skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ask HN: How do you stay focused?
Hi all,

I guess this is just a pretty open ended question: How do you stay focused on your project?

I feel like I always have problems staying focused. It's not that I get distracted and go play video games, or anything. The thing that usually ruins my focus is my project itself. This is something I find myself having to deal with on every project that I start. I think it may be because when I'm starting a fresh web project, there isn't much to it and it's very easy to get side tracked and work on other aspects of the site.

For example, the one thing that usually always steers me off track is Javascript. In my current project that I'm working on, I want to have a Google map and allow users to pinpoint their location on the map. Simply click the map, and update something else with the latitude and longitude of the click. I got this working, but just like every other project, instead of stopping with the rough, but working, code that I had, I continued messing with the Google map API and started to add markers and stuff to the map. Before I know it, I've got a big bad mess of Javascript that I just ended up scrapping in the end anyways.

That's just an example. I also get easily side tracked by CSS (I'm never satisfied with the way my pages look).

So, how do you all stay focused on implementing only your core features initially? Or even after the core is mostly done, how do you stay focused on whatever single thing you're attempting to implement at that time? Have you found that using things like Git help, for some reason? Do certain editors, or work flows help this?

I will admit, I don't usually map out my psuedo code or flow diagrams or anything before starting these. I will jot some things down in my composition book and organize my thoughts, but I don't ever do wire frames, or anything. Has anyone found that these help you stay on track?

Just curious! Thanks.
For now it's not the Swedes calling the shots but one particular prosecutor, who very explicitly left the door open to extraditing him to the US (as in definitely not ruling it out).

Is it customary that the Swedish authorities would involve Interpol in a case like this ?
I think his point was, for 15 bucks you "commited" money so you will pay attention to him, if you like it chances are you will hire him to do more than just this 15 bucks worth of crap. Think of it as:

a) Building a portfolio: xyz sites use my designs therefore i rule.

b) Building relationships: xyz site uses my designs therefore i rule, which is why next time they need a design they will call me.

c) Show off: xyz site uses my designs therefore i rule and i will post it on my site, which is why people will see what I do any anytime people want a design i will be a known name and have a portfolio to show for it.

He'd do it for free, but nobody will take him seriously.

Now.

Where was I, oh yes, I will accept this 50 grand challenge. Submit proof that you are worth at least 10 grand.
Wow, that's almost 110 million devices per year!
I guess the trick is to make the iPad (or iPhone for that matter) the only device required for mobile staff.

If a staff member still has to carry a notebook around with them for when they need to get 'real' work done, then employers aren't going to decide to fund iPads and employees aren't going to want to lug around yet another device for their job.

I've got a few real-estate software ideas in the back of my mind that would do away with the requirement for a physical desk, phone & computer for most real-estate staff who are more productive when they are out of the office doing things. And I think this is the way iPad business applications need to progress if they are to gain any serious traction.
This makes it okay that he sells my list of friends to advertisers!
4chan appears to be down after Anonymous takes down MC, Visa, and Paypal
I don't know...there's a market for everything. If I'm going to hate on the guy that charges $15 for design, then I have to hate on his customers to, and IMO, he's doing us a favor by getting the tire kickers and cheapskates out of the equation.

I think it's lame, but average design is becoming a commodity.
People want to see a sufficient level of excitement. Maybe you should have headed to New York.

I blew a deal like this once, myself. When I was in NYC, a big SV fund wanted to invest in Delicious, but I didn't bother to get on a plane and go visit them after several hits; I just kinda expected them to send me a term sheet without ever meeting me! Pretty stupid. Luckily I later met Fred and company.

PS It's Joshua, not Josh
Well, this will properly be nice for those who receive those founds, but I have to wonder why he did it. Why get a fortune just to give it away?
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I at no point said it was "physical" , but I said it had real world implications. Rosa Parks was peaceful and in no way can be compared to these people doing the DDOS. I am rather offended by the comparison. I believe that a DDOS is an attack. I also believe your last post twists and does not address what I actually said, and I am disinclined from answering further. People can protest, boycott, and educate others, but the crossing of the line to attacks is mob madness and not to be celebrated.
Strange. The first time I tried I got a 404, and clicking the Mirrors link from the home page gave me mirrors.html. I wonder if a few of the servers behind wikileaks.ch don't have the /mirrors alias.
Well in that case, Fiverr has this guy beat.

To be honest, if I see:

Design for $15

or

Design for $50

I'm choosing 50 because I'm hoping that he has fewer clients, values himself more, and isn't going to give me crappy design.
What you say doesn't fit what I've read from primary news accounts (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1986192) nor from other swedes (http://www.jumbled-words.com/?p=6909).
thanks! very useful information...

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At a minimum he's guilty of stupidity and being a douchebag at that.

Neither of those are illegal.

The only real questions I have at this point is if this is the 'norm' for this kind of offense in Sweden and if there is a hidden agenda to have him extradited to the US.

If this is the norm and Sweden would normally handle cases like this in exactly this way and if there is no hidden agenda (ironically, only wikileaks will probably ever tell us that) then there is no problem.

It's funny how 'cablegate' probably causes a lot of cables that are far more interesting than the ones actually released.
awesome, am a tech entrepreneur currently residing in NYC, native from Beijing, will be there in Jan, looking forward to coming here!
You can bootstrap as soon as you have one peer. The software is distributed with the addresses of 4 existing servers which are run by the Tribler guys to make this easier but even if they go down people can still send invitations to their friends.
So true. Look at the comments here...has HN in a frenzy. I hate it, but it's brilliant. Seems like something Tim Ferriss would do.
Thanks for the tip. My search turned up this resource, which looks awesome:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1986198
It's commendable for anyone to give away their money, but especially so when it's a guy in his mid-twenties.
They clearly did this in response to government pressure, which means they are acting as proxies for intimidation and force. They have a unique power to protect the freedom of humanity, but the people running these corporations have abdicated their responsibility toward their fellow man. They have revealed themselves to be cowardly and complicit, and deserve a lot worse than a few ddos attacks for their actions.
It's a bipartisan project. It's been getting worse pretty steadily since Eisenhower, with occasional bright spots like FOIA in the seventies.
Came here to say the very same thing.

I remember when Chrome came out, their team said that they weren't trying to mess with Firefox, and that hopefully by keeping Chromium open source, they would enter a mutually beneficial race to create the best possible browser.

I'm glad to see that both Mozilla and the Chrome team are talented and mature enough to accomplish that together.
I think that for some people, particularly billionaires, money is more about keeping score.
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Exactly. Why the GP's comment is currently at +33 when all it does is restate the main point of the story in a confusing way (by introducing from/to into the mix) is beyond me.
Paypal, Mastercard, and Visa chose to, in effect, attack Wikileaks by suddenly suspending their accounts. If they want to collaborate on an economic attack against an entity that hasn't broken any laws it's isn't surprising that they find themselves also attacked.
Lindsay Lohan looks very hot in various bikinis
Quality design is worth whatever people are willing to charge for it. Web design on the lower end is extremely saturated with a lot of people just looking for a break and willing to do good enough design for next to no pay. It's not the same as hiring a design company for thousands of dollars but the vast majority of people don't need or want that.
No, cloaking is a violation of our quality guidelines.
After someone asked Warren Buffet why he wanted to give away all of his fortune, he replied:

"I want to leave enough money to my children that they can do anything, but no so much that they will do nothing".
There is no reason for Facebook to go public anytime in the near future. It will be more and more revenue positive as it refines its advertising model. Zuckerberg's contribution is therefore worth very little at the moment, outside of the tremendous commitment it implies for Mark. At some point, he will probably control huge amounts of wealth and it's bold of him to sign away most of the cash before he ever has control over it.

But wouldn't it be amusing if Facebook were to go the way of preceding social networks, and leave the "world's youngest billionaire" looking a little silly for pledging a fortune that never materialized?
Fair enough- I would definitely classify that as other information. Didn't mean to be overly judgmental. I just know that TechCrunch recently had an article about foreign startups aiming for funding and not building a business, and was thinking of that.
Confused me too at first. For some reason it is hidden now if the person changed to the new profile. Under the photos at the top it says Share and then there are four links. Clicking on one opens the feature.

Not to user-friendly in my opinion.
A great conversation starter. Something that I wanted to read about for sometime in HN. Hopefully more HNers will drop a word or more here
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I think I might have to changed "arbitrarily covers up evidence of misconduct" to "inconsistently redacts documents".

They show a handful of instances, from thousands of documents, where different copies of the the same source document have been redacted at different times, probably by different people. Unsurprisingly, the results are different. In one of the four examples, I think the conclusion that there was an improper search is redacted.

The rules must by byzantine. I notice that the specific department of the government is redacted. That might be to protect the innocent. But other bits redacted are just bizarre. e.g. They redacted a version number in front of a policy name. They left the policy, but covered which version it was. ???

I have not met any, but I expect redactors are either grunts trained in global guidelines but without specific knowledge of what they are reading, or they are the people familiar with the material and are irritated to be taken away from their actual work. Either way there will be variable work. Secrets will be missed. Non-secrets will be redacted. I predict they err to the latter.

The FOIA requests are allowing out evidence that documents improper searches and information gathering. So, to that extent they are working.

Did the EFF make their entire corpus available so people can see how well? I didn't see a link in the article.

[1] Also note, the EFF isn't scouring documents to uncover unlawful information gathering, these are summaries of internal government self investigations.
I think that people are conflating the concerted attack on WikiLeaks with the case against Assange, wikileaks is not helping in this respect by reminding everybody with regularity of the connection between the two.

All this of course only holds water if in the end it turns out that the 'other side' also keeps things nicely separated.
There was a no-holds-barred discussion of the realities of being acquired by s soulless megacorp at Business of Software 2010, by Eric Sink, who sold a product to MS. He had a similar hot cold hot cold reception, and the deal was totally dead twice, prior to it working out. It appears to be the nature of the beast.

If BOS publishes the video of that, I'll post it -- it was one of the most eyeopening talks at the conference for me (and that is saying something, since they were virtually without exception outstanding).

P.S. Google is a soulless megacorp with above average PR.
Buffet's, Gate's and most of the other "big-dog's" hodling can't be liquidated for their Net Worth $ anyway. This story reminds me of Zuck turning down the near Billion $ acquisition offer from Yahoo! To him, its not about the wealth and I like that. Even if he never leaves a multi-billion $ fortune (which I think he will).
What's wrong with hedge funds today?
For those of you who don’t know; a hedge fund is basically a pooled investment vehicle (like a mutual fund) where there are absolutely no constraints on what the investment portfolio manager can do with the money.

Sociologist, author, and financial journalist Alfred W. Jones is credited with the creation of the first hedge fund in 1949. Jones believed that price movements of an individual asset could be seen as having a component due to the overall market and a component due to the performance of the asset itself. To neutralize the effect of overall market movement, he balanced his portfolio by buying assets whose price he expected to be stronger than the market and selling short assets he expected to be weaker than the market. He saw that price movements due to the overall market would be cancelled out, because, if the overall market rose, the loss on shorted assets would be cancelled by the additional gain on longed assets and vice-versa. Because the effect is to 'hedge' that part of the risk due to overall market movements, this type of portfolio became known as a hedge fund.
> I'd pledge if I had any hugely significant sum like the others in the pledge

Lives in the developing world can be saved for less than $1000/life (that is, something like $20 per disability-adjusted-life-year). You personally could save dozens--perhaps hundred--of human lives, which I consider to be hugely significant.
A commonly reiterated finding is that, while having more money can indeed contribute towards a happier life, it only does so to a point. According the the article, Zuckerberg's speculatively worth roughly $6B; if this proves accurate and he gives 90% of that away, he's still sitting on a small fortune. I'd hope that he is capable of figuring out how to make do with "only" $600M or so.
But this will be a short-term solution. Getting paid a little for something you love will eventually burn you out. It might take a week, a month, a year : eventually you'll tire because of the need to keep feeding the meter.

It's not the design work that will cause this; it's dealing with the people that will cause the problem.
I think that this is more marketed towards netbooks, as the entire interface is much easier to navigate by keyboard.

up/down -- Change section
left/right -- go to next page
tab -- cycle through articles

Actually, now that I try using the keyboard, it's a lot faster than the mouse.
i try to bite off small chunks, and get them done quickly, instead of tacking a huge item all in one blow
One can only hope that something with a web browser as good as android's will become the lowest common denominator for a phone OS.
Why is the google netbook called CR48? - Quora
> Why get a fortune just to give it away?

Why climb Mount Everest just to come back down?
but for how long?
Most of the underlying protocols are described here, though it is a bit out of date:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.78....

Essentially the core protocol is a gossip overlay. This generates random connections between peers in the overlay. Over these connections peers transmit information like recently seen torrents, recommendation lists, download/upload totals for other peers etc. Each peer proactively distributes known torrent files so that every peer builds up a database of torrents. Then search just works by broadcasting queries to nearby peers.

The algorithms used have dozens of applications outside of filesharing. I wrote my MSc dissertation on a similar subject:

http://scattered-thoughts.net/one/1283/644001/538941

The code for Tribler is naturally very specialised to their purpose. At some point I want to sit down and reimplement them in such a way that they can easily be reused and recombined for other applications. I have some vague ideas about building a prototype trust-based distributed database for dot-p2p.org based on similar principles.
They'll probably let him off the hook if he doesn't end up a billionaire...
Just a question: how much money YC will earn from that?
Ask HN: Let's do an A/B Test on HN
How about if HN allowed down votes for a week. Then we could compare the quality of stories, instead of just speculating.
To shape the world.
their whole lives
WRT the degree to which this is 'normal procedure' for swedish criminal investigations;

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1979095
The trick is often to not make it a choice.

"I'll be in town after visiting a customer on Friday, can we get together?" is much more likely to have a positive response than "should I fly out to meet with you on Friday?". If the meeting is very important to you (high EV, even if maybe low odds?), it's sometimes worth not making it clear how important.

In other cases, being willing to make what seem like big sacrifices (getting a plane the next hour, changing your flight plans, driving cross-country, etc.) will help your case, if known.

The parallels with dating are very apparent.
With great wealth, comes great power, and with great power, comes the ability to change the world.

Though I loathe the way he's built Facebook, I trust someone like Zuck with several billion more than I trust someone without the ability to earn it. Who is going to be managing this money, and where is it going? Is this just a pledge, with no strings attached?

The article isn't very forthcoming, and neither is the website: givingpledge.org

I don't understand what's happened with Gates, and though I admire his sentiment, I think putting pressure on young entrepreneurs, who already have thousands of voices in their heads, is a wrong move.

Call me callous, but this whole thing seems insane. Mark can do more good with his money by building new technologies than this fund could do manage multiple billions of dollars. It's rare that money on that scale is managed well.
Sorry - the first part of my comment was me being silly...

Yeah - I'm a 34 year old male. I figure I have about ten years or so left before I have this unconquerable urge to shamelessly hit on 20 year olds and generally make a complete embarrassment out of myself - unless I can establish a family to ground me.

But yep - I think women really hit their stride once they satisfy the family urge and should not feel so pressured to achieve in their 20s and 30s... I think they often make a mistake in thinking that they have to cram in career and family before they get old an infertile... and actually hurt themselves and their families by trying. If they had more faith that they can make awesome contributions once the kids have matured somewhat I think they overall could have much fuller lives.

Interestingly - and I hope this doesn't sound off - but I actually struggle to relate to many young women. I honestly believe the breeding instinct is just rapacious and overwhelming (and it kinda has to be - cause there is a time limit on it). And really is just horrid to deal with if you're a young inexperienced male. Older women, on the other hand, are just awesome to talk to.

It's just strange that god (or evolution or whatever) would have it that just as the women are coming, the men are going. Pun very much intended. Makes me think about that Benjamin Button story. So much truer to real life that you think on a first read/viewing...
Yes, you're right. I guess in reality it's more like bullying and retribution than an organised protest movement with specfic aims. That would explain seemingly senseless moves like this, the aim is primarily attention rather than actually helping Wikileaks/Assange out.
Does this imply that they are all new phones? By activating, I guess they mean adding gmail to those phones (Android source can be downloaded for free, so that can't be it), but I have two gmail accounts on this one alone.
There's no reason you couldn't start small. Find some cause you support or someone you know in greater need than yourself and contribute what you can. If you feel you can't do anything now you probably will always be able to find a reason you can't in the future.
I quoted $20 per disability-adjusted-life-year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability-adjusted_life_year). That means for $1000 you could allow one child who otherwise would have died an infant to live into old age, extend the lives of 10 people by 5 years, etc.
As much as I hate to say it, anything written by my old boss scares the pants off me to touch.

He was a genius perl programmer, but unfortunately carried many of his perl programming practices into PHP.

That and the fact that he used spaces and line breaks like they were made of gold.

Great guy, amazing programmer, but I would rather rewrite code from scratch than dig through the mines of his programs.
Open rebellion against government forces isn't quite a mob, despite some similarities.
Ask HN: Web IDE (Eclipse)?
A friend of mine mentioned that he'd like to take the open-source Eclipse code and make it into a web app. You'd be able to code and do everything you want, all in the browser.

I'm just a beginner, and don't have much perspective on this. What do you guys think? Good idea? Would you use it? Is this the future?
Which side is Anonymous on? Were they really to blame for the attacks ON Wikileaks?
Ardin didn't actually write the article about revenge; it's from eHow. She just translated it into Swedish.

Reuters claims all Ardin and the other accuser really wanted was to get Assange to take an STD test.

I think Assange's concern was not that he'd be convicted, but that once he's in police custody, he could be extradited to the US or murdered more easily.
Since payments were affected it is not WikiLeaks I blame but rather MasterCard and Visa. You know why? They set their systems up in a way that allowed them to be exposed to a massive DDoS which could have happened at any time. They did not follow the proper guidelines as some of the largest companies in the world to make sure their systems would be unaffected by various possible scenarios including DDoS attacks.
> Is it customary that the Swedish authorities would involve Interpol in a case like this ?

You can check for yourself:
http://www.interpol.int/Public/Wanted/Search/ResultListNew.a...