skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Joint filing of taxes often results in paying more taxes, and spreads liability across both spouses, so both can be held accountable if the other one commits fraud.
Their attitude is somewhat Twitterish. They aren't going to scare off their readers with minor, unobtrusive advertising, and should just go ahead and be more direct about it. Strike while the iron is hot, make some money.
Funny, during work I was listening to a segment in a Radiolab episode about sleep: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2007/05/25

it's the last segment.
Serious long term relationships are great. "Marriage" is a silly, bigoted custom that should just go away.
Significant… it is. It's an important transport link for the Russian economy, and not only it, it even carries some exports from the Far East to Europe. Also, it's a major engineering work, even though mostly unrelated to usual hacker news topics, it should make it at least somehow significant and interesting here.

Awe-inspiring… well, depends. I don't think that a construction and operating of a 10,000 kms long railway line should be dismissed as something trivial and not worth of any attention.
Yes, take the class if it's at that price range. Then, checkout tryruby.org and railstutorials.org. Those two will complement your learning. RailsTutorials is very much targeted for all skill levels and if you can find your way to post on HN thus far, you may be able to follow along RailsTutorials :-)

Edit: Also, look at my earlier comment http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1499755
I understand the sentiment, but I'm curious how you personally judge an expensive idea without spending the 6 months to develop it? A simple web app may take a weekend, but that's not the only type of minimum viable product, unfortunately.
Hmm, making money as an incentive to post great comments? I like that idea.

On the other hand, if only we could charge people for comments we hate! The internet would get so much better...
No, the idea was to run tests and build the products that showed uptake, and then to repeat the whole process incrementally as a feedback loop. But it didn't work for a number of reasons, two of which I cited above.
First, he lives in Cupertino. Coffee there might cost $25, I'm not sure.

Then, Google payments have been declining for a long time. We tried AdSense and I STILL haven't made enough to get Google to send a check (nice how they'll hang on to your $80 to the end of time, hmm? Wonder how much free advertising Google scams that way). Then, we switched to our own ads and make approx. 800 times as much per day (not an exaggeration).
Google bought DoubleClick. They were tainted from then on, as far as I'm concerned. DoubleClick had a known shady history, and executives from DC moved into positions of influence within Google.
Generally, the steps are

1> rewrite your Ruby code in Java
I don't quite understand how this fits into the grand scheme of Google. Now I think Google is just buying stuff to buy stuff. Though I could see acquiring user-interaction data being useful, especially in the casual space.
That's a good point. I imagine that I would be able to pick up what I need to know as I go along, that's what would make taking the course interesting (sink or swim!).

Here's the course description I was looking at. I haven't really looked anywhere else but I'm sure there are more out there.

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...
This might work for a lot of the people on HN, but if you're part of a mainstream religious group your Priest/Rabbi/Pastor will probably insist on maintaining the legalities.
Oh Google. The sharks are circling and you're strapping on your waterskis.
Medicine Student. I forgot to tell that I have an Intern that I don't attend.
One thing that surprised me is that most hackers here work out physically regularly.

I do as well, and I also find post-workout protein drinks are essential. I tried not using them for 2 weeks and found the lack of them rendered my workouts totally meaningless (I track weight and body fat, another good thing to do).
Can you imagine working on Farmville? I mean, it would be like going into work every day to refine the equivilent of the Fisher Price moo farm toy [1] except a) for adults and b) relatively juvenile. Imagine the meetings, mostly run by marketing idiots.

"Okay, we need the new chewy coco grove coconut tree special item out by next Monday. So that means everyone's coming in on saturday."

But how can you argue with 85 million users and a billion in revenue? Google sure can't.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek_qxoGDyAw
During my undergrad WoW days, I'd get this quite a bit.

I got it when I cooked professionally, and would dream about cooking on the line at work.

These days I dream about coding a lot, and occasionally of dealing w startup logistics, which is always funny.

Its a good sign of when I need a day with just a bit less of whatever has been occupying my mind all night
The largest websites/web applications in the world are built in Rails much more frequently than in Django.

While we're calling each other out for citations, that's an awfully big statement to make without citations as well.

Let's just put it this way: Both frameworks power large sites, you pretty much can't go wrong with either.
I second this suggestion. It's not only informative, but highly entertaining.
Agreed. Having been played for both "sides" at one point or another, I'm well aware of the tension.

It's a fact that there is credibility in having some knowledge of both the technical and business side of any operation, and it's definitely a part of my consideration in doing this.
Well, good luck to Google. Given that the public donated $175k to a group of inexperienced, unknown programmers who did little more than say they were out to replace Facebook, I'd say the market is ready for an alternative.
Do it.

Ruby is the perfect scripting language, and you'll be surprised at the sheer utility of having something the ability to use something like this. Forget the web side of things; just he ability to whip up a quick throwaway script (to automate office tasks, calculate forecasts, do complex eng calculations etc) gives you a massive advantage over others in your field.
How is this different than the rest of the game industry?
Excellent observation. It's exactly this sort of ready applicability that appeals to me about web tech. Thanks!
Thanks for the resource! And indeed, it is exactly that "boot camp" motivation I would be looking for in deciding to take a class.
This isn't even that, this is a single suggestion on a public forum asking 600,000 civil servants in the UK for suggestions of lowering costs. Using 'UK officials' to describe these 600,000 people is absurd. If you could that would be 1% of the UK population would could speak for the UK. No.

This isn't costed, nor is it an official stance. This is from a total random person. It is statistically far more likely to be a secretary or janitor than a head of IT.

In other words it is a TOTAL non-story. It is, to be frank, very, very bad journalism.

It is the equivalent of reporting that all Nike sports shoes are potentially going to be made in the US because someone put a note in a random store's suggestion box that they should.

It was bound to have been posted by someone. I'm guessing that switching to single sheet loo roll is also somewhere in the suggestions.
Interesting. Wasn't aware of this particular functionality, definitely sounds engaging. Thanks!
There was a period where I was first learning haskell and trying to solve toy algorithmic problems right before bed. I would imagine I came up with a brilliant solution... and then on waking up a bit realize my solution involved frying eggs, or the way my pillow felt, or something else non-sensical.

It's cool to see that this is a pretty common thing.
Microsoft And Intel: Two Giants Struggling to Stay Relevant 
A new revolution in technology that reviles the dotcom boom is blossoming right before our very eyes. Computers are becoming portable, faster, and more powerful. The internet is becoming more readily available to the average consumer, and consumer products such as music, movies, and books are moving into the "clouds." The question that Microsoft and Intel faces is how to stay relevant in these changing times?
Subscribe it to relevant RSS feeds.
09:45 Alarm wakes me up

10:00 Get out of bed

10:00-10:30 have a piss whilst showering, brush teeth

10:30-10:45 Breakfast

10:45-11:00 Walk to work

11:00-13:00 Work

13:00-13:30 Lunch Break

13:30-18:00 Work

18:00-18:15 Walk Home

18:15-19:00 Read Newspapers engage with family

19:00-22:00 DVD / TV / Radio / Computing

22:00-22:30 Watch porn

22:30-23:00 Have sower

23:00-00:00 Read in bed / Listen to Radio or Podcast

00:00-09:45 Sleep
I don't think so. Games are a gateway into the living room, which plays into the other half of their mission: making that information universally accessible and useful.
So that "diet" website is a little tongue-in-cheek, right?
I don't see why not... go for it!

To supplement your Ruby knowledge and class, I'd say take a look at Ruby code snippets from Rosetta Code[1] to get a 'feel' for what Ruby looks like in a variety of applications.

[1] http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Ruby

Just out of curiosity, what kind of class is it? Is it in-person (with classmates and lecturer) or is it a web class (like University of Reddit)? What does the curriculum look like? Is there a website we can check out?
This type of uncivil behavior is exactly why America leads the world. Thankfully, we have a civilized President.
For the record, the class is through a community college, course description here. I haven't really looked around at other possibilities, so any advice here is also appreciated. Thanks so much everyone for the help!

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...
Why don't prenups fully hold up in court, and what can be done to ensure you're protected?
Absolutely. It's all online through a community college, description below.

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...
just came across this as it was being used for the froyo port to cdma hero by xda folks, and think it's awesome. something cool to do might be to make it like tomboy notes where you can link between notes, though this probably defeats the purpose.

and as an aside, would make for a great faceplate page, or at least humorous. or be able to add some code to the <head> and let it redirect to an OpenID Oauth so that the addy could be used as an openID. might need to specify admin versus guest on that (like a drop.io type setup). speaking of, is this searchable by search engines (or hidden like a drop.io)?
Yep - It replaces my laptop about 40% of the time. And it's great.

But... it's a work in progress. No flash means a lot of sites don't work. (The thing seems like it was made to obsess over google analytics, but no dice.) Safari in iOS is, well, not quite up to snuff. In genreal, the software all needs a little more refinement. People just haven't figured out how best to use a device like the iPad, and the software shows it. I expect this to change dramatically in the next year. It has tons of potential once developers get a chance to fine tune the UI.

In a nutshell, I'm very happy with it, but 2-3 more generations from now is when the magic will happen.
(Citation needed) - As I understand it, there is no such thing as common-law marriage in English law, and any reference to such is a reference to American common-law marriage. Cohabitation is different - part of means-tested benefits etc. - but it doesn't imply rights or obligations.
You mean skyagent makes it easybto take screenshots on an android device? Sign me up!
How to Succeed as a Graduate Student in the Sciences
Check out some screencasts too! Peepcode's are pretty good, although I think there are some lynda.com ones that are alright, if a bit outdated.
we need moar of this food for thought on hn..
Rehash it.
Best Preparation for a Job Interview
Interview is one of the most important part toward your career path. The purpose for an interview is for a prospective employer to know more about your skill and knowledge.
Very cool article about the strength of ants and possible co-evolution with their favorite plant.
Ah, okay, that puts things in perspective for me.

I think it's maybe because I'm in my early 20s, and grew up near railway tracks that this man-engineered structure's value isn't readily appreciable to me.
> While we're calling each other out for citations, that's an awfully big statement to make without citations as well.

I made the statement because I'm ready to back it up. Among the most popular 1000 sites on the web, you will find at least a dozen Rails sites [1]. There are extremely common names like Twitter, Hulu, Scribd, Justin.TV, White/Yellow Pages, Urban Dictionary, etc. How many Django sites do you see in the top 1000? Curse.com was one of the largest Django sites out there (a case study in the 1st edition of the Django Book). They switched to ASP.NET upon being acquired.

[1] http://rails100.pbworks.com/Alexa+Rankings

> Let's just put it this way: Both frameworks power large sites, you pretty much can't go wrong with either.

Without a doubt. And I've made this exact point many times before. I was just arguing against the unsubstantiated claim made by the op of this thread.
How to build an AI for new board game Swarm SG [Audio]
Coke always tastes better out of a glass bottle than a can, as well.
Should you learn X?

The answer is always yes.
I have read before that the reason that Pepsi wins is because it is sweeter and when asked to compare two drinks people have no way to base the choice on apart from sweetness.

Thus they choose pepsi.

Outside of contrived taste tests though, people actually prefer the taste of coca-cola but can't quantify why.
Anything by Hunter S Thompson.
Google is freaking out over Facebook. This gives them both a chance to build out their own social graph (say as a launch partner for Google Me), and access to a copy of most of Facebook's.

This data is important for search, but critical for ads.
Funny: Geek selling Macook [look at last sentence]
It's not irrational. But, since you are willing to rely on C in addition to Python, why not code the parallelizable parts in C and leave the rest in Python.

And you can always write a proof-of-concept in Python, prove the algorithm is right and rewrite the performance-sensitive parts in C. If your tests are thorough, all is good.
A business with the current input of one of its founders, motivated by a large share of ownership, is very probably a less valuable organization without that input. I would bet that the situation described in the article definitely amounted to destruction of wealth and wealth-generating capability.
There are tons of people who have bios like this, especially in San Francisco. You quickly come to realize that most of the people who have done 50 million different "impressive" things in a short period of time are either dilettantes who seek the most recognition for the least work investment, or people who have one or two serious interests, and a strong ability to promote all of their other minor achievements.

(Protip: my vanity meter goes off the scale when the self-promoter is a woman who prominently features her amateur modeling portfolio on a personal website, or intermixes pictures of herself in a bikini in otherwise unrelated content.)

I think the thing to learn here is that noise level for self-promotion is set pretty high. If you think you're bragging too much about an accomplishment...well, you probably aren't. ;-)
I think he does make the point that divorce does more than transfer capital from the unlucky couple to lawyers. There's also a value transfer from the unlucky couple to the person who provides liquidity by buying the couple's business for cheap.

Using his example, the value of the couple pre-divorce was (roughly): (A) $1,000,000 in value for his share of his business, plus (B) $55,000 in cash. That's $1,055,000 in value, or $527,500 for each partner.

After the divorce, the value of the couple is: (A) $250,000 in value for his share of the business (because of a quick sale of an illiquid business), plus (B) $0 in cash ($55k in cash to lawyers). That's a total of $250k, or $125k for each partner.

The majority of the value transfer, then, goes to the buyer of the couple's illiquid business, which must be sold too-quickly. Or, to take a more charitable view of the buyer, the fall in value may be from the value destruction from one of the partners suddenly exiting the business.
There's tons of money to be made off social games alone.

And to the extent that it's about "the social graph", it's about making money off the social graph. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but as Google becomes increasingly involved with owning, controlling, and/or providing content, as opposed to just "organizing" it (indexing the web, organizing email, etc.), their mission statement becomes more PR fluff than truth.

With Search and Gmail, their ability to obtain user data at least hinged upon Google's superior ability to index web and email information and make it "universally accessible and useful." Obtaining social graph data through an existing social games developer isn't like that at all.
Lawyers are a transaction cost of transfer of property in divorces. Even without direct destruction of the value of the property, the transaction cost hurts economic efficiency, see e.g. Coase theorem.
It's strategic for both parties. Google wants to get Facebook users onto their own network and Zynga needs to reduce their sole dependence on Facebook.
Protected from the one you love and want to spend the rest of your life with? The best protection is not marrying any person not totally committed to you and the 2nd best protection is not to be a jackass to the one you love. The 3rd best protection is a secret bank account in another country that she doesn't know about.
Replace moo moo with desert eagle.

People have an easier time taking themselves seriously when guns and demons are involved.

Cf. comic books, authors, goth teenagers
REMnux: A Linux Distribution for Reverse-Engineering Malware
Exactly right.

I present on game development to local user groups in New Zealand and I always get a good response when citing "It's fun to write games - wouldn't you much rather be writing a class called SuperLaserWeapon than MembershipIdentityProvider" :-)
Anyone has heard of "Google Games" before? It seems to be a social gaming platform which will be available on Android as well. Couldn't find any info about it though.
I got this quite a bit from halo 2... It's what convinced me to stop playing competitively. Not worth dreaming about everything in FPS form. It gets weird.
The author is reputable and $89 is basically peanuts. Go for it.
Woah. It's a Ruby/Rails combo. You should have mentioned that.

The curriculum looks awesome: a lot of skills are introduced. However, the curriculum looks very Rails centric rather than Ruby (the language) centric. If you're going into website creation (and it looks like you are), go for it!
A few US states recognize common law marriage, or did within the last quarter century. South Carolina, I know is or was one--a mistress of William Hurt's offered the theory that they had been man and wife during the few weeks he was there for a movie.
"You need to file the marriage certificate on Monday."

"OK, we'll do that."

Then don't.
May I recommend that if you're new to Ruby and especially if you're new to programming as a whole you may be better off with web framework like Sinatra rather than Rails. Rails has a lot of "magic" and a fair bit of code generation that is going to make it harder for you to understand what is really going on.

I mean it's nice that rails can generate an "hello world" app without writing a line of code, I think you'll learn more about programming and writing a web app if you can better see what's going on:

Sinatra:

get '/hi' do
"Hello World!"
end

Rails:

rails generate controller hello

For that matter, don't let all this web and database stuff scare you off. Ruby is useful and powerful as a stand alone scripting language. You'll learn a lot just writing scripts that can run on the command line (and that will lay the foundation for the web stuff if you'd like to dig deeper). The web stuff isn't really any harder, but it's another layer of things to learn.
Do you know anyone who works at Zynga? From this comment, I'd bet you don't.

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann...
Actually, litigation and selling illiquid assets destroy capital. The divorce angle of the article is just to add some outrage to an otherwise ordinary situation. Sell your business when nobody wants it, and you don't make much money. Sell your business when it's super-hot and awesome, you make a lot of money. It's called a "market".
My mistake - looks like it's no longer true.

It DID apply in Scotland (as "marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute" - 'common law marriage' is a much easier term to remember) until 2006. I had reason to check on it in 2004 and hadn't realised it had changed.
The definitely happens to me if I play too much Geometry Wars.
What things would change if you went the python route?

Ruby = Django

Rspec = ????

Is that it?
How BP Gulf disaster may have triggered a 'world-killing' event
Ruby is a marvelous language, and it'll serve you well to know it. It's applicable in a lot of problem spaces, and it will introduce some concepts you probably haven't run into elsewhere before.
BallastHalo 5 launch
Ruby -> Python

Ruby on Rails -> Django

Git -> Mercurial (Hg)

RSpec -> Django's built-in testing
Yes, Sinatra is a good option. However, OP will be attending a course that covers both Ruby and Ruby on Rails (see the link he posted).
What difference does it make if mortgage rates are at historic lows? Are you claiming that the low rates are evidence of low risk?

Who buys a place to live? These days the main reason people buy houses is naked, ugly greed. Renting is more financially prudent, preserves mobility (in case one loses his/her job it's easy to move to a different city), and exposes the renter to no investment risk.

Most people who buy do so b/c they deludedly think that prices always go up or because some sort of government tax incentive or rebate makes buying look cheaper than it is (and causes them to greedily ignore the risk they are undertaking)

Since WW2 real estate prices 1% relative to inflation. Real estate is a remarkably poor investment but is lauded b/c of the social engineering notions of planners who think people will be more obedient and docile if they own property.

Ask anyone buying today what he/she expect the real estate market to do... i.e. how much he/she thinks his/her new place will appreciate each year over the next 15 years. You'll find that they are greedily expecting 5-7% returns annually.
Foreign language was a mandatory class in all Soviet schools. Vast majority of schools taught English, few schools had German and even smaller fraction had French.
I asked my girlfriend to refactor the dishwasher the other day.
Which will teach you Django, a very popular web framework (more popular than Rails actually)

No, it's not. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1459119
Indeed that's the plan. I guess everything I've heard about Ruby/Rails was about the combo so I thought they went together as a matter of course. Amiright?