skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I'd contend magic for most of programming/electronics has 3 features:

1. It breaks more than extremely rarely.

2. It is esoteric and often cross-domain knowledge

3. It has limited usefulness to understand if the magic is not broken.

For instance, Ruby on Rails is great except when it isn't, and it's broken. Then it's hell to figure out the source of the issue (this was from a couple years ago, haven't touched it in years). But does fixing RoR really yield you anything of value? Eh, not for most Rails users, beyond not breaking that specific way again.

I'd ALSO contend deep filesystem work is also esoteric and outside many peoples' knowledge, but it's NOT magic, because it very very very rarely breaks (for the use cases normal people have with it). So programmer X can go do his PHP, and will likely go his entire life without being bit by "filesystem esoteric failure" if he doesn't get tricky with his mounting of filesystems.

For a EE who sometimes programs (sounds like you, sorry if I misconstrue you), I would agree recursion is somewhat magical.

For someone like me (I learned to repeat with recursion before I learned loops), it isn't esoteric at all, and is just a better way of expressing repetition in some cases. I have little more trouble debugging a recursive algorithm than a iterative one.

Due to the limited stack sizes on most embedded systems, I'd actually contend this falls into the "cross-domain" knowledge for you, as the skillset and familiarity with recursive algorithms is simply using them lots of times in places where it's acceptable and proper.

I don't see your vocation giving you that practice, as embedded developers are often highly suspicious of recursion (even tail recursion). [Disclosure: I am an embedded developer by later training, but have a computer science degree with a specialization in embedded and large scale systems].

So what's magic to you isn't magic to everyone. Magic is just a way of saying "Complex, can break but usually doesn't, not worth learning about that next layer down, but useful anyhow". I mean, to most programmers, the entire "hardware" thing is magic. To others though, it's another layer they understand fine.
yep, there is money for "out sourcing" manned spaceflight.
For-profit corporations (and similar business entities) are sanctioned by law not just for limited liability purposes but also to facilitate business goals that arise when people want to associate for some sort of concerted action. Thus, a corporate format facilitates sophisticated ways by which people can own and do things through concerted efforts, by which they can transfer their ownership interests or borrow against them while putting them up as collateral, by which they can divide management from ownership such that an enterprise can be owned by broad numbers of passive investors while being managed by (supposedly) expert executives, etc.

If corporations are so sanctioned, they must be given at least some enforceable rights by which they can legally protect and promote their interests (e.g., the right to sue). Were they denied such rights, then the only way, for example, that a corporate entity could sue to collect a debt would be for the lawsuit to be filed in the several names of the owners - a clearly unworkable way to proceed for any organization that becomes much more than a family-owned entity. Thus, the law creates what it clearly recognizes as a fiction and gives rights to the entities to act in their own names. The label put on this fiction is that of a "legal person" - that is, one that the law knows is not a living, breathing human being but that the law treats as having rights similar to those held by real individuals for the limited purposes for which this is needed.

As it does this sort of thing, the law does not treat corporations like individuals but only as "legal persons" insofar as that fiction is needed to give the entity rights consistent with its nature. But those rights certainly must include some of the constitutional rights that are needed to prevent the entity from having its property arbitrarily confiscated or its premises arbitrarily searched, etc., and that is why the law has always recognized such rights on behalf of the fictional "persons" it protects.

In other words, I think the law already does adapt the nature of the rights recognized to the nature of the "person" being protected and it is not therefore all or nothing (corporations cannot vote, for instance).

In theory, this "legal-personhood" method of protecting corporate rights could be scrapped in favor of another that did not call them "persons" but I think this would be a distinction without a difference as the goal of the law would remain trying to accord rights to legally-sanctioned entities consistent with their nature and nothing more.
So I need to load an additional js framework in additional to whatever one I'm using so that I can run plugins from yet another framework? As much as I love javascript, we still have to remember that most people don't use the kickass speedy browsers that we tend to (Chrome, Safari). Depending on your audience, you have 30-40% of your audience using Firefox. That's pretty good, but things get boggy with FF and too much js running.

If you're building a web application, i.e. something like Gmail, then you need to pick one js framework and stick with it. Make your code as efficient as possible. If you are just building a regular web site, do you really need to have all of that extra overhead for a couple of widgets?

Treat js development like da Vinci treated marble. Cut away until you find the statue in the marble.
Are Joomla users at risk?
That's not my understanding of the relevant precedents--- the Supreme Court has never interpreted the "freedom of the press" to refer to a specially protected class of reporters or news companies, or limited it to reporting the news. It has been held to protect the First Amendment rights of not only news corporations like the New York Times, but also companies that produce pornographic films and magazines, for example (one of the important precedents on the First Amendment's protection of parody involves an issue of Hustler). It seems to have been read much more broadly to mean, roughly, "the freedom to publish things, like books, newspapers, and films". For example, films like Hillary: The Movie, which was the thing at issue in Citizens United.

I think there's probably some way the other outcome could've been reached, but it would be trickier than I think a lot of people are arguing. It would have to be a narrow prohibition against direct electioneering by corporations, carved out as a First-Amendment exception due to the compelling government interest in free elections/etc. (similarly to how obscenity, libel, false advertising, and "false-light disclosure of private facts" are recognized exceptions). And then specific cases would have to be investigated to see which side of the line they fell on: for example, to determine whether Hillary: The Movie was a real movie, or pure electioneering disguised in a sham movie.
I agree that Watterson is not very fan-friendly on his comments and interviews. (Not to mention his constant diatribes against his publisher.)

On the other hand, the interviewer here only asks "pushy fan" questions, so it's not surprising that the only thing we get from Watterson is his usual "humble bordering on misanthropic" schtick. A pity, really, could have been a much better interview. I guess we'll never get to the bottom of the real causes of that spaghetti incident...
Hehe. I am from Asia (Philippines), but in Norway right now for a short training. Things are a little bit unpredictable right now (schedule, etc.) for me but I find your project very interesting. It would be good if I can find something else to do since I have a few hours at night after the training.

Would be good if you can give me some more info about it.
No history syncing though, which is big for me.
I was thinking coffee table. But kitchen is just as good. The form factor is much better than iPhone or laptop for recipes.
Why should that be off-putting? Standardized tests are pretty much the only way to objectively measure intelligence. Writing ability doesn't capture stuff like mathematical skill.

Yes, yes, tests are imperfect. Everyone understands this. But they're the best measurement we have -- short of getting to know someone over the course of a few months or years.

Also, tests, because of the way they establish some people as "better" than others, can be very bad for maintaining social harmony. But social harmony isn't a good reason to beat around the bush when one's intelligence is essential to the conversation. People should accept reality.

Edit: And, no, I'm saying this because I have a super-genius level iq. I don't.
If we'd had a human on Mars for the last 5 years, they would have covered many, many, many times as much territory as the robots have, and in far more detail.

Yes, it would have been incredibly expensive, but it would have been infinitely better from a science perspective. Which is my point.
Lets be clear what we mean by "manipulate" and "drowning out citizens' political will": the corporation may use speech to persuade voters to vote a certain way.

So it isn't so much "drowning out" citizen's political will as persuading them to exercise it in a certain way.
What's your optimal data format/API choice? Mines json for ease of use. Gzipping this format should minimize transmit times. Is there a simple abstraction for gzipped json?
Yes, he just fell on his knees and started shouting "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"
Or maybe because you went to public school.
And an interesting background, which incidentally appears to validate what seemed like fringe reports: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/012810-spy-drone-data-...
More time would be better. I suggested 6 months because there's a new YC cycle that often, but a year would be better.
Though in fact 6 months of working together is probably enough to bring most problems to the surface. Just make sure you work together on stuff that's demanding enough to put some strain on your relationship.

It's more important to have a good cofounder than to have one with particular skills. So if I were you I'd simply try to find someone you work well with, whether he/she's a business person or not. Two hackers can figure out how to do sales eventually, as long as they don't give up.
You miss my point, I said "debase" not change. Except for the WWII save copper by using steel penny, it was 95% copper from 1864 to 1982, and I can't count the two previous changes as debasing it (pure copper to a 89% copper/11% nickle alloy was surely for durability, the change 7 years later might have been related to the Civil War at the time but strikes me as the only possible previous debasement).
Wasabi smoke alarm raises a stink in Japan
Sass 2.4 will now be Sass 3.0
If Watterson looks like Calvin's dad, does that mean Larson is this weird round dude with a tiny head?
Open Luna Foundation = $500 million plan to build a moon station
#1 sounds very familiar to me. :-)

I hope I never reach #3. That sounds like I'd become a kind of person I don't like being.
Zeldman on Flash, iPad, Standards
I had obviously conflated the two names without noticing, and had a mental image of him looking like Bill Bryson ( http://travelblog.portfoliocollection.com/FeaturedImage/bill... ), and was taken aback at that picture.
Yeah, the last line in the post is wrong, IMO:

Make sure you build a real metrics dashboard and implement a real logger before you launch.

Just launch it, then figure out how to instrument and admin it. Yeah, it will be painful, but at least you'll have some idea what you're trying to accomplish.
Google Camera Helps Nab Alleged Tree Killers
Introducing Embed StatSheet. Integrate sports stats into any website
You only need to look at Garf-Eel to see how the alternative can play out:

http://www.comics.chickennation.com/2010/01/26/garf-eel/
Obviously there is no intention for the law to be interfering with any super bowl parties

As more and more aspects of life are affected by automation, "I didn't mean to" is less and less a useful excuse. Rules should specify what is and is not within the rules, and if that's very difficult, perhaps it's a sign that the rule is ill-considered.
Errr, "this freedom is limited to Congress not making laws restricting speech" was true prior to the passage of the 14th Amendment. That enforces it on the states, and Morse v. Frederick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bong_Hits_for_Jesus) was based on previous "school speech" jurisprudence. Schools are a special place and special restrictions are allowed in them, but certainly not total bans on political speech.
Part of why Flash is so popular is that the tools it gives creators makes it so easy to so quickly and easily develop applications like this.

Kudos.
Lockheed was once a startup to: http://steveblank.com/2010/01/07/the-secret-history-of-silic...

I'd agree that recent history has shown they turn to the Lockheeds
Obviously, his attitude/philosophy towards C&H hasn't changed much in the past 15 years. It's almost like he pities his legions of fans for digging the strip so much. When ever I read the interviews from years ago or even some of the strip commentary, I feel like Watterson's just got a giant chip on his shoulder and I kinda want to hate the guy.

I don't understand this perspective, at all. I've never gotten that impression from any interview I've ever read, including this one. He seems humble, genuine, and sincere in his desire to live a quiet life. I like him all the more for not being defined by fame and success, and not partaking to excess of the adulation of his fans, as many celebrities do. He lets the work speak for itself; and the work is good enough to speak very loudly.
Ask HN: Implementing referral codes for iPhone app.
I am thinking of setting up a referral/affiliate program for my iPhone app. The idea is to give out referral codes to affiliates, and then ask each user to enter an optional referral code, log the code in a Flurry event, and then compensate the affiliate based on Flurry analytics. The problem is that I have to give limited access to my Flurry account to each affiliate so that he can verify how many users installed the app using his referral code.

Has someone else solved this problem in a better way? To my knowledge there is no support for this from Apple in iTunes Connect. Thanks.
Thanks!

We actually chose flash because of it's distribution model. Anyone can easily start playing in a few seconds.
Slovakian Dad’s Army worthy of dark horse title at 2010 Olympics
Not exactly to your requirements but related: we use the MaxMind GeoLite city database to correlate IPs with lat/lon and city/country names. It's free (the GeoLite version; the pay version has a little more detail but doesn't cost very much) and simple to update and use.

http://www.maxmind.com/app/geolitecity
I use to draw a comic strip in college and studied his strips to learn to do my own. His Tenth Anniversary book for C&H was really helpful for insights into his creativity, as he captions his comic strips and what he was thinking at the time. http://books.google.com/books?id=xtiMQXCLdJEC&pg=PA19...

Mainly, he values being mentally curious. In the link I put above, he basically let his mind wander. He daydreams, and managed to cultivate that into a skill.

When I was doing a strip, you just kinda get into a habit of noticing things in our world that don't fit quite right. And then you just kinda amuse yourself by letting your mind wander. At the end, you might end up with something.

By comparison, it like how entrepreneurs notice business opportunities all around them by habit.
One of the Farside collections had the fat kid as the "About the Author" photograph. So, yes, I guess so.
They usually make sure to do that from the outset: most federal work-related laws, for instance, don't apply to Congressional staffers.
I upvoted you. I sort of agree with your point.

My opinion is that as a stand-alone language Python can do nothing that can not be done better with other, higher level, faster or more proven languages.

However, I think Python has a solid place in providing scripting support - it sure is a lot faster to install and start using than it is to write a scripting language from scratch in your language of choice, and Python fits most tasks well (the only exception I've come across is real-time rendering applications, although I haven't tried newer versions since about 2005...).

This vaguely fits the data too. :)
In all honesty, read through _why's (poignant) guide to ruby first to understand the basics of Ruby and read some cool comics along the way.

Once you're happy you've got a good footing in Ruby (will only take an afternoon+evening to read and try the examples) you can go for one of the many "Rails" books that are likely to be recommended here.

http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/

Crunchy Bacon!
Lean Startups in Boston
Adobe is dysfunctional. The proper treatment for such companies; workaround them and leave them behind.
You don't have to lie to me/us and pretend you love the post, but HN doesn't need "blah blah zzzz" anymore than you need "another google campus story".
Where I grew up in Canada we didn't bother with all of that.

The SATs and GREs are the only standardized tests I've taken. And I only took those because I was considering going to US schools.

If you're curious, on the SATs I got 1300. (For the younger people in the audience, the SATs were rescaled, that score was a lot better then than it would be now.) I believe that I'd have done better if I wasn't sick that day. Having to get up between sections to go vomit in the bathroom is not exactly good for your concentration...
He should be afraid.

I've said it before: One of the hardest things to learn about fame is that it is a cost of doing business. It can kill you. Maybe it will kill you with stress. Or maybe it will kill you by withdrawal: People who are addicted to the charge of being famous become clinically depressed when that charge ebbs, or when they acclimate to it. Just look at what fame has done to so many movie stars and musicians.

One of the great things about geeky hobbies is that most of them allow you to become modestly famous, but no more.
Sigh.. and I thought somebody was wrong on the internetz...

But reading the wikipedia article it seems they were trying to debase it in the 70s and went the wrong path and minted AL based coins which were rejected before making the actual change in 82.
We could have the citizenry vote on the priorities of laws, and enforce them in these proportions. Selective enforcement...is that legal?

Also, why not have absolutely draconian consequences for the legal transgressions of the makers and enforcers of laws.
It's interesting that in 1994, Steve Jobs considered it a foregone conclusion that video rental stores would get killed by the internet. He says it so blithely that it seems like it was conventional wisdom.

The interesting part is that a) Netflix wasn't founded until three years later, and b) it's only now that we're starting to get good products for renting movies via the internet.
A human on mars could certainly have covered more territory than the robots did, but the expense would have been several orders of magnitude more.

Had those billions been spent on robotic explorers, they would also have outperformed the relatively cheap robots that we actually have on the surface.
For the same cost, would robots have provided more data? I bet they would have.
Nine out of 10 premium-priced PCs sold at US retail is a Mac
Everyone loves the idea of it, just not the cost.
Although I mentioned business strategy, by 'blown away' I mostly mean engineering enginuity.

But as far as business is concerned, they are still in a good spot, what with basically owning the internet, even though they haven't monetized it much.

It is fairly obvious that they care more about engineering solutions, with monetization as an afterthought. This means their solutions are extremely dominant in many fields (maps anyone?) - turning that into revenue at some point seems inevitable.
He already describes himself as promiscuous to authors and publishers, so I doubt he would have any qualms about leaving Amazon for another company that beat the experience of a) finding, b) buying, and c) reading books.
People don't want to subscribe to stuff

Should we assume that you talked to 6 billion people, or would you like to qualify your blanket statement?
This quote sums it up pretty well for me:

Which of these responses, in short, appears to be the work of actual adults?

The problem with any business that succeeded quickly (in geological time) is that adults in the company get rich and then they quit, leaving children to take their place. Because adults built a resilient business the demographic shift is not noticeable until something big and unplanned happens.
This basically reads, "If HTML 5 is so great, why aren't Flash developers, like myself, using it?!"

That would be a much more interesting article, and the reason is basically because the market share is not there yet, although it is increasing quite a lot. However, to use this as a reason for the continued dominance of Flash is obviously extremely short sighted.

The author himself predicts that the iPad and iPhone like devices will be the future of computing, which lends even more credence to HTML 5, given that all modern mobile devices support WebKit or the equivalent HTML 5 browser.

However, instead of arguing "HTML 5 is no more powerful than Flash", the author needs to argue why an open standard, which is rapidly developing and seeing continuous growth, will not take off.

The author cites a few examples of super powerful Flash web apps and seems to imply that these are the future of desktop applications, however, these are dwarfed by the quantity of new web applications created every day.

The author basically needs to argue why Google and the countless other creators of popular web apps out there would switch to Flash, when the trend seems to be pointing in the opposite direction.

HTML 5 is not so much a "Flash killer" as it is simply "one less reason to have to use Flash".
It's in solution in water or alcohol and applied by spray and evaporation, not airborne as dry particles. I'd guess this risk is quite manageable. Germany isn't exactly a hotbed of environmental abuse.
The quoted 10 hours is for playing video. How can you put the motherboard to sleep while playing video?
Which gamejam were you part of?
I don't get it. You're spraying a surface with tiny particles of glass, right? So how would they form a cohesive layer, instead of sitting on top like loose sand, to be brushed off (or ground into the surface) by the first thing that touches them? Coating something in actual glass requires melting it and letting it harden into interlocking structures, right?

Sounds like snake oil to me.
It's fiat money; it doesn't matter what's in it.
Collection of practical resources for a variety of human rights issues
I am a major anti-fan of OpenID, but the idea is that these sites will not ask you for your Yahoo/Gmail password. Instead, they will bounce you to Yahoo/Google/whoever (where it's assumed you'll usually already be logged-in), which will ask you for permission in a standardized, recognizable way.

My major objection to OpenID is that it takes a single-site registration/login experience, with one consistent look and feel, and throws two extra HTTP requests and a completely different look and feel into the mix. To me that makes the experience more confusing and inconvenient, not less.
3000+ lines is what you're calling an ad-hoc Python script? Or your sum total output of Python is 3000+ lines?