SpringWallet: Simple and effective, open-source, lightweight, Ethereum HD wallet - <AUTHOR> https://blog.springworks.in/springwallet-open-source-ethereum-wallet-springrole/ <comment><AUTHOR> Why SpringWallet?

Most decentralised applications need their users to install third-party extensions and/or signup for a custodial wallet for any step where they need to interact with blockchain. This creates unnecessary friction and scares them off at the on-boarding stage itself. This also adds a number of steps to regular functionalities.

Enter SpringWallet! SpringWallet is SpringRole's open-source, lightweight, Ethereum HD wallet. It doesn't require any installation/signup. It's a seamless wallet experience that is tightly integrated into the SpringRole platform to provide easy and immediate access to the platform's decentralised functionality.

How does it work/Behind the scenes SpringWallet generates unique 12 words mnemonic, which generates a random Ethereum account. The mnemonic is encrypted on the client-side with the user password, and this encrypted mnemonic is stored in our database so that we can provide our users access to the wallet across multiple devices/browsers.

The major drawback of a custodial wallet is that the private keys stay within the provider server, so the user doesn't have full control of it. That's not the case with SpringWallet as your private keys never leave the browser, hence giving you full control of your wallet.

SpringWallet is simple, secure, and flexible.

Doing a blockchain transaction is just two clicks away:

1\. Unlock SpringWallet

2\. Sign the transaction

About SpringRole: SpringRole is enabling everyone's #VerifiedProfessionalProfile on the Blockchain. It is a decentralised attestation-based professional network platform powered by the blockchain.

SpringRole is the platform where people can view, share and get attestations on their professional profile, thereby creating a verified resume that they can share and use. A user's educational qualifications and work experience are verified by the organisations themselves and written directly to the blockchain. To assess a user's skill set, SpringRole has a system of weighted endorsements that let users objectively look at people's profiles and assess their skill level.</comment>


Nevada and Elon Musk - <AUTHOR> http://online.wsj.com/articles/nevada-gets-musked-1410821915

<comment><AUTHOR> If you can't see behind the paywall:

Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the other day described Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk as a "genius." Maybe he was alluding to the Tesla CEO's cunning ploy to mine subsidies from Nevada taxpayers.

Last week the Silver State's legislature unanimously approved $1.3 billion in tax breaks for Tesla to build a $5 billion lithium battery factory in Reno that will supply its electric-car plant in Fremont, California. "We have changed the trajectory of this state, perhaps forever," declared Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who wagers that the "Gigafactory" will grow the state's economy by $100 billion, or about 80%, over 20 years. Will he take that bet to Vegas?

Politicians bribing businesses to locate in their state is an old if unfortunate story. Tennessee this year offered Volkswagen $274 million to expand its Chattanooga plant. Last year Washington awarded long-time employer Boeing $8.7 billion over 16 years to build its new 777X jetliner in Puget Sound.

But the Tesla giveaway is in a category of its own, coming in an unproven market for a company that has never recorded an annual profit (based on generally accepted accounting principles), notwithstanding various subsidies. Nevada's gift is 15 times larger than any incentive package the state has awarded and among the richest nationwide.

Mr. Musk handled it like a private Sotheby's auction, launching a secret bidding war among southwestern states with a price floor of $500 million. Tesla also wanted to be exempt from states' dealer laws that prevent car companies from selling directly to consumers. Such dealer laws are bad policy, but it must be nice to carve out an exemption that doesn't apply to Ford and GM.

In June Tesla broke ground at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, yet Mr. Musk denied that he had made a decision. "We'll be doing something similar in one or two other states," he cautioned, because "it makes sense to have multiple things going in parallel." Message: Better not under bid.

Earlier this month Mr. Musk declared Nevada the winner. "It wasn't all about the incentives," he noted. Nevada is "a get-things-done state." Gov. Sandoval surely appreciated that in-kind contribution to his re-election campaign. Mr. Musk also intimated that Nevada made the most logistical sense. Reno is easily accessible by rail and highway to Fremont, and Nevada hosts the only active lithium mines in the U.S.

But if those were the attractions, then why should Nevada have to pay such a steep subsidy price? Tesla will be exempt from property taxes for 10 years and sales taxes for 20 years at a cost of $1.1 billion to taxpayers. Tesla will also get $195 million in transferable tax credits that it can sell to other businesses. Since Nevada has no personal or corporate income tax, Tesla will effectively operate tax-free in the state.

Tesla will also receive a 10% to 30% electricity discount over eight years. The NV Energy public utility will pay for this discount by charging other customers $1.84 more on average per year. Mr. Musk claims the factory will generate all the renewable energy it needs, but the utility discount will pay for back-up power from the grid because renewables provide intermittent energy.

By being connected to the grid, Tesla will also be able to exploit Nevada's "net-metering" regulations to sell its excess renewable power back to the utility at the retail price, which can be up to 50% higher than wholesale. So Tesla can buy electricity at a discount, and then sell it for a premium.

Tesla will also get a 30% federal tax credit for building its own renewable generation, which will help wipe out its future federal tax liability, assuming it has any. Tax credits and carry-forward losses have already absolved the company from paying federal income tax since at least 2008. Last year Tesla paid a mere $2.5 million in corporate income taxes—zip to Uncle Sam, $178,000 to the states and $2.35 million to foreign governments.

 __* California Gov. Jerry Brown shrewdly observed on Friday that "Nevada's tax breaks are California's benefit" because they will help Tesla cut the cost of its cars by half to $35,000. Mr. Brown understands that California's target of getting one million "zero-emission vehicles" on the road by 2020 will require much larger price discounts than the state's $2,500 rebates.

So maybe Mr. Musk really is a genius, of the political kind at least. He's figured out that as long as you pick a politically favored industry you can be one of the world's richest men and still get taxpayers to finance your operations and become even richer. Not so smart are the Nevada politicians who seem to have no idea how thoroughly they've been fleeced.</comment>


Ask HN: What's the best way to introduce yourself to a distributed team? - <AUTHOR> I'm joining a company that is primarily based in the US, and I will be working from abroad. This is a team that has worked together for years. What's the best way to introduce myself, get on everyone's radar, and start off on the right foot? <comment><USER2> I've worked on a distributed team for years, which has been fairly stable. When new people do join, it is a big event. So they want to get to know you, and will likely help this process.

The way it always worked for us was that the hiring manager would announce the arrival of the new person via email. Everyone would email the new person and say hi - those who would work closely with them would email their own intro. And their teammates would probably call them just to say hi. All the new person has to do was sit back, let the intros come in, and respond in kind.

I should add that this wasn't a formal process. It just developed into a part of our culture over the years.

Hopefully, the team you are joining is similarly friendly. (Frankly, it is a red flag if they are not) Remote teams don't get the little face-to-face interactions that co-located teams do, so their phone calls tend to have more non-work talk to make up for it, and you get to know people just by being on the team and communicating.

</comment><comment><USER3> Schedule a brief 10 minute intro call/Skype 1:1 for each individual.

It takes longer to execute. But it's worth taking the time now, upfront to start building a relationship. Show an interest in the person, what their working on. ASK if there's anything you might help them with?.

I had a colleague from Sao Paulo start that way. We became fast pals.

</comment><comment><USER4> I assume there's some central communication system so I'd first ask my boss or whoever I report to if it's appropriate to drop a message in the company's general slack channel or send a big e-mail or whatever. Perhaps they'll recommend you introduce yourself to a smaller team first or wait until an all- hands video call.

Introduce your job role, where you've come on from, what you'll be working on, who you report to, etc, maybe mention some hobbies or some extra unique fact about you. I'd keep that last part to 1 or 2 points but I think the key is to come up with a future talking point when you're speaking to people for the first time.

From the cultural angle: I don't know how many Americans you know but I generally find them to be quite a friendly bunch so I'm sure whatever you say will be appropriate so long as it's positive and upbeat.

</comment><comment><USER5> If there is a company all hands meeting, carve out some time for an AMA with some predefined questions to get things rolling.

Schedule chats with everybody you can.

Make sure to use a profile picture of yourself on all the different apps you use to communicate.

</comment><comment><USER6> My manager introduced me using a game of 2 truths 1 lie in a group meeting. I liked that idea, everyone takes back home a memory about you

</comment><comment><USER7> It should be for your manager to introduce you to the team. Then you can add a message yourself.</comment>


Ask HN: What are (y)our ethical stances in software? - <AUTHOR> I believe in and support some fundamental things like open source, decentralization, creative commons, and net neutrality. Sometimes I feel like I fall into some kind of hacker news stereotype and other times I feel like I am an oddball idealist with nobody to relate to. So I would like to ask HN to share your foundational ethical stances of software issues. I'm curious to see how homogeneous we are or if there are distinct groups of thought among us? Do we have some shared vague sense of a "best practice"? Is there an area of study around this that already exists? <comment><USER2> I like the question! Maybe it's too big? (There are no responses yet.) If I asked "What are your ethical stances in life?" ..it's hard to say exactly. But if you asked about, say, the arms industry, animal rights, euthanasia, abortion, pollution, lawyers, bullying, tax rates, lobbyists etc etc, it's easier to say something, talk about relevant factors, and then listen to differing views. And then explore why we hold those, what deeper principles lay underneath.

What are some equivalent specific questions in the software realm about which you think people might have diverging views? (I'm no expert. Perhaps some are around things like...advertising, working for evil-doing employers, monetization, rent-seeking, who ultimately your duty is to - self, family, friends, country, world, god etc.)

</comment><comment><USER3> As others have said, I won't support a company that goes directly against my personal ethics. I also hold to a bare minimum that the product we product has to have a net positive benefit on society. It doesn't need to be world changing, but as a few examples, I'm happy to work in health care and education, but do not work in social media or on advertising or sales-focused apps.

Currently, my SaaS is focused on education, so have one added layer of ethics, which is that our pricing has to save money for the school systems. I'm fine being a for-profit company whose profits come from bringing home a portion of the savings our tools bring to school districts. But I will be out the door if the PTB increase pricing so that our profits take the entire savings and then some, so we start taking dollars away from students.

</comment><comment><USER4> I choose Open Source over anything but my own productivity (and that's why I moved from Linux to Mac 7 years ago after my first 13 years in software development).

I don't work for online gambling / porn / weapons / alcohol / tobacco companies.

I try not to mansplain.

</comment><comment><USER5> I'm a contractor (10+ years now) and I will work where the money takes me

I will however:

\- never work in weapon systems or targeting systems of any kind, and

\- unless I'm strapped for cash, my field of work helps make a positive change, as opposed to getting some rich guy richer.

That's all. Do no evil and try to help a good cause.

</comment><comment><USER6> I wouldn't work for a company involved in the deliberate taking of human life.

There's a lot of big gambling companies near me that have me conflicted. I enjoy a flutter and all, but you hear of some people and how they're addicted to it. I dunno, I just stay clear. There's other jobs out there

</comment><comment><USER7> I point people to "Human Values, Ethics, and Design" by Friedman and Kahn, as a starting point for ethical computing or ethical HCI discussions. It had a big impact on me when I first read it and it still shapes my ethical lens many years later.

<comment><USER2> Download link [https://depts.washington.edu/hints/publications/Human_Values...](https://depts.washington.edu/hints/publications/Human_Values_Ethics_Design.pdf)

Ohh.. "hints" is the Human Interaction With Nature and Technological Systems Lab, directed by Kahn. Lots of fascinating-looking papers there

[https://depts.washington.edu/hints/publications.shtml](https://depts.washington.edu/hints/publications.shtml)</comment></comment>


Disappearing teaspoons: Longitudinal cohort study of displacement of teaspoons - <AUTHOR> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7396985_The_case_of_the_disappearing_teaspoons_Longitudinal_cohort_study_of_the_displacement_of_teaspoons_in_an_Australian_research_institute <comment><AUTHOR> _> To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Longitudinal cohort study. Research institute employing about 140 people. 70 discreetly numbered teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute and observed weekly over five months. Incidence of teaspoon loss per 100 teaspoon years and teaspoon half life. 56 (80%) of the 70 teaspoons disappeared during the study. The half life of the teaspoons was 81 days. The half life of teaspoons in communal tearooms (42 days) was significantly shorter than for those in rooms associated with particular research groups (77 days). The rate of loss was not influenced by the teaspoons' value. The incidence of teaspoon loss over the period of observation was 360.62 per 100 teaspoon years. At this rate, an estimated 250 teaspoons would need to be purchased annually to maintain a practical institute-wide population of 70 teaspoons. The loss of workplace teaspoons was rapid, showing that their availability, and hence office culture in general, is constantly threatened._</comment>