The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees - <AUTHOR> https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/train-yard-photos-1960s <comment><USER2> Because of signal sighting rules in the UK, we experienced a lot of trouble upgrading lines to higher speed. All of a sudden, that signal that you could see for 10 seconds could now only be seen for 8 due to a bridge or whatever. Muchos dollars relocating signals and in some places not being able to increase the line speed at all.

Boring but very real reasons why we "can't just update things"

<comment><USER3> Dunno why they don't just go ahead and bite the bullet and go to 100% in-cab signaling. The technology has worked for decades and has been deployed on many lines, including a few in the UK.

<comment><USER4> Cab signaling requires a different set of standards in order to provide the necessary level of safety.

Cab signals are (usually) transmitted through the rail and picked up by a special receiver on the leading axle of the locomotive. Each locomotive has to be equipped and the rails themselves have to be checked and blocked. This also means the rails have a higher maintenance requirement as opposed to lineside signals which can be more easily maintained.

However, some countries (Brazil predominantly) have embraced a GPS based cab signal system where lineside signals are almost totally eliminated. However, this was done with federal subsidies to cover the expense iirc.

Another example is the US Northeast Corridor where cab signals are used along with lineside signals to provide a level of redundancy at speed.

Unfortunately there's no easy solution, but I lean towards the Brazilian GPS based systems from Wabtec.

<comment><USER5> Realistically, in the UK, it's going to be ETCS with balises: all new build stock at this point either has ETCS in-cab signalling fitted, or is designed for its fitment.

That said, the rollout of the infrastructure side of ETCS is somewhat delayed, but it is happening in places (Thameslink is ETCS Level 2 with conventional signal overlay, albeit with shorter blocks in ETCS; Crossrail is ETCS Level 2 with no overlay).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I got a chance to drive a couple of different engines at the Plumas rail museum. And one of the things that does is help you internalize the amazing amount of mass and momentum a train carries around all the time. The engineer who was with us spoke of freight trains that were a hundred cars of iron ore that, even though they were travelling at only 5mph would take nearly 1000' to bring to an "emergency" stop. While I don't know how true that is, just driving around the engine gave me some insight into how far ahead in time the engineer has to be thinking if they are operating a full train.

<comment><USER7> >> 5mph would take nearly 1000' to bring to an "emergency" stop.

That seems far fetched. 1000' is a long way at 5mph. The number of engines doesn't matter. Each car has its own brakes in an emergency. Cut pressure in the line and every car will brake itself. Perhaps they meant situations involving hills, not uncommon for ore trains heading from mines.

<comment><USER8> A train's emergency braking system is somewhat sacrificial (using it can damage engines, cars, etc.) so you're probably correct. I'd say that in either case, most people who are not "train people" will dramatically underestimate the required stopping distance. The mass of a fully loaded train is surprisingly large.

<comment><USER9> Car drivers tend to underestimate the amount of space it takes for a semi to stop. Heck, every time I load up my car or attach a trailer, it takes time to become accustomed to the decreased braking performance.

Drivers likely could not give an accurate estimation for how many feet it takes to do anything on the road, such as come to a stop in an SUV going 50. Given the extreme mass of a cargo train, I wouldn't be surprised if the distance figures sounded high.

<comment><USER10> > how many feet it takes to do anything on the road, such as come to a stop in > an SUV going 50

Isn't knowledge of stopping distances for vehicles at various speeds and different road surface conditions a requirement for obtaining a driving license? (At least, in the UK I believe it is, and I think the Highway Code tables probably over-estimate these distances for safety purposes)

<comment><USER5> The Highway Code tables are based on an average family car in the 1960s (IIRC) when the tables were first introduced. They're ridiculously long distances for modern cars, though AIUI the "thinking time" part is nowadays thought to be too low.

<comment><USER10> Still, that's not a _bad_ thing, per se. If we underestimate based on a vaguely remembered overestimated value from the highway code based on 1960s cars, then the effects cancel out and we're basically correct for modern vehicles?

<comment><USER5> I /think/ I recall seeing something that claimed with longer reaction times it actually ended up worse overall.

That said, I think often the bigger problem is people not realising especially in more unusual conditions (like snow in much of Britain) quite how much longer braking distances become.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> The fireman debate, where management argues that a position is no longer necessary due to technological improvements, while the people actually doing the work think or understand differently, should be familiar to almost anyone in any field of work.

We're currently fighting a whole genre of fire at work that boils down to the fact that a particular system, with many many finicky integrations both inside the company and with rickety old 3rd-party systems, was designed with the assumption that there was a so-called "junior QA" team who would be manually looking for trends in error logs and failed task logs. This position was eliminated with a corporate reorganization, and the many many moving pieces are slowly getting rewritten with different assumptions about monitoring, alerting, and logging, but in the meantime there is not anybody covering this function. This means that we typically only have a chance to fix things after they've started to be an actual nuisance to someone and they complain, whereas with the old team in place we had a better shot at identifying problems before they became a major nuisance and fixing them before anyone complained.

</comment><comment><USER12> The title (Dangers of Train Yards) reminds me of a story told by an acquaintance who worked in a yard many years ago. He said they would fuel the engines by inserting a hose and letting it run. It would take a long time to fill the tanks and so they would walk off to complete other tasks. They would return and more often than not, the tank would just be overflowing diesel into the ground. He didn't think they would ever be able to remediate rail yards because of the contamination.

<comment><USER13> The pumps at gas stations for cars have automatic backflow cutoff valves. I wonder why this technology isn't available for trains?

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Just as interesting, linked from that page: [https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and- calling-j...](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling- japan-trains)

Now I'm wondering about the cross-over between that and rubber-duck debugging.

<comment><USER15> Patrick McKenzie says this is the procedure Japanese programmers use for making changes in production! Now I know it came from the culture.

[https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1009235280530829313](https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1009235280530829313)

<comment><USER16> This is what some engineering shops have as standard practice in Japan, which is a distinction with a difference.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> In North America, there is no longer a "Fireman" position on diesels. You have the Engineer and the Conductor in the lead engine, and a "FRED" Flashing Rear End Device on the rear to control the air brakes, report speed and acceleration back to the head end.

More often these days, trains have extra engines on the end (and middle) that are controlled from the front in Distributed Power Units (DPU's). By spreading power out, you have more control, less stress on the couplers, can run a longer train, and the air brakes respond faster (closer to each engine for pressure changes and recharges).

</comment><comment><USER18> There are some fascinating railroad photographs from an earlier era in the Pennsylvania Railroad Photographs collection:

[https://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/pennsylvania- railr...](https://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/pennsylvania-railroad- photographs)

Many of the photographs feature gnarled old railroad bridges because of the hills and rivers in the region. Because of the region's steel industry, many photograph also feature smoke stacks and dirty skies.

Here is how the collection is described:

"""The Pennsylvania Railroad collection, held by the Archives Service Center, includes 345 (nearly all of which are 8x10 in size) gelatin dry plate images of railroad infrastructure dating from 1907-1917. Many of the images depict construction and repair projects to the company's lines, both within the city of Pittsburgh, as well as across the Midwest. Featured prominently in the collection is the renovation and construction of the second track for the Ohio Connecting Railway Bridge, located just north of downtown Pittsburgh. The collection also includes numerous views of track re-grading operations which occurred in Pittsburgh, as well as other major cities including Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Detroit."""

</comment><comment><USER19> I'm involved in a rail transformation project. We're now using AR as part of the railway design process to ensure visibility of signals etc.

</comment><comment><USER20> Not to make light of railyard hazards, but:

> the union had more than 30 railroad employees take photos of their workplace > in an effort to demonstrate the hazards firemen could help navigate around.

suggests that the presumably union workers may have tended to choose to take photos of the more (or most) dangerous locations.

For a company perspective from the 1940s, see ""Why Risk Your Life?" \-- 1940s Railroad Safety Film" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqpayZ2JqlU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqpayZ2JqlU)

<comment><USER21> ...choose to take photos of the more (or most) dangerous locations...

That would be where the accidents happen, right? Thus the photos are taken there.

<comment><USER12> I think OP is just commenting on how union workers would be a biased source on just how common unsafe designs are.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> When I worked for BNSF I heard a story about a guy crushed between two cars in the knuckle because he lost line of sight with his engineer and they were using hand signals instead of a radio.

They were able to keep him alive long enough to cover him with a tarp and bring his family in to say goodbye. He died immediately upon separation of the knuckle.

<comment><USER23> This is an old urban legend. Feel free to Google it, and you will see everyone who has worked near trains knows a guy who knows a guy who this exact thing happened to.

Edit: [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-last- kiss/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-last-kiss/)

<comment><USER24> That particular story is an urban legend, but fatal shunting accidents are sadly not. See [https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/fatal-accident-at- grosmont-n...](https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/fatal-accident-at-grosmont- north-yorkshire) for a recent example (an amateur on a preserved steam line in this case; the mainline railway in the UK minimises manual shunting as much as possible)

<comment><USER25> No doubt exacerbated by the insistence on sticking with buffer and chain couplers despite the availability of safer alternatives for 100+ years.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Historical, not current ones. I was talking to some friends about it just yesterday and was looking forward to the driver's point of view.

Also, cookie wall. So the TLDR is that in the past, more people needed to be employed on a train. The diesel came and they could redesign the locomotives so no big boiler was in front which blocks visibility. Problem solved for the railroads, but people unemployed. Apparently there are some historical pictures that they took on rail yards to prove the visibility issue.

</comment><comment><USER27> Interesting story. In Italy trains still require two engineers, although on modern high speed ones the second engineer has to sit away from the windshield and the controls.

</comment><comment><USER28> Reminds me of this [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7xqg0q/whats_the...](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7xqg0q/whats_the_quickest_youve_noped_out_of_a_job/duafir1/)</comment>


One good professor is all it takes... - <AUTHOR> http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/966082923/

<comment><USER2> Actually: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/lazytom/396171564/>

<comment><AUTHOR> Right...isn't it interesting how each level of innovation requires a less esoteric skill, from quantum mechanics (Shockley), to analog electronics (HP,etc) to digital system integration (PC's), to more and more powerful programming languages, to the web. Each technology is not only making things easier for the consumer, but easier for the developer/engineer to master. New startup rule: make things easier...

<comment><USER3> New?

<comment><AUTHOR> Not at all, more like a proper subset of making what people want...</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: How to get back to sports after a herniated spinal disc? - <AUTHOR> A year ago I experienced a herniated spinal disc. The injury is in about 90% healed (sometimes I still feel a little bif of numbness in my leg). I'm able to function normal in a day to day life now.
What I'd like though, is to get back to being an active person. I used to run and play basketball a lot before the injury happened. I know I probably won't be able to achieve the same level of activity as before. I want to approach this carefully so I won't injure myself again.
Do you have any tips? <comment><USER2> Lift weights. There was a good article posted on HN recently.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18791166](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18791166)

</comment><comment><USER3> Have you discussed this with your doctor and physical therapist?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, they said that I can slowly start being active.

<comment><USER3> They may also be able to advise you on what specific activities are and aren't appropriate for you to start with, and how fast you can ramp up.</comment></comment></comment>


20 Fresh JavaScript Data Visualization Libraries  - <AUTHOR> http://sixrevisions.com/javascript/20-fresh-javascript-data-visualization-libraries/

<comment><USER2> Nice comparison.

Maybe anyone here knows: I'm looking for one chart type specifically: a zoomable and pannable chart that supports a huge dataset server-side by using multiple levels of detail (daily, monthly, hourly, up to second precision). Kind of like Google Finance graphs.

Does anyone know of a library implementing this?

Last time I looked, none of the currently well-known JS charting libraries supported this. This might have changed, though. I don't want Flash.

</comment><comment><USER3> No Flot? ( <http://code.google.com/p/flot/>) Criminal negligence.</comment>


Survival in Space Unprotected Is Possible, Briefly (2008) - <AUTHOR> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/survival-in-space-unprotected-possible/ <comment><USER3> This kind of illustrates that it's not that your blood boils or anything crazy like that, but rather that without external pressure, your body relies on your squishy flesh to hold the internal pressures in check. So you'll get a full- body hickey/swelling and the bends (though deep sea divers can, of course, suffer far worse since their internal pressure can be multiple atmospheres). If you've any exposed mucus membranes, expect them to off-gas and to start to freeze on the surface.

But all that takes time to really set in, so you've got a minute or so before you're really hurt. By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal.

Remember: vacuum is first and foremost an asphyxiant!

(Re asphyxiant, here's my favorite story on the topic: [http://www.sciforums.com/threads/vacuum-pockets-and- safety-n...](http://www.sciforums.com/threads/vacuum-pockets-and-safety- nazis.41446/) )

<comment><USER4> >By that time, your real problem is simply that you've stopped breathing, which turns out to be a big deal.

With some training holding your breath for 3 minutes is doable for anyone, and the record is something like 8-9 minutes..

<comment><USER3> You're right, but one of the main issues is that you probably don't have enough strength in your lip muscles and throat to keep the air in without outside pressure. A single ATM of pressure is easy to leak, and your body is undergoing some real nasty expansion problems; As the sibling commenter notes, too, holding your breath is likely dangerous, as your internal chest cavity may not be able to apply enough compressive force to hold the air in. (And microscopically your lung will try to inflate excessively, leading to internal bleeding, I think.)

There's a really cool idea for a spacesuit that's basically just a fabric wet suit that's just _really_ compressive (via electromuscles or cinched bands or w/e). That way your body gets the ability to hold onto the gas in your lungs without the risk of your lungs attempting to expand out your gut and throat.

It's an interesting idea though: what if you could train your abdomen and chest to compress a lung full of air in a vacuum? Then you just gotta keep your mouth and nose shut somehow. (It'd be really difficult - it'd take a force like trying to inflate a car tire with your mouth. Possible, but seems hard.)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> There was a notable incident in the 1960s where a NASA spacesuit technician named Jim LeBlanc survived an accidental (but brief) depressurization. There's a YouTube video describing the accident which includes film of the accident itself: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO8L9tKR4CY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO8L9tKR4CY).

<comment><USER6> What a great video, thanks for the link.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I remember reading an Arthur C. Clarke book where a space liner has lost their engines and their airlocks. The protagonist on the military rescue ship decides to do something drastic: blow up the space liner.

They seal the people into groups of 20 in separate cabins, and then they detonate small charges to puncture each cabin at a time. Their ship is positioned right next to the liner, with utility cords leading straight to the airlock. Clarke took this opportunity to explain that you don't freeze and explode in space, losing oxygen is the main problem. But also for that reason--- don't hold your breath when you're about to be exposed to vacuum, that's just a good way to rupture your lungs from the pressure.

<comment><USER5> This sounds like the end of Earthlight [1] (the novel, not the short story). However, it was the space liner rescuing the crew of the military ship in this case. The ability to evacuate the crew of the military ship without spacesuits is an important plot point, or at least a dramatic one.

Anyway, Clarke was apparently convinced that humans could survive a brief exposure to vacuum at least as early as 1955.

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthlight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthlight)

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Does this mean we might be ok on a 70 degree f [1] Mars with just a breathing mask? Especially if you're covering the mucus membranes.

1 [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars)

</comment><comment><USER9> I think the movie Event Horizon got it right. For anybody who hasn't seen it, someone is ejected out into Space. He's saved within about a minute. Though, he definitely suffers internal bleeding and other damages, he survives.

<comment><USER10> Caution: Event Horizon is also one hell of a mind-fucking horror movie. It's not for the weak-minded. _Liberate tuteme ex inferis_. You have been warned.

<comment><USER11> I went to see Event Horizon in the cinema when it first came out, with a couple of schoolfriends. There was an oldish couple in front of us, maybe in their 50s, possibly expecting a repeat of 2001.

Eventually the film finished, and we all got up, slightly dazed - <USER2> included. The woman said to the man, with pursed lips - "Next time, _I 'm_ picking the film" :)

The drive home was about 40 minutes, and my friends and I were silent the whole way. But I'm sure if I saw it again, it would seem adorably tame.

<comment><USER10> I watched it on TV, late at night, as a kid. I remember barely being able to fall asleep out of fear, and I think it took a week for the effects of this movie to wear off. I'm older now and I've seen enough sad, scary and disrupting movies that it doesn't affect me anymore, but I'm pretty sure that if I tried to show it to my SO, I'd have my own Event Horizon right there in the apartment.

EDIT: I also had the "next time I'm picking the movie" moment after I took my then-girlfriend to see Prometheus. The TED2023 trailer looked _so cool_ and I didn't realize it's a prequel to Alien...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> This is how the astronaut in 2001: A Space Odyssey manages to get back on board the main ship.

<comment><USER13> To offer another sci-fi example, it's how two pilots of an experimental spacecraft in the TV series Stargate SG-1 were rescued when the spacecraft rapidly traveled away from Earth and locked them out of pretty much everything except ejecting from the craft. Their rescuers were waiting in a nearby spaceship to scoop them out of the vacuum of space.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Im really disturbed by the scientists that tortured dozens of dogs and chimps in vacuums.

<comment><USER15> It's definitely a touchy subject and disturbing to the general populace, but such experiments are necessary for the advancement of the human race.

<comment><USER16> I for one am glad to know that dogs in a vacuum spontaneously deficate. I suspect there is a vacuum that develops overnight in the corner of my living room.

<comment><USER17> Yeah. Now you don't have to blame the dog! :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> The header takes up half of the page.</comment>


My Failed Attempts to Get My Money from Coinbase - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@dansalias/my-failed-attempts-to-get-my-money-from-coinbase-e195a0a48ed5 <comment><USER2> Hope someone can force something to happen for you.

I used to be jaded and say "well that's what you get for trusting xyz!" But really this isn't an adult response-- if some entity wants to pretend that it is an real business that can hold onto your valuables, then it needs to be held responsible for when it makes an oopsie.

If Coinbase lost your car, or USD, or security deposit, or whatever else you sent to them, then a court of law (with all regrettable fees) needs to get involved. Check which jurisdiction you need to pay money to just to serve them legal papers and then maybe their ass will get into gear and suddenly your money will be found.

Good luck!

<comment><AUTHOR> Appreciate it! Agreed, they are ultimately a financial services company, so not being able to get hold of someone seems ridiculous.

<comment><USER2> 100%. If we are going to have these types of companies with these types of valuations, then they need to inherit all of the responsibilities of the class of companies they seek to "disrupt" :)</comment></comment></comment>


'Bleak' U.N. Report Finds World Heading to Climate Catastrophes - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions-carbon.html <comment><AUTHOR> To all, because governments have mostly failed us on quick action I created a climate pledge. It is open to feedback but I think starting with individual commitments and sustainable lifestyles will help us move society forward as a whole.

Governments are not moving quickly enough on climate change with small incremental changes over time. However, people and organizations who champion these efforts can pressure governments to drive faster change.

Climate Pledge

To protect humanity now and for the future of our posterity I am committing to the following.

\- I pledge to limit eating red meat. I will restrict intake of cows and lambs etc.

\- If I choose to have children, I will have 2 or less.

\- I will try to use cycling or mass transit options whenever possible and to participate in efforts to expand transit.

\- I will restrict flying to only when necessary and try to limit flying to only when no other choice is available. If I do fly I will try to offset all emissions.

\- I will try my utmost to conserve energy and minimize use of heating and cooling appliances.

\- I will try my best to limit energy use to renewable sources when I have the choice. When I cannot choose I will fight for the ability to have this choice.

\- I will try to help those close to me understand these choices and the need for those able, to also join the pledge.

\- I will only consume what I need. I will not perpetuate extravagance and will only support companies who champion sustainable efforts.

\- I will do my best to strive for and support sustainable and minimalist technology.

\- I will stay involved in the public discourse on environmental issues and stay engaged on efforts to mitigate climate change.</comment>


Measuring Social Media Value: Traffic Quality - Twitter vs Google - <AUTHOR> http://blog.ubervu.com/post/383956842/measuring-social-media-value-traffic-quality-twitter

<comment><USER2> They don't mention traffic volumes at all. I would assume they're getting more traffic from Google than from Twitter. More importantly, this is from a blog for ubervu, which is a product that tracks the social web...has it occurred to them that perhaps the demographic that uses Twitter would be more amenable to their message than the broad demographic Google services?

<comment><USER3> It is a case study. It doesn't mean it's the same for every website out there. That's in the article. Of course the website is more appealing for Twitter users. It says that in the article as well.

To answer your question. uberVU gets more traffic from Google than from Twitter.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: What percentage of pre-launch/beta users register on full launch? - <AUTHOR>

I think it can be safely assumed that not all people who pre-register would respond when a full launch is announced.
Can those with relevant experience share the percentages?
Also, I think it would be interesting to discuss the possible causes of drop-outs and various factors affecting this. e.g. the longer the period between pre-reg and launch, the higher the percentage of drop-outs; the more useful/valuable the service, the lower the percentage of drop-outs etc.
Please share what you can. <comment><USER2> Although I dont have a percentage for you, I think your right. With a new launch, you always want to stay conservative with your evaluation. It also depends on what you have launched. Is your product something thats going to generate a buzz? Does the product pre-launch actually work? Regardless, If your creating an evaluation, I would stay on the conservative side.

</comment><comment><USER3> How long is a piece of string?

The retention rate of beta users is going to vary on such a large number of factors (some of which you mention) as to render comparison futile.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'd both - agree and disagree with you. :-)

Yes, I guess comparing one case with another would be more or less futile.

However, I do believe some kind of useful/meaningful/actionable intelligence could still be derived from case studies and statistics - don't you think so?

<comment><USER3> There's a big difference between a case study and statistics.

A case study is just one big, detailed anecdote.

You can learn from it to the degree that your situation matches the situation described-- but you still don't know if the factors that you are matching on are actually the relevant factors or not in terms of the outcome.

Statistics would be wonderful, if there were a way to normalize for all of the unknown factors. Which there isn't, so they aren't.</comment></comment></comment>


Another Scam ICO? Savedroid Founder Exits with $50M to Chill on a Beach - <AUTHOR> https://cryptovest.com/news/another-scam-ico-savedroid-founder-exits-with-50m-to-chill-on-a-beach/ <comment><USER2> The problem with money is too much, too fast, modifies the mindset of the holder. I know very good and smart people who earned money the 'easy' way change into douche bags or idiots or sometimes both. This is just another example.

To be honest I think he started out honestly with his true mission, not trying to scam anyone, but when he saw all that money in his bank account he probably thought "I guess I made it?" And decided to drop the whole thing.

The thing about people like him is, they are usually extremely careless and will eventually lose all that money without too much effort, either he will spend carelessly in gambling, or get caught by the feds, or burn it in some other way.

It's usually always the same story. It doesn't last. I studied someone who won a lot of money from a gambling business, to people who inherited a lot of money from family, to people who get money from investors without putting in much effort. They all usually end in the same way, they lose it all, and it's usually because of bad management of wealth.

My hypothesis is that when they get money the shortcut way what they don't get is the management skill that is required for having a lot of wealth. Money is fascinating, in what it does to the mind of the holder. How money reaches the holder, usually determines how long it lasts as well.

I'm studying a few more group of people, my hypothesis has not been wrong yet. People who work hard for their money tend to be able to make less go much further. They seem to be much more efficient, and are usually very good at turning 100 into 1000.

<comment><USER3> I have a friend that inherited a couple million at 25 and how he's handling it has really made me realize that it isn't the process of fast wealth that makes someone treat money responsibly. It's something deeper. Their "soul" or "core values" or something like that.

At 25 years old my friend took half of his money and he researched which Canadian Aboriginal tribes his grandfather and great-grandfather displaced with their logging industry and he directed his money to supporting their causes. He's just about finished his law degree and rather than use it to make money as a corporate lawyer or high priced attorney he's dedicating his career to helping refugees.

You're not wrong that it _can_ hurt, but I don't think it is as much of a given as you're making it out to be.

<comment><USER4> Given power, people will show their true self. Money is just a proxy to power in a capitalist society. Give money to someone like your friend and they'll do great things. Give money to someone who would be horrid if they weren't constrained by the norms of society and they'll be horrid.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I know stuff like this shouldn't bother me relative to all the other stuff worth worrying about, but damn if it isn't demoralizing. Makes me question why I even bother going into work and put in an honest effort every single day.

<comment><USER6> Irrespective of prison, there's also a pretty good chance that what you do for a living doesn't raise your chances of someone showing up and wanting to "discuss things" with you.

Ripping people off for €40 million may end well for this fellow or it might result in a few irritated "investors" (donors?) coming round with knives, or even just fists, for a quick chat about what happened to their money.

It might not be likely but that's a risk and a much greater one than I would want to take. Besides, someone can only use the defense of polite society if he or she hasn't already ripped the cover away.

<comment><USER7> > someone showing up and wanting to "discuss things" with you.

Yeah, there's more than a few cases of people ending up back in the US (or whatever country) in the trunk of a car. I may prefer prison over the constant fear of being "disappeared" by a bounty hunter or hired kidnapper [1-3].

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Sidney_Jaffe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Sidney_Jaffe)

[2] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Luster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Luster)

[3] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann#Capture_in_Arge...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann#Capture_in_Argentina)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> > _There were also claims of a cryptocurrency credit card, but it seems all > that is gone now, with the official site displaying a Southpark meme_

Wow, so it is [1].

[1] [https://ico.savedroid.com](https://ico.savedroid.com)

<comment><USER9> That is pretty amazingly brazen. If it were me I'd definitely just go silent. Much less risky than "I stole all your money, come at me!"

<comment><USER10> yes it's because it was a PR stunt, everyone fell for it without thinking rationally.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Lots of speculation on Twitter that this is a misguided PR stunt.

After getting lost in replies found this article of a guy visiting their office today and finding it devoid of any CPUs and founder missed an event yesterday:

[https://hallofrankfurt.de/savedroid-rekt-or-pr- stunt-a60d19e...](https://hallofrankfurt.de/savedroid-rekt-or-pr- stunt-a60d19e35ece)

Seems so blatant as to be unbelievable!

<comment><USER12> I would be very surprised if this wasnt a stunt. He posted a picture of an obscure beer (which is apparently Egyptian: [https://raseef22.com/en/life/2014/03/16/beers-arab- world/](https://raseef22.com/en/life/2014/03/16/beers-arab-world/)) I cant imagine people couldnt thin the list of locations he is at to a small number.

<comment><USER11> Just for the sake of playing pretend internet detective:

He didn't post a picture of himself with the beer.

He posted a picture of a hand holding a beer that could be anybody and could easily have been lifted from a random FB account.

<comment><USER12> true.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> I've posted this rant on twitter: [https://twitter.com/Roritharr/status/986669910192467972](https://twitter.com/Roritharr/status/986669910192467972)

As someone that knows both @YassinHankir and @airbone42 personally, while being very skeptical about @savedroidAG , the stories of an Exit Scam just don't add up.

#1 The XX Millions is hard to actually get ahold off, its not all in cryptos that are hard to track, a lot of it is in the normal banking system.

#2 All of their communication up until this point indicated growth plans for their company. I've even had personal communication with @airbone42 roughly a week ago that indicated that.

#3 There is simply no response from anyone associated with the #savedroidico , for an exit scam atleast a few disgruntled employees would have spoken up by now.

#4 From all the people I've talked to in the Frankfurt FinTech Scene, it's like the company simply vanished. You can't do this that cleanly with that many people involved and have anyone have a good outcome even if they had access to all the capital.

#5 Without wanting to speculate, but I want to atleast put the idea out there: What if this is a case of extortion or (let's pray its not) kidnapping? If find it plausible that we're witnessing the authorities handling the situation with the involved people.

#6 The whole PR Coup Scenario is a daft idea. They DON'T need more attention right now. Their product isn't ready yet, from my armchair, they have atleast half a year of development ahead of them before they can deliver anything. Why attention now?

<comment><USER8> > _a lot of it is in the normal banking system_

Do we know this? (Also, nothing prevents big wires to Belize.)

> _All of their communication up until this point indicated growth plans_

Scammers lie.

> _for an exit scam atleast [_ sic _] a few disgruntled employees would have > spoken up by now_

Not necessarily. After Madoff, employees went dark while they talked to lawyers.

> _You can 't do this that cleanly with that many people involved_

Pre-SEC America was rife with elaborate investment scams [1].

> _What if this is a case of...kidnapping_

What if it's the Illuminati? Occam's razor.

> _Without wanting to speculate, but I want to atleast [_ sic _0 put the idea > out there_

This is a bad disclaimer.

...

If you lost money in this, I'm sorry. Contact your local precinct and make a police report and then file a complaint with (a) the SEC and (b) your state securities regulator. (If you're in the U.S.)

[1] [http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/conspiracy/history/usafraud.h...](http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/conspiracy/history/usafraud.html)

 _Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. If you lost money to securities fraud, speak to a lawyer._

<comment><USER13> I didn't lose anything in this as I said, I was sceptical and didn't like anything about the project. I just knew both of them for much longer than they do Savedroid and I'm concerned for their well being as they are people i'd invite to parties.

I might be completely wrong about all of this, but the scenarios discussed just make less sense when I put all that I know together.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> If this is indeed an exit scam, the founder did himself no favors by posting south park memes etc.

The more interesting case is what would happen if instead, he'd just quietly take his money and go his merry way. It seems to me that it could be quite difficult to charge an ICO founder with a crime:

\- ICOs do not sell equity in the underlying company.

\- ICOs are not debt in the underlying company.

\- An ICO buyer acquires neither a stake in the company, nor a right to interest payments. They acquire a bunch of tradeable integers. As long as they got their integers, and the trading platform still works (which in my limited understanding is not hard to do for Ethereum based coins), what cause of action does a buyer have against the company?

Even in cases where there IS a traditional debt or equity relationship, large white collar crimes are often hard to prove. ICO related scams might be all but impossible to prosecute if the principals refrain from spiking the ball, unlike this founder.

</comment><comment><USER15> I legit think this guy has been killed. Why would someone do this? This will likely lead to a witch hunt [1].

[1] - [https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/8d8hz2/was_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/8d8hz2/was_yassin_hankir_savedroid_kidnapped_and_killed/)

</comment><comment><USER16> The founder pitching his project: [https://youtu.be/hBUAVonzKtM](https://youtu.be/hBUAVonzKtM)

<comment><USER17> Amazing. A pitch entirely made of memes...

<comment><USER18> You must be thinking of memecoin.

[https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/memecoin/](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/memecoin/)

<comment><USER4> Oh man, I remember the old days when r/memeeconomy was just a joke.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> If he's really not going to do what he promised, then he'd better be on a beach in a country with no extradition treaty, and planning to stay there forever.

<comment><USER20> How so?

These are unregulated securities aren't they?

It would be no different than me selling you Monopoly money.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't see what law was broken. Not defending this, just saying this is why we have regulations.

<comment><USER21> This is a textbook case of wire fraud, a federal offense under United States law. Other countries will have similar laws.

In the United States, sentences for $50 million worth of wire fraud can easily run over 10 years.

<comment><USER19> Also the SEC says they're treating most ICO tokens as regulated securities. Given that this one was supposed to "automatically invest user funds into profitable ICO portfolios," it pretty obviously passes the Howie Test.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Have fun being on the run the rest of your life. Sure, some countries don't have extradition to the US, but politics change. Not to mention some of those countries would not hesitate to blackmail you once they know who you are and how much money you have.

I can't imagine growing old and never having remorse for a scam like this.

<comment><USER8> Here's the rub: if we go after this guy, our tax dollars will pay for the pursuit, pay for his extradition, detainment, prosecution and jail time. When people ask "why are my stupid investments your problem," this is why. Unless you're willing to pay a private investigator to hunt down your scammer, you're shifting your burdens on the public.

<comment><USER23> I think it's worth catching him just for the principle of the matter. Catching him shows that it's not okay to steal money from people by faking an ICO.

<comment><USER8> > _it 's worth catching him just for the principle of the matter_

Pardon me, I did not mean to imply we shouldn't go after him. We should. Just wanted to remind us that these scams cost the general public money. Those costs are part of what securities regulations protect us from.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> And.... it's not gone after all!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5_bwFf_byo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5_bwFf_byo)

it was a stunt.

</comment><comment><USER25> Looks like it was just a really bad PR stunt, more info: [https://cryptoticker.io/savedroid-back-online-exit-scam- to-s...](https://cryptoticker.io/savedroid-back-online-exit-scam-to-send-a- message/)

</comment><comment><USER26> People who win the lottery have ridiculously high rates of murder, suicide, being crime victims, and being involved in litigation... And they have fewer problems than this guy.

</comment><comment><USER27> I would expect him to lay low instead of mocking investors via memes and tweets.

</comment><comment><USER28> I believe that ICOs are a scam, but with how brazen this is, How come no one is suspecting that the guy got hacked?

<comment><USER29> They hacked his office empty and then somehow hacked him onto a flight out of the country? And then they hacked all of his social media accounts and those of the people who worked for him? And then they hacked a new picture of him on a beach holding a beer?

Or, he scammed.

<comment><USER28> The article didn't say anything about his office space or people that worked for him. It mentioned twitter and website. If you go far enough through my photos you can find enough pics of me at the airport and the beach holding a drink.

<comment><USER30> The office has been cleared out.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> Serious question - who's buying all this crap?

<comment><USER32> I see a ton of people on Facebook talking about how they have everything in "crypto" now. People that probably shouldn't be speculating with their entire savings. It's the old saying that when your cab driver is giving you stock tips, it's time to get out.

<comment><USER10> first of all that was a PR stunt. secondly the real danger as someone put it is not having money in crupto while world debt is record high and fiat currencies are going down and Blockchain is a paradigm shift.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> I'm starting my own ICO: it's a hitlist platform for scammy ICO-founders.

<comment><USER14> Disclaimer: I utterly abhor and condemn this course of action, but…

Ironically, that would be one of the few technically plausible use cases for cryptocurrencies, if you implement it along the lines of Jim Bell's notorious essay "Assassination Politics": [http://www.outpost-of- freedom.com/jimbellap.htm](http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/jimbellap.htm)

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> Here's a video of someone that showed up at the Savedroid office:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEBp1ASTGR0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEBp1ASTGR0)

</comment><comment><USER34> We clearly need ICO escrow service.

"Launching ICO without escrow? GTFO".

<comment><USER8> > _We clearly need ICO escrow service_

And contracts and laws and regulators and courts?

<comment><USER35> Maybe even banks...

<comment><USER36> If only there was some way to create a programmatic contract to control the release of said funds based on investor voting...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER37> Apparently, it was a joke from the founders to teach the ICO community about the possibility of a scam... Basically erasing trust and fueling hatred against themselves what they achieved.

Message from the founders: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5_bwFf_byo&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5_bwFf_byo&feature=youtu.be)

</comment><comment><USER38> This is a form of ICO awareness accelerationism. I'm very cynical about ICO's, so this may be brash, but I automatically consider every ICO to be a scam outright – if they were all this obvious the world would be a much better place, because people would finally stop participating in these ponzi-esque schemes.

What this guy's done, if it's true, is no worse than any other ICO who instead uses their funds to buy a house in the bay area and lease an SF office for a couple years and play ping pong until the cash runs out.

<comment><USER39> I too consider every ICO to be an outright scam. That's actually what led me to build (shameless plug) [https://initialcornoffering.com](https://initialcornoffering.com), which pokes fun at many of the ICO anti-patterns I've seen.

<comment><USER40> Lost it at 'cornpaper'.

Thanks for the lighthearted take on the craziness!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER41> Has it been confirmed his twitter and amazon accounts haven't been broken into?

Can somebody confirm that first image ([https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbDvp9iXkAYaY6s.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbDvp9iXkAYaY6s.jpg)) hasn't been photo-shopped? Those images don't have any exif data, but it looks like twitter's stripping exif info.

<comment><USER15> Twitter always scrubs exif data.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Looks like they found him: Movenpick Resort on the Red Sea in El Queseir. Coordinates: 26.155949, 34.244912

[https://cryptobriefing.com/find-yassin-hankir-exit-scam- save...](https://cryptobriefing.com/find-yassin-hankir-exit-scam-savedroid/)

<comment><USER41> They haven't found "him", they found the beach where the pic of the beer bottle was taken. Nobody knows when that pic was taken, by who, and who's hand is holding it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> Where are a lot of the ICO token purchases coming from? Are they all on questionable international exchanges that are trying to avoid regional financial regulations? Are the people trading on those platforms because they have no clear way to cash out currencies in their own country?

<comment><USER43> St Petersburg lottery. An hour's statistics teaches you that if there's only a P chance of winning, and the amount you win is N your expected outcome is NP so you should definitely consider spending anything less than NP to participate. High risk investments are great if there's a high reward, right? If you stick around for a few more hours they'll warn you that this assessment is... misleading at best if P is very small. But ICO investors aren't waiting that long, got to get in fast.

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> I have to admit it's amusing seeing cryptocurrency true believers slowly start to realize why banks, regulation and the SEC are critical to a functioning system. "There oughta be a law!"

<comment><USER8> ICO buyers are the new anti-vaxxers. Securities laws protected them so well for so long, they forgot about the virulence with which scams ravaged pre-SEC America.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> How long before the masses identify the airport and that beach? Homeboy is an (edit: rich) idiot.

<comment><USER18> It shouldn't be too long. I'm working on a Visual Basic GUI to zoom into those Arrival and Departure screens to extract any relevant information.

<comment><USER46> Relevant yt: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDD03yeLnU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDD03yeLnU)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER47> [https://twitter.com/YassinHankir/status/986551967932735488](https://twitter.com/YassinHankir/status/986551967932735488)

That's just hilarious.

</comment><comment><USER48> I started a cryptocurrency art project I think could be really interesting[1]. With all these ICO scams and the amount of cryptocurrency marketing spam everywhere it's made it very difficult to get any sort of traction or feedback on anything in this space.

Make it possible to quickly get fat stacks of cash in any space and watch the space turn to crap.

[1] [https://lodro.gallery/lodrocoin/](https://lodro.gallery/lodrocoin/)

<comment><USER49> So could you forge the artwork or otherwise use it to transfer to the Lodrocoin to yourself?

<comment><USER48> I would love someone to try. If someone went to the trouble to accurately reproduce the unique ink application, the unique serial, and an accurate artist signature on an art that would be great validation for the project and would put a Lodrocoin print up there with a desirable fine art piece. :-)

Also if you're just leaving your Lodrocoin prints around in plain sight that would be the equivalent of leaving your wallet key taped on a post-it to your monitor. An interesting thing you could try with your art but it's also an interesting property of the art that the art is best "displayed" tucked into a drawer somewhere where nobody can see it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER50> They are not gone. They just said this to prove the point that ICOs are easy to scam and some structure is needed.

</comment><comment><USER18> I think that Stella bottle is going to somehow figure into the cause of his demise.

</comment><comment><USER51> It was a prank...

</comment><comment><USER52> > It is believed that the ICO raised around 40 million Euros, or $50 million > USD via the token sale

How do we know any of this is real? What if the entire thing is fake?

</comment><comment><USER53> "A fool and his money"... I have less sympathy for savedroid victims than I do for people that fall for the white van speaker scam.

</comment><comment><USER10> it was a PR stunt.amazing how YC hates ICOs with passion

</comment><comment><USER54> Haha, that's awesome. This guy is so honest. I wonder if this is just a marketing tactic and the website will start functioning in a few days.

<comment><USER55> Pretty brazen tactic, not sure I'd risk my life with a practical joke marketing scheme like this.

<comment><USER54> Well, I would never risk my life doing wingsuit flying. It doesn't mean people don't do it. I only suggested that this might be a marketing scheme. It could very well be a scam.</comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Geoparsing and Sentiment Analysis of text - <AUTHOR> https://geocode.xyz/textscan <comment><AUTHOR> This API extract locations as well as the 8 main sentiments from text (trust, fear, anticipation, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, joy) from which it derives the overall sentiment (positive/negative)

For example: [https://geocode.xyz/?scantext=I%20love%20Boston%20for%20its%...](https://geocode.xyz/?scantext=I%20love%20Boston%20for%20its%20great%20universities%20and%20standard%20of%20living.%20Some%20areas%20however,%20can%20be%20a%20bit%20rough&region=US&sentiment=analysis)

Input: "I love Boston for its great universities and standard of living. Some areas however, can be a bit rough"

Output: Region of search: US Match Location Boston,US Confidence Score: 0.9 Sentiment Analysis: This text is: positive (+0.666666666666667)

great love rough

The full range of sentiments in this text is: positive 0.4, anticipation 0.2, joy 0.2, fear 0, anger 0, trust 0, surprise 0, negative 0, sadness 0, disgust 0,

<comment><USER2> 'I don't love Boston as some areas can be a bit rough' shows as a positive sentiment

positive 0.333333333333333, joy 0.333333333333333, fear 0, anticipation 0, anger 0, trust 0, surprise 0, negative 0, sadness 0, disgust 0

Another potential issue for some people might be well known acronyms .. example for input : 'I don't love UK as some areas can be a bit rough' UK is not appearing in top 10 results also.

<comment><AUTHOR> You are correct, it does not work so well with very short text. That's an area I'm improving on.

It could be spot on with longer text, especially with book excerpts, which is what I designed the system for originally, for eg: [https://goo.gl/Vq4U2p](https://goo.gl/Vq4U2p)

"Well, a relatively minor operation changed me into a black-skinned Terran, though the surgeon/replacers could do nothing, ironically enough in view of my new color, to increase my resistance to heat. I remember those stirring days of combat sometimes, usually when I am making my semi-annual flight between Churchill, Manitoba, and Tierra Del Fuego. In fact, during those flights when I am practically alone is the only time I have to reflect or remember, because on both of my estates there is nothing but noise, children, and wives."

Match Location Manitoba,CA Confidence Score: 0.1 Churchill,CA Confidence Score: 0.1

Sentiment Analysis: This text is: negative (-0.166666666666667)

ironicallyenoughwellresistancenoise

The full range of sentiments in this text is: fear 0.1875, negative 0.1875, anticipation 0.125, anger 0.125, trust 0.125, positive 0.125, joy 0.0625, surprise 0, sadness 0, disgust 0,</comment></comment></comment>


H.264 Already Won—Makes Up 66 Percent Of Web Videos - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/01/h-264-66-percent-web-video/ <comment><USER2> They would have won if there was a valid competition. Its an ever changing market, there is no definite winner or loser. Its as silly as saying IE already won five years ago. IE had a market share at 95% in 2003. Did they win?

With Google opening up VP8 the market is likely to be shifted in the next 4-5 years. They have both the money and tech background to make VP8 just as good if not better. Hardware adoption is a matter of time.

<comment><USER3> Apple and Microsoft are behind H264 now...that will be hard to overcome mostly because the public just wants it to work and doesn't care about the tech behind it.

<comment><USER2> I won't comment on MSFT, because they have a really fucked up attitude towards open standards. But Apple, whether you like it or not, supports open standards (at-least when it comes to browsers). There is no reason why Apple won't support an open format over H264, if the performance is comparable.

If I had stakes at H264 or any proprietary video coded/format. I would be concerned for my future.

<comment><USER4> Steve Jobs himself said a couple of days ago:

 _All video codecs are covered by patents. A patent pool is being assembled to go after Theora and other "open source" codecs now. Unfortunately, just because something is open source, it doesn't mean or guarantee that it doesn't infringe on others patents. An open standard is different from being royalty free or open source._

Source: [http://blogs.fsfe.org/hugo/2010/04/open-letter-to-steve- jobs...](http://blogs.fsfe.org/hugo/2010/04/open-letter-to-steve-jobs/)

<comment><USER2> You think Google doesn't know that? You think Google just spent $100 million without investigating on patent problems and how they will deal with them?

Was Steve referring to VP8, its not opensource now, he is most likely only referring to existing open source codec.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Firstly, who are encoding.com? Unless I'm mistaken, only a small percentage of the market use their services.

The same editors in Techcrunch who believe that H.264 won because of the results from one web encoding company, probably also believe Apple dominate the market after walking into an Applecentre, and that Techcrunch dominates the news market.

This is perhaps the most deceptive article I have ever seen. I am so sick of Apple users standing up for Steve Jobs with clearly misleading evidence. Doing so may help keep their stocks afloat, but its terrible journalism. No, H.264 hasn't won, and cannot in fact win because standards keep changing.

Also, Apple certainly doesn't dominate the market! Their sales figures are absolutely dwarfed by the rest of the market and whilst the flash-disabled iPad/iphone may be selling well, their sales figures are insignificant compared to the number of flash-compatible internet devices out there (and with Android getting flash, this will likely hold true).

If anything, due to the way that Steve Job's is treating developers, it's possible people will see what jerk's Apple are, and return the trend to flash again.

Anyway, I think it's too early to say though. Sooner or later browsers will decide on a common format, and it's unlikely to be H.264 (because of the patents, and the fact even companies don't like paying licensing fees). Furthermore, just because Steve Job's says "all video formats have patents", people interpret it wrongly to mean Xiph will get sued. It could be possible that Steve Job's is just being an idiot too (Steve Job's also is happy to give off the impression that OSX cannot get viruses).

Thing's will change soon, but it is difficult to say which format will win still.

<comment><USER6> I agree with the first two paragraphs, I think you went a little nuts after that though.

<comment><USER5> I'd agree.. But my point for Apple is valid. Most of the people saying H.264 has won are simply agreeing with Steves view

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> This chart is a little confusing. They should have listed h.263 instead of FLV if that is what they meant.

</comment><comment><USER8> sorry, but that doesn't mean that there's a war with a single winner who has already won. people are encoding videos like this because the popular ways of playing videos are through flash and through the iphone.

once HTML5 video picks up, if a major browser (firefox) doesn't support h.264, we'll probably see people encode more than one format, unless something else gains widespread player support fast (vp8, i'm looking at you).

i don't think h.264 is going away, but i don't think it's surely a lone winner going forward.

<comment><USER9> Or Firefox will get forked, and the fork will support using host OS video playback facilities, so will play whatever the host OS supports. That will get H.264 support in Firefox (or whatever new name the forkers give it, since they won't be able to use the Firefox name...) on 95+% of the desktops. Once someone writes a Flash video player that hooks into the host OS's video interface, that will get H.264 support for forked Firefox on 99+% of desktops.

My money is on Ubuntu doing the fork, if Firefox remains stubborn.

<comment><USER10> In many ways, Google Chrome is the ultimate fork of Firefox. It took almost all the good ideas of Firefox and dumped the bad code. If somebody was going to come up with a "new" brower, a de-Googled Chrome would make a much nicer base.

<comment><USER11> Thats not a fork, it doesn't use any firefox code, it's based on webkit.

At best you could say that it's a fork of khtml.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> This is a strange article. H.264 is clearly the leader, and clearly the best video codec available today. But everyone already knows that, and so it isn't news.

The news is VP8, which will finally give H.264 some competition. "Microsoft won - makes up 90% of desktop market" isn't news. "ChromeOS captures 50% of desktop market": now that would be news.

</comment><comment><USER13> Great data but that's such a poorly designed chart. Three nearly identical blues and a green? _sigh_

</comment><comment><USER14> I'm still waiting to see some independent real-world comparisons between h.264 and VP8. Until I've seen that, it doesn't really matter, because if VP8 isn't closer enough, or better, than h.264, it will have a hard time becoming a standard.

<comment><USER15> Google owns youtube, if they convert youtube to use VP8 then plenty of others will follow and it will be a de-facto standard.

Real world comparisons between codecs would be the ideal way to settle this but with the 800 pound gorilla behind it VP8 stands a good chance even without such comparisons. If 'it works' in the eyes of the majority of the users then that means it is good enough, even if the underlying tech is marginally better or worse then H.264.

I'd expect google to try to do a good job at least, and since they have H.264 to shoot for they would be foolish not to use their extensive library of videos for comparison purposes.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Facebook also uses it for their video platform

"Facebook uses the H.264 video codec and main-profile AAC (also known as MPEG-4 Audio) for audio, muxed inside the MP4 container."

</comment><comment><USER17> Don't they mean _Flash already won_ since it represents 99% of web video (and 99% of H.264 video as well).

<comment><USER18> No, they don't. The subject is the video content itself. _How_ you play it back is only relevant insofar as it explains _why_ there is so much content.

<comment><USER17> For 85% of the world, the _only_ way they can receive H.264 is via Flash and that is changing only very slowly. For another 14%+ they get it via Flash anyway and again will continue to do so for some time.

This article pits H.264 against VP6, H.263 and Theora two weeks before Google is supposed to announce VP8 and declares a winner?

It even says 40% of all video is delivered via Youtube, and that's not even getting into speculation that Adobe and Google will both support VP8 to stick it to Apple.

Anyone claiming how you play it back is irrelevant is trying to push a bizarre Apple line that suggests they are the one's pushing H.264, when in reality they are riding the coat tails of Adobe on this one and quite likely to be left behind if Youtube and Adobe pick a different winner.</comment></comment></comment>


California short on firefighting crews after Covid-19 lockdown at prison camps - <AUTHOR> https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article243977827.html <comment><USER2> Am I the only one seeing a relationship between tax-nonpaying corporations hoarding trillions and a society falling apart because it is unable to allocate resources where they're needed?

Covid-19 is a very gentle preview of how different cultures and governments will handle the truly threatening and unavoidable environmental challenges to come.

This is our wake up call to soberly look at the existing structures, see what works, what doesn't and what changes are necessary.

It is Mother Nature tenderly touching the shoulder of its child trying to wake it from hypnotic trance...

</comment><comment><USER3> WTF ... they are using inmates to fight wild fires ???.

<comment><USER4> California did that during the 2014 wild fires too... and paid them $2/day.

I still can't understand how people tolerate this or how it's not a top political issue.

[http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/11/20/prisoner- labor](http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/11/20/prisoner-labor)

<comment><USER5> As one who has been through both state and federal prison, I can attest that an inmate doesn't have to work if they don't want to. There are some privileges lost, and of course, if there is no alternative income, you truly know what it is to go without.

Also, you don't have to work any job they assign. An inmate can choose to be a yard or hall orderly (janitor) or work in the kitchen or laundry.

I earned enough each month to have a soda and candy bar daily, a quart of ice cream weekly, and enough disposable money to get comfortable sweat pants and shirts and then a book every month. (I played D&D, so those books were about $32 with shipping.)

I worked in the laundry, then the commissary (prison store). While in the store, I took a drafting course and upon graduation, I became a tutor for that course. At the next prison, I worked in the Electrical maintenance shop until the prison Engineer discovered I could draft, and then I drew blueprints.

The tutor and draftsman jobs were very cushy and I earned about $120/month. Plus, I had a side hustle at both of them where I could use a photocopier to make copies for other inmates that weren't allowed in the law library.

And, if you can get a hustle selling something like cigarettes you can make upwards of $10000 a month.

<comment><USER6> It depends on where you are imprisoned. In Angola prison, in Louisiana, "inmates at Angola, once cleared by the prison doctor, can be forced to work under threat of punishment as severe as solitary confinement. Legally, this labor may be totally uncompensated; more typically inmates are paid meagerly—as little as two cents per hour—for their full-time work in the fields, manufacturing warehouses, or kitchens."

It's also the case that federal prisons are usually better than state prisons. In terms of living conditions, respect for basic human rights, and access to resources for recreation and rehabilitation, federal low- and minimimum- security prisons are probably the best places to be incarcerated in the US. (although that's about as faint as praise gets)

[https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-...](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison- labor-in-america/406177/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Slave labor, but I would volunteer if I was locked up.

I'm sitting here on my couch smelling the smoke wondering how I can go up there and help. Total Rambo fantasies of me up there with an ax and a bandana fighting those fires and doing something heroic with my life.

</comment><comment><USER8> OMFG, does everything in the USA run on prison labor?!

<comment><USER9> Yes. For example, this website is moderated by a team of inmates.

<comment><USER10> It could be true actually, who knows...

<comment><USER11> please help me

i am being forced against my will to moderate posts on hacker news they pay me 4 dollars a day and beat me if i dont delete enough posts!!!</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Farbrausch.com - <AUTHOR> http://www.farbrausch.com/ <comment><AUTHOR> One of the most accomplished demoscene groups.</comment>


My startup functional equivalent, mapping human impacts on the ocean - <AUTHOR>

I'm one of the authors on a paper published in Science Magazine on mapping human impacts on the ocean, this is my first publication and I've been excited to see the process. A number of my coworkers and I are fans of PG's work, I thought it would be interesting to examine our project from a start-up perspective:
Human capital:
First, we had an amazing 'long view' leader who ran the show. He saw the project at a higher level of abstraction, could understand the details but didn't get bogged down in them. The work was both motivating and inspiring, this intrinsic motivation is critical to finishing a project of this scope (4 years in duration).
Requires dedication and sacrifice from the key participants, all of which is much easier to gain when you're working on a consciousness raising activity that gets people up in the morning.
Required deep negotiation to collaborate with data providers, having someone who can drive these talks is key.  A mental map of the data landscape is similarly important: where can you use public data, and reuse what has already been done?
Requires you can learn new skills as you go along and perform tasks well outside your area of expertise. Constant learning isn't optional.
Filling a need:
On many levels, but key is understanding how we effect our planet.  Having a clear way to communicate your idea mattered, in our case a map:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/02/25/science/earth/20080225_COAST_GRAPHIC.html
Getting the job done:
Your initial idea is nothing like the final result: the seed question turned out to be the wrong one, and the project shifted in response. Ideas are cheap, but good implementations are expensive.
Scaling is critical, constantly amassing new data to improve the analysis, and tuning what you're measuring. Running the model once after optimization took 18 hours, we scaled horizontally to compute Monte Carlo simulations.
Much guidance provided by highly experienced participants early on in the project, helping shape it and form critical networking links, similar to the role played by YC. Rely on existing relationships when you need help, and look to others who can help.  Going it alone has merit, but rely on existing relationships for help when you can. Ultimately what matters is getting the job done.
Positive feedback is a strong motivator, which is good as high levels of motivation are necessary to beat out both internal and external obstacles. Capital is limited: this is the economic law of gravity, bootstrap or climb your way out of it.
Where it differs:
Do everything yourself: would be nigh impossible without heavy collaboration and synthetic effort, blazing your own trail wouldn't get you to the same endpoint.  Strong bilateral agreements are the only thing that flies here.
Release early, release often: while internal updates to the group were critical, the system doesn't reward openness early in a project, and the public face is nothing till the publication date.
The business model: in a startup, you have hard numbers to measure returns. Science measures returns in indirect ways, and the time scale for realizing those returns is generally much longer. Traffic isn't a good metric for this project, but is interesting: in two weeks, our website has seen 30k uniques, with another 22k uniques to the KML file. These results were mostly due to the press coverage from big players such as NYT, NPR, NatGeo, MSNBC and a few social media sites.
Our project website:
  http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/GlobalMarine <comment><USER2> Wow. I feel this is the most important problem anyone could be working on right now. I love the fact that you turned toward the startup culture to get advice, so here's mine:

Show people in the planets terms possible, what their impact is... as a nation, as states, consumers of certain products, etc.

Defining the problems isn't enough. You need to provide solutions as well. You can invoke change if you provide solutions.

Your map went viral quickly and it's a great tool. Do it again, with more minute detail and also provide solutions.

1\. The growing deadspots. Define them, then map them all. Show what they'll be like in 10 years at current growth rates. Then try to display what would happen in 5 years if all farms went organic and stopped using chemical fertilizers.

2\. Overfishing. Map severity of fish stock depletion. Show percentage of fish consumption of diet for each country. Map what could happen to fish stocks if people swapped 5% of the fish they eat for organic vegitables.

Build some snazzy interface to allow users to affect the change on the maps themselves. A slider that changes peoples diets or something.

</comment><comment><USER3> Very interesting, thanks for this information!

</comment><comment><USER4> Here is the same sort of advice I'd give a web startup:

make it really clear what the point is, on the front page.

You have a pretty, color picture. Good start. It has a legend which pairs colors to numbers.

But what do the numbers mean, in useful terms? I looked a bit and did not find out. Does 20 mean we're all going to die, or the price of pet fish will go up 20%, or what?

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm not sure if you're referring to the NYT image or our site, the site itself does a much better job of giving context: <http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/GlobalMarine>

The 'How did we create this map?' header lays out our process and what the colors quantify, in reasonably clear language. Our page also contains a link to the paper itself, for those who want to understand how to interpret the results.

The results are the first attempt to systematically quantify the effect humans have on the species living in the ocean, and doesn't cover what those effects might drive in the markets. Hopefully an economist will build on our data to answer the kinds of questions you raised.

<comment><USER4> I'm on your site, and read that section, and it does not tell me what the difference between a 5 and a 15 is. If you want users, don't make them read the paper itself to find out. In other words, it's not obvious what units the numbers are in.

Edit:

Tried reading paper. Still not sure. It looks like you picked an equation that divides the scores into 6 sections. the top one being 15-90 and the rest much smaller ranges. i don't understand why that division maps to "high impact" etc terms, nor still precisely what that is supposed to mean. but there's a footnote:

[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/319/5865/948?ijke...](http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/319/5865/948?ijkey=.QBRU7cadgPCc&keytype=ref&siteid=sci#REF17)

17\. Materials and methods are available as supporting material on Science Online.

in those materials, i find a chart saying the top section means > 90% degraded ocean. so ... does that mean 90% of the water there has turned to sludge? 90% of the animals are dead? something like that? if so, that's plenty easy to understand and could be made more prominent.

<comment><AUTHOR> Curi, thanks for the helpful advice. I'll update the page to clarify the process and what the numbers mean. The numbers themselves are unitless; they represent the cumulative impact level from all threats combined.

What degradation means and how it effects our map should be illustrated, likely in a simple conceptual diagram showing how the color classification maps onto coral states.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


What Happened When We Tried To Publish a Paper Investigating Time Travel (2014) - <AUTHOR> https://thewinnower.com/discussions/26-what-happened-when-we-tried-to-publish-a-real-paper-investigating-time-travel <comment><USER2> > How is it that a paper that could not get published had the fourth highest > reported Altmetric score for all scientific contributions in 2013 (Liu > 2014)?

Altmetric is not tied to scientific value. It can be used as an interesting metric though but this is a great example of how it fails catastrophically.

<comment><USER3> Are you implying the paper had no scientific value?

<comment><USER4> No, he is saying it openly.

<comment><USER3> Imply: indicate the truth or existence of (something) by suggestion rather than explicit reference.

Spot the subtle difference. Saying it openly would look like this:

"This paper has no scientific value."

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> How is searching the internet, especially when it finds "no evidence" of something nobody expected there to be evidence for, something that should be a topic for a "classic physics journal"?

<comment><USER6> In general, publishing studies with negative results can still be very valuable. If nothing else, they save time that might otherwise have been wasted investigating the same thing. Conversely they may provide a starting point for other researchers to look into something similar with potentially different results. They may also be useful as part of the basis of meta- studies.

So the fact that no supporting evidence of a hypothesis was found certainly shouldn't disqualify a paper from publication.

I also can't see any reason why it's relevant that their work primarily involved searching the internet. They provided logical reasoning that if time travelers exist, it would potentially be possible to discover them through this technique. Most likely time travelers don't exist, and so they don't expect to find anything, but that doesn't make it worthless to try. And since the feasibility of time travel is (as far as I understand) still technically an open question of physics, it does appear to be an appropriate, if unconventional, topic for a classic physics journal.

I'm not necessarily saying I disagree with the editors' decisions to reject the paper, and it's certainly their decision to make, but I don't see it as a foregone conclusion.

<comment><USER5> What would a positive result have even looked like? "We found evidence of time travelers, but it's probably just a sign our model is bad?" or "We discovered people from the future hiding perfectly from us, until this (presumably well- known in this future) paper was published that revealed them?"

If it's inconceivable that there could be a positive result, it's not science. It's fodder for publicity.

<comment><USER4> > _If it 's inconceivable that there could be a positive result, it's not > science_

If it's "inconceivable" from the start then you're not following the scientific method, in which nothing is "inconceivable" until proven so (not even macro-world logical impossibilities, as quantum mechanics have a few).

There's nothing really inconceivable about time travel. Greatly impossible yes, but totally conceivable. Physicists have even come up with a few mechanisms. And that's for the past.

For travelling forward in time, all it takes is going faster (literally).

<comment><USER5> I find it completely inconceivable that there are secret time travelers who would be found by searching the internet. I think it's legitimately more likely that you would discover dragons living in the earth's core by searching the internet.

<comment><USER4> With all the knowledge we have of what's possible and empirical data, your assumption is wrong. Finding time travellers on the internet would be much more likely (even if still very unlikely) than finding "dragons living in the earth's core".

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Typos:

>We had plenty or "real" research projects to work on.

Or -> Of.

>I therefore decided to upload the manuscript to a standard web site that posts manuscripts and papers both before and after publication, the arXiv at [http://arXig.org/](http://arXig.org/).

arXig -> arXiv.

>About a month later, after some haggling, he mailed both Wilson and me each a check for $100.

I'm not sure, but I think "both" and "each" are redundant.

On another note:

 _The journal editors would do neither, and eventually asked me to stop emailing them on this topic. So I stopped._

That's what makes this person sane :)

Also, previous discussion [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7920642](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7920642)

</comment><comment><USER8> I searched for this paper before it was published but couldn't find it. Turns out I just had to wait until they wrote it.

</comment><comment><USER9> > Eventually we narrowed the focus to two well-thought out search terms to > keep things manageable: "Pope Francis" and "Comet ISON".

Yes because if I come from the future, I want to discuss the Pope and some random comet.

</comment><comment><USER10> Was his paper as verbose as this article? If so it's no wonder that no one would publish it.

He writes like he's being paid per word....

</comment><comment><USER11> 2014.

<comment><USER12> Thanks, added.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I know, I'll do a search on the Internet for Dragons, and if I don't find any, I'll publish a paper on it. That's science, right?

<comment><USER14> Yes. You might even make it to the IgNobel prize list.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Why aren't there startups to disrupt high interest credit cards? - <AUTHOR> Why isn't there a startup out there or different company to disrupt high interest credit cards?  Surely a company can still make a ton of money on 3-5% APR?<p>What am I missing? <comment><USER2> Isn't that what Lending Club is?

A long time ago there was a market for "signature loans" which were based on a banker's appraisal of your creditworthiness.

Those have been squeezed out by home equity loans (very secure but only available to homeowners who have equity) and credit cards (high interest but easy to get.)

</comment><comment><USER3> I don't think there's any inefficiencies to be taken advantage of. High Risk means you don't get your money back half the time and so the High APR is needed just to break even on the defaults.

perhaps, some algorithm can better assess risk more accurately and charge a different rate based on the consumer and his or her record. But, my guess is, that's illegal.

</comment><comment><USER4> Affirm?

</comment><comment><USER5> Interest rates aren't high for fun. They're high because credit card borrowing is unsecured and high risk. People default on credit card debt all the time, and they also pay it off slowly.</comment>


We Got U.S. Border Officials to Testify Under Oath. Here's What We Found Out - <AUTHOR> https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/04/we-got-us-border-officials-testify-under-oath-heres-what-we-found-out <comment><USER2> > The policies even allow officers to consider requests from other government > agencies to search specific travelers' devices.

> CBP and ICE also say they can search a traveler's electronic devices to find > information about someone else.

> Both agencies allow officers to retain information from travelers' > electronic devices and share it with other government entities, including > state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies.

This is insane.

</comment><comment><USER3> Having never been searched, how does this work? You hand them your shutdown or locked laptop and they look at it from the outside? Or you are forced to login and they click around the device?

Or do they have some special hardware that tries to access things through USB or thunderbolt or similar?

Either way I think it's time allies (e.g. Europe) start questioning the surveillance practices. The US constitution is written for a very free and well thought out country, but the reality is moving away from that.

<comment><USER4> I imagine they start with asking you to login to your device so they can search it. If you refuse be prepared for a long stay and possible confiscation of your devices.

I travel with a simple piece of paper that has phone numbers written on it of people I can call if this ever happens to me. If I am stopped and someone and they want to search my phone, I want to be able to call someone without being forced to unlock my phone.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Here's the question we have to be asking: if the government is going to claim that it has the power to do things like this, what is the check on that power? In what sense can the public consent to the government having these powers if they are kept secret? if the public cannot consent, then who did?

It seems that the legal system and organizations like eff are what we've got at the moment. But that only works to the extent that courts are willing to hear those cases, which nobody can force them to do, especially if the courts become packed with far right activists.

</comment><comment><USER6> What happens if you just play stupid and pretend to have "forgotten" your password?

If I felt I was going to be in a position where this was going to happen I'd be more than okay entering 10 incorrect codes on my iPhone to wipe it...

Also curious what happens if you have confidential info or info from a work computer that you legally cannot show anyone else?

<comment><USER7> I would guess in the first case, they confiscate your stuff and detain you, and in the second case, they dont give a fuck

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> They might be able to make a case for searching the devices of foreign nationals, though I would be opposed to that too. But how can they justify warrant-less searches of Americans? Do they think we are smuggling drugs in there?

</comment><comment><USER9> Imagine the software and infrastructure required to coordinate these requests. If I am a local LEO do I just log into a web app, enter the social of the person I want to stalk, the get notified when the happen to be searched?

</comment><comment><USER10> Is there a study about the effectiveness of the search of electronic devices?

<comment><USER11> Probably the same effectiveness the TSA has catching terrorists.</comment></comment>


Interesting Bits from "Why Do Computers Stop and What Can Be Done About It?" - <AUTHOR> http://mononcqc.tumblr.com/post/35165909365/why-do-computers-stop/ <comment><USER2> The rather-low percentage hardware faults limiting availability may not be just because of rarity but more because hardware has a rather small set of "noise" failure modes, which are easily handled by redundancy, while programmer/operator error has many more interesting failure modes exposed, and is rather harder to make redundant (contained engine failures are more common than CFIT, but the former won't bring a plane down crashing).</comment>


Ask HN: How long is your edit-compile-cycle? - <AUTHOR> The edit-compile-cycle (ECC) is the time it takes from the moment you save a file to the moment you find out if you change worked. In web dev, especially with dynamic languages (Python, Ruby, PHP, etc), the ECC is almost instant, likely subsecond.
In compiled languages, especially with larger systems, this can go on to minutes or hours (relevant XKCD: https://xkcd.com/303/).
How long is the edit-compile-cycle in your current environment/project? I am very curious to know what is the edit-compile-cycle for, say, a kernel developer, or a developer who works with embedded devices, etc.
Also, for those of you with long ECCs, what are some tricks you use to get faster feedback loops on your changes? <comment><USER2> It's negative. I get feedback from my lisp system even before I save the file!</comment>


Standalone Applications with CouchDB - <AUTHOR> http://jchris.mfdz.com/posts/128 <comment><USER2> hmmm.... interesting, but still as soon as you need something untraditional that CouchDB doesn't provide, you are out of luck. There is a good reason why app layer is used almost universally.

Another way to simplify people's life would be using something like Oracle's Berkeley DB. Small app layer, with embeded database that can be called with simple api calls, makes more sense. No SQL, no separate database to maintain, yet it is a very powerful persistence layer. It would be just as easy to distribute, plus you can do your own custom coding, and fancy stuff that CouchDB would not be able to provide.

<comment><USER3> Berkeley DB is very much the same idea as couchdb, a persistent hash. What's interesting about couchdb is the REST API that makes use of JSON and the use of Erlang/OTP. Erlang was built by and for telecom apps. It's robustness and scalability are phenomenal.

Couchdb also includes a map/reduce framework based on javascript. It's really worth a close look. The one thing I don't quite get is why they haven't used Mnesia instead of rolling their own storage model. Perhaps because it wasn't designed for very large datasets.

<comment><USER4> There was a limitation with Mnesia that each file could only be 2GB at the most. Recently, it was announced, that there was a replacement for the underlying engine for Mnesia called Tokyo Cabinet the removed the limitation.

CouchDb seems fairly fast for large datasets--the caveat being, once the index is built on first access.</comment></comment></comment>


BitTorrent backups – BTsync and Syncthing - <AUTHOR> http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/torrent-backups.html <comment><USER2> I don't know about Syncthing, but BTsync can hardly be used as a backup solution since it's more suitable for syncing stuff (hence the name)

E.g: How do you recover after a file deletion? Because it will also be deleted from BTsync...</comment>


Is secure boot redundant? - <AUTHOR> So I have a general understanding of how secure boot works but I just read the paper on the LOJAX rootkit and that made me wonder: if the UEFI provides a way for users to add their own keys to sign EFI binaries, what prevents a malicious author from manually deleting the KEK keys and replacing them? Wouldn't that make the whole concept of secure boot useless? <comment><USER2> Before adding new keys you have to go into setup mode which should be impossible to do programmatically. So in theory malware cannot add keys.</comment>


Students who take notes by hand outperform students who type - <AUTHOR> http://www.wsj.com/articles/can-handwriting-make-you-smarter-1459784659 <comment><USER2> Yes. I learned a while ago that the foolproof way to study is to:

1\. Write the notes down during lecture or while studying from the book,

2\. Type and paraphrase the notes that you just wrote, and

3\. Write (and paraphrase again) the notes that you just typed.

It had something to do with moving short term memory into long-term. Not sure how true that is, but this method has definitely worked for me!

</comment><comment><USER3> So many confounds...</comment>