skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
someone might accidentally upvote a comment, dont worry.
Someone put together a Google Docs spreadsheet for this:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASrV38bNy1TlZHhqNjlmel8xMj...
I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but I can't tell how to downvote a comment on HN.

Any insight into this?
You need more karma, then the option will magically appear.
Why I'm Becomming a JavaScript Convert
This is the interest v. intent paradigm.

Listing 'photography' as an interest on a social network and typing it into google with the intent to research, purchase, learn, etc., represent fundamentally different mindsets.
"A useless product is never sustainable. I wish I could short Facebook."

Knowledge about lack of sustainability is not enough to short. Even if you are sure about the imminent collapse, they might skyrocket before that point. In this case you are forced to cover at a huge loss.
Facebook ads serve a different sweet spot than Google ads. The latter excels at capturing purchase intent for the obvious reason that people will run a search specifically for something they want to buy -- it's a no-brainer.

Given that people do not hop onto Facebook to buy things, it is the ad purchaser's fault for expecting great direct sales from their product ad on Facebook. Use the right tool for the right purpose. To be fair, the article doesn't give details on the book promoter example, but given the statement "nobody ever clicks them", I feel safe assuming that they did not use all the social features you can build into ads. I've used FB ads and achieved excellent click-through rates. With FB (unlike Google) the promoter could have made a fan page for the book and attracted users to like the page by a) targeting people who would like the book based on demographics and b) showing "your friend Foo liked this page" sort of teasers. Once someone likes the page, you can get stories into their newsfeed for free, which is a pretty darn good return on your ad investment.
I believe the magic line is at 200. You're almost there :)
> unlike in the US where companies have to hang on to contracts while in a downturn

What is your basis for believing that US companies cannot downsize as easily as Danish ones or that their costs in hiring and firing are higher? Were you an employee or hiring manager in both countries?
A Week in SF - August Kleinzahler, 2004
I don't know much about it, to be honest. But what incentives do the fanatics have to enforce islamic law? Maybe in some cases some spiritual leaders make extra promises? Like for the famous british author who has been living in hiding for years now? (Somehow I am braindead today, can't recall his name).
But this week didn't Facebook take one big step closer to their own version of AdSense? Put those social ads all over the internet, where they aren't just hanging out with their friends, and it's a whole new ballgame.
I am planning on waiting anyhow. (I'll get one with my "next laptop", which is at least a year away most likely, barring accident.) But what I look forward to with BD is being able to back things up in fewer chunks. At the moment, 1 25GB chunk would cover all my highest-priority "critical" data. I'm clocking in at 15GB declared "critical" right now, so, not a DVD anymore, thanks to digital cameras and a baby. I commented on the price of DVD9s because last I had looked (a while ago!) they were about $4 a piece. Now they are only 2-ish, same as your cited price for a 25GB BD, and that's getting down to where I might pay for the convenience.
I think he means that you are signed up on the fan page's mailing list. Companies of which you are a fan gain access to your social inbox, which I would assume allows them to garner much more of your attention than if they reached for your spam-filtered, labels-and-filter-ridden, adblocker-protected email inbox.

Another intangible but real benefit is the backchannel that fan pages open from the users to the company, and the other fans. Hard to quantify indeed.

What I am curious to see is hard data on acquisition cost of fans vs. mailing list subscribers, and subsequent mailing conversion rates.
I suppose one way to do it would be to become a celebrity blogger.
> I don't remember getting a cheque for all the interviews I've gone to.

I'm wondering if anyone ("rockstars", presumably) demanded that job interviews be treated as temp consulting gigs that need to be paid for.
Goldman was one of the 9 banks at that infamous meeting where Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (not to be confused with the selling short hedge fund counter party of this deal) said "Take this money or else".

Here's Judicial Watch's page on this meeting: http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2009/may/judicial-watch-fo...

The talking points that were coughed up 3/4ths of a year later for Judaical Watch's FOIA request match the leaked substance of the meeting including these details:

"We don't believe it is tenable to opt out because doing so would leave you vulnerable and exposed.

"If a capital infusion is not appealing, you should be aware that your regulator will require it in any circumstance."

The leaks said that they were told they weren't leaving the room until they'd signed on the dotted line. This is the sort of thing you expect from the Mafia or in a Third World country, not the USA! Not to mention that the 23% interest they were charged was Mafia like.

Too many envy the successful, and in this case technical excellence was part of the story. Goldman developed their own computer language "Slang", and while it's not too hot today, their overall system for using it gives them a fantastic advantage. When their leadership wants to play "what if", or the world changes, they can use their system to query all their units and get an answer in something like a few hours at the most.

Other firms keep this embedded in a zillion different (and by definition often broken) spreadsheets and the like. Finding out which end is up is a largely manual and error prone process taking days (or so I read; whatever the time amounts, Goldman's system is going to be a lot faster and more accurate).
I am trying to use the Pomodoro technique - focus hard for 25 minutes, then relax for 5. This of course requires closing down mail, Twitter etc apps while a Pomodor is running.

Unfortunately I still have problems, it is far too easy to open up a browser window and start looking at Hacker News, Digg, Engadget etc. I am thinking about making my own Pomodoro script which puts all my favourite timewasting sites in /etc/hosts where I can't reach them.
God I wish someone would unplug me from media for a while, I've got a stack of books I never make time for :(
Ever wonder how those plastic bag footballs are made?
I am an information addict as well.

I get annoyed, when I've already browsed through the HN frontpage and nothing new turns up upon refresh. At those times I wonder if the amount of really interesting, insightful and fresh(!) material produced on the web is still quite limited or if we aren't doing a good enough job of surfacing it according to everyones individual taste.
I can't count the amount of times I ended up re-writing some of the API's functions because the one's they shipped just didnt work.
Great article. I've "known" x86 asm since I was a teenager, but waded into the actual encoding just a couple years back, fearing the worst based on reputation. It's not that hard at all. Understanding how register and memory addressing works takes you a long way towards understanding the whole encoding model.

Here's a Ruby library I wrote 3 years ago, which we used to bootstrap a cross-platform debugger for reversing work:

http://github.com/tduehr/ragweed/blob/master/lib/ragweed/ras...

I think Zed Shaw pointed this out last year, and I second it: pulling assembly into a scripting language is (a) not very hard and (b) incredibly powerful.
A bit of a fluffy piece but interesting to think that 30% for 18 years yields $112 after an initial investment of $1 (1.3^18). Or $5,000 18 years ago is worth a half a million today.
My point was not to say that familiarity with the determinant formula was worthless.

Potentially, with an infinite amount of time and scratch paper, etc., doing the determinant of one 6x6 in a homework setting might be a worthwhile activity.

However, presenting a nonzero nonsparse 6x6 as a "break" between two formal proofs on a large timed exam is not my idea of the level of arithmetic agility that should be expected of an undergrad CS student.

No doubt there are great insights to be gained from application of the determinant formula. One that occurred to me at the time was "Computationally, what is the best order to perform these operations to get a numerically exact result? What is the time complexity of a perfect algorithm to determine the best-exact order? Is there a faster approximation that still provides good results?" etc. Unfortunately, I never pursued any of these arguably-more-relevant questions, because I was busy getting my rote multiplication up to speed. I never even thought of some of your applications, because I was too busy with nonsense to make connections.

While this is a point example, it in many ways is representative of my math education.
> You can use a Macbook in closed-lid mode to use only an external display.

Yes, but this requires an external keyboard, a connected power outlet and putting the system to sleep.

Thanks about the 'detect displays' button, though still the key for switching mirror/extend mode should do that without requiring me to go into settings (or have the menubar item active).
If you think FB ads suck and provide no return, fine, say so. I mostly agree. But you shouldn't go around accusing people of criminal activity on the grounds that you couldn't come up with a better analogy and your post wouldn't be as effective.
Definitely an info addict here, in your terms... I like to think I let that information come to me through email, one of the only mediums I check and if not, I let my natural curiousity drive me. However, rather than an addict, which might be acceptable, I prefer to call it a case of being a human sponge. I consider the stimulation of my brain to be a great exercise and therefore of great importance, having learned it from a late family member through anecdotal evidence of them having lived a very long and intelligent life. Of course, even too much of a good thing can be bad, so a healthy balance should be encouraged.

I can't help but point to this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2070387_keep-aging-brain-active.html

Scroll down to where it says "Exercise the Brain". While I believe the 1st notation is obvious - exercise both body and brain of which I do to deal with it, not everyone has the energy to keep a regular physical regiment. However, I practically endorse #2: Keep your brain active every day. Play trivia games, do crossword puzzles, word games or read daily. and #3: Start something new to challenge your brain. Take up a brand new hobby, learn a new language or write a book. Get on the computer and research something that interests you, like genealogy or your family history.

To answer your question, sitting here and being an info addict are quite possibly two different things. It's all about prioritization and balance - in that case maybe a better question might be: could one instead be a HN addict?
Well, he does take out an insurance policy on his making a mistake, or at least being accused of one.
Use the academic resources that are available on the web.

MIT's OpenCourseWare has tons of content on there. I haven't used it for anything except SICP, but you should be able to find some relevant material: http://ocw.mit.edu/

Google recently opened up Google Code University. They seem to have a lot of tutorials on there. http://code.google.com/edu

Also, I found this professor's lectures pretty amusing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE7l6Adoiiw&feature=PlayL...

There's tons more out there. Good luck!
Does it mean everything is addicted? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1293262

;-)
Logical error: "place one set of interests above all others" is not the same as does not have "responsibilities other than to their shareholders".
I think you are right that I should have used "like a" Ponzi scheme throughout the post, but the writing and the point would have lost a lot of its effect in explaining that.

Yes, describing things in an overheated, sensationalistic way has a more powerful effect than describing them in an accurate way. Congratulations on figuring that out.

By the way, referring to a business as a Ponzi scheme is prima facie defamatory. I don't think you have much to worry about, since I doubt Facebook will bother to sue you on the basis of a blog post, but you might write differently if you were more conscious of the fact that you're accusing someone of a crime.
How Ron Conway became the Valley's most influential start-up investor
Buy a put option instead of shorting, and you are protected against rising share price.
+1

Haha, yea, you're completely right. Also, don't forget that Facebook can monetize in ways other than ads. So even if I were right, my short would still probably lose.

I said this merely for effect. I wanted to emphasize a point: I think its unlikely that their ad platform will add value long-term.
How about telling us what font type is best for various writing situations.
Still, I wouldn't mind to be in Starbucks or Facebook's shoes, financially.
There's a reason that the standard equity vesting schedule is four years with a one year cliff. Great people will stick around if they feel that their equity is valuable even if they can get more cash/benefits/perks/responsibility/credit/fame/fortune/whatever elsewhere. If you're not handing out equity, then you need to compete on all those slashies. It's a competitive market and every employee is a free agent.
Refactoring for Dummies
They give nothing. They offer to exchange a harsh noncompete/nonrecruitment contract for a big pile of money.
I liked the PaulaBean reference at the bottom of the article. Brillant. http://thedailywtf.com/articles/the_brillant_paula_bean.aspx
Feel free to down vote me, but I'd really like to hear the arguments that this doesn't constitute an "invasion" in any reasonable construction of the Constitution.

What if a good part of Manhattan Island and D.C. are reduced to radioactive slag sometime this decade? Will that count as an "invasion"? Will we then regret treating this issue like a law enforcement problem instead of like a war?

(Do you think we'll forever be able to avoid the jihadist's being able to light off a nuke on or above an American city?)
I absolutely am an information addict. I've known that about myself for a whole, and I've tended to embrace it. Information addiction is a facet of a love of learning; to love information simply for the sake of information is somewhat useless, but to love it for the sake of learning, growing, and enriching oneself is a noble goal, I think.
As the old adage goes: fast, bug-free, or cheap; choose any two.
No I don't think it does, I'm sure that there are several magnitudes more upvotes than downvotes so assuming that the probabilty of accidental upvoting is the same as accidental downvotes, there must be a lot more downvotes-meant-to-be-upvotes then upvotes-meant-to-be-downvotes.
"The Right Way to be Fired": HBS Review v. Mark Suster's 'job hoppers' post
Job Hopping: A Resume Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
Some people don't take being downvoted to heart as much as others (and rightly so) but I'm sure that no-one likes to be downvoted. It is only natural to feel a bit bad when your comment is downvoted (as we're no robots) and I really don't want other people feel bad just because I can't manage to click on the right vote button.
Yes but some kids step on ants for fun.
Of course employers influence job hopping. The impression I get everywhere is that bad employers outnumber good ones by far (too much to be attributed to selection bias). The prevalence of job hoppers is probably more of an indictment of these employers rather than the job seeker.

"Good" places to work like the one Suster purports to run can probably afford to filter out a lot of false negatives from job hopping behavior. Fine, whatever. Your loss. But don't expect people to take that advice at face value.

You might also claim that good employees should also know better than to steer clear of these bad employers, but these people also have to eat, too.
It's only fraud if it is fraudulent not to tell ACA that some no-name hedge fund is on the other side of their trade. The ACA guys got paid big bucks to research their investments, not to make guesses based on how scary their counterparties were.

It would be like a professional baseball team whose entire model for winning was that they'd only play games against Little League teams, but they'd sue the other team if they turned out to be good.
Agreed. The article states permanence, but who's to say they're not actually pulling the curtain on you and keeping your information on file? I think the bottom line is, if one is not comfortable with the sharing of information, don't sign up in the first place and consider the repercussions of your actions before making anything public if what you might do would later concern you... in that sense similar to getting a tattoo.
I think the author at least has a point, but I totally disagree with his use of the word 'ponzi' here. It looks like yet another cheap attempt to make something look horribly bad by just tacking on a term that is hated/disliked widely.
Maybe I'm outdated - but I find it disturbing that such a cause should be promoted in such a way.
Should we even consider a nuke delivered by ballistic means as a serious threat for a race that does interstellar travel ?
Yeah, but you wouldn't have those dollars in 1997, you would have them now, after the stock has appreciated. Inflation is rolled in to the stock price in this comparison.
What if you had bought Apple call options instead of AAPL stock?

If you bought AAPL April $200 Call on Feb. 1 (at $10.20), you would made around 370% return. But obviously trading options is more risky, because you have to get both the direction and timing right.
I am an information addict, and this is what HN makes me do:
http://www.benjamincoe.com/tetris/

:-)
Original submission, linking to Index's announcement. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1293110
It's possible that they do not even realize that they are like a Ponzi scheme. That's right, they may not even realize that their ad platform is completely useless because they always get new clients signing up and giving up their offering to the god of web 2.0 hype. They may be blind, as I used to be. They may be truly surprised when the supply of suckers runs dry.

And does this guy really think that Facebook is incapable or unwilling of running projections on a key revenue indicator like their ad buys? An intern with a spreadsheet would be able to look at their internal data and realize that all their ad buyers are falling off a ledge and never returning.
I really think the same could be said for any architecture. Imagine a 65864 :-).
A link to the book in question (clean btw, no referral):
http://www.amazon.com/Decoding-Reality-Universe-Quantum-Info...
That's essentially what I did - given my mild obsession with figuring out how businesses work, I read thousands of books over ~6 years, started a website (personalmba.com), created a 12-week course (crashcourse.personalmba.com), took on private clients, and landed a book deal.

I'm essentially paid to learn as much as I can, isolate the useful/practical bits, then teach them to others. If learning comes naturally to you, figuring out how to teach what you know to people who want to learn it can be profitable and enjoyable. I left my job a year and a half ago to do this full time, and would never go back.
If that is how you evaluate, you will end up with an organization of snakes.
"It's a book review -- doesn't really explain what the physicist is arguing in any meaningful sense."

Indeed, the review ends with this:

"Mr Vedral makes a persuasive argument for a third option: information can be created out of nothing."

That's a remarkable claim, and the review says zip about how it is presented. It seems that it would also be the key concept of the book, making this a pretty lame review.
I believe there are different types of information addiction. Checking email and IM too frequently is hardly likely to benefit you, but reading Wikipedia and articles related to your profession, for example, can give you a serious edge.

Be addicted to information "assets" and drop the ephemeral stuff.
You guys have just downed a: "Focus on the right thing first" saying.
If you're on OS X, check out Concentrate:

http://getconcentrating.com/
wasn't this exact post on gizmodo this morning?
edit: oh it appears to be syndicated from them, sorry I wasn't aware of any deal between them
I second using the Pomodoro technique - without it, writing my book would've taken 3+ years instead of one.

The key is to change the structure of your environment to support the Pomodoro as much as possible. Turn off everything not directly related to what you're doing - phone, internet, etc.

I used Freedom (http://macfreedom.com/) to completely disable my internet access for 6 hours at a time when I scheduled a day to write. If I didn't disable the internet, I'd waste hours doing "research" when the going got tough. Without any net access, I was able to persist through the hard parts and write a huge amount in a day.
From the most useful Amazon.com review of the book (http://www.amazon.com/review/R15E7HO19A2FQF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_pe...):

"The core of the argument (on page 201) I will not spoil here, but it's not wholly convincing on several grounds. First, although he does not further dwell on it, the author favors the 'Copenhagen' (or observer effect) interpretation of quantum physics, which is used to buttress & underpin his argument."

Oops. Or at least say I, not liking the Copenhagen interpretation at all. (Perhaps the most frightening thing to me about quantum mechanics is that I've found the many worlds interpenetration to be the best ... then again, in this area I'm a chemist, so these issues are "above my pay grade".)
The tradeoff between open and closed.
Sure. I identified the kinds of information I like (business and technology). Then I identified the skills I have (technology). Then I tried to find a niche that seemed underserved and combined my interest, skills and met an additional goal of teaching me something new. I'll be posting a link to my site in a few days here at HN - sort of as an official launch.
The pomodoro technique seems like allowing yourself a hit of heroin every few days, even though you know it's a problem. I've never been able to follow it for long enough for it to be effective. Any tips?
I like long periods of being offline.

Still, looking for information is a common way of procrastinating. So for me spending too much time on HN is an indication that I'm pushing away something to do which actually bores me.

The best way to deal with it is to finish that boring thing and switch into doing something exciting and get "into the phase" with new task.

Sport helps also.

I like and admire community here, you are talented and insightful people, still I've had the best experience here when I just was absorbing information after long periods of being offline and the time I spent here was planned. Also, it was best when I hang around here at the end of the day, not by the morning coffee.

Reading news/email/whatever by the morning coffee, while tempting, is actually harmful for my focus needed to perform things after the coffee. Sad but true.
Update: link submitted to HN here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1293415
So your claim is that it's not fraudulent that Goldman lied to ACA saying Paulson was going to end up long on Abacus, or that Goldman lied to the real longs that ACA was solely responsible for selecting the reference portfolio?
Da Vinci's Golden Mean in iPhone Photography
Where I am, hate speech is defined as advocating murder/violence/genocide against a group of people.