Dell launches Streak tablet PC across Europe - <AUTHOR> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10146000.stm <comment><USER2> Very clever of Dell to release in Europe first where you still can't buy ipads from Apple.

Also nice of them to put voice in there right away, that alone makes it a much more useful device. Screen size is significantly smaller though, so it is definitely aimed at the phone market, not as an ipad competitor, though it could very well benefit from the tablet hype.

One thing apple does a _lot_ better than dell here though is that when they announce something you can go and buy it. The streak, though announced is not for sale on their website.

<comment><USER3> The iPad was announced well before you could buy it. This is due to devices having to go through regulation before release, isn't it?

<comment><USER2> Pre-order = buy, see above.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Interesting, in that it really blurs the line between a phone and a tablet. It seems to be pretty much a smartphone (it can make calls) with a slightly larger physical size, just enough that it becomes too large to be used as a phone and therefore becomes a small tablet?

<comment><USER2> If the ipad could make (regular voice calls, no need to point out the voip possibilities) voice calls and take voice calls from the network in the 3G version it would be a lot more useful as a device.

<comment><USER5> Why not point out the VoIP possibilities? I believe Apple/AT&T changed their terms and conditions and now permit VoIP over 3G.

These days even your land line calls are often converted to VoIP the moment they reach the local POP. (E.g. BT's C21 packet switched network.)

Give it another couple of years and it'll be all-IP all the way to the handset. The telcos will do it because it'll cut the cost of the equipment required in the cell towers and local equipment rooms. IP switches are going to be needed anyway, and it's cheaper to have one kind of router than two.

Latency and jitter will need to be improved but that'll happen eventually.

<comment><USER2> Because in another thread people were pointing out that VOIP was a valid replacement for cell phone functionality and imho it really isn't.

Right now, if I want to make a call or be called on a mobile device it will be using the normal phone system, not via VOIP.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> soon to be followed by the HP Smear and the Acer Smudge

</comment><comment><USER6> Where "launches" merely means "previews" or "suggests that it might possibly be released one day."

</comment><comment><USER7> "Google has blocked some tablet makers from installing the marketplace app on many devices larger than a mobile phone."

Why?

</comment><comment><USER8> Weird form factor. I'd like just a normal Android tablet, please.

</comment><comment><USER9> Apparently a 5" 800x480 touch screen: [http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/dell-streak- mini-5-t...](http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/dell-streak- mini-5-tablet-docs-leaked-reveal-specs-colors/13087)

Not much different from the top end HTC phones (HD2/Desire), which also have 1 GHz CPU and 800x480 touch screens around 4", with prices about 500 euro.</comment>


GoToMeeting uses competitor's name in search ads to trick people  - <AUTHOR> http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/06/09/gotomeeting-uses-competitors-name-in-search-ads-to-trick-people-into-clicking-through/?utm_source=HackerNews&utm_medium=share%2Bbutton&utm_content=GoToMeeting%20uses%20competitor%E2%80%99s%20name%20in%20search%20ads%20to%20trick%20people%20into%20clicking%20through&utm_campaign=social%2Bmedia <comment><USER2> There is a response from a marketing guy from GoToMeeting in the comments of this article. I couldn't readily find a way to link to the comment, so I'll post it here for anyone that doesn't want to go hunting:

"Hi, this is Andrew from the GoToMeeting search marketing team. I just posted over on the MeetingBurner blog as well. We do not use competitive names in search ads, but we do follow the common industry practice of bidding on competitive terms. In the instance of this ad, we were using a Google method called dynamic keyword insertion which delivers the searcher's query in the ad title. For example, if you were searching on the term "web conferencing," that query would appear in the ad title. In this case, the user entered "meeting burner" in the search field and it appeared in the ad title. This is why the Meeting Burner name showed up in the ad. Our search marketing efforts are never intended to deceive the searcher."

Edit: I couldn't find anything in the FAQ about this, but if a post like this is not really accurately representing a situation, is that something I should flag? I feel that is beyond simply "disagreeing with the post", but I don't want to start abusing the feature.

<comment><USER3> Whether or not they are using dynamic keyword insertion is irrelevant.

Here is a comparison for consideration. I bid on "free credit report." The FTC isn't going to give a shit if I put "Free Credit Report" in my ad, or I bid on "free credit report" and used dynamic insertion. Its all the same thing, I now qualify for their draconian rule set for companies advertising to provide free credit reports. (By the way, do a search for "free credit report" on Google, notice anything special?)

Citrix placed the name of a federally trademarked business in their ad copy. Additionally, that trademark is for a direct competitors of theirs (not a fruit seller with an ad for an "Apple.") Thirdly, the promised product, Meetingburner, is not actually there. Thus, they are guilty of both trademark infringement and deceptive advertising.

At bare minimum, Meetingburner would send a C&D. At best they could demand a six figure settlement and a guarantee they will never bid on "Meetingburner" or run ads with "Meetingburner" in them again (killed two birds with one stone, since Citrix legally could bid on the term.) In the extreme they could refuse a settlement and take it to trial, and probably win. After legal expenses, likely a loss for both sides.

I've been on the receiving end of this before. I learned not to use dynamic insertion.

As for Adwords -- "Unfortunately, reaching out to the AdWords team at Google isn't an easy task. This does appear to be against the Terms of Service for AdWords, but since its so close to the weekend, the ads might stay up for the next few days." -- Yeah, good luck with that. They let big advertisers do basically whatever the hell they want. I've watched very explicit rule violations slide for well in excess of a year.

<comment><USER4> Slight tangent, but I searched "free credit report" and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. What should I be taking note of?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> My first thought on these matters is usually "unscrupulous affiliate."

This is particularly so when the writer hasn't bothered to contact GoToMeeting first. The fast reward loop behind posting sensational and confrontational headlines unfortunately tends to outweigh the backlash from not doing basic research before publishing.

For that matter, it's possible that MeetingBurner took out the ads in attempt to generate press. There's no way to rationally conclude who the bad actor is, if there is one, because the writer didn't bother to _do_ _their_ _research_ before holding their hand out for traffic.

<comment><AUTHOR> I can promise you we did NOT take out the ads to generate press. You are entitled to your opinion but I can assure you this was not done by our team.

<comment><USER5> Not saying you did, just that the journalist has failed to meet minimum standards.

On the other hand, the problem could have been resolved with a phone call - from your lawyer, if necessary. Immediately making a blog post out of it on your end wasn't the most scrupulous thing to do either.

It also sounds like the problem arose from an innocent mistake on their end. Google doesn't warn against this when pushing their keyword insertion feature. It's on the user to be responsible, but Google could do a far better job on documentation.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I guessed it was dynamic keywords, and the comment by Andrew Taylor of GoToMeeting confirmed it:

 _"We do not use competitive names in search ads, but we do follow the common industry practice of bidding on competitive terms. In the instance of this ad, we were using a Google method called dynamic keyword insertion which delivers the searcher's query in the ad title."_

</comment><comment><USER7> IMO that's a very common practice: <http://i.imgur.com/m1eDE.png> (ebay store example) See the sponsored results by volusion, kabbge and ask.com

<comment><AUTHOR> The difference is they are not positioning themselves as Ebay. In the MeetingBurner example they do not say "Considering MeetingBurner?" positioning us as a separate platform. Theres is MeetingBurner - Feature rich web meeting software with the underlying link to GTM.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Evil and illegal

<comment><USER9> Definitely evil and unethical but probably not illegal. This post shows some insight into the issue but not an answer [http://www.sportsandentertainmentlawplaybook.com/intellectua...](http://www.sportsandentertainmentlawplaybook.com/intellectual- property/trademark/ninth-circuit-gives-green-light-to-google-adwords-use-of- competitors-marks/)

<comment><USER8> Using another companies trademarked name in advertisements for your company without their permission is legal?

<comment><AUTHOR> We are in the process of contacting Google now and protecting our trademark.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


The US says it has inserted offensive malware into Russia's power grid - <AUTHOR> https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613782/russia-cybersecurity-power-stations-cyberattack-malware <comment><USER2> With a really stupid precedent established by this, what could possibly go wrong?

Tit for tat can be a rather nasty unintended consequence

 _A warning: The US hopes that these revelations will act as a deterrent against any future attacks by Russia on its systems. But there's always the risk that it could fuel an escalation instead._

Why is it that the US thinks it can cause damage to others with impunity, but others won't dare to hit back?

When I was young, this was called "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'."

</comment><comment><USER3> Im having a hard time not translating this into US just attacked russian infrastructure.

i could see identifying an exploit and having a 'button' to push, but actually depositing malware into a system is like walking uninvited into a strangers house with a weapon drawn and ready.

</comment><comment> java-man Somebody _really_ wants Cold War redux...</comment>


Has There Been a Nuclear Incident in the Arctic? - <AUTHOR> http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/7758/has-there-been-a-nuclear-incident-in-the-arctic <comment><USER3> I travelled on a (non-nuclear) icebreaker out from Murmansk back in 2012. On the way out to the open ocean we passed several moored nuclear powered icebreakers and other vessels in various states of decay[0]. It was both fascinating and disturbing to see - many of these had not yet been decommissioned and it seemed to me that they were huge disasters waiting to happen.

In Murmansk itself there is a nuclear icebreaker (The Lenin) that has been decommissioned and converted into a museum where you can tour the vessel and see everything including the engine rooms and nuclear reactors. Despite it being decommissioned, I discovered some systems were clearly still functioning when I accidentally leaned on a random control panel and a bunch of lights lit up!

Photos from the trip are here[1], with the first seven photos being taken of or onboard the Lenin.

Note that one of the most powerful nuclear icebreakers in the world, The 50 Years of Victory, is available for tourists to travel to the North Pole[2]

[0] [http://www.redyeti.net/FranzJosefLand/content/bin/images/lar...](http://www.redyeti.net/FranzJosefLand/content/bin/images/large/AH5A5916.jpg)

[1] [http://www.redyeti.net/FranzJosefLand/index.html](http://www.redyeti.net/FranzJosefLand/index.html)

[2] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Let_Pobedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Let_Pobedy)

<comment><USER4> These are incredible pictures. What kind of camera did you use to click these?

<comment><USER5> > _What kind of camera did you use to click these?_

This is an incredible comment. What keyboard did you use to write it?

(Camera choice doesn't matter beyond certain ergonomics and certain capabilities (low noise, more room for cropping, shallow DOF, etc, a lot of which depend on the lens as well). Any $300+ DSLR can give you the exact same results, as can a lot of mirrorless with a speedy lens. And for most of the pictures shown, any modern compact or even smartphone will do just as well).

<comment><USER6> The role of the camera is generally overrated, however there are certain characteristics that you only get with expensive full frame cameras such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark III he appears to be using:

* very low noise

* very shallow DOF

* long bursts of rapid images

* weather proofing (including cold)

* improved dynamic range

* high resolution (lets you crop the part you are interested in and retain good quality)

There are also other improvements such as better autofocus.

Which means, no a $300 camera will not be good enough for some of these shots.

PS: I use a MFT camera myself and it's good enough for my needs.

<comment><USER7> As someone who went to college for digital imaging technology I would say that's not strictly true, crop on a sensor actually has some advantages, for example if you have a 50 1.2 and you can't afford the 85 1.2 you can put the 50 on an APS-C, and in many instances that is cheaper than the second lens, none of the other points you made apply specifically to full frame cameras either. These are all shot on a MkII but they could just a well have been shot on a 300D: [https://500px.com/john](https://500px.com/john)

<comment><USER8> A 50mm 1.2 lens on a Canon APS-C body has a _full frame equivalent_ focal length of 80mm and a _full frame equivalent_ aperture of f/1.9 — giving it the characteristics of a comparatively inexpensive lens.

In other words, your $1300 lens on a crop body will have comparable performance of a $350 lens on the full frame body.

<comment><USER5> > _A 50mm 1.2 lens on a Canon APS-C body has a full frame equivalent focal > length of 80mm and a full frame equivalent aperture of f /1.9 — giving it > the characteristics of a comparatively inexpensive lens._

Only as it pertains to DOF. On the other hand, it will still be a 1.2 lens as far as light gathering is concerned.

And you can get a 35mm 1.2 for your 50mm equivalent on APS-C.

The loss of DOF we know, but you still so much DOF latitude on APS-C that you can do pretty much anything. Besides, that 50mm will become a quite handy portrait lens on APS-C.

<comment><USER8> > you can get a 35mm 1.2 for your 50mm equivalent on APS-C

According to DxOMark[1][2], the $1400 Canon 35mm f/1.4 on an APS-C body is comparable to a Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM on full frame and stopped down to f/2.4.

[1] [https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Canon/Canon- EF-35mm-F14L-USM-...](https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Canon/Canon- EF-35mm-F14L-USM-mounted-on-Canon-EOS-7D-Mark-II__977)

[2] [https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Canon/Canon- EF-50mm-F18-STM-m...](https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Canon/Canon- EF-50mm-F18-STM-mounted-on-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III__795)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I do have to complement the authors of this article. It presents the facts and leaves out political rhetoric and noise. I'm pleased with the title too; if the article were featured on a mainstream news site in the USA, it would have declared it as a definitive event and give a list of what products to buy from their advertisers.

<comment><USER10> I feel this vilification of the media is far overblown.

Specifically: I cannot imagine that a quality news site (say the NY Times, Atlantic, or WSJ) would not mention such uncertainty.

More easily provable: I challenge you to find a single article of about a disaster that includes unwarranted product recommendations (i. e. not "authorities are asking citizen to stock water and other necessities in preparation for the hurricane...")

I'd also like to point out that the "mainstream media" is doing an excellent job regarding these reports: not reporting on them. By now, they have certainly seen these reports. The excitement that grips HN and your comment speak to the fact that it would make for excellent clickbait. But there's nothing anywhere.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's alarmist clickbait with "nuclear incident" in quotes that make it appear as a euphemism for a meltdown (otherwise it'd just be a nuclear incident), posted in a series called "The War Zone".

Here are some other issues I find with the article. It's splitting hairs in a way, but I wish people had a bit of an appreciation for the work of professional journalists and editors:

\- The article is tagged "nukes" and "atmospheric testing" when it's almost certainly not a nuclear test. Because that would be stupid. And it would have been picked up by seismographs.

\- "Because of the low levels of concentration, there is no health risk to the public or the environment, at least on a wide scale." This leaves open the possibility of smaller-scale health hazards, falsely sensationalising the available data. OTOH, "Levels of concentration" is a phrase capable of inflicting some serious health effects among english language teachers.

\- "The highly unique aircraft are specifically designed to respond to nuclear incidents—especially those that include the detonation of nuclear warheads." There is so much wrong with this sentence:

      - There's only one WC-135, so the plural is wrong.

      - Everything that's "designed to..." is "specifically designed to..."

      - Which "nuclear incident that involves the detonation of nuclear warheads" is not described more succinctly as "the detonation of (a) nuclear warhead(s)"?

      - The latter half of the sentence seems designed to fuel speculation

\- "What are WC-135s doing up there?" There's still only one of these in existence (the plural form is used another 4 or 5 times).

\- "There has been some talk about even the US restarting its nuclear testing under President Trump..." If this is speculation mixed with hyperbole, do not bring it up! Any mention, no matter how dismissive, just serves to legitimise such speculation. In this case the best argument against it isn't even mentioned: you don't set up a nuclear test in 3 weeks.

\- " The Russian submarine K-27 [...] is said to be literally a ticking time bomb." If the evil media conspiracy saves me from such uses of the word "literally", I think I'm ok with their control of my thoughts.

<comment><USER11> I completely agree. It is one thing to give reasonable criticism of a specific incidence of news media misconduct. It is another thing to blanket condemn every news organization based on inaccurate hypotheticals and personal opinions with no proof. Democracy is in trouble when people lose faith in the media and independent journalism is suppressed. By all means, be a skeptical and informed consumer of the news, but don't contribute to the discrediting of the fourth estate without good reason.

Edit: I made this comment before the parent added a bunch of, mostly grammatical, complaints about the article. I agree with other posters that those are mostly superficial.

<comment><USER12> People lost faith in media after their support for Iraq war. I haven't seen anything from them which shows they are trying to improve.

<comment><USER13> You say "media" as if it's a singular entity. It is not. It encompasses Fox News (which I don't watch but I gather is a cesspool), The London Review of Books, Vogue, Infowars, YouTube, etc. A set of _competing_ companies. Not all of them support or supported (the Iraq) war. Like so many others that refer to "the media" in the same way, I have to ask:

Are you sure you're not falling into the trap of "I didn't see it, so it doesn't exist"?

<comment><USER14> The "media" has a major problem. Its main driver is its entertainment value. News is more entertaining when sensationalised and heavily biased. I don't think there is a conspiracy or negligence causing this. Just simple economic drivers. It's the same thing we see with fast food. Yeah it's bad, but it's exactly what the market demands.

<comment><USER13> Despite what anyone will claim, good journalism still exists. I am not going to discuss obviously false generalisations.

<comment><USER14> Good journalism still exists, yes I couldn't agree more. But I don't think it's rewarded as much as poor journalism. This is the problem.

<comment><USER15> I think that's precisely the trump issue... "Reality" TV costs peanuts and gets more views, even if everything in it is staged.

<comment><USER14> Yeah politics has had this issue for a while too.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> It's interesting the author mentioned the nuclear generators and whatnot used in lighthouses and for small portable power generation. Those use strontium-90 and other byproducts of nastier energetic fissions which if my amateur nuclear physics brain is functioning correctly don't produce iodine-131. Iodine-131 is a byproduct of uranium-235/238 decay & fission. Since practical fusion doesn't yet exist, iodine-131 can only come from more energetic reactions like U235/238 fission. It's hard to imagine Russia left fissionable uranium abandoned, even in the Arctic.

<comment><USER17> Kind of off topic, but mind sharing how you molded such an amateur nuclear physics brain?

<comment><USER18> I suspect he was being sarcastic. The fact that a 90 amu atom doesn't yield 131 amu atoms when it decays doesn't require you to know about anything beyond conservation of mass.

<comment><USER19> There are plenty of people whose nuclear physics isn't even up to that, so i think it was a reasonable question, even if the answer is "i paid attention in physics at high school and remembered it"!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> The discussion of waste and derelict reactors should probably be ignored given the earlier statement that the presence of I-131 means fission took place in the last few days.

As the article states, nuclear explosions are unlikely as we would be hearing about seismic measurements too like in the case of N. Korean detonations.

My bet is on a small accident on a nuclear vessel or another small reactor around Europe (e.g. university research reactors).

<comment><USER21> Asking for clarification: could the nuclear reactors of atomic submarines carrying nuclear warheads not conceivably release I-131?

<comment><USER22> Nuclear reactor on the sub, yes. Nuclear warhead, no, unless there was a detonation.

<comment><USER18> You could get I-131 from a warhead fizzling. I don't know exactly how weak a fizzle it would need to be in order to escape seismic detection and whether that would be large enough to produce the measured amount of I-131 though.

<comment><USER23> If a warhead fizzled, it would have destroyed the submarine carrying it, which would have detonated hundreds of tons of rocket fuel and the rest of the explosives on board. We would have known about the explosion the same way we did the Kursk.

<comment><USER24> Why does it have to fizzle aboard the sub?

Whoops launched the nuclear torpedo instead of the training torpedo good thing the self destruct routine is an intentional near zero yield fizzle. My guess is the board and court martial would so classified we wouldn't hear about it for a century.

<comment><USER25> That would be a very strange design choice, to have the warhead self-destruct in that way. I don't know how much is really around in the open literature on ex-Soviet / Russian nuclear torpedoes, but certainly there's nothing around to suggest that US nuclear weapons do that, for a variety of good reasons, and I don't think there's any reason to suspect that the Russians designed theirs much differently. Off the top of my head: first, most nuclear weapons don't have a self-destruct or recall capability once launched, because that's a vulnerability during actual use; two, if it were launched unarmed, then the expected result would be a failure of the actual detonation system, leaving an intact weapon somewhere at the bottom of the ocean; third, a fizzle of a nuclear weapon underwater would probably cause a substantial amount of contamination from the fissile materials; it would basically be a (very) "dirty bomb", and difficult to hide. We'd see significant long-lived fissile contamination in the water either already or very shortly.

The much more likely explanation is that a reactor, either onboard a ship or submarine or on shore, had some sort of (probably minor, in the sense of "not catastrophic") mishap and vented steam from a primary cooling loop. You would expect to see short-lived byproducts including Iodine-131 in this case. There have been a number of similar accidents over time, and a release of steam wouldn't necessarily have any other signs and it might be tempting to cover up if it occurred at sea.

Relevant FAS/LANL background on iodine releases from nuclear reactors: [https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00416674.pdf](https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00416674.pdf)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> A rare example where the answer to the headline's questions is not "no," although neither is it "yes."

<comment><USER27> WOW I'm impressed.

I literally never open headlines with rhetorical questions because the rule of thumb for media headlines is that the answer is always 'no'

<comment><USER28> That principle is encoded as Betteridge's Law of Headlines: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> Somewhat related, the WC-135 Constant Phoenix is one cool looking plane.

<comment><USER30> It's a Boeing 707, essentially.

<comment><USER31> Only in general shape. Dimensions, internal systems and even the type and gauge of aluminium were different between the C-135 and 707; Boeing had to go back to the drawing board when Douglas started cutting metal on the DC-8, and the redesign process for the 707 led to a cascade of changes.

About 20% of systems and components were common ( such as the cockpit windows ).

<comment><USER32> the shape is probably what's being discussed when the parent says it's "a really cool looking plane" though.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> update on this article ~ [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13676570](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13676570)

</comment><comment><USER33> Really shows the size and capability of U.S.A.F. when they have a plane and team they can casually deploy to what appears to be a highly specific situation. The article says the aircraft is specifically designed to use atmospheric data to determine cause and nature of nuclear incidents. Imagining the manpower and testing and everything that goes into designing and implementing a system like this, and then multiplying it by all of the other teams and special aircraft and systems at their disposal, it really is impressive. All done over a period of 70 years.

<comment><USER34> Considering nuclear warfare has been there primary mission for 60+ years, I'm not impressed.

<comment><USER35> And the insane size of our military's budget...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> Could be a satellite reentry. It's not unprecedented.

In 1978, Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 crashed into the atmosphere and spread 50kg's of Uranium across western Canada. They only recovered 1% of the fuel. One of the pieces recovered was radioactive enough to kill a person in a few hours.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_954](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_954)

<comment><USER37> Comment made in other threads is that this particular isotope of iodine is very short-lived (8 days) and a known product of uranium and plutonium fission. So, its source is assumed to be recent fission event, or medical radiotherapy generation. Any unrecovered material from defunct satellites probably no longer undergoing active fission.

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> Came here just to say if you're interested in this type of material, highly recommend following Tyler Rogoway. He was the heart and soul of Foxtrot Alpha before Thiel torpedoed Gawker.

</comment><comment><USER39> There is a lot of Nuclear waste left from the cold war. [https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1995/9504/950406.PDF](https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1995/9504/950406.PDF)

The US version of what can happen is documented in the movie Command and control. When a service engineer accidentally drops a wrench that rips up a fuel rift in a missile. [http://www.commandandcontrolfilm.com/](http://www.commandandcontrolfilm.com/)

We should cooperate in trade and peace as that is a better strategy for all according to game theory.

</comment><comment><USER40> Pretty good article.

I'm betting on Russian scrap yard accident. I'm sure the CIA knows what's really up.

</comment><comment><USER41> Recently a small blast occurred in Flamanville station in France.

[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french- nuclea...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-nuclear- power-plant-explosion-latest-injured-flamanville-la-manche-normandy-accident- fire-a7570876.html)

<comment><USER42> > Authorities said there was "no nuclear risk" following the blast in > Flamanville shortly before 10am local time (9am GMT) on Thursday.

> Officials said the blast took place in the turbine hall and confirmed there > was no radioactive leak.

</comment></comment><comment><USER43> Iodine-131 is used in cancer treatment so there may be a leak from pharmaceutical company. [0]

The similar case was observed in 2011 when the some I-131 isotopes leaked from the laboratory in Budapest. [1]

[0]: [https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nobody-is-sure- wh...](https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nobody-is-sure-what-caused- a-mysterious-radiation-spike-across-europe)

[1]: [http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0172312)

</comment><comment><USER36> Mystery solved.

[http://www.world-nuclear- news.org/RS_European_iodine_mystery...](http://www.world-nuclear- news.org/RS_European_iodine_mystery_solved_1711112.html)

<comment><USER44> That's the incident from 2011, and the article has a clear dateline.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> This is the nuclear version of "who farted?"

</comment><comment><USER46> Many European countries share radiological monitoring data with each other, and this is made available to the public through the Joint Research Council: [https://remon.jrc.ec.europa.eu/](https://remon.jrc.ec.europa.eu/)

I'm not sure if it's possible to get historical data, but if so it could be interesting to have a look at data from January.

<comment><USER47> There are also communities of hobbyists that track radioactivity with custom or home-brew stations. While less sophisticated in what they measure they can be an another point of reference. One of the oldest around is [http://radioactiveathome.org/map/](http://radioactiveathome.org/map/) another is [http://www.uradmonitor.com/](http://www.uradmonitor.com/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER48> I-131 can be only a consequence of recent nuclear reaction taking place. Sudden criticality and explosion of an old submaride won't produce enough of that - while will release whole lot of other isotopes, so no one would mention iodine. It can be little but a reactor meltdown or a nuclear explosion (while that must have seismic signature hard to not mention)

</comment><comment><USER48> The quoted levels are unimaginably small! Almost invisible. I wonder how they manage to detect them. Just calculated that if whole of the Earth's atmosphere was filled with I-131 with maximum reported concentration (0.5E-6bq/m3), it would be an amount of iodine that is produced with a nuclear explosion of 0.00024kt, i.e. 240kg TNT equivalent. That is so small that it hardly qualifies as a nuclear explosion - more like 'critical assembly accident'.

And YES, this could be explained by a disposed nuclear reactor of an old submarine suddenly going prompt critical and blowing up! In the split second when it explodes it could release that and even much larger amount of iodine. I just couldn't imagine that levels so low are detectable.

It could be also an explosion on non-disposed, fresh nuclear reactor. That can explain lack of other detectable isotopes. And that is an event too small to produce a detectable seismic signature.

</comment><comment><USER6> What equipment does it take to take these kinds of detailed readings (iodine 131)?

I've considered running a simple DIY geiger counter RadMon monitoring kit ([https://sites.google.com/site/diygeigercounter/gk- radmon](https://sites.google.com/site/diygeigercounter/gk-radmon) ) however that would only give me CPM and µSv/h.

<comment><USER23> You need a concentrating system and a spectroscopic radiation measurement system to produce a signal with sufficient SNR.

</comment></comment><comment><USER49> Obligatory Omega Tau Podcast episode if you you want to understand how these things get measured and what kind of data is available.

[http://omegataupodcast.net/185-nuclear-test-monitoring- and-t...](http://omegataupodcast.net/185-nuclear-test-monitoring-and-the- ctbt/)

</comment><comment><USER50> I read that particulate vs gaseous iodine can only come from detonation. can anybody comment on that?

</comment><comment><USER51> So what are the Russians planning in the Arctic? The article hints on it but does not explain it.

<comment><USER52> Probably resource exploitation, trying to manage the nuclear waste and a bit of sabre rattling.

[http://www.geopoliticsnorth.org/index.php?option=com_content...](http://www.geopoliticsnorth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153:russias- arctic-strategy-ambitions-and-constraints&catid=35&Itemid=103)

</comment></comment><comment><USER53> [http://www.feerc.ru/RadiationMonitoring/](http://www.feerc.ru/RadiationMonitoring/) \- gamma ray parameter shows all green at Feb-20 13:00 GMT.

</comment><comment><USER23> This could also be leakage from peaceful isotopic production operations, which are and will be a persistent source of false positives for the global iodine detection system.

</comment><comment><USER54> On the general subject of the Arctic, I would recommend the book Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez.

</comment><comment><USER55> It could also be that something came to air due to the continued melting of polar ice

</comment><comment><USER56> What's going on with the trace amounts of uranium across EU

</comment><comment><USER57> Didn't a Russian ship catch fire some months ago and travel through the English Channel?

Seems to me that if it affected the nuclear aspect of the ship, it could pollute the water, and also flow into some of the major rivers of Europe.

<comment><USER58> How would that work? Does the Atlantic ocean flow into the rivers of Europe?

<comment><USER21> Barring yet-undiscovered, below-sea-level anti-gravity rivers, perhaps through wildlife migration?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER59> Can it be Fukushima? From what I read there has been a recent incident in another reactor in Fukushima.

</comment><comment><USER60> Watchout, this site is a disgrace... maxes out my CPU, it's just text for fuck sake what are they doing bitcoin mining in javascript?

<comment><USER60> Tracked it down to a fucking "typingAnimationFrame" function, woot... lets melt peoples computers because we can't write efficient basic animations.

<comment><USER61> Maybe the site developer isn't very good. Why don't you send them an email telling them how they can fix it?

<comment><USER62> So provide them with expert advice for free? Do you think lawyers get this urge?

<comment><USER63> Lawyers don't decline to give legal advice for free just because they want paying, although they do, and fair enough. Law is a highly complex and recondite field, and a solid answer on any but the most trivial question requires nontrivial research to identify with confidence.

Lawyers also have a professional guild to which to answer, and if they say something offhand which turns out to be erroneous in a way that brings someone to grief, their guild will not be pleased with them.

In fairness, I probably wouldn't take the time here either; on the one hand, I block ads anyway and so don't have such problems, and on the other, I tend only to do that when it's to my own direct benefit that the issue be fixed, and broken ads on a site I'll visit once ever don't meet that test - <USER2> Postmates screws up their UI and I have to stub out some analytics functions to place an order, they get an email; here, I'd just add the site to my JS blacklist, reload, read, and go on about my day.

<comment><USER64> 'A highly complex and recondite field, and a solid answer on any but the most trivial question requires nontrivial research to identify with confidence.'

So very much like the problem identified here then?

I agree with your sentiment though.

<comment><USER63> No, the problem identified here is utterly trivial by comparison.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER65> > Even the US left its own portion of nuclear waste in the northern latitudes, > such as the once secret reactor at Camp Century, in Greenland, although this > is minuscule compared to what the Soviets left behind.

The pro-US bias in this article is strong. It appears to be more of the same wardrum-beating, anti-Russian propaganda that took hold of the mainstream media towards the end of the US election.

On one hand, Russia does appear to have adopted a more aggressive military stance, especially with regards to Crimea and The Ukraine.

On the other hand, the present military stance of the US looks not unlike the full-tilt, batshit-crazy world domination plans of Germany during World War II.

It appears obvious to me that our current US military leaders are not above conducting false-flag operations for the purpose of gaining public support for foreign aggression, and it would not surprise me if they were responsible for this release of Iodine-131.

After all, they've done it before: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Run](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Run)

<comment><USER66> Or you know, the USSR's collapse literally left a lot of nuclear material odd places.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/world/asia/a-secret- race-f...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/world/asia/a-secret-race-for- abandoned-nuclear-material.html)

Not everything is a realpolitik double blind.

<comment><USER67> And also generally released a lot more radiation than the US: [https://www.damninteresting.com/in-soviet-russia-lake- contam...](https://www.damninteresting.com/in-soviet-russia-lake-contaminates- you/) (ignore the bad title)</comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: Foragon – simple message boards - <AUTHOR> http://foragon.com <comment><AUTHOR> Hey guys, I thought I'd create a place for message boards that was simple and easy to use. Let me know what you think!</comment>


Unexpected Honey Study Shows Woes of Nutrition Research - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/upshot/surprising-honey-study-shows-woes-of-nutrition-research.html <comment><USER2> So much this! I wish I could remember the site where a medical researcher is going back and trying to reproduce past studies and finding something like 50%! can't be reproduced. A very close friend was telling me about an archaelogic dig he was on with a famous researcher that destroyed evidence that disagreed with his theories. Frustrating. At least our planes aren't falling out the skies so kudos to the physicists!

<comment><USER3> The Economics of Reproducibility in Preclinical Research

> ... An analysis of past studies indicates that the cumulative (total) > prevalence of irreproducible preclinical research exceeds 50% ...

[http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165](http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165)</comment></comment>


Honoring BSG'c Final Episode - home brew ringtone of *the* song...you know which one - <AUTHOR> http://www.manyniches.com/fun-stuff/bsg-nerdosity-ringtone/

<comment><AUTHOR> I can't wait to see the finale...will prob go out and start it over from the beginning. Enjoy the ringtone.

</comment><comment><USER2> Now my iPhone ringtone. Thanks! :) And enjoy the end tomorrow :)</comment>


Ask HN: What should I plan to do on a 6 month sabbatical? - <AUTHOR> I will have 6 months off in the spring for a sabbatical. I've been working on a list of things to do during this time. I am constrained by a wife/kids so this won't include a 6 month trip to Thailand or anything. I've considered the obvious, work out more, hike/cycle more, etc. Any other suggestions/recommendations? I'm looking for tech stuff like projects/books/etc but also non-tech stuff as well. I don't want to spend 60+hrs/week at the laptop like I do now.<p>EDIT: here's my list so far:  fishing and fishing knots (I have my grandfather's gear, but lack his skill), cooking more, learning to make great bread, raspberry pi projects with my son, reorganize/layout my garage, improve my golf skills, reading, explore trails I've never been on, visit friends & family (travel), camping/backpacking <comment><USER2> I recently had a 2.5 month break between jobs. I, too, wanted to make the most of it. These opportunities don't come that often in life.

During my break: I learned squash (so much fun - can't get enough of it, and it's so good for you), studied Spanish (lovevto travel in Latin America), learned a bit of Scala (not really that much, to be honest), took some salsa dance classes (tough, but so much fun. Met lots of new friends), and did some Lynda courses on video editing (for making fun travel videos). I also spent a week and a half doing a road trip through southern France and Italy. Read a lot of books that were on my "someday" backlog - almost 0% TV!

As someone else mentioned, the quasi-unstructured time in the day was so refreshing. I loved just doing some random boring errands, bumming around the coffee shop talking to people, taking a long walk in the park with the dogs (I live in NYC)

I'll tell you: I'm 2 months i to my new job (technology job at a startup), and I really miss the feeling of this unstructured "regular life", or whatever you want to call it.

Cherish it, but don't overdo the planning, as it'll stress you out!

All the best!

<comment><USER3> Unstructured regular life? Do you mean retirement?

Pretty sure your best shot at happiness, true happiness, is to retire early. Not so you can be lazy, but so that you can freely pursue endeavors which inspire, and motivate you. That would be an amazing life.

<comment><USER4> As someone who has been living that life for 2 years, and can retire today, at 24, it isn't the utopia people think.

<comment><USER5> I imagine for 24 year olds it is hell. But for slightly older folk 30+ it would be more enjoyable. I'm generalizing of course.

At least you can go get a job. Choose based on interest not salary. Then try retirement again when you are older.

<comment><USER3> God... "Try retirement"... That must be nice.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I am about to embark on a 1.5 month sabbatical - not quite as long as you (I'm jealous!), but here's how I prepared it - perhaps it'll give you ideas.

Over the past few months, I've been keeping a list of things I'd want to focus on. Ultimately, I decided to trim this list to 5 things, because I don't think one can focus on more than 5 things at once. Here they are for me (unranked, equal importance to all):

\- Working on my Japanese (I'll be in Japan)

\- film photography

\- sketching/drawing/painting

\- reading

\- programming

For the last two items, I've been keeping a list of books to read, and topics to investigate/projects to work on over the past few months as well. Then I trimmed theses lists to end with 1 book per week to read and 1 programming project per week to work on.

Of course, I'm likely to deviate from it, but having these lists and priorities as my guiding star will be helpful.

If I were to do this for 6 months, instead of 1.5 months, I'd probably break it down in 1 month chunks, with varying priorities per month, and a bit of loose time in between said chunks to account for unexpected things/rabbitholes to go down.

I also have a 5 day mountain hiking trip in the middle of it all, because in my experience there's nothing better for your brain than disconnecting absolutely from reality, and centering your days only around walking/eating/sleeping/looking at beautiful landscapes.

</comment><comment><USER7> * Go to a pawn shop and buy a cheap electric guitar, then go to Amazon and buy a cheap USB audio interface, a classic Shure SM57 dynamic mic, a pop filter, and some cables.

* Learn how to play three open chords on the guitar. I would recommend E, A, and D.

* Watch this video[1] on how to write a song using GarageBand. It's easier than you might think, and a fun thing to do with kids.

Compose, record, and mix a song! Also learn about fun technical audio stuff like levels, EQ, compression, reverb and the like.

[1]: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNCAGYENNc8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNCAGYENNc8)

</comment><comment><USER8> \- Learn a new skill/craft. If you are in tech, maybe something more physical, cooking, woodworking,etc. Six months is a good amount of time to build a base.

\- Learn a foreign language, again 6 months is a perfect amount of time. Highly rewarding.

\- Work on holes in knowledge, build a self-course around it. Algorithms, dbs, whatever.

\- Pickup an new programming language.

\- Build a side project, doesn't have to be commercially viable, could be open source or not. Build a redis replacement for no other reason than to understand it.

\- Travel. I understand the constraint of wife/kids, but there are ways to fit it in. Don't have to live in Southeast Asia, but travel, I feel is a great brain boost. Awesome rush of new.

<comment><USER9> > If you are in tech, maybe something more physical, cooking, woodworking,etc.

Second this. Spend vast amounts of time in front of a screen, woodworking provides much stress relief, even when you screw things up.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'd like to just be more handy in general, to be able to take a pile of wood and build something but it doesn't need to be some super complex 8 different types of hardwood kinda thing. Any recommendations on getting started?

<comment><USER10> I'm taking an introductory cabinetry class at my local community college and it was a good option for me. There was some hoops involved in getting signed up but once you take the first class others are easier. Here is a photo of the project everyone in the class builds over 12 weeks. [http://i.imgur.com/2raCXzP.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/2raCXzP.jpg)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> The greatest part is doing whatever captures your imagination in the moment. Lists and project plans are important even for personal projects, but the freedom to follow my thoughts for days and weeks on end is amazing.

I'm wrapping up a self declared sabbatical right now. Most of it was traveling and reading history books on the country I was in. There were a couple career inspired prototypes (web and mobile). Now I'm on a a coursera and reading kick for stats, probability, and ml.

Enjoy the "break"!

</comment><comment><USER12> Learn about practical paths to Financial Independence. Saving 25 times your annual spending would mean you could take a permanent sabbatical next time, if you wanted that. You can either increase your salary (harder) or increase your savings rate (easier) to get there. More: [http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly- sim...](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math- behind-early-retirement/)

</comment><comment><USER13> Get involved with a local community organization, even if it's temporary. Whether it's the local homeless shelter, the local Rotary Club, or a religiously affiliated organization, the thing that recharged me the most during my brief 3-week break between jobs wasn't the hikes, the long drives, or extra gym time, it was spending time helping people who had a lot less than I did.

Now that I'm settled into my new job, it's the one thing that I'm still doing more regularly than going to the gym or going on hikes.

</comment><comment><USER14> This question is eerily similar to my current situation: hoping to go on a 6 month sabbatical starting in 2017. My goal is to, basically, work on things that I've always dreamed of doing but haven't pursued because of the demands of everyday life.

See Jeff Bezos' regret minimization framework for inspiration: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwG_qR6XmDQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwG_qR6XmDQ). Imagine yourself at 80. What would you regret not doing?

</comment><comment><USER15> Have you thought about picking up any hobbies? Six months would give you plenty of time to learn a hobby and really get into it; you have enough time to try a few. It might be nice to think back on your sabbatical while doing your new hobby in the future.

<comment><USER16> Hobbies and skill building are the way to go. I just finished a 12-month sabbatical during which I learned scuba, sailing, skiing, surfing, and the R programming language. I also read 40 non-fiction books.

Just lying on the beach gets boring.

<comment><USER3> Can I ask? How does one go on a 12-month sabbatical? Did you just save up a bunch of money at your day job, and then decide one day to take 12 months off and spend a chunk of your savings?

<comment><USER16> Worked for 10 years. Long distance girlfriend and I wanted to close the gap but didn't want stay in NYC or PHL. So we came up with Option C: sell everything and travel the world for a year. 1.5 years later it's worked out pretty well.

<comment><USER3> Wow... that takes some courage I would think. Nicely done.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Consistent, frequent, long, unstructured thinking time. Enjoy listening to your thoughts.

<comment><AUTHOR> I get the philosophy but it makes me nervous that I will just screw around, but I will go ahead and add "do nothing" to my evernote list of ideas ;)

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> Your list seems to be too simple for me. Do you really need a sabbatical for doing those things? Maybe I do not get it because I am not married and here in Germany we have more holidays, but for me life without such basic activities is not worth living.

</comment><comment><USER19> Learn to meditate. Few activities, if any, offer greater rewards for such a minimal time investment.

</comment><comment><USER20> Depends on what you are most hungry for. For me this past summer it was to have time off to study without interruption, I absolutely loved it. Also have a family, enjoyed having extra time and flexibility. Took a few vacations.

[http://karlrosaen.com/learning-sabbatical/](http://karlrosaen.com/learning- sabbatical/)

</comment><comment><USER21> I recommend meditation in addition to your list. Developing a daily practice and perhaps an extended retreat.

</comment><comment><USER22> I would recommend you focus on only 1 technology/software project to tackle. Spend the first 4 weeks doing no programming at all. Over the weeks 5-8, think about the project goals, what tools are best for it and do your research into project feasibility but don't actually dive into starting to do actual programming work. By the end of 2 months you should be pretty refreshed and rested, but you will have also done all the background/prep necessary to hit the ground running with your project. You may also want to limit your programming project to 3 of the 4 remaining months, however you divide your time so that your project doesn't consume your every waking moment.

</comment><comment><USER23> I'm curious about how most folks get and/or negotiate a sabbatical? I'm getting to the point that I would really love something similar but would not want to derail my career in order to take one if possible.

</comment><comment><USER24> I understand the family commitment, but could you travel for a shorter amount of time? Even spending one month somewhere else can have a profound affect.

Have you travelled much outside of your home country before?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes frequently and travel is certainly on the list. Probably some with family but also some ones by myself. I'm also a big fan of shorter 3-4 day trips to explore interesting stuff nearby.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> Improve your health. I have never enough time for that while working.

</comment><comment><USER26> I am in a similar situation. I am doing the following:

1\. Finishing real estate course so that I have the license to pursue alternative career in free time/ weekends, etc.

2\. Buying groupons for unlimited Yoga classes. Never been able to stick to a workout routine so hoping will get something from yoga (hot) to be in a little bit better shape before Jan/Feb comes and things get crowded.

3\. Planning to travel for few weeks.

4\. Talk to some startups (I have been in corporate world) that are really making a difference to just know about 'em!

</comment><comment><USER27> Take a neat course! I have on my list of courses I want to take:

\- Powerlifting (one session, teaches you good form for several lifts)

\- Small diesel engine maintenance (6 weeks, evening)

\- Professional bike mechanic certification (5 weeks, full time)

\- Upholstery (workshop format, as many as you want, $100 per session)

\- Cobblery (haven't found a course yet, just really want to learn how to make sweet shoes and bags)

\- Linux sysadmin (online but with a human coach, costs a few grand)

\- Welding C certificate (evenings, 3 weeks)

\- Swing dancing (Monday and Friday nights before the mixer, 8 bucks/session!)

</comment><comment><USER28> Are you American, or similarly to only have two and a half free days (yes, hyperbole) when you return to work? Then I'd recommend traveling anyway. I'd recommend either Europe or Southern Africa, three or four weeks if possible.

(if you're not essential for childcare or similar at home, and more important if you have not seen the world before).

<comment><AUTHOR> I assume you don't have kids. My wife can certainly function without me for a month but can you imagine your partner sending pictures of their trip all over europe while you are cooking, cleaning, getting the kids to school, to bed, etc?

<comment><USER28> Depends on age & a bunch of other specifics, which is why I added the qualification. There are myriad ways to organize families and, while I don't have kids (yet), I have good friends who agreed that they would always want to retain can identity as an individual, as a couple, and as a family. They bought a rather large house with two similar-minded couples and share such burden amongst six instead of two. It seems to be going quite well, with the children having input from a diverse set of adults (woodworking with x / literature with y...) while actually reducing the workload (cooking for 11 is less than 3 x cooking for 3).

(note I don't disapprove of the more common modes, just saying that I can indeed imagine such things).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I'd say don't do any tech. Can you challenge to live a week like the 80s? No cell phone, no internet, etc.

</comment><comment><USER29> I recently had one month and a half off between jobs. I had many things to do in mind. I started by tech stuff first, and well, tech eats your time.

I ended up doing way less than I expected. So my advice: leave behind everything connected with your job and focus on the unusual.

</comment><comment><USER30> Brew beer. It is rewarding, (mostly) fun, non-trivial, and the result is surprisingly good.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm already a homebrewer although post kids not as often, getting back into it is a possibility.

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> Try to read 50 pages per day of something you want to read.

Learn new things you've wanted to learn. Master new skills. Take a few MOOCs.

Spend more time with your kids.

</comment><comment><USER32> I recommend Josey Baker Bread for some good recipes. I make great bread by leaving the dough in the fridge for 4-5 days.

</comment><comment><USER33> Are there any projects you've always wanted to accomplish but thought you'd never have the time?

</comment><comment><USER34> Learn to Grow food.

</comment><comment><USER35> Why, plan your sabbatical of course.

</comment><comment><USER36> Nothing is something worth doing.

</comment><comment><USER37> Travel!

</comment><comment><USER19> -

<comment><USER38> This is 30% related to the question, at best.

</comment></comment><comment><USER39> travel, read, and work!

</comment><comment><USER40> Play Nethack.

<comment><USER41> I see your Nethack and raise you Dwarf Fortress.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> Norhing. If you plan too much, it Will not be sabbatical.</comment>


Adding Linux GUI app support to WSL is on our roadmap - <AUTHOR> https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/the-windows-subsystem-for-linux-build-2020-summary/#wsl-gui <comment><USER2> tumbleweed...</comment>


MagicRuby - Free Ruby conference at Walt Disney World - <AUTHOR> http://magic-ruby.com

<comment><USER2> Disappointed that a talk about Ruby desktop development omits Monkeybars. I'm obviously biased because I'm the project lead, but even still it's way more robust than, say, Shoes, especially for anything non-trivial.

I've released a commercial application built with it, and was part of a team that used it to build a seriously complex satellite modem control application.

<comment><USER3> Is there a new release coming up? (Or anything with a slightly "newsy" angle?)

Given JRuby's explosion in the last couple of years, I'd love to write it up and/or just link it in Ruby Weekly, but people tend to complain at me when I link to things that haven't been updated recently/aren't "news." Even a recent "how to build X" type article/screencast/similar would do.

<comment><USER2> I fixed one or two things recently, so MB is at 1.0.6 I haven't gotten around to a formal gem release.

At some point I need to get on to making some new screencasts, especially since a kinda recent change to Monkeybars made it much easier to use inline UI code for the view class in place of a pre-compiled Java Swing form. So it's now stupid simple to use use Neurogami::SwingSet (for example) to define your form and render it.

People doing Ruby GUI comparisons seemed to make a habit of claiming that Monkeybars required Netbeans, which was never true. Netbeans has, however, a kick-ass free GUI editor, so you can design arbitrarily complex forms with no personal Java coding. It also has very nice (J)Ruby integration, so writing JRuby code in Netbeans works really well. (I tended to edit code in vi and use Netbeans for compilation of UI stuff.)

However, you could always call Swing straight from Monkeybars. It just wasn't as nice as it should have been. So I wrote a wrapper around some basic Swing form/frame/component stuff, hooked it up with MiG layout, taught Monkeybars how to tell the difference between a pure Java class and Ruby class that subclasses from Swing, and now we have the best of both worlds. :)

Thing with Monkeybars, though, is there hasn't been much need to add stuff. It's sort of done. Not terribly sexy, but not every library needs stuff piled into it. Last few release have mainly been updates in order to handle changes in JRuby.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I missed a previous Disney-located programming conference because of a conflict... But I only found out about that one by accident.

Does anyone know if there's a good list of Orlando-area programming conferences that is kept up to date?

<comment><USER5> Seconded, since I'm in the area as well...

<comment><USER6> Me too. Not to hijack, but is anyone down for an HN meetup in Orlando?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Interesting - I wonder if the free conference portion is due to the (usually fabulous) sponsors, or if Disney is getting really desperate for people to fill their hotels - to the point of offering free conference space.

<comment><AUTHOR> It's the sponsors. :) Disney definitely makes its money off these conferences (though it is honestly not nearly as extortionate as one would originally think).

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Argh. It's too bad (for me, at least) that this conflicts with LA RubyConf (<http://larubyconf.com/>).

<comment><USER2> How does this happen? I thought there were channels and recources for conference orgs to coordinate such things?

<comment><AUTHOR> There are, but it just slipped one of our mind's. I believe I posted mine on the calendar first, but oh well. It doesn't matter.

Things like this are bound to happen when you have so many events going on, and we're literally on the polar opposite sides of the continent, so it's not _such_ a big deal. :)</comment></comment></comment>


Interviewing process is broken - <AUTHOR> http://mycareerstack.com/blog/19/interviewing-is-broken/

<comment><USER2> That's for sure. I recently changed jobs and most of the interviews were like that. I especially remember being on the phone arguing O(dumbness) issues while wondering to myself what the hell this had to do with anything I could do for them.</comment>


How to Post a Freelance Job - <AUTHOR> I'm trying to figure out the correct process to post a very short term freelance opportunity.
The newsfaq page doesn't appear to provide the URL/steps/process to post, and I'm trying to follow the site rules.
thanks! <comment><USER2> There are three automatics monthly post by the whoishinring account [https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring) . (Remember that next month post will apear in March 2, because March 1 is on Sunday.)

Pick the correct post about freelancers and post there, following the suggested format.

<comment><AUTHOR> Hi gus_massa

Thanks for the reply. I'm confused.

The URL '[https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring'](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring') lists a number of jobs.

I see in the top/dashboard the link to 'submit'.

I have no clue how or where or format to "post" for a freelance opportunity!

So I'm missing something subtle here.. And given questions I've seen on google, others are missing something as well!

thanks to all for the help!

<comment><USER2> The last one was in February 3rd: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22225313](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22225313) (it is visible but read-only now)

There will be a similar one in March 2nd.

Just wait and post a comment with the offer inside that automatic post.</comment></comment></comment>


Show HN: We built Triage, an iOS app that unites all your dev tools - <AUTHOR> https://www.triaged.co/

<comment><USER2> Hey, this looks like something which could be really useful. I would suggest putting labels or hover text over the icons for the services you're supporting though. I can only actually recognise 5 or 6 of them

<comment><USER3> Joe,

Good call, we need to get that in asap. Here's a quick list if you're interested:

Google Analytics, Stripe, Github, Sentry, Airbrake, Braintree, AppFigures, HockeyApp, Kiln, Beanstalk, Crashlytics, NewRelic, Heroku

(We mainly started with services we use, we'll be adding more rapidly)

<comment><USER4> Links to those services would be great as well.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> It would be nice if it actually did unite all my dev tools. Some things that are preventing me from using it:

* For some definition of something, I am a member of between 3 and 5 GitHub organizations, Triage requires me to pick one.

* I actually track errors with a custom thing, there doesn't seem to be an API, an email box, or some way to rope it in to Triage

* TestFlight is a notable omission on the mobile side.

* Logging products are a notable omission (splunk/logentries/papertrail/loggly/etc.)

* Issue trackers are a notable omission (Trello, JIRA, FogBugz, Lighthouse, etc.)

The result of this list is unfortunately, no dev tool I use actually integrates in a way that makes the product useful for me.

<comment><AUTHOR> Drew,

Thanks for the feedback.

Multiple organization support is coming asap.

Re, the services that are missing, we're adding new services every week, most of these are on our list. For the logging products, what data would you like to see?

An API is also on it's way, though we want to take our time with it and make sure it's done correctly.

Thanks!

<comment><USER6> Nice response. I would probably be a shithead to people and be like "we just announced it, we can't have 100% of anything you ever imagined in there at launch". I'll have to remind myself to get a PR person when I launch a product...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> So far it looks great, I think you did a great job of picking the right services to integrate with. Really clean UI, and the big "email me directions" button is a great way to help people figure out somewhat complex integration.

I'm working on a few projects right now that are part of different orgs on Github, hosted in separate accounts on Heroku, have different analytics accounts on New Relic, etc.

So far it doesn't look like you can add multiple GitHub orgs, do you guys have plans to let users add multiple projects or accounts? Or can you already and I'm missing something?

<comment><USER3> Bsirkia,

Thanks!

You can't add multiple Github orgs quite yet. It's on our list, and we'll add a vote for prioritizing it.

<comment><USER7> Awesome, having one place for all the app services I use for all the apps I'm working on would make this exponentially more useful for me, good luck!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Started the signup, then stopped, why do you need write access to my github, why is read only on everything not enough for you?

<comment><AUTHOR> We wish we didn't need write access :) It's a limitation of Github's oAuth permissions. We've got a better integration planned, but it's not quite live.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> FYI, you may have a name conflict. I actually thought this was about the other app.

[http://www.triage.cc/](http://www.triage.cc/)

<comment><USER10> Ditto. I can't imagine they didn't discover this during the submission process -- seems like a strange decision to go ahead with it..

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> A few of us on a team started using Triage. We included our work GitHub and someone added a private Stripe account... then we found out that all of the accounts are accessible by everyone sharing the same work e-mail suffix.

Can we unlink accounts now? We've revoked the API keys for the services that we didn't want to share, but they still show up.

<comment><AUTHOR> Sure, email us at team at triaged.co and we'll sort it out.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> This just shows a blank, light grey page. I assume it should do more than that.

EDIT: It loaded, after more than 10 seconds. The HTML loaded in less than a second, as did the images, but your 500 kilobytes of JavaScript (what? why?) took 10 seconds to download. And the page was blank until everything had loaded.

<comment><USER3> Hey Waterlion,

Yes it should. Browser/Device?

<comment><USER12> Chrome 31.0.1650.63 on a not-slow connection, no extensions. See my edit, the JS file took a long time to load.

After a few cache-resets and refreshes, it reduces to 5 seconds. It might have been a cold CloudFront cache but still. I'm no front-end expert, but I'm not sure you need all those functions just to show a splash page and validate a form.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Looks interesting.

Does my device store keep the service credentials, or do your servers handle all the third party communication?

Does every service you integrate with provide a suitably restricted oauth token, or are we trusting you with access to our most important iOS dev tools?

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks,

Our servers handle the 3rd party communication. We use read only tokens (or manual web hook integration) wherever possible, which today is everything but Github.

Github's oAuth permissions requires full write privileges to add a webhook. Hopefully that changes, but we're also adding manual integration shortly, for those that don't want to give oAuth access.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Hey All,

Another co-founder of Triage here. We wanted one app that housed all our work alerts and activity. Email/HipChat grew frustrating and weren't quite working for us, so we built Triage.

Would love to hear what you think.

Thanks!

<comment><USER14> Please give us either one of these:

* An Android app

* A mobile web app

* Some more screenshots... just so we can see what we're losing out on for not having an iOS device.

<comment><AUTHOR> Android + Web coming as soon as possible :)

We're working on a new landing page, that will showcase more, but for now you can see some screenshots here, [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/triage- everything-thats-happ...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/triage-everything- thats-happening/id744662903?ls=1&mt=8)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> First time I've seen a 'text me a link' signup process, that's really nice for something people probably meet via their desktop first. Anyone else doing this? Any data on how this affects conversions?

<comment> k-mcgrady I've seen it a few times - and I don't like it. I'd be interested to see how many people use it because I'm sure many would be wary of handing over their personal phone number.

<comment><AUTHOR> FWIW, we send your phone number directly to Twilio, and don't store it.

<comment> k-mcgrady Cool, thanks for clarifying.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Cool idea, if you're wanting to unite _all_ of my dev/monitoring tools, you'll need to include TeamCity and Pingdom

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, We'll add these to the list :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> Is it 500kb of js to validate a phone number? Even pages without the input load the file

</comment><comment><USER18> Triage is an odd name for this.

</comment><comment><USER19> Neat idea. Can you elaborate on what data is provided from Braintree?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah,

Right now, we only get subscription info (New Active Sub, Sub Canceled, Sub Charged Unsuccessfully) and when payment is disbursed.

<comment><USER19> For what it's worth, I'd be interested in revenue (next 30 days), current number of subscribers, new subscribers (last 30 days) and cancellations (last 30 days).

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the suggestion! Once we get a tighter integration, those will be top of our list.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


China's Crispr Twins Might Have Had Their Brains Inadvertently Enhanced - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/mit-technology-review/chinas-crispr-twins-might-have-had-their-brains-inadvertently-enhanced-c80b48ce2a25 <comment><USER2> "Inadvertently"

You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.</comment>


It's Time to Stop Building Websites and Start Building Conversational Sites - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@jranand_io/its-time-to-stop-building-websites-and-start-building-conversational-sites-d2a2b43c1662 <comment><USER2> I very much dislike this idea. I don't want interactivity on a site. Clearly present your pitch and let me look don't distract or aggravate me with fancy css tricks.</comment>


What was the nerd? - <AUTHOR> http://reallifemag.com/what-was-the-nerd/ <comment><USER2> Upvoting this, mostly so that folks can see how erasing a historical cultural identity works.</comment>


Contact management for websites webapp - <AUTHOR> http://vcardhosting.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Hello HN!

I am new here and I come because I have created a new online service that is relatively under-serviced for our small business community. If you own your website (you probably do), you probably list your contact information on it haphazardly and with very little thought put into it. This is a mistake and let me explain to you why:

Now that over half of the world's online devices are smartphones, people are searching for their instantaneous needs. Case in point: A person finds your website via a search, then clicks the phone number to call you. And that's it - most people do not take the time to bookmark your website or even remember your business name. The next time that same person needs the same exact thing (they will) - they cannot for the life of them remember that business they called a couple months ago. Dang... customer lost.

Before anyone flags me for spam here - that is not what I am doing by any . I have been instructed to "go to where people will use your service, and test it there". So here I am. I and the founder and developer of a service called vCardHosting.com - a web service that allows for your contact information to be easily downloadable off a website for easy inclusion into your new customer's address book. Next time they are looking for you, they pull out their trusty address book and there your contact info is - just waiting to be called again (repeat anyone?).

Please, if anyone reading this has a website for their small business, I implore you to test out my service and report back an honest report and opinion. I am here to get honest reviews of my product and to gauge the real world interest in it.

For most of you our free account will be more than enough, so this is a no- risk opportunity.

If there are any questions or concerns, just ask - I will be more than happy and willing to help out.

Thanks again! - Chris C.</comment>


Xkcd-style comic creator - <AUTHOR> http://cmx.io/ <comment><USER2> I know there are comics that use existing clip art. Could this be a configuration idea rather than just using stick figures?

</comment><comment><USER3> No offence, but it seems like an WYSIWYG editor for people that are already quite familiar with html?</comment>


Show HN: Free, Front-end URL shortening on your own domain - <AUTHOR> http://chhota.ga/ <comment><AUTHOR> Hey HN!

Chhota is essentially a mirror for goo.gl.

Why? So that you can get URL shortening on your own domain for free, instead of paying bit.ly $100 every month.

It is completely front end, and uses data after `#` to get the redirection url - Because of this, I couldn't get `meta` tags working.

Check it out :)

</comment><comment><USER2> That's pretty cool. I must say though that your site is coming in at 3.8 mb and a 30 second load time. The background image is way too big.

<comment><AUTHOR> Oh! Just fixed that, removed the image.

Thanks :)</comment></comment>


Memory Prices (1957-2018) - <AUTHOR> https://jcmit.net/memoryprice.htm <comment><USER2> In 1978, I wrote a SNOBOL program for my MSc thesis. (SNOBOL is a dynamic, garbage-collected, string-oriented language, with bizarre syntax and control structures.) It needed a lot of memory (for the time). I managed to get an account on my school's IBM mainframe with a high enough balance to run this program a few times. But only if I did my run at 3AM. I forget if the total memory of the computer was 4MB, or that was the amount I was permitted to use, but yeah, 4MB.</comment>


With shift to web, Microsoft's future becomes cloudy - <AUTHOR> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126388337&sc=17&f=1001

<comment><USER2> Apparently, Bill Gates saw this coming a long time ago...

<http://www.scripting.com/disruption/mail.html>

Key lines: "The broad and rich foundation of the internet will unleash a "services wave" of applications and experiences available instantly over the internet to millions of users...This coming "services wave" will be very disruptive. "

</comment><comment><USER3> _Cloud_ y... zing</comment>


2nd Ed of TCP/IP Illustrated vol. 1 - <AUTHOR> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321336313/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ilotebo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0321336313

<comment><USER2> Love to have an ebook version, of any kind.

Unfortunately, anything considered to be a textbook is immediately covered in expiring DRM like this:

<http://www.coursesmart.com/0131876732/?a=1773944>

<comment><USER3> O'Reilly's Safari has the first edition (volumes I and II). Within Safari, Volume I, 1st edition, is 26 tokens to download as a PDF.

No sign of the second edition, in Safari.

P.S. In addition to the X tokens per month that Safari members receive as part of whichever subscription plan, additional tokens are currently 5 for US$10.00, to give you a price point (so, $50 worth of tokens, with 4 tokens left over).

P.P.S. Whoops, just saw this on the Amazon page:

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 2 edition (August 11, 2011)

So, maybe Safari will come through?

<comment><USER3> Brain wave. That would be $60 worth of tokens, with 4 tokens left over.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Anyone know what's changed in the new edition? Addition of IPv6, I assume?

Nice to see A-W keep developing these (and APUE, and UNP) after Stevens' passing. Hope Fall proves as good a choice here as Fenner did for the new UNP edition.

</comment><comment><USER5> I just bought the first edition! Either way, this is an excellent book so far. It is written with a level of clarity and conciseness that makes it stand out from other resources on networking.

</comment><comment><USER6> Stevens passed away in 1999 (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Richard_Stevens>) how does he write a second edition?

<comment><USER7> There's two authors credited. I assume Stevens maintains credit the portions that he authored, and Fall for the edits & additions.</comment></comment>


PayPal Support Home Page - <AUTHOR> https://www.paypal-techsupport.com/ <comment><AUTHOR> PayPal is rolling out (slowly) a new design across all sites. Why they need a seperate domain I don't know. For such a huge target as PayPal everything should be under paypal.com

</comment><comment><USER2> Phishing?

<comment><USER3> That's what I thought, but the SSL certificate shows the site actually belongs to Paypal. Domain also belongs to Paypal Inc. Seems to just be a badly designed and dodgy looking site on Paypals end.</comment></comment>


24 y/o father dies of tooth infection: didn't have health care insurance - <AUTHOR> http://abcnews.go.com/Health/insurance-24-year-dies-toothache/story?id=14438171

<comment><USER2> The problem I have with this story and with the health care debate in general is I think political agenda is blocking people from rationally looking at the problem.

In the United States it is already illegal for a hospital to deny someone medical care. Whether they can pay or not they have to be given care. The problem here is the same isn't true of medication and dental work.

An insanely stupid flaw but an insanely easy one to fix.

By fixing that one flaw everyone in this article would have lived. The problem is the American public is fixated on Universal Health Care. Democrats want it, Republicans want to block it and no one is looking at other solutions to the problem.

That's really a problem because the debates take time. It is very likely ObamaCare is going to be defunded (the odds of the Republicans taking the Senate in 2012 are very good statistically). Once that happens we're going to be right back where we started AGAIN.

But there are plenty of solutions that would (or at least should) appease both sides that could be implemented almost instantly.

My personal opinion has always been that Health Care should be dealt with through low to no interest borrowing. The government was willing to subsidize 30 year loans to people with no credit if it meant buying a house so why shouldn't the same be true for medical care. That way this 24 year old can get anything he needs for under $10 a month (and we can offer deferred payment to those in bad circumstances like unemployment).

That solution could literally be implemented tomorrow. Just tell banks "the government will back these loans in the same way we used to back Student Loans when they were done through private banks". Then BOOM! Problem solved in the interim and and we can continue to debate Universal Health Care for years safely knowing no one will die while the debate was going on.

</comment><comment><USER3> Dental care isn't cheap, but a non-surgical extraction is one of the cheapest things you can do. It'd probably make sense for the hospital to pay for it instead of getting stuck with their ER bill.

(My brother and I have been self-employed for years, and we both just self- insure for dental and visit the dentist for regular checkups. If you have good teeth, it seems to be cheaper than buying dental insurance even if you have to pay for a $1200 procedure once a decade. But, see, we are willing and able to pay that when it happens; a guy who can't afford a $100 extraction cannot, let alone regular exams!)

What I really don't understand is why the body doesn't auto-extract these teeth. I mean, it seems like it would be in the genetic interest for that to happen.

<comment><USER3> I thought about it again, and given the number of dental-related deaths and emergency room visits versus potential $100 extractions, it actually probably wouldn't make financial sense for hospitals to offer the extractions preventatively. Oh well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> It should've been explained to them the consequences of not having their tooth problems taken care of. The boy's parents chose to wait and rack up a $280,000 hospital bill, but did no one explain to them that a simple $80 procedure can prevent serious complications? Paying $80 for that one procedure would have saved them their son, and it would've been cheaper than paying health insurance anyway since it's a one-time payment. Cut back on something, anything, just don't risk your or your son's life when the solution really wasn't too expensive.

Things like this would be better served by microloans anyway. Patient financing should be looked to as a way of controlling costs rather than forcing everyone to buy health insurance. If the boy's parents had been given the option of paying, say $10 a month over a year for the dental procedure, it would've been much easier on them than paying $80 up front. They could pay less if they make all their payments early.

Just give them an option, an option they can understand and afford.

<comment><USER5> _The boy's parents chose to wait and rack up a $280,000 hospital bill, but did no one explain to them that a simple $80 procedure can prevent serious complications?_

I think it's partly rooted in the mental models we have about medical stuff and their costs. I can't tell you how often I hear someone tell me that eating better is "too expensive" an option for improving their health. In many cases, it's a matter of a few bucks a month a month compared to sometimes literally thousands of dollars a month in medical expenses. But food comes out of their pocket and a big medical crisis they think someone else will help cover. I think.

I don't get it myself. Just tossing that out there.</comment></comment>


Playing the Game with PLT Redex - <AUTHOR> https://www.leafac.com/prose/playing-the-game-with-plt-redex/ <comment><USER2> Very interesting -- and huge bonus points for diagrams that render properly in w3m.</comment>


A free XMPP server powered with green energy - Funes- https://trashserver.net/en/about-this-server/ <comment><AUTHOR> Used this server a little over a year ago or so. Worked well with [https://conversations.im/](https://conversations.im/).

Nowadays I can't come up with any good reason to use XMPP since there's Matrix and [https://riot.im/](https://riot.im/)

XMPP has adapted over time to support various chat and instant messaging features that we today take for granted. These adaptions come in the form of Extensions/XEP. I remember spending two hours with a geek friend to configure something that resembles what we get from any other instant messenger today (working across multiple devices).

Meanwhile, Matrix just works. Granted, UX involved with the key management associated with E2EE was not what it should have been. But, that has largely been fixed in v1.0.

Wouldn't spend the time to get into XMPP, if I didn't already have a decent network of friends there. And yeah, there's a XMPP/Matrix bridge available if you decide to go Matrix. [https://matrix.org/docs/projects/as/matrix-xmpp- bridge.html](https://matrix.org/docs/projects/as/matrix-xmpp-bridge.html)

<comment><USER2> It's interesting that you compare Riot with Conversations as Conversations feels and looks much better to me (native UI) while Riot for Android always gave me the webapp feel. But Riot works consistently on all OSes while Conversations (in my opinion the best free/federated messenger to date) is available only on Android.

<comment><USER3> Riot/Android is a completely native app, but it grew pretty organically and is far from perfect. We're in the final stages of replacing it with a rewrite in Kotlin nicknamed RiotX, which should be unrecognisably better: [https://github.com/vector-im/riotX-android](https://github.com/vector- im/riotX-android).

<comment><USER4> Any such plans for Mac and iOS app too?

And any plans of design overhaul in a way that it appeals to the end user too (something people could use as an alternative to WhatsApp and Telegram) along with it being used as an IRC/Discord/Slack alternative?

<comment><USER3> Riot/iOS is already native, and works pretty well, so will likely evolve to behave more like RiotX as time goes on rather than getting rewritten.

RiotX is trying to be something that starts off feeling like WhatsApp or Telegram, but can expand into IRC/Discord/Slack for powerusers. Who knows if it'll work.

For native desktop apps, there are a bunch of other Matrix clients focused specifically on that domain - e.g. [https://neilalexander.dev/seaglass](https://neilalexander.dev/seaglass) and [https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Fractal](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Fractal) and [https://github.com/Nheko-Reborn/nheko](https://github.com/Nheko-Reborn/nheko) and [https://github.com/QMatrixClient/Quaternion](https://github.com/QMatrixClient/Quaternion). Riot/iOS might expand into Riot/macOS though in future (although this is basically what Seaglass is already).

<comment><USER4> Thanks. Will check RiotX on my work Android phone and will wait for the design philosophy to move to iOS.

> [https://neilalexander.dev/seaglass](https://neilalexander.dev/seaglass)

This looked really good when I tried last but it was really unstable and lacking features. Will check again. PS. That link isn't working - this one does [https://github.com/neilalexander/seaglass](https://github.com/neilalexander/seaglass)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I'd love to know more about how the server is run on exclusively green energy.

<comment><USER6> in Germany it is possible to buy electricity from utilities who have just renewables in their energy mix

<comment><USER7> Strangely enough, there's the same sort of renewables-only electricity choices in oil-obsessed Alberta, Canada. The city of Calgary's rail transit system runs solely on electricity purchased from wind farms.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Discussed last year: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17068772](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17068772)</comment>


NSA surveillance may cause breakup of internet, warn experts - <AUTHOR> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/01/nsa-surveillance-cause-internet-breakup-edward-snowden <comment><USER2> except we have the knowledge and drive to put it back together again.</comment>


The Croatian Connection Exposed - <AUTHOR> https://eia-international.org/report/the-croatian-connection-exposed/ <comment><AUTHOR> video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyL-8Q_sAIE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyL-8Q_sAIE)

TL;DR:

EU companies buying illegally imported timber from Myanmar via a Croatian company named "Viator Pula" [1], registered to a single shareholder (Ivan Popovic):

      * abc.net
      * boogaerdt timber NL (previous EUTR violations)
      * crown teak BE (previous EUTR violations)
      * wob timber DE
      * vandecasteele BE (previous EUTR violations)
      * hf italy IT

[1] [https://www.fininfo.hr/Poduzece/Pregled/viator- pula/Detaljno...](https://www.fininfo.hr/Poduzece/Pregled/viator- pula/Detaljno/117661)</comment>


ICombinator - Hacker News for the iPhone - <AUTHOR> http://www.icombinator.net

<comment><USER2> Hey cool, I created this :) How did you find it? It's still buggy. I was going to release it in a couple of weeks.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

<comment><USER2> _UPDATE_ : Hey everyone, I've updated iCombinator with a couple of things:

1\. <http://icombinator.net/> now forwards to <http://www.icombinator.net/> GAE doesn't allow naked domains anymore

2\. Added an icon for the web clip

3\. Enabled standalone status (thanks doctyper!)

Anyone have better artistic skills for the icon? I'm open to suggestions :)

<comment><USER3> you can have this one if you like: <http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6992/icombinatortc2.jpg>

looking at their logo on the main site, perhaps this should be a little more svelter: <http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7205/icombinator2nj1.jpg>

also this one: <http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3392/icombinator3vo8.jpg>

<comment><USER3> scratch the rest: <http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3820/icombinator5wt8.jpg>

try that one. you can have any format you like if you want it. its a vector.

<comment><USER4> It's the flux capacitor!

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_capacitor#Flux_capacitor>

<comment><USER3> non-1.21 giga-watt version: <http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/4145/icombinator7xl0.jpg>

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Excellent, but you missed adding some goodies that would really make this stand out.

1\. Add a webpage icon to the app. 2\. Enable standalone status, so the app launches fullscreen instead of in Safari.

More info:

[https://developer.apple.com/webapps/docs/documentation/Apple...](https://developer.apple.com/webapps/docs/documentation/AppleApplications/Reference/SafariWebContent/ConfiguringWebApplications/chapter_8_section_2.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40002051-CH3-SW4)

<comment><USER2> Awesome. Thanks for the suggestions. Will look into it when I get back home :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Interesting. Hacker News is already very light but I like the bigness of important things and smallness of others when I view it on my phone.

PG, I like this enough that it'd be neat if you gave us something similar so our account info can go through you.

It doesn't seem to work as <http://icobinator.net> btw. The www seems required.

<comment><USER2> Yup, working on the DNS stuff. Yeah, I just thought it'd be better on the eyes :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Now it's time to redesign the actual Hacker News site.

</comment><comment><USER8> Well done. I read news on my phone, not on my computer. I wish other news sources realized that. I can't tell you how many news sites simply crash my iphone, but here are three: Portfolio.com, the Wall Street Journal, and Vanity Fair. It's nuts.

<comment><USER9> With Instapaper you can read stuff in text-only. Plus you can read disconnected (prob more useful for Touch than Phone)

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Thanks, I've been looking for something like this!

I just have one gripe: <http://icombinator.net> (without the www) doesn't work.

Other than that it's perfect

<comment><USER11> He said elsewhere that he's going to try to get that working tonight - it's on the App Engine, so it's tricky.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> If you have blogs and are looking to get them formatted for the iphone or android platform. check out <http://venuem.com>

</comment><comment><USER13> Thats brilliant, thank you. I love the instapaper integration. Looking forward to seeing the new/threads/profile pages if you're adding them :D

</comment><comment><USER14> I think a better (and cheaper) way to do this would be to create a custom CSS file and assign it to ycombinator.com in Safari.

</comment><comment><USER15> This works well on Android G1 as well, as most iUi web apps do. I wonder though if it's best not to popup a new page when clicking through to an article. With G1's global Back button it's not too bad to quickly go back, but on iPhone, you need tap-swipe-tap.

</comment><comment><USER16> Also, check out <http://i.venuem.net/ychn>

VenueM is a general purpose solution for turning any RSS feed into a clean looking iPhone web site.

</comment><comment><USER17> Than you! I used to use the website Buxfer made (<http://buxfer.com/yc/>) but it has been down for a while... Not too sure what is going on there..

</comment><comment><USER11> Nice! It keeps the look and feel and works smoothly: just what I want from an iPhone adaptation.

Is it tough making the sliding transitions? Or is there some basic code that handles that?

<comment><USER2> I used iUI (<http://code.google.com/p/iui/>). There's a patch for smoother transitions somewhere in there that I've planning to put in.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I wish it was easier to comment. I don't so much want to read the news as I want to interact with it.

Still, I _love_ this. Every news site should offer this kind of iphone option.

</comment><comment><USER18> I've not really had trouble reading yCombinator on my iPhone and I can't vote up stories on your 3rd party site.

So I appreciate the sentiment but I don't see the point.

<comment><USER19> While I "see the point", I think you have a legitimate complaint with regards to the voting.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> Fabulous!

Request: Please add support for non-www domain. It took me a few minutes to realize why I was getting 404'd on my phone but not in FireFox.

<comment><USER2> Yup, I'm trying. It's on Google App engine and its a little tricky with the DNS stuff. Will try to figure that out tonight.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> I wish ycombinator will be one day that elegant

</comment><comment><USER22> I don't have any iPhone, but this is spiffy. Even in my normal Firefox window ;)

</comment><comment><USER23> Excellent.

Now if I could only cut and paste using my iPhone. ;)

</comment><comment><USER24> Well done sir, I will be using this on my ipod touch.

<comment><USER2> Glad you like it! Does the screen transition a little choppy on yours?

<comment><USER24> No flicker at all, it seems to run pretty smoothly thus far.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> I'm almost done with a same-domain bookmarklet that reformats HN for the iPhone within the browser. No 3rd party sites will be required, and you can interact with your account completely from the site.</comment>


An Automat is a fast food restaurant where foods and drink are served by vending machines. - <AUTHOR> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat <comment><USER2> I have always wondered why these died out. I have never seen one myself, but they seem the most efficient and streamlined way to run a restaurant. It would possible to provide high-quality food for fast food prices via the this system.

I would make the dining area wrap around the kitchen, and have big windows allowing the diners to see the kitchen, and be assured the food was prepared cleanly.

<comment><USER3> There was an article in the NY Times sometime this year about the last one in the US closing down in NYC. You could contact the owner.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> ... and?

<comment><USER5> A recollection: my wife and I were touring Alhambra (La Alhambra is what the spanish called it, but 'Al' is apparently the article in Arabic, so La Alhambra is a bit redundant) in Spain, and after walking around the whole thing were a bit tired. We walked out past some vending machines to the benches, and glanced at what was on offer: not only candy bars and fizzy drinks, but sandwiches, which we laughed at... who would eat a sandwich that had been sitting around under the Spanish sun all day; either it was chock full of potent chemicals, or it was already growing a disgusting range of nasties. Relaxing on the bench a few minutes later, we noticed a guy walk past, waving a few of the sandwiches, and exclaiming to his wife in a proud tone that he'd found something to eat. I guess the British deserve their reputation for not being picky eaters?

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> They have these everywhere in Europe. And yes, they're as gross as they sound. Apparently Europeans love tasteless sandwiches made up of mostly bread, with a single slice of meat or cheese between the slices. They serve them everywhere, in restaurants, on trains, and in the automats.

</comment><comment><USER7> The idea of an automated fast food place sometimes wants to come back.

<http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20030801/1345236_F.shtml>

</comment><comment><USER8> Reminds me of the "ticket" restaurants in Japan.

</comment><comment><USER9> Why yes, yes it is.

Has anybody seen Dark City? There's a great example of one in there. Its where the guy loses his wallet.

<comment><USER10> That's EXACTLY what I thought of when I saw this post. Great movie.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> The peak of humanities's "do everything from the car" mentality.</comment>


US Covid-19 Growth Map / County by County - <AUTHOR> http://covidgrowth.us <comment><USER2> Pretty awesome visual. Although seeing change in time as a like chart and magnitudes in a bar chart are the most effective.

Great domain name too.</comment>