skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Your post is insightful, on topic, informative, and clear. However, I wish it had been posted somewhere else. In the larger context:

We spend 22% of the GDP at the state and local level, 25% at the federal level and transfer 3.5% of the GDP though taxes and have a ridicules debt. To meet those obligations the government needs to take a little over half of everyone’s paycheck. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=19...

At the same time we have a horribly broken healthcare and education systems, aging infrastructure and little will to build for the future AND an ever growing debt. The problem is many people receive huge subsidies from the current system and nobody wants to give up their slice of the pie.

Now, if WE have something constructive to add feel which may be implemented in the real world free to post, until then let’s try and keep politics off of HN.

Edit: Not to single your post out, but I agreed with everything you said, and yet I still felt like I was wasting time by reading it. I guess I need to simply avoid clicking on link bait.
I can't comment on SIP because I haven't used it (yet) on the phone. For the map, though, there is Sygic's app: http://www.sygic.com/. The app itself is free from OVI, but the maps you have to buy :( Still looks like this would do a decent job. I'm actually going to try it on a trip next week.
"Amorphous" metal alloys to slip into Apple products soon
Got mine last year on Craigslist for ~$400 cash. It's a 2007 with the posture fit support and is fully adjustable. Sure, it was a strange transaction, but my back doesn't mind.
Microsoft launches a PC vs Mac website
I saw this presentation, and despite the minor mistakes made, it was an incredibly successful project. Good to note that none of this was automated, and latency was one of the mistakes.
See http://www.quora.com/Why-did-eBay-buy-Skype
It is not that you must have a PhD to push the boundaries of knowledge, it is that you must push the boundaries of knowledge to get a PhD, by definition. Nobody claimed otherwise here.
A philosophy degree?
Is it just me or does this seem like a "Fun" way to code up an unmaintainable mess?

Some of the ideas such as the state synchronization stuff is neat, but would probably be better suited as part of another framework/template language.
For me it seems like an app that would work with small groups of friends (like people from the same college) maybe you can consider using OpenID integration for everyone that doesn't use Facebook. IMHO there's a lot of API integration that you can do, like Google Calendar or even YouTube or Flickr for a fancy description of the event. And in the future consider going mobile, anyway, great idea.
I notice that you haven't technically OSSed it yet (not released under any license). Is this just an oversight?
They can prioritize the delivery of the TV service and telephone service that is delivered on the same physical cables as the internet service. There's only so much bandwidth available on each physical connection, and they're delivering several services on that physical connection.

If the startup service is using the internet service, and the Internet service is prioritized under the telephone service, indeed it will potentially be slower, but not because the startup is being discriminated against. It would be slower because ALL Internet traffic over that link is discriminated against.

The most likely reality is that any additional services will have a minimum QoS set that is required for a reasonable experience. This would only be hit if the customer premise is utilizing the entirety of the physical connection...essentially they're providing guarantees that TV/Phone/Internet/etc. would work at at least a certain level of quality, which would be at the expense of other services based on what those minimum level of qualities were defined as.
Heroku's dynos scale just fine. As long as you got the money you can keep adding dynos. However Heroku's database services do not scale as easily. I recommend using Amazon's RDS instead. RDS is F'n amazing. You can scale the db up or down and take snapshots without any downtime.
Totally - remains to be seen!

Someone should take the underlying realtime datastore (http://github.com/marcuswestin/fin) and bundle it with mustache or <angular/>!
Waterless Urinals - why they stink 
You read a lot of articles about waterless urinals, do they work, are they expensive, but number one is why do they stink. They stink because bacteria in the urinal breaks down the urine. Plain and simple. The waterless cartridges are manufactured with a blue seal, to keep sewer gases at bay. When the blue seal overflows into the urinal it's because of the scale choking the cartridge. That same scale is choking the drain line as well. That's why many waterless installations stink. You can pour more water, replace cartridges more frequently which costs more. How do I know this. Because my company deals with corporations that have issues with waterless urinals. It's not due to bad maintenance, installation etc, it's the bacteria that is the culprit. Introduce a bacterial based cube that we have from the UK and all of those issues are eliminated. At a reduced cost. So they work, and they don't have to stink, and they don't have to cost as much to operate. And companies can save water. At the end of the day this is what's it's all about, water conservation, which is a good thing.
How Not to Talk to Your Kids - The inverse power of praise [2007]
Five Ways RIM Can Save the Blackberry
After an unusual amount of buildup, Research in Motion finally revealed its latest Blackberry this week. The Torch, as it has been named, is a touchscreen-keyboard combo that also ships with Blackberry’s new OS 6.
+1 for OpenID
If we are going beyond military then the US has nothing to compare against Lake Karachay and Chernobyl in the doing things cheap and taking a big hit department.
Calories make you fat. The problem with carbs is that they are generally very caloric dense and they are everywhere. Cutting carbs is an easy 'diet for dummies' way of doing it, but I'm going to guess that you put yourself in a caloric deficit by cutting out the carbs, thus experienced weight loss. Just for reference, I eat a ton of carbs are part of my total P/F/C intake and am still cutting down with a goal of 9% BF.

The problem with many of these types of books is that the science behind them is very weak. Here is an article where Alan Aragon looks at the problems with the glycemic index (I know you didn't mention it, but it shows the problems with many studies dealing with food).

http://alanaragon.com/elements-challenging-the-validity-of-t...

I know I've read an article from him dealing with no carb, but I can't seem to find it right now :/
GMAW Transfer Types
Stephen Hawking: mankind must move to outer space within a century
Technically you also only lose a few hours of time in a "dangerous" MMORPG. It's just that it might be a lot of hours :-)

I know, the odds don't look good. On the other hand, EVE seems to prevail, and there are people who long for that kind of environment.

I guess it is always the choice: create something really good, and hopefully survive making a decent dough, or target the masses with a less worthy product, but making more money.
I think it would work well as a guide for startups too, especially the "how it looks to you" (living inside the dent for the past x years) vs. "how it looks to a VC" (weighing your startup against the sum total of every other product and service in existence).

Except perhaps that only the successful startups get to make that dent.
Yes, I think it's very possible. I've used Facebook Connect in projects before and I have an account with friends I've accumulated over the years (so therefore my News Feed is fairly active), but I have little interest in being an active participant; I probably log in for non-development related matters about once per month to skim updates, clear out notifications, and so forth. The problem is, it's hard to ignore the ease with which one can be up an running on a FB Connect-enabled site, though I actually prefer using Twitter OAuth "signin with Twitter", since Twitter is something which I use much more than FB.
Couldn't agree more.

I have TV and Internet services on Telus' network here in Canada (I think they use the same platform that AT&T uses, which is a Microsoft IPTV solution).

TV and Internet come through the same connection at my house as a shared pool of bandwidth. They are sold separately, and TV actually hinders Internet performance.

I have 25Mbps down, total (which is freeeaking awesome for the price, about $50/month). Each HDTV channel used consumes 5Mbps. So if we are watching two TVs, we'll see only 15Mbps remaining for other data services.

I have no issue with this, either in practice or in principle.

In practice, Telus backs up the bandwidth truck and unloads it at my house every month, and I can't consume it all.

In principle, the market will decide whether to support the model longer term.

I for one won't hesitate to turf the dedicated TV services if Internet services can equal it in terms of quality/availability/price. But until then, I'm happy.
Here is a good article from Alan Aragon about the GI.

http://alanaragon.com/elements-challenging-the-validity-of-t...

Unlike most books out there, he includes all his pubmed references.
The direct link to the post is already on the front page.
Ask HN: Getting a good deal on Priceline
What strategy do you guys have inorder to find a good deal on Priceline?

I am looking for hotel in London and Paris (in late Sept/ early Oct) and I am trying to use Priceline but all of my bids are being rejected.

I had heard that you can save upto 50% via priceline.

Any tips?
Verizon and Google: Joint Policy Proposal for an Open Internet
Great summary of (mostly) how California has screwed itself.
This: "California must shift its public priorities away from lavish pensions for bureaucrats and toward the infrastructure critical to reinvigorating the private sector."
needs to happen soon or the failure spiral will continue.
Obviously if you're fructose intolerant you need to avoid it, but HFSC isn't the evil it's been painted to be. I like reading this guys blog because it's no nonsense nutritional information with ALL his sources.

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...
No I'm afraid I haven't read either of those books. On a more general level I recommend reading Bad Science and Trick or Treatment. They'll equip you with the tools to form your own opinion on health issues.
Installing 4.3 BSD on your phone
Given the distances involved, I'd say our best bet would be build self sustaining "arks" that would travel around indefinitely. Rather than aiming for another planet.
It's a great graphic, but I'll nitpick. There's an important distinction that's left out. During all the stages leading to the Ph.D., all the area covered was just learning, taking in what other people have done. The very last little bump on the other hand actually added new area, so it's a very different thing, you're discovering new knowledge as opposed to just learning about what's already known. I suppose the graphic does capture that in a way but it's subtle.
Sure we're doing well using imported oil to run equipment, using natural gas to manufacture fertilizer (this runs out in less than 10 years according to reserve divided by newly built 'clean gas plant' consumption), and latin slave labor to do what remains of the stoop labor.

It's not the existence of backbreaking labor that makes creating things valuable, it's the fact that things are being created which have value and which can be sold. Ultimately sold to people with oil and gas perhaps. There's only so many banking services they need for their petrodollars.

Involving ordinary people in manufacturing endeavors keeps them from committing crimes during the hours they are awake, and provides them with an income which supports industries such as services which are greatly dependent on volume of services provided. Services mentioned like firefighting and police and teachers depend on taxes which depend on income of the general populace, only a few of which are CEOs who live in ivory towers with gilded gates; or depend on volume such as tax preparation and retail sales. In either case you need the general population to be employed doing something. That something can be productive or not. If not productive, the economy collapses on itself as it finds itself unable to import things it needs because it has nothing of value to trade.

The gentleman made a comment that services jobs are being lost as well. Yes, but that is a direct consequence of the loss of manufacturing jobs which create actual goods of value using many people, who then are able to direct some of the income generated from goods creation to support these other secondary dependent industries.
> I have 25Mbps down, total (which is freeeaking awesome for the price, about $50/month).

Everyone in America hates you right now. Just FYI. :)
to be honest, i am a surprised that facebook connect is the biggest issue. I guess we techies are more cautious and cynical about facebook. I wonder how i can test against a less tech oriented crowd.

But ya, more API integration.
Sorry about that - fixed in http://github.com/marcuswestin/fun/commit/05870f3f54fda43090...
We're looking for investors, rather than traders. We're more focused on the long-term horizon.

The only issue I have with Yahoo Finance figure is that the greater majority of those uniques will be there for news on the financial markets, which is a service we will not provide, at least in the near term.
I think this is Google and Verizon saying "we're afraid some idiots are going write some idiotic laws, so here's a not-completely-idiotic reference implementation to help make sure nobody does anything stupid".
And there's the problem. Most people don't drink just coffee, but instead some bastardized triple caramel pump, white chocolate mocha espresso.

For the record I like my coffee black (mmm espresso) and maybe a little milk :)
HTC Aria. Fast, fits in your pocket, and runs Android. I've been very happy with it so far. Also since you're on AT&T, this is a no-brainer.
I think that is a potentially fantastic idea.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/books/humor/8e6c/images/2070/
works fine for me on my Linux box in FF 3.6, Opera 10.6, Chromium 6, and (for shits and giggles) in w3m 0.5.2.
So am I. I can't say I would be happy with Google knowing which content I think is good enough to pay for, they have enough on me already.
Fair enough. I was in a rush so I didn't read the whole page. Considering their approach, essentially is appropriate.
You obviously don't watch Oprah.

My wife does. Oprah's been skyping in and out of viewer homes for months.
EDIT: My notes below are mostly "what if" scenarios possible with this legislation. But I like this legislation and its intent by and large. These were just the most interesting things for me to comment on.

Fifth, we want the broadband infrastructure to be a platform for innovation. Therefore, our proposal would allow broadband providers to offer additional, differentiated online services, in addition to the Internet access and video services (such as Verizon's FIOS TV) offered today.

moultano already made one observation [1], I'll add that this point could get even stickier. Say Google partners with Verizon on their Google Health service to create a "Health Channel" service on Verizon, which ensures that subscribers get priority access to health information, you know, because that's important stuff, so it's in the consumer's best interest. And let's say it has enough of a differentiation from general internet access that the FCC allows it. Now, you've effectively prioritized Google Health over any other enterprising startups in the online health record space, which goes completely against the intent of this proposed legislation.

Ok, so maybe the FCC will have the foresight to disallow this type of additional "service". But I have trouble imagining any type of additional service that doesn't somehow encroach on this problem.

Furthermore, I have a little trouble with this bit as well:

The FCC would also monitor the development of these services to make sure they don’t interfere with the continued development of Internet access services.

So, if some communications company currently provides internet access, but then they find that the "added services over IP" space is more profitible than general internet access, it seems they have two choices. Continue pumping resources into their less profitible internet access service such that the FCC is content, or shut down general access completely and ONLY offer the differentiated services. Did I misinterpret this part?

And finally Part 7:

Seventh, and finally, we strongly believe that it is in the national interest for all Americans to have broadband access to the Internet. Therefore, we support reform of the Federal Universal Service Fund, so that it is focused on deploying broadband in areas where it is not now available.

Ah, there's where Google's agenda becomes apparent within this legislation (you know, in addition to the fact that they've always been publicly pro-net-neutrality). Of course, I like this part of their agenda, so more power to them.

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1588799
HTML5 Video: Get Used to Multiple Formats
I got an Aeron on craigslist for $150. Shit luck, but it does happen. The seller wanted a white one to match his office redesign :)
Evernote’s July 1st Server Problem
I doubt that there is a complete list (we don't even have a list of the books at the library of Alexandria, so we don't know which were lost only that we will never find them again).

But there is a good list at cracked (of all things) http://www.cracked.com/article_18533_the-6-most-important-th... although that is a list of things we forgot and subsequently rediscovered. There is also a list of important books that we have lost, but I can't seem to find it.
I'm not big fan of using Facebook login. I would think that it raises a barrier of entry for users, either because they don't have a facebook account or because they don't know what side affects your app will have. You don't explain what the advantages of using Facebook, or what integration there is with facebook. How will it affect the users's facebook account. You said in your post that it does not post to your wall, but you don't say that on the site that I can see.

Also the footer links are not links. You can't click on them. If I just say this page, I would not sign up because it doesn't look real yet with just a single page.
hahaha, that's awesome. 12 different flavors of maybes
I'm optimistic that this will happen, because frankly I think the state doesn't have a lot of other realistic options.

If the state doesn't implement this on their own soon, it's going to happen anyways once its bond rating falls and we can't use debt to supplement our declining tax reciepts.

Correct me if I'm wrong here: a city CAN declare bankruptcy but a state CANNOT under current law and precedent - true or false?
True. However, carbs in the form of whole foods (like whole grain bread) take longer to process and don't cause the insulin spike. The insulin response is part of the problem that these diets seek to address.
Then perhaps openauth or something else that's independent.
currently two other related HTML5 posts that went up over the weekend:
HTML5: Over-Hyped or the Next Big Thing? http://bit.ly/beu8pw
Video That Plays Everywhere: HTML5 + Flash
http://bit.ly/bDRZgU
Before you go worldwide, you're missing huge sections of the US. Major cities such as Seattle, LA, DC, Austin, and Atlanta all have active early-stage tech funders that don't appear on the map.
Just passing through really, though I have been thinking lately that I need to improve my diet and was hoping to find some interesting sources to read through in here.
Can you give a reference for a matrix multiplication algorithm which is O(n^1.5) ? thanks.
Phil Libin always seems to strike the right tone when talking to his customers. I don't know whether it comes naturally or whether he has to work at it, but it sure gives me warm fuzzies.
Great illustration.

Also why Ph.D is not for me. Too low bang/buck factor. I'd rather know a little about a lot than everything about a little. But, I'm very glad others are the opposite.
Jemplate, anyone? This was already done.
You actually won't need a CV.
He lost credibility with me somewhat when he threw out the term Obamacare. I think it's a tactic by the Right meant to be derogatory by implying that somehow only Obama wanted it or designed it. In reality, many people contributed to it and shaped it, and the majority of Americans polled wanted major health care reform and the majority of Congress passed it.

That said, the OA author made points I agree with that it seems unfair and inefficient to require businesses to perform tasks and provide services which are unrelated to their core business, and arguably should be the responsibility of individuals or the government. I hate the fact that businesses are involved in providing health care for employees, it seems horribly inefficient and out-of-place. Businesses should only pay cash to employees, ideally, since that is most efficient and the most transparent and ungameable. Employees should then get health care from the market and/or from the government.
yes. lesson learned. offer options other than facebook login.

the footer is a potemkin village ;)
s/aught/ought

:-)
I second the request for a non-FB/Twitter login. Two reasons:
(1) I cannot access Facebook and Twitter from work.
(2) I don't trust new websites with my FB credentials since I am paranoid about how they might spam my friends, compromise my privacy etc. without me even realizing it.

With a validated email account, I would love to test out the site.
Thanks for elaborating. Hmm, I suppose that is fair since it is their wiring investment at the "last mile". I like the idea of a minimum QoS for the different data traffic. As long as consumers could transparently see, expect, and receive minimum numbers for any given service, that should be okay, especially if they can opt to increase Internet bandwidth in lieu of buying any "specialized" service offerings.
Quite so. In reality, almost all of the Soviet nuclear missile subs were nearly continuously shadowed by American hunter killer subs, but the reverse wasn't true. In the event of an actual nuclear war very few of the Soviet missile boats would have survived, while almost all of America's would have.

Nevertheless, it turns out that land based ICBMs can also be made highly survivable so even given this any US/USSR exchange of nuclear weapons would have been devastating to both sides, regardless of how many subs survived.
I'm writing about my journey to getting in better shape as a programmer and I find stories like Paul's to be inspirational. Thanks for all the information Paul. My goal is two-fold: get in shape / live longer and to get as strong as possible. The "getting stronger" part keeps me motivated through those long and arduous cardiovascular workout sessions. Here's my journal:

http://www.strongestprogrammer.net/
With homeowner's insurance the upper limit is known (cost of house + possessions). This isn't the case with health insurance - or at least it's in the millions, and nobody could afford the premiums on a group policy where everybody might have correlated health issues.
It's be more realistic if your little bump was built on top of lots of other people's little bumps.
various people have to come along and fill in the gaps between the bumps

Ah yes, the underpaid overworked summer students.
I'm always a little wary of business advice from Google. As far as I can tell, they haven't created anything very profitable aside from their advertising platform. That one business supports a bunch of relatively unprofitable ventures (some even run in the red). Since I don't have AdWords to back me up, I'm not sure their business experience is applicable to my situation.