What we can learn from overweight pets about human obesity - <AUTHOR> http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190109-what-we-can-learn-from-overweight-pets-about-human-obesity <comment><USER2> Summary:

1\. Suggests pet obesity patterns may shed light on human obesity patterns

2\. Worldwide pet obesity is between 22% and 44%

3\. Concedes that pet obesity can at least partially be explained be feeding habits and activity of owners.

4\. However, obesity is apparently increasing in some wild animals[1]

5\. Observes that obesity is increasing in humans, including 41 million children under the age of five (who presumably don't control their own diet).

6\. Cites heritability of obesity in humans is between 40-75%

7\. Observes the role of antibiotics in weight-gain for both humans and livestock.

8\. Cites that a mouse injected with gut microbes from an obese human leads to weight gain! [2]

9\. Notes a link between processed food and decreased microbiome diversity.

10\. Points out constant light exposure increases BMI.

11\. Estrogens in our daily lives like BPA in receipt paper are considered a potential culprit too. [3]

12\. Suggests that studies by the food industry appear to be biased.

[1] [http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC56772...](http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC5677226&blobtype=pdf)

[2] [http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6150/1241214](http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6150/1241214)

[3] [https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac- aspc/documents/servic...](https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac- aspc/documents/services/publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease- prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-37-no-12-2017/ar-02-eng.pdf)

<comment><USER3> Thanks.

This one I had to laugh at.

> 12\. Suggests that studies by the food industry appear to be biased.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> This article doesn't mention it, but even lab rats with controlled diets are heavier. If you add pets, wild animals, and lab rats, to humans you end up with a compelling line of evidence for a common factor.

It fascinates me that so many of these comments ignore such an intriguing set of facts in favor of a physics/moral failing line of argument--it is like the idealogy blinds people to new evidence.

[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-lab-rats- are-...](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-lab-rats-are-changing- our-view-of-obesity/)

</comment><comment><USER5> I compulsively look at ingredients in packaged food, including pet food. Two of the most common ingredients in cheap pet foods are soybeans and corn. Neither of these are evolutionarily-appropriate for our pets.

Corn is mostly starch, with little in the way of nutrients. Humans traditionally made corn more digestible with a little lime [1] -- modern corn tortillas are all made this way, but corn chips are not. I don't think pet food manufacturers properly treat their corn (I'm speculating here, and would be happy to be incorrect).

Soybeans have some nutrients, but they also contain mega-doses of the inflammatory Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Soy is also a potent source of phytoestrogens. These plant chemicals cause an estrogen-like reaction in tissues. In healthy people estrogen is tightly regulated. In unhealthy people, adipose tissue creates aromatase [2] to turn testosterone into estrogen, creating a self-destructive feedback loop that is hard to escape. Estrogen is removed from the body by the liver [3]. When the liver is overwhelmed it can't keep up with excessive amounts of estrogen.

Pets, people, and food animals need evolutionarily-appropriate foods, fewer soybeans, less corn.

One of my family would like to lose weight (more than one, but I'm thinking of one in particular). He commonly has a "healthy" salad, but smothers it in inflammatory soybean/canola oil (sold as "salad dressing"). Even expensive pet foods are typically contaminated with canola oil (ostensibly for the "omega-3's", but really because they're cheap calories that look good on the label).

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominy#Production](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominy#Production) / [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization)

[2] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue#Physiology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue#Physiology) \- "Adipose tissue is the greatest peripheral source of aromatase in both males and females,[citation needed] contributing to the production of estradiol."

[3] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen#Metabolism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen#Metabolism)

</comment><comment><USER6> The short version seems to be that xenochemical effects, with varying genetic sensitivities, cause excessive appetite in animals via similar pathways to humans. In particular, food contaminants like antibiotics, emulsifiers, and plastic monomers (bisphenol A) may disrupt gut bacteria thus affecting hunger. The behavior of these animals is used as an example to argue that this hunger is very difficult to ignore. The effect of emulsifiers on gut bacteria seems particularly worthy of investigation because, unlike antibiotics and plasticizers, emulsifiers are added to foods intentionally.

It seems likely that because all of these xenochemical effects are purportedly mediated via effects on the gut ecosystem, they can probably be mitigated or even eliminated by a diet which promotes the health of gut bacteria; presumably, one with plenty of fiber and fresh vegetables.

The bit about wild animals getting fat links to a paper about marmots which blames it on climate change extending the growing (non-hibernation) season. Seems to be unrelated IMHO.

</comment><comment><USER7> I think part of the issue is also that humans don't actually know what a healthy weight for a dog or a cat even _looks like_.

We get criticized all the time that we are underfeeding our dog; that you can "see her ribs", that she's "way too skinny". Yet according to the vet, she's about the right weight — maybe a tiny bit over.

</comment><comment><USER8> The article quickly discussed fecal transplants, which seem to be an extremely promising and underexplored avenue (for obvious reasons) for dealing with obesity without surgery. I always figured if I got seriously overweight I would try it. I first heard about it from the Freakonomics blog (different episode than was mentioned in another comment: [http://freakonomics.com/podcast/freakonomics-radio-the- power...](http://freakonomics.com/podcast/freakonomics-radio-the-power-of- poop/))

</comment><comment><USER9> My friends like to shit on me for eating organic, but it looks like hormones and pesticides lead to weight gain

[https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=pesticides+obesity](https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=pesticides+obesity)

On the flip side, there probably isn't enough land for everyone to eat organic, so it's not a global solution

<comment><USER10> I looked at a few of those studies (including the top hits) and it doesn't look like any of them bothered to control for patient income. Since organic food and thus exposure to non-organic-farming hormone and pesticides is basically a proxy for income nothing at all useful can be drawn from these studies other than that poor people tend to be fatter.

Medical studies in general have a long way to go to catch up to even the stuff coming out of social-science and public policy journals.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Is there any research that catogorizes how different foods impact satiety and craving that anyone could point me to?

It would be interesting to see a study that examines how different foods impact these when introduced in an average diet.

</comment><comment><USER12> It is fascinating and a little bit scary to learn that adding antibiotics to livestock's feed makes it possible to fatten up animals with less food! Biology is full of surprises.

<comment><USER13> It would make sense that for the immune system to fight property, calories are consumed. The soldiers gonna eat after all. (I don't actually know what I am talking about...)</comment></comment>


Measuring the system clock frequency using loops (Intel and ARM) - <AUTHOR> https://lemire.me/blog/2019/05/19/measuring-the-system-clock-frequency-using-loops-intel-and-arm/ <comment><USER2> I don't think this is how you measure clock frequencies.

Don't assume each iteration will take once cycle, and divide the time by the number of iterations.

Instead, you measure the time it takes for several loops that are likely to have prime ratios in terms of execution time, and then you figure out the common denominator, which is your clock frequency.

So you never have to do something ugly like:

      #ifdef __aarch64__
        frequency *= 2; // Many ARM processors need 2 cycles per iteration due to lack or flag renaming and fusion
      #endif

<comment><USER3> The cycle time of all the instructions involved is specified in the architecture reference manual. The issue here is that the Intel decoder will fuse "dec %[counter]; jnz cyclemeasure2" into a single instruction. So the Intel loop is doing one cycle per count and the ARM one is two cycles per count.

<comment><USER2> That's not true for any high-end processor from the last 15 years or so. You just can't predict how instructions will interleave and how much parallelism the processor decoder will be able to extract at run-time.

<comment><USER3> In general no, but if you're only using two instructions, subtract and branch, it's feasible. There's only one register involved, so each subtract is always waiting on the previous one and they cannot run in parallel.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I wonder how this method responds to things like Intel® Turbo Boost™. My understanding is that it boosts the clock speed when within thermal limits; I expect that the CPU would be at its lowest temperature earlier in boot, and so your loop would return a higher frequency than it would, say, after dealing with a Hacker News flood.</comment>


Working with multiple Kubernetes clusters made easy using tmux - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/arunvelsriram/kube-tmuxp <comment><USER2> I don't see how this makes it any easier or safer than kubectx.

<comment><AUTHOR> In kubectx, inside a single session all the contexts will be available so switching back and forth won't be much safe.

In kube-tmuxp every cluster will have its own kubeconfig file. Inside a tmux session there is no way to switch to a different kubernetes context. Contexts can be switched only by switching tmux sessions. Also tmux session switching is much easier than switching via command. For example: tmux-prefix + s lists all sessions and you can interactively switch between them.</comment></comment>


The benefits of working underground in Durham, NC - <AUTHOR> http://team.adzerk.com/post/6354206244/the-benefits-of-working-underground-in-durham <comment><USER2> Cool article. Our office is down the street from the American Underground and I'm down there fairly regularly. The space is definitely starting to gain quite a bit of traction and is getting to be a popular location for small teams that need a starter office. The Underground's growth is probably due to the growth of the Durham entrepreneurial community in general. There has been a lot of startup activity in the area over the past couple of years and it doesn't show any signs of slowing.

I'd love to see Durham get a co-working space of some sort (something I've heard is in works), which might be a way for even smaller teams to meet other people and work together.

<comment> aaron-nc I can tell you with some certainty more co-working/collaborative space for tech startups and tweeners is coming to downtown Durham :)

<comment><USER2> Awesome. That's what I've heard. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> I worked in the adzerk office this past weekend during Triangle Startup Weekend. At first I was a little bothered by the lack of natural light but I quickly got used to it and actually enjoyed the environment/architecture there.

Since moving to the triangle though, I think the best decision I've made is moving to Durham. It's still affordable, has a lot of character, and offers the same amenities that Raleigh and Chapel Hill offer. I think this why the startup scene in Durham is taking off.

</comment><comment><USER4> It's awesome to see NC on the front page of HN and it not be related to how backwards our new broadband laws are. :D

I was curious if anything similar to American Underground existed in the state, glad to see it does. Thanks for writing!

</comment><comment><USER5> Durham gets a bit of a bad rep from the rest of the state, but it's an awesome little city on the quiet - in addition to the tech startup scene, it has a blossoming food truck community, a big arts scene, tons of bars, and they didn't bat an eyelid when my wife and I applied to get married by CCB Plaza in Pac-Man outfits last year :).

(and on that note, when I finally get this damn visa, anybody in the area interested in hiring somebody with sysadmin / JavaScript/Ruby development experience? ;))

<comment><USER6> We (Spring Metrics) are indeed interested in hiring Ruby devs. <http://www.springmetrics.com/jobs.html> When does the visa arrive? Can you bribe someone to get it faster? ;-)

<comment><USER5> If only I knew! It should be relatively soon now (next month or so), but we've managed to hit so many bumps along the way, including a period where the visa application sat untouched in Texas for almost six months last year, that I don't want to jinx it :).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Durham's a great town putting a lot of effort into enticing startups to settle there. Check out Bull City Forward <http://bullcityforward.org/> an incubator backed in part by the city.

</comment><comment><USER8> More about the Durham, NC start-up scene here: <http://www.downtowndurhamstartups.com/>

<comment><USER9> And since we're on the subject, don't forget RTP Hackers & Founders:

<http://www.meetup.com/RTP-Hackers-Founders/>

And also, Triangle Tech Talk:

<http://triangletechtalk.com/>

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I grew up in Durham, NC so it's great to see startups like Adzerk doing well. It's clear that the startup scene in the Triangle (with all the tech talent, access to universities, etc.) is blowing up. Keep it up!

</comment><comment><USER11> Durham is definitely one the fastest growing startup hubs in America. ReverbNation.com, where I work is here and it's awesome, we're also hiring :)

<comment><USER12> Hey espadagroup, I'm applying around for jobs in the Raleigh/Durham area. I just got done with my first startup and moved to the area recently. I applied to the PM position at Reverb but never heard back. If you guys are still looking for someone to fill that role, drop me a line.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> For anybody "looking in from the outside" here's an article about the Startup Weekend that was held here, just last weekend. It might help you get a feel for what the startup scene here is like:

[http://wraltechwire.com/business/tech_wire/news/blogpost/968...](http://wraltechwire.com/business/tech_wire/news/blogpost/9687876/)

</comment><comment><USER13> I noticed LaunchBox in the article and with all the Durham-ites replying to this post, it's a perfect time to ask: Are they still a thing? Their website shows no signs of having the program again this year and their last blog post was in February.

<comment><AUTHOR> The rumor is that they won't be doing an incubator class anymore - they want to move up stream and do more fund style investing.

<comment><USER13> Thanks for the reply. That's interesting. Do you know if this was by choice or if they just couldn't make their original model work in Durham?

<comment><AUTHOR> Pretty sure it is by choice - I know at least 4 of the last class have already secured funding.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> How are the Ruby, Python, Javascript and Clojure communities in the area?

What startups in the area are in the consumer tech space?

I was given the names of a bunch of people in the startup community there by Fred Hutchison, but I was very disappointed to find out that none of them were on Quora. This left me with the impression that there isn't much of a community or that the community lives in a bubble that is separate from instead of networked with the tech communities in Silicon Valley, NYC, Boulder, Austin and Boston.

<comment><USER9> _How are the Ruby, Python, Javascript and Clojure communities in the area?_

There's a very strong Ruby community here... Lots of companies using Ruby, and a very active Ruby user's group with multiple hack-night events throughout the month, at different parts of the Triangle.

The Clojure community is pretty strong as well, due to the presence of Relevance, Inc. in Durham. Relevance seems to employ almost everybody that's anybody in the Clojure world (ok, maybe a little bit of hyperbole, but it feels that way sometimes) and there's an active Triangle Clojure Meetup. Not sure what other companies in the area are using Clojure though.

There are active user groups for both Javascript and Python as well, in addition to .Net, PHP, Java, a "JVM Languages" hack-night group (for Scala, JRuby, Jython, Groovy, etc. folks), and a number more than I'm sure I'm forgetting.

We also have a very active Lean Startup group.

 _What startups in the area are in the consumer tech space?_

For a list of area startups, see:

[http://www.downtowndurhamstartups.com/content/startup+direct...](http://www.downtowndurhamstartups.com/content/startup+directory/8880)

 _I was given the names of a bunch of people in the startup community there by Fred Hutchison, but I was very disappointed to find out that none of them were on Quora._

Hmm... there are definitely some Triangle area startup folks on Quora. I know a few of them offhand:

<http://www.quora.com/Phillip-Rhodes> (that's me)

<http://www.quora.com/Nathaniel-Talbott> (runs Spreedly and organizes the Lean Startup Circle and the Ruby Meetup)

<http://www.quora.com/Jimmy-Thrasher> (another Ruby guy)

<http://www.quora.com/James-Avery> (founder of AdZerk, is posting on this thread, I believe)

<http://www.quora.com/Chris-Redinger> (organizes the Clojure Meetup)

<http://www.quora.com/Kacy-Fortner-1> (works for AdZerk)

<http://www.quora.com/Wayne-Sutton> (co-founder of TriOut)

<http://www.quora.com/Daniel-Chalef>

<http://www.quora.com/Glen-Caplan-1>

<http://www.quora.com/Eric-Martindale>

<http://www.quora.com/Anthony-Joaquin-Raphael-Deloso>

<http://www.quora.com/Ryan-Allis>

etc., etc...

<comment><USER14> The disappointing thing is that the only person on that list with any real activity was you and many of the others only have activity related to their startup. Which RTP startup people are active HNers besides you and javery?

What about interface and ux design talent in the area? Anyone notable?

When is the next decent event between now and the 21st? I'll be in Raleigh until then before I fly back to São Paulo and then move to SF in August. I'd like to get an idea of what is going on here before I go.

<comment><USER9> _Which RTP startup people are active HNers besides you and javery?_

I know there are more of us here, but I don't know everyone's HN username. Offhand I can think of kacyf (works with javery at AdZerk) <http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=kacy>

and Corey from Blinkness: <http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Cblinks>

I know there are others, I just can't tell you who they are on here, from memory.

 _What about interface and ux design talent in the area? Anyone notable?_

A lot of the folks that work at Viget Labs are pretty sharp on UI and UX. We had a great UX team assembled at Lulu.com at one time, but unfortunately that team got broken up, some people moved away, some people went to other companies, and some people I just plain lost touch with. But yeah, there are some UI/UX people here who do some nice work.

<http://www.viget.com/>

 _When is the next decent event between now and the 21st?_

Hmmm... we've had a flurry of stuff just in the last few days, so I'm not sure what else is going on this month. Let me glance at some calendars and I'll post an update later. Or maybe somebody else will have something "on the tip of their tongue" so to speak.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I second what everyone's saying about the the underground. My company scoped out an office down there, but we opted for the Snow Building on Main Street. I think not having natural light would have bothered me, but the trade off is having good companies very near by. Either way, there's lots of affordable office space in Durham and the business community (particularly the start-up community) is strong and getting stronger.

<comment><USER16> I hear you man, snow building is where it's at.

<comment><USER9> The Snow Building is extra cool, just because of the presence of SplatSpace![1]

[1]: <http://www.splatspace.org>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I'm happy to see NC even mentioned in the startup world. I'm tired of people raising an eyebrow at the 919 area code on my business cards. D-TOWN, STAY DOWN.

</comment><comment><USER18> American Underground is very nice. I was there for the first time a week or so ago for the Triangle Cocoaheads meet up and was very impressed with the space!

</comment><comment><USER19> I live a couple of hours away from Durham and might be interested in coming down and staying in some temporary housing while trying out the startup scene there. But what's the deal with Underground? Is it an incubator? An office? I went to the site and I was unable to determine if I was looking at office space or applying to be accepted somewhere.

<comment><USER20> For the most part, it's more of a fraternity for geeks. You get to know other companies and their employees a lot more than a traditional office park. Every office has a huge glass wall that faces the hallway, so you get to see the same people every day as they pass by your office. You'll often find local angels and VC's in the hallways and conference rooms. The space is designed for startups. Small spaces for early stage companies, at a decent rate, with short lease terms.

As far as housing goes, I /think/ West Village in downtown Durham does 3 month leases, but I would check on that. Of few of my friends from the last Launchbox class stayed there. It's a bit expensive relative to the area though, so I would look around if you're on a budget.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Wait a sec, weren't you the same guys that told me you started to go stir crazy working in an office with no natural light? :)

It's a really cool place. I love a dark room to work in but I worry about the long term effect of working in a basement (bunker).

</comment><comment><USER22> The title of this link is confusing. The place referenced is the American Underground. It's not actually subterranean or below ground. Confusing to an outsider.

<comment><USER9> It's in the basement of the building, I think that's where they derived the name.</comment></comment>


People have been claiming to own the moon for over 250 years - <AUTHOR> http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/people-have-been-claiming-to-own-the-moon-for-over-250-years <comment><USER2> TLDR summary: Anyone can claim anything

Within the next decade though I think this question is going to take on a more interesting twist. The Senate, and has just passed legislation that says "if you can mine some resource from an exoplanet resource, you own it." which basically enables folks to mine asteroids, and as far as the US is concerned, keep the profits[1]. Assuming this becomes law, you can imagine that someone who landed a robot on the moon, and recovered water from the regolith, would be in a position to make a pretty profit selling that water to the first humans that land for an extended stay. Then there is the whole colonizing thing, if you live there and raise crops (see the reference in The Martian) international law recognizes a colonizing right.

So for the last 250 years this has been a joke because nobody could actually go to the moon for an extended stay, but that will change, perhaps sooner than many people think.

[1] [https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3snvnx/us_congress_l...](https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3snvnx/us_congress_legalizes_asteroid_mining/)</comment>


China's internet: A giant cage - <AUTHOR> http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21574628-internet-was-expected-help-democratise-china-instead-it-has-enabled

<comment><USER2> As I was reading this, I kept thinking, Is this a satire of the American government? But no, it was just some jingoistic piece singling out one foreign country.

I accept that the Chinese government is terrible. It's the incredulous "it would never happen in The Free World™" tone of the article that pisses me off.

Do people believe the government doesn't shut down or freeze individual sites at will? Been on 4chan today?

Do people really believe the Chinese government has jailed more people for expression on the Internet than the United States government? Do people believe the U.S. government isn't monitoring or manipulating the Internet? Back doors? Warrantless surveillance? Lurking? Subpoenas for user information without so much as a judge's signature? FISA? NDAA? CISPA? Does the FBI not track people or pay personal visits to people who say the wrong thing on Facebook or YouTube or any other social site?

I know we can express more here in the United States than people can in China, but I really think the feds are using the entire Internet as one giant honeypot right now, and the lid's just waiting to come down. We know the FBI collects information on non-criminal activities both in the real world and on the Internet in the event that those activities become illegal in the future. (Gore sites, for example, are being watched. It's not illegal to post gore. But when it becomes illegal, the FBI will have a list of all those people who posted on the clear Web.)

Do you know how easy it would be for the government to shut down the entire Internet in America? You have a few wireless operators, all heavily beholden to the federal government. You have a few cable and telco monopolies. Their executives and board members are all interchangeable, all part of the same sphere of influence — essentially a telecommunications cadre. This isn't accidental.

I say 10 friendly phone calls from the federal government could get 90 percent of the Internet shut down in this country inside of an hour.

Anyway, they haven't done it here yet. But that's about the only thing that distinguishes us from them.

<comment><USER3> "I say 10 friendly phone calls from the federal government could get 90 percent of the Internet shut down in this country inside of an hour."

While we're talking about crazy things that would never happen... the US could have relentlessly nuked the Soviets after Japan immediately post WW2 (by rushing the further development of lots of more nukes) and ruled the planet for a few hundred years with an iron fist by threatening to obliterate any nation that even thought about acquiring nukes or related tech.

That didn't happen either, because it'd have been insane.

The US Govt. couldn't shut down 90% of the Internet in the US because it can't afford to do so, both due to the extraordinary outrage and financial costs involved. Aka it'd be insane to do it, and would be like committing political suicide for the politicians that desperately cling to power.

Lots of stupid things are possible, so what. The US Govt. could have shut down the Internet in 1995 too. And they could go on a murderous rampage with mini nukes targeting each metro in the nation. That's about as likely as the Feds shutting down the golden goose.

<comment><USER4> In 2000 would you have said "The US could setup a prison just outside its borders so it could ignore the bill of rights, but it wouldn't - because that would be insane!?"

The US has been doing some pretty insane things... Yes they haven't Nuked half the planet, but that pretty far down the spectrum of 'insane'... Shutting down, or heavily censoring the internet is not...

You do recall what happened to wikileaks in the US, right? Some phone calls, and Amazon shuts their servers down....

</comment></comment></comment><comment> guard-of-terra I think that part of their success is because China a non-religious tyranny.

Muslim countries can't do it because of their hypocritical nature they try to ban and regulate everything, including things not related to regime's survival. They set absolutely unrealistic bar and never hit it.

On the other hand, Chinese regime is very pragmatic. They offer their internet where they only change a little. This they can do without making the whole thing unusable.

<comment><USER5> "I think that part of their success is because China a non-religious tyranny."

China's tyranny is religious. Their religion is called "communism", is not that people in China is free to believe what they want.

If you go to China you will see that family is very strong there, altars for dead family members are in lots of houses.

<comment><USER3> More specifically they worship the state. They replace god with that (compared to theocracies).

Communism is a mystical collectivist ideology, that proclaims the magic will of the people can make the impossible, possible. It pretends to bring reality under the rule of the subjective whim, such that if enough people believe something then it will be so. That's classic doctrine however, and it's questionable how much of that style of Communism still exists in China, they seem to be far more practical in their application.

<comment><USER6>
      | More specifically they worship the state.

That's arguable. I don't think that many people 'on the ground' in China _actually_ worship the state. On the other hand, many people in Muslim theocracies _actually_ worship Allah, even if they don't agree with every aspect of the government.

The government didn't replace religion, but they _do_ control it. There's an PRC sanctioned sect of Christianity. Buddhist monks in Tibet need to be registered Communist party members.

      | it's questionable how much of that style
      | of Communism still exists in China

It's questionable how much Marxism actually existed from the beginning. I don't think that Marx envisioned famines starving the poor in his "worker's paradise."

<comment><USER4> > There's an PRC sanctioned sect of Christianity. Buddhist monks in Tibet need > to be registered Communist party members.

You can, and a lot of people are buddhist in china without any interference from the state.

> It's questionable how much Marxism actually existed from the beginning. I > don't think that Marx envisioned famines starving the poor in his "worker's > paradise."

That's like saying "It's questionable how democractic USA is/was given they had slavery."

And to nitpick, they starved the rich as well ;-) (which is a bit more marxist)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Have been living and working in China since 10 years. This article is a good typical case of China misunderstanding. Example:

> Chinese private internet companies, many of them clones of Western ones, > have been allowed to flourish so long as they do not deviate from the party > line.

There is not one party line that everyone follows, this was true 30 years ago but isn't anymore. What we have is a blurry moving red line delimiting the topics that will trigger censorship.

Germany and France also have censorship. The difference is in the protected topics, the number of them and the blurrynesss of the lines.

<comment><USER8> > There is not one party line that everyone follows

That's because governments, both China and the US, is made up of people with opinions. The sort of people that get themselves into government are the same types of people who use the internet to keep power.

And not just in governments like the US and China, but also startups, VC funds, IT consulting companies, etc. These same types of people create lots of pseudonym logins on Hacker News to influence opinion about their products and services, another form of internet control.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I think that in the overall scheme of things having a limited internet is better than no Internet. Having said that I think the chinese peope should strive for a fully free Internet in china. I know easier said than done.. While working with engineers in China they had FB, which they would access through vpns. And proxies. Hopefully the day would come soon when do wouldn't have to resort to that or fear of the consequences of what they write.

<comment> guard-of-terra There is no choice of "no internet" for them. Oil countries can switch it off and never notice, but China without internet will have to part with half of those sweet sweet (and regime-supporting) growth percents.

That's because business communication will be ruined (or won't develop in the first place) and orders will go somewhere else.

In fact, they will need a commerce pimp - some party with internet (HK?) that makes deals for them and gives them a fraction of money.

So no, they don't actually have the "no internet" option.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> The Chinese and other regimes have done much scarier things than simple censorship by leveraging the power the Internet gives them:

[http://www.ted.com/talks/evgeny_morozov_is_the_internet_what...](http://www.ted.com/talks/evgeny_morozov_is_the_internet_what_orwell_feared.html)

</comment><comment><USER11> I might buy the Economist this week to read the rest of this report (it seems this was only the introduction).

As someone who has spent a decade or so in China, I believe that practically speaking the most obvious measure of control to anyone on the ground inside of the country (and one that is not mentioned in the article) is bandwidth limitation.

Quite simply, international links are huge lossy choke-points that make international services so painful to use that you may as well clone one inside the country... which will be more readily legally threatened and manipulated by the state. Combined with purposefully weak intellectual property law, this in and of itself is a masterful extension of soft power by the party.

(PS. The map of internet penetration statistics looks to me to be largely bullshit. Internet penetration for urbanites is far greater than 100%, with the average urban family having at least one internet-connected cellphone each, more than one tablet device, etc. In smaller areas, people tend to use internet cafes more often, which hides true penetration statistics.)

<comment><USER12> I would buy the Economist this week to read this report, but I'm sure the pages have been ripped out by the authorities. Thankfully, we get full access to the Economist at work.

> As someone who has spent a decade or so in China, I believe that practically > speaking the most obvious measure of control ... is bandwidth limitation.

This was true before 2009, but the situation became much worse after the Olympics when they actually blocked many of the sites we care about. VPNs are being attacked these days by the GFW as well, or anything that runs over https (reading hackernews is becoming harder).

<comment><USER11> > the situation became much worse after the Olympics when they actually > blocked many of the sites we care about. VPNs are being attacked these days > by the GFW as well

My experience was that 2012 was the year they really broke the internet with some forms of rate limiting and other attacks against VPN protocol streams. I found over the last few months the fastest/simplest way to get reliable arbitrary HTTP(S) links from within the country on IPv4 was to use SSH with port forwarding to a squid proxy, ie: ssh -N -L localport:tertiaryhost:tertiaryport user@server ... then configure your browser to use 127.0.0.1:localport as a proxy. The old OpenVPN-based methodology was far too unstable. Tor has been effectively cut, unless you do the email-hoop-jumping secret and possibly short-lived endpoint request process and then put up with absolutely pitiful performance.

I suspect IPv6 solves most of the current issues; unfortunately my shot at getting it to work for this purpose didn't succeed, perhaps due to crappy NAT devices.

Anyway, I got sick of China's hassle (and economic bubble pricing vs. reducing quality of life, re: pollution of all kinds, visa hassles, etc.) for the moment, so moved to Thailand. Internet is so much better here.

<comment><USER12> I have a good job here; I probably couldn't get anything else like a research position for a software company (Microsoft Research Asia) anywhere else in Asia.

Ya, last year was when they really started to crack down on VPNs. Life is quite harder, however, failure to adhere to IP rights makes local video streaming sites very useful compared to YouTube, so its not all bad (well, its not fair to the IP-right holders either).

Beijing is going through some tough times right now; the pollution is driving people out and preventing people from coming. This is probably a bigger problem than internet censorship.

<comment> guard-of-terra "failure to adhere to IP rights makes local video streaming sites very useful compared to YouTube"

You should definitely register on vk.com after you get off china if it's important to you.

<comment><USER12> I would just get Netflix if I went back to the states. I'm happy to be a lawful consumer of media; I just find things on Youku or Tudou because I have no other options otherwise.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Given how old, large, and diverse the entirety of Chinese culture is, if it takes 50 years for the Internet to gradually open up their society and system of government, it's still a big win. I view it as a matter of time, not if.</comment>


Gaza is the place world pretends to forget about - <AUTHOR> http://mondoweiss.net/2013/12/forgets-pretends-forget.html

<comment><USER2> Unfortunately, when Israel pulled out of Gaza and let its people decide their future, the first thing they did was to crash the agricultural infrastructure Israel left (such as greenhouses) and the next was to elect Hamas to rule them, who proceed immediately to building military infrastructure (factories to produce missiles, underground tunnels and weapon caches, smuggling tunnels one could pass a vehicle through to enhance terrorist and Iranian missiles to the Gaza strip). No wonder then that not too long later, Israel was forced to place a blockade to prevent or even slow down the military buildup. Later mini-wars following missiles attacks from Gaza towards Israeli cities clearly showed why the blockade was needed.

Had the Palestinians had a smarter leadership who had some sense in their heads, they would have put the huge amounts of money used for militarization (and corruption, as the EU has determined) to buildng better life for their citizens. Israel had all the incentives to help them had they for once got some sense. However, it is apparently too much to expect - see what is going all over the middle east (and other places like Nigeria) and you can tell that violence is endemic in the Arab/Muslim culture and until they won't evolve past this cultural disability, the people will continue to suffer, in Gaza, in Egypt, in Libia, in Nigeria, in Iran, in Syria, in Iraq, in Pakistan, ... (the list goes on)

</comment><comment><USER3> I'm an Israeli.

I have much sympathy for the people of Gaza, It sounds pretty rough there and I hope the blockade will be removed soon.

However, Israel put a blockade on Gaza since Hamas kept firing rocket to Israeli cities even after Israel removed all the settlements. Right now, there is no Israeli presence in Gaza, but rockets keep on falling. Gaza is in a such a poor state since Hamas leaders would rather buy thousands of rockets and explosives and not build an hospital or a water treatment system.

Moreover, Gaza has not been forgotten. In fact, it is mentioned in the news much more than Darfur, Congo, Eritrea or any other African country where people are being slaughtered and plagued daily without any western intervention.</comment>


Getting Derby ready for prime time - <AUTHOR> http://blog.derbyjs.com/2013/03/26/getting-derby-ready-for-prime-time/

<comment><USER2> > The biggest part of the simplification work is moving away from Racer's > current fully arbitrary JSON structure object and replacing it with a mirror > of Mongo's collections and documents.

Interesting to see the move towards the way in which Meteor implements their client/server models [1].

[1] <http://docs.meteor.com/#dataandsecurity></comment>


E-cigs shut down hundreds of immune system genes, regular cigs don't - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2016/02/e-cigs-shut-down-hundreds-of-immune-system-genes-regular-cigs-dont/ <comment><USER2> If there are any HNers reading that would like to stop smoking, here is a link to a good resource and community to start on that road:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/stopsmoking](https://www.reddit.com/r/stopsmoking)

I know it's not the best site, nor is the path to quitting an easy one, but it is something. The thing that I see helps most is a daily reminder and a damn good reason to stop (kids, new boyfriend, cancer, savings, etc). Find that, and it is a bit easier to quit. God speed.

</comment><comment><USER3> [https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2016/webprogram/Paper16208.html](https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2016/webprogram/Paper16208.html)

"[...] specifically focusing on cinnamon-flavored e-cigarettes containing the flavoring agent cinnamaldehyde. Our data indicate that cinnamaldehyde- containing e-liquids have a significant negative effect on epithelial cell physiology and barrier function. In addition, cinnamaldehyde-containing e-liquids compromise the immune function of key respiratory immune cells, such as macrophages, Natural Killer Cells, and neutrophils. Using translational human in vitro and in vivo approaches, our studies will ascertain whether exposure to e-cigs, with a specific focus on cinnamon-flavored e-liquids/e-cigs, have immune suppressive effects on the respiratory mucosa."

</comment><comment><USER4> Man, smokers can't win, can they? I'm against smoking because it smells, makes my eyes/throat hurt and is very, very annoying, even from a distance. E-cigs aren't as annoying (they're only annoying if you blow smoke directly on my face), so I don't have a problem with them.

If you want to vape, vape, I won't get involved, it's your personal choice.

<comment><USER5> Smokers could just google "home made snus".

Nicotine, no cancer, no smoke and no lung damage.

(It won't be sold in the EU, because of tobacco company lobbying.)

<comment><USER6> > no cancer

Snus is linked to mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach and pancreas cancer. Also, cancer of the penis.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Btw ecigs is big business. Costs nothing to produce, taxed as a regular product... Affiliate fees up to 40% commission etc

Philip Morris bought a big ecig producer etc...

<comment><USER8> They bought a "big" and extremely shitty company, to sell at gas stations everywhere so people will go back to cigs. The Ecig products they sell are just awful.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> From the article, it seems it's the flavourings that are added to e-cig liquid that seem to be causing the problem.

Presumably the effect would be the same if the same flavourings were added to 'real' cigs, but, with the exception of menthol, that isn't commonly done.

Why are flavourings so popular with e-cig? Does the liquid (glycerin?) have a foul taste that they are trying to mask?

<comment><USER10> I smoked for 20y, switched to ecigs to kick it. I treat ecigs as a medication, no flavoring.

Having tried a few flavors, I find flavorless to be by far the least offensive, to me, as well as the people around me.

I find this constant drumbeat of "ecigs will kill everyone" disingenuous at best.

<comment><USER11> Why do you think the people stating that ecigs are still harmful are being misleading?

<comment><USER12> It's as if we switched, in a culture of frequent duels, from dueling with pistols to the death, to dueling with new, fairly safe boxing gloves to the submission.

"But they cause concussions", you say. "But the children will be more likely to take up dueling", you say. "We should ban them". "Look, we banned putting stickers on guns long ago so they wouldn't appear to children, but they're putting stickers on boxing gloves now! The horror!"

"But look, the problem is this obscene need to fight each other over honor. It's a problem of the patriarchy. We should publish hundreds of studies showing this while glancing furtively at the 'ban boxing' folks"

The death toll from smoking rivals the death toll from all the wars in the 20th century. Even after this was made clear, people found themselves unable to quit, smoking until they die. The evidence suggests that e-cigs are somewhere in the vicinity of coffee as a danger to your health. They are incomparably safer, and if just one percent of e-cig users began using them in order to quit smoking, that's worth it.

This study is completely uncontrolled, and being promoted as a hit piece. "Environment influences gene expression" is not novel. If they want to impress on me that there is anything of any importance whatsoever, they need to do the same gene expression tests on groups who ate hummus vs who did not eat hummus, groups who took a daily walk vs groups who did not, groups who drink tea vs groups who did not.

<comment><USER8> THANK YOU! After actually reading any available data, I agree this study seems deeply flawed and in no way controlled. Did the Ecig users smoke previously? Does the gene suppression go away after a day? I highly doubt it's permanent. Did they have Ecig users who were using no flavoring? What nicotine level? What vg/pg ratio? Most importantly in my opinion, what type of device was used and at what wattage etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly happy to see testing happening, but we need to do it right and control ALL the variables.

Anecdotally, I was sick all the time when I smoked cigs. Switched to Ecig a little over a year ago and I haven't had any illness beyond a normal upset stomach every now and then.

<comment><USER12> The worst part is we _do_ need regulation and testing of this stuff for public safety, but there's propaganda machines on both sides thrown into such high gear we may never get it.

We need it because in a fly-by-night environment of small producers, there's no accountability or detectability if some idiot decides that melamine makes a good inert buffer material.

What we need is simple: Bonded, enforced labeling requirements. Safety could be nearly a solved problem with an ingredient list showing me how many milligrams of what precisely is going into the fluid (recipes left up to the producer), a license for distributing this precise formulation with money held as a security deposit, and an FDA mandate to randomly test one unit in every thousand.

What we'll probably get instead is that some US corporate power with interests in a fluid company will negotiate some deal that bans all their competitors for being unsafe, and things will be made stable and expensive once more.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> I used to smoke 3 packs of cigarretes a day, some days I couldn't even properly breathe. I tried everything, the only thing that got me out was vaping. Nowadays I can't even touch a cigarrete anymore because it tastes like crap.

From what I've seen so far, all of those studies always find the same thing, diacetyl is bad for you when inhaled. This only applies to some flavors and most of the "top" vaping juice vendors are aware of it and do not use juices that have diacetyl on it anymore.

</comment><comment><USER14> Why not just deliver nicotine?

<comment><USER15> Because smokers aren't nicotine addicts like heroin users are heroin addicts.

One of the big effects of nicotine is that it reinforces habit formation. Smokers have a giant pile of situations where the unthinkingly obvious thing to do is to pull out a cigarette and start smoking it. Reprogramming the brain by replacing the action with "pull out an e-cig and start vaping" is much easier to do than not having a thing to do. If you don't have something else to replace the act with, you're probably going to do something like "think about how much you want a cigarette"

<comment><USER14> My underlying point, which I should have made explicit, was that adding all those extra components to e-cigs was a risk. Arguably an unnecessary risk. Except for marketing, of course.

Experimentally, it appears that GRAS by oral route doesn't necessarily mean that vaping is safe. But that's not very surprising. Vaping does involve heat, after all. Not burning, but perhaps high enough temperatures for components to react and degrade.

Also, GRAS doesn't really mean "safe". It means that people have been using something _forever_ , and it's not acutely toxic. So inertia and vested interests win.

Vaping just glycerin and nicotine would arguably be a lot safer, no?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> From the abstract of the quoted paper:

 _Our data confirm that smoking cigarettes causes suppression of several key immune genes in the nasal mucosa. E-cig users showed the same changes in immune genes as cigarette smokers. However, e-cig users also demonstrated suppression of several additional immune genes, suggesting even broader suppressive effects on respiratory mucosal immune responses as compared to cigarette smokers._

Looks to me that _E-cigs shut down hundreds of immune system genes—regular cigs don't_ is misleading.

<comment><USER17> Looks to me that smoking suppressed 53 genes vaping suppressed 358 that's 100's more indeed.

That said their test seems to be limited to ecigs with a specific flavoring compound which replicates the taste of cinnamon; so it's not clear how many types of flavored actually cause this effect.

<comment><USER18> It sounds to me like this new product category (vaping) needs time to discover the safest compounds to use for flavoring. In other words I suspect that the researchers in this study don't think it's actually the nicoteen which is causing this effect.

<comment><USER17> No they don't think it has to do with nicotine (not the discrepancy at least) for this study they more or less focused on cinnamaldehyde which is the compound that gives cinnamon it's flavor (it's also a known irritant and is used to kill mold, fungus and some other things).

I would assume that they've focused on cinnamaldehyde because it's most likely a common ingredient in e-liquid not only for the flavor but as it's an irritant (watch the fools doing the "cinnamon challenge" on YouTube for a good example of just how bad it can get) it's quite possibly been added to allot of liquids to increase their throat hit especially for those liquids that are aimed at recent former smokers that really look for that feeling to more closely imitate cigarettes.

<comment><USER18> [http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/steam-distilled- essential-...](http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/steam-distilled-essential- oil-turps.5189/)

According to what I've been reading vaporists in Colorado are experimenting in this area attempting to isolate the best "turps".

"Terpenoids and cannabinoids are both secreted inside the Cannabis plants glandular trichomes and they have a parent compound in common (geranyl pyrophosphate). More than 100 terpenoids have been identified in Cannabis. The most common and most studied include limonene, myrcene, alpha-pinene, linalool, beta-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, nerolidol and phytol. Anecdotal evidence suggests that alpha-pinene is alerting, limonene is sunshine-y, and beta-myrcene is sedating.

        Limonene (also found in lemon)
        Alpha-pinene (also found in pine needles)
        Beta-myrcene (also found in hops and mango)
        Linalool (also found in lavender)
        Beta-Caryophyllene (also found in pepper and Echinacea)
        Caryophyllene Oxide (also found in lemon balm)
        Nerolidol (also found in orange)
        Phytol (found in green tea)"

<comment><USER17> Well "Turps" is coming from Turpentine [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpentine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpentine) they distill them in a very similar fashion alpha-pinene, nerolidol and beta- caryophyllene are known to have some adverse health effects alpha-pinene is especially nasty.

The problem isn't the synthesis there shouldn't be a difference in the effects of a compounds such as aldehydes based on if you distill them or synthesize them , if anything synthesized compounds have much higher purity levels than distilled ones.

The problem is understanding the effects of individual compounds the cumulative effect of multiple compounds (in any given combination and ratio) as well as their long and short term effects.

Add to that added complexity of different delivery mechanisms not all vaporizers are the same they operate on different principals, power levels and use different materials.

All this can make accurate measurement very difficult and a very long term project, this is now compounded by the fact that "vaping" is a multi-dollar industry and behind it there is even a bigger industry which is the food flavoring one which for a long time has enjoyed the "GRAS" classification of it's products which barely holds water at the common ways of ingestion and amounts and most likely will utterly fall apart if you look at it too deeply.

There's also some insane negative feedback from the vaping community it self calling it a conspiracy funded by big tobacco (which is funny considering that big tobacco owns all the big ecig brands).

I always stated before that vaping is most likely "safer" especially on short term than smoking 1-2 packs a day, but I always suspected that it can be just as bad if not worse due to completely different mechanisms.

If you vape for say 6-12 months just to help yourself quit smoking it's probably "worth" the risk, if you going to end up chugging 30ml of juice a day you are not going to enjoy the results.

Heck even if you breath water vapor all day it won't be good for you, there is no way in hell that breathing in "hot" vapor can be good, may types of cancer especially throat and mouth cancer have been connected just to that the intake of hot or warm air rather than the actual chemical compounds in it. But people are keep buying some crazy 200 watt's ecigs and sucking on them like it's their mum's tit when you are spending 200W of energy it has to go some where at least some of that energy is deposited into the soft tissue of your mouth, throat and lungs and that can't be good no matter what else is in there.

<comment><USER18> > Heck even if you breath water vapor all day it won't be good for you, there > is no way in hell that breathing in "hot" vapor can be good

Is the vapor really any warmer than body temp when it goes into your lungs though ? I just conducted an experiment where I took a puff of a vaporizer but kept the vapour in my mouth, then I probed with my index finger and honestly the air temp felt about the same as it does without the vapour.

Also I wonder if vaping a pack a day while living in the a prestine wilderness setting would be more safe than breathing regular air all day in a large metro with auto air pollution. I suppose it probably depends what flavors are in your liquid, and which city.

Then there's the question of whether or not it's safe to be nicoteen in the first place. The way I look at it sugar and coffee are probably equally bad if not worse for the body, but I haven't looked at it in depth

<comment><USER17> I can't really comment on your anecdotal experiment because well it wasn't exactly done under controlled conditions and while i appreciate the level of accuracy you assign to your index finger i'm not quite sure how accurate it is really :)

And yes we already live in the world with 1000's of environmental risk factors that may cause or increase the likelihood of contracting cancer, the first of which is probably the fact that if we survive trough our early 20's we are expected to live another 60-70 years instead of 30 or so 2000 years ago.

But if you really think that regardless of flavor or composition vaping is some how smoking with no consequences you are only fooling yourself.

Vaping should be looked as a tool that can enable you to quit smoking more easily not as a leisure activity or a life style choice.

After all nicotine it self is indirectly linked to cancer since it seems to mess with the natural mechanisms that prevent cancer in cells.

As far as overall health goes I would suggest to stick to the low powered ecig pens and not dragging around one of those car battery powered human smoke machine monsters that I've seen quite a few folks walking about with lately (which are probably the reason that ecigs are being banned everywhere now, a vape-pen produces like no visible vapor; whilst those big power bricks can be used to conceal military maneuvers), as they operate at a fraction of the power and also limit the consumption of eliquid, them being also much more unpleasant to use than the higher end stuff should also have some effect on the frequency of use.

<comment><USER18> well I certainly didn't mean to imply that you were full of hot air. :) and although I agree with you about nicotine but I'm personally more interested in the idea of consuming medicinal plant oils this way as a form of relaxation therapy because it would seem that cannabis prohibition is rapidly evapourating in the United States. I suspect it'll be a lot more difficult for scientists to find any medical evidence that this form of vaping is harmful, that is once they're finally able to conduct research into it.

One problem with conducting this kind of science however is that different varieties of cannabis have different profiles of cannabnoids and turpentines, so what science would really need first is a way to determine what genetics are what. This is why I'm so excited about the work that is being done to track the genetics.. here is a fascinating interview with a leading scientist about this if you're interested:

[https://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/episode-73-distributed...](https://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/episode-73-distributed- consensus-on-cannabis-genetics)

When it comes to aesthetics though I think we're on the same page about those portable smoke monstrosities.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> Better still, don't smoke either.

<comment><USER20> I don't think this is constructive.

Smoking is awesome. If only we could find a way to do it without the health problems.

<comment><USER21> I've never smoked cigarettes but cigars I have. They make so many claims about how addictive nicotine is, and yet cigars are supposed to have so much more nicotine than cigarettes, here I am a year without smoking a cigar (maybe I've had one or two in the past year, if anything) and I'm probably not going through what a cigarette smoker goes through, and I've gone times where I've had a cigar daily. Winston Churchill smoked daily and lived to be around 90. So I'm not an "expert" but a lot of what they say doesn't add up with what I've lived and it seems others have lived. Cigarettes aren't pure tobacco usually anyway, they're full of "tobacco sheets", just like Coca Cola isn't as full of sugar as it is "Corn Syrup." My uncle on the other hand smokes daily for quite a few years, and I never see him have the same symptoms other cigarette smokers usually do. The trick is probably the fact we don't inhale the cigar smoke into our lungs, enough of the smoke will get in there regardless.

<comment><USER20> In my opinion he addiction doesn't come from nicotine but from the act itself which is very relaxing and pleasant.

Btw even if you don't inhale I understand that nicotine gets in your system anyway. Probably in smaller quantities, which is offset by the high amount of nicotine in cigar/pipe tobacco.

<comment><USER22> The psychological aspects are habit forming; the social aspects, the ritual etc.

Whilst nicotine is undoubtedly addictive, there are other things in tobacco / cigarettes that seem far more addictive. There's also the additional crap added, like chemicals to ensure the cigarette doesn't go out like hand rolled and cigars do, etc.

The part I missed most whilst quitting, with the aid of vaping (nicotine replacement gums, patches and inhalers were a waste of time and money for me) was something present in tobacco, but not in ecigs. Vaping never quite replaced that, or felt as nice. The occasional cig I had when out drinking with friends made it quite tempting to relapse - though I didn't.

The nicotine withdrawal when I quit vaping was so minor compared to the withdrawal from stopping tobacco that I actually wonder if the various quitting aids are replacing the wrong chemical(s).

I am, of course, just an anecdotal data point of one.

<comment><USER23> I'm currently witnessing an e-cig based quitting attempt that confirms your story. Just as in your experience, gums and patches tried earlier had been a total waste; and likewise, unlimited nicotine on demand does not seem to capture the full addictive content of cigarette smoking.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


YC Backed Request Network Hits $1 - <AUTHOR> https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/request-network/ <comment><AUTHOR> I wonder if YC got tokens as part of their investment.</comment>


You Will All Work for Google - <AUTHOR> http://blog.computationalcomplexity.org/2009/09/you-will-all-work-for-google.html

<comment><USER2> _forced to perform a task for someone else even if that task is admirable_

Whilst this point is made very frequently there is a MUCH more important use for it. If words unable to be read by OCR are figured out by crowd sourcing then _those_ can later be used as a test image - right?

So it's not just benefiting something unknown; it's benefitting us as reCaptcha users :)

</comment><comment><USER3> This article, if you can call it that, is really pointless. Filling out a captcha isn't working for google or any other website that requires it. If the five seconds it takes to complete the form are too frustrating for you then don't utilize the otherwise free services being provided. Captcha's prevent spam and are therefore better for everyone.</comment>


LEGO Turing Machine - <AUTHOR> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYw2ewoO6c4&x=x

<comment><USER2> Here we go again. Nice to see an old favorite.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=499678>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=457752>

... and probably more.

</comment><comment><USER3> Strictly speaking this is not a turing machine, but a finitely bounded automata, which is obviously equivalent to a DFA.

</comment><comment><USER4> Haha .. finally .. Visual Brainfuck :)</comment>


ProtoCycler – Automated 3D printing waste and plastic recycler - <AUTHOR> http://www.redetec.com/product/

<comment><AUTHOR> Honestly the first thing that come to my mind was: is this going to start a little revolution in 3D printing, especially talking about costs? I mean, considering the current cost of filaments of plastic for 3D printing, one could also think of starting a little business creating these filaments with plastics wastes that all of us have at home, and sell them for a fraction of the costs of the ones we can actually find in commerce.

Anyway here[0] is also their campaign on IndieGoGo.

[0] [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/protocycler-free- sustaina...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/protocycler-free- sustainable-3d-printer-filament)</comment>


The Encryption Debate Is Over – Dead at the Hands of Facebook - <AUTHOR> https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2019/07/26/the-encryption-debate-is-over-dead-at-the-hands-of-facebook/#3817110e5362 <comment><USER2> I am guessing that mobile networks will be forced to accept the imeis of only 'certified' phones that phone home the signature for the device image.</comment>


Solidarity against online harassment - <AUTHOR> http://blog.torproject.org/blog/solidarity-against-online-harassment

<comment><USER2> Where was the solidarity when the ex-Mozilla CEO was bullied into quitting? If you somehow believe that because of the CEO's political beliefs have anything to do with not being protected from bullying, you are part of the problem. We need to start having honest discussions about bullying online.

I find that even intelligent communities like HN changes the definition of bullying and harassment when it comes to political opposition.

Social media has given mobs power..and nothing good will come of it.</comment>


Ask HN: Anyone else from Philippines attending Startup School? - <AUTHOR>

Perhaps, we can arrange our travel together as a group and fly out together. We could also share expenses.<p>I'm also familiar with Silicon Valley so I can be a "guide" of sorts. <comment><AUTHOR> I'm available Oct 22 to Oct 29 and Nov 2 to meet up.

EDIT: I'm available Oct 22 to Oct 29 and Nov 2 for meetups.</comment>


EU Clears Oracle to Buy Sun Microsystems  - <AUTHOR> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016561637563060.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

<comment><USER2> > _In December, Oracle tried to address those concerns, by saying it would > "continue to enhance" MySQL, publish programming details of MySQL to help > others create applications, and would not to pursue copyright claims against > other companies that incorporate the software. Those pledges are nonbinding_

If the EU had decided to hold Oracle to its pledges regarding MySQL, Oracle wouldn't have any right to complain.

<comment><USER3> The perplexing question (in my opinion) is why didn't they hold them to those pledges? Really makes you wonder - I suppose they think MySQL's smaller market share wouldn't hurt the market if it disappeared. This is really so far from the truth.

<comment><USER4> How does one make that a legally binding requirement in perpetuity ?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> > I, Michael "Monty" Widenius, the creator of MySQL, am asking you urgently to > help save MySQL from Oracle's clutches.

UL, So I'll guess you'll be crying into your €16.6m

<comment><USER5> would you prefer he just go retire and not give a crap about MySQL?

<comment><USER6> I do think it in bad taste for him to complain about what's being done with something he _sold_ for a very large amount, especially since he quickly ejected from the acquiring company. It's kind of like selling your house and then going to the neighborhood council to complain about what the new owners are doing with it.

<comment><USER7> It's more like building a neighborhood from scratch, taking care of it for fifteen years, and then seeing the ones you handed it over to being bought by the ones who owns the rest of the city.

I don't get where people get this strange attitude from. Like you're more of a "sellout" when you build a company over time, with an open source product and don't want to be controlled by your competitor. Than if you, like most startups today, build a proprietary product with the intention of selling to you biggest competitor as soon as possible.

<comment><USER6> MySQL AB was a venture backed startup that raised $40m in funding, not some random open source hippies that got tricked into giving away the crown jewels. The company was built to sell or IPO.

And see, I don't expect Montey to _like_ this, but I do wish he'd shut up about it. He's not the right person to be leading this call. My take on this doesn't have anything to do with it being OSS or not; it'd seem like sour grapes if any founder who sold his company and left was trying to incite governments towards legal action against his acquiring company at a time when they're otherwise pretty much hosed.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Let's put on a show - <AUTHOR> http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/05/lets-put-on-a-s.html

<comment><USER2> Summary: Fake it till you make it.

But it's true. Great brands often do involve a great story. Southwest Airlines is one of my favorites...I've read a couple of books about the company...crap books, but still a great story and a great brand.

Apple Stores are little theaters where you can go to receive highly focused advertising designed to make you feel good and well above average (for example, the people who help you fix the stupid problems you have with your Mac or iPod are "geniuses"...obviously, only a genius would know how to do the stuff you can't figure out for yourself). Likewise Louis Vitton stores and Mercedes dealerships. The luxury experience is now probably more important than the actual goods being sold.

</comment><comment><USER3> I'd say Seth Godin puts on a better show than most people.</comment>


How to start a Y Combinator? - <AUTHOR>

Subtitled: How to surround yourself with smart people outside of academia?
To me, the greatest advantage of being a CS professor, is being surrounded by lots of smart, motivated colleagues & students. The greatest disadvantage -- is that much of research appears to be about doing "new" rather than "useful" things, and funding is governed by NSF/DARPA rather than market demands.
YCombinator seems to have this figured out -- put yourself in a position where students who want to launch startups come to you. So, question is: how do you start something like this? <comment><USER2> Without wanting to take away from the pioneering example of Y Combinator itself, I like the way that Redgate, the Cambridge UK based SQL tools developer, has set about setting up Springboard as an adjunct to the main business. The objective is to strengthen the Cambridge developer cluster to the benefit of everyone in that community and economy including, even if indirectly, Redgate itself. Besides speaking to Paul Graham about Y Combinator, I'd speak to either of Neil Davidson or Simon Galbraith the Redgate founders.</comment>


A strange lonely planet found without a star - <AUTHOR> http://phys.org/news/2013-10-strange-lonely-planet-star.html <comment><USER2> The "artist's rendering" is always my favorite part.

Astronomer: We want something sort of like Jupiter, but purple.

Artist: Can I do that big red storm thing?

Astronomer: No, no. Don't do that. We don't know if there's a storm. We used blackbody radiation to find it.

Artist: So wait, it's supposed to be black?

Astronomer: No! It's gotta be PURPLE.

Artist: But you said . . .

Astronomer: Never mind. Just make it look lonely. And don't put any stars around it.

<comment><USER3> >We used blackbody radiation to find it.

Pardon my pedantry but that's another way to say "we used regular light to find it". If I remember my physics right, stars, like a candle or an incandescent light bulb emit light as blackbody radiation.

<comment> guard-of-terra Light bulbs don't emit black body radiation. They don't nearly have enough black body temperature for bright yellow light. I guess tungsten has different emission pattern.

<comment><USER4> I measured the emission spectrum of a tungsten lamp in the laboratory a few years ago. I don't remember all the details, but in the visible spectrum the tungsten the amount or radiation that the tungsten lamp emits is roughly 0.3-0.4 times the radiation that a black body would emit.

I googled a little and found these two articles:

1) [http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/ApJ../0061//000...](http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/ApJ../0061//0000146.000.html) :

* In page 151 it has a graph of the emissivity of tungsten for different colors and temperatures. More emissivity for blue (A) than for red (C).

* In page 156 it has a greph of the difference between the color temperature and the true temperature. For 3000K, the difference is only ~100K. I think that it's changes the color only slightly.

2) [http://physicsed.buffalostate.edu/pubs/TPT/TPTDec99Filament....](http://physicsed.buffalostate.edu/pubs/TPT/TPTDec99Filament.pdf)

* More friendly version, with an experiments with actual lamps.

* In page 525 it explains that the emissivity if tungsten at that temperature in ~0.42 but you must introduce a correction because the glass of the lamp absorbs a 8% of the light.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Apparently, the estimated number of orphan planets is "100,000 per star in the galaxy!" [1].

The star equivalent to these orphan planets are called, well, orphan stars. They are not bound to a particular galaxy and roam about freely in the space between galaxies [2].

[1]: [http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/galaxy-filled- with...](http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/galaxy-filled-with- wandering-planets-study-finds-120224.htm)

[2]: [http://aninews.in/newsdetail14/story80862/-039-mysterious-03...](http://aninews.in/newsdetail14/story80862/-039-mysterious-039-galaxy- halos-produced-by-orphan-stars.html)

<comment><USER6> I wonder what the chances are for orphan planets to wander into a solar system. I suppose that could wreak quite some havoc.

<comment><USER7> The chances are incredibly small.

<comment><USER6> If there are 100,000 free floating planets per star, and it's still an incredibly small chance that one wanders into a solar system it gives you some slight sense of proportion.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Reminds me of one of George R.R. Martin's incredibly depressing earlier works: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_of_the_light](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_of_the_light)

 _A rogue, an aimless wanderer, creation's castaway; this world was all those things.

For uncounted centuries it had been falling, alone, without purpose, falling through the cold lonely places between the suns. Generations of stars had succeeded each other in stately sweeps across its barren skies. It belonged to none of them. It was a world in and of itself; entire. In a sense it was not even part of the galaxy; its tumbling path cut through the galactic plane like a nail driven through a round wooden tabletop. It was part of nothing._

<comment><USER9> For something one might imagine as a coda to Dying of the Light -- and even more depressing -- try the 2011 Lars von Trier movie _Melancholia_.

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Am I the only one who thought this was about a travel guide with no rating?

<comment><USER11> You should be ashamed of yourself (I jest)

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> I just submitted the arxiv.org link to the paper but this article is more accessible. Fascinating discovery!

<comment><USER13> Since you mention it, I'll link it:

[http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.0457](http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.0457)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> The article says that such planets have been observed previously, but only indirectly. I found an article about those previous discoveries: [http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/05/exoplanets- without-a-...](http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/05/exoplanets-without-a- star-galaxy-teems-with-lonely-jupiters/)

</comment><comment><USER14> Do they captured a real picture of the planet or the image is artificialy colored?

<comment><USER15> > Artist's conception of PSO J318.5-22. Credit: MPIA/V. Ch. Quetz

From the image caption of the article.

<comment><USER14> I mean, the other image[1].

[1] [http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2013/1-astrangelone.j...](http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2013/1-astrangelone.jpg)

<comment><USER5> The planet radiates only in Infra-Red, so the frequencies have been surely mapped into our visible spectrum.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> There was a short story about humans settling on such a planet: [http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/12/21/17846/757](http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/12/21/17846/757)

</comment><comment><USER17> I wonder if it has any moons.

<comment><USER18> Or space stations...

<comment><USER19> That's no moon.

<comment><USER20> C'mon, I left Slashdot to escape this sort of "Someone mentioned a moon, so I must make a Death Star joke" default.

<comment><USER19> Really? Those three words cause you such distress that you abandoned an entire forum?

And to be clear, someone mentioned a moon _and_ a space station.

<comment><USER20> "escape this sort of"

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Are they sure it's a planet. Could be a large spaceship

<comment><USER22> This really interests me as well - how do they know that it's a 12 million years old planet?

I suppose a big reason would be that it does give off a heat significant (if not AS significant) signature to begin with - a large spaceship would very likely try to conserve as close to 100% of its energy.

Then again - what about a dyson sphere that is still under construction?

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> That's not a planet... ;)

<comment><USER24> ...it's a space station!

<comment><USER25> ... I have a bad feeling about this. (Everyone take a drink)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Neat, I didn't expect we'd find one of these for some time, being all unlit in between stars.

I wonder how many Earth-size orphan planets there are. They would be even harder to find, without all that heat coming off them.

</comment><comment><USER27> Oh great! I[1] was wondering where I left it!

[1]: [http://ipaz.info/wp-content/uploads/principito.gif](http://ipaz.info/wp- content/uploads/principito.gif)

</comment><comment><USER28> So what happens to planets who orbit a star that dies? It seems like they would be come orphans. That was my first thought. I know next to nothing about the Universe.

<comment><USER29> When a star "dies", it goes through some phases, there one of them is that is grows really big. Planets would presumably be consumed in this process. In any case, a star doesn't disappear when it dies. It just ceases burning.

<comment><USER30> Some stars explode with such energy that they evaporate. The thermal motion of the gas exceeds the gravitational binding energy. Any outer planets simply drift off into the cosmos.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> What if it is just in a REALLY big orbit.

Something is illuminating it, so it must be remotely near a star, we cannot even image pluto like that.

<comment><USER32> I'm pretty sure they're just measuring the blackbody radiation it's giving off in the infrared spectrum. This thing is about half the mass necessary to ignite fusion and become a brown dwarf, and it's very young, so it's still got a lot of heat.

<comment><USER5> I wonder if it were to get close to a star, would the heat from the star be sufficient to ignite the fusion in the orphan planet?

<comment><USER33> As I understand, a nearby star will strip off most of the gas and make it more akin to a comet, so pretty much opposite of fusion will happen if it were to get close to a star.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> Couldn't this be a failed solar system with this as it's sun that just wasn't big enough to ignite?

</comment><comment><USER35> An evil, lightless place, where Elder Things dwell in their blasphemous cities of impossible geometry...

</comment><comment><USER36> This is obviously not a planet. It hasn't cleared its orbit.

</comment><comment><USER37> Sha Ka Ree!

</comment><comment><USER38> Well, not everyone can be a star.

</comment><comment><USER39> The 50th anniversary is fine and everything, but this is going over the top for PR.

Also, in the new series Mondas is no longer where they come from anyway.</comment>


David Attenborough wants to lower the global population - <AUTHOR> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7996230.stm

<comment><USER2> Uuuugggghhhh... not more of this...

Look, people, global over-population is probably one of the easiest, most straight-forward problems to solve, and the solution is really, really easy:

EDUCATE WOMEN

I'm sort on time, but I can dig up the references later today if anyone wants. The strongest correlating factor with fertility rate is the education level of a population's women. When women are educated, fertility rate settles just above 2 children per women, which is right where you'd need it to keep global population static.

<comment><USER3> Along these lines is educating couples that having a family isn't a necessity in order to be considered 'normal'.

My girlfriend (pseudo-wife at this point) and I get shocked looks from people when we tell them that we aren't having children, as if we need to have children in order to be considered a Normal American Family (tm).

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Given the disparity in birthrates between immigrants and native Britains this is going to be politically impossible to advocate in any meaningful way.

</comment><comment><USER5> First step is to determine how many world births are currently unwelcome. Do we know this? If the number is small then coercion to achieve this aim is unavoidable. That's a bit euphemistic. Better say, explicit or implicit (chemical treatment of the water?) implementation by force. Serious proposals to say the least. Shouldn't Attenborough tell us what he has in mind before throwing out such a suggestion?

</comment><comment><USER6> I'd take him a bit more seriously on this if he flew a little less. But like Al Gore, austerity is for other people.

<comment><USER4> Is identifying hypocrisy distinct from or a type of what-aboutery?

<comment><USER6> Also I notice that he has two kids himself. _Other people_ should stop breeding, tho', right? The wrong kind of people, perhaps?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> He doesn't seem to have realised that the birth rate in most of the EU is _already_ below replenishment rate.

</comment><comment><USER8> We could start with him.

</comment><comment><USER9> We could start with the Chinese. They breed like rabbits.

Edit: Downvote me if you like, but you know it's true.

<comment><USER3> Kind of hard given that their one-kid rule is 30 years old.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy>

<comment><USER9> I didn't necessarily mean just in China.</comment></comment></comment>