skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
There are less than 4 million miles of road in the US. At 1$ per mile you can send a truck down every one 6 days a week for 1.3 billion a year. (Note, there would be some backtracking but also some roads are avoided.) FedEx's revenue is 45 billion a year so the last mile is not a problem as long as the volume is there.

On top of that if you live in the middle of nowhere they simply don't deliver to you. So, if more people moved to the desert for whatever reason there costs stay more or less the same.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_the_United...
Why is it wrong to ask someone if they are technical?

Programmers, engineers, scientists go to tech conferences to talk about work, projects, side interests. They dont want to get sucked into a sales pitch.

I especially dont understand why this would offend the author- the resume on her website implies that she actually is more of a marketing person / copywriter than a technical person.
Is this behavior worse than just being around a bunch of guys in general? I'm not condoning the behavior, but we're all animals and sex is a thing - it gets the best of many of us and we end up acting like baboons. I'm curious if the tech industry is actually worse, because I would expect us to behave better considering we actually give it a voice and properly label it as negative behavior.
There's been fairly interesting data piling up about mandatory helmet laws.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/business/a-bicycling-myste...

> The number of head injuries has increased 10 percent since 1991, even as bicycle helmet use has risen sharply, according to figures compiled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But given that ridership has declined over the same period, the rate of head injuries per active cyclist has increased 51 percent just as bicycle helmets have become widespread.

...

> Many specialists in risk analysis argue that something else is in play. They believe that the increased use of bike helmets may have had an unintended consequence: riders may feel an inflated sense of security and take more risks.

Cars are more reckless around bicyclists and drive closer to them when they see they are wearing a helmet:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10bike.html

We also see here that bicycles are the lowest risk of head injury while traveling streets and sidewalks:

http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets

Turns out you're much more likely to suffer a head injury in a car, or walking than on a bicycle. Should helmets be mandated for driving and walking? Evidence suggests it would make more sense for those activities.

Wearing helmets increases the likelihood of neck injuries: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457500...

Feds had to stop claiming bike helmets prevent 85% of head injuries (a commonly cited statistic) after their statistical analysis was found to be bogus:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19036/feds-will-sto...
That's good enough. It's better to have a stable and reasonable ruler that tries to do the Right Thing (i.e. optimize globally in the scale of country) than everyone trying to have it their - however smart or stupid - way.
> This is such an odd way to demonstrate results about a model. For hypothesis testing or preliminary research, sure. But as a result?

So these are typically some combination of dynamic and stochastic difference equations that are supposed to mimic the real economy and may not have any analytical solution. The goal is to include different types of shocks, different inputs, and different functional forms and run simulations to see if the output shows the same patterns as the real economy.

What we tend to find in these models is that we can easily get some of the characteristics to match while others do not: i.e. matching the volatility in unemployment while also matching the volatility in wages, output, consumption, etc.

This is more along the lines of trying to be engineers rather than mathematicians. Which I'm fine with. My issue is (1) the supposed relationships we are trying to match are not guaranteed across nations or time. Thus even if the model is describing a certain period of time very accurately, it isn't useful at all in general. And (2) we take these models and get the resulting parameter values from the simulation that is at best good at describing some of the stuff happening in the economy and treat them like they apply to the real world (an example parameter might be the risk aversion of consumers in the economy).

We then use these parameters to describe what changes should be made to the economy in the event of certain types of shocks.

And if I'm being honest, my biggest complaint for these models stems from the idea that they all need magical micro-foundations in order to be considered realistic. This stems from the Lucas Critique and is likely the biggest travesty of economics in its history as a science. It is along the lines of saying general relativity isn't realistic, because it needs to be built using quantum mechanics.

What absolutely kills me is that many economists obviously compartmentalize academic research from what they suggest doing in the real world (this can be seen by the fact that the majority of economists polled supported the stimulus in the U.S., felt that it helped recovery from the recession, or at least kept it from getting worse).
We do endure it. We just don't care and don't talk about it.
"It's even more stupefying than those who insist that racism is a solved problem in America."

disagree w/ that statement, in that i'd say it's equally stupefying. but yes, otherwise totally agreed.
But then you are stuck in a house. In cold climates people hunt, fish, etc even when it's cold (although not during storms).
> Can readers think of more examples? If so, I’ll add good ones to this post.

I see what you did there...
I usually see these - amzn.com/B00SIOZY6A, unless "electric skateboards" is referring to something else
Do you still have the data in regards to fiber rollout / low population? Is it just Chicago? Interested in this but somewhere more on the west coast.
The comments here are really thought provoking. I feel like I'm missing something - is there some kind of unmentioned catch, like don't get sick, or you have to have really good workers/health/disability insurance - to make this work safely long term?

I love the contrarian thinking but want to make sure I'm accounting for legitimate cases my young mind might not conceive of. Or am I overthinking it?
The problem of today's games is that the target audience is "everyone who can pay", which naturally leads to very shallow experience, designed for the lowest common denominator.
Some of the most competent people I've ever worked with have been women, but let's not pretend that _every_ woman is hired solely because she's competent.

The author will either have to forgive some men for thinking she's that kind of girl, or nurse that indignation until it destroys her.
You're absolutely right, but the point means nothing.

Capitalism says that if a person wants to work 100+ hours a week and drive a Porsche, they can.

If another person only wants to work 10 hours a week and walk everywhere, they can.

Simply because Porsche sell $200K+ cars, does not mean I'm obligated to work enough to pay for that.

>have to be made by someone doing a 9-5 job somewhere

Actually, the person making those things could also have chosen to live a simpler life and only be working part time. It's their choice.
I'm lucky that as an adult male engineer, I've never been asked whether or not I was a "real" engineer and horrible things like the woman in the original post was. However, I paid dearly for my choice in interests as a child when I was physically bullied to the point that I was forced to change elementary schools. I was also ostracized significantly
(by both men and women) in high school for being "a computer nerd". Don't assume that no male engineer understands what it is like to "endure similar stuff".
Thank you, Neytan! We'd be happy to notify you when we are open for public beta, but again feel free to email at beta@deep.mg to get an early access ;)
Randomly, I met one of the founders of Intellectual Ventures today. I wasn’t sure if I was resolving the name right and, unfortunately in retrospect, I didn’t ask, ”Oh, the massive patent troll?”
Look at the gutter comments on this post to find out how 'unprofessional' it is. The problem is that men who act disgusting are present at all levels of the social hierarchy, men in general are concentrated at the top, and crucially, other men don't call out these gross dudes when they see it. There are more men who feel threatened by gender politics enough that they either dissimulate the problem away, protect their shitty colleagues, or rationalize it away than men who actively stand in solidarity with women.

Which is astounding to me.
$1,025 per hour for partners, $750 for associates, and $310 for paralegals.

Those are kind of high. Did they actually charge those rates? Or retroactively bumped up the rates once they knew the case was dismissed?
Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you assholes?

"nurse that indignation until it destroys you"

I bet most of the asshole armchair men here couldn't go through even a week of the micro-aggression and outright harassment that women put up with.

Seriously, what the actual fuck is wrong with you?
A much more simpler explanation is - china.

Most of us were arguing about trying to use technical solutions in renewable - not realizing how badly the game is rigged against solar - especially in western countries.

China just took a very conventional solar panel design - not even the cutting edge ones - and just amped up production.

This destroyed the market that exits for actually better designs for solar in germany and the US.

Its a lot like the same problem with oil - yes oils are the foundation of modern agriculture ( fertilizers ), transportation and manufacturing ( plastics ) - and its laughable if we could find some immediate replacement - but I do not recall the wright brothers just saying meh since we had ships to transport people across the Atlantic.
Those are fairly standard fees for a big law firm defending these kinds of cases. It's why most companies settle rather than fight cases.
Something important to mention is that the author felt really supported when her co-workers called out bad behavior. If you haven't already, maybe its time to have a discussion about how your coworkers feel about these issues, and if they have been effected. Make them know they are being listened to!
> is there some kind of unmentioned catch

Speaking from experience, the catch is you won't get to live the life of convenience and luxury that marketing has been pushing down your throat for the last 20+ years.

When you work less, you have less money, which means you spend less money, which means you often do things for yourself. Oil changes can be dirty, chopping wood can be hard work, and canning vegetables is a loooong process.

If you are afraid of hard work and want life to be "easy", by all means keep going to work and simply pay for everything. On the other hand, hard work is extremely rewarding, especially when it's for your own survival.

It's a choice, you're free to make it either way you want. I wish more people knew it was a choice they can make.
Yes. In my place of work that sort of behavior towards anybody would see you instantly excluded from every social circle, not by regulation just because we have some moral core and empathy. If people are being made uncomfortable by others for any reason, that's a problem.
Isn't that a self deprecating joke?
Maybe the guy just wanted to be punched in the face?

Because jokes justify violence?
I work in a male-dominated office with only two women and have been trying to share these stories with my coworkers at every opportunity. I can see it starting to make a difference. Just the other day one of my male colleagues came up to me and said "I can't believe I used to think like that," referring to a comment where a man justified sexist behaviour by calling it "normal." There is such a long road ahead of us.

If you're looking for more stories of difficulties faced by women in tech, a previous colleague of mine wrote this account of her internships and university degree: http://words.samipeachey.com.au/?p=77
I would expect us to behave better considering we actually
give it a voice and properly label it as negative behavior.

If only this were true. Apparently the greater (male-dominated) culture surrounding technology doesn't dissuade this behavior enough.

I'm not condoning the behavior, but we're all animals and
sex is a thing - it gets the best of many of us and we end
up acting like baboons

Despite your disclaimer this still echoes the "boys will be boys" sentiment, one used to justify harm / mistreatment of women by dismissing their actions as part of male nature. This is a lie and needs to change; individuals are responsible for their words, actions, and any harm they cause.
I think that he's right about his facts but not necessarily about the spin he puts on those facts. The thing is, it really is important to get stuff out the door, and it's really not important to have the best quality possible (consider: how many of us have hand-stitched shirts from hand-woven cloth?). Rather than fight those facts, I choose to embrace them: the challenge is to ride the wave, to figure out the most economical way to produce the best quality possible within one's constraints. That's pretty fun.
Send your shared administrative assistant (or talent agent, or sports coach) in to argue for a technical point with another team's manager.

Or send them in to the CIO to argue for budget or to have a features vs schedule/technical debt discussion.

A few rounds of that and you may very well wish for a technical manager back.
I hear there is fiber in California MO too!
Sure. But just because something is self-deprecating and a (just barely funny) joke doesn't make it acceptable. Context matters, and this was literally the first thing the guy said to me.
Just a point about "taking pictures without my permission"

In public spaces there are few restrictions against this (ex. military zones). In private spaces this can be regulated by the organizer, I believe, but that prohibition must be posted. This is how the "street photography" gender of photography can exist.

Now, to be fair, there are regulations against commercial use of photos from "street photography" without permission. There you can sue for compensation if your likeness was used to advertise and sell (selling a book with street photographs does not require permission, as that is not "commercial use", that's to say, it's "art")

It becomes an issue if the photographer videographer follows you and thus engages in harassment (in some jurisdictions).

Remember that videographer who taunted people at an outdoor restaurant. They had little recourse against him.
Favorite Swift Tips and Tricks of 2014
Are you kidding me here? You've already chimed in with your HIGHLY ORIGINAL south park meme reference...

... and now you're just going to happily claim that harassing someone and asking them how much they'd take for their fucking daughter is a good-faith joke?

What planet did y'all grow up on?
One thing that guys don't tend to realize is how much more often women get asked this question than men. Gamers that are women are generally annoyed when someone exaggeratedly asks "Will you marry meeee". Once, its a funny joke. Happening a dozen times at one event, not so funny. It seems reasonable as a once-off, but the frequency of the statement is what makes it hard to deal with.
"we're all animals and sex is a thing - it gets the best of many of us and we end up acting like baboons"

We're primates with a large cerebral cortex. We can think about morality and altruism, and how not to hurt each other, in spite of what our animal minds might be signaling.

Stop making excuses for you or your group's inability to exercise self-control. By hinting that the situation -- making another human uncomfortable -- is somehow natural, you are implicitly condoning the behavior.
Criticism is the lowest form of art.
We're all animals but we (mostly) refrain from shitting on the foor. We clearly have the brainpower to abstract away our animal selves at a tech conference, so there's no excuse for letting sex 'get the best of us' unless we allow it to happen.
Sike. I am a guy and I have never been approached asking something like "did daddy get you this job?". Now, most men are hired because they are competent, but let's not pretend that all men a hired solely because of that.

Now ask yourself, why was she approached yet I have not been?
This cheerfully reminded me of the thing in MRI Ruby of (relatively recent) yesteryear where strings longer than 23 characters were twice as slow, qv. http://patshaughnessy.net/2012/1/4/never-create-ruby-strings...
Touch the fire and get burned. Imply someones daughter is a prostitute to them and I think a violent reaction might not be that uncommon.
It's not at all appropriate in a business setting.
My question is how she knew they were men. Did she ask them how they identified? because I find asking such personal questions at a tech conference VERY offensive.
Great piece. I got a chance to work with Douglas Engelbart several years ago and wrote up some responses in reply to Maarten's IA or AI post: http://codinginparadise.org/ebooks/html/blog/ia_vs__ai.html
This is my experience as well. Often I'll be the most knowledgeable person at our booth (for Neo4j) and people always look to my male coworkers when asking questions.

And one of my personal favorites: "So I'm guessing you're in marketing?"
I think that makes the unfounded assumption that they don't go any further than the legislation would allow anyway.
"Normally when I'm hanging out with someone that looks like you, I'm playing Dungeons and Dragons." Is that purely self-deprecating (assuming playing Dungeons and Dragons is such..)?
Readers: you'll find a variant of this exact comment in a lot of threads about harassment on HN, for what it's worth. Someone says "I'm glad I wasn't there to witness <loved one> being harassed" and, like clockwork, this response.

I'm pretty sure it's in some MRA troll playbook somewhere.
This is how to bring about a tipping point - get men to recognize and call out sexism. While this kind of behavior is sadly quite commonplace, attitudes and behaviors can change quite quickly. Just think how much more common it was ten years ago to have "gay" as a widespread pejorative - I almost never hear it now. I think the rapid reduction came from straight people recognizing the offense it caused and starting to call out people who used it.
I don't understand why this is a tech industry issue? I can imagine this being a problem in all industries (esp. finance).
Douchebags aren't exclusive to the tech industry.
Indeed. Imagine what would happen if the Three Gorges Dam were to fail. There are over 360 million people living downstream of that one.
Sorry, but: 1. Doesn't sound like a joke, note even close.
2. If it happened to my daughter and I was there to witness, I'd have to control myself not to punch the asshole in the face too. Especially if he was one of those dork-looking too-coward-to-man-up-and-be-normal nerds. Oh, and that was a joke, wasn't it obvious?
Well some people use that logic to justify killing cartoonists who depict Mohammed.
I don't think the author was implying that taking one's picture without permission in a public space is illegal, merely that it's rude or weird. Which it often is.
I don't understand why the emphasis is on the tech community. If this were an automotive convention it would probably be worse. A hansom male at a beauty convention will likely be ogled by some of the women.

I also don't understand why feminists rarely attack mass media like the shows they have on Fox and Comedy Central, which are probably much closer to the root cause of "sexism" seeing as they make it seem like casual sexism is okay.

It's very hard to take the feminist seriously when their biggest enemy seems to be the 2% of pasty awkward nerds who happen to make a cultural faux pas. They weren't born sexist. They're victims of society. Blaming them is blaming the victim. Most of them probably have not had much interaction with the opposite sex and don't even know how to initiate conversation.
Out of curiosity, is this the fee for just one lawyer or there are more than one?
I hear you. It's hard to understand, but at least I can imagine how someone could reach that conclusion.

But I've known full well that men had a better deal since I was 10.
The New York Times style guide requires periods between all initial-isms. They also write "F.B.I." and "C.I.A.". Drives me nuts.
No, the point of a republic is to abolish the monarchy. That's literally all the word means, in practice. It has nothing to do with granting more political power to people in Wyoming or Rhode Island than people in New York.

There are certain fundamental principles that this country was founded on, but some things were just 18th century political concessions.
Easy, just punch him in the face, then say it was just a joke. Fair is fair, right?
This is seriously cool! I'm going to have to checkout the code for this one to see how some of this was handled.

Do you have any other sites doing photo/video stories which have been an inspiration for this project?
My office has a direct street view of a red no parking zone that stretches an entire block of Santa Barbara. I'm amazed an how many people park their cars with the hazards on to run into a shop and come protest when parking enforcement inevitably rolls around and issues them a ticket. Especially because there are two "free for 75 minute" lots around the corner.

I've even watched parking enforcement sit and wait for five or so minutes to start issuing the ticket and the driver came out and said they had only just stopped in for a second.

No idea how it works elsewhere but it looks like the officers have some sort of device that they take a picture of the vehicle doing whatever they are doing incorrectly, which is kind of the opposite of what this app is for. I imagine it records time and location as well for the same reasons and Fixed which is to keep people honest.

I find this interesting because even though there is a market for this tech to the people receiving tickets, there is also a market to help improve the way tickets are given by enforcement. Though of course there may not be incentives to improve when $$ is at stake.
It was "actually technical" as quoted in the post, as in "really? You?"
"The problem is we don't even know what it means to deal with waste for 10,000 years."

After a couple of hundred years it's no more radioactive than the ore from which it came.

Anyone who pulls the "long half-life" ploy doesn't know what they're talking about.

Long half-life = less radioactive. By definition.

I mean, you do know that "half-life of infinity" is the same thing as "not radioactive at all", right?
Virtual memory isn't just for giving each process enough space. It's for security reasons, too.
Well I don't fully disagree, but then there are the "enlightened" rulers of ISIS trying to do the "right thing" for humanity...
An Amazon cloud exec accidentally showed a picture of Google's data center
To a3voices:

Violence occurs along a spectrum. Punching != trying to kill, in all cases.
Something doesn't have to be illegal to be rude.

As to norms, there is a big difference between someone appearing in a crowd shot or background, and someone being the sole focus of the picture.
She wasn't "asked" if she was technical. The person assumed she wasn't based on her appearance and behaved accordingly. Why twist the narrative to make a point unrelated to the story?
Why is this getting downvoted by mods?