instruction
stringlengths
4
105
output
stringlengths
8
56.7k
Review our app (To→done)
pedalpete: Very nice and simple. What I really like about it is it gets to the 'just get something started' mentality.Great work.
Why do automated bank transfers take X "business" days?
wmf: Previous rant on this topic: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=949027Unfortunately, we didn't come up with any good answers.
Why do automated bank transfers take X "business" days?
jolan: Most banks pool their ACH transfers at the end of a business day. Then the ACH tabulates the transfers for the day and sends them to the destination bank.There is usually a hold when receiving funds for "security reasons".
Good programming language for kids
myke1829: I'd recommend Scratch. It's approachable and intuitive - and cross platform. It bundles loads of sprites, images, sounds, music loops, and sample projects. It also imports photos straight from your webcam.Lot's of people will rail against a language like Scratch because it doesn't have any "real world" uses. ...
Writing an iPhone dev book for teens -- would love to hear thoughts.
mdolon: Sounds very interesting, something I would definitely consider purchasing for myself, as I've been interested in iPhone app development but haven't had time to read through my thick Cocoa and Objective-C books. If you can make yours simple and short, I would certainly check it out.On a side note, I wonder if i...
Interesting (Non software) books?
gursikh: The Teenage Liberation Handbook
Are web 2.0 to-do lists just hype?
imsaar: I am using Toodledo.com (very ugly web interface but good functionality) with Ultimate To Do iphone app which can sync with Toodledo and it has been working out pretty well.I agree a To Do list that is not always with you is not an effective list.I have tried all the ones you mentioned except Todoist and none o...
Why do automated bank transfers take X "business" days?
ig1: Doesn't happen in the UK anymore, since 2008 most UK banks have been part of the "Faster Payments Service" which means interbank transfers generally happen within 2 hours.At the time it happened banks considered charging for the new faster service as it meant they would lose out on the interest they would otherwis...
How to automatically monitor keywords (eg. Java, DBA...) on job sites?
rokhayakebe: I think most will give you an alert.
Are web 2.0 to-do lists just hype?
TodoneApp: Heh, was this in response to my "Ask HN" earlier today? :) I agree that these list based systems are always trumped by a text file or pen/paper for portability and simplicity. However, having tried so many list-based systems as well as the "simpler methods", I still found myself just not getting things done....
Can we get a "hide story" button?
pg: The reason I don't do this is that it would remove the pressure to make the content of the site be good.One reason public transport is bad in most US cities is that rich people rarely use it.
The unaddressed iPad ebooks question
cmelbye: I'm wondering the same exact thing. Luckily I haven't purchased many ebooks (only one from Amazon actually, REWORK) so I'm starting from scratch and figuring out which one is the best to use. I'm excited to see the various apps though.
Why do automated bank transfers take X "business" days?
brk: An ACH is basically an electronic check. Like a check it has to be routed through a Fed bank on its path to clearing, and it can also be stopped like a real check.A wire is more instant (usually less than 24 hours), more direct, and more expensive. A wire cannot be recalled by the sender without agreement by the...
Are web 2.0 to-do lists just hype?
apowell: I'm not sure if it's "web 2.0", but it's nice looking and has an iPhone app to accompany it -- I've been using Things for a year now. I have definitely become more reliable and efficient since I began using it seriously.
got any food hacks?
dnsworks: You might follow http://www.foodhacking.com/
The unaddressed iPad ebooks question
mechanical_fish: What if you had to use a different music player for music you purchased from Amazon?Well, what if every time you bought a book it came as a separate stack of paper in a form factor and layout that was chosen for you and which you couldn't change?Oh, wait, that was how all books worked for five hundred ...
got any food hacks?
shard: In my bachelor days during my bulking phases, I'd do the following to pack in the nutrients I needed:1. Buy several bags of chicken drumsticks (de-skin if you want to lower fat intake), poke holes with a fork, marinate with wine / vinegar / soy sauce / herbs and spices for a few hours, put into broiler. I'd coo...
got any food hacks?
Frazzydee: This is going to sound really simple, but it's what I do. Take at your own risk, because I have a strong stomach.I cook food in bulk, and just re-cook it on the stove, make a bowl of rice, and eat it over the next week. Even meat, and it tastes about as good as the first time. I usually keep it in the fri...
got any food hacks?
x2Opteron: Oatmeal is healthy, cheap, quick, and add a bit of honey or brown sugar makes it super tasty. Steel cut oats take longer to cook than quick oats, but they're more satisfying IMO.
got any food hacks?
gte910h: Eat lots of blueberries.Buy from vegan delivery chefs in your area.I's pretty easy, and a counterbalance to any eating out you might want to do
got any food hacks?
sfgfdhgfdshdhhd: Technology could certainly help with the time aspect. Rig an electric timer to your toaster or toaster oven so that it's cooking you breakfast before/as you wake up. Hack together a device to do the stirring for you for foods that need to just be stirred over heat for a long time. Just be wary of fire ...
got any food hacks?
anateus: I've found fish tacos to be a fantastic food, I try to eat them for breakfast as often as I can. -------------- Ingredients:* Frozen tilapia fillets (probably the healthiest fish you can buy, not as high in Omega-3 as larger ocean fish, but it's super low in mercury).* Yellow corn tortillas (much lower in fa...
got any food hacks?
araneae: http://hackerhousewife.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/hack-shredde...
got any food hacks?
ableal: Beans. They have protein and fiber, no sugar. Canned pre-cooked red or brown beans. (In the U.S., buy chili beans - they don't have sugar added, the others do.)Add a little meat for flavor. I'm partial to a small chunk of sausage/chorizo/pepperoni, diced in small bits. Plus tomato paste (not ketchup - sugar ag...
got any food hacks?
punkrockgeekboy: My favorite vegetarian food hacks are Quinoa and Peanut Butter Oatmeal. Both are great sources of protein.When I want to spend a weekend hacking, and don't want to be bothered, I'll cook a big batch of steel cut oats in the slow cooker, starting it on a Friday night. Then I know I can just mix in a few...
got any food hacks?
Raphael: Hard-boiled eggs.
got any food hacks?
byrneseyeview: I've recently switched to a fairly paleo diet; I enjoy it. My first step was to start every day with scrambled eggs. There are infinite variations (you can mix in about a quarter of a pound of arugula or spinach, or a couple sliced mushrooms--or you can pour some salsa on it when you're done). Takes abou...
got any food hacks?
samdk: Couscous. It's cheap, cooks really quickly (about 6-7 minutes), makes no mess, and requires no dishes other than the pot it's cooked in.It's also really versatile. I often use it instead of rice in simple rice dishes (rice and beans, etc.), and it can substitute for pasta too.
got any food hacks?
PostOnce: Spend money to save time, or spend time to save money. There aren't a whole lot of ways around it.There are some tricks, but it boils down to either you spend the time or the money, or you're going to end up with unhealthy/bland/repetitive food. If it's fast, cheap, and healthy, then it's one of the few meals...
got any food hacks?
thomasthornton: At least once a week I microwave a sweet potato (10 minutes or so). Then microwave black beans and mix in a little salsa. Serve the potato with the bean mixture as a topping. The result is a healthy dinner in about 15 minutes with almost no work. You can also add cumin and ground corriander to give it m...
got any food hacks?
bmj: A quick favorite in my house is lentil-rice casserole. Basic recipe is here:http://www.gettingfreedom.net/2009/02/lentil-brown-rice-cass...Very easy, and can produce several days of leftovers.Another variation on the easy burritos is simply taking a can or two of beans, mashing them with a jar salsa, and adding s...
got any food hacks?
gcv: Learn to make stews in a Dutch oven. The cooking process takes about 2-3 hours, but prep only requires about 20 minutes. Just learn to use a chef's knife efficiently. Easy, efficient, and produces several days' worth of delicious dinners. Eat with raw vegetables.PS: If you drink whole milk in large quantities, mak...
got any food hacks?
mattmaroon: What you just asked for is a full-sized SUV that costs $10,000, rides like a Lexus, gets 45mpg city, and never loses the new car smell.If you don't want to cook or clean, that means someone has to cook/package for you. If you don't want processed food (and I don't blame you) where this is done by machine, t...
got any food hacks?
rjett: Breakfast: Some sort of cereal; for mornings that I have more time, I might make an omelet and toast. Snacks: Peanut Butter Sandwiches Lunch: Turkey, cheese, lettuce, condiment on wheat, apple, cottage cheese Dinner: I usually get home late so I don't have the energy to cook. I love to cook though so I do all my...
got any food hacks?
SlyShy: Ramen noodles don't have to be unhealthy, if you add a tiny bit more expense.Start cooking ramen like normal. When it starts to boil, crack and egg in and stir. The soup will cook the egg, of course. Also peel a few leafs off a head of lettuce, cut them to your preference, and toss those in too. When you are do...
got any food hacks?
pingswept: A few suggestions:1. Fresh pasta cooks faster than dry pasta, is still pretty cheap, and it tastes better too. Definitely an improved taste/time ratio.2. If you can find a place that sells enormous sandwiches, you can make each half a meal. I often eat half a sandwich at 11 AM and the second half around 3 PM...
got any food hacks?
thunk: Rice cooker. Rice-to-water ratio 1:1.5 for white and 1:2 for brown. 15-20 minutes for white and 30-40 minutes for brown. Throw in vegetables and/or fish for the last 7-10 minutes to steam. Season to taste. I like teriyaki sauce (with tons of garlic and ginger) on it. Corn starch is the key to a thick, shiny sauc...
Are web 2.0 to-do lists just hype?
pedalpete: I don't use any web-based todo list, but have tried a few more for curiosity than as a solution to a problem.I think the reason so many of these things exist is 1) the functionality seems fairly simple 2) the market opportunity is hugeWhere I think most of them fail is that they don't (as far as I have seen)...
got any food hacks?
ramidarigaz: Rice and dal is excellent, and if you invest in a rice cooker, you can make pretty much the entire dinner without thinking about it. The lentils are apparently pretty good protein.I posted a recipe a while back, and it's still one of my favorites. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=726619Edit: Rice and le...
got any food hacks?
edj: A few of things I do:1) Leftovers. I often cook chili, dal, chana masala, or soups in large quantities. I eat them fresh, then from the fridge for a day or two, then freeze the rest. Anything flavorful and goopy works (since textures degrade with freezing and reheating).2) Rice cooker. Most useful kitchen applianc...
got any food hacks?
pgbovine: subway sandwiches are probably the cheapest, quickest, and healthiest 'fast food' that you might tolerate eating on a daily basis. you can get a decent sandwich for ~$4.
got any food hacks?
dnsworks: Also, if you're not vegan & can stomach it, Cottage Cheese is a fantastic source of protein. It's also cheap and really simple.
got any food hacks?
lotharbot: 1) get a rice cooker, preferably one with a top basket that lets it double as a veggie steamer. Rice with some veggies and lean meat is fairly healthy, tasty, inexpensive, and requires little active prep time (which is what I assume you mean by "quick".) You may have to cook the meat separately, depending ...
got any food hacks?
pgbovine: iirc, pg mentioned something about cooking rice and beans or some other cheap but healthy food during his startup hacking days ... could somebody post a link if you remember it?
got any food hacks?
RevRal: Get potstickers, use ~5 for every bowl of ramen. Eat the raman, then a carrot.I am highly anticipating Roger Ebert's book "The Pot And How To Use It." A rice cooker pot, not marijuana -- I got excited, too. The book sounds like it'll be a compilation of the best food hacks ever.
got any food hacks?
mprovost: The ultimate food hack is the pressure cooker. You can cook things much quicker than usual by changing the rules (ie raising the boiling point of water). They're really good for making basics like rice and quinoa very quickly and you can turn something like boiling potatoes from a 20 minute exercise into abou...
got any food hacks?
cynicalkane: Problem: Vegetables are gross, and hard to prepare such that they taste good.Solution: vegetable smoothie. Ice, a banana, yogurt, milk, and a whole bunch of spinach, in proportions according to taste. This sounds disgusting, but it actually tastes really good. Make sure you have a banana though. Otherwise ...
got any food hacks?
aheilbut: Greek yogurt is tasty (especially if you add some fresh fruit and honey to it...) and has lots of protein.
got any food hacks?
limist: Cheap, fast, and potentially very healthy: smoothies. One basic recipe:2 cups fruit juice, e.g. orange juice or apple juice2-3 tablespoons ground flax seed (omega-3, trace minerals, fiber)2-3 tablespoons protein powder (soy, hemp, whatever)2 bananas2-3 cups of greens: kale, frozen spinach (organic, conventiona...
Interesting (Non software) books?
gursikh: On Writing, Stephen King
got any food hacks?
dood: The best trick is to batch it. Fill your freezer with tasty, quality foods which can be made in nice big batches: stew, casserole, bolognaise (which can be quickly converted to chilli), curry, dal, etc.All of the above foods can be reheated quickly, can be eaten in a variety of ways (various carb-staples & veg), ...
got any food hacks?
davidedicillo: My mom would cry if she could read english...Cheap and fast: PASTABase for the pasta: - boil the water and salt it - add pasta (but please, don't overcook it, just stick to the box instruction. Barilla is an excellent brand and decently priced)Sauces for the pastaTuna Pasta - In a small pot add a spoon o...
The unaddressed iPad ebooks question
gte910h: Why does this matter? Use different readers. Voila, you can read what you buy. Worry less. Be happy more.
any white-label/SaaS virtual-currency/"MyPoints" services out there?
jasonlbaptiste: We need to talk ASAP. j@cloudomatic.com (Normally I'd email, but there isn't a direct one in your profile).
got any food hacks?
ubergeekchick: Learn to Bake Required Hardware: The best food hack ever is as older than the origins of the word "hack" and almost every one has one: its called an oven.The best part of baking is all the wonderful things that can be hacked together to improve your daily caffeine supply. From biscuits/cookies, cakes, ...
got any food hacks?
tjr: I've consistently enjoyed a can of fat-free refried beans, salsa, corn or flour tortillas, and (optionally) some shredded cheese.
got any food hacks?
reasonattlm: Alternate day fasting. Cut your work in half, drop your food budget by 2/3 or so.Cook lentil + onion + carrot + split pea soup in a pot on the weekend, then freeze it in portion sized boxes for the coming week. Buy bread with very high fiber content to go with it. That makes for one meal a day that's so ea...
got any food hacks?
dlevine: A friend of mine runs a blog called BrokeAss Gourmet, which focuses on cheap and easy to make meals http://www.brokeassgourmet.com/It's not exactly $1 per meal cooking, but you can make a good meal for not all that much (especially because, if you're single, one recipe will yield multiple servings)
The unaddressed iPad ebooks question
Bradlinc: Its not a good solution but my plan is to purchase only fiction or items I don't plan on reading again. Unfortantly my local library will miss out as I typically give it the books I no longer need to keep as a reference.
got any food hacks?
renesugar: Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, has a video titled 'Sugar: The Bitter Truth' where he talks about how fructose (sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose via sucrase) shuts down the signal to stop eating.If you eat a diet with less fructose, you wil...
got any food hacks?
phillaf: Bach student here. here is the best ratio health/$ that I've found. Hard boiled eggs (the white part only) Canned Tuna oatmeal Bananas Frozen vegetables
got any food hacks?
nhebb: I thought "sudo make me a sandwich" was the ultimate food hack: http://xkcd.com/149/
Review our app (To→done)
askar: It's a simple app and a different concept but why is the the minimum time limit is 15 mins? What if I just have 5 mins? Also, can we set some priorities to the tasks so when you try to figure out what to present you can give the tasks some priority? Also, a way to see all my tasks as a list would be helpful at s...
got any food hacks?
stck: I'm somewhat surprised no-one has mentioned just plain fruit. Often times I eat nothing but apples, oranges, avocados, kiwis, pineapples and bananas after work. Doesn't get much healthier than that.
got any food hacks?
NZ_Matt: I make a big batch of 30 - 40 wraps (burritos or kebabs) and freeze them. After a 60 second nuke they are good to go.I'm also a student and have found that carrying a water bottle everywhere stops me from buying sodas. It saves me money and of course is a lot healthier.
got any food hacks?
mmaunder: You need the Julia Child Omlette! All you need are eggs, water, butter and a hot pan and it takes 3 minutes and tastes awesome! The water is the trick. When you whisk water and eggs together, as they hit the hot pan the water turns to steam and fluffs the eggs up. I've made this many times and once you get th...
got any food hacks?
askar_yu: does not really apply to you... but those living with roommates could cook alternately throughout the week. A duty cooks and cleans everything up for everybody in house - so you get to cook fewer times than everyday but eat healthy dinner everyday. not sure if it's common thing in here, but I remember being s...
got any food hacks?
Flemlord: I consider this as a hack--I never was able to consistently cook/grill meat until I got a good instant-read thermometer. Now it's embarrassingly easy. Char the meat on the stove or grill for a couple minutes, then throw it in the oven on low heat until it hits the right temperature. It comes out perfectly eve...
got any food hacks?
awongh: I think the ultimate time saver for cooking good tasting food with little effort is a crock pot. Anything that cooks food over low heat over a long period of time.This method always seems to produce food that has that special "something" where all the ingredients meld into something magic. It's virtually imposs...
got any food hacks?
garply: In terms of preparation speed - there's a reason we Americans like sandwiches - if you're preparing food for yourself, a sandwich is about as fast to produce as you can get. Also, can be made just about as healthy as you want, depending on what you put in.For example, buy a chunk of deli meat, a block of cheese...
got any food hacks?
grandalf: Check out this great blog dedicated to exactly the purpose you describe:http://vegstrong.orgedit: this is one of my favs: http://vegstrong.org/post/422370700/tasty-breakfast-scramble
got any food hacks?
jseifer: You just can't have all those at the same time. Healthy and cheap almost never go together though healthy and quick can if you prepare for a few days. That said, the best source for cheap healthy food is usually farmer's markets. I get fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, butter, and milk from a couple of differen...
analytics for web api?
Rust: If you shoot your stats data out in the same (or similar) format that Apache does, you could use AWStats or Analog (or numerous others) to get graphs and analysis pages - including IP resolution and geo-locating,error frequency, etc.They're not web apps, per se - you'll need to download and run through PHP.
Web designer who codes, or designer + front-end coder?
lovitt: I don't think you're being unrealistic, and I think your quest is worthy. I work with a guy who fits your description: he designs screens and then implements them in HTML and CSS. And it's awesome. When those skills are in a single brain, the result is interfaces that feel native to the web (and not like pretty...
got any food hacks?
bhseo: You can use miracle fruit (or miracle berry) to make sour/bitter things taste sweet. It binds to your tastebuds for about half an hour, during which sour things will taste quite sweet. You could suck on a lemon and it will feel like sweet lemonade. It's a good way to cut down on sugar.http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
got any food hacks?
btilly: The trick is called advance planning.Similar to the "whole bunch of meals" I remember a fellow grad student who would cook a large dish every Sunday, then parcel it out into meal sized portions which he would then freeze. He always had meals from multiple weeks in there, so he could microwave chili, lasagna, s...
Startup idea feedback, please
goodmars: "Haul Vloggers" welcomed.
got any food hacks?
armandososa: Well, I think I'm going to advocate tacos. The best thing about tacos is: they are easy to make and can be filled with just about anything.Take one or two hours off the weekend you can cook nice meals for the rest of the week. Cook some meat wit tomato sauce, fry little potato squares with some olive oil, ...
got any food hacks?
bluesmoon: I'm a geek living alone and working long hours. I like to eat healthy. I treat cooking the same way I treat website optimisation... iterate till I get it right, and I blog about my cooking experiences (at least the ones that work) at http://food.bluesmoon.info/The food's good enough that I can invite peopl...
got any food hacks?
fbailey: oh god, don't hack food... it's not worth the saved time. Just learn to cook, good food is cheap. I make dinner for friends all the time 5 courses and the cost per person is 5€ if I want. Preparing good pasta never takes an hour, a simple rice dish is fast, you can cook nearly everything with very little prepa...
What can I do to improve my website?
brianlash: I wanted to tell you that I used Nova materials to study for the GMAT and absolutely loved them. I remember Nova's concern for teaching fundamental math and verbal stuff where most other companies were preoccupied with superficial strategies and one-trick pony tactics.That stuff has its place in test prep, b...
analytics for web api?
olefoo: You could always integrate mixpanel or something similar.Or tweak the log format output from your webserver so that you can shove it into any of many analytics programs.
What can I do to improve my website?
oscardelben: One thing I'm noticing is that what I believe to be a read more button is mostly hidden to me. http://imgur.com/rkaHx.png
got any food hacks?
cianestro: http://www.dollaradaybook.com/kitchen or Costco food.
What can I do to improve my website?
dbz: I'm going to assume the design ect. isn't causing the problem, so I have some suggestions in the order of what I would do:1. Posting on HN2. Email all your favorite bloggers3. Email TechCrunch (you may get lucky with a ten second email)4. Go onto the correct types of forum and advertise (possibly Second Life forum...
What can I do to improve my website?
eam: Not that's probably an issue, but the site looks too much like apple!
What can I do to improve my website?
Tichy: Can't you do redirects for Google from the old navigation to the new?
What can I do to improve my website?
apsurd: No direct experience but I have always thought running affiliate programs for online-digital products makes great sense. Let the sellers do the selling and everybody wins.
got any food hacks?
sketerpot: Chili. Make it in a slow cooker in a large batch, and refrigerate most of it for later meals. Here's what you do:Brown these in a pan:1 pound cheapest ground beef1 onion, chopped2 cloves garlic, choppedsome thyme, salt, pepper, any other spices you think are coolsoy saucePut the contents of the pan into the ...
got any food hacks?
chunkyslink: Shameless self promotion.Our startup (coming soon) helps solve exactly the problem you are having. In fact, one of the reasons we started building it was to solve the problems you describe, which we also suffer from.http://delicioustasty.comIt will be free and as a tool, does some things we haven't seen do...
any white-label/SaaS virtual-currency/"MyPoints" services out there?
apsurd: i just took on a contract job to build a "reward points" system for an event dating service. The business is handled mainly by an email list. Events are planned and promoted via the list. Company makes money on ticket sales. The owner wanted a way to reward members for attending events, and referring friends. ...
got any food hacks?
pmccool: Yeah, cooking can be difficult when you're time poor. I've found that:A dishwasher helps.Razor sharp knives that are properly cared for help. Blunt knives waste a lot of time when cooking.Putting a bit of time into mastering quick recipes (e.g. stir fries) helps.
got any food hacks?
macco: My personal favorites are frozen veggies and pre-washed salad. For a simple salad you don't need no time. Put the salad in a bowl add tuna (best cheap protein source), onions, corn or what to like; then add vinegar, oil, salt - then you are finished. Frozen veggies are great if you have a microwave - put it in, ...
What can I do to improve my website?
ohashi: Doesn't sound like you want to improve your website, just drive traffic. Basically you've got 3 major ways to drive traffic:search - paid or organiclinks - from anywhere, anyonetype in - people going to your site directly, often connected to offline advertisingyou're probably best of scaling one/both of the fi...
What can I do to improve my website?
vijaydev: Clickable link: http://www.novapress.net
got any food hacks?
herdrick: Dried lentils are really cheap, wonderfully healthful, and much faster to cook than dried beans.Peanut butter is already ready to eat, and pretty cheap.Eggs are cheap protein.You can pour milk right over uncooked, raw rolled oats and eat it immediately. (This is Quaker's (or store brand) traditional oatmeal ...
got any food hacks?
cool-RR: Fish fillets. Specifically Perch. I buy them frozen.Defrost in 20 minutes by putting in a bag (or box) of tap water.Put oven (or toaster-oven) on high heat so it'll be already hot when you need it. Put a bunch of butter on a porcelain/ceramic plate. Put in microwave for a minute to make it melt and cover the p...
got any food hacks?
FreeRadical: For breakfast - instant porridge! Simple, quick, high protein and good for you. You can always vary it slightly by throwing in other things like raisins.
got any food hacks?
inevaexisted: 1/2 cup cous cous 1/2 cup chicken/beef stock + shallots (chopped finely) + any vege's you want+ curried meat ( you can make this in a batch for the week and dish out as required or resort to chinese/indian take out - just a box of curry make the rice yourself..you might as well)It takes 5min for the cous ...
got any food hacks?
iamelgringo: I wrote this post a while back: http://iamelgringo.blogspot.com/2008/12/hacking-your-food-su... I think that's one of the posts you were referring to.We haven't done once a month cooking for a while, though. We've actually outsourced a lot of our meal prep to Dream Dinners now. Link: http://www.dreamd...