get back. Every day should count.

*Shameless plug: [http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brodlist/x/6476711](http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brodlist/x/6476711)

</comment><comment><USER3> You moved from Slovenia to the Bay Area and chose not to live in the city?? There's your problem right there.</comment>


Germany's Social Democrats have proposed an upper limit on cash transactions - <AUTHOR> https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/354/ressort/finance/article/the-death-of-cash <comment><USER2> HN headline: Germany to make cash payments of more than 5,000 Euro illegal

Article: ... Germany's Social Democrats _have proposed_ an upper limit on cash transactions and the abolition of the €500 note. It could prove a tough sell in a country that still loves paying with paper money.

Edit: headline updated by dang, thanks.

<comment><USER3> Yes, that's ridiculous. (The submitted title was "Germany to make cash payments of more than 5,000 Euro illegal". We replaced it with the relevant part of the subtitle.)

Submitters: here is the relevant HN guideline:

 _Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait._

Note how replacing a title to make it _more_ misleading and linkbait is the exact the opposite of that.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

<comment><USER4> this is really good to know. I love checking HN comments first before clicking because often top comments point out clickbait and sometimes even provide a little tl;dr ... This is awesome and just saves me so much time. One of the main reasons I love this site and community

<comment><USER3> Glad you feel that way.

The bit about replacing original titles to make them less linkbaity has been surprisingly slow to feed into the community consciousness. But not rewriting them to make them _more_ so, at least, should be a no-brainer.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Perhaps a prerequisite to banning cash altogether which is necessary to introduce negative interest rates. A total cash ban has been proposed in Norway by Norway's biggest bank, DNB [http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/oekonomisk- kriminalitet/d...](http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/oekonomisk- kriminalitet/dnb-vil-fjerne-alle-kontantene-i-norge/a/23599855/)

<comment><USER6> That was my thought as well.

High denomination notes used in the underground economy essentially represent a zero interest loan to the currency issuer. The United States actually considered reissuing the $1000 bill since the $100 greenbacks were losing criminal market share to the Euro.

Any major money laundering is done via asset purchases, primarily using banks in the City, the Caribbean, and (for the VIP Platinum Club Elite oligarchs) Luxembourg.

So money laundering is an excuse to ban high denomination cash transactions. The question is why.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Not an expert in the subject but not accepting cash gives banks and credit card oligopolies almost all the keys to financial transactions.

Also interesting, how cryptocurrencies play with these rules. If they are accepted they should force the POS providers to be open to new ways of payment instead of using them as a barriers of entry.

<comment><USER8> Not to mention severely limiting freedom of the individual.

Look at the Eich's ousting - donate to the wrong party, support an "objectionable" point of view, and you stand to lose everything. Maybe CEO's should expect this sort of scrutiny. Maybe it's even justified. However, removing one of the few means of privately utilizing wealth left in the world (Bitcoin isn't there yet, and might never be) means that private individuals can expect that same sort of public scrutiny over all their actions.

Reading this sounds like strident distopian conspiracy ravings, but I honestly do believe there is a push by governments and large corporations (Google, BoA, etc) to have total information awareness about the day to day dealings of everyone, be it for "security" or data mining or what have you. I believe that push is fundamentally opposed to the spirit of liberalism that let us develop advanced democracies. Quite frankly, I think the possibility of a bit (or more than a bit) of money laundering is an easy price to pay in exchange for personal privacy.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Hunh. Title is a bit misleading, but anyways.

Does Germany not have populations religiously opposed to banks or electronic currency, similar to the amish?

When I was younger, I would sometimes help out at the family lumber yard. Local amish folks would occasionally come in and purchase enough lumber to build one or more barns and/or houses, all in one go. This could easily be thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in lumber, all paid in mixed bills (and sometimes rolled coins) or varying sizes. They never tried to cheat us, but we had to spend they day sitting around counting the money anyways out of principle.

<comment><USER10> I am not aware of any active Amish communities in Germany or Europe. [http://amishamerica.com/do-amish-live-in-europe/](http://amishamerica.com/do- amish-live-in-europe/)

There seems to be some small congregations but nothing like the Amish living in America.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Because such a ban would obviously prevent illegal transactions from taking place; people might be committing other crimes, but they would _never_ think of breaking _this_ one.

<comment><USER12> So your point is, what? Because something is imperfect that the status quo where nothing is done is inherently superior?

Plus a lot of people involved in money laundering have no idea they're involved in anything illegal: auctioneers, realtors, sometimes accountants, sometimes lawyers, etc. Or if they do know it is shady they can play ignorant.

Laws like this make it harder to involve law abiding parties in illegal activity.

PS - I actually feel like 5K is too low, 10K seems like a more reasonable lower limit.

<comment><USER13> The point is that money laundering is _already_ illegal, everyone who's doing it is already breaking the law. The only purpose this serves is to create a new law that is easier to prove violation of. A law that makes it easier to indict criminals at the expense of making legitimate acts illegal is fundamentally at odds with the physical underpinnings that give us the "innocent until proven guilty" doctrine.

<comment><USER12> > The point is that money laundering is already illegal, everyone who's doing > it is already breaking the law.

No.

Knowingly laundering money is illegal, being used to launder money unknowingly is not.

For example if a money launderer buys your property with cash (car, house, painting) and then goes ahead and resells that property later to clean money, by your logic the seller would also be laundering, which is obviously absurd.

With this law the seller has the responsibility not to accept cash over a certain amount, which makes the launderer's life more difficult.

Most people who take part in money laundering do so unknowingly. The law provides a better paper trail to detect laundering.

> A law that makes it easier to indict criminals at the expense of making > legitimate acts illegal is fundamentally at odds with the physical > underpinnings that give us the "innocent until proven guilty" doctrine.

That's circular logic. You claim something is a "legitimate act" but all illegal things were at one time legitimate acts: drinking & driving, guns on aircraft, drug usage, all computing crime, all financial crime, etc.

You can use that exact sentence and the logic held within to argue that all new laws of any nature violate "innocent until proven guilty" because inherently before the law was passed these were "legitimate acts."

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Imagine trying to sell a used car or other high asset items like fully loaded computers and Swiss watches. Who is going to take a check?

[edit]

"Limits on cash transactions would discourage foreign criminals from coming here to launder money," says the Social Democrats' paper. If sums over €5,000 have to pass through traceable bank transactions, laundering would be severely hampered, it adds.

Other European states have already imposed such restrictions. In 2011, Bulgaria was the first country to set a limit, restricting cash deals to €2,500. Italy followed suit a year later, with a radical limit of €1,000, although this was later relaxed to €3,000. Portugal is considering similar measures..."

<comment><USER12> I haven't seen a cheque in almost twenty years... Do people still use them?

The answer is bank transfers. I can send someone money within minutes from my phone and it will arrive within a couple of hours.

I myself wouldn't want to walk around the streets with 5K+ in cash anyway, just asking to get ropped.

<comment><USER15> So you're selling your car, the buyer initiates the bank transfer, and the two of you hang around in a coffee shop for a few hours waiting for it to clear?

Or do you actually let them drive off with the car before the transaction clears?

<comment><USER12> I said up to a couple of hours, not a "few."

And the point is irrelevant as here you now need valid insurance and road tax to drive off into the sunset which itself can take a couple of hours.

So private or commercial sale is often a "pick up the next day" kind of affair.

<comment><USER15> My apologies, at least where I live "a couple" is basically the same as "a few", 2-3.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> rm_-rf_slash "Citizen, what is in that briefcase?"

"€5,000, officer. I am purchasing a used car today for €4,900. Then I am taking my wife out to dinner."

"Carry on, then."

<comment><USER4> also you should know that in Germany the Frau pays half of the bill for dinner

<comment> rm_-rf_slash Maybe it's a very expensive dinner.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> anonymous crypto currences (zerocash) could maybe fill that void (I strongly hope ... otherwise our privacy is going to be totally buggered). The real reason is probably not money laundering but the German Finanzamt (IRS) who wants to closer monitor what you do. They already have access to your bank account and can check any time without your knowledge.

</comment><comment><USER16> It was 1000 Euro in Italy, recently raised to 3000 (to be pedantic, it's 2999.99)

</comment><comment><USER10> It's behind a paywall, I can't read it without registering.</comment>


What are the best programming books around? - <AUTHOR>

I am currently 15, studying in 10th grade in India. I have been experimenting with Semantic Web technologies since like the past 8 months or so.  I want to improve my core skills and would be great if could get some recommendations for some good books. I am planning to read Don Knuth's  TAOCP, is that the right way to go or should I start with another book? <comment><USER2> Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs is a classic for a good reason. And it's available online:

<http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book-Z-H-4.html>

You can get a lot out of SICP, if you take the time.

</comment><comment><USER3> C is a good language, but if you're just starting off with computer programming, you should try Python.

Otherwise, TAOCP is a good book. MIT also offers some free course work at: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and- comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer- science/6-087-practical-programming-in-c-january-iap-2010/) and [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and- comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer- science/6-088-introduction-to-c-memory-management-and-c-object-oriented- programming-january-iap-2010/)

Full list at [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/#electrical-engineering-and- compu...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/#electrical-engineering-and-computer- science)

Good luck! :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Actually I am versed with computer programming , but the thing is I am not well versed with computer architecture and related stuff, so what are the best resources I should follow to get well versed with computer architecture?

<comment><USER3> At MIT OpenCourseWare, there are several good courses on computer architecture.

6.033 Computer System Engineering: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical- engineering-and-comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering- and-computer-science/6-033-computer-system-engineering-spring-2009/)

6.823 Computer System Architecture: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical- engineering-and-comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering- and-computer-science/6-823-computer-system-architecture-fall-2005/)

6.828 Operating System Engineering: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical- engineering-and-comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering- and-computer-science/6-828-operating-system-engineering-fall-2006/)

<comment><USER4> don't forget 6.004:

[http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and- comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer- science/6-004-computation-structures-spring-2009/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Knuth's TAOCP may be too much too early. Here are some links that will help you further your study. [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/194812/list-of- freely-ava...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/194812/list-of-freely- available-programming-books)

[http://stackoverflow.com/questions/78955/what-are-the- best-p...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/78955/what-are-the-best- programming-and-development-related-blogs-closed)

The first is list of free online books, the second programming related blogs.

Fair warning, programming is a life long learning job. I am not trying to discourage you, but you need to understand that you will need to LIKE learning to be good at programming. Good Luck!

</comment><comment><USER6> TAOCP is awesome. If I had been advised to read it when I was 15, I probably would have either studied it as hard as I could, or given up after the first few pages. It's pretty intense material for a beginner, in my opinion. But only you can judge for yourself. Take a look at a copy of it, if you can, before you buy it. TAOCP focuses on algorithms and other microscopic aspects of programming; it may not offer much insight into building whole software applications.

Also, you might consider looking at Don Knuth's book _Concrete Mathematics_ , which is a somewhat more casual coverage of the math chapter in the first volume of TAOCP.

You mention in a comment that you want to learn software architecture. I really like this book:

[http://www.amazon.com/Software-Architecture-Primer-John- Reek...](http://www.amazon.com/Software-Architecture-Primer-John- Reekie/dp/0646458418/)

If you're into web applications at all, perhaps the best book to understand the basics of design is:

<http://philip.greenspun.com/seia/>

Either way, don't give up on TAOCP. Whether if you're ready for it now, or if you want to wait a few years, it's great that you're interested in reading it, and I would encourage you to study it as much as you can, if you discover that you are indeed intrigued by the topics it covers.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, and which language should I focus on the most? Currently I know PHP and lately have started playing around with python too. Should I stick with pyhton or try out C or C++ before too as I have really less experience with C.

<comment><USER6> I suggest Python. PHP is okay enough for web applications, but suboptimal for just about anything else. C is certainly worth learning, but can be challenging to use. Python is a pretty good language to learn with, and is perfectly usable for real projects.

<comment><AUTHOR> What are the best books for pyhton, I have started reading How to Think Like a Computer Scientist, is it good enough or should I start with some other book? P.S. I know pyhton, but want to further improve my skills in it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I think Knuths work might be too Mathematical in nature for you. If you wish to work on sematic web its better you start with Collective Intelligence its a good book to start with . However it uses Python for its examples. As far as Computer Architecture is concerned do you imply Software architecture or Computer Architecture

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for your advice. So what is the best stage to read Knuth's work? With computer architecture i basically imply software architecture, but I want to know the basics of computer architecture too.

<comment><USER8> For low level software architecture, at the level of the firmware that drives processors (plus the electronics that are below that), as NonEUCitizen recommended MIT's 6.004 is a good bet ([http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical- engineering-and-comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering- and-computer-science/6-004-computation-structures-spring-2009/)).

For the medium level, assembly language and on up a fair bit (at least to C), CMU's got what looks like a great course and book: <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~213/> There's enough meat on the web page for the course that it should give you an idea if you want to get the book.

For the higher levels, in addition to the MIT Computer System Engineering courses mentioned by Mithrandir (<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1850311>), especially 6.033, check out this classic from the '70s: _Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition, with Source Code_ ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions%27_Commentary_on_UNIX_6th...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions%27_Commentary_on_UNIX_6th_Edition,_with_Source_Code)).

Me and a _lot_ of other people learned the basics from it, and while it's certainly dated, it has the advantage of being lucid and complete while not being too big or overwhelming, and of course nowadays if you want to go so far as running a Version 6 UNIX there are PDP-11 simulators that you can use for the purpose. I.e. it's a good foundation, like SICP is for languages and TAOCP is for algorithms (although there are less detailed and difficult books to get you started on algorithms that you might want to try first).

Good luck and enjoy!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> The Little Schemer <http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/BTLS/>

</comment><comment><USER10> The C Programming Language(K&R) and The Unix Programming Environment are the best to start off with.</comment>


Estimate how many slaves work for you based on your possessions and lifestyle. - <AUTHOR> http://slaveryfootprint.org/ <comment><USER2> Let's have a closer look at the "complex algorithm that determines the minimum number of slaves [...] used to produce each product" [1]. The basic data is supposedly taken from five official reports, but only one of these (the one they call "DOL" [2]) has anything direct to do with production of goods by forced labor.

Examining this report, it provides nothing more than a list of countries and goods for which forced labor plays a "significant" part, where significant is defined as anything but "an isolated incident of child labor or forced labor" ([2] p.7). There is no quantitative data in this list, which means that, for instance, if you own a T-shirt made of Argentinian cotton, there's no telling whether the probability this cotton was handled by a child laborer is 90% or 0.1%.

Thus it is impossible to estimate any number of "slaves" from such data, and the methodology is complete and utter BS.

[1] <http://slaveryfootprint.org/about/#methodology>

[2] <http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/pdf/2010TVPRA.pdf>

</comment><comment><USER3> A lot of the moral judgements made on the linked site about a materialistic lifestyle don't really have anything to do with the fact that people in the west are evil, but rather that the culture in certain parts of the world where manufacturing takes place is conductive to exploitation.

For instance, if I buy a diamond ring, I am not responsible for lives taken with weapons that have been bought with diamonds. If I drink Coca-Cola, I am not responsible for some obscure branch of the Coca-Cola Company which seizes the drinking water source of an entire village. If I pay for sex in Norway, that doesn't mean I am responsible for children being forced to sell their bodies in sex trafficing. Except in a few narrow cases where law enforcement gets involved, I never even see these children.

In each of these instances, there are real wrongs commited - but the wrongs are perpetrated by people who are a lot more unscrupulous than me. It is a fallacy to claim that the end user of products of industries where bad things sometimes happen, does something wrong. Everyone has a moral responsibility, but this responsibility doesn't carry over all the way.

Does anyone really think that the Indian microfinance debt collectors who force children into prostitution will suddenly become upstanding citizens if "microfinance" companies are banned? These problems need to be addressed at the source. Moral judgements like the ones implied in this app are a huge fallacy. Things will not get better if demand for strictly unnecessary goods and services suddenly disappears.

<comment><USER4> If you lived next to a diamond mine, you probably wouldn't buy diamond rings. I say this because I assume you are a compassionate/empathetic person to some degree, and I think it would be very difficult for you to separate out your feelings towards the terrible conditions/bloodshed involved in diamond mining and the shining ring that you just bought from the smiling slave-driver. The only reason that you could ever be comfortable buying such a ring is that you are far removed from the suffering involved in your purchase.

There are two complicating factors here: visibility and paucity of influence. You can't see the bad thing happening and you, individually, don't have the power to stop it.

The interaction between visibility and morality is a complicated one, but the fact is that if people in the most affluent nations boycotted diamonds then diamond mining would cease. If people boycotted Coca-Cola and Fiji spring water then villagers would get their water back.

The fact that you can't control these situations also complicates things. You can stop buying Coca Cola but, unless everyone else does to, CC is just going to just keep on stealing resources.

I think that the thing I really dislike about your comment is that you have the audacity to condemn the wrongs committed, but lack the integrity to acknowledge that you play, at least, some very small part in those wrong things happening. Because you do. If you don't buy that diamond ring then that is real $$$ that the diamond miners don't get. The hole created by your boycott has a non-zero probability of shutting down a diamond mine. The fact is that you don't care. I'm not saying you should - I'm just saying you don't. And the people doing these "wrong" things don't care either. Perhaps you could say that you would do differently in their situation, but my guess is that you are REALLY not in their situation and you have no idea what their situation is AT ALL.

I get it. You're in a comfortable position. There's no reason for you to change. You probably don't care enough about people in China, etc. that you're actually going to significantly, or even insignificantly, change your day to help them out. In fact, it's not even clear that you can. This may sound like a criticism, but I really don't care what you do.

The main element missing from your comment is the answer to "what to do?" My guess is that your answer is "Nothing. There are bad people elsewhere, and I'm not to blame, so I do nothing. Let them figure it out." I guess I hope this isn't actually your answer and that you realize that it's a lot more complicated. These people are "unscrupulous" not because they're full of demons, but because globalization exerts pressure and men sacrifice their better intentions when faced with that pressure.

<comment><USER5> It's pretty obvious that if you stop drinking CC, no one else will stop because you did. Meaning the events are conditionally independent. In my opinion, rallying large groups of people is the only way to make a difference. So really day to day choices you make on what to purchase have no effect on the system.

I would argue that the only real way to change is attempting to effect group think. Individual purchase decisions will not do this. Only organized efforts will. Meaning everyone is just as responsible for not doing this, whether they buy the product or not.

Again, if slavery is going on, whether you buy the product involved or not, we are all equally guilty for allowing it to continue. Buying the product is irrelevent.

<comment><USER6> I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but my view is that I was not asked to be born under these circumstances (over population, unequality of wealth, unfairness, etc). I never was in charge of dictating the type of world I wanted to live in. Therefore, why do I have the burden to do something about unfairness in this world? It's like saying to a developer "Go fix this bug RIGHT NOW!", and then when he/she asks for commit permissions, you reply back "Sorry, you need to sign this form, and give it to HR, then send an email to the DBAs, and wait a couple of days.. but still FIX IT NOW!"

<comment><USER4> This way of thinking doesn't make sense. No one is claiming that you're responsible as in you need to fix this. We're claiming that you're responsible in the sense that you're part of the cause (or, in the language of Nagarjuna the "dominant condition" -<http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/307/nagarlec.htm>) of the exploitation of people in third world countries. There are many other conditions besides you, of course.

The most important goal is to deeply realize your position and relation to other people - how you act after you realize this is up to you/your emotional makeup/your virtues/etc.

My claim is that because of the complicating factors (visibility and ineffectiveness) inherent in this situation you aren't able to fully understand this relationship.

<comment><USER6> Of course I understnd my position relative to others, I think about it constantly. People naturally are competitors in this world. One person having a mate means one less mate for you, and less evolutionary success.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I was curious what they recommended behind the "take action" tab, but it required a signup. Here's what's on the other sign of the registerwall:

        Make Progress. Get the App.

        You earn Free World points for spreading the news
        and encouraging brands to audit their supply chains.
        Down the app and use it for check-ins, sending
        pre-written notes to companies, and sharing your
        progress with your community. You can also earn Free
        World points right here.

        To get Free World points:

        - Easily send notes to companies, asking them
          to examine their supply chains.

        - Make a donation to support the fight against
          slavery in the supply chain.

        - Raise awareness about slavery by sharing this
          survey, your footprint, and your progress.

        - Download and use the mobile app to check in while
          shopping to share your concerns about the use of
          slavery in the products you buy.

        - Use the Made In A Free World mobile app for more
          opportunities to earn Free World points.

So . . . it's a game. I must admit, I find that a bit cold. Compare the approach to something like <http://mercyhousecoffee.org>

</comment><comment><USER8> They describe their calculations:

<http://slaveryfootprint.org/about/#methodology>

They appear to count "N slaves working for you" if they predict N slaves were involved in the production of anything you have, not the number you keep continuously employed.

<comment><USER9> This methodology is questionable.

Suppose 10 slaves work on an assembly line for a year and produce 100,000 soccer balls used by 100,000 people. In that case, these 100,000 people each have 10 slaves working for them.

On the other hand, suppose you had 100 slaves handcrafting 100,000 soccer balls. In that case, each of these 100,000 people has only 1 slave working for them.

This methodology seems to penalize inefficient manufacturing processes less than more efficient ones, even if the more efficient ones result in less slavery.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Crappy job <> slave.

Yeah, anything nice we have or use is thanks to people with crappy jobs... but there are people lining up out the door for those jobs, as they offer a better life than subsistence farming or scavenging garbage and living in a favela. And the places where those jobs don't exist are even worse off.

Not to excuse the creation of inhuman living and working conditions. But better to work for appropriate conditions, than broad-brush everyone a slaveowner.

<comment><USER11> Debt Bondage is real. People are not lining up out the door to replace people in debt-bondage slavery.

([http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang-- en/inde...](http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang-- en/index.htm))

<comment><USER10> fair enough.

I don't want to minimize the issue, but there is room for some realistic perspective, somewhere between indifference and equating consumers with slaveowners.

The link says there are at least 12.3m forced laborers.

If every American had 10 'slaves' that would be 3.1b slaves.

This was a pretty eye-opening story about an unfortunate Chinese deliveryman a few months ago

[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/nyregion/22victim.html?pag...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/nyregion/22victim.html?pagewanted=all)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> If we are buying products which were made, or have parts that were made, by people in terrible conditions, what would happen if we stopped buying those? Does it mean the people who use to make $1/day are now making $0/day which will lead to a harder life filled with crimes?

Note: This is an honest question. I also come from a place where skilled- workers make around $4 or $5/day. I think in many cases, $4/day is better than 0.

<comment><USER4> The people who make $1/day stop making $1/day. There is crisis. The crisis is caused by the cessation of a domination-based dependence relationship. The crisis could cause government collapse and mass-death. Out of the ashes will arise a (necessarily) more self-sufficient community.

The fact is that globalization fixes countries as "slave countries." It's very easy to control people by giving them a locally beneficial option. Which sounds better to you:

Make $1/day working 16 hours per day - spend the rest of your time sleeping/taking care of yourself/family.

Making $0/day refusing to work - spend your day working on building up your community in creative ways, but suffer much higher probability of personal/family death.

The option that 99.9% of people will take is #1. However, real change can't occur if everyone takes #1, so we have stasis.

<comment><USER13> That worked really well for Somalia, innit?

I mean, look at all the creative endeavours the good people of Somalia ventured upon release from the hands of the Evil Government and Lobbies.

You are a perfect example of a person that would pave his road to hell with good intentions. All due to failure to see humans as we really are, and our time and again honoured tradition of refusing to do what "should" be done.

<comment><USER4> I don't know what you're referring to w/r/t Somalia. Fill me in on your version of the events.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Really neat interface but this is prime example of going overboard with UI. I'm sure more people would actually finish step 11 if everything was within one or two pages with fewer clicks. On a side note, I have 42 slaves!

</comment><comment><USER15> The survey app takes an interesting approach to raising people's awareness of slave-labor conditions, but it doesn't make sense (or only makes sense for a particular demographic) to base calculations on how many items of a particular kind the survey-taker currently owns.

It matters just as much how often the items are replaced (once a year? once every 20 years? once in a lifetime?) and whether they're acquired new or used. In a materially rich society it's possible to buy almost all goods except food, medicine, and energy in the second-hand market. And, with a few tools, the life of many consumer goods can be greatly prolonged.

Some of the most politically and socially conscious (and most slave-labor averse) people I know are low-income old people who remember the Great Depression, live with packed closets, and spend their days repairing hand-me- downs and broken machines. They aren't, obviously, the target market of the slaveryfootprint app, but some of their consumption strategies might mentioned in future versions. There might be future questions along the lines of, "How many broken computers have your repaired in the past five years?" Or, "How many worn and outmoded garments have you mended and re-sewn into something more stylish?"

</comment><comment><USER16> There are real methodological issues here. Even so, I'd prefer reducing the number of people forced into slavery. Does anyone have suggestions on how to do this most efficiently?

Some numbers:

\- consume less: my consumption seems to require about one "slave" (in the site's sense) per EUR 1000/USD 1500. (Being a fairly frugal vegetarian may help here. Or not.)

\- Fair Trade: <http://www.slavefreechocolate.org/> suggests that 100g of cocoa (say one good bar of chocolate) requires about one child-slave-day;

\- no diamonds: this is surprisingly hard to pin down. Searching the internet suggests that the cost in lives lost in wars is much greater than the cost in lives lost in slavery.

</comment><comment><USER17> When I clicked on this link I thought it was going to be about the wage slaves that work for me down at the local mall.

Day in and day out they shuffle into their meaningless jobs, selling shoes or flipping burgers. 8 hours a day 5 days a week for 40 years. They rack up a life time of debt in the first few years of adulthood and struggle to stay on top of it for the rest of their lives.

I'd much rather live within my means and enjoy life instead. I want to build interesting stuff, fun games, follow my dreams...

</comment><comment><USER18> Maybe I am oversimplifying here, but I'm sure that a detailed audit of most companies could find behavior that some group would find unconscionable. I think that one could literally end up exhausting themselves by finding and actively avoiding these companies. I also think that if someone has no qualms breaking the law/exploiting people to make money, that cutting off one revenue stream would not stop the behavior of that person, they would move along to the next scam.

</comment><comment><USER19> After taking the test (69 slaves), I thought I would try to see if I could minimize & maximize the results. So as a 1-year old naked infant in Bangalore with absolutely nothing to her name, I had 14 slaves. As a 40-year old homeowner in NYC with 16 children, a large house and tons of stuff, I had 151 slaves.

</comment><comment><USER20> The questions really profile you pretty deeply -- City, Gender, Age, Children, consumer preferences.

Is that the point of the website?

</comment><comment><USER21> Great design; Does anyone know if that was from scratch, or if there's a visual/back-end framework behind it?

<comment><USER22> looks like they're using backbone.js as a framework. also, raphaël which I haven't heard of before; it's a vector graphics library apparently. so, I think the answer to your questions are yes, and yes :)

very nice work from them btw.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Where are these supposed sex slaves of mine and why haven't I met them for their annual performance review?

</comment><comment><USER24> Apparently I have 60 slaves working for me. Anyone beat my "high score"?

<comment><USER25> Well the interface is very bad so I gave up after 8/11...

<comment><USER26> I have 34. I agree that it can use a lot of work. Some of the numbers didn't make sense. I don't get how I'm supposed to rank my shrimp consumption, for instance, on a scale of 0 to infinity...?

<comment><USER27> Some of the side bars give guidance and some don't. The food one says at the top rank them from 0-5 with 0 being never consume and 5 consume constantly or something like that. The bigger problem is on that sidebar you can go past 5. On the other side bars there's no guidance and the counters go up so what does the number even mean.

Apparently I contribute to lots of slavery (60) because I have lots of ball point pens and electronics.... doesn't make a ton of sense.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Very cool website and a good message.

Main takeaway for me: either "everyone" is a liar or only saintly people took the survey.

<comment><USER29> I'm slightly below average without lying - this may be a problem with demographics. I'm a bachelor with scarcely anything beyond the basics in the bathrooms, and a very limited wardrobe. Almost all of my slave score comes from electronics.

This would change dramatically if you're calculating for multiple people in a household, or you're just not a barebones bachelor like me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER30> I know, completely irrelevant, but coltran is not a supercondctor.

</comment><comment><USER31> 32 Slaves. Now what?

<comment><USER32> Learn to exploit. I have 94 slaves.

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> My score is 76.

</comment><comment><USER34> Comes off as a marketing trojan horse...

</comment><comment><USER35> very interesting interface, even though it is slow and sluggish at times.

</comment><comment><USER36> The site wont load on an Android browser. Take off the "if statement" that says dont run on small screens.</comment>


Why I Don't Use RSS Anymore - <AUTHOR> http://www.nicosphere.net/why-i-dont-use-rss-anymore-2536/

<comment><USER2> Then you are missing out and are letting the masses decide what you read. Technical experts have highly targeted RSS feeds and thus highly relevant information. Once you give up on that you've really just given up.

<comment><AUTHOR> You are certainly right, I'm not a technical experts, and the average contain of HN is usually enough for me. If I would need some too specific stuff, it wouldn't work.

<comment><USER3> Sounds like a good balance is best. RSS for specific, infrequent blogs and twitter for the mass news. This is where I have found myself lately. I have dropped all feeds that post more than 3 or 4 times a day other than HN. If I could get a more refined feed from HN (just stuff that makes it to the front page), I would be even happier.

<comment><AUTHOR> > If I could get a more refined feed from HN (just stuff that makes it to the > front page

There is possibly a way, this twitter account provide only HN stories higher than 100 points, Twitter also allow to follow via RSS feed, unless they it turned off, <https://twitter.com/#!/newsyc100> So it would provide readable feed for HN.

<comment><USER3> awesome. i didn't know about that twitter account. thanks.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'm actually very sad that people don't understand the power of RSS. Of course you have to be stupid to push Reddit through Google Reader, but that does not mean RSS is dead as much as email is dead because we have Facebook messaging. While that analogy sounds outrageous, think about it: you won't kick yourself because you missed the top post in Reddit from the morning (maybe it annoys you that you don't understand the windfall of followup posts) but I sure as hell don't want to miss the one important publication that got published in a journal about my research. Sure, my unread count is now 2000, but I can still rest assured that my procrastination will not make things I haven't read to just disappear.

I used to really love some subreddits, especially r/askscience. I used to be able to just put an RSS feed and never miss a single question I could help with. But now its overwhelming; I can't do anything about it. So I just didn't even bother going there for a while. Until I figured out ways to filter the posts in the subreddit and feed them into RSS (I used <http://ifttt.com/> for that btw) and now I can at least try to answer questions of my interest.

While social aggregation sites are good to go through while munching dinner, when you need to consume data for real knowledge acquisition, I don't think you can beat RSS. For that I hope RSS never dies in spite of all the ignorance around it.

</comment><comment><USER5> For high traffic sites, RSS is pretty unusable (mostly because the state of the art in clients seems to be fixated on read/unread counts. Feed a Fever looked interesting <http://feedafever.com/> but never really seemed to take off) but there are always going to be never-want-to-miss sites.

I have a collection of blogs and sites where I want to read every thing that person says. There are many people that post infrequently, post extremely insightful commentary and yet don't show up in my social media feeds.

</comment><comment><USER6> Many excellent sites publish new stuff very rarely. RSS is the best way to follow those sites.

<comment><AUTHOR> I agree that good sites publish rarely. Some site get in the Hacker News front page at every publication, even if they publish once a month, because they stuff are excellent. I'm not following them with RSS, but I still aware of them.

<comment><USER7> The tricky bit is that YOU still need to follow the news everyday. If Joel On Software has a new post, it surely will get posted to HN, but if you are on vacation, you will miss it. RSS would let you see it when you come back.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Google Reader allows me to mix high traffic and "I don't want to miss anything" sites.

I make extensive use of tags, and put my "not to miss" feeds under a "favorite" tag, that I always read. 2-3 other tags I read all from as well.

And the rest (including HN), I only read in "All items", sorted by "magic". That way, I know I will see if something big happened on these sites (it's sorted mostly by the amount of "+1", I think) in priority, and the rest, maybe later.

Then, during the weekend (slow update days), I purge all Google Reader, prepared for Monday, and it goes for another week.

That's the most effective way I've found to follow tech and gaming news, since I started. It's a good compromise in my opinion, since many of my "favorite" feeds are not really popular or likely to appear on Reddit or HN.

</comment><comment><USER9> "Unread item overload" is why I started using the PostRank Extension ([https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pnngeaoibaajihakbn...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pnngeaoibaajihakbnngcfecdkinjjpf))

It plugs into Google Reader (and even HN!) really well, and can quickly help you pick out the best links from 100's of RSS items easily.

<comment><USER10> That looks like a great ad on.

Does it come with source? My 20 second review didn't show up anything and I've become very leery of letting any plugin that I can't read the source get added to my browser.

<comment><USER9> Yeah, I totally understand. The company was recently acquired by Google, so I guess you can consider having some measure of 'safety'.

<comment><USER10> Well that is a pretty good stamp of approval.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> The high number of grammatical errors caused me to quit reading in the middle.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you for pointing this problem. I started writing in English only recently. I hope it will be a good practice, and help me with grammatical errors.

Any tips to improve with this?

<comment><USER11> write more :o) it's the only way you'll get better _and_ it's a good way of saying "fuck you" to those that cricise...

[other things i do include silently talking to myself in the foreign language while i am out walking (describe what is happening) and trying to listen/read in an "aware" way - for example, when listening to someone speak, try to consciously note the gender of the nouns they are using (doesn't work for english, but you get the idea...). but the most important thing is practice - my spanish got much, much worse when i started working from home rather than in a spanish-speaking company]

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for your advises, in fact, I hesitated to write it in French, the easy way...

So I will carry on practice, I could try force myself to think in English as you said, good advice. Thanks.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Depends on what you're interested in. I was once subscribed (Opera's RSS client, just for the record) to feeds with a high content volume (Ars Technica, space.com), which is basically unmanageable because it leads to thousands of unread messages.

I scrapped those feeds and kept the ones that post new content rarely enough for me to forget about them but care for enough to want to know immediately when this happens.</comment>


Emacs Fireplace - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/johanvts/emacs-fireplace <comment><USER2> Should add a surreptitious cryptocurrency miner to keep your cpu/gpu warm and cozy.

<comment> dan-robertson I think emacs already does that fine

<comment><USER3> have you actually used emacs on a cpu made in the last 20 years and found it to be slow?

compared to vim or bash, it is cpu intensive. compared to any of the graphical apps that come with a mac, it is easier on the cpu (and on RAM).

<comment> dan-robertson I use emacs basically all day and so my comment was partially in jest. I find the following things to be slow:

1\. Large files

2\. Anything synchronous and blocking that takes a little too long can be frustratingly slow. This often isn't entirely the fault of emacs (e.g. if it is slow because an external program is slow) but async isn't done for everything so sometimes things block and you can't do anything while they are working. This is particularly annoying if the external program provides eg auto-completion

3\. Running a macro a large number of times

4\. Building the completion list when finding files (I think this is a combination of an issue with the extension for finding files and how it reads a directory and just reading a very large directory over nfs)

5\. Sometimes it becomes slow enough that the visual lag between key press and character-on-screen is annoyingly large

<comment> em-bee we used to call it: _Eight Megabytes And Currently Swapping_. but those days are long gone...

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> And some snow to go with it:

[https://with-emacs.com/posts/white-christmas-in-emacs/](https://with- emacs.com/posts/white-christmas-in-emacs/)

</comment><comment><USER5> From three years and a week ago: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10758290](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10758290)

</comment><comment><USER6> If you're feeling lazy to install this but still want to experience this then you can try it in your browser: [https://fireplace.basicer.repl.run/](https://fireplace.basicer.repl.run/)

(This uses repl.run, which is Repl.it's new terminal app hosting service. Source here: [https://fireplace.basicer.repl.run/__repl](https://fireplace.basicer.repl.run/__repl) )

</comment><comment><USER7> Love it. Reminds me of pixel fireplace [https://hammertail.itch.io/pixel- fireplace](https://hammertail.itch.io/pixel-fireplace)

</comment><comment><USER8> Still gives me flashbacks to the one time my hard drive got wiped by a virus[1]

1: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoned_(computer_virus)#Flame,...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoned_\(computer_virus\)#Flame,_Stamford)

<comment><USER9> the bitcoin footnote there is fascinating

<comment><USER10> Reminds me of the old trick of inserting the EICAR test string into logfiles so that attacker actions get erased by antivirus

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Can I throw some floo powder in their to access TRAMP?

</comment><comment><USER12> A festive version for today :)

[https://github.com/Duroktar/YuleLog](https://github.com/Duroktar/YuleLog)

</comment><comment><USER13> Reminds me that my first program ever was probably typing the fire effect assembly demo..

</comment><comment><USER14> This is really cool! Is there a vim version?

<comment><USER15> For better or worse, Vim Fireplace is a clojure development extension:

[https://github.com/tpope/vim-fireplace](https://github.com/tpope/vim- fireplace)

When I saw the title of the post, I was wondering for a bit if this was a port to emacs.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Can I add this as a zone program in zone-mode?

</comment><comment><USER17> I'd love to see an atom package for this.

</comment><comment><USER18> I love it, feels warm.

</comment><comment> n-gate Can I get a quick vim vs emacs usage vote here? Not looking for a war. Just a usage vote. I will try and update results. Feel free to reply with your daily hours too

Results below- small sample but makes me wonder about stack overflow survey about vim being thrice as used as emacs. I am a very loyal vim user but I would wager that those results were influenced by the occasional vim user. What are others thoughts on this?

2:52 UTC 9-7 vim-emacs

<comment><USER19> Vim.

Vim's command-line is more alien to the last 4 or 5 gui-bred younger generations of programmers. Learning to master it is therefore more of a badge of hounour, and for that, more sought-after, than learning to master Emacs.

Personally, I'd rather have Vim, but with Emacs-Lisp as a scripting language. That would rock.:x

<comment><USER20> > Personally, I'd rather have Vim, but with Emacs-Lisp as a scripting > language. That would rock.:x

Spacemacs sounds like it'd fit your needs to a T. Or doom-emacs.

<comment><USER19> Those are Emacs configs and I do prefer vim, just with a different scripting language - but, thanks :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> C-x M-c M-buuurrrrnnnn</comment>


Twenty-five years later, the first convictions in the Bhopal disaster - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/world/asia/08bhopal.html?ref=world

<comment><USER2> According to a chemical engineering professor I took a class with, it was virtually impossible for the Bhopal disaster to have been accidental. Chemical plants use different types of pipe connectors to ensure that the wrong kinds of chemicals aren't mixed - getting water into the tank would have required connecting a "square" pipe to a "round" flange [1]. The government investigation and an independent investigation confirmed this.

Fun fact: UC was involved in a dispute with one of their unions just before the disaster occurred. I'm sure that was a completely unrelated event.

[1] They aren't actually square and round, they use a sequence of locks which don't fit together. A "square pipe into a round flange" is merely an easy to describe visual which gives the general idea.

<comment><USER3> So are you saying that someone deliberately killed thousands of people? Or what?

<comment><USER4> I think he's saying that the accident resulted from egregious negligence. Sometimes accidents really are extremely difficult to prevent, like when you strike and kill a pedestrian who emerges suddenly while you're driving slower than the speed limit in very poor visibility. But sometimes accidents come about because deliberately undertake actions that a reasonable person can expect will result in killings. Like when you decide to drive home after consuming 8 shots of Jägermeister and accidentally kill a pedestrian. Both situations are accidental. But in one case, the police won't do anything while in the other case, you're going to go to prison for a long time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Coincidentally, I was just reading about the fake press release made by The Yes Men on this subject ( <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yes_Men#Dow_Chemical> )

Five years ago they pretended to be actual spokesman admitting the company's fault and saying they would sell the place and use the $ 12 billion to pay everyone and fix the whole mess left behind.

The hoax made the company lose $ 2 billion and served to raised awareness.

<comment><USER6> Here's the video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWlvBro9eI>

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> In some places, nations are invaded over 3000 dead. In others, you get 2 years in jail after 25 years... The different values attached to different lives are mindblowing.

<comment><USER8>
      In others, you get 2 years in jail after 25 years...

And bailed out in 2 hours - [http://www.hindustantimes.com/Eight-accused- jailed-for-two-y...](http://www.hindustantimes.com/Eight-accused-jailed-for- two-years-bailed-out-in-two-hours/H1-Article1-554180.aspx)

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> A pittance of a fine and a slap on the wrist? There's no justice in that.

</comment><comment><USER10> To quote Gladstone, "Justice delayed is justice denied." In this case, it's almost certainly deliberate.

</comment><comment><USER11> This is an interesting case to study, it is not as open and shut as it seemed.

The Indian Government, wanting Indians in more senior positions, pushed UC into placing Indians into levels of responsibility that it appears they were not ready for.

Thus when the accident occurred, many of those in charge were actually Indians... not heartless money-grubbing foreigners.

<comment><USER4> I have not seen that accusation before. Can you cite any references to support that claim?

<comment><USER11> It is difficult to find the case study reference, I believe it was in a business textbook I read some 15 years ago.

The human factors surrounding the disaster are rarely considered, as articles tend to focus on either the environmental pollution, or the large loss of human lives.

The best I can find for a web-available resource is this:

<http://www.umass.edu/sts/pdfs/Bhopal_AChrono.pdf>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> It's interesting how little is being done in comparison to the BP oil spill in the Gulf.

What ever happened to Corporate Social Responsibility??? DOW has maintained innocence in the midst of all this...</comment>


The Lost Pleasure of Reading Aloud - <AUTHOR> https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/08/the-lost-pleasure-of-reading-aloud/ <comment><USER2> My wife and I had a long-distance courtship. We used to read novels to each other over Skype. It was a nice change from chatting when we'd run out of things to say, and a fun way to share favourite stories. We didn't ever try to read anything really ambitious, but that was part of what made it enjoyable— even just kids' chapter books, stuff like Gordon Korman, Louis Sachar, Sid Fleischman.

We don't read to each other as much these days (though sometimes in the car), but we definitely do read to the kids.

<comment><USER3> I've begun reading Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" to my 6 year- old boy, and it's been a wonderful experience for both of us— I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and just as much as our boy does. I hadn't read it since childhood, and I'd forgotten just how richly whimsical it is and how formative it was for me and how much it informs my imagination today.

<comment><USER4> Heh, my girlfriend and I have been reading that to each other for about two years I think now. It's highly enjoyable, although a bit hard to follow when one falls asleep while the other is reading it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Not sure how relevant this is but I worked at a dayschool for a beat and they had a few service dogs come in to sit with the children while the kids "read to the dog." Most doggies are really chill and the kids were able to read without fear of criticism or correction, and the dog was there always happy. Studies (don't ask me for references, dunno) show that by reading to a dog at a young age, people become much more confident readers.

<comment><USER6> Looks like there was a study [1] that looked at reading skill and reading attitudes among young children. Attitudes improved, skills did not.

But over time, students with better attitudes toward reading probably do more of it, and therefore get better at it.

1: [https://phys.org/news/2017-05-therapy-dogs-literacy- attitude...](https://phys.org/news/2017-05-therapy-dogs-literacy-attitudes- second-grade.html)

<comment><USER5> Attitude can fall under the realm of Skills!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I used to read to my kids and what is interesting is that for the first time in my life I discovered some things that I never learned as I went through school.

1) Reading poetry is really enjoyable. To this day, if my son asks me to read to him, I'll probably try to read poetry. It just feels so good to read.

2) There are certain books that I really enjoy reading aloud and others that I don't. And its not the content, but just the feel of the words coming off my tongue.

Concrete examples, my favorite children's book to read is "The Little Island". Even thinking about reading it makes me feel a little happy. A book that I don't like to read aloud, but like the message, is "The Little Engine that Could" (this version [https://www.amazon.com/Little-Engine-Could-Original- Classic/...](https://www.amazon.com/Little-Engine-Could-Original- Classic/dp/0448405202/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AM2P5DP8XQCQ3XNGB473)). I found it a chore to read that book out loud.

<comment><USER8> Try reading Dr. Seuss's "Fox in socks" for a chore.

<comment><USER9> When hiring secretarial and sales staff, I'd have them read that book. It was a great way to tell their abilities to enunciate and share information. It was also good to see how well they'd perform under pressure.

<comment><USER10> Old fashioned whiteboarding

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I generally hate reading aloud. I find that most writing is really NOT meant to be "heard" in reality, only in the mind. However, recently I decided to show my daughter (who has taken an interest in popular RPG video games like Undertale) some older games that I liked when I was younger. As you might guess, these games lack a voice track and while we can both read fine, we read at different speeds. So there is always an awkward wait before continuing to the next dialog screen.

So we solved it by just reading the dialog and that actually turned out to be pretty fun. We'd split up the characters and sometimes make some funny voices and just go for it. As a bonus, it helps you realize just how awful the writing is in some of the most beloved old video games (Square, I'm looking your way, you spoony bard.)

<comment><USER12> _I find that most writing is really NOT meant to be "heard" in reality_

As a counter-example, Flaubert used to scream his texts in his "gueuloir" as a way to perfect them.

 _wrong written sentences do not resist this test; they oppress the chest, hinder the heartbeat and thus are apart from real life conditions._

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I love to read aloud.

I wish more books came with a readaloud guide. Sometimes, characters are introduced that deserve distinctive vocal styles that aren't obvious right away. So after five lines of dialog, you find out the new character is a woman with a strong eastern-European accent, and you'd been reading her words like a man.

Tolkien is wonderful to read aloud, except for the damn songs. You arrive at a song (some of which are relevant to the plot, so you you can't skip them) and mumble your way through it like one of the obscure psalms. Ugh. But soon the great prose flows again, and all is good.

I read the whole of Harry Potter aloud to my kids, starting about age 5. The early books aren't too scary for a 5-6yo boy, though they get scarier. Those were the first books I read to them that I enjoyed too, a huge improvement over Cat in the Hat.

Although audiobooks make reading aloud obsolete in some sense, I feel it's one of the most enjoyable obsolete activities.

</comment><comment><USER14> A ex and I used to read favorite novels to each other, a chapter or so every night one of us stayed over. There's something very intimate about it, and it's fun to be able to discuss characters and the books' deeper concepts as you go along. Maybe I romanticize it because I was read to a lot when I was a child.

On nice days my partner and I've been going to a nearby park, where I'll read Snow Crash to them.

It's a bit like putting a record on a record player. You make a conscious decision to focus on the experience and cut out other distractions.

<comment><USER15> Snow Crash is amazing, this is a fantastic idea. Do you get into it with character voices? I feel like I could up my D&D DM exposition skills with this :P

<comment><USER14> Yes! I used to do stage productions in school, so I love getting really into the characters and giving them unique voices.

<comment><USER15> Same! If you're into it I highly recommend trying out a tabletop RP game, I recently discovered how much of a blast they can be. Tickles my acting tooth :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> It's been long established that reading aloud to your children is one of the best ways to advance their early learning. ([https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2267171](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2267171))

<comment><USER17> The (controversial) economist Steven D. Levitt pointed out that there was no correlation between parents reading to children and reading test scores.[1]

I don't know which studies are accurate. I just remember that story because the findings were counter-intuitive.

[1] "Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which tracks the progress of more than 20,000 American schoolchildren from kindergarten through the fifth grade." \-- [https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005...](https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-03-parents- edit_x.htm)

<comment><USER18> The editorial you site is from 2005, while the other paper is from 2014. The latter looks like a large and well designed study. Here is a quote from the conclusion:

"What are the implications of our findings? Our main finding is that it is important that young children are being read to. This is an early-life intervention that seems to be beneficial for the rest of their lives. We show that there is an important role for parents in the educational performance of their children. The evidence strongly suggests that parental reading to children gives them a head-start in life."

I haven't studied either enough to say for sure, but it appears the the 2014 paper is trying to measure the marginal benefit of reading, while the Levitt study was looking at larger correlations. The Levitt study suggests that smart parents end up with smart kids, reading or not. What is more interesting to me at least, is what can I do to help my kids succeed? The 2014 paper comes closer to answering this question, and suggests reading to them helps.

<comment><USER17> _> The Levitt study suggests that smart parents end up with smart kids, reading or not._

To clarify, it wasn't a "Levitt study" per se. It was government study. The government had questionnaires asking parents _" how often do you read to your children?"_ and it had the children's reading test scores. Levitt found no correlation in those 2 datapoints.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Just finished reading the hobbit and lord of the rings to my 7 year old. I absolutely loved it, and he's a full blown Tolkien nut now. Previously we read through Harry Potter.

By the end I noticed I have really developed a voice. He has developed a richer vocabulary (dad what is "clemency") and is better at reading between the lines. Certainly enjoyable and educational for everyone. Looking forward to the next series we read and will miss this when he starts reading this stuff on his own. Was thinking of volenteeering at an old folks home.

<comment><USER20> I read Harry Potter to my kids, on Periscope, and it turned out to be wonderful. Their English skills developed tremendously, we spent a lot of time together doing it, and they understood that the internet needs constant input from normal users to remain such a fantastic resource.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> I love reading, but since having kids (I'd never had to read aloud before) have discovered I find the sensations around reading _aloud_ to be extremely unpleasant. Anything that rhymes/has a sing-song meter is OK.. but I find normal prose gruelling and can't wait for it to be over. It feels like a sort of claustrophobia, but trapped by the slowness rather than physically. I often end up paraphrasing or dropping unnecessary words as I go to make better progress.

<comment><USER22> The fun for me's in getting all the intonation and emphasis _just_ right. You don't have to "do the voices" or anything over the top, but just try to read it how a good narrator might.

Try reading them adult books (if you're not already—and especially classics, they tend to have really nice prose that you want to run your eyes over several times just for the sensation, anyway) or classics of children's literature (e.g. _The Jungle Book_ ). Might help. Lots of childrens' books are just plain bad.

<comment><USER23> _> intonation and emphasis just right._

Yes. The emphasis carries a lot of information in addition to the simple text. I find it hard to do when reading aloud from a book I haven't myself read before. In fact I think it's one reason I tend to pick my personal childhood favourites to read.

Perhaps this is lazy. I wonder if other parents do the same?

<comment><USER22> It's a skill you get better at. Correctly guessing most of the time, looking a little ahead when you can, that kind of thing. Like sight reading music, really. Combination of well-trained intuition that mostly gets things right and sneaking a peak at the next few notes or bars when you have the opportunity. Definitely works some different mental muscles than silent reading.

[EDIT] I've read my kids a couple old favorites, though not ones I've read recently. In part I've used them as an excuse to get through entries my personal to-read list, in fact. Multitasking! Especially when they're really young, they don't know the difference. My 4-year-old's super into Ovid right now, which is awesome. Have to skip the too-sexy or ultra-violent (or, uh, both) bits, but it's working alright.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> We've been reading aloud to our kids for _years_ now, and it's a great way to all share an imaginary world together. A great resource we found is the Read Aloud Handbook [1], which includes an enormous list of great books, and the appropriate age at which to first encounter them.

Also, since my son had an extended stay in another state, we recorded ourselves reading books aloud to his sister, packaged them into audiobooks, and put them on his iPod. This really helped us feel connected as a family. I wrote a blog post about how to do it [2].

[1]: [http://www.trelease-on-reading.com](http://www.trelease-on-reading.com) [2]: [https://ben.straub.cc/2017/05/12/audiobooks/](https://ben.straub.cc/2017/05/12/audiobooks/)

</comment><comment><USER25> For material that I struggle understanding upon first read (e.g. academic papers), I often find myself pacing in circles in my room/backyard, reading it aloud, slowly, with proper intonation, as if I was lecturing. It helps a lot, although my neighbors probably think I'm crazy.

</comment><comment><USER26> I read aloud to our children every night for about 10 years. They are both phenomenal readers and actors. I read to them because it gave me extra snuggle time.

</comment><comment><USER27> My parents read outloud to me and my brother a lot as we were growing up. And now, this is something I really like doing with people I date? I have a couple of books of short stories that I'm slowing working through. Short stories are vital because my girlfriends _zonk_ a handful of pages in, but they still have really liked it.

</comment><comment><USER28> Interesting, reading aloud has been a tradition inside every cigar factory in Cuba since the 19th century. [http://mashable.com/2016/11/19/cigar-factory- lectors/#l37Rcj...](http://mashable.com/2016/11/19/cigar-factory- lectors/#l37Rcjcey5qw)

<comment><USER29> And before there was a Cuba or a New World, being a lector was a profession in the factories and workshops of Europe.

<comment><USER30> IIRC I read recently that unions organized this, and the level of education amongst some factory workers was actually extremely high.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> Currently reading an Abraham Lincoln Biography and apparently he used to drive one of the persons he boarded with crazy because he would read aloud. When asked why he said something to the effect of "Seeing and hearing is easier to remember than just seeing"

Book is [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4059448-a-lincoln](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4059448-a-lincoln) if anyone is interested.

</comment><comment><USER32> Although still a WIP, I found out that reading to my (mostly bilingual) kids in the non-dominant language is helping them mastering those subtle cues that previously gave them away as non-native speakers. A lot of those issues are pretty difficult to identify upfront e.g. homophones and reading aloud makes them evident to them. Correct entonation and cadence come along naturally now too.

</comment><comment><USER33> I was reading Augustine one day and was struck by a passage that referred a silent reading in a way that made it seem quite uncommon in those days. Here it is, referring to Ambrose of Milan:

"When he was reading, his eyes ran over the page and his heart perceived the sense, but his voice and tongue were silent. He did not restrict access to anyone coming in, nor was it customary even for a visitor to be announced. Very often when we were there, we saw him silently reading and never otherwise. After sitting for a long time in silence (for who would dare to burden him in such intent concentration?) we used to go away. We supposed that in the brief time he could find for his mind's refreshment, free from the hubbub of other people's troubles, he would not want to be invited to consider another problem. We wondered if he read silently perhaps to protect himself in case he had a hearer interested and intent on the matter, to whom he might have to expound the text being read if it contained difficulties, or who might wish to debate some difficult questions. If his time were used up in that way, he would get through fewer books than he wished. Besides, the need to preserve his voice, which used easily to become hoarse, could have been a very fair reason for silent reading. Whatever motive he had for his habit, this man had a good reason for what he did."

<comment><USER34> This passage is often cited by people (not you) who claim that before St Augustine's time people _could not_ read silently. E.g. [https://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/LatinBackground/Sil...](https://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/LatinBackground/SilentReading.html): " _There is no disputing the fact that the Romans read everything aloud, in fact they were apparently not able to read silently._ "

This seems greatly implausible. Consider, for example, the fact that the Roman walls were often covered in graffiti. The idea that a Roman would have to vocalize all of them to find one that seemed funny seems absurd. Further, there are examples in plays of a character reading a letter silently.

It does seem, though, that there have been times in specific cultures when reading _prose_ or _poetry_ aloud would have been considered the norm, and whether or not one _could_ read silently, it wouldn't have been in anybody's habit to do so, because prose and poetry were "meant" to be read aloud. The notion, then, that someone could apparently "hear" all the musicality of the text while reading silently may indeed then have been cause for surprise.

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> One of my fondest memories of our trip to England/Scotland many years ago, was my wife in the passenger seat reading me entire chapters of a book that I had bought in a beautiful little bookshop earlier in the trip while we did long cross country drives.

Must admit though, that my wife has a fantastic speaking voice, and should probably do voice over work or something in her spare time. We were both at a seminar once, where the presenter asked her to read out some customer quotes. As soon as she read the first one, he basically handed her the script to read most of his actual presentation after that.

Myself personally though, I don't read aloud much at all. I always find that my brain tends to work _much_ faster than my mouth muscles, and I frequently speak too fast or stumble over words, which results in me speaking less in public in front of strangers especially.

</comment><comment><USER36> When I started living alone the first time, I realised I miss someone to talk to, a friend or family. But I was into reading. So I started reading aloud to myself

1\. I stopped skimming, actually started reading

2\. I got tired faster and didn't feel alone anymore

3\. Learnt more pronunciation and spellings correctly

It's a great exercise!

</comment><comment><USER37> Just wanted to say I really appreciate all the personal anecdotes people are sharing; the personal stories aren't often shared in this quantity in one discussion here and doing so somehow changes the entire experience in a very positive way. Up-votes all around!

</comment><comment><USER38> I travel a lot, and while I'm on the road my fiance often struggles to get to sleep. I've got a small microphone that I travel with, and I record myself reading _Winnie the Pooh_ stories, and chapters from _The Hobbit_. I host them on my website, and she can open it up and listen to a chapter.

Children's stories are better for this, as they are usually written with the view of being read aloud. Plus they also make better bedtime stories :)

</comment><comment><USER39> Made a drinking game of it with my gf: any time Lovecraft used something racist, antediluvian, eldritch, horror, terror, geometry, ineffable, someone drank.. Good times

</comment><comment><USER40> I am reading the original Dragon Lance saga to my two daughters. Very enjoyable, but I'm not satisfied by my voicing of Raistlin.

</comment><comment><USER41> I often read articles for girlfriends. Especially interesting or funny ones.

<comment><USER42> Nice. For dates we'd go to a library or book store, take random books and dramatically read the first, middle, and last lines. And speculate on the rest and/or make fun of it.

</comment></comment><comment> d--b My wife and I read books together all the time... Especially the complex ones, so we can talk about it while we read. I don't see it as weird or lost at all...

</comment><comment><USER43> My wife had cataract surgery this summer. (We are not kids.) She had a book club meeting coming up shortly, so with her eyes still bothering her, I read about 30 pages of the club's next book to her. She then bought an audio version from the iTunes in the next day or so, and said that the narrator read much better than I did. I did not doubt this.

</comment><comment><USER44> I love audiobooks because of the pacing. Sometimes I realize I'm bored with a book because I'm trying to race through it. It's nice to slow down and actually process things.

I've read books to my SO before and it was enjoyable, but she usually ended up falling asleep and I was stuck debating whether I should continue.

</comment><comment><USER45> Anything Carl Sagan wrote is a pleasure to read aloud. I read in his biography that he did most of his writing by dictation.

</comment><comment><USER46> Excellent for camping trips.</comment>


Why Retailers Ask for your ZIP Code - <AUTHOR> http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/why-retailers-ask-for-your-zip-code/

<comment><USER2> I Germany there is a small island called "Helgoland". It has like 10 inhabitants and can only be accessed half a day (tide). BUT they have their own zip code. I have this zip written down in by purse and in the case a German retailer were to ask me for my zip I'd give that zip to them.

This prank is called "Ein Supermarkt für Helgoland": Trying to make them build a supermarket on that island based on the supposedly demand that people from Helgoland's zip code need one on their own.

</comment><comment><USER3> Some gas pumps ask for your zip also. Is it for security or marketing?

<comment><USER4> If you're using your credit card, then it's security.

A lot of credit card thieves will make a small purchase (say.. at a gas pump) to see if the card is still active.

Doubtful that this practice protects against the card skimmers that get installed inside the pump (which is why you should be buying gas with a credit card and not a debit card -- you have better consumer protections against fraud)</comment></comment>


ONEMMI-4211 - <AUTHOR> My new software philosophy:

    One language
    No config
    No build
    Everything is a Module
    Modules want to be 150 lines
    Imperative is best
 And...

    - Wrap text at 42 character width
    - 1:1 ratio of expressions to lines

 ONNEMI-4211 <comment><AUTHOR>
        var library = require("module-library")(require)

It looks like this:

        library.define(
          "hello-world",[
          "web-site",
          "web-element",
          "browser-bridge"],
          function(WebSite, element,
            BrowserBridge) {
            var site = new WebSite()
            site.start(
              3444)
            var page = element(
              "hello world")
            site.addRoute(
              "get",
              "\",
              function(_, response) {
                var bridge = new BrowserBridge(
                  ).forResponse(
                    response)
                bridge.send(
                  page)})})

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> One Language

\- No CSS, HTML, macros, build flags, etc. Construct them imperatively in native code.

No Config

\- Switches, addresses, hashes, application structure, all must be written in function calls, not keys in a config file.

No Build

\- Can be started with its one file

Everything Is Module

\- No dependencies implicit in filesystem, environment switches, build descriptors, etc. Modules must be written explicitly in code

Modules Are 150 Lines

\- they'll grow to 600 but they want to be 150

Imperative Is Best

\- Pass data to procedures. Don't entire namespaces. Don't pass flags.

\- Try not to have keys on object that stick around and affect different pieces of code at different times. As much as possible try to use objects in the same module that created them

ONEMMI-4211</comment>


Remote First at Quora - <AUTHOR> https://www.quora.com/q/quora/Remote-First-at-Quora?share=1 <comment><USER2> Are there non-PEO solutions to alleviate the administrative burden of having employees in many states? Keeping up with employment and tax compliance requirements is not trivial. Most HR systems (for smaller companies) I've seen still require the employer to register with each state. Might be a good startup idea.

</comment><comment><USER3> This is interesting, and at least in the tech world it seems like work will be noticeably more distributed from here on out.

Does anyone know of any other companies that have gone remote first during the pandemic?</comment>


Bare Minimum You Must Do If You Ever Want My Help with Your Computer Ever Again - <AUTHOR> https://trello.com/board/the-bare-minimum-you-must-do-if-you-ever-want-my-help-with-your-computer-ever-again/513787fe904b861b580080ae

<comment><USER2> Not so sure about last pass. I just wish everything legitimate just had an option to sign in with Google.</comment>


With friends like the DMCA, who needs SOPA? - <AUTHOR> http://gigaom.com/2011/11/27/with-friends-like-the-dmca-who-needs-sopa/

<comment><USER2> IIRC, filing a fake DMCA takedown notice is equivalent to perjury. This is the balance.

The people and companies systematically filing DMCA takedown notices against their competitors should be brought to court.</comment>


Impregnation via the GI tract in a patient with a distal vagina (1988) [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1960/acec02af887628116c77caf1079f726d2c89.pdf <comment><USER2> So for the people who don't want to spend 3 minutes to read it:

1\. The woman did not have a full vagina leading to the uterus, but instead had more of a 2" dimple.

2\. The woman was practicing oral sex.

3\. She was stabbed in the abdomen.

4\. 9 months later a child was delivered by c-section.

5\. At 5 years, the child had a remarkable resemblance to the father.

The theory is:

1\. Saliva has a high pH which would allow the semen to survive.

2\. Her stomach contents were empty when they were repairing her stab wounds, so her stomach might not have been producing acid.

3\. The stab wound allowed the semen to flow to her uterus, impregnating her.

<comment><USER3> But spend the 3 minutes! It's great and it even ends in a punchline!

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> That's incredible... Is this real?

</comment><comment><USER5> This might be the most wild thing I've ever read.

<comment><USER6> There was a reported case of a virgin birth during the US Civil War, where a bullet passed through a soldier's testes and ended up in a young lady.

[https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Attention_Gynaecologists!_—...](https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Attention_Gynaecologists!_—_Notes_from_the_Diary_of_a_Field_and_Hospital_Surgeon,_C._S._A).

It's generally considered to be farcical, but I've seen it passed off as real.

<comment><USER7> IIRC Mythbusters had an episode about this "son of a gun" myth and concluded that it was essentially impossible. It still makes an amazing story. Like all virgin births I expect the truth was either that it was entirely fabricated, or it was real insofar as the woman in question didn't want to publically give up her "virtue" (which given the periods involved, is understandable). Plus you as a bonus you get long odds on starting a religion.</comment></comment></comment>


Supreme Court may reel in Apple v. Samsung damage award - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/10/scotus-may-be-ready-to-reel-in-apple-v-samsung-damage-award/ <comment><AUTHOR> The major issue in this case that brings it to the Supreme Court gets to a thread of sentiment I've noticed occasionally here on HN and elsewhere: what do/should design patents cover for technology products? In legal parlance, what is the "article of manufacture", perhaps summed up in this quote from the article:

 _" The damages statute for design patents was written to protect products like rugs, where the design was essentially the entire thing being sold," said Matt Levy, patent counsel for the Computer and Communications Industry Association, in an e-mailed statement. "A smartphone is much more than just the outer casing. The logic just doesn't work—and neither does the math. We think the lower court misinterpreted the law."_</comment>