'Unsubstantiated' child neglect finding for free-range parents - <AUTHOR> http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/decision-in-free-range-case-does-not-end-debate-about-parenting-and-safety/2015/03/02/5a919454-c04d-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html <comment><USER2> Notice here that there has been no arrest, no charges, and no trial. Yet the family in question still had to go through a very stressful period of time AND has an open file with the county CPS, who threatened to take the kids away.

I was in a very similar situation for almost the exact same thing. I'm happy Georgia DFACS did not get involved, though being arrested still sucks.

<comment><USER3> This right here is the number one reason why I'd never take a job in the US. I'd be scared to either be forced to

* become a helicopter parent (and thus have less independent children).

* run the risk of loosing my children and/or go to jail.

How the hell did you people let it come that far? I.e. how do people keep voting for these moron politician with their _war on XYZ_ narrative.

Me and my wife come from two countries where parents are actually _pushed_ to make their children more independant - Switzerland and Japan. In Switzerland, children are usually sent to Kindergarden on their own, by foot, at least if the neighbourhood is safe (note: requires a city structure where a drive isn't necessary to get anywhere). All parents do is give them a lunchbox, a visibility triangle and a kiss on the head. [1]: This is how you'll meet them on the roads. There's signs and TV programs everywhere before first day of school to warn drivers of new children on the streets - after 1-2 weeks it's not necessary anymore and we don't have a higher number of child accidents to my knowledge.

In Japan, small children are accompanied not by their parents, but by older children, usually 3-4 years older. Their morning meetup is organized and supervised by elderly volunteers who keep watch at the meetup point. It both teaches responsibility to the 9+ year olds and first independance from adults to the youngest.

How come the US doesn't use studies from abroad when doing CP regulation? Boggles my mind.

[1] [http://www.baselland.ch/fileadmin/baselland/pics/docs/uebrig...](http://www.baselland.ch/fileadmin/baselland/pics/docs/uebrige/mit_pol/2007/2007d/529_2g.jpg)

<comment><AUTHOR> You wrote,

 _This right here is the number one reason why I 'd never take a job in the US._

Your fear of coming to the United States, which is second only to France as an international tourist destination, and second to none as a net destination for immigration, is irrational. It is perfectly safe to live in the United States and walk about in public. My children do that all the time. (I say so in a comment in this thread that was posted earlier than your comment.) This news story is news because it is a rare event. But what the news story illustrates is that irrational fear can keep people from doing things that are perfectly safe--like letting their children walk about in public, as I do, or visiting other countries, as I have.

<comment><USER3> How can it be a rare event if it's based on a State law? Am I supposed to trust that the government is not starting to enforce laws I cannot live with?

Also, visiting a country and living there are two very different things. I often visit the US and I tend to enjoy it. But deciding to live somewhere (i.e. taking a job) requires a conscious decision by me to accept the overall societal and legal framework of a place - and I currently cannot do that for the US. In fact I question why there aren't more Americans who cannot accept it. Can something like the Sexual Revolution ever happen again (= a wide ranging transformation of society through a largely non violent movement). Is the grip by mass media and government too tight? Is it just not bad enough to warrant action?

<comment><USER4> > How can it be a rare event if it's based on a State law?

Because like all laws, it is invoked and exercised with discretion by real, sensible, responsible people almost all the time.

<comment><USER5> You're kidding--right? So many state and local laws are fluff? If they sound good, and have no serious lobby interest these politicans will usually pass. In California, we have way too many "well meaning at the time" laws--that should be removed, or seriously modified.

I share one that irritated me. For years, in California anyone with a bachelors degree from a four year college, after taking eight required relate state courses could take the realestate brokers examination.

The Realestate Lobbiests decided to change the law and require every applicant work under a realeste broker for two years in order to sit for the broker's exam.

Gov. Schwarzenegger saw right through the bill. Knew there no probems with the current system, and didn't want to limit competition. He vetoed the bill.

A few years forward, Gov. Brown thought it sounded good and passed the law. The result is we have less competition, and the guys' who move a lot of property don't have the competition they used to have. Think about that when you try to haggle over that 3% commission.

Anyways, since I followed that bill I will never vote just on party lines. Back to state/local laws--we should be deleting laws every year after instead of holding competitions(Jarrod Huffman) for new bills? I heard California passes over 10,000 new laws/bylaws every year? (Too tired to look it up, but that was the case a few years ago.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> The legal background of this case from Maryland must have something to do with the weird result so far: "[Maryland Child Protective Services] officials have said they are guided in part by a state law that says children younger than 8 must be left with a reliable person who is at least 13. The law addresses children locked or confined in a building, dwelling, motor vehicle or other enclosed space, but does not mention children outdoors on a walk." My state, Minnesota, doesn't appear to have such a law, and it doesn't appear to have CPS officers who would give such a crazy interpretation to a comparable law. I have certainly had my children walking all over my neighborhood (a full mile from my house in either of two directions, for shopping or for trips to the library) when the oldest in the party was ten years old, for most of the last decade. It is very routine for my children to be out walking in our neighborhood, even during school hours, as we are a homeschooling family. This story is news in part because it is very unusual.

AFTER EDIT: Other reporting on this same story, with varying emphasis on other details:

[http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/02/parents...](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/02/parents- investigated-letting-children-walk-alone/24265981/)

[http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/maryland/2015/03/02/fr...](http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/maryland/2015/03/02/free- range-parents-fight-child-neglect-ruling/24287953/)

[https://ca.shine.yahoo.com/-free-range--parents-under- invest...](https://ca.shine.yahoo.com/-free-range--parents-under- investigation-for-child-neglect-will-appeal-cps-decision-143030305.html)

A letter to the editor of the local paper reporting the story points out that children can be required to walk that far to school in the same state:

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/children-were- caught-...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/children-were-caught- walking-at-the-wrong- time/2015/03/03/9c2d2962-c1b7-11e4-a188-8e4971d37a8d_story.html)

<comment><USER6> I thought this map

[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-462091/How- children-...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-462091/How-children- lost-right-roam-generations.html)

(which was created in an earlier round of reporting on this topic) was quite impressive. It shows, on a single map, how far each generation of children in a particular family was allowed to walk by their parents. (Spoiler alert: there's a decrease by factors of 6, 2, and 3 in successive generations.)

<comment><USER7> It would help if we started using density-adjusted distance units [1]. Possible example unit: if there are 10,000 people per square mile in a given area, then one mile could be sqrt(10000), or 100 people. But if there are 100kp/sq.mi., then one mile equals ~316 people.

So the question is, how far are children allowed to wander in units of people passed? Alternatively, how many doors can children pass within their permitted radius?

[1] I also think this would be useful for comparing commute times.

<comment><USER6> That's an interesting calculation. People might have different intuitions about whether higher density makes the kids safer or less safe.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Maryland has a new Governor as of January. If I were him, I would be humiliated and furious that a state agency declared Maryland unsafe for children. That's not the kind of image you want to project.

I've already written this in a letter to his office. If you agree with me and think he should use his executive powers to reign in a renegade agency under his authority, please consider doing the same.

<comment><USER9> To be fair to Hogan, this all began well before he took office, and hence, it can't be his policies that are to blame for this action.

That said, it's definitely good advice to bring to his attention, so I'll send an email or stop by the next time I'm in Annapolis.

<comment><USER10> I don't think the OP was blaming Hogan, but rather recognizing the opportunity his election represents. Since Reagan, Republicans have liked to campaign against government overreach. Well, here is a gift-wrapped example for Hogan to work on.

<comment><USER9> No disagreement at all... I just wanted to let those know that this (at least, thus far) wasn't his fault, for those who might not have known.

I"m sure there will be plenty to hold him accountable for in the future, though there is indeed a genuine opportunity here for him to right a potential wrong.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> The thing is, we live in an incredibly safe society. But our brains are hardwired to look for danger, and if there isn't any, we invent imaginary ones and exaggerate what little danger remains.

</comment><comment><USER12> I know more than one person who is in complete support of these laws. You can't argue with them, you can only outnumber them if you're lucky.

I had some friends who worked weird hours when their two children were very young, and they were repeatedly harassed by child services because the same person repeatedly turned them in no matter how many times CPS determined there was no problem. By law CPS were required to act on every report. Probably a good idea, but it enables harassment in some cases.

<comment><USER13> Crazy people are crazy... I worked in an office where a manager's ex-wife would swear out warrants against him. By the third or fourth time, the detectives were like: "She's done it again, Steve. We need to go downtown and fill out the paperwork, and then we'll drive you back."

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> As a Canadian who relocated to Australia four years ago via California, it's refreshing to live in a society where the default expectation is that adults will behave as such. Consider:

* it's perfectly legal in Australia for adults to drink alcohol in public parks

* heck, your local council government will probably also have installed gas BBQs in your public park so you can cook sausages to enjoy with your beer

* no idiotic and humiliating TSA-style security theatre on domestic flights in Australia

* children walk to school all the time by themselves without their parents being investigated for neglect etc.

Government provided BBQs are inconceivable in California since (gasp!) the hot plate may burn someone and the lawyers wouldn't like that.

Similarly something as basic as providing public toilets at a place like Huntington Beach (in Orange County!) is a fiasco as the stalls don't have doors, because they might provide privacy for drug addicts shooting up. For the 99% who aren't drug addicts, tough luck, a right to privacy while you do your business obviously isn't worth anything anyway.

I could go on, but from a distance the American claim to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave" is increasingly farcical.

<comment><USER15> as a Californian I must defend the availability of our public bbqs - which are numerous - especially in beach cities. I can even go on my counties website and find parks with bathrooms and bbqs listed. drinking in the park is rarer, but still allowed in certain parks. we are still the land of the free (bbq)

<comment><USER14> Apologies, I see from e.g. [http://ocparks.com/parks/ted/amenities](http://ocparks.com/parks/ted/amenities) that you are correct. I see though, that at least in OC, you still have to provide charcoal briquettes for your BBQs, whereas the Aussies just push a button to turn on the gas.

<comment><USER15> unfortunately as awesome as it sounds free gas in America would somehow end up getting painted as a welfare handout

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Free range was always for me back in Bulgaria. As soon as I reached 5 or 6 I was walking through the city, staying sometimes alone at home, walking from school, etc.

Was I alone, nope - almost every kid was like that.

Just take a look at the kids movies, and books... You know that's funny - cause my 7 year old really like Ron Roy's A-Z Mysteries - [http://www.ronroy.com/atoz/books.php](http://www.ronroy.com/atoz/books.php)

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_to_Z_Mysteries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_to_Z_Mysteries)

The kids are nine years old - and do really roam by themselves alone...

One of my favourite movies "Verano Azul" (Blue Summer) was real-hit in Bulgaria, and quotes from it are still used to this day (middle man, pirahna, etc.)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E47_QWOXrMA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E47_QWOXrMA)

And a lot of the bulgarian kid movies were about kids free roaming, exploring, interacting while parents are on the beach, totally not caring about them.

It wasn't that bad really!

Then again, when comes to me - nowadays I'm real ___helicopter_ __\- gaaaah!

</comment><comment><USER17> So I expect there will be a lot of "when I was a kid we did this all the time" type stuff in te replies here. Before jumping on that bandwagon (I took lots of walks like this in a city far less friendly in some ways), let me say that I think at least the question deserves to be asked. Then again, the way this happened, the parents seem to have no recourse. They are "found" to be neglecting, yet there is no actual trial. Perhaps they should sue the state over libel, and settle this once and for all. I am sure if they win they could claim quite a bit of damage to their character not to mention inconvenience of having the nation watch their personal decisions. Best of all, that would create a precedent which can then be referenced. As is, this is just an administrative record.

Also, if this is neglect, then what is withholding vaccines for deadly diseases from your child? What actually puts you in more danger?

<comment><USER4> They were not found to be neglecting. The finding was that the allegation of neglect was unsubstantiated. That's totally different. The parents quite understandably wanted to be absolved. It's a shame they weren't. But they were not found guilty of anything.

<comment><USER17> I see. I misread the article. Thanks for the clarification.

<comment><USER9> Honestly, it's debatable whether or not you did misread it.

The way it reads, they weren't found innocent of child neglect, they were found to be held responsible for the unsubstantiated child negligence charges.

Their names will be placed in a file, and if the cops responsible pick up the kids again for equally unsubstantiated claims, it will trigger a more thorough investigation. At present, for the next five years, they're on the CPS equivalent of "probation".

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Ah, free-range parents. Or as we used to call them, parents.

<comment><USER16> Pleasure to meet you! I "progressed" from a "free-range" kid to a "closed- range helicopter parent".

<comment><USER19> Why? Honest question.

I was very sheltered as a child and today I try not to be so with my daughter, because I know the consequences of growing up being sheltered. I really push for her to be independent, to deal with her own problems, and to go through the pain/sadness without much caressing when something bad happens (say, she hurts herself while playing and it's not really a major injury that requires going to the hospital).

<comment><USER16> Because I need to become a better parent I guess, or maybe different one.

I possibly do it, and this is simply - not letting him go free on the street while we cross it, in the parking, and always making sure I can see him while he's playing at the playground, and at the same time I so much want to tell him my favourite story how me and my one year older cousin walked 25 kilometers from one city to another just to get my plastic truck (we were 5-6 years old).

I'm afraid, because I've succumbed to the peer pressure, media, and let myself just go this route that everyone around takes, or at least shows that it takes.

I want him to roam free, but then if something happens, even if it's not a big deal, I'll feel bad, and I won't be strong enough to reply to all questions/answers/attitude from everyone else.

He really has much more freedom back in Bulgaria where he goes every summer...

<comment><USER20> I want to raise my kids in a rural setting to avoid all of this.

I imagine in most rural settings the community attitude would be the opposite of what you mentioned.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Back in the 70s there didn't have to be a name like "free-range". It was just playing. We were probably around 7 or so, riding around on our Huffys, playing in the woods, jumping in fiber glass in new construction, etc..

I don't see kids running around outside that much anymore. I think there's a lot of scare-mongering by the media for things that have always been present, and a lot of nosy, do-gooders with too much time on their hands.

That said, as a parent of a 2 year old, I can't really see myself letting my kid in 4 years run around without much supervision. I guess one difference was that we always had our little gang with us...at least 3 or 4 of us always together.

<comment><USER22> Well in the 80s, the term was latchkey kid. There was a bit of a stigma to being one in Stepfordish suburbia, as it meant either both parents had to work (and therefor you were poor) or you were the product of a broken home.

<comment><USER23> No, latchkey kid isn't quite right. 'latchkey' was for kids who came home to an empty house - no mom waiting for them with snacks or to check they were doing their homework, the stereotype being that the latchkey kid would pig out on junk food and watch TV. eg I had a stay-at-home mom and was allowed to roam with friends, so while I might've been somewhat free-range, I was not a latchkey kid.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I used to walk to school with my sisters when I was 6 years old and they were 8 & 11\. We walked over a mile.

</comment><comment><USER25> Maryland Family Law Article, Section 5-701:

> "Unsubstantiated" means a finding that there is an insufficient amount of > evidence to support a finding of indicated or ruled out.

There was not sufficient evidence to support either confirmation of abuse or to rule it out. That's all this ruling means.

[1] [http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmStatutesText.aspx?artic...](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmStatutesText.aspx?article=gfl&section=5-701&ext=html&session=2015RS&tab=subject5)

<comment><USER26> What CPS is asking is that the parents prove a negative. The burden of proof should be on CPS to make a claim and offer evidence. What are the parents supposed to say? "And on the thirtieth of November, we spent an hour not neglecting our children"?

If not enough evidence exists to determine that neglect was happening, then these parents should not have CPS retaining a file on their "unsubstantiated" neglect for the next 5 years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> I went and looked up my old (1970's) elementary school walk... between 1 and 1.2 miles.

<comment><USER28> I just did the same thing for the late-80s/early 90s: elementary school was 0.8 & then 0.5mi (often bicycle on city streets for extra child-endangerment paranoia) and by middle school that was 1.9 miles along a major road past the mall.

Nobody we knew even blinked an eye…

<comment><USER29> I remember we even had bicycling lessons in primary school to encourage independent biking to school (in Germany).

<comment><USER28> I'm sure California was a bit of an outlier nationally but we had similar encouragement citing environmental and health grounds. It's an easy sell when the weather's fine for cycling roughly 360 days a year.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> Is the world that much more dangerous than it was in the 70's or is the media just making us more aware of every rare but horrible thing that happens?

Do people/politicians then feel they "need to do something" even if it's the wrong thing?

<comment><USER31> I'm thinking the 24-hour news cycle has some part to play in this. They have to fill the time with _something, anything_ and so what might have been a local story fifty years ago is now national news.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> This article is quite interesting, and I hope to let my kids have this kind of environment. I'd like to underline here that this kind of parenting is very different from the one shown in a recent post about some 11yo kids watching Alien at home [1].

Watching horror movies is safe for the body, and not recommended for the emotional brain [2]. Exact opposite of these wild playgrounds.

1\. [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9127761](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9127761)

2\. Why? It seems obvious to me. Seeing very frightening or disgusting things in movies may make you overreact when facing similar disgusts in real life, or being too easily afraid. After seeing a horror movie as a kid you are afraid of monsters below your bed, afraid of darkness which may have monsters or ghosts. This is not the kind of fear that is even slightly useful. I suppose most of the ghosts stories of the past were actually useful: they prevented kids and adults from going out in the night, where they could be endangered for real. But nowadays no wolves haunt the nights anymore. It may be rational to induce a little bit of fear for cars when walking, so kids keep at safe distance. But I see no reason to raise the fears of the unknown and foreign as done in most horror movie.

Another example is food: fear your plate and you're stomack will be in despair and show (either anorexia or obesity), trust your plate and you're stomack will do it's work properly: which is to keep you in normal shape. (I was so annoyed by this american girl always asking what was the dish made of in the plate: you're in China my girl, dishes are made of hundreds of mysterious things, including pig oil, msg, sichuan pepper, etc. But check the other girls beside you, they're fit, they love to eat, do it all the time, so please just eat this and enjoy it...)

</comment><comment><USER33> Another story illustrating the disturbing trend of mandatory bureaucratic process. Entities run by expert systems instead of humans - CPS seems to be one of the worst offenders.

When people executing the law do it without discretion, watch out.

</comment><comment><USER34> I was investigated for allowing my child to play in the schoolyard across the street without shoes on. The investigation went on for weeks and was extremely stressful, for both parent and child.

</comment><comment><USER35> When I was 10 years old I would stay out until 1 am or later hanging out with friends. I'd be outside most of the day without supervision.

</comment><comment><USER36> Is there any wonder why kids are becoming increasingly obese nowadays when their parents won't allow them to walk anywhere?

Not to mention all the other ill effects detailed in the other comments.

</comment><comment><USER37> When I was 12 we'd go on hundred mile bike rides and be gone for days. No cellphones.

30 years later, it felt as if my 12 year olds were prisoners in an electronic cage.

From what I can tell, this is a worldwide pattern. Friends in EUR and AUS report similar phenomenon.

Times change. I hope it is for the best.

<comment><USER38> Japan here. In Tokyo you see kids younger than 10 take the subway alone to go home.

<comment><AUTHOR> My oldest son (now an adult, and a participant here once in a while) used to take the subway by himself in Taipei at age eight. Once a child has taken a few rides with parents to and from the same stations, and especially if the child is literate (to be expected by that age, for that purpose), there's not much reason for the child to miss out on using the subway.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> What a comedy, and the State strikes again, better behave citizens and do as your government tells you or else they will take away your children and/or put you in jail. You've been warned, and a file has been opened, the State is always watching.</comment>


Spy Agencies Scour Phone Apps for Personal Data - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/world/spy-agencies-scour-phone-apps-for-personal-data.html

<comment><USER2> If you're using Android, I'd highly recommend using a combination of XPrivacy [1] and Android Firewall [2] (iptables frontend).

To make your life easier, disallow everything from accessing the net in Android Firewall. Then, for those apps which you've allowed net access, further tweak what they're allowed to access in XPrivacy. As a rule, turn off account info, clipboard, location, contacts, and storage.

Not perfect, but a decent solution.

[1] [https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy](https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy)

[2] [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jtschohl.a...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jtschohl.androidfirewall)

<comment><USER3> Also, put a lock screen on your phone and never let anyone use/borrow it even temporarily because if someone installs an accessibility service, it is game over for your privacy in most apps regardless of whether the network traffic is encrypted.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Illustrating that people who audit apps to see what they are sharing are not being too paranoid at all.

</comment><comment><USER5> And yet another reason why my next phone is going to be a Jolla:

In the future, I want to be able to run wireshark on my phone.

<comment><USER6> You can currently do it in Android with standard tcpdump

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Hmmm. Exploiting the weak(est) link of trust. In any chain of friends or business associates. Have to say, it's by the book.</comment>


A 16-year-old hacked Apple and stole 90GB of secure files - <AUTHOR> https://finance.yahoo.com/news/16-old-hacked-apple-stole-90gb-secure-files-150544139.html <comment><USER2> What's the precedent in cases like these? Tech companies obviously have to care about their security, but it just seems a bit ridiculous that the boy will be persecuted and sentenced in the circumstances that he's in. (age, blind passion for Apple, etc.) Aren't there examples where the hacker gets a job at the company for discovering vulnerabilities?</comment>


The official Go brand book [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://storage.googleapis.com/golang-assets/Go-brand-book-v1.9.5.pdf <comment><USER2> Looks like branding done for a shoe company, completely out of place and generic. For programming languages, I think the worse the branding, the better. Just look at GNU.org or the Python website. But, this is a personal opinion of mine.

It could have been so much better, but instead they hired and chose the most cookie cut color scheme from Web 2.0 days, cliche logo that belongs on a shoe and a completely useless brand guide.

They should have hired C&G&H, InterBrand, Pentagram or someone sophisticated enough to understand that this is not a hot retail project, this is branding for a programming language.

What a shame, really. Sorry for a blunt criticism but I dislike almost every aspect of their branding. As a side note, I love Rust-Lang.org branding. It's amazing. It conveys modernization + robustness.

<comment><USER3> I'm confused about your post. Was, "it could have been so much better," referring to Go's brand guide? And if so, how does that jive with "the worse the branding, the better"?

Are you saying a sophisticated brand agency would intentionally brand worse because it's the expectation for a successful programming language? If I'm a design agency, I would reject bad design even if it's expected and commonplace. Although, there might be good features in the bad design, which I think should be kept.

In the end, this brand guide is not just about the language. The first section is all about identifying the audience and helping communication in the community, which I think is more important than the details mentioned later on (colors/typography/logo/etc).

> Go was created by a team of programmers who value honest, open > communication, without exaggeration or excess. Our dialogue with one another > and the broader community adheres to the following

I don't really believe that this statement is true, but I think expressing this aspiration is important.

I think the Rust language website is quite good too, since it has all the details of the code of conduct and contribution info, but it's not a fair comparison since it's a superset of brand guidelines.

My complaint would be that the Rust website actually has a far superior visual design than the Go website, but I don't think there's a problem Go's brand book. My 2 cents, or 5. :\

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I understand Google probably has some interest in Go's widespread use, but programming languages really make me laugh sometimes by how tribal their users can be. I'm sure I'm guilty of it too, but it's just surreal (online, of course - which is probably reason why, but still).

(Does a programming language need to be branded, is my question)

</comment><comment><USER5> It's strange, given Google's resources and size, that they haven't even started using the new branding yet. It was announced over a year ago.

</comment><comment><USER6> Thanks, I hate it.

<comment><USER7> Same, but to be fair that accurately matches my feelins towards Go.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> The "Mascot" section is adorable.</comment>


The Game Designer's Calculator - <AUTHOR> https://dig1000holes.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/the-game-designers-calculator/ <comment><USER2> I really wish it went a bit further into _why_ a programmable RPN calculator is better than an iPhone app or whatever.

Explain why RPN is so much better than infix. Explain why the simple, distraction-free BASIC impl is so liberating for certain kinds of tasks. Explain what kinds of tasks this little gizmo enables and why are these tasks better on the gizmo than on a more "modern" alternative. Riff on the weeks of battery-use, the lack of push notifications, the cool retro factor...any of this to convey the coolness that is the gizmo.

Nice little one-off piece, but I'd love to see something similar with more passion and explanation!

<comment><USER3> The article links to this explanation of RPN and its benefits. [https://www.swissmicros.com/what_is_rpn.php](https://www.swissmicros.com/what_is_rpn.php)

After reading, I discovered the macOS calculator supports RPN (Cmd+R) and it is about as cool as described. Looks like the iPhone calculator does not but I'm sure there are great apps.

<comment><USER4> The firmware for the DM42 is based on GPL'd software available for all major operating systems (including iOS.)

[http://thomasokken.com/free42/](http://thomasokken.com/free42/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I must say I can't see the connection to game design. Nevertheless, DM42 is pretty damn nice looking thingy, so I'm not complaining too much finding it on the front page. Too bad I don't really have any use for it to justify the relatively steep (if understandable) price tag.

<comment><USER6> I'm pretty sure it's meant for tabletop games, as in a DM/GM would use this in their roleplaying game they're running in a campaign they've designed.

<comment><USER7> Still seems pretty tenuous. If you're designing a tabletop game, you're probably not rolling dice during the design phase.

<comment><USER8> As someone who just designed a tabletop dice game...I totally rolled a bunch of dice. Distribution charts are good for a sanity and balance check, but rolling the dice gives you more of a feel for the game, what you can expect to get with any given roll, and give you a feel for how to manipulate the dice (physically), see how fiddly it can be, how much time it takes for turns, etc.

But you can't replicate that bit with a computer program too well.

<comment><USER7> Ah. Different use of designing a game - I was thinking more like a D&D campaign. I suppose it shows my affiliation: tabletop RPGs instead of board games ;) I can certainly see how that would be useful for your case.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I have an HP 48G in my desk drawer. Back in highschool I spent months playing with it obsessively, writing games and 3D graphing programs and whatnot. Haven't touched it since then, although I'm still fond of it in some theoretical sense. They're a great "pocket computer" for when you don't have access to a "real" computer (ie. one with a programming environment) but I don't think they're actually useful unless you're in some engineering profession where you regularly use complex formulae in the field.

<comment><USER10> I have a 48SX. I never seriously got into programming it, but I did do one program that I was inordinately pleased with.

I wanted a calendar, and found one online but it was very slow. It was written entirely in the User RPL. So I wrote my own, also entirely in RPL, but managed to get it fast enough that there was no perceptual difference between its speed and the speed of assembly language calendars.

I got the speed by managing to do almost all of the formatting, which was the slow part, using User RPL string functions, which were all internally implemented as highly optimized assembly.

I'd start with these two strings (spaces replaced with _ for clarity):

days = "__1__2__3 ... _29_30_31"

pad = "_____________________" (that's 21 spaces)

Then I'd calculate

s = number of days month is shorter than 31 days, and

d = day of week of 1st day of month (Sunday == 0, Monday == 1, ...).

Shorten the days string by 3 * s, and prepend 3 * d spaces on front of days (which can be obtained by taking an appropriate substring of the pad string). Finally, append the pad string to days.

Display a header line:

"_Su_Mo_Tu_We_Th_Fr_Sa"

Now take the first 21 characters of days and display them on the next line under the header, then the next 21 characters on the next line, and so on for 5 lines, and that's your calendar.

This could probably be improved a bit by starting with a days string that has 18 spaces in front and 12 spaces at the end. Then you just have to possibly replace some numbers with spaces if the month is shorter than 31 days, and then use the day of the 1st to choose where you start taking the 21 character substrings from.

<comment><USER9> There's a much under-rated rush that comes with your first real optimisation job. Mine was with a program to simplify square roots into surds - we'd had the lesson on them in year 10, then been given a sheet of about 100 different square roots to simplify. It was repetitive grunt work and so I wrote a program to do it. The first version worked, but was too slow (it simply tried number from 0 to N/2, checked if it was square, then checked if it was divisible) so I did the obvious thing and instead only checked square numbers, taking it from O(N) to O(SQRT(N)). Simple enough but it made me happy. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Why is it impossible to find a small advanced calculator? I use an hp-35s now but I hate it. I want a calculator with rpn, programmability and an equation solver that is pocket sized. I understand rpn is niche, but relaxing that restriction still only finds you huge graphing calculators.

SwissMicros has a range of credit card sized calculators that are so close to what I want. However they are running hp firmware in emulation and I don't believe that any of the firmware they are using have an equation solver.

We have the technology now to make an advanced pocket sized calculator I'm sure. Why does no one want to release one? The calculator enthusiast community seems content with just emulating 30 year old calculators and everyone else is just selling calculators for people that need to take standardized tests.

</comment><comment><USER12> Since it took me forever to find this info on swissmicro's page, this is for all the portrait calculators:

DMXXL: Same size and features as HPXXC

DMXX: Credit-card sized HPXXC (but full sized display)

They all appear to take cr2032 batteries.

The 42 can run off of USB power (and will clock higher when doing so). It is unclear if the portrait calculators will as well.

</comment><comment><USER13> Oh that looks awesome! I've got a real soft spot in my heart for old HP RPN calculators — they're the only way to do figures!

</comment><comment><USER14> Why this over something like the HP Prime?

</comment><comment><USER15> The site's wrapping on mobile is cancer

<comment><USER16> You're being downvoted, but it is pretty bad. Looks like they set word breaks to 'break-all' for those low-width media queries.</comment></comment>


Bend, OR, is becoming a commuter town for Silicon Valley despite the 10-hr drive - <AUTHOR> https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/bend-oregon-is-becoming-a-commuter-town-for-silicon-valley-despite-the-10-hour-drive/ar-BBJRJnU <comment><USER2> I suppose that given the $414K median house price from Zillow and subtracting that from the median house price of say Santa Clara county of $1M (same source) that leaves you $500K to buy a nice airplane to commute with :-).

Joking aside, I really do think that if you could get sufficient bandwidth into a small town at reasonable costs you really could "remote" a lot of jobs from the Bay Area.

</comment><comment><USER3> I've been remote in Oregon since 2011.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, jokes about the rain aside, mostly due to the fact that many, many bay area companies just don't understand why anyone would want to live anywhere but the bay.

<comment><USER4> > many bay area companies just don't understand why anyone would want to live > anywhere but the bay

What do you mean? Is this a way of saying "many Bay Area companies don't hire remote workers"?

<comment><USER5> It's more than just not hiring remote workers. Some employers are actually surprised that one might not want to relocate to the bay.

<comment><USER3> s/surprised/angry/

People act like you're denigrating their entire way of life if you won't sell your house and move to the bay in return for their uninspiring below-market salary and the chance to "disrupt" something. They get especially upset when I say that the cost of living differential would need to be 50%+ of total comp, plus around $30k in moving expenses.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This doesn't seem worth it. At best you've got a company that can handle this arrangement today, but it seems to dramatically limit your options for new employment or even to survive a changes within the same org.

<comment><USER7> Some people are perfectly willing to limit employment options to remote- friendly.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> As a consultant who used to fly every week for three years, and hated it, I cannot believe people will voluntarily do this. My consulting travel almost killed my marriage.

</comment><comment><USER9> Click-Bait article - all it says is how some people occasionally Fly in and work more of the time by tele-commuting from computer. Nothing new here.

</comment><comment><USER10> > Meanwhile in Bend, a one-bedroom will set you back about $1,100

Funny, my 3-bedroom, 1600 sqft, corner lot just north of Houston costs just $1200

<comment><USER11> Neat! What's the mountain sports scene like in Houston?

<comment><USER12> People are downvoting this but honestly, its a huge consideration. I pay a huge premium to live in Boulder,CO and have often thought how awesome it'd be to move to Texas, save a ton of cash.. except yeah, if you're not content just doing "city things", it's frankly a wasteland.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> The headline is clickbait. It profiles one GOOG sales executive who travels a lot. It also describes a population of people who've decided (or expressed interest in) moving to Bend, where they will work, or work remotely.

Summary: some people are moving to Bend, OR. Also, housing there is cheaper than Silicon Valley.

</comment><comment><USER14> There are several of us up at E45 (Pine Mountain Lake Airport) in Groveland, CA that fly/commute to Bay Area companies. Folks in Auburn do it too. And places outside Sacramento. It's more common than you might think.

<comment><USER15> Yep, I used to live at Swansboro Country Airport (01CL) out of Placerville and know more than a few people who fly to the Bay Area.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> And now they want to preserve the charm, so it will inevitably become another ultraexpensive place.

<comment><USER3> It's already the most expensive place to live in Oregon. The atmosphere is a little bit like Aspen (from what I understand, never been to Aspen).

<comment><USER17> Sunriver and other tourist destinations in the area are expensive; living in Bend itself is not.

<comment><USER18> You obviously haven't priced living in Bend or you are used to paying bay area rates.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I think there are other places to work besides the Bay Area.</comment>


Ajit Pai's plan leaves US with a gaping consumer protection void say 39 senators - <AUTHOR> https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/12/warning-against-abdication-duty-senators-demand-fcc-abandon-net-neutrality-vote <comment><USER2> "39 senators" \- total fail as an appeal to authority</comment>


Operating systems are huge pile of technical debt - <AUTHOR> http://luca3m.me/2016/09/01/operating-systems.html <comment><USER2> What about saying your tool didn't handle all the edge cases? The only reason a kernel is technical debt is coz of all the variety of apps people want to run on top of it.

</comment><comment><USER3> click·bait (on the Internet): A headline or an article of a sensational or provocative nature whose main purpose is to attract attention and draw visitors to a particular web page.</comment>


Why did so many successful startups come out of PayPal? Answered by Insiders - <AUTHOR> http://primitus.com/blog/why-did-so-many-successful-entrepreneurs-and-startups-come-out-of-paypal-answered-by-insiders/

<comment><USER2> A lot of early PayPal founders probably cashed out to the tune of a million or two bucks.

That's not enough money to retire, but it is enough money to take a risk on your own startup.

<comment><USER3> I read the paypal story on Founders at Work. It was one of the difficult ones. If the Russian founder cashed out with 1-2 million IMHO it would be too little for all he's been through in that story.

<comment><USER4> Even if I knew Paypal would become a success when it started, I still wouldn't believe it.

They've gotten all the abilities of a bank without any of the responsibilities, and I still think the possibility of changing laws still hangs over them like the sword of Damocles.

<comment><USER5> _They've gotten all the abilities of a bank without any of the responsibilities_

Last I checked, they can't do fractional-reserve banking (ie they can't loan out more money than they have on-hand or as some people like to say, "print money"). To me, this is the biggest power that a bank has, and what separates a bank from every other institution. What exactly did you mean by your statement? What "abilities" are you referring to?

<comment><USER6> As I understand it, fractional reserves doesn't mean that banks "loan out more money than they have on-hand". They loan out most of the money that they have on hand, and keep a small fraction in reserve. However, they end up "printing money" because the people who receive the money from those loans immediately put it back in the bank, thus the total credit and debits grows to something like 1/fr, where fr is the fraction that gets held in reserve.

I doubt Paypal invests their deposits (or if they do, they only put it in cash-equivalents), unlike banks which have the privilege of taking on short- term liabilities while they only hold long-term assets and a small amount of cash.

<comment><USER7> >fractional reserves doesn't mean that banks "loan out more money than they have on-hand".

That's exactly what it means. When you go to the bank and ask for e.g. $100k to buy a house they make an account entry to first _create_ this money (assuming doing so wouldn't put them past their reserve threshold) and then give it to you. The money only exists because you've promised to pay it back.

Put another way, the loan money they're giving you is like they went into the future, took all the money you paid into the loan account, deducted their fees, etc. came back to today and gave you what was left over.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> The Magic of Believing

> But the executive team made up for nonmastery of details with unwavering > vision, which inspired the troops. At his San Bruno, Calif., office, YouTube > CEO Hurley remembers his PayPal days as an education in business. When he > arrived in California with a degree in art from Indiana University of > Pennsylvania, building a successful company seemed like something other > people did.

"You never think it could happen to you," says Hurley. "But seeing Peter and Max and the guys come up with ideas and seeing how to make things work gave me a lot of insight. You may not have a business degree, but you see how to put the process into effect. The experience helped me realize the payoff of being involved in a startup."

[http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/13/magazines/fortune/paypal_maf...](http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/13/magazines/fortune/paypal_mafia.fortune/index3.htm)

</comment><comment><USER9> I find it more impressive they were able to manage a culture full of alpha dogs and make a productive business out of it. I wouldn't consider this type of culture as one to implement in my own company.

<comment><USER10> That's what the data-driven culture is for.

Google is similarly filled with smart, opinionated people, though Google culture seems far more team-oriented than PayPal does. The way we manage differing opinions is to run an experiment. Instead of saying "Okay, we're doing it this way," and letting the office politics determine what "this way" means, we say "Okay, what experiment could we run that would indicate whether this is a good idea?" Then we go off and run the experiment, and usually the data is clear enough that even the idea's most opinionated proponents and detractors end up being convinced.

"Strong opinions, loosely held" is a pretty good mantra for a productive team. A culture full of alpha dogs isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as they all respect the data.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> "Go to work each day willing to be fired" was a great line. I've noticed that many really successful engineers seem to have that attitude where putting out a quality product is their primary focus, where others may tend to be more worried about consensus and goodwill.

</comment><comment><USER12> The success of PayPal itself is pretty phenomenal when you consider what they were going up against in the traditional credit card industry.

</comment><comment><USER13> For those curious souls looking for a deeper dive on the early days of Paypal, check out the fantastic Robert Cringely interview with Max Levchin on NerdTV (See episode #2 near the bottom) <http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/shows/>

</comment><comment><USER14> Interestingly the second quora link he quotes is explicitly marked "Not for reproduction": [http://www.quora.com/What-strong-beliefs-on-culture-for- entr...](http://www.quora.com/What-strong-beliefs-on-culture-for- entrepreneurialism-did-Peter-Max-David-have-at-PayPal/answer/Keith-Rabois)

That being said, building a culture like that requires quite a lot of insight and Paypal must've been an exciting place to be back then...

<comment> brown9-2 This entire blogpost is a regurgitation of what is in those quora links. Is there even anything original here?

<comment><USER14> _shrug_ Aggregation isn't bad in and of itself, especially since Quora just opened to the public, but he probably shouldn't reproduce something explicitly marked otherwise.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I love this part the most -- "you'd do your homework first and then come to the table with - 35% of our [insert some key metric here] are caused by the lack of X functionality…"

Meetings would be so much more productive if everyone operated like this.

<comment><USER16> On the other hand,

"When a company is filled with engineers, it turns to engineering to solve problems. Reduce each decision to a simple logic problem. Remove all subjectivity and just look at the data. Data in your favor? Ok, launch it. Data shows negative effects? Back to the drawing board. And that data eventually becomes a crutch for every decision, paralyzing the company and preventing it from making any daring design decisions."

<http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html>

<comment><USER17> I think that complaint work where much better if focused on a less successful company. Do you know of any large but failing companies that use this approach?

<comment><USER18> Read _The Innovator's Dilemma_ for a number of examples of how following the data lead companies off of nasty cliffs. (The follow-up, _The Innovator's Solution_ , had a lot more useful detail.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Sounds like a fascinating way of working, if not high-stress. It doesn't say how many hours/week their staff were working.

"but either individual heroes or small, high-trust teams more often than not found ways to deliver projects on-time."

I'm not sure to read that as if they are finding ways "out of hours" and on their own time.

</comment><comment><USER20> I think the crucial reason is only that most people in paypal made tons of cash and they generally hired smart people.

Everything else this post mentions is probably reading too much between the lines and is more similar to the over-romanticising commonly associated with fluff journalism pieces.

</comment><comment><USER21> "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -- Carl Sagan

Imagine John DeLorean meeting with PayPal instead of the FBI.

</comment><comment><USER22> So many? isn't youtube the only one with a successful exit? I know linked in probably will, but the rest are unproven.

<comment><AUTHOR> I guess what I mean by success is not only about profitability. I consider that changing the world positively in a large scale is a success. So I think kiva, spacex, yelp and yammer are all successful startups/organizations.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> I think this is the best content on Quora to date.

</comment><comment><USER24> Some interesting ideas here but wouldn't want to post it up on the wall as the road map to success.</comment>


Yahoo releases nodejs framework - <AUTHOR> http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2011/11/yahoo-announces-cocktails-%E2%80%93-shaken-not-stirred/ <comment><USER2> Fixed headline:

Yahoo releases nothing. Might release something in 2012.

This jab is really on the HN article headline, not the link which properly headlines this news as "announces".

</comment><comment><USER3> So it looks like they're pre-announcing a developer platform as a way to support the launch of a consumer app (Livestand). But the actual developer bits aren't actually available yet? What?

Why are you wasting my time, Yahoo? Who does this?

<comment><USER4> Typical Yahoo. Maybe someone announced it so they could claim the buzz as progress?

Didn't you work there?

<comment><USER3> Yes, I founded and ran Y's developer network, so I would have been the one to tell these guys that they can't pre-announce a developer product.

The last year I ran YDN we were the most productive product organization in Yahoo, releasing a new developer product on average every month with a team of six people. A few years after I left I'd heard the team swelled to over 100 people and they had essentially stopped releasing developer products.

<comment><USER4> Yep. I'm familiar with the pain...

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> It's unsettling how Yahoo management refuses to acknowledge Yahoo as a tech company despite great offerings like this.

</comment><comment><USER6> I predict the coffee-themed frameworks will outperform the cocktail-themed frameworks, if only because of the developers who choose them.

<comment><USER7> Someone should write a framework named 'Kahlúa' and bring these two groups together. :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I've built a toolkit that does this very thing (rendering the user interface on either client or node.js arbitrarily) <https://github.com/jordow/FaxJs/>

        From the video: "There are a number of existing frameworks for javascript today, but there are none like Mojito that try to blur and succeed at blurring the the server client boundary."

I commend Yahoo for tackling this extremely challenging problem. I'd love to see their framework so I can compare benchmarks with FaxJs. Let's see it Yahoo!

I'm guessing Mojito has a ton of functionality surrounding ajax/queries and business logic modules etc. FaxJs is a work in progress, but it has a couple of novel concepts besides server side rendering: In FaxJs, your view is simply a function of your model, or a "projection". That function acts as an invariant that the system upholds at all times without introducing any other concepts/abstractions. Sometimes, a function is enough.

</comment><comment><USER9> Not really sure what problem this solves.

I could imagine something like this from college students, but with the resources Yahoo has I expect bigger, game changing technologies.

The only Yahoo technology I use for web development is the YSlow Firebug plugin...which is itself infinately less useful than Firebug!

<comment><USER10> infinitely _

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> first video was quite nice, second video brings a lot of crap, for instance it sais:

* "up until today you had to rewrite JS into another language in order to run on the server" (what about node.js that is around since '09, manhattan is not even released _today_)

* manhattan provides a "service" called "performance", that nodejs does not have -- not kidding see 2:10

* and we have another word for widget!!! not applet, weblet, plasmoid, webobject, or simply widget: no, it is a "mojit"

i would definitely give it a shot when it is released.. in between of all the non-sense it actually sounded quite interesting. it seems a bit richer then plain nodejs+jquery+heroku, especially wrt x-platform and client-and-or-server capable code.

</comment><comment><USER12> No download link, no links to these projects. Well done yahoo.

</comment><comment><USER13> So is there a link to download that somewhere?

</comment><comment><USER14> is it just me or is this some sort of google app engine rehash with js?

</comment><comment><USER15> Typo in pic: Manhahattan

</comment><comment><USER16> So basically YUI on the server and geared for publishers?

</comment><comment><USER17> Sounds interesting. I have so many yahoo accounts. I make a account each time I try their products. I then loose interest and the account. Maybe I'll keep this one.</comment>


A Contribution to the Mathematical Theory of Big Game Hunting (1938) - <AUTHOR> http://math.ucdenver.edu/~wcherowi/mathmajor/archive/catchlion.pdf

<comment><USER2> Good to see that we've got our best minds on such a critical issue.</comment>


Is graphene a miracle material? - <AUTHOR> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9491789.stm <comment><USER2> Graphene and, more generally, carbon nanotubes are exciting because they have something-for-everyone. Silicon, plastics, water are examples of molecules or structures that have also been spun into important applications for just about every vertical. I suspect we'll seem carbon nanotube products explode over the next 20 years just as plastics did over the last 40.

The article focuses a bit on whether graphene can replace silicon, which I think kind of misses the point. The material will enable exciting _new_ applications rather than merely transforming existing ones.

I'm also kinda bummed that this kind of research doesn't have a higher profile in the US. This is high-ass-tech and is probably an area in which our oil companies could play a very large role with their competencies at running large, highly complex, raw material production systems.

<comment><USER3> Reading this article brought to mind this scene in _The Graduate_ :

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.

Benjamin: Yes, sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Benjamin: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?

So, I'm wondering how and where I should be investing to take advantage of this materials revolution. Seems like a pretty obvious bet to make, but it seems to be spread across many companies and with an indeterminate schedule (some say 5 years, some say 10, some say "we don't know"). And, more importantly, so many of the companies involved are too big for one product or even one line of products to make a huge dent in their bottom line. I've invested in IBM and Intel in the past based on research in the pipeline, and while the products did come to fruition and did prove to be good for the companies bottom line, the stock market didn't respond as much as one would hope (but probably about what I should have expected, had I really done the analysis of how it would effect their bottom line).

I'm not sure I follow you on the oil companies, though. Sure, they've been a major player in the plastics pipeline forever, but, if graphene isn't made from petroleum derivatives, I'm not sure it is a natural fit for oil companies. I would say the folks building LCD panels and other silicon-based products are the obvious candidates for some graphene products (and Samsung seems to be near the front of the pack in products based on graphene)...but maybe it'll be some other segment altogether (solar panel makers like Sharp and Kyocera, perhaps?).

Whatever happens, I want in, at least as an investor. So, I guess next time I review my portfolio (which currently contains GOOG and nothing else) I'm gonna do some more research on graphene. It's probably not a big rush to find the right companies...since it'll be a very long bet, anyway.

<comment><USER2> Actually, The Graduate was exactly what I was thinking as I was typing my comment. ;)

Edit: didn't reply to the bigger point about oil companies. I kinda threw that out there as a quick thought and agree with you that the semiconductor, semi- co materials, or LCD guys might be better positioned. That said, few companies are as good at gathering, refining, processing and shipping gigatons of carbon as the oil companies.

<comment><USER4> "That said, few companies are as good at gathering, refining, processing and shipping gigatons of carbon"

That's abstracting too far. The food industry ships around gigatons of carbon too, which is just as "graphenic" as oil, namely, zero. Pencil manufacturers _actually_ use graphene, but it seems unlikely they're going to lead this drive either.

<comment><USER5> I thought pencil manufacturers actually use graphite. From the article I understand that graphene pencil is only useful to write on steel sheets.

<comment><USER4> I had been led to believe by previous articles such as [1] that graphite contains graphene, albeit in small quantities and not in a useful state. The process of trying to produce a link to substantiate this has left me less sure whether it "contains" graphene, or if it merely can produce it under the circumstances described in the article. Given what it is and how much carbon gets around on this planet, it is perhaps hard to say what "contains" graphene in the first place, in much the same way I'm often a bit annoyed when someone counts every oxygen and two hydrogens anywhere in a compound as "water", regardless of how tied up they are.

[1]: [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_702926...](http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_702926.html)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I have an encyclopedia from the 1950's at home with a page entitled "Asbestos - the new wonder material".

<comment><USER7> I was thinking similarly. Based on past history, I expect them to rush to find all sorts of short-term profitable applications for it, build new products around it, and not really look at things like negative health or environmental consequences. There just isn't as much money to be made by finding reasons not to use it as there is in finding reasons to use it.

<comment><USER8> well, it is basically graphite, just with more consistent microstructure. I'm having a hard time thinking of ways in which it could be worse than graphite in terms of health or environmental concerns.

<comment><USER9> Although it is not exactly proven, one can assume that asbestos' toxicity is related not to it's chemical properties but to physical geometry of particles of asbestos dust which seem similar to dust that you would get from carbon nanotubes. On the other hand, there is quite significant question whether this actually is problem (even in asbestos case) given right uses and technologies.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Optical computers, genetic catalogs, nanorepair modules--forget all of that. It's when you see a megaton of steel suspended over your head by a thread the thickness of a human hair that you really find God in technology.

* Anonymous Metagenics Dockworker - MorganLink 3DVision Live Interview

<comment><USER11> I hate to be that guy but:

"megaton |ˈmegəˌtən|

noun

a unit of explosive power chiefly used for nuclear weapons, equivalent to one million tons of TNT"

<comment><USER12> You're being that guy. Plus, you're wrong.

Mega- is a standard SI prefix, and the use of "megaton" to denote one million tons is entirely correct. Yes, it's also true that "megaton" has a second meaning. This fact does not invalidate its other meaning. In fact, if you bother looking this up in actual dictionaries, you'll find that the normal mass definition is often listed first, and the explosive definition is listed second, for what it's worth.

<comment><USER11> Wow, sorry man. Didn't mean to waste your time/bother you. I just looked it up in the dictionary I had handy, as the wording seemed strange to me.

In any case, I am glad I learned something new today!

<comment><USER13> It's also a quote from the computer game Alpha Centauri.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> If IBM can make a 150 GHz graphene transistor, why does Dr Phaedon Avouris, of IBM, say that it cannot replace silicon? Isn't clock frequency a measure of the transistor's ability to turn on _and off_ quickly?

<comment><USER15> There's so much more than clock frequency. The place silicon shines isn't so much it's material properties for producing individual switches - they're good, but there's better out there.

It's the raw manufacturability that silicon has. It's by far the easiest material to work with. It's abundant, cheap, and easy to obtain. It's got properties that lend it to easy junction doping and easy annealing. It's easy to deposit new layers on top of etched silicon. It's got a lattice that matches up nicely with the materials you'd want to use for contacts.

In short, the advantages of silicon aren't in it's ability to make transistors. It's in it's ability to make transistors while on a high volume assembly line.

It's going to be a while if we see whether graphene can match silicon for that.

<comment><USER16> How much of the ease of using silicon is due to its inherent properties, and how much is due to the many billions that have been sunk into R&D?

<comment><USER17> I'm going to hazard that a lot is based on inherent properties. probably 'most' of the ease. They were mucking around with silicon computers with basically hobby chemistry sets back in the fifties and sixties, where today, with some of the best materials science we have, we're only able to manipulate graphene on the nanoscale..

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> It's weird that this article mentions the problem of graphene lacking a semiconducting form and then fails to mention carbon nanotubes at all. I don't do research in this area, so I'm unaware, but it seems that much more work is currently being done with CNTs than graphene.

</comment><comment><USER19> There is currently a 1 billion Euro proposal for a grant on graphene research in the EU. [1] But the decision will not be made before the end of 2012.

[http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110308/full/news.2011.143.ht...](http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110308/full/news.2011.143.html)

edit: Sorry, not to much new information here. They also mention it in the original submission.

</comment><comment><USER20> I want clothing embedded with sheets of Graphene. Imagine the protection! I ride a motorcycle, which is one of the most dangerous daily activities one can do, and something that exhibits these properties could save me a lot of pain in wearing armored gear etc.

There are also a range of applications in the military and security industries.

<comment><USER21> Isn't most of motorcycle safety designed to a) make sure no part of you catches the ground and b) spread out the energy as much as possible (spatially and temporally)? Cause I don't think just sheets of graphene would be very good at dealing with energy dissipation. You might not be able to break the graphene sheets, but the energy would just transfer through to your body.

<comment><USER20> If the sheet of graphene can't be pierced, it would protect from the most common mild injury in motorcycle accidents: road rash. (Right?) It'd prevent direct contact with the road, it'd prevent your clothing being ripped off and your skin being turned into ground meat.

Not that I really know what I'm talking about, but that was my line of thinking…

<comment><USER22> A sheet of graphene is one atomic layer thick. It's _very_ easy to tear apart or pierce with any macroscopic object.

<comment><USER23> A "sheet" doesn't neccesarily refer to the molecular structure. In this contex, it would mean several layers composited together.

<comment><USER22> Several layers of graphene put together is graphite, and it's pretty non- magical.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Coincidentally, news out today of some impressive research results on using graphene in li-ion batteries: <http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/05/chang-20110521.html></comment>


Why cant we find "our guy"?? - <AUTHOR>

So startup looking for "our guy", the right developer to take on our great idea. I cant begin to describe my frustration with trying to find someone. This is not just another equity job, we have some seed money and we have all the right connections to Angel and VC investors. Through all of our networking and interviewing, we still have not been able to find "our guy". Some developers thought the idea was too big and turned it down because its not their niche, others dont have time, etc. My intentions were never to ask HN for for this as I thought I would be able to find someone easily, but I wanted to reach out to all of you to see if you have any advice or if anyone is interested in hearing more.
UPDATE
The idea is a new travel site. We need help getting our vision to beta. We can offer a contracted cost with milestones plus equity depending on your level of experience and your current work load.
contact dmlevi[AT]GMAIL <comment><USER2> Maybe the idea is too big for the incentives you are offering?

What is the right developer?

A lot of start-ups are still looking for that all singing braniac super rock ninja star developer who can program 10 times as fast as everyone else.

But often they aren't willing to pay 10 times as much, or even a reasonable amount.

Keep in mind if you can't afford to pay a developer to work full time, then you need to pay them enough to make sacrificing a large portion of their social and family life in pursuit of seeing your idea succeed.

Also think about how you are pitching the idea. These guys are investors too, they are investing their time, years of experience, wisdom and hard graft into your idea. They need to believe that this will succeed if they push it hard enough.

Worst cases:

Your idea sucks - don't listen to nay-sayers so keep going even if everyone else says it won't work. Dont stop till you are ready too

Your idea is too big - break it into something smaller and more achievable

<comment><AUTHOR> Well said. We did break it down to MVP. One reason it was turned down because the developer did not want to sign an NDA. We are not looking for a ninja braniac haha although that would be nice. We just want someone that is ready to join the team ;) They will paid for the job with equity incentives.

<comment><USER3> Get used to developers not wanting to sign NDAs. We've had it banged into our heads again and again that we shouldn't be signing NDAs, particularly when just starting to talk with someone about their project. Besides, it'll be good practice when you pitch to VCs - they don't sign NDAs either:)

<comment><AUTHOR> We understand there are a million great ideas and its all execution but whats to stop a developer from saying "wow thats a great idea, I dont need them" When you are approaching a VC you already have eyes and a revenue model. They are already too late. I hear you and we are open to sharing our ideas without NDA's through personal connections. We have shared with developers that are connected in Chicago land area and if we could get a personal connection we dont have a problem with that.

<comment><USER3> The counter argument to that is "Great idea - what other value are you going to bring to the table?" For me, being asked to sign an NDA is often a signal that they don't have anything else unique to bring to the table, which is usually a recipe for failure. Instead, there should be some other reason why this idea will only succeed if you do it. Some good ones are personal domain expertise, access to partnerships, access to distribution channels, design/marketing skills, etc.

If all you bring to the table is an idea, than to be honest, the developer probably doesn't need you.

<comment><AUTHOR> Well we were trying to stay modest but heres why we make great parnters.

1 - Our Education. MBA Students from University of Chicago Booth. Ranked top 5 MBA every year. The network is extremely strong and we have all the connections a startup could need.

2 - We have seed $. We can pay you to bang out the MVP in no more than 6 weeks with a nice equity bonus. We are looking for a partner.

3 - We are good guys. We want to make it and we think this is it. Simple as that. Its not this is my idea, do this or do that. The developer will be a partner and have insight and say. We hope to sell and then move on as a team to the next job.

<comment><USER3> Not to belabor the point, but none of the three things you listed are unique to you. They're the same three things that every other entrepreneur that's looking for an engineer or CTO is saying to prospective candidates.

None of these three points say anything about what you bring to the table that the engineer couldn't find anywhere else (ie, domain knowledge, partnerships, distribution, etc). Once you figure that part out, you won't need the NDA, because it would be a bonehead move to try and build it without you. Not to mention, your likelihood of success will go up dramatically.

Just my 2 cents...

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> You mention a "big idea" and use the startup "team" rhetoric, but that's all par for the course. Think about all the signals you're giving off. Others have mentioned here already what the NDA signals. Contract-based pricing and vague equity incentives feels a lot like you're looking to outsource development of a huge project for too little return despite the "team" rhetoric, even if that's not your intention.

Options:

1\. if you're looking for "your guy", (s)he needs to REALLY be part of the team. Don't tip-toe around it with vague incentives, contract-based pricing and NDAs. These things signal inconfidence.

2\. Become "your guy". Or at least try. Shw that you're hustling and that this thing will get made with or without "your guy".

<comment><AUTHOR> Humj thanks for your insight. You should understand my business partner and I are new to this. We have been reading posts for HN for a few months now trying to feel out the community. Although it seems my statement seems vague, dont mistake it for not being confident. Its purely two MBA's taking a leap. If we had development skills this wouldnt be a problem then would it? Part of the reason for finding "my guy" and your correct could be a woman too, is that we want to partner with a developer. I think you've mistaken my post. When I post an actual offer I will take this advice and not tip-toe. An NDA to us more like a pre-nup. Think of this way, we dont think anything is gonna happen but its there just incase? How can you argue against that as a developer? Im trying to learn here which is why I posted this so I value your opinion.

<comment><AUTHOR> Also I did not say this was a "big idea", thats what developers have said to us that we pitched it too...

<comment><USER4> I'm aware these may not be your intentions, as I stated in my post. I'm saying, be sure to step outside and think honestly about how it comes across to someone who isn't familiar with your or your business.

<comment><AUTHOR> Ya, personally I dont feel good about the NDA either. I can understand how it comes off but I think developers should also put themselves in our shoes. I only send it when its someone Im dealing with online or someone that I dont have a personal connection with. I have pitched to a few developers in Chicago based off personal connections because there is no need to worry. Unfortunately it seems as HN is against this but I still have not heard a good enough argument to prove me otherwise. Its unfortunate that developers are judgmental when asked to sign an NDA, however I can see how it can come across. Im def thinking outside the box but at the same time, taking precautionary measures to ensure sustaining our intangible value.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> David, it sucks to be in your position and I can sympathize. Most of us developers suck at UI/UX design and end up looking for "our guy/gal" designer too... and we don't have any money either.

A 21 month University of Chicago Booth MBA runs about 160k ( <http://www.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/admissions/costs.aspx> ), two of those is 320k. For just another 30k (10% more than you are already in debt/paid for) you could probably find a development shop to do an MVP. But 5k -10k on E-lance isn't going to do it. ( <http://www.elance.com/j/levine-group- llc/24158220/> )

<comment><AUTHOR> Ya haha we realized that which is why we reached out on HN. You make a really good point. Thanks for your feedback.

<comment><AUTHOR> Actually student loans is one of the best ways to borrow money. Very good point, we will look into this.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> The answer is that you are looking for the wrong sort of person. You are looking for perfection and someone awesome.

You should be trying to find a good junior/graduate and spend your seed money on giving them a full time job.

They will make mistakes, not do it the best way or the right way, but if you work closely with them then SOMETHING will get built, enough to prove your concept in the market. When your concept succeeds then you will have the money to employ someone more expensive to do it right.

Change your expectation and you will then find the right person.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the insight. We are working the IT department at UChicago so hopefully that will work out for us. We appreciate your input.

<comment><USER6> Universities are not the best source for finding juniors and graduates. Put a job ad on a major job board to find them.

Your next challenge is to be able to work out which of the many people who apply can get the job done.

Your primary mechanism for this, after shortlisting/initial interviews, is for each graduate to do a 1 day practical exercise to pull together a simple CRM app that allows creation and browsing of client details. They should have a week notice to prepare themselves for this before doing the test at your office.

You should pay them a straight salary, at the lowest end of the market. Forget anything complex and don't even talk about equity until they have proven themselves invaluable.

<comment><AUTHOR> Monster.com? We never considered that route but It cant hurt to post. I like your thought process. We have a developer from Orbitz on board that will help translate the "simple CRM app" haha ;) but thank you. Do you know what a salary should be for low end market right now? $20hr?

After reading HN for 3 months, I got the feeling developers enjoyed working for an equity bonus. But then again if this is not a partner then that doesnt make sense. Very useful stuff, thanks for your time.

<comment><USER6> >>>Very useful stuff, thanks for your time.

The price of the advice....... if you find someone using this approach then please do a "Tell HN:" post explaining how you used this approach to find the first developer for your startup.

<comment><AUTHOR> consider it done.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Maybe a brief description of "your idea" would be helpful for the discussion?

<comment><AUTHOR> Its a new travel site. We need help bringing the idea to beta so we can test the market. The site will include the right travel API that we can use to customize the data anyway we want. We have a developer from Orbitz on board, he just does not have the time to develop this. We are looking for a sign up page, a results page and an email page. The beta is very simple and less dynamic than the big vision.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> 1\. NDA

2\. You are likely not paying enough.</comment>


Ask HN: So, Who's Graduating From School This Spring? - <AUTHOR>

Fellow HN'ers,<p>Anyone graduating this Spring? What are your plans?<p>(Extra credit if you can explain in a tweetable, digestable size :-) <comment><USER2> BS in Mechanical Engineering here, with 10 days to graduation. Then I'm going to trying out everything: applying for jobs, trying to get a research assistantship for grad school (hopefully RoMeLa), starting freelancing, and working on a web app which will hopefully be startup material. Let's just see what sticks.

<comment><USER3> I have 2 semesters left, but I'm in the same boat as you. Mechanical Engineering undergraduate, looking at a graduate program, already doing occasional freelance development, and a strong CS background even though I opted against that as a degree.

Is this common? I haven't run into anyone in my department that is doing something similar, and often get asked why I did not simply get a CS degree.

<comment><USER2> I get asked the same all the time, and my standard answer is that I would hate CS if I had to take classes in it, doing tedious homework problems in C++.

I don't think it's too common, though I did get surprised once by a classmate of mine turning out to be a freelance website designer.

By the way, how do you get clients besides friends/family? Having a good portfolio is an obvious way, but have yet to build that up for myself.

<comment><USER3> That is my exactly response as well. Mechanical Engineering really interests me, and usually what I say is this: "If I can get an ME undergrad/masters degree AND self-teach myself CS/programming (effectively getting a "CS" degree) on the side and handle client work, etc. that should be twice as impressive."

Recently, I read an article here on HN which proclaimed that the best use of CS/IT knowledge is in non-CS positions. Use it as your secret weapon; use it to gain an advantage in your everyday life. Now, most ME majors nowadays have some rudimentary functional programming experience but I'm hoping that sentiment will still hold true.

As far as client work goes, all my development work is through the Facebook Platform (apps and whatnot) so I've built up a reputation on their developer forums and can pretty easily secure work based solely on that. I think the main hurdle with web development is that nearly everyone has a website these days. You might consider checking out some of your local companies and seeing which have poor websites and going from there. Otherwise, try to become a well known and reputable member somewhere online.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> About to leave University (BSc Software Engineering. 3 exams left, all this month).

I have a job secured in the security field and have a personal wiki full of projects that I want to do on the side. One of which is in the planning stages as I type this.

Looking forward to see what the next 12 months hold.

</comment><comment><USER5> I'm graduating with a BA in Economics.

Plans: I'll be writing software... like I have for the past 2 years ;)

</comment><comment><USER6> BS in CS. Graduated about a week ago from UF. Going to work for a bookstore.

</comment><comment> adam-_- Graduating in June. Perl developer for an ecommerce company in London.

</comment><comment><USER7> Graduating in June from high school. Going into computer science.

</comment><comment><USER8> working on enterprise web applications</comment>


Am I wrong in hating React JS? - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/front-end-hacking/am-i-wrong-in-hating-react-js-811ef963aa2d#.f48fbl7uy <comment><USER2> These frameworks are built so you can get applications finished faster. It's really personal preference that dictates which one will work for you.

So no, you aren't wrong. You just need to find the right framework (if any).</comment>


Show HN: My response to "Why isn't your service free?" - <AUTHOR> At http://trackmydrive.com we have recently started charging for our service. We got our first email stating that our service should be free. Here is our response:
Dear xxxxxx,
We received your comments expressing concern about the price we have placed on our service. We have decided to charge for the service based on the following reasons:
1. There are hosting and development charges that we pay to provide the service. We had to pay to develop the program and continue to pay for the data that is stored on our website. Without this capability we would not be able to provide the reports –the most important part of our service.
2. If we did serve your needs for free we could cover our costs by flooding your phone or computer with ads. We have chosen not to use this approach as it is our goal to simplify your life and make technology an asset not a frustration.
3. With the charges that we collect we are able to continue to improve and further develop our company. We are currently making investments that will deepen the capabilities of the service to simplify other business functions.
4. By charging we ensure that we are able to provide top notch customer service. We respond to each email we receive personally and take each comment under consideration. We appreciate your input! We certainly hope you can understand and even agree with our decision points as noted. Please also keep in mind that we are conscientiously trying to avoid the "bait and switch" tactic that many other service companies use in which they attract lots of free users only to begin charging them at a later date or flooding their systems with "free" ads.
Sincerely, The TrackMyDrive team <comment><USER2> Thank you.

This world needs more paid services and products and less ads.

</comment><comment><USER3> For real. This is the same philosophy we share for our iOS apps. I gladly pay for great software/services (i.e. Basecamp, Vimeo Pro.) Youtube, while ubiquitous, is a a visual pain, compared to paid Vimeo accounts.

<comment><USER4> Can you please elaborate on Youtube being a visual pain? I'm planning on putting up some product videos somewhere, and honestly, I'm always coming back for YT.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> 5) We value your trust and privacy, and by charging, we are able to continue to respect those without the temptation of having to resort to selling your data to third parties, as some other free services do.

</comment><comment><USER6> Was there a positive response to this email of yours?

<comment><AUTHOR> Nothing so far. Maybe they are confused? :)</comment></comment>


Amazon's Business Is 'Disappearing,' Columbia's Greenwald Says - <AUTHOR> http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-01/amazon-s-business-is-disappearing-columbia-s-greenwald-says.html <comment><USER2> Amazon is in online retail. Profitability is in long-term and volume of sales.

Apple tablets a competitor? Sure, but I can still buy my Apple accessories and products from Amazon.</comment>


Easter Egg Turns Every Consumer Spec-Ed Nintendo Switch into a Ruby Machine - <AUTHOR> https://ruby.social/@amirrajan/101985836120728909 <comment><USER2> And... it's gone!

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19779056](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19779056)</comment>


Ask HN: What technical diligence questions do VC's forget to ask? - <AUTHOR> Beyond the checklists, what are some of the most important, and telling questions that should be asked during technical due diligence? <comment><AUTHOR> When you advertise a programmer vacancy how many applications do you get?</comment>


Ask HN: Any good CMSs for showing off creative works? - <AUTHOR>

Apologies if this is an inappropriate submission, but I don't know any community from where I could get better recommendations...
5 years ago I rolled my own CMS in PHP for a personal website. It was a basic hierarchical site that displayed all my creative endeavors. So different sections and subsections for woodworking, for guitar recordings, for sculpture, drawings, writings, minor inventions, some stupid Flash games, open source projects (but hosted on github or google code), juggling recordings, and more, just to stress how varied the content was...so not just code, or just visual art. Each "leaf" page had a few pictures, or a video, or a link (or combinations thereof), and a short description. Nothing fancy, and it served me well for a few years, but it was a pain to upload new content, and didn't have any social features like comments for each project. My site somehow got some malicious JS injected about a year ago and I took it down cause I didn't have time to investigate.
Fast-forward to today, and I want my site back up, but still don't have time to de-rust my own CMS, and just want something to plug and play. Think maybe a really stripped down version of my deviantart profile (http://dougk16.deviantart.com/gallery/). I started this somewhat alongside my personal site, but it didn't really have the flexibility I needed, and of course wasn't on my own server.
Any ideas?
Thank you! <comment><USER2> you might wanna check <http://www.yeager.cm>

</comment><comment><USER3> Easiest would be to use Wordpress</comment>


2 Weeks with Republic Wireless: Not Great, but Still Recommend - <AUTHOR> http://lifeafterliquidity.com/2013/12/16/republic-wireless/ It's a really amazing mobile phone company concept, but there is a long way to go in terms of executing the vision. <comment><AUTHOR> It's a really amazing concept for a mobile phone company, but a lot to improve in the near term. Happy to discuss.</comment>


Show HN: A secure way to share snapshots from your Mac (free) - <AUTHOR> https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snappyapp/id512617038?ls=1&mt=12

<comment><AUTHOR> Short URL shareable snapshot with (1)self-destroy in X minutes and (2)password protected with end-to-end encryption.</comment>