Merge multiple lines in Vim - <AUTHOR> http://stackoverflow.com/q/10760326/555569

<comment><USER2> I posted my solution on StackOverflow[1], but I like my way better than the top post:

        Here's how I'd do it (with the cursor on the first line):

            qama:5y$'a$p:5dd'ajq3@a

        You need to know two things:

        - The line number on which the first line of the second
          group starts (5 in my case), and the number of lines
          in each group (3 in my example).

            Here's what's going on:

        `qa` records everything up to the next `q`
             into a "buffer" in `a`.

        `ma` creates a mark on the current line.

        `:5` goes to the next group.

        `y$` yanks the rest of the line.

        `'a` returns to the mark, set earlier.

        `$p` pastes at the end of the line.

        `:5` returns to the second group's first line.

        `dd` deletes it.

        `'a` returns to the mark.

        `jq` goes down one line, and stops recording.

        `3@a` repeats the action for each line (3 in my case)

[1]: [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10760326/merge- multiple-l...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10760326/merge-multiple- lines-in-vim/10762846#10762846)

<comment><USER3> Macros and block-select are my favorite infrequently used parts of Vim. Every time I have a need for either, I grin.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> I assume most people interested enough in vim to click on the comments with will have heard of Vimgolf.

<http://vimgolf.com/>

But if not, it is a great way to learn the less obvious tricks that Vim has to offer.

<comment><USER4> Was going to submit a solution but it appears you can only sign in with a twitter account? What an odd thing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I can't imagine a situation where I'd need to join text this way, but it's impressive to see the powerful functions possible with vim. thanks for sharing!

<comment><USER6> The other day I had this exact situation. I didn't wan't to futz around with writing my own script to generate code, and the values I needed had to be hard coded into defines anyway, so I just created a empty line below my defines, then did:

:r !$SHELL_COMMAND_TO_PRINT_SOME_VALS

to get the values in the buffer below where I had already done the series of

#define NAME1 ... #define NAMEN

so I just needed to move the values I read into the buffer up to the defines. (using the block select method).

Anyway, now that you know about it, you may find yourself using this trick more :) (I usually use it in context of config files and

      :r !ls

than programming, but the above was my most recent. )

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Using a file with the same input of the top answer:

/harder<enter>1Gqa''dd''pkJ0jq3@a

Edit: notice that those are each 2 single quotes, not "</comment>


What's your favourite productivity tool? Mine's the Eisenhower Matrix - <AUTHOR> https://www.eisedo.com/blog/forget-other-productivity-hacks-the-eisenhower-matrix-is-all-you-need/ <comment><USER2> I initially thought it was actually some kind of tool that you install / create an account. I guess everything boils down to prioritization of tasks, which this questionnaire really helps solving.

However, in some cases, there are tasks that do not contribute to achieving goals but do require immediate attention and you simply cannot delegate it to others. How do you address / prioritize this using Eisenhower Marix?

<comment><AUTHOR> There is a new web app coming inspired by the matrix that you could try - www.eisedo.com. This task manager will auto-prioritise your tasks based on urgency and importance.

In reply to your question, it's important to remember that the Eisenhower Matrix is a guideline to help you prioritise your tasks in the most productive way. Delegation isn't always something that your boss asks you to do - it can be you asking a friend or a family member to handle something for you.

If there's absolutely no way it can be delegated, then naturally the responsibility to complete the task falls on you. All the Matrix does is highlight the fact that your time would be spent more productively on tasks in the first two quadrants. It's down to your best judgement and analysis of your time and workload in conjunction with the use of the Matrix to decide whether you take it on yourself or delegate it.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Comment with your experience and recommendations :)

Personally, I've tried a variety of productivity tools to try increase my efficiency, and I would have to say my favourite is the Eisenhower Matrix. (I've linked a great article to it incase you haven't heard of it!)

I have saved lots of time as it helps me to decide which tasks to do first and which I don't need to do at all.

Have you tried it before? What did you think?</comment>


Ask HN: As a software engineer, what's the best way to push back against Trump? - <AUTHOR> Garry Tan recently tweeted that those who code should use their skillset to push back against a burgeoning surveillance state (https://twitter.com/garrytan/status/826120645754761216).<p>My question is how should we actually do this? I agree that it feels like a waste of a skillset to settle for going to marches or calling senators, since those seem like distinctly low leverage activities. So where can writing code be used to increase leverage when it comes to pushing back against a potentially dangerous government, within legal bounds obviously. <comment><USER2> > So where can writing code be used to increase leverage when it comes to > pushing back against a potentially dangerous government, within legal bounds > obviously.

Make services and products that help people. Seriously, that's it. Anything else could possibly be illegal or harm your fellow Americans.

</comment><comment><USER3> Headline should be changed from "Trump" to "the national security state" in my opinion. Let's not forget that we need to push back against the Corporate Dems selling us out just as much as we need to push back against the GOP/Trump.

<comment><USER4> The entire establishment really, and foreign countries like China, that continues to buy US companies (yahoo, riotgames, and plenty of others)</comment></comment>


There is tech startup life after 40 - <AUTHOR> http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/starting-out/there-is-tech-startup-life-after-40/article2142112/

<comment><USER2> Yes! I am 54, I started in a start up that got bought by a big company. I am still here, but feel I am much wiser and would like to try the start up dance again. Why not?</comment>


How to Develop "Breakthrough" Products and Services - Lec. 2 - <AUTHOR> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4319646822704291296#

<comment><USER2> PDF-Slides: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of- management/15-356...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of- management/15-356-how-to-develop-breakthrough-products-and-services- spring-2004/lecture-notes/lec2_idea_gen.pdf)

<comment><USER3> And the course itself: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of- management/15-356...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of- management/15-356-how-to-develop-breakthrough-products-and-services- spring-2004/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Website by author of the slides: <http://www.leaduser.com/></comment>


The US nuclear forces' messaging system finally got rid of its floppy disks - <AUTHOR> https://www.c4isrnet.com/air/2019/10/17/the-us-nuclear-forces-dr-strangelove-era-messaging-system-finally-got-rid-of-its-floppy-disks/ <comment><USER3> I know of several military systems that still use floppy disks, that comforts me for a few reason:

* Their maintenance is well understood - every fault that is likely to happen has happened and has been recovered/repaired from. It's very unlikely there will be new surprised down the road.

* Their degradation is well understood - it's been around long enough that parts have failed and have been repaired.

* Isn't easily communicated with through modern tech - no USB ports, no network access - people aren't picking up floppy disks in the car park and plugging them in.

* Robustness to electromagnetic interference - the bits are so big that a few electrons being knocked out of the way won't cause an issue.

* Software well understood and tested over time - the only way to _really_ trust software is by having it work without failure.

* Simple implementation - because there's no computational space or power, it only does the minimal it needs to. It's not rendering a GUI, it's not running some complicated neural network.

Old hardware isn't sexy, but it does work. I still use an oscilloscope with a phosphor display and a programmable power supply with instructions on a floppy disk. Floppy disks occasionally fail, but there's no substitute for making good backups over several mediums/locations.

<comment><USER4> And the downside: you will only have a few technicians that really understand how things work, hiring new ones is next to impossible as teenagers have never seen neither the hardware nor the software that is running on it. It scales terrible to new locations. I recall a few years ago NASA was looking for 286-processors for the Space Shuttle. I cannot imagine your spacecraft is getting safer because of outdated hardware.( _)

Then again, armies are known to prepare for the previous war. In WW-1 they used trenches and then came the machine-gun and the gas. In WW-2 all soldiers were prepared against gas, the French dug the Maginot line and the Germans just skipped around. Now we have amazing tanks but the next war is online...

(_) I have to correct myself: NASA was looking for 8086 chips in 2001 - <USER2> 286 chips a few years ago. [https://www.geek.com/chips/nasa- needs-8086-chips-549867/](https://www.geek.com/chips/nasa- needs-8086-chips-549867/)

<comment><USER5> We teach them every detail of everything they need to know in their technical school when they come into the military.

Old equipment is actually interesting to work on -- difficult, but interesting. It's also very valuable for understanding modern hardware at a deep level that isn't often taught anymore.

How many people do you know who have actually replaced and aligned the heads on a UYH-3 or run end to end tests on serial data channels that traverse thousands of feet and multiple switchboards from a UYK-43?

<comment><USER6> > _How many people do you know who have actually replaced and aligned the > heads on a UYH-3 or run end to end tests on serial data channels that > traverse thousands of feet and multiple switchboards from a UYK-43?_

I think that's interesting and valuable on its own from an academic/research/nostalgia perspective, but not when we're talking about maintaining systems critical to the functioning of a nuclear weapons arsenal.

<comment><USER5> Perhaps you're responding to a different discussion?

Read my comment in context and it will become quite clear.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> > While SACC's hardware is decades old, its software is constantly refreshed > by young Air Force programmers who learn software development skills at > Offutt's Rapid Agile Development Lab.

I am not so sure I want "Rapid Agile" development for something that literally controls nuclear missiles.

<comment><USER8> `git commit -m "added factoryboy to generate random target coordinates to test the launch sequence."`

`git commit -m "Fuck fuck fuck, forgot to replace the launch API endpoint with a mock one."`

Scrum master: "Let's implement the stuff with the highest customer value first."

Developer A: "I guess that means being able to launch the nukes."

Developer B: "Yeah. Auth can come later."

Developer C: "Nobody answered us about how they want the abort sequence to work. I guess we'll defer it to the next sprint."

<comment><USER9> Just set the password to 00000000 for now and we can change it later....

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permissive_Action_Link#Develop...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permissive_Action_Link#Development_and_dissemination)

<comment><USER10> The Kanye West method

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> So when we upgrade the hardware, how much of it will be sourced from China?

Is it even possible to fully secure the supply chain?

Introducing any outside code or hardware is a liability. Unless there is a really urgent problem, I think they should just freeze their entire computer platform, that way they can eliminate any chance of any new threats.

I can not possibly imagine any cost justification for doing so. I have no problem with taxpayer money being spent to keep ancient computers running forever. Keeping our nuclear missiles secure is priceless.

What new features do they even need that they don't have now?

The thought of some ux monkey using npm anywhere near our ICBMs makes my physically ill.

<comment><USER12> "The thought of some ux monkey using npm anywhere near our ICBMs makes my physically ill."

Almost spilled my coffee reading this one.

<comment><USER13> Sorry Sir, we can't launch because that jerk removed left-pad from the npm registry!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> In the 80's, I was the project engineer for the Air Force DSP satellite ground communications network upgrade. This system used a 20 MB Bernoulli Box to store the early warning messages. It was replaced in 2005.

This was the system used to pass early warning to the Patriot anti-missile (Scud) batteries during the first Gulf War.

Internetworking the Air Force system to an Army system was considered revolutionary in 1991. Today, it would be equivalent to "stone knives and bearskins".

<comment><USER15> If your team had Link 16 integration requirements, I extend my deepest sympathies.

<comment><USER14> Nothing that complex. The link between Buckley and the Patriots was over AUTODIN.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> _While SACC's hardware is decades old, its software is constantly refreshed by young Air Force programmers_

Well that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

<comment><USER17> Unlike Silicon Valley, the armed forces spent a lot of time training their programmers.

After a tour any one of them could be a VP of Engineering at a FAANG or Unicorn, and they generally choose to remain in the public sector because money isn't the most important thing in their lives.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> Long term reliability metrics can only be gathered for technologies that have already been deployed in the long term. That's why many mission critical applications like this one use "obsolete" technologies.

<comment><USER19> Well may be it would be a good reason, but do we have an evidence that it was intentional?

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> > You can't hack something that doesn't have an IP address.

That's a very risky assumption to make. There are many attack vectors besides TCP/IP: social engineering, side-channel attacks, EM pulse, backdoors in ICs...

<comment><USER21> Remote sabotage from anywhere and spies roaming the cooridors are quite different things.

<comment><USER20> Well, that's the funny thing.

The claim is: "No IP address == unhackable."

So, for a second stop assuming we are in a nuclear bunker. There are many unconnected systems that are still hackable. For example, the Stuxnet worm was able to infiltrate an unconnected SCADA system using USB exploits. Many systems radiate data in EM and ultrasonic (side-channel). And obviously, there are known and unknown backdoors in PCBs, ECs, and ICs. All of these do not require an IP address.

I would even argue that having an IP address can improve security by increasing monitoring, improving continuous security updates and decreasing a false sense of security. This was the original goal of DARPA all along.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> To be perfectly honest, I'd rather they used floppy disks than the latest trendy JavaScript frameworks.

</comment><comment><USER23> > "highly-secure solid state digital storage solution"

So not just any thumb drive, an _expensive_ thumb drive.

</comment><comment><USER24> I understand the 747 still gets nav updates via monthly diskettes.

Most have replaced the unit with a floppy simulator that takes an SD card (or USB key?).

The load takes just as long. But it doesn't fail (forcing you to get an undamaged disk and start over).

I wonder if that's why they say they got rid of the floppy disk. Maybe they maintained the underlying tech.

<comment><USER25> Can confirm, that's how it works (for the 747).

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> I was kind of hoping they were replacing the floppy disks with CDs or something else equally old school and hard to hack.

<comment><USER27> Old school tech is ridiculously easy to hack. New tech is much more hardened. The only advantage old tech has is that it doesn't have peripherals that connect to the internet. At the end of the day the most secure computer is a new one, that isn't on the internet, and is physically secure.

<comment><USER28> Unless its been tampered with in the factory or in transit for delivery, the NSA has been known to modify hardware in transit for spying purposes.

<comment><USER27> So its either have an old system that is trivially compromised or have a new system that has the potential of having an unknown backdoor.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> We need to fire whoever decided to make this decision, and then fire whoever decided to hire that person, and then reevaluate the entire existence of the agency that managed this entire process. Nuclear weapons are not a joke. These are the kinds of things that actually threaten our immediate existence. This whole thing makes me seriously sad, anxious, and scared. I don't know what else to say.

From what I understand, military personnel generally "operate" equipment and technologies that are built and designed by private industry. I can only imagine the idiotic buzz-word sales pitch that some whiz-kid fast-talking slime-ball in a suit from a fancy looking tech company made to some meat-head, decorated military general with no understanding of what a digital threat model is and barley knows how to check his email on a windows 7 machine on IE, all for quick federal contract. I hate it.

</comment><comment><USER30> Just getting my amiga/commodore 64 500 3.5/5.25 setups back up and running, 75% of data is demagnetized away. Looking around sourcing any of these formats is more or less impossible today. HOW did they ever managed to keep 8 inch disks in a read and writable stage, without exhausting possible read/re- writes?

Secondly, how does one replace a 8 inch drive (most likely MFM interfaces) with a solid state disk?

<comment><USER31> You know how you can buy an SD2IEC device[0] for your C64?

Probably something like that.

[0] [https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/SD2IEC](https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/SD2IEC)

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> I can't wait for them to get Internet access!

</comment><comment><USER33> Reliability over sexiness. There is reason space craft launched when most of the people here on this board weren't even born still work. [https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/#where_are_they_...](https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/#where_are_they_now)

</comment><comment><USER34> I don't know what the right solution is but I recently watched this documentary about a serious accident at a missile silo in Arkansas

[https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-command-and- co...](https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-command-and-control- first-chapter/)

</comment><comment><USER35> Doesn't matter which tech they use, when the most ignorant in society are in charge.

</comment><comment><USER36> " Air Force software development hubs like Boston-based Kessel Run or Los Angeles-based Kobayashi Maru"

Is this article a troll, or is the Air Force just trying to be 'cool'.

<comment><USER37> _is the Air Force just trying to be 'cool'._

Why wouldn't the Air Force be full of geeks?

<comment><USER38> I Know some one in our DnD group who when working for the MOD in the UK, got into trouble for naming a set of servers after the kings of Rohan.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> But no more. At long last, that system, the Strategic Automated Command and Control System or SACCS, has dumped the floppy disk, moving to a "highly- secure solid state digital storage solution"

Did SuperMicro make the board?

<comment><USER40> That story made a big splash but was never proven. Bloomberg claimed sources it conveniently couldn't reveal. I'm just as suspicious of China as the next guy, and they've probably got something in the supply chain, but probably not that. Besides, a ME or BMC 0day does the job just as well with very little risk.</comment></comment>


How to Get Free (or Nearly Free) Development Software from Microsoft - <AUTHOR> http://blog.pluralsight.com/2012/02/17/how-to-get-free-or-nearly-free-development-software-from-microsoft/

<comment><USER2> TL;DR: Contact Joel Franusic: <http://joel.franusic.com/w/page/14522706/FrontPage>

BizSpark Evangelist, Silicon Valley.

</comment><comment><USER3> Nice commercial for Microsofts product. The "article" or blogpost or whatever it is couldnt have been done better to explain the various products offered and where to get them. Classic.

</comment><comment><USER4> As far as I know, at the end of your Bizspark term, don't you have to pay something like 300$ (still trivial considering what you get)?</comment>


How can I maximize the effectiveness of my professional online presence? - <AUTHOR>

I am not an extrovert. I dislike social networking sites - I had a facebook account for about a year, but it's been closed for several years since. I choose different names for different sites of which I am a member because I am paranoid. It occurred to me this is a bad practice if I want to ever lose my 9-5 and work as a freelancer/contractor. Most successful freelancers/contractors I have encountered have a consistent and thorough online presence - they have a professional identity that they use across communities, a blog full of relevant professional content, and an attitude towards community participation online pretty much opposite of my own.
Is a strong, unified online presence a requirement for freelance success?
Can there be some middle ground where I maintain some level of comfortable anonymity yet have enough of my professional self "out there" for potential clients to find and want to use my services?
Do these people lead a dual online life with professional and personal accounts for various sites? Or do they really only ever participate online as professionals?
If it makes a difference, my experience is in web development but I am interested in expanding my horizons. <comment><USER2> > Is a strong, unified online presence a requirement for freelance success?

No. Not in the least. I think a strong sense of marketing yourself is important, and that often ties into developing a strong online presence, but not a unified online presence.

> they have a professional identity that they use across communities, a blog > full of relevant professional content, and an attitude towards community > participation online pretty much opposite of my own.

That's only one way to do it. There are tons of successful freelancers / contractors that you haven't heard of (not because they aren't successful), but because they're working on developing their skills and getting work, not developing an online presence.

When you want to take the jump towards full time freelance work, I recommend Ramit Sethi's writings on earning more money (<http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/>) or the earn1k program (<http://www.earn1k.com>).

IMO, you don't need to wait until you lose your job to start developing an online presence or to start freelancing.

</comment><comment><USER3> I know that some online personalities have mentioned dual facebooks. [1]

Some people choose to go by a name that closely resembles their real name or in someway psuedo-anonymizes them. I think this works in some ways, but if anyone really wants to figure it out they can.

You don't need the same account name on Ebay and Amazon as you would have on twitter. That's a sort of middle ground.

It's important to figure out which is public facing and which is private facing. I'd use a version of noahc or mrnoahc for almost anything I want you to be able to find.

I can say that my hacker news comments have helped me a lot when reaching out to other people, and I suspect at a minimum you could at least point people to your comments on here.

<http://www.chrisbrogan.com/families-run-on-facebook/>

</comment><comment><USER4> I understand your desire for privacy. And I think it's relatively achievable while maintaining an online presense. Of course the most successful individuals on the net you can point to as big personalities and identities. I do think to achieve that level of notoriety and influence, you need you have a very strong, and somewhat exposed online personality.

For just, what I'd call, regular online success, I don't think you need to be as exposed.

I've always been very aware of my online presence and exposure. I tend to be a private person, so I limit my exposure to my professional business. I don't talk about my personal life, and don't actually use facebook except for actual person connections. My twitter, on the other hand, is pretty much only about things that relate to my work life.</comment>


Who Really Killed the Crunchpad? - <AUTHOR> http://www.e27.sg/2009/12/03/who-really-killed-the-crunchpad/

<comment><USER2> i would love read an article that answered the question posed by the title. sadly, this isn't it.

<comment><USER3> The only interesting bit from this article is that there seems to be only one shareholder of Fusion Garage, while it was previously suggested there were more.

The rest of the article is mostly hear-say and conjecture.

<comment><USER4> More raw material to invent hearsay: that is the address shared by the founder and the sharehoder: [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&...](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&q=458+Choa+Chu+Kang+Avenue+4,+Choa+Chu+Kang,+Singapur+680458&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.069599,79.013672&ie=UTF8&cd=2&geocode=FfoJFQAdkuMuBg&split=0&hq=&hnear=458+Choa+Chu+Kang+Avenue+4,+Singapur+680458&ll=1.378812,103.736215&spn=0.003411,0.004823&t=h&z=18)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Still hoping to find out, just not here.

</comment><comment><USER6> How do we even know it was alive to begin with?</comment>


First timer, need advise. - <AUTHOR>

Hello, I would like to ask a question. I am about to start a new internet startup. I have talked to a person who's interested in joining the new venture and helps out with the blogging and forum stuff. I did mention about financial commitment even though it's not a obligation and there is a possibility that he is not willing to invest any money except his time for blogging and scouting the forums. Up until now I am the only owner and foot all the bills but he's a talent and probably will help a lot with sale later on. We will have a first face to face meeting next month so I want to be prepared. Should I consider him a co-founder, partner? What offers would I bring to the table? If you offer a person any title, what kind of incentive? Equity, percentage on net profit...? Please advise. Apology for my broken English and thank you. <comment><USER2> If it's your very first face to face meeting, don't worry or think about potential co-founder or partnership at this point or what you need to bring to the table. Take your time getting a feel for him as a person, how well you two might work together base on chemistry, and what he's bringing to the table skill wise. I would save the discussion for potential cofounder or partnership and what offers, etc... for another day.

<comment><AUTHOR> It can't be true than this. I will follow your advise and have a feel for him. Thank you very much!

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> I would agree with what code wrote, but please be explicit that you can not pay him at this time. It's better for him to know that he is going to do this for equity, evaluate your business and think about how much value is he going to bring in, then do the math about how much equity should he get and under what terms. I would do some terms that would keep him at work, so that after 2 months you will not see him flee. Meaning that the terms should state something like: 2 articles / week in order to have x% of the profit or company.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you for your reply! It's always good to be honest and straight up front and that's what I did. I told him about risks we have to take and rewards if the business takes off. I am sure he's aware of all that. The true is when I started this venture last June, day by day I realized that I can not do this by myself and I am feeling overwhelming already. This is an excellent advise to attract a potential partner/co-founder.</comment></comment>


Cisco warns 500,000 routers have been hacked in suspected Russian attack - <AUTHOR> https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/cisco-warns-500000-routers-hacked-in-suspected-russian-attack.html <comment><USER2> Technical breakdown at [https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/05/VPNFilter.html](https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/05/VPNFilter.html) \- "While the list may not be complete, the known devices affected by VPNFilter are Linksys, MikroTik, NETGEAR and TP-Link networking equipment in the small and home office (SOHO) space, as well at QNAP network-attached storage (NAS) devices."

</comment><comment><USER3> I wonder if the Russian media publishes stories like this, but instead with the ending "...suspected NSA attack."

We all know they all do it. Is it just news because it's the Russians this time?

<comment><USER4> There is a difference between Russian _state-owned_ media and one of many US- based but _privately-owned_ news companies.

Answer to your question[1]. It looks more level-headed than your insinuation, but certainly targeted at undermining the US's (White House, Pentagon, NSA/other intel agencies, Congress, legislators, think tanks) authority in the cyber realm.

[1] [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2F...](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2F+\(us%7Cpentagon%7Cnsa\)+cyber)

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Hopefully, having converged on this Schelling point of "Russian attack!", the so-called cyber [0] intelligence industry will have soon rendered itself moot.

[0] a/s/l ?

</comment><comment><USER6> Interesting spin on Cisco getting caught yet again putting backdoors into their routers.

<comment><USER7> > We are unsure of the particular exploit used in any given case, but most > devices targeted, particularly in older versions, have known public exploits > or default credentials that make compromise relatively straightforward.

Granted, this info is coming from Cisco, but it looks like no back door is necessary in this case.</comment></comment>


Let's Drink Tonight Helps You Find People To Drink With - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/11/lets-drink-tonight-helps-you-find-people-to-drink-with/

<comment><USER2> This is a good example as to why 99% of the ideas themselves aren't worth anything.</comment>


Keeping Tesla Roadsters Alive Is Serious Work - <AUTHOR> https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a28819221/tesla-roadster-repair-carl-medlock/ <comment><USER3> A lot of early adopters were probably worried that Tesla would go out of business and they wouldn't be able to get parts. Tesla is still in business and there still aren't parts.

Hopefully enough of the current Tesla models will end up on the road to make it profitable for aftermarket suppliers to make some parts. So far it doesn't seem like that is happening at very much scale.

<comment><USER4> Lots of would-be buyers won't purchase until the supply lines and insane repair wait times are fixed.

Source: I am one, as are many of my friends in Seattle.

<comment><USER5> It's s tricky issue to fix - often parts fail due to a bad design (eg. 1 part too weak).

Everyone wants to buy that replacement part, leading to a shortage. At the same time, Tesla doesn't want to increase production of the faulty parts - <USER2> fact, they want to reduce production so they can redirect machines to making the new, better part. But it takes time to understand what was wrong and to design and test.

Overall, I think the key to solving it is latency - within days of seeing a part fail, they need to get the redesign out to the factory, so at least new cars with the faulty part aren't still being produced.

<comment><USER6> > _But it takes time to understand what was wrong and to design and test._

These seem like obvious problems to anyone in manufacturing, especially in the auto world. The fact that Tesla didn't foresee them is scary.

<comment><USER7> I wonder how much of this is a cultural issue, with Tesla being more aligned with the tech world where it's more acceptable to "move fast and break things" and fix them later. Anecdotally I know some people who have a similar culture fear of the way SpaceX appears to operate

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> This is becoming more and more of a problem as everything becomes more complex. I remember when I was a child my dad repaired the power switch on the vacume cleaner by going to the local electrical store and buying the exact same switch. Now every single device has its own custom part and the switch isn't just connecting 2 wires, it's contacting a main board telling it the button has been pressed triggering the power toggle code which will probably perform a bunch of checks and processes before powering on. If anything goes wrong you either have to replace half of the device if you can or just bin it because it would take you a lifetime to work out everything that happens when you press the power button.

<comment><USER9> The good news is you can get almost anything on the Internet. I've found so many weird parts from shady eBay sellers that worked perfectly in the end.

Other times I've had to order a similar part off of Mouser and hack it to make it fit, with varying levels of success.

<comment><USER10> This is less of an option when hardware makers fuse everything in to a single board so when one thing breaks you need a new main board which costs as much as the whole device.

I have had a surprising amount of luck with some items though. Managed to replace the shoulder buttons on my 3ds by finding a replica of the button + ribbon cable + connector used.

<comment><USER11> What is the alternative, a vacuum that has 3000 individual components now and they are still not user replaceable?

<comment><USER12> A good start would be to open up more access to plans & documentation to make it easier for interested people to do so.

Better access to replacement parts is another demand you often hear around the "right to repair" movement.

<comment><USER13> Even with just full documentation available, people (hobbyists, repair shops) could replace original parts with generic alternatives that match the spec electrically. The result wouldn't be as pretty as the original, but it would _work_ (and gave some street cred valued by people who prefer reuse and repair to generating waste).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> My wife has a 2020 Toyota Corolla. Less than 3 months old and it's got a bad crack in the windshield.

Toyota says a replacement is 6 months out and there are 800 on backorder in North America right now.

So, it's not just Tesla. Can happen to any manufacturer.

<comment><USER15> Can't you just go to one of the dozens of windshield replacement businesses in your area? You drive it there and they plop in a new windshield for very reasonable rates. They will often even come to you to fix it.

<comment><USER16> I have wondered about this between my 2008 Honda and my 2019 Honda. The 2008, I have had the windshield replaced twice, no sweat, once due to a rock from the road and once due to a hailstone. On the 2019, there is a suite of sensors behind the rearview mirror that (I presume) handle lane detection and object avoidance (emergency braking) duties. I don't know what assumptions those sensors (or the software behind them) might make about the properties of the glass they're looking through, but I wouldn't blindly have the shop on the corner replace the 2019 windshield like I would on my 2008.

<comment><USER14> Pretty much. Same deal on the Corolla.

Just out of curiosity I checked safelite.com and they don't even offer a replace option on this year/make/model. Only repair, and this crack is well beyond the repair limit.

<comment><USER17> In aviation, we stop-drill the ends of cracks in aluminum to stop propagation by diffusing the stress point.

If you need to wait 6 months, you might want to investigate doing that.

<comment><USER18> Drilling specialty tempered glass is not advisable.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> This guy is great, he found a niche full of customers and became the expert. I wish more startups would do this.

With regards to Tesla, it is always interesting to me to see how as companies grow, they become more political, less effective and generally suck more. All the good people, like this guy, get pushed out or leave on their own.

Makes me generally not want to build or work for a large company ever again.

<comment><USER20> Find a niche. Build a profitable business around it. Stay small. Make your customers and your staff happy (make a path to shared ownership for them if that tickles your fancy). Enjoy doing it. You won't regret it.

More money, more problems (my apologies to Mr B.I.G.)

<comment><USER21> > Find a niche. Build a profitable business around it. Stay small. Make your > customers and your staff happy (make a path to shared ownership for them if > that tickles your fancy).

Wow. This is exactly what I'm doing!

<comment><USER20> I wish you much success. I'd love to buy you a coffee or other beverage and hear all about it.

<comment><USER21> Anytime, firstname.lastname@example.com

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> I love listening to this. It's all the beauties of a great business. There's a problem, a loyal group and someone willing to solve and love the problem at the same time.

It's sad to see that the Roadster community was left behind so quickly. For better or for worse, Tesla plays cars like the startup game. Pivot, deploy, traction?, repeat. As terrible as that sounds, I do hope Tesla is here to stay. Even in its current form, the world is better with Tesla than without.

<comment><USER21> It seems that abandoning the userbase of the people that got you there is a staple ingredient for start-ups beyond a certain size too.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> A small run exotic car won't be as easy and cheap to service as a mass market car. But 2500 isn't 25. Lots of manufacturers of exotic cars in a LOT smaller runs than 2500. And they make sure to procduce the parts required to service the cars for a very long time if they want to look like a serious car manufacturer.

</comment><comment><USER24> My wife damaged the skirt at the bottom of the car, driving over a bump. It dented the skirt pretty badly, so we got it replaced.

$10,000 and 4 weeks labor (but waited months to get it fixed), because they had to disassemble the whole damn car. I was livid at what should have been maybe a $200 part required practically the entire car to be disassembled. One front seat and the back seats were both removed as were the entire side panel of the car.

Until Tesla solves the maintenance and replaceability of parts, I'm never getting another Tesla again. It's simply bad design. It's like an iPhone where you can't just replace the battery, you need to disassemble the entire thing just to get to the battery.

With no commitment to their Roadster customers, it makes me wonder how long they will be committed to their Model 3 customers in providing parts? Already the parts market takes months to get parts, how will it be 6 years from now?

<comment><USER25> This is exactly what put an end to my plan to buy a Tesla. I went nuts like everyone and most of my friends and coworkers bought one. I held out then I read about how the repair can take forever and how the parts are so tightly coupled that you have to almost disassembly the car to make repairs and I decided to pass. Until they figure this out, I'll probably get a used volt or bolt whenever I decided to get my next car.

<comment><USER26> There are a few clickbait articles out there, but don't believe everything you hear. Repairs, the very few I've had (two flat tires and one camera issue) have not been that bad. Flat tires were: mobile service came to where I was within 20 minutes, had me sign a paper, and put on an identical loaner wheel. That was that. Took like 2 minutes of my time. Then had to go to the service center for the swap back, which took around 20 minutes. Camera was a drop off at the shop and then I ubered to work on Tesla's dime for two days, because they were out of loaner Teslas at that time. Yeah could have been faster but it wasn't bad at all.

The horror stories were a catalyst for a lot of changes, I believe... the reality may be not as bad as you fear.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> Basically the Apple philosophy.

On the plus side, it really drives up re-sale values and part-out values when you don't have the manufacturer undercutting you.

Source: I parted out my old Macbook and ended up with a pretty good downpayment on my next done. Got new mid-2015 Macbook Air new by parting my mid-2011 and ~CAD$300 by selling the promo "free" Beats headphones.

<comment><USER28> Tesla threw together of a couple of thousand prototype-ish cars based on an already-uncommon sports car. Apple makes zillions of devices and supports them for years. What's the connection here?

<comment><USER29> Individual parts are not readily available from either manufacturer.

<comment><USER28> You can't get 'individual parts' for most consumer electronics. They don't require the sort of maintenance a car does, as this user's story about selling an 8 year old laptop and buying a 4 year old laptop with the proceeds illustrates.

<comment><USER27> Apple keeps a much tighter grip on their supply chains than the rest.

If you're willing to search around on Ebay/AliExpress, you usually can get individual parts: either gray market from a service centre, 2nd shift or overruns. The big exception's for Apple parts.

Contrast with Sears: Here's 250+ parts available for each fridge they distribute, shipped to you direct, with manuals:

[https://www.searspartsdirect.com/category/1234589/refrigerat...](https://www.searspartsdirect.com/category/1234589/refrigerator- parts)

I bought repair parts for my parents' 20 year old garage door opener from them. PSA: open it up and grease the nylon gears every decade so they don't turn into a snowmaker.

<comment><USER28> Sure, but that doesn't change the fact most consumer electronics are not user- serviceable by design and are also designed in a way that most of them don't require service in their useful lifetime. That's the 'philosophy' at play here, if we can call it that.

The other thing is making a small-run weird and pricey car and then mostly ditching it as a supported product. Putting aside any value judgements about the practice of making and selling products in _either_ of those ways, I still don't see any 'philosophical' connection to Apple or really, you know, anyone else not-making bespoke custom products.

<comment><USER27> OP's claim was literally that Tesla's approach to parts hasn't changed since Day1:

"A lot of early adopters were probably worried that Tesla would go out of business and they wouldn't be able to get parts. Tesla is still in business and there still aren't parts."

I guess that could be interpreted as though Tesla would eventually support the early models, but it's clear that they're not providing parts for any model in small or large production.

<comment><USER28> Yes, my point is that if you make 2500 nigh-bespoke custom sports cars, whatever your plans or execution for parts, maintenance, etc are, they can't possibly have anything to do, philosophically or otherwise, with a manufacturer who makes non-user-servicable devices statistically nobody expects to user-service. Apple shipped 2500 iPhones every six minutes last year.

The comment you quoted says that buyers were concerned about parts from the get go, presumably as most buyers of nigh-bespoke custom sports cars are and as most buyers of anything Apple makes aren't.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> the Roadster is a Lotus Elise with an EV drivetrain installed by Tesla, there is good parts supply for the original Elise. [https://www.elise- shop.com/original-lotus-parts-c-17.html](https://www.elise-shop.com/original- lotus-parts-c-17.html)

The EV conversion made the car a lot heavier and was a pretty complex conversion [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2018/09/18/elon- mu...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2018/09/18/elon-musk- converting-lotus-elise-to-build-the-tesla-roadster-was-a-super-dumb- strategy/#62b5c24b540f)

<comment><USER31> That's not very accurate. The "sled" is completely different, not just the drivetrain.

<comment><USER30> The EV conversion made the car a lot heavier and was a pretty complex conversion [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2018/09/18/elon- mu...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2018/09/18/elon-mu..).

<comment><USER32> _" Only the windshield, the dashboard (complete with the airbags and the wheel), the front wishbones, the rear-view mirrors...and the removable soft top were carried over from the Elise"_

<comment><USER33> It's a very similar looking car, even down to the T E S L A matching the L O T U S. I wouldn't be surprised if the 'new' parts had conspicuously similar mounting points.

<comment><USER32> It does look similar, but the article says every body panel is different.

<comment><USER30> Tesla had to fettle very similar modified components and panels to make it all work is my understanding

<comment><USER30> [https://youtu.be/_w9vB8V8mII](https://youtu.be/_w9vB8V8mII) Great video about gen 1 roadsters

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> "There are unique challenges that come with working on these cars. You might have to rebuild a circuit board one day, and fabricate a new hood the next day. Actually, if any body parts are damaged, you'll have to fabricate them. Tesla doesn't sell parts to anyone, so Medlock has taken to fashioning new panels out of carbon fiber himself. "

Didn't expect to see circuit board rebuilding until ~2023 (15y is my recollection for MTBF curves starting to climb).

<comment> kube-system I thought federal law required mass market vehicle manufacturers to make parts available for 10 years?

Am I mistaken or did Tesla manufacture these under some low-volume exception?

<comment><USER35> There is a California law requiring consumer electronics And appliances (not cars) to have parts for 7 years.

CIVIL CODE SECTION 1792-1795.8

(b) Every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code, with a wholesale price to the retailer of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of a product for at least seven years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> It's only a matter of time until it becomes profitable enough to salvage that one orbiting the Earth...

<comment><USER37> It's not orbiting Earth, it's orbiting the sun. I think it's fair to say that it would be the most ambitious space mission we've ever taken to try and retrieve it, at least when not adjusting for our increased technical sophistication since the appolo era...

<comment><USER38> Buck Rogers 2.0

<comment><USER39> Salvage One 2.0

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER40> Wow.

I had a '91 Saturn sedan until 2015. Despite my model being out of production for decades, and Saturn having closed up shop for years, I could still find aftermarket auto parts.

How common of a problem is this?

Any other manufactures/models notorious for poor part availability?

<comment><USER41> Pretty big difference between a model that sells 2,500 total units and one that sells millions over 2 decades. A better comparison would be to look at what parts availability is on a limited run sports car.

<comment><USER42> Not only the limited run nature, but part of this has also got to be the big supplier network that is available for other cars. How many custom parts are there on a Tesla Roadster compared to other cars? There are large supplier networks that can supply many (most? all?) of the internal parts required to build a complete car (sport or otherwise).

I've got to think that the ratio skews heavily to the side of custom for any of the Tesla. This is where Tesla's intense vertical integration starts to be a detriment. I was just reading an article about how the vertical integration of Tesla was amazing in that it made it possible for custom components to be used that saved space and weight by performing more than one job [0]. This is great - until you need to replace that one specialized part and you can't seem to find it.

I laughed when I was looking at the cup holder for my new car. It's a 2018 Audi A3. The rear cup holder is the same junky design that I had to replace multiple times in an old 2000 Jetta. It's not a great design, even-though it saves space. However, because of all of the available suppliers for that part, I know I'll be able to find a replacement of this for years. This type of parts availability is a blessing (you can find one cheap) and a curse (you are limited in how you can design the car by the parts that are already available, thus you can only have a barely functional cup holder).

[0] [https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-superbottle- disrupti...](https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-superbottle-disruption- video/)

<comment><USER43> _This is great - until you need to replace that one specialized part and you can't seem to find it._

...or when that multifunction part fails and renders much of the car inoperable.

Odd that that article about the Superbottle mentions "increased modularity" as an advantage, when it clearly decreases modularity to integrate so many functions into one monolithic part.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> Why would Tesla send a C&D to this guy who is helping their brand???

Mind-boggling decision.

</comment><comment><USER45> I find it crazy when any company doesn't fully adopt the hackers and aftermarket people. Like the guy said they need to have a certification process and official pipelines to support 3rd party vendors.

This would significantly increase the UX of owning the car which would offset any risks of backlash from bad work. A car waiting 1.5yrs for a small component is a way worse outcome IMO.

</comment><comment><USER46> " _Actually, if any body parts are damaged, you 'll have to fabricate them._"

I thought car markers provided parts for, like, 30 years.

<comment><USER47> Mass-market cars tend to yes. The economics work out for them to do that, along with trying to get those repeat customers. The low-volume exotics not as much. They didn't make extra parts when the factory was doing the initial batch, and they sure aren't going to go spin it up for the odd one-off.

</comment></comment><comment><USER48> Wonder if these are good collectible-candidates? Though I guess maintaining the battery for 25 years would be an absolute nightmare. Do these things, used, trade at a premium or discount to their original price?

</comment><comment><USER49> That they won't service them or supply parts shows the future for all Tesla owners.

We need legislative reform that requires any companies selling products in US jurisdiction put enough parts and cash in escrow to guarantee for a reasonable time period the ability to service anything that costs more than $500.

<comment><USER50> It's more like the present; every part they manufacture goes into a new Tesla while owners wait weeks for replacement parts.

<comment><USER51> This is the key: Tesla's goal is increasing new-car production. Diverting intermediate assemblies into spare parts inventories directly competes with that goal. If Tesla had spare manufacturing capacity this wouldn't be as pressing. As they bring more online it would presumably ease, though with lag while the backlog of demand is drained.

<comment><USER52> It's unknown if Telsa has spare parts capacity.

What is know is that distributing parts for warranty repairs is a cost to the company.

It seems their plan is to let warranty claims languish until at least the next financial period.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER53> I've wanted one since "Nash Bridges". Cool car.</comment>


Arc Challenge: Create an AI that can solve reasoning tasks it hasn't seen before - <AUTHOR> https://www.kaggle.com/c/abstraction-and-reasoning-challenge/ <comment><USER2> Makes me think of Raven's Progressive Matrices</comment>


Google Should Acquire Kickstarter Otherwise Amazon Will - <AUTHOR> http://www.trendslate.com/2010/12/06/google-should-acquire-kickstarter/

<comment><USER2> If Kickstarter becomes popular, it'll become overwhelmed by fraudulent projects -- people creating simple renderings and/or videos to raise hundreds of thousands and then just disappearing with the money. Then thousands of people will start demanding money back from Kickstarter. Then comes the very bad press. Who wants that? I think it's fine just where it is, but I still wouldn't mind seeing a chart on how many funded projects never get delivered vs. those that do.</comment>


Ask HN: Do you share your email password with your cofounder? Why or why not? - Kepler-295c <comment><AUTHOR> I wouldn't share my Gmail password. Besides, I have two-factor enabled on my account, so the password alone wouldn't be that useful.

If you are using Gmail, you can share access to your inbox with another account. This would still let your cofounder access your inbox and read your mail, assuming that's what you are solving for. Your cofounder would also be able to send mail as you, but it will show up as "sent by firstname.lastname@example.com".

</comment><comment><USER2> I don't even share it with my wife. And the issue is not about trust. It is that there is no need for it. And sharing it with another person makes it a lot less secure.

<comment><USER3> Agreed, I could understand sharing a company/joint email account password with a co-founder (or spouse). For example a sales@company or a aliceAndBob@whatever A personal account would be different though. Just my $0.02.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> We share most of the things just because there is 100% trust and it makes things easier. For the specific case of the email we dont access eachothers email, but if there was a need, it would be perfectly fine. I can't say this is the right/safest thing to do with most startups, as it requires extreme trust and you have to know that person better than his/her family knows them.

</comment><comment><USER5> We have in the past. Eventually we tell each other our passwords after updates. We sometimes have to access something when the other cannot.

</comment><comment><USER6> Not answering your question but FrontApp.com is a nice solution for those that want to do this.</comment>


Disappointed with Europe, Thousands of Iraqi Migrants Return Home - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/world/middleeast/europe-migrant-crisis-reverse-migration.html <comment><USER2> This article is obviously about a person, that is an illegal migrant, not a refugee.

        > "I felt like I couldn't live in an open society,"
        > said Aqeed Hassan, 26, who plays the clarinet and,
        > back in Baghdad after going to Finland, is trying
        > to get a job in a military band.
        > "My wife has her head covered, and I didn't feel like they liked Arabs."

The whole debate with migration is that IMHO the real _refugees_ need to visit psychologists, when they arrive here. They've suffered war, laws that declare gender-inequality ( soft words for what those laws actually are, but anyway ), homo-phobic state-politics, etc. Those are all things that western world fight ages to make it right ( yes, including war ) and people that have lived in different society can't understand by just "living" there.

I'm really happy to know people from Syria, Pakistan, Taiwan & Japan. It's so cool when we all try to understand more about the way we live our every-day life , but on the other hand all of us will feel offended if forced to change it. No matter what "When in Rome, do as the Romans do ...", if you can't just leave.

<comment><USER3> Romans, and Greeks especially under Alexander, changed their lifestyles significantly to accommodate influence from subjects of their conquests. It comes with the imperium package.

<comment><USER4> What imperium does Finland control exactly?

<comment><USER3> You don't have to control. Being part is sufficient.

<comment><USER5> Being part, as in also being controlled. It's really absurd to think that Finland is somehow responsible for actions of some empire, when the history is more about the country being _target_ of imperialism (by neighbouring Russia and Sweden).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> k-mcgrady Interesting article. I'm very pro-Europe taking in refugees. It seems however that the guy in this article moved because he couldn't get a job in his own country and thought he would instantly get one here - not a chance when a lot of Europeans are still struggling to find work because of the economy. It also sounds like he was pretty close-minded in regards to integrating into a new culture/diet/environment. Unless the article isn't telling us something or I misread this guy wasn't really a migrant - this was a man who wanted to move to a new country and didn't like it very much but he took the illegal route in instead of applying for a visa. He wasn't forced out of his home, his life wasn't at risk etc. Like I said, I think we should be helping refugees in every way we can but it really seems like this guy isn't a refugee.

<comment><USER6>
      > this guy wasn't really a migrant

He was migrant by defintion. Not a refugee though.

      > he was pretty close-minded in regards to integrating into a new
      > culture/diet/environment

I wonder, what is the percentage of those hundreds of thousands who do not have the same mindset. Alas, the thinking of those pro-Europet-taking-in- refugees is somewhere along the lines:

      1. Take in all the refugess
      2. ...
      3. Integration done.

There is no magic for the step 2. And there is the big misundrestanding how deep the difference between the cultures is. Also, the not undrestanding that Islam is not just religion, is the way of life—and the way not very much in agreement with the western one. Especially when the western way is considered subpar and the wrong one. Good luck in thinking that a few lecutres on European values will change all that.

<comment><USER7> Step 2 in Australia after WW2 was basically: \- education \- counselling \- socialising

It worked well enough for the influx of Vietnamese refugees too.

<comment><USER8> Vietnamese communities tend to integrate well. At least in Easter Europe, in Poland or Czech Rep they are doing quite well, no issues at all.

<comment><USER9> In France too. In fact I notice I know many Vietnamese descendents, but I didn't realize it until I counted. They're Frence-rooted to me. Successful integration.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Allegedly many of the migrants are economic refugees in addition to or instead of political ones. No doubt if you're thinking Europe is full of high wage jobs and fat benefits for unskilled or low-skilled labor you'll be disappointed.

<comment><USER11> 'Europe is full of high wage jobs and fat benefits for unskilled or low- skilled labor'

labor? you mean - like, work, right? europe is full of welfares and free housings and subsidies. no migrant is going to labour here, just accept what is rightfully theirs. labour is for local suckers.

<comment><USER12> Where in Europe can you find free housing? Are you talking about refugee centers? Monthly payments to refugees which are immediately send to respective landlords?

<comment><USER11> all of the above. the bottom line - they are not paying for it from their pocket.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Number of immigrants going back to the middle east in this article is funny at best. Author gives few thousands here and there, but he doesn't give overall number - which seems to be around 10 000. And for a 1 000 000 migrants that are in Europe and another 1 000 000 incoming this is nothing - marginal case fitting into statistic error.

</comment><comment><USER14> The sooner they gone the better. It's clear that they only here for benefits, not jobs, peace or freedom. Nobody wants to go to live eastern european countries (EU) as a refugee, though they equally peaceful, open-minded, but there are no benefits (or limited), no free housing and no free cars...

Btw, everyone suddenly forgot about existing unemployment in Spain (20%, dec data) or Greece(24%, dec data). Other EU countries also struggling, especially in youth employment...

<comment><USER15> So completely misinformed.

The refuees are not leaving Syria/Iraq etc looking for benefits. They are leaving a severe civil war. Yes there are economic migrants moving to Europe as well but they are and will be deported. The reason they aren't staying in the poorer countries is simply that. They are poorer and simply can't handle the refugee intake nor provide basic essential services.

You can't blame genuine refugees for wanting to goto countries where they have the best opportunity of leaving a normal life.

<comment><USER16> You are misinformed.

According to the EU 60% of these people are economic migrants[1]. But lets continue killing Europe with compassion[2].

[1][http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/12123684...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/12123684/Six- in-ten-migrants-not-entitled-to-asylum-says-EU-chief.html)

[2][http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/its-not-only-germany- that...](http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/its-not-only-germany-that-covers- up-mass-sex-attacks-by-migrant-men-swedens-record-is-shameful/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17>
      > He arrived in Belgium with this in mind:
      > "I was expecting them to give me a house, a
      > good job, so I could have a better life. This is
      > what I was dreaming about."

I'm not sure who seeded this somewhat pervasive meme in the heads of economic migrants, but it runs diametrically counter to actually-existing reality.

<comment><USER18> The human traffickers. They distribute leaflets praising the benefits of each country.

<comment> iso-8859-1 Link to said leaflet?

<comment><USER18> It's in dutch, but here's a newspaper article about it: [http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Nederland/article/detail/4108964...](http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Nederland/article/detail/4108964/2015/07/28/Mensensmokkelaars- prijzen-opvang-Nederland-aan.dhtml)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> The situation in Sweden is becoming really bad. The police have decided to cover up crime at the refugee centers because it is so high. For some age groups in Sweden there are now 125 men per 100 women. Yes the immigration has been enough to tilt the ratio that much. Christian refugees have to flee _from refugee centers_ because of the dangerous situation for them there.

<comment><USER20> This is what you get by being extremely naive as a country, also fear of what others think of you

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Regardless to people's own position I think we can all agree that there is a lot of emotion, rhetoric, propaganda even, surrounding the refugee and migrant crises currently going on in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

After speaking to a few colleagues in Europe, it makes me want to take a trip to Europe just to get an un-obfuscated picture of what's really going on.

Until then I'm going to try not to form particularly strong opinions on the matter.

<comment><USER17> I don't know that you're going to gain much insight from a fact-finding trip to Europe in the capacity of a tourist. A lot of the problem is subterranean and lurks in the shadows of European society, away from the outward presentation layer visible to a visitor, and aggregate numbers are best understood by policymakers and experts.

When you get off the plane in Europe and amble around, you'll probably find nothing has superficially changed much from the last time you were there-- assuming you've been before.

<comment><USER21> I probably misrepresented what my intentions are. I'm not actually going on a research trip, but I do intend to visit Europe soonish, and hope to get a better understanding of what is going mainly by talking to locals etc.

<comment><USER22> The problem is that except for a handful of people who have direct contact, the locals are not really any more informed than others. As an European, I knew many people who had strong opinions on the consequences of accepting Syrian refugees, before the first families had even arrived.

TV and social media, not personal experience, shape most of the opinions.

<comment><USER23> Yep and those opinions are amplified by right wing warmongering and the under belly short term anti-solutions that the loudest shouters on tv, facebook and youtube etc have.

<comment><USER22> That's true for the opinions against accepting refugees, but there's also plenty of people who find ridiculous the mere suggestion that it may cause problems.

I support the acceptance on principle, but I'm certainly not sure of the consequences, good or bad.

<comment><USER24> Its incredible how SJWs have done their best to paint anyone who points out the obvious problems associated with mass migration (particularly people from an intolerant, sexist culture) as the problem.

When political correctness appears, logic and reason disappears out the window.

<comment><USER22> That's the thing - there are no _obvious_ problems. It's very far from _obvious_ how this will play out.

For example, regarding the "intolerant, sexist culture" you allude to. It's easy to paint the middle east in broad strokes, but that misses crucial differences between countries and peoples, particularly as those countries were often Western inventions made by grouping disparate regions and populations.

For example, did you know that in 2010 (before even the first conflict against Bashar al-Assad), there were over 150 thousand Syrians in the US alone?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Migrants to Europe will get better jobs and lifestyles easily. And the streets of New York are paved with gold.

It took my family over a hundred years since immigration to the USA to really integrate such that I don't feel even slightly foreign. And honestly the USA changed us more than we changed the USA. And I agree with that - it's rude to make demands as a guest or newcomer.

<comment><USER23> The would maybe do if they had non trivial skills; tech uni degrees etc. Most can do only manual labor and/or have little or no education: we do not have jobs for those skillsets enough for natives let alone immigrants. A friend of mine fled for economic reasons (and more freedom) years ago: he was a surgeon and coder and (secretly) entrepreneur in his country; absolutely no issues getting a job and integrating.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Most of us (meaning people that aren't European) would be willing to move anywhere in the EU, at least for a while. I lived and worked in France for some time. My family came from Germany and Switzerland 150 years ago, and my wife's great grandmother came from Spain only 100 years ago (she's Mexican and now also American). It's a really neat thing to be over there and feel that connection to an ancestral homeland that we still have family stories about.

Close to where I grew up was a town called Swedesburg, they fly the Swedish flag there to this day. Lots of Germans and Swedes. One would think Europe would change immigration law to encourage people who would naturally have some affinity or ties to the region. But that doesn't seem to be a popular idea. I think my wife and I would be able to integrate anywhere over there, northern or southern Europe, with zeal. We both speak English, Spanish, we can already communicate with Italians as a result of Spanish, and are enthusiastic about cultures and languages. I've lived in the US, France, Mexico and visited ~10 nations including Russia. My wife has visited equally as many and studied in Valencia. I've been to Finland- it has less snow than the part of the US I'm from (though my wife would probably not be thrilled).

I've always gotten the feeling Europe prefers its former African and mideast colonies to immigrate north, rather than American hordes with their money and talents (which may be more offputting to the natives than a more desperate immigrant).

<comment><USER27> > One would think Europe would change immigration law to encourage people who > would naturally have some affinity or ties to the region.

No offense but this affinity people especially from the US seem to have appears from this side like nothing more than a weird fetish driven by nothing more than fantasy. Especially for Germany this is incredibly weird because there is often a certain pride associated with being "German" that would get you considered a nazi in Germany.

If you're well educated and can get a job in Europe, immigrating should be quite easy already. I see no reason to make it easy for people just because some ancestor happened to be from Europe.

<comment><USER26> > No offense but this affinity people especially from the US seem to have > appears from this side like nothing more than a weird fetish driven by > nothing more than fantasy

How do you figure? My grandmother sang in German to me as a child. Fantasy? Her husband defeated Germany in WW2 and his father defeated Germany in the trenches of France.

It's perhaps time that Germans got a little bit of pride, and it's ironic that to revitalize Germany (and Europe as a whole to former greatness) it would require bringing back your best and most ambitious.

Instead, as I said, I've lived in France- the people will never admit but fear being swarmed by people just as arrogant as the average European. Europe prefers the chaos and civil disruption of mideast immigration because these people are easy to look down upon and pity. Chaos is preferred over having ones mental and financial equal or superior arrive.

It doesn't matter to us, we're doing fine over here. I'm just suggesting the fix to all of Europe's problems of no birthrate and a cloudy future with none of the problems being invited with the current ethnic disruption. One would think a more desirable migrant would be preferable rather than a victim of poor circumstance.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> I personally have never understood the logical difference between a political refugee and an economic one. It is OK to claim asylum because you have odious political views, but not because you children are starving.

<comment><USER29> A person who's starving doesn't need asylum, they need humanitarian aid. On the other hand, a person who's a victim of persecution needs protection. Therefore they have completely different needs and for that reason it makes a lot of sense to deal with these two problems separately.

<comment><USER28> Since it is in practice impossible to separate the two it doesn't make much sense.

Basically anyone from a country with an internal conflict or a less than ideal government (this covers most of the world) can become a refuge by claiming they have been persecuted. Even those from countries that don't meet these very common criteria can still claim to be refugees by destroying their documentation and claiming to be from a conflict zone.

Since you don't need to provide any evidence other than your own word [1], all having two separate categories does is screen out the people who are too stupid (or honest) to make up a plausible story of persecution.

1\. [http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3ae6b3338.pdf](http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3ae6b3338.pdf)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> This always happens.

Many of my grandparents generation immigrated to the US from Ireland in the 1920s and 30s. Not everyone stayed! 3-4 grand uncles and aunts moved back because they missed home, weren't making it, or missed farming.

It's hard to move into a different society, and as order is restored in places like Iraq, i think it is natural to see people return.

</comment><comment><USER31> I guess this guy is not a refugee in the sense that things are ok for him to go back to family

</comment><comment><USER32> In a certain way this article makes me happy. I'm all for immigration as I think it makes countries stronger, but the fact a large number of Iraqis are confidant enough in the stability of their country to return home seems a good sign. Despite all the scenes constantly depicted in the media about walls, car bombs, and Isis, some people would rather just go home to live near their mom.[1]

[1] [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-says-security-wall-being- bu...](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-says-security-wall-being-built-around- baghdad/)

</comment><comment><USER33> what strikes me with this migrant crisis is the number of misperceptions on both sides:

The migrants are always refered to as war refugees when really only a minority are.

The migrants seem to come with the perception that they will be welcomed with open and generous arms where the European public opinion is becoming very visibly hostile to this wave of migrants. And European countries will not have the means and the will to subsidise immigrants on this scale.

The European public opinion turned against the migrants after the Paris attack, just because some of the attackers travelled through these immigration channels, but all attackers were either French or Belgium nationals, not migrants. Same thing in Cologne where it seems all the attackers where from Marroco and Algeria, not Iraq or Syria.

What I am worried about is the combination of these factors:

1\. This is only the start of the migrant crisis. Migrants stopped crossing the mediteranean sea during the winter, but spring is coming, and the Russian backed offensive in Syria will lead to more war refugees. Not only that but when Bashar will likely regain territories from Isis, we will really see many Isis fighters returning home in Europe, ...or seeking asylum from the certain death if caught by Putin/Bashar (and then what do Europeans do?). And on a longer term, the African demographic explosion means millions of africans trying to make their way to Europe every year will be the new normal. Add to that the fact that our societies will increasingly reduce our reliance on oil, which will bankrupt half of the states in the middle east. Saudi Arabia for instance will be a pretty problematic failed state.

2\. The threshold of tolerance to migrants seems to have been exceeded pretty much everywhere in Europe. In the UK the EU referundum will largely be about polish immigration and current polls suggest the UK will exit the EU. The far right is rising pretty much everywhere in Europe. And the standard politically correct response of the medias/political class (if you don't want these migrants, you are a racist, end of discussion) will not do anything to contain the far right.

3\. With the exception of the UK, pretty much all of Europe is in recession and has high unemployment, and therefore will not be able to absorb this immigration. To make things worse, all the technological change we foresee (AI, robotics, more automation) will only reduce the supply of low-skill jobs in favor of high-skill jobs. The exact opposite of what would be required to absorb this immigration.

The whole thing feels like a slow motion train crash, like the accumulation of public debt. It seems pretty obvious to me that one way or another it won't end well.

<comment><USER9> Re Paris attacks and migrants: Only the politics are blaming it on Syria and on migrants!

I, French, and many others, have seen through the game. Terrorists were actually French/Belgian. And French born. It's a failure with our "Egalité des Chances".

\- That President Hollande triggers 3000 home bustings with no warrant is extremely racist. They did uncover arms but one should notice that they busted a lot of... countryside hunters. What a shame on police.

\- That President Hollande triggers house arrests on hundreds of Muslims is extremely racist again. At best they lose their jobs, at worst those Muslims will turn back their opinion against revenge-based democracy, and we're feeding tomorrow's terrorism with new French-born-and-raised citizen.

\- That Holland considers bombing a foreign country because we had some terrorist attacks is, again, using politics for another agenda. By the way, war creates new poverty, and 90% the West goes at war, they create the terrorists of tomorrow.

\- If our terrorists have made a trip to Syria, that's at minimum a big failure of the Shengen borders. Shengen borders which, we were told, were stronger than just national borders, but have just let about 1.1million migrants through. What a mockery over the voters.

\- France is in economic stagnation. I have lived in 4 countries, I'm not naive. We don't have the money to lead a war in Syria. With that much money we _send all kids of Africa to Disneyland_ (Do make the calculation, we spend 32m€ on war per year).

\- French citizen who became terrorists did that out of hopelessness. If anything, we need more social fabric, more social help. We also need a strict police. My cousin was sexually assaulted by someone we have the identity of, and the police isn't arresting him. Sexual assault being one of the worst crimes, it's weak to say that the police is generally lenient with crime and that's our culture. And when our police acts, they just do so in a massively racist way. Way to go. Talking about police, the worst thing to do for a Socialist president is to give free reign to far-right police during Etat d'Urgence.

President Hollande is acting the worst way against terrorism. He's not attacking the roots at all (better economy, equal chances, less debt, less war, balanced police with due diligence and powers in check, safe environment for Muslims, and teaching about equality). President Hollande is teasing the population with racism, imposing a police state on Muslims (and the rest of the population), removing juges from the police system, bombing Syria and losing money.

Between Hollande and FN (far right), I see no difference.

Which brings me to the matter: 1. There is no Socialist party that we can vote for if we're against the war and pro-equality and pro-integration; 2. Voters from the first point will turn to FN if Hollande doesn't have a better program than FN.

I accuse Hollande of failing France, by not applying a Socialist program and teasing France towards extreme-right.

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> > "They were surprised," he said. "But I told them I'd rather die in my > country than die outside in a strange country."

Well since most of the so called Syrian (and many other countries too) "refugees" are healthy young men, I really don't know what are they doing in EU (expecting wellfare money probably) instead of fighting for their own country for better tomorrow (what all young men did in their age around the world since dawn of time). Europe as it is today didn't came for free.

<comment><USER35> > (expecting wellfare money probably) instead of fighting for their own > country for better tomorrow

Hacker News: Taking armchair coaching to a whole new level.

Sometimes I despair at the lack of empathy that is possible.

<comment><USER34> I'll add armchair coaching from someone in a small EU country which still has its language because his both grandfathers didn't bail and ran away, for which I'm forever grateful of the responsibility they took.

<comment><USER36> Whatever one's musings on the status and the notion of ethnic states etc., I don't think the situation is comparable. In my (our?) case (Baltic states), there was (more of) a concrete "bad Other", whereas in Syria a proxy war (or an array thereof) is taking place. One can perceive it as multiple groups of interest fighting, with the backing of multiple actors (and the background struggle of the extent of those actors and their backing is what might determine the outcome, if any).

It is easier to grok a meaningful armed struggle (which one may partake in, hypothetically) - after all, it is _tangible_ and concrete, and there's always a bad side (isn't there), etc.; but in the completely messed up state of affairs that people in Syria find themselves in, one can't but deduce that they are in a war zone with no certain optimal equilibrium which one can attempt to bring the future to. And that is really a different picture altogether, I would think.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER37> I don't usually comment on threads like this, but you guys come off as bad as reddit here. Cancerous.

<comment><USER38> In what way, too liberal? Too much pro migrant, or too much anti migrant?

Anyway, calling something plebeian or cancerous doesn't improve the debate... I mean all it's says is that you disagree with what most people believe. That should be either enough to question your own beliefs, or at least to defend your point of view, because all you do here is just a slight rant that is petty at best, or a sign of defeat.

Anyway, immigration is a tough political debate, it is controversial since it involves questioning the history of borders. Which is really not an easy thing to solve, even for the most talented politician.

</comment></comment><comment><USER39> The problem is never the migrants or refugees. The problem is their luggage and the reaction of the hosts.</comment>


How can a software engineer help in this pandemic? - <AUTHOR> I, like many of you, am a software engineer currently quarantining myself with plenty of extra time on my hands. Does anyone know of a way to contribute to the local, national, or global fight against covid-19 beyond staying at home?<p>It seems like wishful thinking to assume that a web-app could contribute much right now, but I don't see any harm in asking. <comment><USER2> Trump publicized the app that "google" is building... why not build it for the rest of the country not just the bay area?

Requirements: help people understand the probability that they have COVID-19 and step 2 connect them with virtual doctors. Step 3 if the doctor tells them to get tested provide them with the the nearest location and give them an easy way to tell their friends and family.

Should be a weekend or less to get that done, and I'm sure some hosting company would gladly provide free hosting if they have that app with their name on it.

cheers!

<comment><AUTHOR> That's a great idea. Thanks so much!</comment></comment>


GMail filters your own email? - <AUTHOR> Weird thing I found on GMail and I am puzzled by it. I sent an email to myself with a link, and I got the email in my inbox. Within a minute, both sent email and the inbox email is removed when I tried to look for it on another device. Is this normal? Anyone encountered this before, how can we trust to use GMail? <comment><USER2> Yes, I have a similar issue with forwarded email to my gmail account.

If I remember correctly, it sees it as a duplicate in your inbox and sent folder. Which are merged together to the sent folder.</comment>


Why are doughnut boxes pink? - <AUTHOR> http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pink-doughnut-boxes-20170525-htmlstory.html <comment><USER2> Needs "in California" or something.

None of the boxes here are pink that I can think of. Lots of white and yellows.</comment>