skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Is this really surprising? Of course a bank is going to check up to see if it can get any easy-dirt on you, and if you have a half-dozen comments over the last year that you're barely making your existing card payments then it's really your own fault.

If people dislike this behaviour by banks, there are banking regulations that can regulate this behaviour. Alternatively, you could just maintain a good online-image like most people try in the real world.

I've been online since I can remember, and I knew from an early age to keep anonymity and privacy online. Why mature adults haven't figured this out is beyond me.
Question for drawkbox: if this guy had formed an S corporation, would that have changed the self-employment tax? He'd owe taxes for his own income, but the S corp (IIRC) doesn't pay taxes, right?
The US government is allowed to exempt itself from intellectual property restrictions, especially in the interests of "national security".
Even if you know the app store flow is fragile, I doubt anyone can tell whether it'll turn in 6-months or 6-years.

If you are an expert in making money there, ride that wave -- looking for something comparably-lucrative-but-different is a distraction. Optimize the hell out of your current flows -- find ways that spending $1 in marketing makes you >$1, create small variants, port to other platforms, outsource -- with careful metrics so you detect early when your strategies are played out.

Meanwhile, on the side, sock some away in a completely safe non-distracting portfolio. When it makes sense to turn your attention elsewhere -- either out of the app store opportunity ending, or a desire for something new -- then that safe cache of money will help. But at this point, you've already got a lucrative place to spend your attention -- why dilute it with other plans?
The Volvo XC90
My first impression of the site was that it was a directory of videos featuring bosses ("meettheboss.tv" implies just that). However, the site looks overly complex given that mission... there are channels, articles, training, podcasts, etc.

You should either make the product as simple as the name (i.e. simplify the site's navigation and content so that it only includes boss videos), or change the name/message to imply more than boss videos.
i honestly like that idea better than building a fresh ecommerce solution. there are so many other options that are quite good and already command market share. in addition, as i kind of mentioned, pulling someone away from their established ecommerce solution is like pulling teeth.

plus, if you could develop this into a multi-platform plugin, you could probably use that process to develop a framework for developing plugins for multiple platforms and build some more, since you seem to have good ideas.

just a few thoughts. don't let me discourage you from running with what you have.
I see you had a C64C on the lower right shelf. Perhaps you moved to the PC too quickly? :)
Such a calculation _should be_ something anyone on Earth over the age of 6 (OK I said 4th grade so 8-9) should be able to handle in their head without being handheld by a handheld [calculator].
Thanks, but I knew that already. Norvig used a different meaning. But not 'dynamically typed something', which was my point.
iSlate is already priced in to AAPL
The section below reminded me very much of the book called Learned Optimism (someone on HN recommended the book and I found it very interesting). It's all about how you explain your successes and failures, and how positive explanations enable you to continue on and do well. On the other hand, negative explanations are discouraging and make you more likely to give up.

From the article:

* You dismiss complements, awards, and positive reinforcement as "no big deal."

* You are crushed by mild, constructive criticism.

* You believe you're not as smart/talented/capable as other people think you are.

* You worry others will discover you're not as smart/talented/capable as they think you are.

* You think other people with similar jobs are more "adult" than you are, and they "have their shit together" while you flounder around.

* You feel your successes are due more to luck than ability; with your failures it's the other way around.
I thought that the Clay Shirky piece had two flaws. First the examples were mostly about people getting a key break by pretending to have a higher level of skill than they actually possessed. His headline grabbing phrase went far beyond the actual insight in the piece. Second the insight lacked plausibility. If you claim skills that you lack, you get caught.

This second flaw required amplification. There is a huge issue with creeping credentialism. This includes asking for skills that are not infact required. Naturally people lie about possessing these skills and escape detection because the question was bogus to begin with. However Shirky's article focused on examples where the skill was actually required and assessed. So there is a problem.

I respect Shirky so a question got lodged in my mind. He has seen and written about something real, but what? Two days later: a post on Hacker News about imposter syndrome. Now it makes more sense. You can draw but feel like a fraud, so when asked if you can draw, you say no. Then you are asked "how's your drafting?" It is good enough, but again you feel like an imposter and answer no. That is how opportunities are missed.

My badly written toplevel comment was intended to focus very narrowly on this area of intersection between the imposter piece and the Shirky piece.
To allay your concerns, I almost always upvote links to previous submissions on HN. I make them, and find such links valuable, so I upvote them when someone else makes them.

P.S. I find the best way to find previous HN threads that I remember is a site-restricted Google search with a few keywords, e.g.,

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com+p...
I take your point.

There is just so much crazy-talk out there that sometimes my spidey-sense kicks in too early I suppose.
Adopt a FreeBSD Port
I've always found that if I can forsee an obvious feature or set of functionality that could be useful, to go ahead and either just implement it, or make my low-level functions capable of supporting that from the get-go. Doubly so if the difference in effort is a day or less. I sometimes call this the miracle worker principle. Some bosses dislike you doing things beyond what they say, so you can't tell them when you are following this principle. In 6 months, when they get around to "coming up with the next great idea", you can flip the metaphorical switch, and have their functionality in mere moments. You look like a miracle worker :).
JTAG wasn't defined until 1990. This just sounds like a debug mode.
You might be surprised at the responses you'd get. As you probably know web startups are cheaper than ever to build; that's why the YC model works so well. It's not in a startup's interest to raise huge amounts and give up lots of equity early on; it's far better to give up less than 10% (YC typically gets 6-7%). If you saw a company that you could relate to, and which you understood the dynamics of, and furthermore might also be able to contribute your support to then that can be worth quite a lot. The money is just part of what you can bring to the table. You've already built a successful tech app so you obviously have some tech knowledge, which is likely valuable. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask; the YC companies are the same types likely to be on HN, so approach it as more of a community/team aspect than a rigid VC offer. An early YC company might give up another 4-5% for what you could offer, and even that small amount might be worth millions in the not-too-distant future - meeting your criteria.
The researchers suggest "88" sounds "larger" in english. However, Wal-Mart often prefers prices ending in ".88" as a contrast to ".99" pricing, and an image of "low prices" is crucial to them. If this effect was exploitable, I'd expect Wal-Mart would be using it.
Maybe they need some lessons from Donnie Hoyle...(fictitious teacher of Photoshop and guy with personal problems)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_X5uR7VC4M
They finally lost me when they said that $738 - the highest calculated possibility - was nearly a thousand.

Shit costs money. Oh no.
Tell HN: Site statistics for month #2(35K Visitors, top 100K alexa, PR5)
Fair use? I didn't know the FBI was a news agency/student to which fair-use under the law is aimed. This was someones political photograph, that was used in a man's campaign to get into government, and now a very poorly modified photograph of him is on America's Most Wanted list.

The issue here is that they used an upstanding citizen under the law to base this photograph off. They didn't bother to put in the effort, or even use another terrorist where a mistake would still have a somewhat positive effect. However, now this man's going to be tackled going through airport security because customs officials look at facial features all of which they stole from this poor fucking guy.
So what extra does this provide outside of the numerous other startup/how to rule world video sites (Mixergy comes to mind), and will whatever that extra is make it monetizable? For instance, are you guys producing your own content, and if so, are the people saying different things than they have already said elsewhere? So in short, what value does meettheboss add to the already crowded "how to run a good business" market.
I wouldn't subscribe to this many things, but it seems pretty clear: if I'm that into all this stuff, then it'll be worth the money and I'll find a way to pay it. If it's not worth it to me, then I'll cancel a bunch of them.

Nothing to see here, move along. (BTW: who the heck pays money to watch shows on Hulu?)
Gee, you're really realistic.

When I went out to dinner with my parents, none of the ten people over age 30 could calculate a 20% tip - much less the other way around.

Most people just do not do math outside the presence of a calculator, so those skills fade.
If Conan were to actually move from NBC to Revision3, I think the event would pretty much qualify as the beginning in earnest of the long-brewing IPTV vs. broadcast TV war. What could possibly happen next?
Point & Click Templates 
The office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONCHIT) and the Department of Healthcare and Human Services (HHS) will soon release a draft that will define the meaningful use in <a href=http://www.medicaltranscriptionsservice.com/Do-EMRs-with-Point-and-Click-templates-offer-qualitative-or-quantitative-healthcare.html>electronic health record (EHR)</a> as outlined in the HITECH Act
I'm well aware of that, but I believe "national security" still doesn't cover sheer unadulterated laziness and incompetence . . . yet.
@Ixiaus, are you on twitter? Would love to continue reading how you're doing. Your homepage link works as well of course.

Feel free to drop me an email (vp[at]dinhmail.de) when you're traveling to Germany. Beers on me :-)
Great that you're making money with your business. Great that you can tell it's far form from guaranteed.

Just about any other business you'd name is also risky. (and if folks in HN know about something, you know you'll have competition). So no matter what else you do, keep a cushion. There's story everyday about formerly successful entrepreneurs who lived beyond their means and wound-up broke. Don't be them.
It could, but it doesn't and never has. The standard was written to admit a broader set of behavior than real systems actually implement. And in this case, there's absolutely nothing "surprising" to my eyes about a blocking (!) socket blocking on overflow.

Again: there is already a mechanism in place to support non-blocking behavior, and it's not this one.
Can you share with us what apps you are selling on the app store?
Wouldn't "McCarthURism" be Google swearing that it would return to China ^_^?

The CIA mnemonic MICE on the reasons people turn is useful here:

Money
Ideology
Compromise
Ego

The PRC government doesn't require ideology (I suppose it would be nationalism more than anything else, especially for motivating the people) when they can use compromise, perhaps sweetened by a little money. Ego probably comes into play as well, when you're a "little guy" breaking into a world leader like Google.
Yes, and that is an example of what I find to be sad. Also, I did try to emphasize "_should be_" in my comment. It is not realistic, it is what I personally consider to be "better" (basic math skills over reliance on a calculator).

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself but it seems like a slippery slope to rely on a calculator for (subjectively) simple calculations. It leads to a "oh, someone else will figure this out for me" mentality.
I've skipped out on this social networking craze, and now I'm really glad. Now I have to worry about the credit implications of friending that guy from high school that I never particularly liked but hey I don't want to be impolite? (Who, by the way, turns out to be a deadbeat.)

People like me have been saying that young people are going to learn that "letting it all hang out" is a mistake, but I sort of figured it would be a mistake for social reasons. I have to admit I never figured that your credit rating could be impacted. The second-order effects of that would rock the entire scene. If Facebook is wise, they will fight this, but this probably looks like a great income opportunity from their point of view.
I have to counter that I rather like the design, specifically the background, but I definitely second the marketing feedback.
That's a great idea. I sometimes like to tinker and build things from uCs, lcd displays, etc. Taking the final step to box it up is always the biggest hurdle to me. It would be awesome to be able to build a casing out of legos (which I used to love as a child and had tons of). Parts for creating buttons to press those small clicky pcb mounted switches would be great.
I'm 23, so I just have no idea if my freewheeling views on privacy are going to turn around to bite me in the ass later in life.

I'm the mayor of a sleazy local strip-club on Foursquare (don't ask, but there is a story). Guess I won't be going into politics.
You're making a lot of false assumptions about my position.

I essentially agree that white lies aren't "dishonesty," but what exactly consitutes a "white lie" is up for debate.

More importantly, I believe the word "moral" simply refers to a code of right and wrong which MUST be rationally supported to be valid.

I don't think there is a valid moral rule that states, "Do not lie." For example, one morally SHOULD lie to a serial killer who asks if your wife and kids are in the house. However, I consider that kind of case out of the scope of the present discussion. As a rule, you should not attempt to fake reality (lie) to other honest people in normal situations.
The article notes that your credit will be affected (negatively or positively) simply by facebook "friending" the right or wrong people.

That's hardly the same as having posted 'I am intending to default on my loan.'
You'd better hope that these automated scanners can detect quotes.
I'm also intending of following down this path. There are so much things that I want to learn that I neglected to do when I had copious amounts of free time (hint university). I would also like to know how you're handling this.
I should also point out that one of the reasons for Google's (e.g. Brin's) fury is that by being in China, Google places its native and Chinese descent employees into an untenable position of divided loyalty, where no matter how well intentioned, employees will be forced to betray Google.

Brin would know well how the USSR played that game; as long as the PRC is following this economic model Google will be evil if it's in China.
A quick tip on how to calculate tips:

Finding 10% of an amount is easy. All you have to do is move the decimal point over one position to the left. For example if you had an $80 dinner, then 10% of that is $8. Just double that amount to find the 20% tip, in this case $16.

I think that with a little thought most people should be able to figure out these tricks, but you are right, most people don't bother and their skills fade.
If they had a problem with that sort of thing, then they shouldn't have taken a job at Microsoft, or even a corporation of modest size. Division of labor, and all that.

Besides, for a great many developers, dealing with a PM is better than dealing directly with people in finance and marketing, or customers themselves.
Great...email sent. Thanks!
I like MonteCarlo: http://bok.net/MonteCarlo/
I can't imagine someone subscribing to each and every one of these:

* Unlimited voice, text and data on a smartphone

* Netbook data plan

* A "slate" (no clue what this is) 3G data plan

* Home internet

* Mobile internet for a laptop

* Wi-fi hotspot access

Oh, and a home landline.

Sounds more like someone thought up a headline they wanted to write and then came up with the data to back it.
"I've skipped out on this social networking craze, and now I'm really glad."

Until the rating agencies' statistical models decide that not being on Facebook is correlated with high credit risk...
Qt as GTK, again
I actually just posted our 2 month stats:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1060559
2010 Roth IRA Income Limits Removed
There's a ton of overlap here.

3G (or equivalent) on four devices. (And if you have 3G on four devices, there's absolutely no reason to be paying for mobile WiFi hotspots).

And then there are five different services for streaming video.

And then a land-line phone.

If you're paying anywhere close to the $738 they estimate as the maximum it's only because you're not paying any attention to what you're paying for.
I completely agree. It is doubt about your own competence that makes one want to learn more and improve their skills. In contrast if you think you are a genius you won't have that same desire to keep studying.
Note that one reason Google, especially Brin, would be furious (and anguished, at least in the case of Brin), is the impossible position this puts Google's Chinese employees in (see other thread for more details).
Weather: On a Strictly Need to Know Basis
Buy a house (or a couple houses). Rent some of them, live on the one you like the most. Let the rent pays for the mortgage.

Start thinking about having a family. Save money for your kids education. Save money for your parents. Save money for yourself for the old age (retirement plans [whatever the shape and form is], hospital bills, traveling).
Sorry, I clicked the arrow next to +1 and downvoted you.
I've made this point several times on HN. When I saw this was a presentation by Peter Norvig, I figured maybe it's not worth the effort.
Read a book on Zen.

Approach everything with a "beginner's mind". Never blow through a new tutorial cutting and pasting even if you are very experienced in the area. Take your time, learn as a beginner, but leverage your experience to instantly jump from beginner to expert once you have the necessary domain knowledge.
IE CSS3 pseudo selectors
The HN insular social circle is abnormal.
If you want it not to block, you should set the O_NONBLOCK flag using fcntl().

Certainly, I had assumed that the OP was talking about poll over non-blocking pipes.
In other news: Dan Rather offered a job at Daily Kos.

Get serious.
I agree that the app store ecosystem is fragile, but the poster seems to know how to make money there now. It also sounds like his current business model is small investments that generate quick returns. If he keeps to the same model, but with a little outsourced dev help, he could make more hay while the sun is shining.
>>who the heck pays money to watch shows on Hulu?

I would. I'm outside the US and don't like waiting for e.g. Big Bang Theory (if that is on Hulu, I can't even get that far.)
Damn, you're completely right. I thought that was my amiga500 but on a closer look, its the c64 I got when I was 10. I lost my original in a fire when I was 9 and got a -C as a replacement. Shortly after, I got the amiga and seldom looked back. I didn't move to pc too quickly, I moved to amiga.

Apologies to johnyzee, there is an A500 around there somewhere, but Nate's right. Look at the round 488 connectors in the middle. Thats a 64-c alright. I was trying for the life of me to figure out why my a500 would have been down there on that cart looking so disused.
2010 could be busy year for digital music mergers
"[S]olving problems by solving all smaller problems" is really just plain ol' divide-and-conquer. What makes dynamic programming algorithms different, although a subset of, divide-and-conquer algorithms is that intermediate solutions are stored for later use.
SimplyNoise.com - White noise generator
I use this to drown out other people.
Right... that's pretty arbitrary though, given that not that long ago the father (instead of some random stranger) of an individual warned authorities that his son was being radicalized and might be used to stage an attack.

And nothing was done with that information.

That was specific, actionable and nothing was done with it, this is just a guy with a sense of humour that finds that everyday manners of speech are no longer tolerated.

There is this movie called 12 angry men, which deals with exactly that subject. What people say when they're pissed off should be taken with a grain of salt. If someone tells you they'd like to blow up the house of commons we expect you to be sharp enough to see the difference between something said tongue-in-cheek or whether you're serious.

If you haven't seen it then I suggest you do. It's quite an old movie (1957).
What you are describing is the motivation behind the FSF assignment requirement, what I was talking about was the Apache Software Foundation:

http://www.apache.org/licenses/ (see 'Contributor License Agreements')
Quite true

'It gives the right to the employer to ask you anything anytime because he could be working.'

No it doesn't, not unless you agree to it. I can't imagine having a remote job and not being clear upfront what the "office" hours are supposed to be.

It make no more sense than to think that regular office workers need to spend 24/7 at the office because the boss may be there at anytime.
Yahoo rapped by China partner
Sharing the secrets behind the parlor tricks can help with this feeling. Some particular technique may feel easy for you, but there could be people out there who haven't discovered it yet, and are stuck on some task.
Pension fund.
This is a great idea and will make for a fun weekend project. Thanks for the idea.
In many experiments like this, people are asked to give an estimate immediately and without mentally calculating.
Well, the site runs on MediaWiki, so you can save the printable version of each article. Even if you print the whole thing, the end result wouldn't be that much different from a bunch of video files for each 15-min lecture.
Javascript Twitter Realtime Search Widget
Damnit I did it again. Thanks for pointing it out at least.
My neural network is wired to fail on apostrophes. Sorry about that.
You've probably got enough money and enough of an analytical mindset to explore the cost-per-lead affiliate marketing space, figure out what works through test buys (like poker, you've got to play a lot before you get good at it), and then have enough cash left over to float your operation while spending at a decent scale.

Downside - this can be an ethically-challenged business. But so are most 'make money fast' schemes.
I work at my own startup where I manage my own time and usually, the best time to read/learn is when I get stuck in the process of building something.

Reading hacker news, stack overflow or even researching ideas on how to get through the problem in what I´m building allows me to "merge" learning and building.

It´s hard to build stuff in Erlang and learning Lisp at the same time, for example.

Try to merge both activities in some way and you will be good.