In defense of semantic value (a 2-in-1 rant) - <AUTHOR> http://www.onderhond.com/blog/work/in-defense-of-semantic-value

<comment><USER3> My objection to "the semantic web" is:

       1. Semantics only have meaning in a given context.
       2. "Global context" is an oxymoron.

And most of the song-and-dance routine about how wonderfully fantastic the semantic web will be implicitly assumes the creation of a global context, in which we all reasonably precisely agree on all the semantics of everything, and that's total pie-in-the-sky.

Recommended reading (which has the advantage of being a war story and not an exercise in theoretical handwaving): [http://reprog.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/semantic-mapping- is-h...](http://reprog.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/semantic-mapping-is-hard/) Also, follow those first two links down too ("the MARC format" and "Dublin Core") for full comprehension. You can't even get agreement on being what an _author_ is between two contexts, and you think you're going to build a glorious semantic web‽ The semantic issues aren't going to get _easier_ after that attribute....

<comment><USER4> This is a red herring. The shared context of two documents is the schema that they both declare and nothing more. The promise of linked data is that a lot of the relations will (and does now for example in music) allow discovery of interesting relations.

As for library science, yes, it is a hard problem.

<comment><USER3> If declaring a schema meant that the two documents _actually_ shared a schema, rather than just _claiming_ they shared a schema, I wouldn't have had to post my comment, because the problem would have been long since solved and we wouldn't be awaiting the Semantic Web because it would have been here for about 10 years now.

Semantics is about more than slathering tags and attributes on things; semantics is about actual, factual agreement. Merely claimed agreement isn't enough when it's generally not true. If professionals in library sciences can't get it right, the closest thing to a discipline devoted to the study of metadata, who can or will?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I don't think it's just an issue of people wanting a "now" solution as the article suggests. Whenever I spend time with semantic web stuff it always reeks of the problematic "over-engineered solution in search of a problem". For instance OWL starts off by defining a computationally intractable model for reasoning. That would be fine if you wanted to use it as a framework for abstractly reasoning about a subject, but no one trying to solve an actual problem starts this way.

The other major warning sign (and indication of over-engineering on it's way) is a complete lack of historical context. For example rdf triples are a more verbose, and yet limited form of Prolog clauses (in a similar way that XML is essentially verbose, restricted s-exps), yet, in my experience, the vast majority of rdf 'experts' have never written a single line of Prolog, or are even loosely familiar with the idea of logic programming. Additionally if you were really trying to solve a problem you'd already have a working prototype kludged together with something that looked a lot like Prolog.

The combination of a general ignorance of the problem space (knowledge representation and reasoning, logic programming etc) and a poorly defined problem imho can lead to absolutely no good, and are pretty strong evidence that most semantic web project will go nowhere.

</comment><comment><USER6> I agree completely with the second rant, but I don't really get what's difficult about marking up the various tidbits of data. Most websites use HTML templates; it's just a matter of adding certain classes to the elements.

It's also funny to notice the lack of semantic metadata in that page - <USER2> can't tell me that adding rel=me and rel=author to the links, as Scott Hanselman describes in his blog[1], is difficult.

[1]: [http://www.hanselman.com/blog/EmbraceAuthorshipTheImportance...](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/EmbraceAuthorshipTheImportanceOfRelmeAndRelauthorOnYourContentsSEOAndGoogle.aspx)

<comment><AUTHOR> Actually, the meta data you're talking about is there. You can even test the page to see that it should work (though it never appears like that in Google search results for me): [http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets?url=http...](http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onderhond.com%2Fblog%2Fwork%2Fin- defense-of-semantic-value&view=)

As for complexity, some classes are hard to grasp without a good reference list (like wtf is FN (formatted name)? I'm not saying it's rocket science, but it's still a lot more work (front-end and back-end) than adding class="contact person" to your base tag.

<comment><USER6> _Actually, the meta data you're talking about is there. You can even test the page to see that it should work (though it never appears like that in Google search results for me):[http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets?url=http...](http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets?url=http..). _

Hmm, sorry. I looked at the source and missed it.</comment></comment></comment>


How Text Messages Change from Dating to Marriage - <AUTHOR> http://adashofdata.com/2014/10/14/how-text-messages-change-from-dating-to-marriage <comment><USER2> > more recently I seem to have decided to no longer greet my husband

This is the most interesting part. When you're dating someone, there are defined parts of the day where you start-and-then-stop interacting with them, so there are greetings exchanged, etc. When you're married (or in a very steady relationship), it's more like one continuous conversation; since it never ends, it never has to begin again.

<comment><USER3> Just had to say that your last sentence was surprisingly touching (obviously IMO). I have my own qualms about the article in the OP as I've studied written/spoken language patterns a good amount in my time, but your point of relationships evolving into longer and longer 'continuous conversations' is a great way of putting it.

<comment><USER4> I just started computational linguistics at uni and I thought this was very interested (albeit very light hearted)

Could you elaborate on your qualms?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is fascinating. Looking back on my ~4 year relationship with my soon-to- be-wife, I notice a lot of parallels. Looking back even at our last week of texts, it's all transactional and logistical things: pickup times and places, confirmations, and quick tasks.

It's not necessarily that our communication has lost that "fresh love" spark, merely that it's developed and aged (like a good cheese) into deeper, more meaningful transactions that happen in person. We no longer _need_ to reaffirm anything over texts, because everything meaningful happens in person.

<comment><USER6> This x100 (just speaking from probably a few years further out that where you are now)! On the other hand, though, richer messaging apps have certainly made a lot of things much easier (sending map locations, sending pics/vids, links, etc) than SMS/MMS.

The same patterns hold true with email, btw. This isn't at all unique to texting.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I'm reminded of the time Facebook prompted me to "reconnect" with my beautiful wife, because we hadn't communicated in some time. Ah, no, we just don't communicate with each other via Facebook.

Sadly, most of my historic data (we've been together 11 years; married 6) is lost in ancient phones. One difference I believe we would observe compared with the OP is how prominent _xxx_ would appear (representing kisses, I might add). We made a tacit agreement early in our relationship to always add those and/or an expression of love at the end of messages and conversations. One of those little things that can get lost in transactional stuff, so I'm glad we made the effort (even if it's now mostly habit, it's still valuable).

<comment><USER8> >> We made a tacit agreement early in our relationship to always add those and/or an expression of love at the end of messages and conversations.

Right on. Thanks of sharing this tip.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> This is great to see as I've been working on a similar project to try to visualize relationships by looking at the number of texts sent over time.

If anyone would like help generating similar analyses of their texting data, I'd be glad to help as I have some machinery set up to do so!

Here's a prototype site I put together that takes iPhone SMS backups and generates a graph of how many texts you've sent over time:

[http://herbsusmann.com/relationships/](http://herbsusmann.com/relationships/)

</comment><comment><USER10> I would be interested in trying this out for myself. Any ideas or open source on extracting the data from phones (specifically the iPhone?).

I think the iPhone may use a SQLite DB for messages?

<comment><USER11> It does, and it's totally possible if you haven't encrypted the phone's backups and lost the password* like I did :(

*I swear I didn't put a password on it but for some reason it got one...

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Interesting, and sweet.

According to the history of SMS on Wikipedia, the notion was conceived before I met my wife, but the first SMS was sent almost five years after we married.

</comment><comment><USER13> I really enjoyed this thanks for sharing and I have bookmarked your site for future reference. It seems like a great idea if you keep it up which I hope you do.

</comment><comment><USER14> At first, looking at her picture, I thought her skirt was a data mosaic of the text messages. That would make a nice pattern actually.

</comment><comment><USER15> Case sensitive word clouds, it's like looking at trypophobia images :)

But by the looks of it, wouldn't have made much difference anyway.

</comment><comment><USER16> such a great analysis! Is there any space in this to disrupt? I mean to make things as before!

</comment><comment><USER17> always reminded by this xkcd comic whenever people share observations about their relationships

[http://xkcd.com/523/](http://xkcd.com/523/)

<comment><USER8> LOL.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Very interesting article among all apple crap.

<comment><USER8> it was my mistake to say bad about apple. Sorry apple fans.

<comment><USER18> Your first mistake was writing a comment that didn't really add anything (if all you want is to express approval, click the upvote button) and your second mistake was complaining about it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I think this topic would be more interesting: "How Text Messages Change from Marriage to Divorce"</comment>


The BLOB – Google's new threat to Internet privacy and security - <AUTHOR> https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/08/31/the-blob-googles-new-threat-to-internet-privacy-and-security/ <comment><USER2> This is backward thinking, not all things on the internet are a bunch of connected meningful content. What about apps? Not indexing apps make the actual content more accessible.</comment>


Google testing an NSA proof encryption for Google Drive  - <AUTHOR> http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/privacy/313850-google-test-driving-nsa-proof-encryption-for-google-drive

<comment><USER2> My guess is that this will go nowhere. How on earth would google monetize a product it couldn't use to specifically target ads? However, I could see this as a paid tier.</comment>


Who wants to discuss about MySQL vs PostgreSQL? - <AUTHOR>

<comment><USER2> Our Ruby on Rails app uses PostgreSQL (for now but that will change). We started off with MySQL but after growing quickly, we were forced to look into partitioning of the data. PostgreSQL was made to be easy for advanced stuff like that. We tried to do it with MySQL and failed because we're not MySQL experts and we managed to get it working with Postgres. Postgres has better documentation than MySQL so that might be the factor if you don't have a DBA you can readily ask for help. Here's a write-up by someone who went through similar process:

<http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/archive/2006/11/04/166>

Also, if you use Postgres on multi-CPU machines, it's faster than MySQL. But, make sure you read this:

<http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/oracle/115560> (comparison of Oracle/MySQL/PostgreSQL)

One last word of advice if you end up using PostgreSQL, learn and use this:

<http://pgreplicator.sourceforge.net/>

Finally, we are moving back to MySQL because we found a really fast replacement for the MyISAM storage engine (a lot faster than Postgres) and our part-time DBA knows MySQL and this new storage engine a lot better than Postgres. We are also moving to VPS architecture and Postgres' performance advantage over MySQL on a VPS doesn't really exist.

In the end, go with what your staff/friends know and what your hosting place recommends. If they have an optimized DB stack and provide some kind of a support for it, stick with that DB because you can always go to them for help!

<comment><USER3> Actually, pgreplicator saw its last release in 2001, and I'm not aware of anyone who uses it in production. The fact that it requires PostgreSQL 7.1 (which is ancient, buggy, and unsupported by the Postgres developers) would be a pretty big clue not to use it. The most popular choice for replication (async master-slave) with Postgres is Slony I. Commandprompt's replicator is another choice, although it is a commercial product ($1000 USD per machine).

When you say that "Postgres' performance advantage over MySQL on a VPS doesn't really exist.", I'm not sure what you mean: DBMS performance is a complicated subject, and significant performance differences exist between MySQL and PostgreSQL on essentially ANY hardware platform. For example, if your app uses complex queries with a lot of joins and subselects, Postgres optimizer will likely give you significantly better performance than MySQL's, regardless of whether it happens to be running on a VPS. Similarly, MyISAM's performance with an update-intensive concurrent workload is going to be pretty bad, regardless of the hardware platform.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I've used both and prefer Postgresql. Mysql with MyISAM is "faster" in the same way that bicycling down a hill with no brakes is faster. Mysql 5 with InnoDB is a little bit more serious and is worth considering.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> I am wondering which choice is popular among this startup community? Tests showcase PostgreSQL perfomance and scalability on a multicore to be better than MySQL.

What are your thoughts and the database of your choice?

<http://tweakers.net/reviews/657/5> <http://tweakers.net/reviews/657/6>

<comment><USER5> I had been reading numerous articles comparing MySQL and PostgreSQL and ran across this one. I wish they had mentioned some information about the configuration of the DBMS itself, such as the size of database buffers and query optimization settings.

Also, for their MySQL test procedures, I could not find any information regarding which storage engine they were using. InnoDB is fully ACID- compliant, whereas MyISAM has reduced overhead since it does support transactions and foreign key constraints, for example. I found a good article, <http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2007/01/08/innodb-vs-myisam-vs-falcon- benchmarks-part-1/> , comparing the two storage engines, and the results were pretty surprising to me.

It ultimately comes down to your individual usage patterns. Using a database abstraction layer will allow you to test your application against different databases so you can see how your application performs first hand.

<comment><AUTHOR> prior to multicore cpus asuming the scaling was achieved horizontally, MySQL has been a good choice. But today, if your systems comprising the clusters are at least dual core x2 cpu, I am lead to the conclusion, as nickb points out, that is better to use PostgreSQL.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> We're building on PostgreSQL now. I'm not an expert on either platform but the research I did led me to PostgreSQL due to its better performance on larger systems and in more traditional enterprise software categories. Our software will operate with Oracle sometimes and having a similar database will make a few things easier.

</comment><comment><USER7> PostgreSQL versus MySQL: an unbiased comparison: <http://www- css.fnal.gov/dsg/external/freeware/pgsql-vs-mysql.html>

We could spend all day on this, though.

<comment><USER3> However, it is quite out of date: for example, PostgreSQL has had a native Win32 port for several years, and the "--enable-locale" / "--enable-multibyte" configure options have not been necessary (or supported) for even longer. "Large row" (TOAST) support has been around since 7.1. etc.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> PG writes in the Viaweb FAQ that they (and Yahoo) did not use any database, just files. It makes sense... Is there something fundamentally different about your app, so that a DB is obviously a better choice?

<comment><USER9> I think something is different about databases since then. You can, for free, install a database in part of an afternoon that has excellent library/framework support and tools. That makes a big difference. If you're going to use Ruby on Rails, for example, you will have to justify why you don't want to use database software.

Basically, databases have been well-commoditized, like Unix, HTTP servers, and hosting. If your needs fit their common usage scenarios, you should just go ahead and use them.</comment></comment>


Pluralizing Translations in i18n - <AUTHOR> http://2n.pl/blog/i18n_pluralization

<comment><USER2> For those confused (like I was at first); judging by the post, this is I18n pluralization in Ruby on Rails.

</comment><comment><USER3> Pluralization is really old, gnu gettext solve this long time ago (1995).

[http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/gettext.html](http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/gettext.html)

But you are right, many projects not support this, many don't know it or they are not interessted in other languages.

<comment><USER4> Yep, gettext has been working well for decades (and ported to many languages), though the syntax is a little clunky I find.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Polish has 3 plural forms: 1: When the number is 1 2: When the number ends in 2,3,4, but not 12,13,14 3: For all other numbers

It beats me how translators would use "few" for plural form 2 (which includes 22, 33, 44). "Zero" and "other" are actually the same form. A good translation tool would spare the effort of entering the same information twice.

How would this work for Chinese, where all numbers are treated the same?

I would never present these keywords to translators, but instead show the full explanation like in the plural forms above.

<comment><USER6> Translators should know both the source and target language well enough to know the rules for the different plural forms. Using a name here is probably just to have a key for them (and frankly, better than gettext's approach). The correct name apparently would be singular, plural, genitive plural, if I'm reading Wikipedia right, but that's a bit cumbersome to type every time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Interesting to see the pluralization rules for so many languages expressed so succinctly.

Apparently in Polish 11 gets the "many" form (:other in this Ruby library), but 12 to 14 get the "few" form, like 2 to 4. But in Russian and a few other Slavic languages, 11 gets the "one" form.

</comment><comment><USER8> You probably mean useful. And known.

<comment><USER4> +1: OP probably should have checked the English grammar and spelling when writing about... grammar and spelling</comment></comment>


Learn CSS Layout - <AUTHOR> http://learnlayout.com/

<comment><USER2> Please re-work your 2nd graph :)</comment>


The Christmas Lectures - <AUTHOR> http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch <comment><USER2> Interesting...they have Eric Laithwaite's 1974 lecture, which was something of an embarrassment to the Royal Institution because he used the lecture to claim that gyroscopes violated Newton's Laws and could be used to make a reactionless propulsion system. (He later admitted that he was totally wrong about gyroscopes not obeying Newtonian mechanics, but remained convinced that a reactionless drive using them might be possible).

Details at Wikipedia here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Laithwaite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Laithwaite)

<comment><USER3> Wonderful when he unrolls a motor into his Linear Induction Motor used by Maglev Levitating Trains.

Laithewaite was an engineer, used to tweaking things till they worked and then trying to understand & explain them.

The fact that a small boy can only lift a heavy gyroscope when it is spinning defies easy explanation - Laithewaite's mistake was claiming this somehow defied Newton's Laws and was reactionless propulsion.

Laithewaite's almost childish fascination with the gyroscopic effect is charming and infectious.

That moment in this lecture completely destroyed his career.</comment></comment>


Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word  - <AUTHOR> http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-08-12-microsoft-lawsuit_N.htm

<comment><USER2> _XML is a specialized alphabet that can capture any kind of computer file as a regular text._

Sounds like I need me some of that XML alphabet. I shall use it to capture the interwebs.</comment>


To Surprise a Voice - <AUTHOR> https://thepointmag.com/2016/criticism/to-surprise-a-voice <comment><USER2> tl;dr Max Nelson's meditation on internantionalizing film dialog that largely prefers subtitles over dubbing. The title refers to an inadvertent sigh by the original actor that a dubber can't hope to authentically recreate. Nelson also laments the common obscurity of subtitle authors and hopes more of their work were analysed as translations of literature are.</comment>


Jeff Says Sorry, But Amazon is Still You're Admin - <AUTHOR> http://www.victusspiritus.com/2009/07/25/jeff-says-sorry-but-amazon-is-still-youre-admin/ <comment><USER2> This is going a long way toward forcing the issues of copyright, software licenses, and music DRM. People are able to relate to this issue much better because it has a good physical metaphor.

<comment><AUTHOR> I don't think people understand the consequences of not being the administrator of your own hardware. It's like we're leasing everything, and always hoping our providers give us what's best for us. It's a lead society, as opposed to a thinking culture.</comment></comment>


Financial Models for Underachievers: Two Years of the Real Numbers of a Startup - <AUTHOR> http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/10/financial-model.html Startups face one primary challenge: To never run out of cash. So when projecting costs, we heeded Guy's advice that "the three most powerful words you can utter at a board meeting are, 'We beat projections.'" This convinced us to develop the worst possible financial model that could still be used to raise money. <comment><USER2> A rare sight: a genuinely useful post from Guy Kawasaki. (It helps that he didn't write it.)

<comment><USER3> I just heard a truemor that Guy won't write any more blog posts.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> very interesting...although basing your model's assumptions on another random startup may not be "better" than making your own assumptions. they are a good guy check guide if nothing else though.

</comment><comment><USER5> I dunno. Something tells me that a real estate site has little in common with what the rest of us are doing. When the market tanks (and it will), this looks like what George Plossl used to call, "A precise estimate of a wild ass guess."

<comment><USER6> The idea is that it is not about the site but the expenses to get the project done and create a company structure to support it.

Personally I feel they feel they are doing some things wrong. 1) The name means nothing, sounds like a fish I might eat and 2) They are going to have to do major advertising to bring house buyers into the site. House buying isn't great right now. They will need to survive a year or two of house market funk to survive.</comment></comment>


Thinking in Animation Frames: Tuning Blink for 60 Hz - <AUTHOR> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!msg/blink-dev/bxIPxpzLprQ/Ny3UY51hj-EJ

<comment><USER2> If someone at Blink reads this, please please please consider adding an element.style API that let's us set the CSS 3D Matrix via arrays of numbers instead of forcing us to stringify the results to only have the browser have to reparse those floats.

Simply allowing developers to set CSS properties via numbers instead of forcing string conversion would be awesome.

This whole notion that all CSS properties need to be converted to a string is a bottleneck when you want to make many simultaneous changes on the DOM.

We really need a CSS styling interface that uses functions instead of assignment, where you pass in the numbers and the units as two separate arguments. e.g.

element.styles.set("width", 100, "px");</comment>


Why does opening something in a new tab obliterate your history? - <AUTHOR>

Is there a good reason for this that I'm missing?
In modern browsers, if I click on a link in an article that I'm reading and I'm taken there, I can press back to go back to where I came from. If I decide to open it in a new background tab (so I can finish the article and then read the newly opened tab), that new tab will have its history erased. Why? I would like it to stay so I could press back and figure out where I came from.
It happens quite often that I end up trying to find where I came from on a tab that happened to be opened as new, and hence has no back history. (One hack that I've learned to avoid this problem in desktop Chrome is to duplicate the tab, then click a link regularly. This preserves the back history.) <comment><USER2> The answer is simple -- each tab has its own separate history, and a newly created tab has no history.

In tab 1, you might have a long history of earlier sites. If you create a new tab 2 by any of several means from tab 1, the new tab has no history until you create one, a separate one for that tab.

This is generally regarded as a "good thing" -- it means you can have separate histories for different purposes in different tabs.

I am sure that, if a new tab inherited the history of its parent tab, someone would complain that that made no sense. And they would be right.

> (One hack that I've learned to avoid this problem in desktop Chrome is to > duplicate the tab, then click a link regularly. This preserves the back > history.)

All that does is create a history starting with the original URL that opened the tab. Just as you would expect.

It's as though each tab is a separate browser incarnation -- and that's by intent.

</comment><comment><USER3> It's more than just the history of the tab, is an overall overhaul of how we consume links that is required. Browsers need a new way of opening new links and tabs so that we keep intact the context of the main article that we came from.

Perhaps split screen or side panel navigation, where the new link opens in such away that we can still see where we came from, and go back to it easily. This will hopefully end the list of open tabs, where we can't remember why we opened it in the first place</comment>


Twitter Bootstrap or Zurb Foundation for RailsApps? - <AUTHOR> http://blog.railsapps.org/post/64755922797/twitter-bootstrap-or-zurb-foundation-for-railsapps

<comment><USER2> Foundation is a bit lighter and nicer IMHO, used it on a recent project, but I'm going to suggest going for something like neat instead [http://neat.bourbon.io/](http://neat.bourbon.io/)

This assumes the primary reason you are using a framework is to get the niceness of an infinitely nesting responsive grid and you care about semantic HTML.

Putting the grid in your LESS or SCSS is so much nicer than littering your HTML with "large-4 columns", etc -

<comment><USER3> Note that you don't have to use the classes like "col-lg-4" in Bootstrap either. You can use your own classes and build the grid with .make-row() and .make-lg-column() mixins instead. (See [http://getbootstrap.com/css/#grid- less](http://getbootstrap.com/css/#grid-less) for examples.)

I'm currently using Bootstrap in two very different projects. One is an internal admin site where we have managed to get very far just using Bootstrap components in the HTML without any custom CSS at all. It's an AngularJS project and with Angular directives for Bootstrap ([http://angular- ui.github.io/bootstrap/](http://angular-ui.github.io/bootstrap/)) you can use Bootstrap like any native UI toolkit and if you don't need a customized look and feel you can get by with the defaults or just add a Bootstrap theme ([http://bootswatch.com/](http://bootswatch.com/)) on top.

Another one is a large application with lots of LESS stylesheets and themed for different clients. By building our custom UI components in the same way as Bootstrap components are built we have managed to keep it very easy to customize for different themes. Bootstrap provides whole lot of variables as customization points and we have added a bunch of our own on top. By changing those variables we can create new themes very easily.

For choosing Bootstrap vs Foundation, just pick one you like. More importantly, use the components provided by the framework as much as you can. When you to roll your own components, make them in the same modular fashion as the framework components. Put components in their own files and namespace them with classes. This way you can keep things nice and modular, and your stylesheets don't turn into an entangled monolithic blob that is difficult to maintain.

<comment><AUTHOR> OP here. Maybe this is what I should do for my example applications and the "Learn Ruby on Rails" book. Use mixins from either Bootstrap or Foundation in a CSS file so I can use my own semantic CSS classes in the application views and isolate my code from the front-end framework. Though it sounds like too much complexity to introduce to Rails beginners in the book.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Foundation 4 user here.

The only benefit bootstrap has over foundation (imo) is the huge number of plugins that already exist. I had to adapt datepicker, xeditable, datatables.js (the worst offender), etc in order to play nice with F4.

Aside from the snazzy 3rd party UI elements (F4 has some in the playground), F4's semantics rock my socks.

F4's docs also explain damn near every line of SASS you'll ever need, so this should fit perfectly with a rails project. All of my work has been in PHP.

<comment><USER5> For those who use Angular, the Angular UI Bootstrap plugin is CSS agnostic, so the datepicker would be nice and easy to use with Foundation :) .

<comment><USER6> Except the land of getting AngularJS & Foundation to play nicely is full of unresolved landmines (e.g. [http://coder1.com/articles/foundation-4-angularjs](http://coder1.com/articles/foundation-4-angularjs))

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Bootstrap 3 introduces some pretty weird markup IMO. Foundation is a bit better, but I'm going to suggest something unpopular, which is to use a lighter-weight framework like [http://purecss.io/](http://purecss.io/) or [http://cardinalcss.com/](http://cardinalcss.com/) instead.

<comment><USER8> PureCSS really needs to improve its markup. I tried using it but soon found my CSS littered with 'pure-' everywhere. And the grid is really "unsemantic" (?). It might just be my personal opinion, but I really disliked it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Suzy is another good one worth evaluating.

[http://susy.oddbird.net/](http://susy.oddbird.net/)

<comment><USER10> Another vote for Susy. It is ridiculously easy to create a responsive grid using their sass mixins.

Susy should not be compared to Bootstrap/Foundation since it is just a small grid system and not a full blown framework. It can be compared to something like Bourbon Neat.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> My decision: For the book [1] I chose Zurb Foundation. For the RailsApps example applications [2] I intend to support both using the Rails Layout gem [3].

[1] [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/909377477/learn-ruby- on-...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/909377477/learn-ruby-on-rails)

[2] [http://railsapps.github.io/](http://railsapps.github.io/)

[3] [https://github.com/RailsApps/rails_layout](https://github.com/RailsApps/rails_layout)

<comment><AUTHOR> I like the naming scheme for Semantic UI (though I'm not sure it is truly "semantic" and it seems a bit pre-release still). PureCSS and Cardinal are new to me (thanks for the info, HN people!). Maybe I can include them as options in the RailsLayout gem. For the beginner's book, I still think Foundation is optimal (for popularity plus direct support for Rails with Sass and a gem).

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> I really like to rock [Bourbon]([http://bourbon.io/](http://bourbon.io/)) and [Neat]([http://neat.bourbon.io/](http://neat.bourbon.io/)). It's not a complete solution like Bootstrap or Zurb but it has just about everything you need to build off of. It's more of a long term solution than Bootstrap or Zurb.

<comment><USER12> On a current project, I got seduced by all the 'potentially useful' javascript that comes with Bootstrap. But in my experience, Bourbon/Neat were a whole lot simpler to work with. And pretty much everything I'd ever need (e.g. scroll spy functionality) can be accomplished with jQuery and available jQuery plugins.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Google Trends says Bootstrap is ~7x as popular as Foundation:

[https://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=twitter+bootstrap#q=...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=twitter+bootstrap#q=twitter%20bootstrap%2C%20zurb%20foundation&cmpt=q)

On that basis, I'd go with Bootstrap.

<comment><AUTHOR> OP here. The issue is integrating Bootstrap with Rails, relative to Zurb providing a supported gem for Rails. And breakage for SimpleForm going from Bootstrap 2.3 to 3.0. I'd be happy to choose Bootstrap on the basis of its popularity but I need a front-end framework I can recommend in my "Learn Ruby on Rails" book that isn't going to have integration issues with new versions.

<comment><USER14> I would just not use SimpleForm, especially if you're pushing it on newbs. It does for views what Inherited Resources does for controllers, i.e. replace a really simple system with horrendous workarounds should you want to do anything other than the default.

<comment><USER15> Horrendous workarounds?

You don't need to use SimpleForm for every form in an app.

Also, you aren't restricted to using SimpleForm helpers when using simple_form_for. You can use input_field, label, etc. anytime you want to.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Bootstrap has a nicer grid system, in my opinion. XS/S/M/L vs. S and L with Foundation.

<comment><USER6> 4.3 introduced a M, for what its worth ([http://foundation.zurb.com/docs/changelog.html](http://foundation.zurb.com/docs/changelog.html))

<comment><USER16> True, but it's "experimental" only.

[http://foundation.zurb.com/docs/components/grid.html](http://foundation.zurb.com/docs/components/grid.html)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Foundation. Main reason being Foundation is built on SCSS and bootstrap is built on LESS.

</comment><comment><USER18> Just remember, foundation 4 is mobile first and IE <8 don't support media queries. Have been burnt with this recently and it was a huge pain in the ass, so just a warning for those who still need to support such people.

</comment><comment><USER19> Been using Zurb on a free-time site for about 9 months. I've been consistently impressed with it. It gave me a good place to start, and customization has been a breeze.

</comment><comment><USER20> I'd use neither and go for the Skeleton CSS framework. Nice and clean: [http://www.getskeleton.com](http://www.getskeleton.com)

<comment><USER21> skeleton was great when it came out and I used it a lot, but I think it's gotten a bit dated. Not being mobile first is a the largest issue for me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> I've used both extensively.

Foundation uses SASS, is more modular in approach, is much easier to re-skin, and has a better grid system.

Bootstrap uses LESS, has much more mind share, more plugin and theme support, and has better default styling.

Both are great frameworks. I tend to use Bootstrap for prototyping, and Foundation for production.

</comment><comment><USER23> I've been developing my work using Foundation. I can't say I'm making a terribly informed decision, because I'm a back end guy and I'm still learning to write good modern front end. But Foundation felt better to me, and it's not driving me up a wall yet.

</comment><comment><USER24> [http://gumbyframework.com](http://gumbyframework.com) is fantastic

</comment><comment><USER25> I'll never touch bootstrapper while it has no semi-colons.

Zurb is awesome, but I'm using Semantic UI now. It's new, no V1, but I enjoy working with it more than any other web framework I've used.

</comment><comment><USER26> I would definately recommend ZURB foundation, and would try to leverage use of mixins, although it is a bit more advanced.

</comment><comment><USER27> Bootstrap: Bigger community, more widgets, more support and more examples.

</comment><comment><USER28> Foundation 5 looks incredible, might be worth checking out too.

<comment><USER6> Where do you get that information from? The only F5 information that I can find is [http://abetteruserexperience.com/2013/08/get-a-sneak-peek- of...](http://abetteruserexperience.com/2013/08/get-a-sneak-peek-of-zurb- foundation-5/), and the changes fall into the camp of "things I don't need to hold my breath for."

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> how about purecss? purecss.io

</comment><comment><USER30> Both Twitter and Foundation are for idiots. You should go with something better, like SemanticUI or PureCSS ([http://purecss.io/](http://purecss.io/))

<comment><USER23> Alas, most people (including me) are idiots, so the Bootstrap/Foundation debate is important to us.</comment></comment>


Cassandra vs. DynamoDB vs. Cosmos DB: The Total Cost of (Non) Ownership - <AUTHOR> https://aka.ms/documentdb-tco-paper <comment><USER2> You should add flag [PDF] into the title. I don't want to download something suddenly.

</comment><comment><USER3> This was published in November of last year so no mention of Microsoft's new Cosmos DB</comment>


Twilio's User Growth Over Time - <AUTHOR> http://milesgrimshaw.com/hockeystick-twilio/

<comment><USER2> Ugh, I hate these graphs. Cumulative graphs make even moderate or bumpy growth look predictable.

I guarantee the company KPI here is acquired users / month, not total users. Look closely: January 2013 was probably a kind of scary month. October 2012 was awesome ... and they didn't repeat it until 2 years later.

This is great for investors and the public, but you can't drive with this graph.

<comment><USER3> The chart is a cumulative chart to hide the fact that the source data is _only eight data points_ from various blogs. That's very sleazy and borderline misleading because it creates an extrapolation as mentioned in the comment above.

If you are interested in making this a series, use robust data, or don't do it at all.

Additionally, an area chart is the incorrect type of chart for this kind of graph, since the area under the curve does not represent the total number of users. (You'd use an area chart of the y-axis is number of new users.) A line chart would be more accurate.

<comment><AUTHOR> Great point on an area graph being misleading - changed.

What data would you propose using for a private company like this? There is very little public data and this is the only KPI that is consistently reported. Something is at least a little better than nothing to understand how a business has grown over time.

<comment><USER3> This was one of the primary reasons I stopped doing analysis on startup metric data. Most of it is deliberately incomplete and it would be dishonest to do analysis on incomplete data.

In this case, "grown" is a loaded question from your metric data, since "number of developers" does not distinguish between the number of developers who have joined and who have left; it's only the total, but the former metric is what's important.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


BigInt: arbitrary-precision integers in JavaScript - <AUTHOR> https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/05/bigint <comment><USER2> I agree to have big integers in JavaScript. I have read about this before (after asking about 64-bit integers in JavaScript on IRC, actually), and this is very good. That was one of the remaining problems in JavaScript, and now it is fixed.

The N-API routines for dealing with bigint are still marked as experimental, but then I can make a proper JavaScript API for SQLite; each SQL type can be represented as a different JavaScript type.

My "reload-form" package (which is pure JavaScript and does not use N-API) can also be corrected to tell the difference between integer nodes and floating nodes.

And it can also be used with other stuff that uses unlimited big integers such as implementing some esolangs (such as Fractran).

Just one thing I do not agree is the requirement that both operands of a bit shift operator need to be the same type; I think it should not be required and the type of the left operand should be used as the type of the result. (Although it isn't too serious if this isn't fixed.)

</comment><comment><USER3> Let's get actual integers into JS! c'mon, I can't actually represent 64 bit IDs properly! This affects a big analytics product you have probably used!

<comment><USER4> As this isn't my realm of expertise, I'm curious to understand how bigint would fail to meet your needs.

<comment><USER3> There's no guarantee that it will specialize down to machine integers. I don't need arbitrary precision; I need fast, fixed precision. If the proposals guaranteed specialization I'd be much happier but I don't think they do.

But it's way better than the status quo.

<comment><USER5> Are you performing arithmetic on 64 bit "IDs?" That seems unlikely, so where would any savings come from?

<comment><USER3> Comparisons and constructing indexes, and hashing. All need the ALU. And of course we use them for bitmaps.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


How to game hackernews?.. or NOT - <AUTHOR> http://blog.viraliti.com/how-we-got-on-frontpage-of-hacker-news-with-ease/

<comment><USER2> I think the answer to this question is "not". The "gamed" post was flagged and killed.

<comment><AUTHOR> I totally agree with you!! but the point is that you can hack your way to the homepage.. the moderators need to work on it.. and thats our point

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> > We would like to conclude the post saying that it was not a marketing > gimmick from our end. Being hackers ourselves, we just wanted to check if HN > algo was vulnerable to such tricks.

Ok does anyone buy this?

<comment><AUTHOR> I understand y people might be annoyed with it.. but the point is we were trying this trick and if we actually were scammers i would continue doing that and generating traffic.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> How did this get to front page? Hmm...</comment>


"Ten Lessons I wish I Had Been Taught", by Gian-Carlo Rota - <AUTHOR> http://www.rota.org/hotair/lesson.html

<comment><USER2> What a delightful piece. I browsed a little more on the website and ran across the following gem:

 _When an engineer knocks at your door with a mathematical question, you should not try to get rid of him or her as quickly as possible. You are likely to make a mistake I myself made for many years: to believe that the engineer wants you to solve his or her problem. This is the kind of oversimplification for which we mathematicians are notorious. Believe me, the engineer does not want you to solve his or her problem. Once, I did so by mistake (actually, I had read the solution in the library two hours earlier, quite by accident), and he got quite furious, as if I were taking away his livelihood. What the engineer wants is to be treated with respect and consideration, like the human being he or she is, and most of all to be listened to in rapt attention. If you do this, he or she will be likely to hit upon a clever new idea as he or she explains the problem to you, and you will get some of the credit._

I think it applies equally to software projects.</comment>


Vancouver high school teacher launches students into computer-world big leagues - <AUTHOR> http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Vancouver+high+school+teacher+launches+students+into+computer+world+leagues/8437099/story.html

<comment><AUTHOR> Just to clarify: I'm Emmanuel, the tall kid in the picture. I know, I know, shameless plug, but the shameless plug isn't for me but for my school. The main purpose for me posting this is for parents of kids in the Lower Mainland who might be interested in programming to be able to educate themselves about a possible option for secondary school.

Feel free to ask any questions of me, I guess?

<comment><USER2> Hi Emmanuel!

Could you tell me a bit more about how computer science education is incorporated into your school? Most secondary schools aren't fortunate enough to have a computer science curriculum at all.

<comment><AUTHOR> Computer Science (or "Information Technology" as it's officially called) is an elective at school that students can take starting at the Grade 9 level. Students start out learning Python as their first language and learn C++ after two years.

I would guess 100-200 students take the course in total out of about 1800 students in the school. Students receive a very comprehensive education in the field and are encouraged to work on their own projects at the same time (e.g. I've done a lot of work in node.js, which isn't at all taught in the CS curriculum). Personally I've found that my teacher has given me the original knowledge of programming and from there I mainly was able to develop my knowledge on my own time as well as through the course.

Edit: more technical details: One can take an IDS (independent study) course in Computer Science their final year if they wish. Here you get to work on your own programming projects.

<comment><USER2> Neat! Can you shoot me an email at zchlatta (at) gmail.com? I'd like to discuss some stuff that's outside of what other HN readers would find interesting.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Red Hat spreads FUD about community open source software - <AUTHOR> https://www.redhat.com/en/engage/community-vs-subscription-s-201906100350?sc_cid=701f2000000u6QkAAI <comment><USER2> I don't think that's FUD at all. One of the great things about open source is that there's room for people to use the free version and also a market for people who want to pay for something that's hosted or supported. Those are just normal aspects of software use in businesses of different sizes, and pretty much the reason Red Hat exists as a company.

<comment><USER3> Totally agree, I'm currently consulting for a company which helps enterprises run an Apache project as a managed solution. Funny thing is that I'm helping them run Kubernetes better.

There is definite value in hiring expertise and that's why open source has created many companies.</comment></comment>


The Data Colleges Collect on Applicants - <AUTHOR> https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-data-colleges-collect-on-applicants-11548507602 <comment><USER2> To summarize,

1\. Colleges are using off the shelf email list management programs. (Those all track open rates and click throughs). Sounds like they have per-applicant tracking IDs setup for each email.

2\. Colleges are using off the shelf analytics tools for their websites. Sounds like they are tying this to the email campaign IDs from above.

3\. The author of this article doesn't mention how incredible fragile and prone to losing track of individual IDs such systems are. Use a different computer (school laptop VS home PC), different browser, or get an ID from visiting the website then click through an email and watch as some poorly configured system gets confused, etc.

And finally, an investigation of if these numbers correlate to student success in any way shape or form would've been a nice bit of reporting.

<comment><USER3> I work in higher ed admissions, using Slate, which is also used by at least 3 of the 4 schools mentioned. Fortunately or not admissions operations no longer rely on spreadsheets and mailchimp to collate data and score applicants (interest, merit or otherwise), and the software supporting them is getting pretty advanced.

While I agree this tidbit is newsworthy and icky, what's more disturbing to me is the lack of interest demonstrated by those responsible for educating students...faculty. Any university admin can attest to this. The people most qualified to judge an applicant's merits are surprisingly unwilling to do so in a fair, objective and consistent way. Anecdotal evidence, but I've gotten requests from professors of engineering (including CS faculty) not only to print application PDFs but sort spreadsheets by GPA. As if they can't figure out how to do that themselves.

I believe part of this trend is actually a response to that: admin staff look for more tools/metrics to inform admissions decisions. Misguided or not it's a sign of the times.

<comment><USER4> The word faculty means power, because faculty used to run schools, until the coup by the parasitic Administrator class that has grown like a tumor.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> > The score includes about 80 variables including how long they spent on the > school's website, whether they opened emails and at what point in high > school they started looking on the website (the earlier the better).

So a student who (wisely) uses browser tracking blocking or disables images/tracking in their email client is negatively affected? That seems like a terrible heuristic.

<comment><USER6> I understand this knee-jerk reaction. However it is completely wrong. It is foolish to block tracking like this.

Blocking tracking on a university website or email correspondence would be like setting your LinkedIn profile to private prior doing research on a job opportunity.

This is the domain I work in at the moment and I can 100% assure you that anonymous behavior hurts your admission chances significantly.

Don't ever visit a campus without letting them know you are there. Same goes for email and web site visits.

<comment><USER4> That sounds miserable. Your job is to help institutions make bad decisions that deny educational opportunities to children who aren't clued into how to game the system?

The only mitigating aspet is that I suspect that this system isn't used at schools that deliver educations worth paying for.

<comment><USER6> Actually, we do the _exact opposite_.

We help students make good decisions to optimize their chances of getting into a top 100 university. I don't work for any institution.

We help candidates appear in their best light and once they have received an offer we actively work against the interest of the college to help the student get the best aid package possible.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> [https://outline.com/LG4kHd](https://outline.com/LG4kHd)

</comment><comment><USER8> My kid took psat (preparatory SAT exam) and she had to register with College Board (SAT admins). Now she's getting tons of spam from all kinds of schools, both email and US post. They say they got the address from College Board. :(

<comment><USER6> College Board is but one vector. Everyone from Naviance and SAT (college board) to grade 12 personality and career testing sells your children to aggregators who then resell to colleges.

This is the domain I work in, and while I empathize that getting spam sucks (digital and physical), in this case I think you can likely leverage it.

Every student should have a set of safety colleges. My guess is that among the detritus, there are some colleges that might fit the bill. Finding a set of reasonable safety colleges is a good thing. [Heads up, your child absolutely needs a safety college both as a fallback and as a bargaining chip]

Secondly, and more importantly, some (but not all) colleges can be bargained with using offers from these colleges. Some colleges will respond with counter offers if you you can show them a better offer even from a college you are not all that interested in.

My recommendation is to look through the junk and make sure you have colleges of interest in three buckets "safety", "comfort", and "reach". If they are sending you junk mail then they are already interested in you. Select a few and see if it can work to your advantage.

The company I work for deal exclusively in this area and our negotiation tools and strategies save candidates $5000 a year _ON AVERAGE_.

<comment><USER4> Or skip the nonsense and attend an affordable public college and let these junk third teir private colleges die.

<comment><USER6> We don't help students apply to junk for-profit colleges. They are almost always open admissions colleges anyways so there is nothing to help with.

On the other hand, the UC Berkeley sticker price (just tuition and fees) is more than $38k a year should you happen to be from someplace other than CA. They reject 83% of their applicants. This is a great college, with a high price and high selectivity. We help students optimize their chances of admission and aid packages.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I was cleaning out stuff from my parents' house and found a bunch of college admission crud from 1981. Funniest was a postcard I was apparently supposed to write my name, height and weight on and then mail to Yale.

<comment><USER10> I remember a few applications from that time period required a picture. Well, they didn't _require_ a picture, but you know...

<comment><USER9> Remember how every application was different and needed different essays and things? Nowadays it's one common application (My kid did it a couple of years ago).

The old system was self-limiting in the number of schools you could reasonably apply to but now you can apply to as many schools as you have the application fees for.</comment></comment></comment>


Dating While Dying - <AUTHOR> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/24/opinion/sunday/dating-while-dying.html <comment><USER2> I have just started dating a woman who is 22, she has advanced ovarian cancer and a life expectancy that is 12 months and is scheduled for surgery and chemo in January (but this may be sooner given the pain).

This is just a fact between us, and it's something we'll have to deal with. I fell for her, she fell for me, we work well on so many levels.

I know she is likely to die (a 12 month life expectancy isn't a foregone conclusion) but we don't discuss this or make it a focus. Our focus is on living life with passion, a clock that counts 70 years or 1 year doesn't change our approach to life.

I don't really know what to say, I just wanted to put an acknowledgement from myself to the universe down somewhere that yes I know what I'm getting myself into, and yet I love her and it's worth it.

Live life qualitatively not quantitatively.

<comment><USER3> The Strawberry Koan might speak to you: [http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/18aparable.html](http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/18aparable.html)

<comment><USER4> Which I just learned is the inspiration for this children's book: [https://smile.amazon.com/Little-Sid-Prince-Became- Buddha/dp/...](https://smile.amazon.com/Little-Sid-Prince-Became- Buddha/dp/1626726361/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> The author's post after realizing things had gotten too severe:

[http://apainintheneck.com/2019/11/16/the-worst- thing/](http://apainintheneck.com/2019/11/16/the-worst-thing/)

† The author's obituary:

[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/obituaries/josie-rubio- de...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/obituaries/josie-rubio-dead.html)

<comment><USER6> For me it's rather curious that people place such a high value on finding an SO even when dying. This seems to speak to one (or two) things: that it is a tragedy to have lived and never been in love, and that having someone with you in the pain and the last period of your live is very highly valued.

It makes me think of all the people who don't have a terminal disease but still never manage to find someone. Their case, while sad, is perhaps not as tragic.

<comment><USER7> These musings have a little "alien observing earth people" tone...

<comment><USER8> I think that is a trend in most HN comments just because the nature of the audience. Not a bad or good thing, just an observation.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> "She'd coyly mention shedding a twelve-year-long relationship with an abusive narcissist to find a love who didn't leave hospice for two weeks and was at her side when the cancer finally ended her life on December 3rd at 1:30AM in Brooklyn, at Calvary Hospice."

[https://www.facebook.com/josie.rubio.33/posts/10156307361797...](https://www.facebook.com/josie.rubio.33/posts/10156307361797142)

I'm glad she found someone worthy to spend her last days with. I can definitely relate to overreacting toward the existential dread of social situations/interactions.

</comment><comment><USER10> A long time ago I knew a young woman who was facing breast cancer, I don't remember what stage it was, but she said doctors told her she might only have a year to live, even with aggressive treatment. She had accepted her fate and was just trying to live her live as well as she could.

A few months after I met her, she was killed in a drunk driving accident.

On the other hand, I also met someone who had a brain tumor when she was in her 20's, her life expectancy was unknown, her long-term boyfriend at the time left her because he couldn't deal with it. When I met her she was in her mid-40's, happily married with kids - she had successful surgery to remove the tumor.

Everyone has a limited lifetime and you don't always know how short it will be.

</comment><comment><USER11> Thank you, nytimes.com for overruling the obituary of one of your authors with a forced signup modal.

Other than that, wow, what a story and courage. The napkin bit really got me. 42 is way too young to die.

<comment><USER12> And if you don't pay your newspaper subscription you don't get the paper delivered to your door at all.

Complaining about paywalls isn't productive.

<comment><USER11> I'm not complaining about the paywall per-se, I'm complaining about the fact that an obituary of an author that is linked from a page that is not paywalled should _also_ not be paywalled, that's common courtesy. To attempt to get people to subscribe over the backs of your recently deceased contributors is something no self respecting newspaper should ever want to be seen doing. At best it is tone-deaf, at worst simply callous.

<comment><USER13> I'm pretty sure all of NYT is paywalled, they just keep track of how many pages you visit and throw up the pay wall after a certain number.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> I think this is a great post to remember her by. It is funny, it is sad and also contains pain. It is very human and it shows how one thing in life can be multi-dimensional at the same time. I think this showcases the complexity of the human condition and how life ends up being the way we decide to look at it. My condolences to her friends and family and may she rest in peace

</comment><comment><USER15> I may not be dying, but I am losing my eyesight. This article is about a very one-sided phenomenon, and largely speaks to the desperation of men in the current dating market. I literally cannot imagine reciprocal treatment from a woman. I have not been in a relationship since I got this condition, and I don't expect that I ever will be again.

<comment><USER16> I'm sorry about your health issues, but it appears to me that they are (understandably) affecting your overall mindset.

There are plenty of disabled men in functional relatioships (and not-so- functional ones, there is a subset of people, male or female, that are specifically attracted to ill or dying partners for problematic reasons). Please lose the incel angle.

<comment><USER15> Show me some. If you are able to find examples, they will most likely be famous billionaires or actors. However I can point you to an equal number of examples where fame and fortune still didn't cut it.

You cannot discount my experiences and observations unless you have gone through this yourself.

<comment><USER17> The idea that blind people don't/can't date is readily disprovable. Examples of _anything_ will tend to be notable; that doesn't mean non-notable people don't exist.

[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5ajj7/how-dating- works-w...](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5ajj7/how-dating-works-when- youre-living-with-blindness)

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/01/09/wh...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/01/09/what- is-it-like-to-date-while-blind/)

You might consider finding a local support group for people who've recently lost their sight.

<comment><USER18> Those are both written by women about their experiences.

Any examples of men successfully dating after starting to lose their eyesight? Or other disabilities?

I think I've read other articles in the past about women with disabilities having a relatively easy time dating, but men with disabilities having a lot more difficulty.

<comment><USER17> Two men (one with glaucoma, which generally starts in adulthood) are quoted in [https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/08/what-its-like-to-date-when- yo...](https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/08/what-its-like-to-date-when-youre- blind-7041772/) \- as you might expect, "non-notable recently blind men dating" isn't a super easy thing to Google for.

The first mentions dating within the blind community, which would likely make things substantially easier on both parties.

I've seen enough weird parings and horrible people in relationships to feel quite comfortable with the statement "blind isn't a guaranteed deal-breaker". I do suspect the recency matters a lot - grief after loss can be all-consuming and take time to come to terms with.

Side note: My spouse is disabled, so I'm also quite comfortable with the concept of dating someone with a disability.

<comment><USER19> I have an invisible illness, after seeing more physicians that I can count. The conclusion appears to be some neurological issues with connective tissue problems which result in chronic pain and fatigue most likely caused by antibiotic I took 7 years as symptoms started right after my allergic reaction.

I got married after symptoms began. It was not easy but life doesn't stop. I'm still coming to terms and searching for something that works meds/supplements/physical therapy. However, I don't considered myself disabled even though this is quite limiting and I require more rest.

I think once one accepts your alignment and find ways of still being a member of the society, one will have a much better luck dating. I think the depression that these problems bring is just really hard to deal with and affects people around us.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> Gee I have to use my time more carefully, otherwise I'll live like I'm immortal until I'm not. I'm a doctor's visit away from going from a relaxed life to fighting for life, clinging on remote hopes of survival. Being able to date someone in that state is astonishing. Everything I'd do would be tainted by the thought "this is the last time I do this before I die".

<comment><USER21> > _I'll live like I'm immortal until I'm not_

Honestly, that sounds much more fun than living with a constant obsession over your own mortality.

<comment><USER22> That's how you get plenty of disabled (or dead) young men, who do reckless stuff on motorbikes, skis or jump head-first into shallow water etc. I've recklessly damaged my health [1] while 22 and I gotta say it sucks.

[1] Maybe not even recklessly, I just wasn't aware that ultra-loud music for hours in a disco can cause tinnitus.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> > I asked my boyfriend what he thought happens after we die. He says you live > on in other people's memories, and I won't be forgotten.

If that moves you, I recommend _I Am a Strange Loop_ by Douglas R. Hofstadter (2007).[0]

> Theories aside, it's impossible not to experience this book as a tender, > remarkably personal and poignant effort to understand the death of his wife > from cancer in 1993—and to grasp how consciousness mediates our otherwise > ineffable relationships. In the end, Hofstadter's view is deeply > philosophical rather than scientific. It's hopeful and romantic as well, as > his model allows one consciousness to create and maintain within itself true > representations of the essence of another.

0) [https://www.amazon.com/Am-Strange-Loop-Douglas-Hofstadter- eb...](https://www.amazon.com/Am-Strange-Loop-Douglas-Hofstadter- ebook/dp/B004PYDBS0)

</comment><comment><USER24> [http://archive.is/lsGS0](http://archive.is/lsGS0)

</comment><comment><USER25> This article strikes a very personal chord with me. My girlfriend of six months broke up with me without giving any apparent reason. After several months, I found out that she had discovered that she had tumor. Before she started on chemo, she decided to break up with me. The irony of the situation is that she won't really tell me what happened, and without violating her trust and respecting her privacy, and her choice to face this alone, I have no way of even finding out how she is doing. All I can do is silently hope that she would regain her health again.

</comment><comment><USER26> Well I am not dieing I nearly did this year. I will need a heart transplant in the next ten years. And I probably have 20 years left. But I still date. Trying to find that someone to share my remaining years with

</comment><comment><USER27> All of us are dying.

<comment><USER28> Yeah, so? Some of us faster than others.

<comment><USER29> And the certainty / uncertainty of each individual's situation makes a big difference.

It is a real gut-punch when you know exactly when you're going to die, especially if that date is not far off.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> I would like to see an experiment to see how many responses a man would get on dating sites if he posted the same profile.

<comment><USER31> Probably the same amount every other "average" man gets dating sites.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> Reading quote 1: "...just relieved it was her and not me putting down a credit card at the bar to buy his drinks" I was like "wtf", but then reading quote 2: "Plus, after years of paying for myself and my ex, it still seems like a good deal." I realized that she was in a toxic relation for 12 years. I mean, c'mon, 12 years only one partner to pay for everything, that's way too much. I know people who divorced faster because of one partner was lazy and she went through with it while having diagnosed for years?

<comment><USER33> This isn't unusual. It can take a long time to realize you are with someone who is toxic for you.</comment></comment>


Stochastic – Create and manage contracts backed by Bitcoin - <AUTHOR> https://stochastic.xyz/ <comment><USER2> How did you pick the name "Stochastic"? Surely randomness is the last thing you want in a contracts system?

<comment><USER3> Yea sometimes one should consider the meaning of a word even if it sounds cool ...

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Radically honest assessment:

\- BTC volatility makes the contract pricing (budget) and proof of funds a moving target.

\- Its not even a semi-autonomous smart contract, so enforcement requires the same legal expense to enforce as a normal contract.

\- Jury.io is a year ahead, and I've not checked recently but I believe Allegro is as well.

There is no innovation here. I wish there was b/c we could use a fully vetted product like this.

<comment><USER5> > Jury.io is a year ahead

The jury.io that redirects to [http://yourather.com/](http://yourather.com/), a toy website? Or did you mean [https://juro.com/](https://juro.com/)? That's a website where "customers can generate, negotiate and sign contracts through one integrated platform and then learn from the rich data that contracts contain". That's great, but it doesn't seem to be at all what Stochastic wants to do, which is to keep money in escrow until the contract is fulfilled. (I guess you could combine those.)

> Allegro is as well

Have a link? I do find stuff when searching the web for "allegro contracts", but it turns out that the name is much too generic to guess what you mean.

<comment><USER6> I think the jury.io reference should have been to [https://jury.online/](https://jury.online/) ... but only guessing here.

<comment><USER5> Right, but that's just an escrow service for ICOs, not for any other type of contract, no?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Somehow I have a feeling that a major motivation for this project was to have a chance to say "Bitcoin smart contracts"

<comment><AUTHOR> You are correct!

Technically every Bitcoin transaction is a smart contract, the language of the contract is Bitcoin Script (Forth-like, stack-based language, [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script)).

Currently, we are only using P2WSH to create 2/2 and 2/3 Multi-sigs but in the future, we hope to create other types of contracts with different clauses and also an easy to use UI to accompany it.

<comment><USER8> How do you get these contracts accepted? According to [https://curiosity- driven.org/bitcoin-contracts](https://curiosity-driven.org/bitcoin-contracts) :

> Transactions containing non-standard scripts like these will not be relied > through the Bitcoin network but if they are included in a block they will be > accepted by the standard client.

<comment><AUTHOR> Pay to script hash

[https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Pay_to_script_hash](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Pay_to_script_hash)

[https://www.soroushjp.com/2014/12/20/bitcoin-multisig-the- ha...](https://www.soroushjp.com/2014/12/20/bitcoin-multisig-the-hard-way- understanding-raw-multisignature-bitcoin-transactions/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> If you haven't already, take a look at Stanford's CodeX group. They have a deep history working with smart contract startups, and are generally very open to providing a bit of marketing heft and connections in this space. Happy to provide a contact, email me if you'd like an intro.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks. Will do! :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Not to be confused with ethereum smart contracts where the code can be complex and encoded logic decides what is allowed, not a intermediary human being.

<comment><USER5> Right. Nothing about the example contract at [https://stochastic.xyz/contract/5afcd83c45d61c3b7457c7e0](https://stochastic.xyz/contract/5afcd83c45d61c3b7457c7e0) seems "smart" in the sense that that word is usually used, i.e., a contract implemented in a piece of machine code.

As far as I can tell, this is basically a job board for contractors who want to be paid in Bitcoin. There is a bit of innovation with the "proof of funds" meaning that the contractor can be sure-ish that the money they are meant to be paid actually exists. There are no further guarantees, and disputes are handled by humans.

<comment><AUTHOR> Correct. During a dispute, there is no way around human intervention, unless A.I evolves to that point.

As it stands we just handle processing of multi-sig contracts

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> How are the contracts expressed? The web page does not seem to provide any details on that part, which seems rather crucial. Are they written in some domain specific language?

<comment><AUTHOR> The contract proposal is entered by the contract owner, in a regular text field, we also allow you to submit attachments (PDF)

As for the Bitcoin transactions, it is multi-sig 2/2 then a multi-sig 2/3

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> How the service handles arbitration will be the most interesting thing about this. Contracts will always be disputable and terms open to interpretation.

The reputation of the business will ultimately depend on how sound and fair that process is.

<comment><AUTHOR> We will do our best to resolve any possible dispute, it is in our best interest that all parties are happy with the outcome of a dispute so they come back to use the application.

<comment><USER13> Centralization :(

<comment><AUTHOR> We are also exploring to let the contractor and project owner decide who the mediator is.

Our goal is to make tools and services around Bitcoin that showcase some of it's features. There is more to Bitcoin than just HODL and trading.

<comment><USER14> So why not just use the existing legal system? What benifit does adding Satoshi's Glorious Blockchain to the mess add? A nice thick layer of hype, speculation and outright fraud?

All code has bugs and unforeseen unhandled corner cases. When code is law, all bugs and unhandled cases become law too. Do you want your law to veer into unhandled territory because your developers didn't consider some random edge case?

Ergo, smart contracts are a completely broken idea. Sorry.

<comment><AUTHOR> This application doesn't make the current legal system obsolete! I don't envision anyone using Stochastic to do a multi-million dollar contract at least for the foreseeable future!

We are not doing an ICO, we are not even holding people's Bitcoin we only hold part of the keys to a contract, how can you consider this application a fraud, it's currently free to use. We may add paid features later on but it's free right now.

I agree with you on the topic of code is law can be a bad thing. But it can also have some positive aspects, like removing trusted 3rd parties! We are using Bitcoin Script, which unlike Solidity (Ethereum's smart contract language) it is very dumb, very strict and limited for the exact reason you stated.

<comment><USER14> If code is not law, how does it remove 3rd parties? Every "code contract" of any real importance is going to be "exploited" because, again, all code has bugs and unhandled cases. Meaning a contract for anything real will wind up in some kind of human-needing state.

Sorry, smart contacts are pretty worthless. The only real use ethereum has is for creating ICOs, which are all scams. You could argue that ethereum is a world class platform for running scams. How will this be anything different? If the language is bastardized so it is not Turing compete and is thus impossible to build anything complex, what point does it have?

<comment><USER15> Again, this has nothing to do with the type of smart contracts you are referring to. There's no code on the blockchain involved. The contract in this case is an actual contract, a legal document between two parties.

You should actually click the link. It's a job/contract board where you pay with Bitcoin. The only "smart" part is that you can lock up your funds to show that the money exist but the actual execution is still centralized and backed by the existing legal system you talk about.

Not saying the service is good or bad but your rant is off topic!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Example Contract:

[https://stochastic.xyz/contract/5afcd83c45d61c3b7457c7e0](https://stochastic.xyz/contract/5afcd83c45d61c3b7457c7e0)

<comment><USER16> So the contract is written in plain text an not even mentions who gets paid what and when.

Is this system a joke? Not a single judge could decide based on this.

<comment><AUTHOR> This is an example contract proposal.

Contractors must login to place a bid on this contract with their public key.

Real contracts on the application have very thorough proposals.

This is just a proof of concept.

<comment><USER17> Wait, is the implication that you are holding the contract's budgeted funds on an account that belongs to you as a 'verification?'

<comment><USER18> I'm not affiliated, and I've only taken a cursory glance at it, but it seems like a normal multi-sig escrow service.

It's not an account that "belongs to them", but an account that belongs to multiple people (using multi-sig contracts) so that any single party can't decide to spend it.

The idea being that if you didn't fulfil the contract, you can't take the money and run. If I didn't fulfil the contract, I can't prevent you from taking the money, and if this service goes down, the 2 of us can still decide who gets the money on our own terms without them.

Basically this idea locks away money in an account "owned" by 3 people, and in order to send the money somewhere else, 2 of the 3 need to agree on where it's going.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Nice, I'm glad this exists. It would be a great credibility boost if people could specify a mediator that is not stochastic, and the mediator's identity was clearly displayed in the UI.

P.S.

You have some small errors in the "Security first" section:

      No Bitcoins of any of contracts will be withheld by Stochastic.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for picking that up!

I agree with you, we are exploring allowing law professionals join to become professional mediators and of course be compensated for their services.

The mediators could be spread around the world and they can even visit contract locations if it is required. These services already exist but for large transactions, think international trade.</comment></comment>


The quickest way to launch a web server for sharing files. All you need is Python…or Ruby! - <AUTHOR>

Original in Python:
http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/76p14/woof_simply_exchange_files/c05tpub
My Ruby version:

  alias webshare='ruby -e "require\"webrick\";w=WEBrick::HTTPServer.new(:Port=>8000,:DocumentRoot=>Dir::pwd);Signal.trap(2){w.shutdown};w.start"'
 And just go to the directory you want to share, use the 'webshare' command, and tell your friend(s) to go to http://<your-IP>:8000/ <comment><USER2> If you find this useful, you might find this better because it works even when you are not on the same network:

<http://ringlight.us/present/About>

<comment><AUTHOR> Works out of your network too, as long as port 8000 is open and accessible…

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> <https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3002></comment>


Node.js cluster versus JXcore multithread - <AUTHOR> http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21889229/nodejs-cluster-vs-jxcore-multithread

<comment><USER2> You can partially mitigate the risks of single threaded Node by using clustering (although it's still tagged an experimental feature) [1].

Also, these worker threads can be made to respawn on a shutdown caused by - let's say - an unhandled exception as [2].

[1] [http://nodejs.org/api/cluster.html](http://nodejs.org/api/cluster.html)

[2] [https://nadeesha.silvrback.com/setting-up-multiple-worker- th...](https://nadeesha.silvrback.com/setting-up-multiple-worker-threads-for- your-node-server)

<comment><USER3> Well by experimental feature the Node.js team means that the API to access clustering features isn't set in stone - not the stability of the code.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> JXcore isn't on my radar until it is open sourced with a permissive license.

</comment><comment><USER5> I'm curious how either of these compare to say Passenger?

<comment><USER6> how can Passenger help with multi-threading/workers/... ? if a Passenger dev is nearby... i'm curious about it.

<comment><USER5> Passenger can manage multiple node processes for the same "app" automatically.

So while it isn't multi-threaded it can achieve some of the same goals (better use of multiple cores to serve more requests)</comment></comment></comment>


Pedestrian fatally crushed between two parked cars after one started remotely - <AUTHOR> https://gothamist.com/news/pedestrian-fatally-crushed-between-two-parked-cars-after-one-vehicle-started-remotely <comment><USER2> FYI if you didn't catch it, the car was from 2002. This isn't about the same AI driving we usually see here.

<comment><USER3> Right, but the moral question is the same: Who's responsibility is it when an automated vehicle kills somebody- the operator or the manufacturer?

<comment><USER4> The operator. People seem to have forgotten that when they get in their car they are driving heavy machinery and have a great deal of power and responsibility. They take it for granted.

After all, the operator deployed the autonomous vehicle and should be responsible for what it does. If they aren't familiar with its capabilities and risks, they should not deploy such a vehicle unless they are willing to bear the responsibility for whatever it might do. Until such a time autonomous vehicles have free will and can be held accountable for their actions, the operator who deployed it assumes that accountability.

This isn't even a new concept. If I let my dog loose in the park and it bites someone, I'm responsible for it. We don't hold dogs responsible for their actions, we hold the owner who "deployed" it responsible.

I'll cede that things are a little murkier when manufacturers are pushing OTA updates to vehicles that change their behavior. But there's no reason the operator and the manufacturer can't share responsibility at a split decided in court.

<comment><USER5> One day we won't be able to drive at all, it will be all self driving, and at that point, you'll no longer be able to do anything to avoid an accident. That would shift the default responsibility to the manufacturer and then split it with the owner if he bear a bit of responsibility too (like missing maintenance).

You forget that we live in a society where we need people to use cars. Nothing force you to have a dog, nothing force you to let him loose either in a park. I hope one day it will no longer be a necessity and public transit will replace that need, but sadly, in most cities, it's pretty far from being able to.

<comment><USER6> I don't think they are saying "Most people shouldn't drive cars" so much as "We need to make irresponsible driving much more of a big deal."

It seems like people don't take their responsibilities as drivers very seriously while pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists are being killed and maimed as a result. All without much consequence to the drivers who create such an unsafe condition. Then when you ask motorists to drive responsibly they rage out at you trying to shift blame to someone else.

<comment><USER5> > I don't think they are saying "Most people shouldn't drive cars" so much as > "We need to make irresponsible driving much more of a big deal."

I don't see how you could interpret my comment as believing that was the subject.

I'm not arguing about people not taking responsibility either. I'm arguing that one day, we will no longer even have enough control over a car to be able to be responsible for it.

In the current state of "self-driving car" (which is closer to a fancy cruise control) I believe you are entirely responsible for it.

<comment><USER6> I was referring to this:

> You forget that we live in a society where we need people to use cars.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> That is the reason why in Europe this feature is strictly forbidden. Even blue light vehicles needed to be started explicitly with the driver in seat and the driver has to follow a procedure if he wants to leave and lock the car with engine running. In blue light vehicles a running engine will support the blue light to run longer like when the car is used as a blocker in an accident situation on a highway.

<comment><USER8> That's not true, at least in Germany. Idling your engine to heat up the car is not allowed (if you want to heat up your car you need an auxilliary heater which is sold as an option or as aftermarket modification), so most car brands do not offer remote start. But European Cadillacs offer that feature, and if you import an US model, you can also have it.

<comment><USER9> What is the reason for this? I do this every morning the car has frozen over... I turn on the engine, heating, AC, windshield heating, back windows heating, "keep the air inside"-switch and go back inside for 3-5 min.

<comment><USER10> Two reasons this is bad:

1\. Emissions, catalytic converters and such will not reach full operating temp, so it dumps a lot more emissions than when it's up to operating temp. Diesels were even worse in this regard cause the particulate filter plugs up when idling and then needs to trigger fuel wasting regen cycles.

2\. Engine wear/damage. Oil pressures usually don't come up enough to properly lubricate components on the engine while cold idling for long periods of time. (Like, after the rpm's settle back down) This adds unnecessary wear. Should really only run an engine long enough to bring up initial oil pressure and then take it easy in it until it's up to full operating temp. (This is because parts expand at different rates, so pushing a cold engine hard will oftentimes blow seals)

<comment><USER11> The second one isn't a good reason to make something _illegal._

For some reason that doesn't sound so crazy for Germany though. I'm not sure why.

<comment><USER12> It doesn't sound out of the ordinary for any of the countries on the continent to my ears, different culture and all that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> _Several bystanders managed to push the car backwards, police said, but "in the course of doing so, the vehicle rolled forward once again and pinned the pedestrian between the two vehicles once more."_

...and with even more force, since the car now had a bit more distance to build up some speed. One wonders whether he would've survived if they had left him there, and it was the second blow that killed him, since the fact that they were able to push it back suggests it was probably an automatic left in neutral with nothing more than the idle torque. If it was a manual, stopping it or pushing it backwards would've already stalled the engine. I suppose another lesson here is that if you ever have to push a car out of the way, chock the wheels afterwards, or otherwise try to prevent it from moving again.

I'm also surprised that was enough to kill.

Edit: downvoters, explain yourselves please.

<comment><USER14> Emergency Medical Technician here (from France). Disclaimer: I'm just speculating as I have no specific knowledge of what happened in this particular accident.

Depending on the height of the bumpers involved, I would suspect several possible problems: one or both femoral arteries severed; or both femurs fractured; or the pelvis fractured; or some combination of these.

Even if the arteries were untouched, fractures of both femurs or the pelvis cause life threatening blood loss as these are heavy bones which have major vascularisation (to allow blood cells generated in the marrow to enter the blood stream). A closed femur fracture is a 1000 mL to 1500 mL loss of blood (per femur). An open femur fracture is double that. A pelvic fracture can go to 5000 mL (approximately the total volume of blood in the average adult male).

In the field, major lower limb arterial bleeding can be controlled with tourniquets; femur fractures can be somewhat reduced with traction splints; pelvic fractures can be somewhat stablised with pelvic compression devices... However all of these scenarios are bad news for the patient and require rapid evacuation and surgical intervention (ideally in less than 1 hour from the time of injury) to have a chance of saving the person's life. RIP and condolences to patient's family.

<comment><USER15> Here's a picture of a person standing next to a 2002 is300: [http://www.billswebspace.com/lexus2.JPG](http://www.billswebspace.com/lexus2.JPG)

Looks like it would pin you just above the knees if you were her height.

<comment><USER14> I agree the victim was probable pinned at knee level for the initial trauma. However according to the article, bystanders were able to push the car back and then it rolled forward again pinning the victim a second time. Given that he had just (probably) had his knees injured, it's possible he was much lower to the ground during the second impact: if he were sitting or crouching, then he could have suffered pelvic, abdominal, or thoracic injury, all of which are life threatening. Anyway, all of this is speculation without confirmed details.

(Edit: typos.)

<comment><USER14> One added datapoint (not sure how accurate, but it sounds consistent): according to a BBC report of the incident [1], "Mr Kosanovich was taken to hospital with severe trauma to his torso and legs".

[1] [https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50756243](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50756243)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> This sounds like someone installed an auto start system in their manual transmission car and bypassed the neutral sensor.

<comment><USER17> I'm always confused when someone parks my car and I find they parked it in first rather than neutral plus the handbrake (High gradients excepted, where both should be used regardless of preference). People that learn it one way will never do it the other.

(Also, yes, the 2002 IS300 was available in stick.)

<comment><USER18> In the UK where stick is normal, we're taught to park in gear + handbrake.

The handbrake can start slipping when the brakes cool and the car could roll, so both are necessary, especially on a hill.

<comment><USER19> Anecdotally [UK], I can't say that I nor anyone that I've noticed ever park in gear. With parking on hills being the only exception.

<comment><USER20> My UK driving instructor told me I should park with the car in _reverse_ gear if you're pointing down a hill. I was never quite sure of the logic behind that.

<comment><USER21> Someone above was worried about "running the engine in reverse" when using reverse gear, so I'm guessing the idea is to match the direction the car will roll if something happens.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> I wonder if this car had an after-market remote start system installed? I can't imagine that an official Lexus system would behave like this. I suppose there could be a defective sensor or something involved, but you'd think it would have sufficiently-tested failsafes.

<comment><USER23> Model year 2002 for both cars. There's more to the story.

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> The police should investigate if the car system has been modified. That car was going to have a collision with the car in front of it, even if the boy was not there so something is very wrong here. I am no lawyer and we have not heard the other angles of the story but it seems plausible that someone is liable for this car behaving strangely

</comment><comment><USER25> What is the point of remote start anyway? Heating up the engine? That is wasteful. Cooling down via airco? Open the Windows and wait 30 seconds or disconnect the airco system from the engine altogether as a design choice and add a bit beefier accumulator. I seriously do not get why you need it. Maybe someone can enlighten me

Edit: completely forgot about really cold winters...

<comment><USER26> The point is heating up the car so it's warm when you get inside. I don't have this feature and I live in the northern US. In the winter the car is freezing for the first 3 minutes as there is no heat until the engine warms up. Being able to start the car from the other side of the parking lot would increase my comfort by a large amount.

<comment><USER27> > In the winter the car is freezing for the first 3 minutes as there is no > heat until the engine warms up.

If this isn't the epitome of a first world problem... Imagine the man power, resources and money spend so that we can avoid being cold for 3 minutes.

<comment><USER28> Or 15, or 30 or more; and not paying attention to driving as well as you could because of the extreme discomfort of having to do so in double-digit below freezing temperatures.

<comment><USER29> Surely you were wandering around outside in these exact same temperatures only moments before?

<comment><USER28> Not in my garage, no. And even if so, for a few seconds.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> From the article:

> An owner's manual cautions: "NEVER remotely start the engine if you are > unaware of the circumstances surrounding the vehicle as it may cause a life- > threatening situation for those located in the vehicle's vicinity."

</comment><comment><USER31> Both cars from 2002 tells me the onwers are probably friends, members of the same club, car modders, etc. A remote start on a 2002 is almost certainly an aftermarket add-on. And to move while/after starting, it was almost certainly a manual transmission. And incorrectly installed. Auto-start on manual trans cars require the vehicle be in neutral with the parking brake on.

</comment><comment><USER32> If this was a Tesla, it would've said "Tesla starts on its own and kills a person", but since it's a Lexus - no one cares.

<comment><USER33> I'm pretty sure the Tesla would stop on the slightest perception of any impact. Summon is also super slow.

<comment><USER34> Detecting collisions reliably is actually really hard - especially minor collisions against soft things like people.

I predict that if self driving cars do get widely deployed, the number of 'hit and runs' they do because they couldn't detect they had collided will be very high, even if the overall accident rate is low.

<comment><USER33> I don't believe that. The 360 degree view provided by multiple cameras makes measuring proximity to close objects easy. Look at sentry mode recordings, it's very obvious on the feed when a person touches the car.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER35> Just watched a Def Con video where Jmaxxz self-installs a remote-start system. Lots of interesting details about what could have gone wrong. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8SG2V3n4-U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8SG2V3n4-U)

</comment><comment><USER36> And how many people have been killed between two cars because someone forget to pull the parking brake on a hill? A lot more than this way I am guessing.

<comment><USER37> Given that cars have been around for over 100 years, yes most likely

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> It begins.

<comment><USER39> It's an accident caused by something getting turned on at the wrong time. Is it any different than, for example, someone turning on the power without knowing that an electrician is currently doing some work, thereby causing him to get electrocuted?

<comment><USER40> It is, because there are always pedestrians and other cars around the streets. They are more difficult to control especially if you're not looking. I'm pretty confident that I don't kill anybody if I turn on a light switch now. I'm pretty sure something bad would happen if I'd start my car remotely in gear and with no handbrake.</comment></comment></comment>


"Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software for Government of India [pdf] - <AUTHOR> http://deity.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/policy_on_adoption_of_oss.pdf <comment><USER2> Very relevant excerpt from the pdf

All Government Organizations, while implementing e-Governance applications and systems must include a specific requirement in Request for Proposal (RFP) for all suppliers to consider OSS along with CSS while responding. Suppliers shall provide justification for exclusion of OSS in their response, as the case may be. Government Organizations shall ensure compliance with this requirement and decide by comparing both OSS and CSS options with respect to capability, strategic control, scalability, security, life-time costs and support requirements.</comment>