At urging of Minneapolis police, EMS workers subdued dozens with ketamine - <AUTHOR> http://www.startribune.com/at-urging-of-police-hennepin-emts-subdued-dozens-with-powerful-sedative/485607381/ <comment><USER2> I am an EMS provider with experience sedating patients (generally using Versed, but I have used Ketamine on occasion as well). In every instance it has been done out of concern for safety (my own, my crew's, or the patient's).

Taking the article at face value, it seems likely this procedure was being abused (and I would not be surprised if that was proven to be the case).

However... Many of the circumstances described do not necessarily mean it was inappropriate to sedate the patient. Just because someone is handcuffed does not mean they are not a danger to me. Just because someone is secured to the stretcher does not mean they are not a danger (I've been kicked in the head by someone who continued to fight after being secured to the stretcher and eventually worked his leg free).

Just because someone has not committed a crime does not mean they cannot be taken to the hospital involuntarily (generally after expressing an intent to harm themselves). I think the moral answer to "should we prevent someone who wants to hurt themselves from doing that" is worth some discussion, but the legal answer is quite clear... I am required to transport that patient to a hospital.

In many cases is it safer for the patient to use chemical rather than physical restraints.

Again, I am not defending every instance of sedation in Minneapolis. I am simply providing some examples of how this isn't always a cut and dry decision.

<comment><USER3> You appear to be downplaying the article.

You write "just because someone has not committed a crime does not mean they cannot be taken to the hospital involuntarily". The article certainly doesn't disagree with that statement. It states: "Hennepin Healthcare staff are authorized to use ketamine when a patient is "profoundly agitated," unable to be restrained and a danger to themselves or others, according to their policy."

Instead it is pointing out times where there does not appear to be a justifiable reason, and for situations where there seemingly _should_ be a cut and dry decision. The morality point you brought up, while true, does not appear relevant to the topic at hand.

As an example of downplaying, the article talks about being handcuffed _and_ secured to the stretcher. You turned that into two distinct cases, and gave an example of where each one separately has come up in your work. But how often have ended up in danger from people who were both handcuffed and secured to the stretcher?

The other use of "handcuffed" was from someone maced while intoxicated, who suffered an asthma attack as a result. The woman, who "was not actively resisting police, asked for an asthma pump. Instead they handcuffed her to a stretcher and gave her ketamine, the report said. ... It is also important to note that it appears no crime was committed, no threat to the safety of officer or paramedics was evident, ...".

Again, your abstract question of the morality of taking someone to the hospital involuntarily under any circumstance does not seem to be relevant.

You write "In many cases is it safer for the patient to use chemical rather than physical restraints." Certainly. Again, I don't think anyone disagrees. However, the article points out examples where both chemical and physical restraints were used. For example, a man secured to a chair, then "[w]hen the man began to regain consciousness .. [t]hey injected him with another dose of ketamine", causing him to stop breathing.

I interpret your true but abstract observations as a way to blur the concrete examples of problems highlighted in this piece.

<comment><USER4> "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

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

<comment><USER3> I believe I did that.

Regarding that guideline, are commenters supposed to follow a similar guideline in how to interpret the source material, or are they free to make a weaker interpretation that is easier to criticize?

Because one of my objections was how the article said that sedation was used on someone both handcuffed and strapped down, while the OP gave examples where someone handcuffed was sedated, and someone strapped down was sedated, but not both. That seems criticizing a weaker topic than what the article described.

Similarly the article presented a case where someone was both physically restrained and chemically sedated, while the OP described chemical sedation as an alternative to physical restraint. That too feels like criticizing a weaker topic than what the article described.

JshWright, to whom I replied, in another branch of this thread kindly commented "I think your comment is thoughtful and contributes meaningfully to the conversation."

<comment><USER2> > while the OP gave examples where someone handcuffed was sedated, and someone > strapped down was sedated, but not both

Ah, I think that's a case where my existing context led to a lack of clarity... If someone is "strapped" to the stretcher (i.e. not just the usual seatbelts), then their wrists are restrained (either in handcuffs, or using "soft restraints" to the side rails of the stretcher). The reality is, a stretcher is not designed to serve as an anchor for restraints, and someone who continues to fight over the course of a 20-30 minute transport will eventually work themselves free (at least enough to start kicking).

Similarly, chemical restraint is always preceded by physical restraint. It's only when physical restraint isn't working (i.e. someone is fighting hard enough that there's a risk of injury) that chemical restraint is employed. It's in those cases that chemical restraint is safer (obviously continuing to wrestle with someone is more dangerous for everyone involved).

<comment><USER3> Thank you for the additional clarifications.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> As more and a wider variety of stories emerge about police malfeasance around the U.S., it should become increasingly difficult to credibly say it's just a few bad apples here and there responsible for isolated incidents. It is ubiquitous? I don't know. But empirically it does seem to be pervasive.

<comment><USER6> The biggest refutation of the few-bad-apples theory in my mind is that for each bad apple there are a dozen other officers that either did nothing or actively covered for them, plus the policeman's union which will zealously assert that basically no policeman is ever to blame for anything.

It would be a whole different story if the police rooted out bad actors within their ranks on their own, but it seems like it takes a lot of kicking and screaming and, most importantly, public scrutiny, to get anything done.

<comment><USER7> Their theory seems to be that if i don't back him, then him or his cohort will throw me to the wolfs at a bad moment.

Sadly this line of thinking just reinforce the mentality that the police is at war with the public, in that the only people they can "trust" (in a tit for tat sense) are fellow officers.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Interesting and encouraging use of bodycams:

"To evaluate how the sedative was being used, the Office of Police Conduct Review investigators looked for mentions of the word in police reports, and then reviewed body camera footage from those cases."

</comment><comment><USER9> It seems to me that this article is concentrating on the wrong thing. The biggest problem in the incidents in question is not misbehavior by police; it is misbehavior by EMS workers.

Consider: a police officer and an EMS worker are dealing with someone who is difficult to subdue. The police officer -- who does not have the expertise to know whether it is a good idea -- requests that the person be injected with ketamine. The EMS worker -- who does have the expertise -- does so, knowing that it is a bad idea.

What most needs to change here is the EMS system.

\</comment><comment></comment><comment></comment><comment>-

EDIT. I guess I mean to say that the people involved here (as opposed to the article) are concentrating on the wrong thing. The police are the ones that have changed their policies. But it seems to be the EMS system that has the more serious problem.

<comment><USER3> How do you infer that the article concentrates on the misbehavior of police more than misbehavior by EMS workers?

I have read it a few times now, and I don't get that interpretation.

If anything, the medical system comes off worse. For example, compare:

> Hennepin EMS Medical Director Jeffrey Ho and Minnesota Poison Control System > Medical Director Jon Cole dismissed the findings of the report as a > "reckless use of anecdotes and partial snapshots of interactions with > police, and incomplete information and statistics to draw uninformed and > incorrect conclusions."

with

> Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo would not comment on the > specifics of the draft, but credited it for changing his department's > approach to interacting with EMS workers.

<comment><USER9> > How do you infer that the article concentrates on the misbehavior of police > more than misbehavior by EMS workers?

Well, I guess it's not so much that the _article_ concentrates on police misbehavior, but that the actual people involved did so. The article does not give us complete information, of course, but it appears that the police basically said, "We messed up, and we're fixing things," while the EMS people said, "There isn't any problem." And since the EMS people apparently _are_ the problem, I find the response disturbing.

<comment><USER3> The article is based on "the findings of an investigation conducted by the Office of Police Conduct Review", so I think it's reasonable that it concentrates on the police conduct.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Is there an industry code of conduct for EMS personnel?

<comment><USER11> From what I've seen, it's 'do what the cops say or go to jail.'

[https://nypost.com/2017/09/01/nurse-arrested-after- refusing-...](https://nypost.com/2017/09/01/nurse-arrested-after-refusing- blood-test-on-unconscious-patient/)

<comment><USER12> Whilst I suspect in general we agree about the systemic problems, in this particular case, the officer was fired and his supervisor demoted:

[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/detective-jeff-payne-fired- nurs...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/detective-jeff-payne-fired-nurse-alex- wubbels-video/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> _Minneapolis police previously had no policy addressing the drug, and the department manual classifies it as a "date rape drug" for its powerful sedative impact and ability to erase or alter memory._

That's funny, because the World Health Organization classifies it as an "essential medicine." I'm being somewhat disingenuous as I do understand it has potential for abuse, but "date rape drug"? I've never once heard of ketamine used for that. Meanwhile it's being looked at for treating depression and other things. This over-the-top drug war rhetoric is so frustrating.

<comment><USER3> I am surprised as your surprise. For example, the term "date rape" occurs twice on the Wikipedia page for ketamine:

> In December 2013, the government of India, in response to rising > recreational use and the use of ketamine as a date rape drug, has added it > to Schedule X of the Drug and Cosmetics Act requiring a special license for > sale and maintenance of records of all sales for two years.

> Because of its ability to cause confusion and amnesia, ketamine can leave > users vulnerable to date rape.

It's not hard to find things like:

> "Tests for "date rape" drugs, such as Rohypnol and ketamine, were conducted. > Those tests came back negative." \- > [https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/attorneys-for-kenneka- > jenk...](https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/attorneys-for-kenneka-jenkins- > mother-file-motion-to-preserve-video/)

> "Three teenagers are being praised for a straw they invented to detect the > presence of date rape drugs in drinks. ... two common drugs used in assaults > — GHB and Ketamine" \- [https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/straw- > detect-date-ra...](https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/straw-detect- > date-rape-drugs-teen-inventors-miami-11200401.php)

> It's called ketamine, a class III scheduled drug .... The drug is the most > commonly used among veterinarians for anesthetic purposes, according to > Medical News Today, but is often illegally used in clubs and as a date-rape > drug. - > [http://www.miamiherald.com/article206350184.html](http://www.miamiherald.com/article206350184.html)

<comment><USER13> But did you actually know of it as a date rape drug before you googled "ketamine date rape?" Not one of those articles (including the two referenced in the Wikipedia quote) even attempts to substantiate any connection between ketamine and date rape. They just put the terms together, sometimes in the headline, to create an association without actually supporting it. One of them contains a statement from an Indian FDA official that "Its misuse is rampant. Its powdered form has been associated with sexual assault cases world over." Not exactly convincing.

You may deduce that I am a user of ketamine. I do think it has potential and it is clearly deemed safe by health professionals. Putting "KETAMINE DATE RAPE" in headlines/subtitles of articles that have nothing to do with someone being date raped is not useful.

<comment><USER14> Ketamine is used as a drug rape drug. Here's a government level organisation listing ketamine as a drug rape drug.

Ketamine has the advantage of being easy to get hold of; quick acting; and memory affecting.

[https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/drink-spiking- and-...](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/drink-spiking-and-date- rape-drugs/)

Notice that drugs are not commonly used in sexual assault, and they're only talking about a few hundreds of spiked drinks. (In the UK about 90,000 people are raped each year. Many more are sexually assaulted.) If someone's drinking it's far easier to just give them more alcohol.

I get that you enjoy ketamine, but it's a bit worrying when drug users deny any possible harm that happens with their drug of choice. It means Public Health workers have to spend time debunking both sides of the discussion.

<comment><USER13> I did say in my first post that I understand it can be abused. I don't mean to claim that nobody has ever used ketamine for such purposes.

I do think that the original article and some of the other ones linked draw wholly unnecessary connections between ketamine and date rape. As you note, it is a very minor use case, and alcohol itself is far more often implicated in these situations, yet we don't read articles that casually mention "the date rape drug alcohol."

I don't think there is any special conspiracy against ketamine, but it's just part of the way major media outlets distort these things to play up shock/outrage/drama.

<comment><USER3> You said "I've never once heard of ketamine used for that." and asked me "But did you actually know of it as a date rape drug before you googled "ketamine date rape?""

Yes. I heard about that putative connection from one of the times when the "date rape drug detection straw" or something similar made the rounds. At this point I can no longer find the specific link. I think it was from last year. Two possibilities from the media I frequent are:

* HN 5 years ago at [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6122049](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6122049) . (The link to the original article no longer exists.)

* Phyrangula from 6 years ago [https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/12/04/its-a-goo...](https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/12/04/its-a-good-idea-its-depressing-that-its-necessary/)

Looking at the other media sites I read:

* Neatorama from 8 years ago [https://www.neatorama.com/2010/06/30/10-weird-items-people-t...](https://www.neatorama.com/2010/06/30/10-weird-items-people-tried-to-smuggle/) says "tests on the liquid found the animal tranquilizer ketamine, a hallucinogenic drug often used in date rape"

* a comment on BoingBoing last year is the comment "From horse tranq, to date rape drug, to therapy. Is there anything Special K can't do?", at [https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/dissociative-psychedelic-ketami...](https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/dissociative-psychedelic-ketamine-may-help-suicidal-children/104636) . A 12 year old BoingBoing article at [https://boingboing.net/2006/09/20/willie-nelsons-myste.html](https://boingboing.net/2006/09/20/willie-nelsons-myste.html) references the commentary:

> For instance, one report called the disassociative hallucinogen Ketamine a > "date rape drug." There is, of course, no such thing as a date rape drug. > There are drugs that were developed to be used – and are used – for other > purposes that are, on rare occasions, used for date rape. And then there's > alcohol, which has been the more easily available and frequently used > substance of choice for date rapists since time immemorial.

I completely agree that the association with ketamine as a "date rape drug" is hyped-up drug-war propaganda, and alcohol is a far more common date rape drug, and ketamine has has many therapeutic uses. (Look at how many people are allowed to carry explosives with them on a plane - nitroglycerin is a common heart medicine.)

But I think I have demonstrated enough examples which show why I don't think you should be surprised when someone makes that connection. Instead, I think you should be pushing back against the propaganda.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I'm very confused about the legal status of ketamine in the United States. It's seemingly illegal (schedule 1?) but also there have been stories about ketamine therapy for depression symptoms and now this? I don't understand US drug laws.

<comment><USER16> Schedule III. Of course, there are studies on cannabis/psilocybin, which are both schedule I.

It's still a terrible and terrifying drug for subduing people.

<comment><USER17> I'm not terribly familiar with ketamine. Thorazine is often used for this purpose, as an injection, a gas, or a pill. How does it compare in how it affects the target?

I'm emphatically not in favor of police using this except as an alternative to other types of violence, but sedation is useful in other contexts.

<comment><USER16> Thorazine is an antipsychotic, for schizophrenia, stimulant overdoses, and stuff like PCP.

Ketamine is more of a dissociative; it's a little like long-lasting injectable nitrous oxide. It causes hallucinations, but more like a loss of connection from reality than seeing things that aren't there.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Is the US a dictatorship yet

<comment><USER19> It has a inadequately trained police force, apparently with some cultural and management issues, probably under-staffed and wearing down under a high workload and too many encounters with the worst kind of people in some districts, where there is absolutely no time to take it slow.

<comment><USER18> It's not just the police force though, is it.</comment></comment></comment>


How Europe Exported the Black Death - <AUTHOR> http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/how-europe-exported-black-death <comment><USER2> Worth it for Hans Dunkelberg's comments alone.

</comment><comment><USER3> For those interested, below is the lecture of Krause on that topic, discussing the results in more detail.

[http://eccmidlive.org/#resources/ancient-pathogen- genomics-w...](http://eccmidlive.org/#resources/ancient-pathogen-genomics- what-we-learn-from-historic-pandemics)

A big challenge is how to translate the genetic relatedness of plague strains spreading across Europe during successive pandemics to the actual location of its historic reservoirs. Location of the infected humans does not necessarily tell you much about the origin of that outbreak, especially with so much plague being moved by about ship.

There is a lively discussion about these papers on twitter, between a few of us spanning history, microbiology and computational biology, if you want to hear about these things earlier.

[https://twitter.com/BorisVSchmid/status/726792491257724928](https://twitter.com/BorisVSchmid/status/726792491257724928)

</comment><comment><USER4> Coincidentally a friend of mine has just released an audiobook on the history of the Black Death in Ireland. Linked here: [http://irishhistorypodcast.ie/new-book-on-the-black-death- in...](http://irishhistorypodcast.ie/new-book-on-the-black-death-in-ireland- out-now/)

He also does a regular free podcast, reachable from the same address, which is worth a listen.</comment>


Your move, Bloomberg - <AUTHOR> https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2018/10/22/your-move-bloomberg/ <comment><USER2> While this article doesn't appear to present any new information, it does a great job summarizing the conversation. It shows the allegations readably (unlike Bloomberg's, which tries to tell a thrilling story)and adds valuable extra information from the discussion around it.

I recommend this for people new to the story.

Also: I quite enjoy the WP reading experience. Yes, they block you at first and make you agree to things, but after that they don't attempt to ruin your day by throwing pop ups and ads and pop ups with ads at you. The ads they do show are quite tasteful and mainly for their own stuff. Also considering the disclosure that they're owned by Bezos and their generally seemilgly dilligent journalism, they've earned a good bit of sympathy from me.</comment>


Gainesville, Florida, put its internal emails online with few limits - <AUTHOR> https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/solutions-journalism/2019/09/05/gainesville-florida-put-its-internal-emails-online-making-residents-angry-frustrating-journalists/2196171001/ <comment><USER2> As a public official in a small town, I have thought about doing this before. The legal issues always come up. But I also think that the people upset with the exposure after emailing public officials maybe don't fully understand that anything you communicate to a public official is defacto public and can be requested from anyone at anytime. The alternatives to that default are terrible for public confidence in officials.

<comment><USER3> Nice to see public officials understanding this stuff :)

So many cities have people untrained on this sort of stuff, I know there's been cities or other departments in cities deleting Facebook comments, and there's been some lawsuits over that. I kinda always got a feeling public officials feel like they are gods and above the law. Plus I think local officials can get away with things more compared to say a congress person or president since stuff they say and do have a bigger spot light on them. Probably more corruption happens at the local level is an assumption I've always had.

Then if you go on YouTube can find tons of videos where cops or city officials get mad at being filmed, people go into the lobby of their local city and film the clerk there and some of them freak out or even goes as far as assaulting the camera person. However, I think some of those YouTubers though do it just to kinda just stir things up to see how people react so they'll get views, but technically it's still a first amendment protected activity.

<comment><USER4> > some of those YouTubers though do it just to kinda just stir things up to > see how people react so they'll get views, but technically it's still a > first amendment protected activity.

These are popularly known as First Amendment Audits, and there are some riveting ones on YouTube. I know it may seem like they're trying to cause trouble, but in almost all cases, they're really just trying to determine whether constitutionally protected activities are being respected as such. But, honestly, the videos that show unconstitutional treatment are the most interesting to watch.

<comment><USER3> Yep, I watched some before and got distracted watching them for days once since YouTube starts showing them everywhere like on the home page if you watch a few. Kinda gets you in a very depressed mood by how these people get treated for filming and exercising their rights but even some of the people filming I think are wrong too. Like some are very professional acting though, sorta like what an investigative journalist would be doing but some are kinda punks and just cussing and making fun of people though doing their jobs like even unelected employees. I mean sure you can cuss and flip people off since it's your right as speech but I kinda like the idea of respect and treating people how you'd want to be treated. I guess one of those pick your own battles type of things.

But also watching them it makes me wonder if sworn police officers even have read the constitution, or just raised their hands and repeated what they were told during the swearing-in ceremony ... Then some of them seem to think the first amendment only applies if you work for the local news outlet such as channels like 2, 5, 7 or 12, etc... Like in some of the videos cops ask what news station or paper they work for. On the other hand though maybe the cops know anyways but try to use it as an intimidation tactic. Kinda like if you even know your basic civil rights, and start trying to exercise them they ask if you are some lawyer or something or if you are young ask if you are some law student. I guess they think only lawyers can know the law?

<comment><USER5> I believe that YouTube's algorithm can exacerbate mental health issues. Watching too much dark or otherwise unsettling material can absolutely lead to a downward mental health spiral for some people.

After many years of dealing with mental health issues, I am constantly monitoring the effect that my behaviors and activities are having on my mental state. I have personally experienced watching YouTube contribute to a decline in my mental health.

I've developed a few strategies for mitigating this:

First off, I monitor my urges and behavior for warning signs. If I find myself drawn to dark or unsettling things, I try to determine the contributing factors. Often, I come up with things going on in my life or unmet needs that are likely contributing factors which I can then work on addressing, or at the very least acknowledging.

Second, I only watch YouTube videos via the web interface while not logged in to a google account, with cookies being discarded at the end of the browsing session via incognito mode or a temporary browser profile. This helps ensure that any darkness I stumble into doesn't follow me around and drag me down. It does result in YouTube's recommendations being useless, but useless > harmful IMO.

Take care of yourself. This pandemic is not only going to be hard on physical health. My email is in my profile if you ever wanna chat about anything at all.

<comment><USER3> Thanks, yeah I feel depression is more of a symptom that something is wrong in your life, but I guess for some people even if you gave them a million dollars, they still wouldn't be happy. There are problems in this world (both inside and outside the US) that's bigger than me, along with other things that bother me but I guess not much control over that, so I find myself focusing on something else to distract me.

I use a Chrome Extension Distraction Free YouTube, even non-depressing topics it gets distracting like tech or gaming stuff. I try to use YouTube mostly to look up a topic I'm interested in like programming or tech talks, etc but some people I like their vlogs so I hit the bell button and have Gmail auto-apply a label...

I wish though services had a way to turn off things like related videos, etc though or some settings to show only if you reveal it - not sure the best idea from UX. Same with Quora or any other type of site, curious about something and then related questions distract. I guess they design them to be addicted and time sucks though, since more time you spend in the site it benefits their metrics and ad revenue.

I've been toying around with a product idea I have in my head but still super early but since I'm a fan of the freemium model and hopes to sell services/digital products on the platform, advertising or related content wouldn't be as important since I'd hope to actually have a thing of value to charge for, however, I feel ads if done tastefully and related content can add value, and maybe you're bored and want to find something to do... but if you use the platforms for both fun and education or work that can be distracting. Not sure if many platforms have attempted to tackle that problem much though.

I guess though doing less of these things that platforms do or give people more controls, probably would tick off your VC firm or shareholders as they'd see money being left on the table even if you were still profitable without it. Then there's dark patterns too. Like some game on my iPhone, is having a sale and as soon as I open it pops up a screen to buy gems, which is great way to get someone to accidentally spend their money I think. If I want to buy gems, I'll click the button myself... Actually very temped to uninstall it just for that reason.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Meanwhile, in Germany, 2 ministers (one acting, one former) have wiped their phones, including text messages, although there were ongoing investigations in misconduct.

These are the people who are now using Corona to gain access to our location data collected by our phones. One set of rules for the rich, one set of rules for the poor.

<comment><USER7> Please be specific? I looked up "Germany ministers wiped phone" and saw a story about how the overall Defense Ministry wiped a phone of someone related to military contracts. What does that have to do with COVID-19 and data collection?

<comment><USER8> I would assume they are referring to the to the widespread [1,2,3] use of data gathered from smartphones for getting epidemiological data. Every nation is doing it.

I would say it's not a great comparison, bad actors wiping their phone is not the same as gathering of bulk data to address a pandemic.

1) [https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615329/coronavirus- south-...](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615329/coronavirus-south-korea- smartphone-app-quarantine/)

2) [https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/03/14/coronavir...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/03/14/coronavirus- spy-apps-israel-joins-iran-and-china-tracking-citizens-smartphones-to-fight- covid-19/#5e444c31781b)

3) [https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200330/United-States- tra...](https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200330/United-States-tracking- mobile-phones-to-map-spread-of-COVID-19.aspx)

<comment><USER9> Sweden is not using smartphone or base station location data for tracking of Corona.

[https://www.datainspektionen.se/nyheter/coronaviruset-och- di...](https://www.datainspektionen.se/nyheter/coronaviruset-och-digital- smittsparning/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Transparency does have its pros & cons. One of the reasons for the whole Florida Man meme is because of Florida's powerful Sunshine laws that make police reports easily accessible to the public

<comment><USER11> This sounds all pro to me.

<comment><USER12> Yes and no. I have received a handful of requests from lawyers to remove their clients charges from a news aggregator I ran. All of them had their charges dropped but when potential employers were searching them online they would come across the booking information.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> It's a big money saver probably.

FOIA laws usually make most of this stuff public anyway, except you run it through lawyers and waste alot of time and energy. PII shouldn't be in email anyway.

<comment><USER14> Most people still think email is private for whatever reason.

City and other government contact pages should have big red flags making it clear that your correspondence could be made public at any time.

Even the record of correspondence with a government agency should be considered PII and/or sensitive, depending on the agency and subject matter.

<comment><USER15> Florida government websites do have these warnings, as well as in email auto responders.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Florida gets a lot of flak but this is good. Transparency is the only way to fight corruption. The only real downside to such absolute transparency like this is that most people don't want to be accountable.

<comment><USER17> I am not sure if this really fights corruption. It may also lead to a situation where official communication will be sanitized and the real stuff gets pushed to private channels.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> A problem with complete transparency like this in our new era of yellow journalism is bad actors can cherry pick basically anything and get pageviews and mindshare by manufacturing outrage. Moreover, the kinds of things that are legitimately controversial get moved to other mediums.

<comment><USER11> People might even make hyperbolic assumptions about the future while preying on uncertainty.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> This reminds me of politicians "going transparent" in The Circle. I would loathe to be in a position where every casual conversation I had was subject to public scrutiny.

<comment><USER7> Having worked in the public sector in the U.S., email conversations are sterile for the fact that they are always potentially accessible through Freedom of Information Act requests. No one's having thoughtful and personal conversations over internal emails.

But there does need to be a warning to the public that their emails are going to be public. Just so they aren't surprised and can schedule a call instead of going into detail via email.

<comment><USER20> > But there does need to be a warning to the public that their emails are > going to be public.

It seems like Gmail et al. could just add a popup warning folks before sending anything to a .gov email. Folks running their own email servers hopefully know better already.

<comment><USER21> > _It seems like Gmail et al. could just add a popup warning folks before > sending anything to a .gov email._

If I'm not mistaken, Gmail _also_ keeps a record of your emails too, does it not?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> I'm a resident of Gainesville and I was completely unaware of this. Now I know not to send anything sensitive to a local government email address...

<comment><USER23> In Florida, almost anything you send to any level of state or local government is public. If you're a customer of GRU, it's very likely that I could request your last year of bills, your address (if I know your name), etc. There are definitely some drawbacks of the very broad public records laws here.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> They mentioned Palo Alto, and I think it's a decent example. If you email Citi council, your email will be printed out and made accessible during council meeting and also made public. However, the sheer volume of email and the obscurity surrounding the existence of this public email makes it very non controversial.

</comment><comment><USER25> What is the matter with losing a little bit of privacy? You have nothing to hide, don't you? /s

</comment><comment><USER26> Even if Sweden doesn't have a webpage for this, anyone can request anything [https://www.government.se/emails-to-the-government-and- minis...](https://www.government.se/emails-to-the-government-and-ministries/)</comment>


Google doodle celebrates creator of the zipper - <AUTHOR> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/24/gideon-sundback-celebrated-google-doodle?newsfeed=true

<comment><AUTHOR> Since we were discussing products that are ubiquitously referred to by a brand name on this thread <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3867466>, I thought it was funny coincidence that Google chose to recognize the creator of the zipper (or the "hookless no. 1") today.</comment>


Show HN: DevFlip: Marketplace for Video Game Developers - <AUTHOR> https://devflip.com <comment><AUTHOR> Hey HN,

We're trying to build the go-to marketplace for game devs to buy and sell video game assets. Right now when you try to buy assets online, they're usually isolated by engine (Unity Asset Store, UE marketplace) or on various creative marketplaces on the web (CGTrader, TurboSquid, Envato). Our idea is to consolidate everything for game dev under one roof. As for how we make money, we take 30% of revenue from the sales made on our site.

I'd be super grateful if any game devs on HN were to make an account and provide some feedback. The site is pretty new at the moment, so I apologize in advance for any bugs that you might run into.

\- Brad</comment>


Ask HN: How do you learn via audio? - <AUTHOR> I find myself avoiding audiobooks of nonfiction content for fear of not being able to engage deeply (reread, flip back and forth, check footnotes, highlight, annotate, etc).<p>Are there any methods or tools to help effectively engage with audio content?<p>(Note: I think all bets are off for books with charts and equations - you have to go digital/paper book in that case. I am asking more about general nonfiction.) <comment><USER2> I listen to mostly non fiction audio books during my commute.

If I find a key point that I want to save, I write it down when I arrive.

If I find there is a good amount of knowledge that I simply cannot recall, I look for a short summary of the book in paper form.

If there is no summary, I will look for a good used copy in paper form.

</comment><comment><USER3> I've noticed general nonfiction books tend to be _way_ longer than they need to be. I'm not the first to make this observation, and won't be the last. Most (including from often recommended authors, like Cal Newport[1]) have a single core idea stretched to fill a book. If you can find a talk by the author on the topic, it will be a better use of your time.

But on to some practical tips. Every person is different and without knowing you personally some of these might miss the mark, but I'll give them as they apply to me; hopefully some will be useful to you.

You _will_ forget most of what you read, including entire books you enjoyed and left an impression on you, but the core ideas will stay. A good nonfiction book has the potential to update your mental model of the world. That stays with you even after you forget all the individual arguments that provoked the change. In sum, don't fret about "engaging deeply" and making annotations you will never read. Consume the book. If you found it has potential to be relevant in your life, make a note of it and come back to it at a later point in life. You might find some of the ideas that were novel to you when you first read it now feel like common sense and are part of your personality. That book has done its job. You may tag it again for future reconsumption, or discard it.

Keep a digital copy of the book in your phone while you listen to the audiobook. If there is an idea you really want to save for later, pause the audiobook and search the written version for a string of three or four words you just heard. An exact short phrase is typically enough to find the right spot. Annotate it there.

Listen at over 1x speed. The exact speed will depend on both your practice and the book. I get distracted by other thoughts both when I read and when I listen, but when I listen I can tell the software to make it more challenging. The trick is to set the audiobook playback speed slow enough that you can still comprehend it, but fast enough that it takes effort to do so. That will leave no space for stray thoughts, increasing the attention you give the content.

Programming books aren't a good fit for audio, so they don't tend to be produced as audiobooks, but there is still value in audiobooks with charts and graphs. Those tend to bundle a PDF with the required images and the narrator will tell you where to look. Even so you may not need to check, as what matters in a graph aren't the lines, but the conclusions. If you trust the author's honesty and competence, you may eschew looking at the pictures and accept their interpretation of the data.

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

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the thoughtful reply - I agree with a lot of your sentiments. I'm OK with forgetting content (am old enough to be at peace with that), but I do have my own mostly-maintained-with-consistent-diligence process of highlighting/annotating and reviewing most nonfiction I read. It's how I get my nonfiction kicks and am not ready to accept it's just not worth it or possible (in an efficient manner) with audio.

Also, I don't think I can justify indulging in buying audio _and_ digital copies of all books (have only done this twice, to test it out), but I have experimented with bookmarking times and going back to re-listen, transcribe or jot down thoughts. It's extremely time consuming.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Which tools are used for remote pair programming? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> C9.io works well for me and my coworkers. YMMV</comment>


Why you should move your startup to a small fishing town - <AUTHOR> http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/9/2/move-your-startup-to-a-moroccan-fishing-town <comment><USER2> Hm, sorry but ages of experience show that what _mostly_ works is the other way around: You want to be a _big city_ because you can find clients (users), meet people (e.g. possible investors) and generally speaking do any sort of _networking_ that would be otherwise impossible.

The internet is what it is, but you can never match the face-to-face relationship with an online approach.

I totally understand that this is a dream-like situation: You make a good amount of money, doing what you like in a remote island where the sun shines and the food is always tasty (yes I'm from Greece...) but if your business can't be done 100% online, which is almost never the case, then you need offices in a _big city_. Then you need to visit and control these offices, etc.

<comment><USER3> I have a new appreciation for the advantages of being in a big city since moving to Tokyo recently. That said, my while I'm an occasional visitor in Silicon Valley I hold a passport from Bootstrapistan, and most of its population resides in the capital city of A Small Town In The Middle of Nowhere. [+]

A representative sampling of locations of the "head office" from small software businesses that I'm socially close to: Ogaki, Philadelphia, "way in the boonies in West Virginia", "way in the boonies in Idaho", "way in the boonies in Florida", Nuremberg, a small town in Italy whose name I am blanking on, etc etc.

There exist plenty of happy software companies in the big metropolitan areas -- and God bless them -- but they aren't the whole of the solution space.

[+] Why? Interesting question. Some days I think this is just a pure coincidence and some days I think that the low implied burn rate for the founders and generally low opportunity costs makes it easier for the business to hit both pro-forma profitability and "successfully outcompetes best available alternatives on the local labor market" profitability. Bootstrapped businesses can, of course, pay for an apartment in the Mission and exceed a Google PM's salary in Mountain View, but those are much harder bars to hit than "beats the snot out of any job available in Ogaki."

<comment><USER4> Nürnberg isn't that small if you count in the other directly adjacent cities (1.2 million inhabitants) or even the whole metropolitan area (3.5 million inhabitants) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Metropolitan_Region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Metropolitan_Region) And you are in 1 hour 20 minutes in Munich via train.

So I would argue that this is already pretty central

<comment><USER5> Philadelphia is also not a small town and is a short train ride to NYC and Washington D.C. I think more generally Patrick's point is that they aren't from tech hubs and that there is a reason for that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Hey I live in a small (former) fishing town! Except it's winter, 30 degrees and I'm inside staring at my computer screens and might as well be anywhere in the world.

Yes I can stop work, and "go surfing" (in the right season), I can even stop working and visit the local town pier and see those quaint "fisherman" struggling to make a living -because let's be honest, not everyone can be a tech-ninja startup founder.

If I wanted I could even crank the heat in my car, squint and make believe that it's actually a warm exotic beach in Europe but hey, at some point I gotta go back to the office, fire up that computer and get back to hacking.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter where you are. If you need to "break out of the box" and travel a bit, go for it. But simply moving operations to somewhere foreign will not be the deciding factor in your success.

<comment><USER7> > At the end of the day it doesn't matter where you are.

I think that it matters, instead. Unless you are one of those people who are oblivious to their surroundings.

You are not going to code 24/7\. And when you will have done your share of coding for the day, or even if you would just like to take a break, then being in a nice place will help you to recharge yourself.

<comment><USER8> Some people consider small fishing villages to be nice places.

<comment><USER7> And I didn't mean otherwise. "Nice place" meant "whatever feels nice to you".

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Well, I think this strategy might work if you want to keep your burn rate unbelievably low while you are writing v 1.0. But to be honest 300 Euro per week for space is actually not optimal.

I've been in the mountains of Vietnam for the last year and rent has been between $50 and $125 per month, which has made it possible for me to be unemployed for a long time and write v1.0 of my startup's app.

I think that Southeast Asia is a pretty ideal location if you want to go the bootstrapping route - the people are super nice and friendly and everything is unbelievably cheap. You really can get a lot done.

The serious downside is that you are not really connected to the tech scene - you can't really meet that many hackers (i.e. potential cofounders) and of course there is zero funding. And when you talk to tech folks stateside you feel pretty disconnected when you in a different part of the world.

Nevertheless I think it's a viable way to go solo.

<comment><USER10> What is the fastest Internet connection you can get while paying $125/month for rent?

<comment><USER9> 12 mbps for ~$10 a month. Arguably that's burst and in the evening I can't Skype effectively because of the congestion. But it's good enough for what I'm working on.

<comment><USER11> Wow $50 - $125 a month? Sounds like a great way to set up for six months and just have a crash pad to explore Asia with for a while.

Any pointers on visas?

<comment><USER12> >Any pointers on visas?

You can get a 3 month multiple entry tourist visa pretty easily. It cost's about $140 for the various fees. You have to google visa agencies and fill the form online. Sometimes you can get 6 month visas also though I can't seem them on line at the moment. When it runs out you can fly to Singapore or similar and apply for another. The Vietnamese don't seem to worry too much what you do once you are there. I'm probably off there soon to hang out in Saigon which is quite fun but more expensive.

<comment><USER11> Wow thanks. Maybe I'll come live in Vietnam for a few years. Cheers.

<comment><USER12> No worries. A few years is a bit of a commitment but it's a fun area to travel / do some coding for a few months. Chiang Mai is also popular with startup types and not that far. I liked it there and Angkor also was kinda fun.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> This seems like a really good option if you want to pretend to be building a startup: Come up with disruptive startup ideas while sitting on the beach, throwing house parties like in The Social Network, and drinking a beer with other people pretending to build a startup.

It doesn't sound like a good option though if you want to actually build a startup: writing a lot of code, meeting with clients, hiring great people, etc.

<comment><USER14> I don't see how it would be a problem to write lots of code. Meet with clients, probably not. But not everyone has them. And investors are definitely an issue. But sitting down and knocking out a lot of code? Why not?

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> For those of you in the UK/London - and want somewhere cheap and amazing to code in your own back yard, I highly recommend Hastings/St Leonards.

It is (or was) a 'small fishing village' that retains a fascinating history.

1.5 hours from London, and 1 hour from Brighton, 1/3 the cost of flats and working space, good connection speeds, good coffee. If you come down to check it out, look me up and I'll buy you a pint.

\--EDIT-- Some nice tempting rental listings for you :) [http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/property/search?listingSta...](http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/property/search?listingStatus=rent&area=TN37&pricePer=month&propertyType=flats&minimumBeds=2)

<comment><USER16> I can recommend my home village in North East Scotland for everything apart from convenient access to London. Not sure about internet speeds or whether they have coffee yet.

But certainly pretty, peaceful, cheap property, great scenery and fairly convenient for the Cairngorms for climbing/skiing:

[http://www.portknockiewebsite.co.uk/](http://www.portknockiewebsite.co.uk/)

For a bit of history, here is a page describing the loss of my great- grandfathers boat the _Evangeline_ with all hands:

[http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pirie/history/PFWv1-o/ui26.htm](http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pirie/history/PFWv1-o/ui26.htm)

[I traced my ancestry recently and its a bit of a shock to realise that most of my male ancestors for about 300 years had a connection of one kind or another with the fishing industry].

<comment><USER17> My curiosity was peaked by a URL which actually had the word website in it. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of yellow and black animated gifs of workmen digging.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Sounds like a great way to selfdestruct.

"Hey, guess what, you have to move to $middleofnowhere."

"Hey, guess what, I quit."

Exactly how the conversation would go if it ever happened to me. What would happen in such a situation is the good employees would quit because they wouldn't want to compromise their salary, marketability, and ability to take a new job, while the dead weight would go with it because it's still easier than finding a new job if they can build up enough job security in their current one.

Also interesting that someone thinks you should do it... who just happens to own office space in said location.

Cities work because there is the infrastructure and the talent pool. Going to the middle of nowhere might save a pittance on salary, but when people inevitably quit, good luck replacing them without spending even more on moving other people there.

<comment><USER19> Hey Mate, Think Remote! :)

The only place where I worked on the last 8 years that I couldn't work remotely is not the kind of place that I would work anymore.

For me these days, if a company doesn't have some remote policy in place (I mean... not full remote, nor once per week, but the option to, sporadically, work from home on a sick day or to be able to do some coding/admin stuff on the road) it automatically flares a red flag as a place that would not be a magical place where I could do the best that I can.

If the place doesn't have the remote-some-times flexibility it's probably a place with bad management practices and an out-dated culture.

Same thing regarding talent pool... Why on earth do you need to smell the emanating creative fumes of your employees every day from across the hall? :P

<comment><USER18> Remote is nice when it works, but it doesn't always or for every company. Where I work right now, for example, people work remotely but still have required days in the office for meetings etc., while I couldn't work remotely as too much of what I do is physical work with networks and servers that wouldn't be possible remotely - those are the people that will be hit with "you have to move" and so quit, especially since chances are that in the middle of nowhere, there will be few to no career opportunities for them.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> Sounds nice and fun for a short break. I think the copy needs some work though, which might relate into tweaking how they target their market. For instance: "Getting far away from your family" <=== If you have a family, that's not how it works. You signed up for the responsibility.

<comment><USER21> Being as charitable as possible, I read it more as "move out of moms basement at 25" than "abandon your wife and children"

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Where are the pictures of the lodgings? It sounds very interesting, but it's also rather expensive. I've never been to Morocco, but from what I've heard I bet it's possible to sleep in a four star hotel and eat every meal in a restaurant for under 500 euro per week.

Of course you are offering extras like being networked in with the other residents, and you are marketing to Europeans so it's not crazy to charge this amount, but it would be nice if you could have some more details and evidence on what you are offering.

<comment><USER23> Just got back from 5 weeks in Morocco, 2 of which were in Taghazout. My girlfriend and I were living very, very simply -- shared bathroom, toilet didn't have a tank, no meals included, internet only in the restaurant downstairs -- but we were paying 10 euros a night, each. You can actually see the place in the pictures they've put up, it was very beautiful, right on the beach.

There was a surf hostel that we also stayed in but it was more expensive (15 euros a night) for bunk beds but it had internet, good bathrooms and showers, breakfast included.

Morocco's a bargainers paradise. If you haggle you can get the prices down. It's the offseason now. Out of all the places we visited (Taghazout, Sidi Ifni, Mirleft, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Boulemane, Merzouga, Chefchaouen, Marrakesh), for a total of 2 people, we would average around 20 euros a night, sometimes paying 10 euros and sometimes 30. Of course, we weren't looking for all the bells and whistles, just a clean bed for the night. Sometimes we got just that, sometimes we got a luxury suite for 20 euros cause it's the offseason. The big cities were indeed surprisingly more expensive. But nothing about Morocco is sketchy -- the hasslers are annoying but I never once felt threatened (it was also always the 2 of us). The coast is beautiful and you should explore beyond Taghazout -- Essaouira and Sidi Ifni if you can.

<comment><USER24> 20€/person/night is cheap, but you can definitively find the same prices in many of the cheaper European countries. Here in Portugal you can rent a double bedroom in a nice rural house with all the commodities (AC, pool, etc) for that price, and when I went to Budapest in April, we rented a 3-person apartment (with heating, Internet, etc all included) for a week for less than 400€.

<comment><USER23> 20 euros total so 10 euros per person per night. Sorry that was confusing in my original comment! Having been in Portugal and Budapest on that same trip I can say that Morocco is definitely cheaper. But Portugal was my favorite :) Great people, great waves, great coast!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> I think a lifestyle location could be a cool underdog hiring strategy, at elates if you accept that you all your hire will be relocation hires. IE, if you are wiling to pay big city salaries in a small town location, that could be attractive to some people. Not everyone and obviously if you have Google/Facebook hiring requirements it's not an option. But, if you need to hire 5-10 a year it might work. Not everyone will want it. But, the minority that do want it want it a lot.

IE, imagine a couple with small kids from London comings for an interview to a nice location in Crete. Instead of a tiny London 2 bedroom, they can move into a nice cottage. They can save hours a day in commutes and get more cash into savings. That will appeal to some employees (or their wives/husbands). You can't say Crete is objectively better or worse than the London buzz. But, it is different in a way that will inevitably appeal to some.

The problem is that it's hard not to adjust your salary expectations (as an employer) to local salaries and that just isn't compatible with relocation hiring. People don't relocate for a lower salary, even if cost of living is lower. I think the EU has a lot of these possibilities that are still under appreciated.

If you think your main win/lose parameter is the quality of people you can hire, you should think creatively about how to win here. It's hard to win competing head-to-head.

<comment><USER26> While I don't wish to imply I am the world's most amazing person, I think I'm reasonably competent. I moved precisely for lifestyle reasons to Dublin, Ireland, and quite like it. While the cost of living is relatively high by European standards, it's far, far, cheaper than the bay, or west L.A. for that matter. I mostly wanted to live in a dense, walkable, European city, and Dublin has exceeded expectations in that regard.

I realize you probably weren't thinking of a European capital when you wrote it, but it does ring true that there are people for whom location is more important than maximum compensation.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> I am based in Cairo. Other than the rare revolutions, occasional bombings and frequent elevated security situations, it is a perfectly suitable place to try starting up your startup.

</comment><comment><USER28> Apparently their justification is "Because it's quiet and weird." So, when you choose to establish a new business, move to the next hipster city that no one's heard of. For... reasons.

<comment><USER29> Seems like the hipster solitude didn't work wonders for their proofreading: I stumbled upon [http://www.thebluehouse.io/month-long- program/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/month-long-program/) only to be greeted by: "HOW MUCH DOES IT COSTS?". I only went there because the main homepage took ~20 seconds to load. Perils of seclusion...

</comment></comment><comment><USER30> Not sure I can really agree with much in this article, which seems to contradict itself (get more focused by not doing A and B, instead use your spare time for X and Y) and ignores that fact that getting close to your target audience and understanding their pain points isn't really going to happen if your sitting under an umbrella in Senegal.

<comment><USER31> It's not a one size fits all situation. Depends on your product (online/offline), on the stage your product is at, etc. The good thing is you can alternate being in big tech hub, isolating yourself in small village, challenging yourself in a city you don't know etc

<comment><USER30> I agree that short breaks away from the "norm" is good, but this isn't really unique to startups - i'd wager that you could gain the same benefits by just taking a vacation than trying to relocate your startup + staff every X months.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> For years I though that the Internet would fuel re-ruralization because it allows people to work outside the limits of densely populated areas. I think I suffered from two errors in that assumption: first that many people other than me wanted to live and work in the boonies; and second that infrastructure in rural areas would catch up somehow. I think the trend toward urbanization makes perfect sense from an infrastructure perspective, and it makes a certain amount of sense that most people prefer to live with other people.

</comment><comment><USER33> I am trying to figure out what kind of start up can benefit from this. In theory, you can be more focused if you and your team are isolated. Maybe it is easier to answer this question: What kind of start ups will not benefit from this? I'd say any startup that is passed the very first stages of product development, and needs to be talking to users, and investors and media and other businesses ... Just thinking out loud.

</comment><comment><USER34> It would be more productive to just have a remote workforce, and let them live where they want. Some people might want small fishing towns, others will make different choices. The key is to let everyone do what works best for themselves.

</comment><comment><USER35> I live in London and I love the rain & grey skies. I cycle 15 minutes to work, but sometimes take public transport too. I feel plenty productive in this city, and if I were to start my own business, I'd have no problems being here.

I think it really depends on who you are, not where you are.

<comment><USER36> I don't know how can you love cycling in the rain, considering that the bike needs cleaning afterwards.

<comment><USER37> For short city trips, you want to have an old cheap outdoor bike (otherwise it might get stolen anyway). I don't see why you have to clean those. (I clean my bike once every 6 months, tops, and I ride it every day. The dirt is from the dirt or forest tracks I have to cross once in a while.)

<comment><USER36> Not here in Bucharest. There's some mud on the streets and on my bike too. Though I admit I haven't cleaned it up too much yet :-D

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> Well, if you're looking for a location like that, consider Pillar Point Harbor in California. There's a small industrial area with cheap space, 2-3 short blocks from the ocean. It's adjacent to Mavericks Beach, one of the world's great surfing spots. There's a small-boat harbor. Several riding stables. Some nightclubs. Decent restaurants. A small airport. Housing prices aren't too high.

It's a half hour drive from there to Silicon Valley. 45 minutes to San Francisco. There's bus service to both places. 10 minutes to Half Moon Bay with supermarkets and hardware stores.

</comment><comment><USER39> They seem to be selling a dystopia:

"Getting far away from your family, your friends, [...] Living close to the beach, and surfing or doing yoga, also helps decompressing after work, and avoiding burnout, and therefore staying productive"

<comment><USER40> They also overlook the harsh conditions most [near-]waterfront properties suffer for prolonged periods. There's a reason non-oceangoing businesses aren't there. Wet cold, unmitigated storms (up to hurricanes), shifting waterlines, pounding waves, sketchy internet connections, delayed delivery/shipping times, debilitating heat, salt corrosion, etc. When it's good it's great, and when it's bad nobody but long-term born-and-die-there locals stay.

</comment></comment><comment><USER41> I have to point out that:

1) Traditionally, HN has been about startups: what works, what doesn't work

2) This entire comment thread is reading like a tourism forum

At some point, maybe 2-4 years ago, HN sublty starting moving from a board about how to make your startup to folks trying to pitch other folks on stuff to buy for your startup. It's the old thing about during the gold rush the gold miners didn't make all the money -- the guys selling pickaxes did.

I don't say that to discount these folks. Hell if I know. Probably best place in the world for a startup. It's just every now and then HN gets especially bad about this. And it needs to be pointed out.

</comment><comment><USER42> I live in Grimsby (UK). You don't want to come here. It's depressing, boring, smelly and awful. I'd prefer to be in somewhere like London than here.

The only good thing is that we have decent broadband.

<comment><USER43> Really? The Elton John & Bernie Taupin song made it sound wonderful!

</comment></comment><comment><USER44> I have a friend who works for Power Engineers. The founders built the company in Hailey, Idaho, near the Sun Valley Ski Resort.

They are now a massive company with 39 US Offices and 4 international offices. I've never been sure if the lesson is that you can start a company in the middle of nowhere, or if you need to have local offices to serve your customers. The headquarters is still in Hailey, ID, in the middle of nowhere, but they clearly thought they needed offices elsewhere to add ~1 additional office per year of the company.

</comment><comment><USER45> Looks appealing, right near Anchor Point, a world class surf spot. Was about to pull the trigger on a 3-4 month rental...until the price. 1,200 Euros/month in Morocco, really? During the fall and spring I pay 500 Euros _per month_ for a 2 bedroom, 5 minute walk from the beach in Capbreton, France, an area with surf as good or better than anything in Morocco.

I can appreciate, number 1, the safety (as I had all my gear stolen in Morocco a few years ago, passport included), and living with other tech heads, but in the end I just need a decent internet connection, a kitchen, and location in some interesting part of the world; the rest are nice-to-haves.

Airbnb et al have totally destroyed the bargain rental market. From India, to Morocco, to Argentina, etc. formerly dirt cheap destinations now fetch luxury prices with often very modest accomodations in return.

Best bet for the travelling coder is probably to just do a week rental via hose-you-inc and then search locally for rentals closer to market value (i.e. not 2-5X what the locals are paying).

Now, it's a fantastic market for sellers, more power to them, if I had a place to sublet I'd be more than happy to fetch top dollar for some vanilla 1 bedroom apartment with a blender, hot plate, and clean sheets ;-)

2cents

</comment><comment><USER11> I'm not sure big cities are prohibitive here.

Sure the subway can suck but in New York City I have access to surfing, beaches, more yoga studios (and dance, and martial arts, among a million other classes in languages, the culinary arts, and virtually any other topic you could choose) than anyone could possibly count, restaurants, museums, concerts, sporting events, scuba diving, sky diving, and anything else you could ever ask for. (And even the things you'd never think to ask for). I mean the list just goes on and on and on. Of course this is predicated on the assumption that you will take advantage of it (and have the money, interest, time, and energy to do so).

However, that being said, the idea of waking up in my hut, and walking outside, doing a little yoga on the beach, and then setting up for a cup of coffee with some locals and hacking away in the sun does sound undeniably attractive.

I'd kill for some more sun in my workplace. And just whose idea were these damned open offices anyways? I do enjoy the social interactions and yet there is always that nipping feeling that I'm interrupting someone else's zone while I do so, much as, often, people interrupt mine when they do.

</comment><comment><USER46> I too live in a fishing town, yes, it's nice being a small town without any traffic or people on the street (except in Summer when we get tourists) but honestly I can't wait to move out.

I can't get fast internet, power/internet goes down when it gets a bit windy or starts raining; and it rains quite a lot, making you really unproductive. Let's not talk about 3G/4G, we are lucky to have 3G on a good day.

If I wanted to go to some conference or meetup I'd have to drive at least 4-5 hours since there's nothing here, and we don't have train or anything.

Talking about leisure time, I like surfing, but that's only viable during the Summer, there's not much else to do here other than hanging out with other people; we are lucky to have a cinema, but some movies don't even make it here (I'm still waiting to watch Interstellar).

This would be the perfect place for a lonely writer working on a novel, but definitely not for people like us, who need to be always connected and making the best use of technology possible.

Disclaimer: I've never lived in a city, maybe I'll end up hating it, who knows?

<comment><USER47> You could be surrounded by thousands of people at any moment who all have headphones on and keep their gaze at a 45 degree angle towards the ground. You too can walk past homeless panhandlers asking for money and ignore them. You can hang out at hip dive-bars and pretend to be cool until the neighborhood gentrifies and you have to commute farther out to the next spot. You can sit next to the schizophrenic on the bus that went off of their meds and everyone does their best to pretend e is the hallucination and not a real person. You can go to events where every clique but your own is present. You can rub shoulders with everyone who wouldn't give a damn if they stepped on you for their next big opportunity.

You can find loneliness anywhere.

Being "always connected," I'm beginning to realize, is not always the optimal state. You lose the ability to focus, to consider the future, and form thoughts of your own. As Douglas Rushkoff suggests: we all live in the present.

For better or worse this is the way things work... but I think it's rather amazing that we have the option to work on a terrace in a medina in some North African city if we want to. And yet so few of us, at the forefront of the technology that enables this lifestyle, take advantage of it -- even for temporary periods. There's something to be said about taking a few months away from the Valley to think for a while.

<comment><USER46> As I said, it depends. Right now I'm young and eager to go work at a big company or a startup. Maybe 30 years from now I'll just want to come back and rest, who knows?

<comment><USER47> We humans are terrible at imagining the future. Might as well seize the day and find out. You might like the city! I know I did when I was young. I still do and couldn't imagine living in a remote, rural town. However I've learned to appreciate remote, rural living more and like to visit it for periods of time.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER48> Founders should choose the correct location that gives them the maximum possible advantage. If you're selling to the oil industry, build in Houston. Finance, NYC. And so on. Sometimes geography doesn't matter, so a small fishing town is just fine.

</comment><comment><USER49> This might be the most dotcom-ish post I've read since joining HackerNews.

Don't get me wrong on this but even the argumentation is clearly wrong here:

> work in places so magical they could be on the cover of travel magazines

> under an umbrella on a beach in Senegal, in cafes in old Arab medinas, and > more

> Adventurous Startups.

and then

> YOU'LL BE MORE FOCUSED

I've tried this myself and my experience was that working abroad is totally doable but by no means did I achieve focusing more on my work.

Instead I would pick any chance meeting new people and discover the new environment.

Also: In my opinion everything comes down to networking, which is why a lonely beach in Marocco might not be the right place to start this...

<comment><USER50> It's not for everyone clearly. When you actually spend more than a couple of weeks, you stop getting that need to discover and talk to people, and get to work super productively (one of the reason is: you can't wait to go back to enjoying the place). This solution works if you have a 100% online product, or if you opt to travel at the right stage for your startup (when you have had networked for now, when you're pivoting etc).

</comment></comment><comment><USER51> i'm not sure what this is, it's not that clear. it seems to be an advert for a guest house that's tailored to people building startups? here's a hint, if you're building a start up you want to be successful, moving somewhere to go surfing isn't probably the best thing to do

and it doesn't seem that cheap either tbh. not forgetting remoteness is a massive problem, i worked somewhere remote, it was awful. they had surfing. i moved back to the city after 6 months, i've never been happier.

that said, i hope it works for you, i wish i could live at the beach in a warm country

</comment><comment><USER52> I really enjoyed the piece - but I wonder if the arguments made work for a highly focused coding bender and perhaps not day-to-day business growth of a startup where meeting face to face with other founders, potential partners & mentors would be facilitated by being in a crowded city as opposed to a Senegalese beach?

<comment><USER31> It depends what stage you're in, and what is your product. If your doing a 100% online product, it doesn't change a thing. Skype works great for partners, but going in person once in a while where your partners is always better. (Thank god for cheap airplane fares)

</comment></comment><comment><USER53> All is perfect, until you need to hire more developers, and then find (almost) all of them live in big cites, and they're not willing to relocate to a place without theaters, bars, discos... probably a lot like the place the came from before living in the city ;)

</comment><comment><USER54> For the prices: [http://www.thebluehouse.io/month-long- program/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/month-long-program/)

The white on yellow background isn't the best choice of colours.

Having been to Essaouira, I can only imagine Taghazout more relaxing.

<comment><USER55> If you miss, there is a (hidden) navigation menu at the top of the page.

[http://www.thebluehouse.io/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/)

[http://www.thebluehouse.io/month-long- program/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/month-long-program/)

[http://www.thebluehouse.io/projects/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/projects/)

[http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/)

[http://www.thebluehouse.io/apply-house/](http://www.thebluehouse.io/apply- house/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER56> You definitely want exposure to all types of resources and I find that being in a bigger city allows you do that. I'm currently a medium-sized fish in a small pond and it's still hard to find the right people that'll guide me along the way.

</comment><comment><USER57> Hopefully the name of that boat isn't a bad omen ;)

[http://www.thebluehouse.io/#surrounded-with-the- best](http://www.thebluehouse.io/#surrounded-with-the-best) (scroll up)

</comment><comment><USER58> Terrible article, it basically boils down to hipster garbage. "Adventurous Startup", give me a break. We're such free, weird unencumbered souls lol! Eat pray love!

</comment><comment><USER59> First of all, the guy is selling startup space in a small fishing town. Second, is there any evidence to support his case? How many successful startups began in idyllic locations?

<comment><USER31> Hey, I'm the writer :) We actually decided to open this space after meeting a lot of cool startups who did. In this village we had TechStar Seattle and Startup Chile alumi Maptia and media darling Chui. And there are more around the world. Check out NomadList, and Levels.io

<comment><USER60> Also check [http://teleport.org](http://teleport.org) to compare locations. They have not launched global yet, but they probably will soon...

</comment></comment></comment><comment> steve-benjamins I'm a solo bootstrapped entrepreneur but I like working in offices with others— this is perfect for me. To me, this seems like more of a focussed co- working space abroad.

</comment><comment><USER61> Thats all well and good but some of us have families and kids.

</comment><comment><USER62> 1.) this is a recruiting blurb from TBH. 2.) I want an unbiased opinion, this one doesn't address pros vs. cons. 3.) why would I want to smell fish all day?

</comment><comment><USER63> Planning to do this. Any advice on how to meet people once you settled in a city? e.g. couchsurfing (request to go out for a tea)

</comment><comment><USER64> [http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hackbase](http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hackbase)

</comment><comment><USER65> How do you deal with the red-tape? It looks like you need a working visa to work in Morocco.

</comment><comment><USER66> Are there any small fishing towns in the US?

<comment><USER67> plenty along floridas cost, depending on your definition of small:

jupiter, pine island, hudson beach..

pretty much take your pick along the coast, avoiding the major metro areas like Tampa/StPete/Clearwater/Miami/Jacksonville (all are more city than "town").

</comment></comment><comment><USER68> Sounds more like a holiday camp

<comment><USER69> Hey Fergie. It's not our intention (I'm the cofounder) :) Our goal is to have people work as much as in their hometown, but get more done because they're in a better setting, and because when they take a break, it's a fucking amazing break.

</comment></comment><comment><USER70> Is Morocco a save place now? A relative was there to help in the United Nations peacekeeping mission, especially the southern part of Morocco "Western Sahara".

United Nations peacekeeping mission is still ongoing: [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Nations_peacek...](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Nations_peacekeeping_missions.PNG) (blue region in north-west of Africa)

<comment><USER71> It's almost impossible to have a gun in Morocco then it's easy to assume that you are safer than in the US.

<comment><USER8> That statement makes no sense. You know it is possible to have violence without guns, right?

<comment><USER71> The thing that I'm pointing to is that there is more crime in the US than Morocco.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER72> Back in 2009, I moved from Silicon Valley (Cupertino, natch, home of...well, me, until I left - rumor is there's also another tech firm or two there, but those fruit guys well, you know).

At the time, I had it all. Consulting firm was paying half the bills and the scalable, bootstrapped and profitable media business had hit north of six million visitors the month before the big move.

New location: Maldives. Sun, sand and surf. Want to see dolphins? Top five in the world. Coral reefs? Some of the best. That underwater restaurant Tom Cruise stayed at on his honeymoon at Conrad Hilton, when it was the world's first? It's an amazing place, quite special - I hit it up in 2008 the year before we moved there.

Unlike a lot of folks that move to random locations, or say Costa Rica, the first time I moved overseas with a startup (left the US to join a Costa Rican one), the Maldives trip was my second time.

A few exceptions about my move: * Father-in-law was Vice President, of the country at the time (I left before he became president) * Then president was family by marriage; personally, I thought the guy was a sh!tty father when we went to the first daughter's birthday. Imho, both parents, regardless of how busy, should make time. Eg, when it was my older son's b-day, only the first lady showed. She was cool. The president was a bit uptight. Long story.

Pros about moving to Maldives: * Any foreigner can get the "local," discount, like teachers, for example * The islands are amazing. Seriously. Try lounging on the beach where Madonna stayed...the resort owners is nice and well, the beach spectacular. They also have the largest array of solar panels privately owned in their region. * Fish is plentiful, fresh, and some of the very best tuna in the world. There are some amazing dishes.

Cons: * Everything is imported and subject to a 100% tax * Capital island is 1 square mile...most densely populated city in the world per square meter * Internet situation is abysmal.

I lack credibility here, as I have zero background in networking, but suffice to say after meeting multiple ministers of telecommunications, pitching the government to try to fix the situation AND lobbying after my father-in-law, at the time, was President of the Country...well, I know why in my home country, "Net neutrality," makes people confused.

This article is too light, too shallow on details for those of us who've done the globe trotting thing and worked in multiple countries overseas.

<comment><USER73> > A few exceptions about my move: * Father-in-law was Vice President, of the > country at the time (I left before he became president)

Hahaha, come on man, I'm pretty sure that if you're part of the ruling social class of any given country your life is defeinitely going to be much more enjoyable than if you aren't.

</comment></comment><comment><USER74> I'm not so sure you should be trying to push "leave your family and friends behind" as an upside. You are just reminding people of an obvious downside, you aren't actually turning it into an upside.

</comment><comment><USER75> ...and if you are really successful:

YOU'LL GENTRIFICATE THE TOWN

A win for everybody...kind of.

</comment><comment><USER76> May or may not be great while you're working, but what's gonna happen when the startup goes bust and there are literally zero other jobs there.</comment>


Turn off Gmail's conversation view - <AUTHOR> http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/turn-off-gmails-conversation-view.html

<comment><USER2> Gmail conversations are the best 'innovation' in email since RFC822. However, as I have been dealing with migrating an education environment to Google Apps, I can confirm that some people are foot-dragging improvement-haters.

This concession is part of Google's drive for broader enterprise adoption. If it helps increase their deployment count (and it almost certainly will) it's a win-win for everyone.

<comment><USER3> The problem with conversation-view is that it breaks the simple chronology of e-mail. If I want to look at an e-mail that I remember receiving last Friday, I have to scan through my "conversations" until I recognize the correct subject for that particular conversation which will appear in a seemingly random order, depending on the last time I replied or received a reply.

Maybe I'm a "foot-dragging improvement hater" but it's much easier for me to remember "e-mail from Fred last Friday" and to find that by going to last Friday and looking for "Fred" than it is to remember the last time the conversation was updated.

<comment><USER4> Just click "show search options" and enter "Fred" in the from box and "Friday" in the date box.

Much easier than scanning through pages and pages of messages.

<comment><USER3> That's a fair point. But nowadays OS'es all have good search tools (e.g. SpotLight in OS X) which makes it unnecessary to organize your files ("why organize when you can search"?). However, I still like my files organized so I can browse them to find things in a straightforward way. So, too, with e-mail.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Because some people really love it when their email inbox is a giant, chaotic FILO buffer that matches the "In Box" tray on their cluttered 1960s-era desk.

<comment><USER6> I upvoted you because that is me. I want a stack.

<comment><USER7> No, you don't.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I love conversation view, but I hate the fact that I have no way of manually "breaking" a conversation when Gmail guesses incorrectly, or more generally, when I want to logically group a set of messages together.

A real example that I work with a lot: I agree to buy something from someone on a forum. I have a series of transactional emails from the forum about the topic, possibly a paypal receipt, and a UPS ship notice. Creating a whole label for that transaction is overkill (I don't need to "name" the transaction, and label sprawl is already fairly unmanageable): I just want a way to correlate those messages together for quick review later.

I can't do that today, and worse, I've occasionally had cases where Gmail creates a "conversation" out of several Paypal receipts, all for unrelated items.

Like I said, I love the idea of conversations. I just wish I had more control over them.

</comment><comment><USER9> Oh, thank goodness.

I use my email inbox as a to-do list. I want to be able to keep individual emails sitting there, not conversations. I may have an email conversation with dozens, or hundreds of emails in it, and just one that I care about for later. I can't think of any reason why I'd want to keep them all together.

<comment><USER2> I agree that it would be nice to be able to "fork" a conversation easily. Just as an FYI: you can "star" individual e-mails (instead of threads), and when you click that subject, it expands only your starred message. I've found this solves the "only need one" problem for me, while still preserving context, should I need it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Oooooh. This is the best news of the week, maybe of the month. We've been waiting for sooo long for this. I never thought it would actually happen. So sometimes Google does listen.

So maybe we can hope that not hiding <http://www> in Chrome will become an option someday...?

<comment><USER10> Chrome doesn't hide the "www", only the <http://> protocol, as there might be differences between the www.example.com and example.com DNS settings.

<comment><USER6> Ok, maybe. http: and // are two different things anyway; http is the protocol and // is the start of the path. (They (the Chrome team) seem to put them in the same "useless" basket.)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I still want an option to default open the reply at the bottom of the message instead of the top

<comment><USER5> This, but ultimately, I really wish people would inline-reply on longer correspondence, particularly in mailing lists.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> ...and then realize how awesome it is, and turn it back on.

</comment><comment><USER3> IT'S ABOUT TIME!</comment>


Is Memory Mapped File This Fast in Java? - <AUTHOR> http://sherxon.com/blog/fastest-io-in-java <comment><USER3> Memory mapped files are great fun in C, but Java can't safely unmap files! Refer to this bug that's been open since 2002: [http://bugs.java.com/view_bug.do?bug_id=4724038](http://bugs.java.com/view_bug.do?bug_id=4724038)

Quote (December 2016): "I have a plan to implement this, but it requires changes to the Java Memory Model and to the compilers. I didn't get it done in time for JDK 9 because of being distracted by a ton of other things, but I hope I'll get it done by JDK 10."

</comment><comment><USER4> If you find ByteBuffer's API awkward/insufficient, you might want to consider one of the replacements:

* Netty's: [https://netty.io/4.0/api/io/netty/buffer/ByteBuf.html](https://netty.io/4.0/api/io/netty/buffer/ByteBuf.html) as used by Netty

* Agrona's, as used by Aeron and SBE: [http://insightfullogic.com/2015/Apr/18/agronas-threadsafe-of...](http://insightfullogic.com/2015/Apr/18/agronas-threadsafe-offheap-buffers/)

</comment><comment><USER5> You should never read() one byte at a time unless you like waiting. The C idiom is still true for Java:

byte[] buf=new byte[4096]; // this matters

while(true) {

      int num=in.read(buf,0,buf.length);

      ...

}

Also MemMapped files in Java have an int index so you can't really use them for large files without using another method as well.

Finally typically one has to parse the files to a string of a certain charset. This poses still more issues in terms of how you read files; esp multi and variable byte charsets.

</comment><comment><USER6> When was MappedByteBuffer introduced in Java?

Furthermore, in what situations is mmap() (or MappedByteBuffer, if the situation is Java-specific) worse than read() et al?

I ask because Java is on my "I should probably know at least a little bit" list and I'm interested to pick up all the tidbits and tricks that I can - <USER2> this article screams "just use MappedByteBuffer everywhere you need I/O!", so I want to know if there are any exceptions.

<comment><USER7> I was slightly confused by the claim of the article saying:

"Memory mapped files are new feature in Java nio package"

They were introduced in Java 1.4, 15 years ago.

<comment><USER6> Thanks.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What is a pain point you have? - <AUTHOR>

I am in a bit of a rut in terms of a project to work on. Please share some of your current pain points so that I might be able to help tackle them. <comment><USER2> search the old feeds. I see this question posted regularly. I think people get tired of answering it, but those older threads are out there.</comment>


Visual Studio 2010 to include Flight Recorder "Black Box" like Debugging - <AUTHOR> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10052412-56.html

<comment><USER2> This article is embarrassingly low on details. Does anyone have an article that talks about what is logged?

It would also be nice to know what the performance impact is. It seems like the weirdest bugs are the ones that happen in production after I've turned off debug logging "for speed". It would be nice to not care about speed, and have lots of information to help me fix the problem.

Even something simple like this:

[http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/m_trac...](http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/m_tracec.htm)

would be nice to have for other languages.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Anyone know of anything in ruby that can do something like this?

I'd settle for some sort of ultra-logging gem that would log all method calls so I can see what happened before a ruby process went awol, after I've killed it.</comment>


Landlords and Heirs: Why Prop 13 isn't just unfair, it's un-American - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@michaellevinson_64108/landlords-and-heirs-why-prop-13-isnt-just-unfair-it-s-un-american-20a8597cb37b <comment><USER2> I don't completely understand his argument that raising prop tax on landlords wouldn't increase rent prices --

> It's important to note that the tenants aren't seeing any of those tax > savings. They pay $8,000/month, full market rate. Landlords charge whatever > rent the market bears — older investors receiving large Prop 13 subsidies > simply enjoy a higher profit margin than younger ones who do don't.

Doesn't that still affect the market, though? Wouldn't some landlords' lower overhead still drive the price down a little?

<comment><USER3> The landlords' costs shouldn't affect rent prices, except when it decreases the supply of rental units. The property tax increase primarily affects buildings that were constructed decades ago, has a very small effect on buildings that were constructed recently and has absolutely no effect on newly constructed buildings. The landlords can't go back in time and decide not to build the building and removing the existing building from the market does not let them escape the property taxes, so there shouldn't be any effect on supply.

<comment><USER4> Repealing prop 13 might actually increase the supply of rentals, as it incentivizes renting out currently underutilized real estate.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I looked up the house I grew up in which my dad still owns. He paid $2400 in property tax last year. The people that bought my best friends house paid $14,000.

</comment><comment><USER6> Calculate property tax on revenue and you solve both problems.</comment>


Ask HN: Documenting my child's life - <AUTHOR> Hi Everyone,
I'm about to become a first time father and I've been thinking about how to go about documenting my son's life.  By documenting, I mean collecting all of the pictures/videos we take of him along with text descriptions of the events.  Things like what we did for his 3rd birthday, his first words, when his Grandma died, etc.  A sort of official record of everything that happened to him during his life.  The idea being that when he's an adult he will have all of this in one place to go back to and look at when he wants.
The three main things I'm looking for are:
1) General Social Network stuff like uploading a post, pictures, etc.  Possibly allowing other family members to contribute 2) The ability to download everything (pictures, posts, videos, etc.) into a single archive that comes with a html file that can be locally viewed 3) Something I can expect to exist 20 years from now
2 & 3 effectively eliminate every commercial site and anything that isn't open source in my mind.
My googling hasn't come up with anything that I think is suitable.  I've come up with a few options:
(1) A self hosted Mastodon instance not connected to the fediverse. Mastodon has the most momentum behind it, but it doesn't seem to have the focus I want.  It's more for short thoughts that are relevant for a relatively short amount of time.
(2) Creating my own site based on the ActivityPub standard.  This is attractive because it gives me something to start on and would allow me to hook into the fediverse, if it ever really takes off.  However, I can't seem to find a good basic ActivityPub library (preferrably Ruby/RoR) to use and rolling my own seems complicated.
(3) Creating the site from scratch based on my own data format.  This is the simplest to get started, but it's going to be lacking in a lot of features and I'll spend a lot of time reinventing the wheel.
Anyone have thoughts or suggestions? <comment><USER2> Congratulations on your forthcoming fatherhood. I'm not sure I can point to any product which is focused specifically on the "niche" you've described -- though maybe it's an opportunity because niche doesn't seem like the right word for such a huge market.

I think most people today probably resort to whatever photo solution their phone offers them (either Apple Photos or Google Photos) and probably neglect to capture the less photographical memories of raising their children. But I think the key to any solution that you use is that it needs to be quick and easy. With that said, maybe something like a self-hosted or password-protected Wordpress installation would fit your use-case. It'd automatically chronograph your entries. It's got broad support for all types of media (photos, video, audio, etc.) and you can find limitless plugins to capture calendar entries and other memorable events. Just make sure you've got a rock-solid backup system in-place so that you don't risk losing all of your entries.

If you want something more photo-focused, a self-hosted album like Koken might get you want you're looking for. It does provide the ability to blog as-well, though it's probably not as customizable as a Wordpress blog would be.

Good luck with your newborn and finding a solution to help you remember all the little moments along the way.

<comment><AUTHOR> >With that said, maybe something like a self-hosted or password-protected Wordpress installation would fit your use-case. It'd automatically chronograph your entries. It's got broad support for all types of media (photos, video, audio, etc.) and you can find limitless plugins to capture calendar entries and other memorable events. Just make sure you've got a rock-solid backup system in-place so that you don't risk losing all of your entries.

The backup system is the problem. Once I do something like Wordpress all of the data is going to be stuck in that format in their database structure. That makes it hard to access anywhere outside of Wordpress.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> As a dad of two twenty-somethings, I'd recommend spending a bit of time acquiring good photographic skills (if you don't already have them) and especially basic portrait lighting. This will allow you to take fewer, better pictures. Which is directly related to the notion of making sure your documentation process maximizes your unfettered dad time. A few ideas that I'm really glad I did: 1) take a good natural (ie informal, unposed)portrait each birthday. 2) Audio or video record a brief "birthday interview" with age appropriate questions. 3) read/tell stories every available night before bedtime and, occasionally, record yourself telling them (covertly). As they grew older, my boys loved hearing stories from my childhood and they asked good questions in their squeaky child voices. It's so cool to listen to those now.

<comment><AUTHOR> I am pretty good at photography and I have a nice DSLR. Love your suggestions and they're the exact sort of thing I want a record of.</comment></comment>