The battle to save America's undercover spies in the digital age - <AUTHOR> https://news.yahoo.com/shattered-inside-the-secret-battle-to-save-americas-undercover-spies-in-the-digital-age-100029026.html <comment><USER2> > Singapore was one example, recall three former intelligence officials. By > the early 2000s, the agency ceased running certain types of operations in > the Southeast Asian city-state, because of the sweeping digital surveillance > there. The Singaporeans had developed a database that incorporated real-time > flight, customs, hotel and taxicab data. If it took too long for a traveler > to get from the airport to a hotel in a taxi, the anomaly would trigger an > alert in Singaporean security systems. "If there was a gap, they'd go to the > hotel, they could flip on the TVs and phones and monitor what was going on" > in the room of the suspicious traveler, says the same former senior > intelligence official. "They had everything so wired."

Tbf Singapore is a city state and integrating surveillance infrastructure on a smaller scale is easier, but that's still pretty impressive.

<comment><USER3> >By the early 2000s, the agency ceased running certain types of operations [...] The Singaporeans had developed a database that incorporated real-time flight, customs, hotel and taxicab data. If it took too long for a traveler to get from the airport to a hotel in a taxi, the anomaly would trigger an alert in Singaporean security systems

I don't get it. Why don't the agents act normal until after they got to the hotel?

<comment><USER4> Later in the article it points out that an undercover person would arrive on a passport under a name but then check into a hotel under a different name. In that case it would trigger the alert that the passport name never arrived at a hotel. It also says that the practice had to change so that an undercover person used only a single persona for a country instead of having multiple personas and switching between them.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> > stole data on nearly 22 million former and current American civil servants

I see this time and again. All the data in a single database where one compromised access can get it all. Data should be compartmentalized, and rate limited.

<comment><USER6> The whole article is weird for barely mentioning compartmentalization as a standard intelligence approach (they mention as a few things but as innovations). And for speaking as if the programs that they knew about were all that was happening.

That said, the compromised database was from a civilian, non-intelligence agency. Of course, logically, CIA agents shouldn't have been in that database but it seems they were.

And the other thing is that you have CIA, NSA etc working hard to spy on everyone but none of them were willing and able to keep the larger Federal Government from having terrible security practices. Which comes from the intelligence agencies being more about catching people and learning secrets than about protecting the US as such.

<comment><USER5> > That said, the compromised database was from a civilian, non-intelligence > agency.

Yet they had fingerprints, meaning they must have gotten the data from the government.

But it does lead to a larger question. Articles by cybersecurity people always seem to focus on preventing unauthorized access. I've never read one that talked about given the inevitability of unauthorized access, how to avoid losing everything?

After all, we have ships with watertight compartments. Even spy networks are organized into "cells" to limit the damage from compromised agents.

Why is security not talking about compartmentalization?

<comment><USER6> _Why is security not talking about compartmentalization?_

Well, this is one article and it's always possible this is one of those "write down official X's talking points" articles, and official X doesn't talk about compartmentalization because the impression they are aiming for is "look us, we're helpless, _helpless_ against these threats, please give us unlimited money and power and might be able to fix things, if we're lucky."

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> FTA:

> _Even a switch of employer, or an unexplained gap in one's résumé, can be a > giveaway to a foreign intelligence service, say former officials. In > response, the agency has also shifted to recruiting individuals within the > companies they already work at, and, with the approval of corporate > leadership, secretly transitioning those persons onto the CIA payroll, and > training them intermittently and clandestinely, far from any known CIA > facility._

...

> _"There is a serious legal and policy process" in place at the CIA to manage > these relationships, says a former official. Otherwise, "you could break > industries."_

This is going to be the end of multinational companies. Once a company starts providing cover to CIA officers, those companies will be blacklisted from many countries around the world. This policy will also raise suspicion of pretty much every US company operating abroad.

<comment><USER8> It is my belief that there is presently a joint public relations storytelling campaign underway between the US intelligence agencies and the large US internet companies to restore faith in these companies abroad following the Snowden revelations that the NSA is spying on everybody via these services.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Facebook and Instagram have guaranteed that spies can be identified before they even decide to become spies. There will be decades of facial recognition data and social media presence as adolescents and adults before the thought of becoming a spy crosses their minds. If you don't think that governments have already mined this data or have agents in all of the major companies and extracting data that would be extremely naive.

<comment><USER10> Unless foregin governments continuously poll and save data from FB and IG apis (which is possible) all of that can be faked or deleted. The US intelligence community has deep pockets and relationships to tech companies. You scan a face, and up pops a legit looking FB account.

I think the article makes it clear that data from many sources is being used and that there's no one "source of truth". It also points out that there's an increasing sophistication to the creation of online presences.

<comment><USER11> >Unless foregin governments continuously poll and save data from FB and IG apis (which is possible) all of that can be faked or deleted.

Given how simple and relatively cheap that is I would be very suprised if they don't. This is a kind of operation that a few people with their private budgets could pull off (I mean just scraping the contents and storing a single copy , not the analysis part) so don't expect powerful and not-so-powerful organizations or goverments restraining themselves from doing so. This is neither expensive nor difficult while being extremely valuable

<comment><USER10> It would be interesting to see if the NSA/CIA whomever would hack into external DBs of data and insert fake people into them, so when they check against polled api data, everything checks out. Cyber is an offensive world, after all. I wonder if, thinking in a post truth manner, ambiguous or grey is enough for the intel world.

<comment><USER11> Assuming that the _average adult citizen_ is nowadays using social networks for more than a decade you could cross-reference the persons photo with many snapshots of your scraped data expecting the person to show in most of them, not just one. With such approach, the fake profiles would have to be created with many years advance to succeed. Now given that using cryptography it is relatively easy to verify if our reference data was not tampered with this insertion of fake profiles would be kind of hard. Hacking such systems in one way or another could be a "solution" depending on how such systems operate (and if they actually exist or are just a theoretical possibility imagined by hn community)

<comment><USER12> > _With such approach, the fake profiles would have to be created with many > years advance to succeed._

That's called building a legend and YES, the intelligence agencies have been doing it for years. But more importantly, in professional networks (mostly LinkedIn) generally you wouldn't have to. Most people don't use it the same way as Facebook or Twitter with regular updates and it doesn't show others when you connected so if you create a profile and fill in details, the system takes care of most of the rest.

The most likely place that would leak the age of the profile is whatever internal profile id that might be embedded in the urls or the page itself. If it's too high, it would be more recent than claimed.

Here are some of the details you can explore: [https://caseysoftware.com/blog/open-source-intelligence- link...](https://caseysoftware.com/blog/open-source-intelligence-linkedin)

<comment><USER11> >and it doesn't show others when you connected

if I actually scraped all the profiles in 2009, then in 2014 and then in 2019 I could tell whether an account is a 10+-year old account by simply checking if it is available in my 2009 snapshot. Does not matter if the social network displays or leaks profile age in one way or another. If it's not in my 2009 and not in 2014 snapshots then that profile is 5- years old. With frequent enough snapshots I would get even better timing resolotion. Now given that it's neither that hard nor that expensive to scrape or store that amounts of data, such an approach would actually be feasible.

<comment><USER12> Valid points. With the (no longer available) index pages on LI, you could get to most of the profiles too.

The drawbacks are:

a) Not having a profile isn't definitive. You could have missed it, it could have been locked down, or the person joined late.

b) You can't go back to build your baseline. You had to have the foresight to scrape it then _or_ count on one of the breaches to establish who had accounts when.

The primary mitigation here would be LinkedIn (or any social network) itself. Whatever controls they had to block spidering, limit further than immediate contacts, etc would have to kick in.

<comment><USER11> >Whatever controls they had to block spidering, limit further than immediate contacts, etc would have to kick in.

On the other hand their business requires the ability to discover candidates by HR people so I guess that completely disabling search/discovery is out of question. Of course a simple limit to a number of queries or their reach would still be a huge problem for the scraper while not being a problem for most of the users and therefore not hurting the business.

Then considering that such massive scraping is probably already illegal and additionally the operation is being done by some intelligence agency meaning that legality is not an issue we can do a lot more that simple scraping using some proxies. This could include use of botnets (free resources, mich wider and more realistic pool of IPs) and/or hacked accounts (to scrape as a verified reputable user).

This all of course makes such a scrape a lot harder and probably not something that a single person with just a personal budget could do,but I believe this is still within the reach of even a small organization. And I'm 100% certain that this does not require multi-billion black budgets or large datacenters hidden underground.

>a) Not having a profile isn't definitive. You could have missed it, it could have been locked down, or the person joined late.

of course you are right with that, but then I could have full-scrapes being done once a year or even more often. While missing a profile once is obviously quite realistic and actually expected I assume that it would be unlikely that the same profile is ommited 20 times in a row given that the scraping has generally been proven to be effective.

Additionally I was initially thinking about using such data as one of the metrics not as a definitive spy-detector. Your account missing in my 2009-2017 scrapes and appearing just recently does not make you a spy but does increase a likelihood of you being so.

>You can't go back to build your baseline. You had to have the foresight to scrape it then or count on one of the breaches to establish who had accounts when.

Thats true. And even with data available from breaches might not be accurate or even be intentionally altered. But then again not everyone runs an intelligence agency

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> its not just the digital age, its the growing technological incompetence of our spy agencies in general. China executed nearly 30 agents and informants in the country in 2010 as they easily sidestepped the CIA's mediocre communications system

[https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/15/botched-cia- communicati...](https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/15/botched-cia- communications-system-helped-blow-cover-chinese-agents-intelligence/)

</comment><comment><USER14> > Those clues, they surmised, could have come from access to the OPM data, > possibly shared by the Chinese, or some other way, say former officials.

Why would the Chinese do that? Here is this treasure trove of information why share it with anyone. But I do see the Chinese being hacked by the Russians scenario after they figured out the Chinese had that kind of info.

<comment><USER12> There are numerous reasons.

\- The simplest but least likely is money. Reselling some portions of the data or even running it as a "Go Fish" service is immensely valuable.

\- The more likely scenario is an enemy of my enemy situation where the value of screwing up US operations is useful to a) show you have the power or b) build a more amicable relationship with Russia.

But realistically, all of that was probably unnecessary. Google Robin Sage and check out how much sensitive information people share entirely by accident OR that is not sensitive by itself but when combined with other aspects can become weaponized.

That's why whenever _anyone_ says "none of this data was classified!" it's an almost meaningless statement. None of us understand what missing puzzle piece will put it all together.

* Both my wife and I were included in the breach. When the new broke, I wrote it up here: [https://caseysoftware.com/blog/why-this-security-breach-is-w...](https://caseysoftware.com/blog/why-this-security-breach-is-worse-than-all-the-others-combined)

<comment><USER12> On the "but none of the data was classified!" part, a colleague made this video to make it a little more concrete: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbgQ1V2BLEs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbgQ1V2BLEs)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> Imagine your life rests in the balance with the correct S3 bucket permissions.

Also! I would also hate to be the person that copies iranian_secret_spy_ssns.json over to the wrong bucket.

<comment><USER16> This will happen for any manual process.

<comment><USER15> Yes! Ensure it will work correctly with thousands of lines of bash + jenkins + ec2 machines + all through a docker container + slack notifications.

<comment><USER16> Better yet, never collect the SSNs of secret spies. Or of anyone else, for that matter.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> The "other guys" are all generating the same information though. And everyone is generating potentially actionable information even when they aren't on an operation, actively practicing tradecraft or in-country on assignment. Eventually intelligence is going to be akin to high frequency trading where small differences in timing, degree of automation and insider information/insights will be deciding factors.

<comment><USER18> I think there are significant differences between the level of capabilities of surveillance in the US and some of the countries mentioned in the article, and those differences are likely to persist or grow larger in the foreseeable future.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> This is vastly amusing.

Privacy in meatspace is dead. 100% dead. Never coming back.

Until we have body transplants, anyway.

<comment><USER20> Netflix has a wonderful show with this concept, Altered Carbon. Season 2 coming soon!

<comment><USER19> Hey thanks :)

I gotta say, though, that I was disappointed by it.

I much preferred the books. They censored too much stuff, such as the torture sequence, where he was a little Arab girl being tortured, and then back as himself went on an impressive rampage, killing most all of the medical staff.

And then they changed too many characters.

<comment><USER21> Changing 'charatars' was part of the brilliance and how that confuses your brain. I was a fan so glad to hear there is a season 2.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> This reminds me of the instance where data from a sports app used by US soldiers revealed army bases world wide, including secret ones. The main reason why this was found out is because it was available to everyone. But how many apps used by soldiers today have similar abilities to determine their location?

In general, it's getting harder to smuggle humans into different countries, but the vast deployment of hardware with questionable security properties world wide has led to major opportunities for intelligence agencies. The Internet of Things is the newest opportunity to collect data in large quantities.

<comment><USER23> For those wondering, the app was Strava. Through the heat map they publish, it revealed, among other things, patrol routes of military members wearing Fitbits.

[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/world/middleeast/strava-h...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/world/middleeast/strava- heat-map.html)

<comment><USER20> Paywalled

<comment><USER24> A fitness app that posts a map of its users' activity has unwittingly revealed the locations and habits of military bases and personnel, including those of American forces in Iraq and Syria, security analysts say.

The app, Strava, which calls itself "the social network for athletes," allows millions of users to time and map their workouts and to post them online for friends to see, and it can track their movements at other times. The app is especially popular with young people who are serious about fitness, which describes many service members.

Since November, the company has published a global "heat map" showing the movements of people who have made their posts public. In the last few days, after the app's oversharing was identified on Twitter by a 20-year-old Australian university student, security analysts have started to take note of that data, and some have argued that the map represents a security breach.

Strava "is sitting on a ton of data that most intelligence entities would literally kill to acquire," Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Calif., warned on Twitter.

Some analysts have taken to social media to warn that, although the map does not name the people who traced its squiggles and lines, individual users can easily be tracked, by cross-referencing their Strava data with other social media use. That could put individual members of the military at risk, even when they are not in war zones.

The perfect gift for everyone on your list. Gift subscriptions to The Times. Starting at $25. The outlines of known military bases around the world are clearly visible on the map, especially in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, where few locals own exercise tracking devices. In those places, the heat signatures on American bases are set against vast dark spaces. Tobias Schneider, a security analyst, wrote on Twitter that "known Coalition (i.e. US) bases light up the night."

In Afghanistan, for instance, two of the largest coalition bases in the country — Bagram Airfield, north of Kabul; and Kandahar Airfield, in southern Afghanistan — can easily be picked out. The same is true for smaller bases around the country whose existence has long been public.

But there also appear to be other airstrips and base-like shapes in places where neither the American-led military forces nor the Central Intelligence Agency are known to have personnel stations.

Perhaps more problematic for the military are the thin lines that appear to connect bases. Those lines seem likely to trace the roads or other routes most commonly used by American forces when traveling between locations, and their exposure could leave troops open to attack when they are most vulnerable.

The Pentagon did not directly address whether the heat map had revealed any sensitive location data. But Maj. Audricia Harris, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said that the Defense Department recommends that all its personnel limit their public social media profiles and that it was reviewing the situation.

"Recent data releases emphasize the need for situational awareness when members of the military share personal information," Major Harris said. The Pentagon "takes matters like these very seriously and is reviewing the situation to determine if any additional training or guidance is required," the major added.

The Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment.

The threat also extends to countries where the app is more popular. Dr. Lewis of the Middlebury Institute wrote in The Daily Beast that the pattern of movements clearly showed the location of Taiwan's supposedly secret missile command center.

Strava is not the first program to collect far more information, including location data, than users realize, nor is it the first to make some of that information available to prying eyes, intentionally or not.

Researchers at Kyoto University revealed in 2016 that they could find the precise locations of people who used popular dating sites, even when the users took steps to disguise that information. Last year, data was found online that would allow anyone to track more than half a million cars with GPS devices.

But the Strava app, which works with wearable technology, goes even further in tracing people's locations with precision and sharing that information with the world. The map's settings show the extent to which routes are traveled, and whether on foot, by bicycle or in a vehicle.

Strava, which is based in San Francisco, claims tens of millions of users, in almost every country. The app can be used on Apple and Android phones, and wearable activity trackers like Fitbit devices, the Apple watch, and Garmin and Suunto sports watches.

The company released a statement on Sunday noting that the app has privacy settings that can exclude users from the map and hide their activities from the general public. It urged people to read a blog post from last year about how to use those settings.

The map "excludes activities that have been marked as private and user-defined privacy zones," the company said. "We are committed to helping people better understand our settings to give them control over what they share."

<comment><USER25> Thank

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> It just sounds like the undercover spying in its old classical form falls victim to the paradigm shift and has to adapt and evolve ("digital transformation") like many other professions.

</comment><comment><USER27> The US Govt. cannot keep _information about their own SPIES sent to FOREIGN SOIL_ safe.

We're supposed to trust them with encryption skeleton-keys that can open any phone or web traffic in the world and trust them to keep it safe.

Do they know that we live in a world where Nations burglarise from individuals?

North Korea for example funded their missile program from criminal activity on the internet. Can you imagine what will happen when they steal the skeleton key to intercept credit card traffic worldwide??

Sigh.

</comment><comment><USER10> This ignores a bit of history, at least in the Cold War for Russia and China. Assets were basically use once and burn. Agents could realistically last maybe 12 months in either place and could never return. The youngest would get deployed because they had the cleanest records. Russia mostly knew who the experienced spooks in the consulate were, even using cover.

</comment><comment><USER28> How infuriating. The intelligence agencies have done almost nothing to defend the privacy and security of US citizens and systems, and now the constant leaks and incredible frailty is hurting them just like they hurt everyone else who wants privacy and anonymity. What a lack of foresight.

</comment><comment><USER29> I am still convinced that creating social networks aka gigantic databases of our own population was a mistake on an unheard level of idiocy. Foreign intelligence must be shaking their heads in disbelief what we handed to them voluntarily. What took months if not years to generate for foreign intelligence can now be gathered, tested on confirmed in a plethora of public, leaked or infiltrated systems.

</comment><comment><USER30> I don't see any solution to this type of problem ever, aside from creating a paradigm where countries can trust each other and their citizens. At the rate we are currently going we might actually be more likely to have some kind of human extinction event before that happens.

It's strange that no one even mentions the possibility of a paradigm like that though.

</comment><comment><USER31> Just add the NYT location data set and why leave the office as a spy? It's all about analysts now?

</comment><comment><USER32> This is a very good article but it misses a few things.

-One of the techniques these days is to borrow an already existing identity for a period of time. If person A has lived a normal life, their story exists but if they haven't gone through biometrics in country B before then it's easier to get person C in (but obviously it's still harder than before). The identify is then returned

-People with potential for dual nationality have gone up in importance. Especially if they are legally allowed also to change their name.

-Equipment and database owners are key. Watch how popular 3M systems are in the world for example

<comment><USER33> > borrow an already existing identity

Undone by biometrics. It's not just about biometrics in other countries, it's also about biometrics leaks.

> People with potential for dual nationality have gone up in importance

...and are also highly suspicious.

> legally allowed also to change their name.

That's public record. Not helping.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> It is probably a good thing if it is getting harder to send your spies in foreign country. Should not this be considered a win win scenario for everyone ?

<comment><USER35> Absolutely not. Spying, even on America's friends, is important for our foreign policy and for staying on top.

I think you are confusing the world of geopolitics with concepts like "fair" and "good" and forgetting Lord Palmerston's quote: " Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests."

<comment><USER36> Ok, but since I'm not American and don't care if US is Number 1 and I really don't like it when yankee spooks kidnap people in my country a supposedly close US ally...

... I don't care if US spooks lives are more difficult or in peril?

<comment><USER35> Did you just make a new account to reply to me...?

Even if you are not from the US you care because because other world powers (China and in a much smaller way Russia) will be much worse for you.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER37> Why would an American government database ever need access from outside the US? Under what circumstances couldn't a simple IP rule prevent such a silly transfer of data?

I could never wrap my head around government databases (that need to be secured) using using AWS or other cloud with default security.

<comment><USER38> Cost-saving.

Governmental contracting is a lowest-bidder game, and budgets are variously limited.

<comment><USER39> Yes but security requirements are usually inckuded

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I'm not a spook myself, but ISTM this should always have been disqualifying:

 _Now you show up at the border of Russia, they've got your high school yearbook out there where you wrote about your lifelong ambitions to work for the CIA._

<comment><USER40> In practice, you show up at the border of Russia and are detained (in my case, because virtually no Americans cross this particular border). A nice, younger FSB agent with some English skills asks you a battery of questions but doesn't really care about their job, asking if they can just fill in your address again when given your parents' address, because it's more work than it's worth to transcribe another address that no one will ever read. Later, an older, saltier, more senior FSB agent harangues you over some missing documents before getting bored and letting you go.

We have some amusing preconceptions of Russia that rarely survive the reality of Russia.

<comment><USER20> Realistically, if you've been stopped by Russian border police and complied with their requests you've done everything right. Russia then has three options:

A: detain you and spur an international incident with complaints to the U.N. re human rights abuses and everything else.

B: refuse entry.

C: delay you long enough to get a follow team deployed so they can see what you do without inciting a lot of bad press, or delaying your travels more.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER41> I mean, shouldn't we assume that our phones, TVs, laptops, bedrooms, and bathrooms are bugged and monitored by every major government? Isn't this what governments have always wanted? It's for our safety, I thought.

<comment><USER11> Why bother with bugging a bathroom when most people will carry a wiretap device with geolocation there willingly? And continue to do so despite the evidence that device is actually listening? Then, why bother bugging a bedroom if people would put another listening-all-the-time device there too? But then why bother even with that when most people will handle the most private conversations through one app or another that stores all the conversation history in a datacenter you have access to? And then, to make analysis of those conversations easier you get a generation that prefers texting over voice. I can't really imagine making it even easier to wiretap everyone and everything.</comment></comment>


Where Are Programmer Communities? - <AUTHOR> https://email@example.com/where-are-programmer-communities-d86d5c7514ae <comment><USER2> It might not be exactly what you're looking for but StackExchange has a software engineering site:

[https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/)

There's also one for code reviews.

There are still forums out there but I don't know which ones you'd be interested. Most are targeted for a specific project, framework, etc.

One I could suggest that is t really focused on any one thing, but has threads for specific things, is the Cavern of Cobol over at SomethingAwful.

[https://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=2...](https://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=202)

</comment><comment><USER3> There are other options, trying joining an IRC channel for your favorite progamming languages. There will be lots of discussion to be had.</comment>


Ask HN: Best Way to Buy a Car? - <AUTHOR> Hi HN, I thought that you would have some good tips on making a large purchase like a car. Got tips? This is going to be used for a ~20 mile commute, and I would like to spend between $3000 and $5000, preferably. I heard buying cars at auction is a good way to save money on a decent car but my instinct says this seems like a path fraught with hidden headaches.<p>Thanks! <comment><USER2> My recommendation for that budget of less than $5000:

1\. Go to your local craigslist site 2\. Find a car sold directly by a person (not dealers or shops). I would recommend going for a Honda Civic (best value for that amount and most reliable) 3\. Go see the car for yourself in person 4\. Get a local mechanic to check the car. pay them for it and then deduct that amount from the sale price if seller agrees. 5\. Make sure seller has a clean title in THEIR name. If they cannot show you the title, walk away before the sale. Title should have NO LIENS (i.e. no loan remaining if financed). 6\. Create a quick contract for your local state (get a template online) if both parties are ready for the sale. 7\. Seller should accept a "Cashier's Check". Some may want cash but most will want a guaranteed way to get paid. 8\. In most US states, you give them the check. Make sure the seller signs the title in YOUR name. 9\. Go to local DMV and register immediately.

Why Honda Civic ? For less than 5k, you don't have a lot of options. Don't go for luxury brands. At that price, you will get really run down cars and will be very costly to maintain. You could possibly get a used Hyundai as well but Civics are just solid. I would get a Civic that is preferably less than 10 years old but don't shy away if they are even older. If the car was taken care of well, Hondas can easily go 200-400K miles with maintenance and updates.

<comment><USER3> I just brought the seller to the DMV with me and signed at the counter. It was a little easier for me because the person at the counter could confirm that the title transfer worked properly. However, some sellers don't want to spend a half hour waiting, so having both parties sign is usually just as good (provided you can spot a fake title).

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> If you don't want hidden headaches, buy a low-end late model certified used car. Put your few thousands down and you can get something with <20k miles for less than $150 a month with a certified warranty. Being able to drive a stick shift will also save you money.

Sure you might find a decent used car for $3-$5k. But it will be a decent $3-$5k car. Things will be worn out and shit will break and some stuff will already be broken. That's just the way old cars are. So finding the car is only half the equation. You need a mechanic you can trust. And who works reasonably quickly because your old car gets you too and from work. Good trust worthy mechanics aren't cheap, and tend to be busy.

It's easy to spend $1000 on repairs. Maybe not all at once, but easily across a couple of months: tires, fuel pump, shocks, valve cover gaskets, etc. That's without a transmission, head gasket, fuel injectors, or anything major. A $1000 every six months is $100 more than $150/month.

I like Autotrader.com.

Good luck.

</comment><comment><USER5> I don't know loads about cars but here are some tips that have served me well in the past. Note than I'm based in the UK but most of these should still be relevant. I always buy used cars as when you buy a new car it loses around 20% of it's value as soon as you drive it of the showroom forecourt.

1\. Do your background checks on the car to make sure it's not stolen and to get a good idea about it's history. In the UK the car has to have an MOT each year to prove it's road worthy (you may have something similar in the US). This info is available online in the UK and shows when it passed and if there were any advisories. No advisories is ideal.

2\. Only buy a car if the seller has paperwork that show it's service history. If a car has been serviced regularly it shows it's been looked after.

3\. Inspect the body work to see if there are any signs of damage or if there are any panels are a slightly different colour. If a panel is a slightly different colour it's a telltale sign it's been in an accident.

4\. Try to buy a car with as few previous owners as possible. If a car has been passed around to lots of different owners there's a higher chance it hasn't been looked after.

5\. Check similar cars online to get a good idea of price and always haggle.

6\. Never buy a car without taking it for a test drive. I'm guessing you're buying an automatic so check the car goes through the gears smoothly and there are no knocks etc. Make sure when you start the engine that the car is starting from cold and that it hasn't been warming up before you got there. Take your hands of the wheel to make sure the car doesn't drift of to the side as this is a sign something is wrong. Check underneath the car when you've done to check for oil / coolant leaks etc. Check the brakes and steering etc (there's lots more I could list but this is a basic idea.

7\. Finally if you're not happy with it for any reason walk away. You are under no obligation to buy it so don't feel pressured into making a bad purchase.

Hope this helps

</comment><comment><USER6> 1\. Narrow your search down to a couple of specific cars: make, model, year. Stick to that. If you don't get specific, you get pulled in too many directions.

2\. Learn about those specific cars. At $3-5K, we are looking at used cars: what are their common problems?

3\. Look for low kilometers relative to age, needless to say.

3\. Besides mechanical and structural things (engine, brakes, transmission, electrical, body), inspect the windows and windshield for damage. Don't forget to look at tires; don't buy a used car with bald tires. A battery that is five years old or older should be assumed end-of-life. Try all the accessories, A/C, power windows, speakers.

4\. Buy only a "clean title" used car; no "salvage title". Most of the unusually good deals (cars 50% cheaper than others of the same make model and age) are suspicious: salvage cars that were so damaged they were written off by insurance. Salvage cars are a gamble: they can be repaired well and provide years of service, or they can be horrible. Don't gamble. If you're looking for a family car for transporting children, absolutely no salvage nonsense. Previously damaged cars are not safe in crashes, similarly to bike helmets. Their air bags may not have been professionally reset either.

5\. Walk away from anything that has a problem in a test drive: engine stalling, difficult start, shifting problems or whatever else.

</comment><comment><USER7> I used to work at a car dealership so my opinion/information is going to come from the years I worked there. The usual title stuff has been gone over.

1) Buy domestic if possible. Parts, service and mechanics will be cheaper for the most part. Japanese cars can be cheap but make sure OEM parts are used.

2) Check the gaps between doors, panels and trunk. This is an easy way to spot sloppy body work or a wreck that was repaired poorly. More than likely it had a terrible wreck and got fixed at home or was done by a cheap shop on the low.

3) Look for any fluid leaks. Leaks == (Money + Time + Fixes)

4) Find out what the most common problem is for the car you are looking at. Some have rust problems, ECUs that die easily, bad fuel sensors, etc... Google will tell you about them. All cars have design flaws that need to be dealt with.

5) Check the mileage. The higher mileage means you should go and replace every single reasonably afforable maintenance part you can (belt/chain, brake pads, tires, fluids, filters, bushings, gaskets).

6) Haggle for every cent. I don't care if the car is some super rare model. The owner is getting rid of it and once you buy it they aren't going to give your money back. Also, when you buy a car, you buy the problems it has too. Get as much as you can knocked off the asking price because if you are going to rely on the vehicle spend that money on parts/labor that it needs (there is something that is on the out for sure at $5k).

7) Buy from a friend/a friend of a friend. Someone has a car that perfectly usable and doesn't need it or just wants it gone. Put the word out with friends and see what falls out from the woodwork. They'll be more honest and forthcoming about the car than some guy from craigslist.

There are many more but these are my main bits.

</comment><comment><USER8> Auctions are pretty hit or miss, and buying cars at auctions only plays out if you do it a lot (kind of like VC: you get a lot of turds and one unicorn).

Best way is to look for a specific model, and educate yourself of the weak points. I always buy cars from people, not businesses since their warranties usually don't mean much. I'd rather buy a car on the cheap and use the remaining budget to replace things than to buy a more expensive car where the dealer assures you the timing belt has been changed recently.

For 3-5K I would buy an early 2000s Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Galant or Subaru Legacy. These things are bulletproof, insanely reliable. Higher mileage is no problem, but learn how to spot worn clutches (if you get the manual) and replace the timing belt. At this price/age they won't be flawless and you won't look cool, but I care about reliability and costs over everything else.

</comment><comment><USER9> Generally: I personally only buy from direct sales. Dealers seem simple but they are experts at getting the best price and hiding potential issues. I assume they will always be better than me at these so avoid them.

My process; 1) Find out what seems to be the most reliable car via internet.

1) Decide car and parameters like kms/prices/4WD etc. Set up search alerts.

2) Go see cars within that. I dont know much about mechanics but general condition, oil quality, log book. Any noises or other that sets a red flag. I also judge the person a bit - tidy yard I assume they look after things better...who knows if true

3) Offer $$$ - if they accept I say it's on the condition my mechanic approves and get the car a quick once over from a professional.

4) Buy car. Or reject if surprises show up.

5) Get immediate service.

Personally i'd avoid an auction as I dont know enough. If you were mechanically skilled it would probably be a reasonable gamble.

</comment><comment><USER10> Once you do some research on KBB and the like about what cars are reliable to buy used at that price point, I like Cargurus.com for actually finding the car.

They have a ton of inventory, can connect you directly with the dealer/seller (some are sold by owner), and they include the important aspects of a vehicle history search. This last part is critical at that price point, because you'll see things like flood-damaged cars, major collisions, etc. You may choose a car that has those things, but its better to be aware of it before you buy vs. finding out later. CarGurus also has a good metric of whether a car is a good deal, based on all similar cars being sold (and they have almost all the used car inventory in the US on their site).

</comment><comment><USER11> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0CZ1v5U_y8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0CZ1v5U_y8)

</comment><comment><USER12> Look on Craigslist for a mid-2000's Toyota or Honda in a college neighborhood or an area with a lot of yuppies. I don't know if this is the best way, but I've heard somebody else get a car this way.

</comment><comment><USER13> There was a book called 'Dont get taken every time' Written by a former car salesman. It is a fun read, as well as informative. Easily pays for itself on your next purchase.

</comment><comment><USER14> Buy a showroom car, and they'll usually give you anywhere from a 10-20% discount, depending on brand.

</comment><comment><USER15> [https://www.tesla.com](https://www.tesla.com)

<comment><USER16> The question said: "I would like to spend between $3000 and $5000, preferably."

<comment><USER17> I guess $600 is outside that range, but it looks like fun:

[https://shop.tesla.com/us/en/product/apparel/tesla-model- s-f...](https://shop.tesla.com/us/en/product/apparel/tesla-model-s-for- kids.html?sku=1465593-00-A)</comment></comment></comment>


The Future of American History - <AUTHOR> http://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/07/29/421624129/the-future-of-american-history

<comment><USER2> Great quote towards the end of the article: "Not all students are convinced they need to know a great deal about U.S. history anymore. Some believe in the power of the global marketplace to shape their present and future lives, and therefore see our hallmark U.S. institutions — the Constitution, citizenship, federal government system ... and the histories attached to them — as arcane compared to the new worlds that technology, innovation and consumption are spawning."

<comment><USER3> What a strange world view. Who sets the laws then?

<comment><USER4> corporations ? ;)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Are there academic history programs focused on the history of engineering, science and technology? These will of necessity reference the surrounding sociopolitical context, while bringing light to patterns that remain relevant to modern STEM disciplines.

<comment><USER6> This might be more of a resource than a program of study, but the Computer History Museum runs an Oral History collection which collects first hand discussions from the people at the point of development of many computing technologies.

[http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/](http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> "especially because I teach American history in a way that is more inclusive and challenging of dominant myths than most of them were exposed to in high school."

Sometimes I think that just what is politically correct has changed, and a different set of myths is now taught.

"to teach painful histories — histories of slavery, Native American genocide, Jim Crow and lynching, Japanese internment"

There's a heluva lot more to American history than the bad things.

<comment><USER8> I agree with you - what is politically correct has changed. I think it often changes to be what is most convenient to those in power.

There's a huluva lot more to American history than the bad things, but recent trends I see make me fear that even the bad things will be swept under the rug. You see stories pop up all the time of colleges restricting speech because it hurts somebody's feelings. This is slowly starting to happen to public speech as well. As the article says, history is painful to face, and students today are more unwilling to put up with pain and more likely to demand that they not be subjected to any pain.

Perhaps that just reflects what has been true of history, that it is often rewritten to convenience the ruling class and pacify the peasants.

<comment><USER7> One thing about myths - Stephen Ambrose wrote a book "Nothing Like It In The World" about the building of the first transcontinental world. He wrote in the Acknowledgements that:

"I had been taught to regard the railroad builders as the models for Daddy Warbucks. The investors and builders had made obscene profits which they used to dominate state and national politics to a degree unprecedented before or since. John Robinson's book The Octopus: A History of Construction, Conspiracies, Extortion, about the way the Big Four ruined California, expressed what I thought and felt. What made the record of the big shots so much worse was that it was the people's money they stole, in the form of government bonds and land. In my view, opposition to the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific (later the Southern Pacific) had led to the Populist Party and then the Progressive Party, political organizations that I regarded as the saviors of America. I wanted nothing to do with those railroad thieves."

However, once he got into it, he realized that about everything he knew about the project was a myth, and finished it with a transformed belief that it was the greatest American achievement of the 19th century.

(It really is a marvelous book, too.)</comment></comment></comment>


Rust on the Arduino Due - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jensnockert/dueboot

<comment><USER2> The ability to run with a small runtime system on bare metal, microcontrollers and such makes Rust, in my opinion, one of the most interesting new languages out there right now.

Native code with a lean and mean runtime system has a lot of advantages over bytecode based virtual machines and slow interpreters.

<comment><USER3> This is an amazing feat with Rust being a modern open alternative to C! So far many have tried and failed. Rust developers have learned well and Rust seems to be on right track.

<comment><USER4> I've been working on this problem a while ago, but Virgil II didn't get much traction outside of a couple academic projects. It's here though:

[http://compilers.cs.ucla.edu/virgil/](http://compilers.cs.ucla.edu/virgil/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This is great -- I'm very pleased to see a challenger to C/++ step up in this space. And I'm starting to get really interested in Rust. It would be great to have a safer language to use in the place of C/++, particularly since the world seems to have decided to disregard Ada.

That said, it's important to note that this is not Rust on an AVR Arduino -- it's the Due, which sports an Arm Cortex M3. Targeting AVR which probably be much more difficult (at least that's what I've read). So you won't be able to get this running on your Uno.

<comment><USER6> LLVM doesn't target the AVR processors, and while there is a avr-llvm backend, I think it is still very early in the development cycle. It is quite possible that you could get it to work with some effort, but it is a lot more complex than targeting an ARM microcontroller.

With awesome boards like the Teensy 3.0 (Cortex M4, [http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy3.html](http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy3.html)) available on the cheap, not being on AVR isn't the huge disadvantage it once was. At least if you don't count the hardware people already have.

<comment><USER5> I agree, there's are some awesome Arm Cortex chips out on the market now, for not much money at all. And I agree it's not a huge disadvantage not being on AVR, I just wanted to make the point that Rust doesn't run on traditional Arduinos, since that's what most people would assume reading the headline.

<comment><USER7> Texas Instruments practically gives away their development boards. Here is their Stellaris Launchpad board with ARM Cortex-M4F-based MCU for just 8$! Much cheaper than even AVR arduinos! [https://estore.ti.com/Stellaris- LaunchPad.aspx](https://estore.ti.com/Stellaris-LaunchPad.aspx)

What's more, these days you can even use the Arduino IDE for development on these boards. The Energia project has ported Wiring and Arduino IDE for TI boards. If I wasn't such a minimalist, I would get one (or two) in a heartbeat!

Edited: Forgot to paste the link.

<comment><USER8> The TI offerings look geared towards low power and are kind of anemic on the high end with up to only 32kB ram and 256kB flash. ST/NXP/Atmel have parts with over four times that (and the ST eval board is also only $15). I know you can do a lot with a little (I used to design with pic16), but for higher level languages without runtimes optimized for embedded (eg rust), I'd want all the room I could get.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Quite surprised. Exactly a year ago I was in hope that someone do something similar for Golang, but soon realized that it's impossible because Golang relies heavily on GC. Now this seems quite interesting.

<comment><USER10> This is not true.

There are companies selling development kits with GC enabled system programming languages, like Oberon, for embedded development.

[http://www.astrobe.com/default.htm](http://www.astrobe.com/default.htm)

Granted, ARM Cortex-M3 and NXP LPC2000 microcontrollers are more powerful than typical Arduino hardware, but one does not need to target all possible hardware out there.

<comment><USER9> [http://technical.io/](http://technical.io/) even managed to run Node.JS on a Cortex-M3, but in the deeply-embedded world where performance/$ and real-time constraints matters, having a always-GC system like Golang (especially considering it's designed for cached cores) doesn't sound very promising.

However I did look Golang because it makes concurrency (quite important in embedded programming) easy. Now with Rust...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I'm more excited to see that the project is based off one for the STM32F4. I've got one of those lying around and I'm looking forward to trying this out. :)

<comment><USER12> The stm32f4 RULES. If you haven't got enough info on it, i'd just like to plug the subreddit I created specifically for the stm32f4: [http://reddit.com/r/stm32f4](http://reddit.com/r/stm32f4)

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> So far you're still stuck calling Wiring methods <digitalWrite, pinMode, etc...> from directly extern'd C. But a quick wrapper around the basic functions shouldn't be too hard and allows for a more rust-y (rust-ful?) experience.

<comment><USER14> I'm going to go with rustic. I think the phrase -a more rustic experience- has a much better sound and connotation than -a more rusty experience-.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Since this builds on zero.rs, there are some limitations.

[https://github.com/pcwalton/zero.rs](https://github.com/pcwalton/zero.rs)

      Garbage collection, tasks, and failure will not work. All
      the other language features, including unique pointers,
      references, and closures do work, so programs such as
      sprocketnes that do not use garbage collection should be
      fine.

      The Rust standard library cannot be used in this mode,
      but splitting out the Rust standard library into a
      portion that can be used in freestanding mode would be an
      interesting and valuable project (IMO).

<comment><USER16> Does anybody knows, would it be possible to use reference counting(and thus build hard real time systems), maybe by splitting the library?

<comment><USER17> You can use the `Rc` or `RcMut` types in the standard library. They're just smart pointers, like C++ `shared_ptr`.

<comment><USER16> Is it possible to use them in zero ? because ksr2's comments tells otherwise.

<comment><USER17> Nowadays you can just use libstd in no-runtime apps; you can choose whether to start the runtime and if you're running on bare metal, just don't start it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I was able to build and flash my Due with this, very cool. The possibilities are really exciting!

</comment><comment><USER19> I'd assume the libarm thingy is at least partially generated instead of being handwritten?</comment>


The Grim Crime-Scene Dollhouses Made by the 'Mother of Forensics' - <AUTHOR> http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/frances-glessner-lee-crime-scence-forensics-investigation-dioramas <comment><USER2> Thanks for this! I just obsessively love well-crafted miniatures -- and a good history lesson.</comment>


Top general says no role for military in presidential vote - <AUTHOR> https://apnews.com/a979ad8beceacd77c692e42448cf7b82 <comment><USER2> Democrats think they can distort, ban, and flag people into submission. It won't work. Trump will win again in 2020. No one is attracted to vitriol and hate.</comment>


3 Lifelike HTML5 animated homepages - <AUTHOR> http://cambriausa.com/

<comment><AUTHOR> Refresh the url to see the 3 different scenes - hurry though, cambria is putting a new temporary campaign up next week I believe.

They're built with a mix of CSS keyframe animations, transition/transforms, and JS. A lot of work was put in to make the animations smooth on the ipad 1(!), and the majority of effects have a fallback going back to IE7.

I used some jquery plugins like 'jquery.animate-enhanced' that would automatically turn $().animate(...) calls into using transitions if supported, but a fair amount of effects were written multiple ways to handle all browsers.

</comment><comment><USER2> ratbeard, you really know how to turn this male developer on.</comment>


Making Money with Spin-Offs: a Flappy Bird Tale - <AUTHOR> http://ibnz.ws/making-money-with-spin-offs-a-flappy-bird-tale/

<comment><USER2> cached here: [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:PXvFByI...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:PXvFByIiVrYJ:ibnz.ws/making- money-with-spin-offs-a-flappy-bird- tale/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-a)

</comment><comment><USER3> One of the monetization ideas that stands out to me is trying convert app users into email subscribers. Permission based marketing is insanely more effective than any form of display ads, and to the author's point if you aren't being a schmucky spammer it would be a great way for Indie Developers to build a trusted brand and make a splash in the app store every time they released a new game.

I personally would have downloaded all of Dong Nguyen's other apps had I received an email about them. Although I think the only way he could have experienced more online vitriol is if he started spamming users with dating apps...

Edit: out of all of the games I have downloaded I have never once given out my email address or even been asked for it via the app. Is anyone doing this now?

<comment><USER4> Thanks for your comment! Yeah, a lot of non-direct marketers I talk to are like "Sending Emails? That's so oldschool, nobody reads them anymore and nobody is entering their email addresses on their mobiles anyway". That couldn't be farther from the truth. People need to understand that mobile devices replace common desktop setups more and more. I might publish a case study of one of my mobile campaigns about that if you're interested.

I know that the guys behind the Runtastic apps are collecting emails and offer more features in return. A non-mobile example would be League of Legends where they reward you with a free skin if you like their page on Facebook ([https://www.facebook.com/leagueoflegends/app_208195102528120](https://www.facebook.com/leagueoflegends/app_208195102528120)).

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Sorry everybody for the slow, unresponsive and sometimes broken site. I initially didn't think that one of my posts would gain a lot of popularity. I'll work on shifting the site to a dedicated server soon (oh boy, what was I thinking?).

Thanks to @warrenmiller for posting the cached version here!

</comment><comment><USER5> What is a CPA and why does this guy hate it so much?

<comment><USER4> CPA = cost per acquisition aka affiliate offers. I don't hate it, it's just the fastest way to ruin a good list if you don't know how to do it right. Most people spam their email lists to make a quick buck but ruin their asset in the long run. It's better to build your own offers and use your own list to promote them. Advantages: you are in control, you know that the service / product you are offering has value and makes your customer happy, your profit margins are way higher.</comment></comment>


Instagram Scraper Python (private API HTTP(s) requests only) - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/realsirjoe/instagram-scraper <comment><AUTHOR> I created an instagram scraper in python. It doesn't require selenium and co it just uses http requests. That makes it worlds faster and perfect for multithreading

One can fetch medias,likes, comments, followers and all user metadata. It also has comment, like and follow functions!

Would love to get some feedback about it or even new contributions!

Thanks</comment>


Is FoundersCard Worth It? - <AUTHOR> http://goodsharer.com/post/4729560685/is-founderscard-worth-it

<comment><USER2> In a similar vein, the Freelancers Union offers discounts on various business services and is free: <http://www.freelancersunion.org>

They also offer health insurance and 401(k) plans for the self-employed.

<comment><USER3> Thanks for the tip - just signed up!

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I took a look at the FoundersCard during it's beta, I guess.

Seems to make sense if you have AT&T and don't have another corporate discount applied to your account.

However, I'm not on AT&T and when I have to fly one of the 'big carriers' for, say, international travel back home I don't fly American as they don't fly into LHR.

So for me, it didn't seem worth while. 15% discount on Uber is interesting and new since I looked, but if you can afford to take Uber cab enough then you're probably not an early stage startup :)

<comment><USER5> American does fly to LHR, unless my trips home have been to some alternate reality... They don't fly directly there from SFO, though, you have to transfer.

<comment><USER4> My bad - that's what it is. American doesn't fly to LHR directly from SFO.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I tried to book a Virgin Atlatic flight through the Founders Card channel and it was more expensive than the same fight on the Virgin Atlantic Website. Very disappointing...

</comment><comment><USER7> Think it depends on the cost. Got mine for $99 which it is certainly worth! The 15% Uber discount makes up for that by itself. Would be harder to justify at $500.

<comment><USER8> Wow, $99 sure seems worth it. Is that price no longer in effect? From what I've read, the cheapest one could get a membership now is $200 with a referral.

<comment><USER9> I requested some additional information and was sent a 200$ offer by one of their staff. I presume they just check whether you're a founder or not?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I'm not sure if they still offer these, but at one point they were offering a free bump to the first elite tier on the frequent flier programs for American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic (and thus also their respective alliances), which normally each require 25k miles flown. For an expat like me that's extremely valuable.

<comment><USER10> If you read the fine print, that "bump" to first class was for the airport shuttle train between Heathrow and Gatwick. Very misleading.

<comment><USER5> Not so when I exercised the offer. I'm Gold status on American and whatever the equivalent is on Virgin, despite not having had the requisite number of air miles to qualify through normal means.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Agree that the 15% Uber discount makes up for it. That and the AT&T discount are about the only discounts I notice, what other FC discounts do people use?

<comment><USER12> Apple b2b. Threadless 25% off. Stubhub 50% off fees. American Airlines 10% off with free wifi.

<comment><USER13> How much is the Fedex discount?

<comment><AUTHOR> Up to 50% off of FedEx Express shipping Up to 25% off of FedEx Ground shipping

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Trying to decide whether it's worth it — a lot of postings mention that the hotel discounts are great, but it seems like the hotels that are discounted are already very expensive and posh and therefore the discount brings it down to a "normal" hotel cost. Am I making a bad assumption? Anyone else use it for traveling?

</comment><comment><USER15> the hotel discounts on FoundersCard are ho-hum. i get better deals through AMEX and even Hotels.com rewards plan.

</comment><comment><USER16> I've FoundersCard and am happy with it - I've used quite some deals and discounts. Email me if you want an invite + promotion code (email is in the 'about' part of my profile). No more invites, sorry!

</comment><comment><USER17> I have a few invites left... email's in my profile if you want them (and will actually use it). Totally worth it in my opinion. AT&T + airlines + hotels + random other things you discover all the time.

</comment><comment><USER18> This is yet another example of a trend in culture of what was once a thing associated with production (founding a startup) becoming a type of consumption (this card).

</comment><comment><USER19> For me, the AT&T discount paid for the annual membership cost. I may have a few invites still available - hit up my profile email.

</comment><comment><USER20> Do you need to have been incorporated to get the discount?

</comment><comment><USER21> So is the best way to get one though a referral/invite?

<comment><USER16> Sure. It might make it easier for you to be accepted + the referral will get FCPoints which he/she can spend on gift certificates and such.

Let me know if you need an invite (email in about part of profile) No more invites!

<comment><USER16> I've new invites - let me know if you need one!</comment></comment></comment>


How to travel around the world for a year (2011) - <AUTHOR> http://alexmaccaw.com/posts/how_to_travel_around_the_world <comment><USER2> I've taken 4 gap years, where I would travel the world for a year, in the last 14 years of my career since leaving High School. It is the best thing I have ever done. I would thoroughly recommend it to everybody - after high school, between jobs, etc.

Go travel for a year, discover the world, discover yourself, discover interesting people

My only tip would be to not cross too much of the globe at the same time. Let one part of the world sink in for a good few months.

I don't like the type of tourism where you rush to one tourist destination, take a photo of said landmark, and then rush to the next. All the while you are surrounded by people who are the same as you. I prefer sinking into cities. It doesn't even have to be off the beaten track, most times the local sites are mere meters from the tourist sites (this is true in Sydney and London).

For eg. I spent 12 months in Eastern Europe and ended up getting citizenship in Bosnia (via ancestry) and got to really, really know the place - to the point of having long-term friends, paying for things as a local, voting in elections, telling people to keep quiet when the news comes on, playing cards, smoking (still got it), drinking (stopped that one) etc. There are a lot of things you don't pick up when you spend 2-3 days, or a week there.

I used that experience to travel out to the rest of East Europe, and I knew my way around much better because of it (I got out of being arrested in Hungary on visa violations by bribing my way out to a guard who could speak Serbian).

I have now done Asia, although only parts of it and lived in London for years - part of that was a 6-month gap where I travelled Western Europe. I lived in South Africa and have been through a lot of Africa. Same with North America. I would next like to go and stay in either Argentina or in China.

As for planning, I try not to plan anything. My first 'gap year' started as a one month summer holiday to visit family. I didn't return to Australia until 10 years later. The only thing you gotta get good at is opening multiple bank accounts and backups and moving money between banks and knowing how hard/easy it is between different countries. Usually you can't beat cash.

<comment><USER3> How would the finances for travels like this work? I'd love to travel after college and take a year off at a time between jobs etc, but just wondering how financially feasible this is. Do you work while travelling? And if so what type of work?

<comment><USER4> I work/travel 50% of the time. In 6 months I earn around $30-40k, and in that time can save around $15-25k. I am spendthrift and buy whatever want. I also return lots of merchandise (just "rented" an Xbox for my last month of work). I usually don't buy anything that:

-Can't fit in a backpack

-Isn't returnable

-Isn't either the cheapest option or the best option

This doesn't have much to do with travel finances, but I usually either buy the best/smallest/lightest or the cheapest/most disposable.

For example, I have $200 earbuds, a $40 safety razor (that takes 5¢ blades), a few pairs for $70 merino wool tshirts, a store bought $700 unlocked iPhone, but for shoes I have a pair of flip flops and an $8 pair of shoes that are getting thrown away on my flight out of the country. I buy $1000, 20 year old cars and sell them at a loss when I leave the country.

The totality of what I own and keep is around $5000 worth of stuff that all fits into a 40L backpack and a largish box that I mail to and from my family's house when I'm going to be working. The box has winter clothes, work equipment and outdoor gear, as I like to go backcountry camping here in the US. The $5000 includes my laptop ('11 MBA) and about $2000 of top shelf camping gear.

My gf and I have been together for a few years. She works full time min wage jobs to keep busy while I work. I support her while working and traveling. In 6 months of balls out travel in 3rd world countries we spend around $10-15k including everything.

I _love_ this lifestyle and at this point get anxiety at the thought of staying on one place longer than 5 months.

When traveling I usually stay in each destination from 1-4 weeks. So in 6 months we'll usually see around 15-20 different places and get to know them reasonably well.

We generally make zero plans besides those broad and vague: ie "lets go to Mexico and then Cuba, and then maybe South America or Central America" or "let's go to the beach. how about Southeast Asia?"

Everyone needs to do this.

<comment><USER3> Amazing lifestyle!! Thanks for the detailed response!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I spent only $27k in two years driving from Alaska to Argentina.[1] It was an absolutely like changing experience.

For anyone interested in this kind of self directed travel Overland, checkout WikiOverland[2] for all the information you'll need

[1]<http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-adventure>

[2]<http://wikioverland.org>

</comment><comment><USER6> Like the article. Some excellent advice however, I'd like to add a couple things. First, some background - my wife and I have been on the road for 6 months through South America and splurged on a trip to Antarctica. We're moving to Europe tomorrow.

Organizing Flights: Cheap flights abound and we've travelled almost only by bus once on a continent. Bus is cheap, I can't say that I find it particularly enjoyable. I'd argue against the RTW ticket, it seem superfluous. I just booked tickets 2 days ago from Buenos Aires to Rome for $940, I like the price and flexibility.

Packing: Smaller is better, to a point. My wife and I have 40L packs, I'd recommend 45L or 50L. If you travel with fewer electronics than we do, a 40L pack would be fine. (<http://orofino.me/daniels-rtw-packing-list/>)

Accommodations: I'd add Airbnb to that list, we're getting higher quality accommodations for the price of dorm beds (2 people) in Europe. Hostels have been great in South America though. Plus you get to stay with a local who can show you good restaurants.

Cash and Electronics: Americans, get a Capital One card, zero international fees. I agree on electronics, don't show them off everywhere and you should be fine. In the poorest of countries in South America we didn't have any issues. We travel with a travel power strip, I recommend it so you only need one travel adapter.

Companions: Travelling with my wife is awesome... most of the time. At the start we argued way more than we did at home. I chalk this up to the stress of new environments and of living something you've been dreaming about for 5 years. After a month, we settled down into a groove and are loving every minute.

Lifestyle: Please, never stay anywhere for less than 3 nights. It helps you get a feel for the city. We occasionally stay for a week or a bit more in places so that we can get a real feel for it.

<comment><USER7> How was Antarctica? Would you recommend it? Any tips for how to arrange the trip?

<comment><USER6> It was amazing, though the cost is nothing to scoff at. If you've got the spare cash it is absolutely worth it.

I just wrote up our experience yesterday. <http://orofino.me/antarctica-the- genesis-2/>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> One quibble:

> _"no point giving commission to a travel-agent when you can plan it > yourself."_

Travel agents often purchase in bulk and can get discounts that you can't get via 'do it yourself' flight tools. I recently travelled to Vancouver and Helsinki from New Zealand (effectively a round-world ticket) that worked out about $NZ 700 cheaper via an agent than online.

Good agents are also adept at 'working the system' - ie, knowing when and where cheap flights are available, upcoming deals, etc. It would pay to check whether your agent can do a better deal before booking online.

<comment><USER9> Further more, in some countries a local broker may get you a far better deal than you would ever get online. It is just that online tools penetration is not quite there for the smaller tour/lodge/travel operators in 3rd world countries.

One example:From Lima to Cuzco (on your way to Machu Pichu) Flight via regular airline ~$300. Overnight bus on a 1st class seat/bed (Very comfy!) ~$30! (You sleep most of the way, so you save 1 night hotel and adjust to the high altitude while on the road)

<comment><USER10> From what I have heard, that bus ride is pretty hairy. Not sure if this was in first class or not but a friend who recently went there opted for the flight. Then again he was only there for a few weeks and time was probably a bigger factor than budget.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I remember reading this last time it came through. The only thing I'd differ with is the RTW ticket. Don't do that.

I always book a single one-way flight to start my trip. Bangkok, Cape Town, Cartagena, etc. Just get to one end of a continent and plan on spending as much time as you need moving across it.

Dates on the calendar are the biggest source of unhappiness when you're on the road. There's nothing worse than having to leave a place you're really enjoying because you have a flight to catch two countries away next week. You'll never expect to spend six months in the place you end up spending six months in. If you book ahead of time you're guaranteed to have to either blow off your expensive ticket or miss out on what would have been the best part of your trip.

<comment><USER12> I've heard people can get turned away for not having a return ticket, is that true?

<comment><USER11> I've had it happen to me twice.

On landing in Cape Town, the only other ticket I had booked was from Nairobi to Cairo. Evidently, they figured I'd be able to do that without ever leaving South Africa, so it wasn't sufficient proof. In the end, all they did was cut my 3 month visa-on-arrival down to one month.

Another time, checking in for a SEA-BKK flight, I was stopped at the counter for only having a one-way ticket. So I booked a full fare, refundable, return flight on the spot, then found the airline office in Bangkok the next day and refunded it.

Most places, it's not an actual issue. Scary places like Russia and the USA are exceptions.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Good article I especially like the perspective about one months income to one years travel.

If your thinking about doing this one thing I would recommend is a much smaller backpack. With a 90L pack you are lugging it around everywhere, you will also look like a tourist everywhere you go.

See <http://tynan.com/2010gear>, Tim Ferris also has a post on light packing I believe. A 22l can be done (although prob not with an SLR).

An added benefit is you will not need to check luggage for flights.

<comment><USER14> Yes, a 90L pack is quite big, and the thing about backpacking is you almost always fill whatever size bag you use. I have a 50L bag that is perfect. In my younger days I did 6 weeks with a 30L (include an SLR), but it really wasn't worth the hassle of packing it so full. The zipper actually broke towards the end of the trip.

<comment><USER6> I agree that there is such a thing a too small, something the backpacker community seems to eschew [see Tynan article above]. We've been travelling for 6 months with 40L packs, we're consistently wishing they were about 5-10L larger.

However, we make due and are always grateful when we see a fellow backpacker with an enormous bag.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> It's a nitpick, but what kind of consulting pays $22k after tax from one month's work? Does Ruby/JS consulting really pay $500k a year in the US?

<comment><USER16> Depends on your country's tax system, but one of the advantages of only working one month a year is that you usually fall below most minimum tax brackets. Or at least only get lightly taxed and can reclaim most of it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> If you reduce your mobility and spend longer periods of time in places you can drastically reduce costs. You may also find that you get a better experience and understanding of a place by staying there for longer. I completely agree about travelling by land rather than air! This is a great tip!

</comment><comment><USER18> I did my trip last year. 21k and not a booking (not even planes). My only advice is: do not plan things that much.

Traveling is not a job. It is not about filling up a to do list. Of course there are specific things you want to see, but you should not turn your trip into a real-world travelling salesman problem. We all know it is NP-hard.

Travelling is about living experiences, meeting people that move you in some weird way. Be flexible. Be open. Forget travel agents. It is a life changing experience. Good luck everyone.

<comment><USER19> couldn't agree more, the things you book up front you will regret and wish you'd waited to arrange when you got there. 6 months in south america and the one thing I booked (machu picchu trek) was a constant annoyance to plan around. dont entirely rule out travel agents, they can offer even more flexibility in terms of flight changes, but stay well away from booking things in advance

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> I've been thinking about this and I have one major question.

I'm not a particularly nervous person and I'm comfortable in a lot of situations, but I'm not very good at being pushy and as a younger chick, not going to intimidate anyone. I'm not saying I fear for my physical safety, but even as a target to hustle into buying things.

I'm really not sure: should there be any concerns for a girl traveling alone on a non-tourist-beaten track?

</comment><comment><USER21> There are a few things I'd take issue with in this post. I'm currently 5 months in to a South American trip, and developing along the way (frontend dev).

Firstly, a 90L is absurd and far, far too large. My girlfriend and I carry 38L Deuter packs that do the job perfectly, without breaking our backs.

If you're American, travel in South America can be difficult as visa's are required for almost every country. USA, Canada and Australia are forced to be between $80 and $150 when arriving by air in to Buenos Aires or Santiago. Australians also need a proper Brazilian visa to enter the country, and a flight out of Brazil.

It is definitely possible to work while you travel, but the added stress of having expensive pieces of hardware (MBP, iPad etc) with you while you're in these places can sometimes not be worth it.

I would highly recommend working your butt off and saving minimum $10k, potentially $15 / $20k and then leaving your tools at home and getting out there with the least amount of tech as you can manage. Still jump online, network, Twitter, meet folk along the way but focus on what's important; travel.

<comment><USER6> Regarding your issues, I have issues (well, issue): Travel in South America does not require visas for an American. It is very easy to travel here, we've had no problem for the last 6 months.

Bolivia charges a reciprocity fee upon entry for all Americans. Other than that we haven't paid anywhere else. That said, we've done land border crossings since Colombia. Brazil, Argentina, and Chile WILL charge a fee when you fly into them internationally.

We've also travelled for 5 months through the poorest countries of South American with an iPad, MBA, 2 iPhones, 2 Kindles, and $2,000 in camera gear. This doesn't cause stress, you just don't flaunt these things openly in public.

I however agree with the sentiment of not working while travelling.

<comment><USER21> That's great to hear about traveling here as an American. I was only going off what other Americans had told us, they had said it was harder than it needed to be. We have just about the same gear you're traveling with, and I totally agree; just don't flaunt it around in public and you're fine. We haven't had any problems at all (so far!) with that.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> I usually work for 6-9 months contracting and then set about an area of the world to travel, this year I've done Australia and Central America. Come April next year my plan is to start off in NYC, travel the states for 6 weeks and then spend 6 or so weeks trying to promote my startup in SF.

As an added extra I would suggest checking out flightfox.com (no association), I recently plugged in an 8 stop trip and managed to get really good prices from their agents. The advice they gave though about where and when to book for the best discounts by airline was probably more useful.

A great tip other posters have noted, take the advice and book a single outbound flight then use other carriers when you have chosen your next destination.

</comment><comment><USER23> _Vagabonding_ by Rolf Potts is a very good book for more information on world traveling on the cheap.

[http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long- Term-T...](http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term- Travel/dp/0812992180)

</comment><comment><USER24> _"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - Mark Twain_

I really dislike this quote since is so obviously false. If you read Twain (e.g. Innocents Abroad) you've got to believe he was being ironic when he said this.

</comment><comment><USER25> If you plan on traveling around the World for a year, I highly recommend couchsurfing, which Alex did not mention. You'll save a lot of money and get to know places a lot better through it. If you haven't tried it yet and want to know more about it, check out the recently released full length documentary One Couch at a Time

(disclaimer: my girlfriend made the documentary, but even if she wasn't my girlfriend, I would recommend it to others interested in traveling the world.)

<comment><USER26> Just bought it, thanks for the recommendation!

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> Previous discussion: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3476016>

</comment><comment><USER28> I'd really like to do this sort of thing. But given my current income (1k $ per month) and living expenses (about half goes to rent, food, etc.), I'm not sure I would be able save enough for a month of backpacking to neighbouring countries, let alone another continent :(

</comment><comment><USER29> One of my good friend is starting his travel around the world in January. He's writing a "hacker / dev / traveller blog" at <http://www.maximebf.com>

</comment><comment><USER30> My goal is to travel around the world one day but for now I have a goal of competing in the 2016 Olympics so that kind of takes up full time.

With my job I also can't just quit it... but when I am done I will do a trip like this, go for a year and see where I go. Start up here in Canada, work my way down through the US, through Mexico, down through South America (quick trip to Antartica) - hope over to Africa travel up the eastern side, through the middle east, India, Asia, down through New Zealand and Australia before going home.

</comment><comment><USER31> glad to hear there's many like us in the community. I have been managing my business online and travelling for 11 years now. My own RTW: <http://www.tripfoto.com/roundtheworld/> (excuse the horrible website, here's better <http://www.tripfoto.com>). Greetings from Riga.

</comment><comment><USER32> Beautiful pictures!

My partner and I squeezed in a 10 day Mediterranean cruise during our 3 month backpacking trip. It was a great way to get back on budget (cost about $40/person/day for room and board + 3 meals) and it was pleasantly fun to get dumped at a new port every morning.

</comment><comment><USER33> OT: $22k for one month consultancy is pretty nice. I can only dream charging that in my country.

</comment><comment><USER34> If I had enough money to travel the world, I won't do it in only one year...

<comment><USER19> cost of travelling is relative, it costs suprisingly little to travel in a lot of places (south east asia, south / central america). only barrier is flights and these are very cheap these days

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> Off topic design comment.

The site is defaulting to FreeSerif on my Linux machine (tested w/ Chrome, Firefox, Opera) and the kerning is absolutely terrible: <http://i.imgur.com/iQyq0.png></comment>


Introducing Turbo: 5x faster than Yarn and NPM, and runs natively in-browser - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@ericsimons/introducing-turbo-5x-faster-than-yarn-npm-and-runs-natively-in-browser-cc2c39715403 <comment><USER2> So, this sounds really nice... is there anything that would prevent this from being used for server development?</comment>


Show HN: BART RealTime – Messenger bot for train arrival times - <AUTHOR> https://m.me/1641531226140829 <comment><AUTHOR> Hi HN, developer here.

Apologies for the direct messenger link, I know historically the audience here doesn't like that. However I didn't bother to make a landing site for this bot.

It's a utility bot I made over the weekend in 3 hours. Made it mostly because I find it helpful myself to retrieve BART real time train arrival info easily, without having to either install some mobile app or use their mobile web site. Seems like a good use case for the messenger bot platform.</comment>