skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I have an automated cat feeder. The user interface is close to the worst I've ever seen. If I push the wrong button on it, I'm in for digging up the manual, then spending 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get out of the mode I'm in without messing things up, and then wondering for the next day if it is actually dispensing food. (This is miserable if you need to leave to catch a plane and you're worried that the feeder isn't configured right.)

I've given up trying to program my thermostat.

Here's how a cat feeder should work:

1. put cat food in the hopper

2. plug it in

Then, it dispenses food 4 times in the next 24 hours, starting when it gets power. That's it. No clock, no modes, no options, no "lock" mode. For the super-advanced model, add a dial to adjust the amount of food dropped.
As long as we live in a global economy we will be hungry for oil. A global economy depends on shipping goods around the world, and for that to work you need a high energy density fuel source, and there is really no alternative nearly as good as oil.

This isn't about SUVs or consumer air travel. The world will need oil for cargo transport to sustain the trade necessary to maintain our economic way of life. Hydrocarbons are high energy density which is an essential property because otherwise your fuel becomes your cargo.

The problem isn't SUVs, it's the fact that your local grocery store has bananas shipped from 10,000 miles away for $0.59/lb. The only way you can make that happen is with oil. All the neat stuff you have shipped to your door from Amazon requires oil. Even if you buy your coffee from a local store and it's roasted by your neighbor it took oil to get it to you.

We could have a 100% renewable grid and we would still need to use hydrocarbons to support global economy
Looked at it a while ago and decided not to. People occasionally ask if I take donations, but never have. While I could change my mind in the future, today my code is a contribution to the community.
They don't, and they aren't. The non-dischargeable loans are all issued directly by the US Government.
http://archive.is/eOtiZ
>and in such a case a -> f a might not make any sense because there are no morphisms between categories

In CAT the category of small categories objects are categories and morphisms are functors. Haskell types can be thought of as a small categories so I don't think this statement is correct? I'm no expert but can you clarify, the definition on wikipedia says that functors are morphisms between categories in CAT.

>There might not be a corresponding morphism between "a" and "f a".

Hmm. if haskell types make up a small category that means 'a' and 'f a' are sets. I can't imagine a case where two sets cannot have a mapping between them. Can you give a specific example?

>The typeclass you created would be a functor along with a natural transformation from the identity functor to f.

I'm confused about this. Isn't the natural transformation from identity to another category (at least for small categories) equivalent to a functor? In my head they look identical.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_transformation

If you look at the commutative diagram on this page and replace F(X) and G(X) with identity X and G the natural transformation diagram looks just like a diagram for a functor.

btw I'm not an expert in haskell (let alone agda) or category theory so forgive me if the stuff I talk about is totally off.
You make a good point, and I often substitute "applied ecology" to try to emphasize the scientific grounding that Permaculture originally had (Bill Mollison was an ecologist) and still has for a lot of people, myself included.

But I have to admit, I was once laissez-faire about non-native invasive species. I can thank E. O. Wilson for writing a thing that set me straight.

(I gotta add that the "Permaculture Designer's Manual" is IMO one of the finest guides to design (any design, not just farming) that I've ever read. FWIW)
> I'm not «attacking» anyone

Had you studied Philosophy and Logic in university you would have understood my comment.

This is what's colloquially known as "shooting the messenger" or attacking the source. You said:

> Gloria Alvarez is no historian, she is a politician with a libertarian agenda…

BTW, she is not a politician. She recently tried to run for President of Guatemala but didn't get very far. She was not a politician before that and is not a politician today.

The fallacy you are committing is "argumentum ad hominem". Here's a reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem

The simple explanation is to attack the person ("she is a politician with a libertarian agenda") rather than to address the argument she presents by offering-up evidence that proves your case and disproves hers. The implication, of course, being that nothing she says is valid because of who she is, regardless of the nature and content of her presentation.

> you wouldn't trust Lenin talking about the Russian history

Not true, you are attacking the messenger again. There is no reason to assume Lenin (or anyone else) is lying just because of who they are or what they did. You can be skeptical about it, sure, but the only LOGICAL approach --if what you seek is the truth-- is to listen (or read) and then confirm the validity and soundness (these are two different things) of the argument Lenin would be making. Only after confirming the validity and soundness of the argument can you conclude whether Lenin is telling the truth or not about a particular argument. He could be lying about one thing and telling the truth about another.

As Einstein said, paraphrasing, the solution to a problem requires a higher perspective than the one that created it in the first place.

Please be careful about what you believe and why you believe it.

It's much easier to accept a conclusions "don't listen to her, she is just a libertarian" than to actually take the time to listen to somebody, perhaps even engage with them in a respectful manner and consider the arguments being presented. This is the only way we move forward as a society. Politicians (notice I did not specify party affiliation) would prefer to herd us all like sheep with false promises and stuff that sounds great. Politicians hate it when we actually think and challenge what comes out of their mouths. That requires work and emotional separation from any affiliation, which isn't necessarily easy for a lot of people.
What would that point of that be?
That sounds like a 10 on the stress scale - high enough that you give up.

I think the stress level should be just high enough that you're close to giving up. It's at the point where you simply can't go any harder. You'll either improve biologically, as in your mind/body improves to meet the demands, or you find other, more effective ways to do it.
I've had a number of great bosses, whose example I attempt to emulate in all my interactions - with both subordinates and superiors.
Oxford (UK) tuition for overseas students is $35-45k/year (and people generally pay sticker price), so not radically cheaper, though you get the B.A. in 3 years not 4. Other EU countries are much cheaper, but with a language barrier (except maybe NL).
Most of those features don't have a lot of negatives though. More ground clearance is hard to be a negative (I wasn't able to use the front bumper as a snow plow?)

A towing capable engine is a negative if you're not using it, because MPG; but you can get small engined trucks too.
Who Owns Silicon Valley?
Middle school is just terrible in general, I think. Not that high school is much better. But middle school was easily the worst part of my life, though in retrospect I'm thankful it at least wasn't physical bullying. Still, the emotional toll messed me up pretty good.

In my case, I still got bundled in with the "high achievers" in the IB honors program in HS, but it wasn't any better for self-esteem. The kids in that program weren't genuinely smarter or nicer for the most part - they just had parents who were wealthier and able to afford tutors/extra-curriculars plus stable home environments. The teachers in that program were incredibly unaccommodating to disabilities and there was a sickening elitism that the IB kids has towards everyone not in IB. The "normal" kids weren't the ones making me miserable, it was my peers.

I eventually couldn't take existing in that state, and the toll it all took on my mental health came to it's reasonable conclusion in the form of self-directed violence. Eventually transferred schools. Almost dropped out, but found a loophole that let me take some community college classes for credit and graduate a semester early, so I still got through.

Took me a long time to get perspective on all that. My only long-term friends I still have today from HS were from electives - they were skipping class and smoking up in HS. I never considered that option for myself (did no drugs at all back then), since I wasn't really interested in "coping" so much as getting out. But still, I don't think being separated helped at all. Sure I passed every test, but I was socially out of my depth the entire time. Just being surrounded by other young people in general can be a recipe for misery for people who can't fit in. I'd like to think online school would have been better, but not sure if being completely isolated would have just messed me up more in the long run.

Edit: left out a key word, "physical" bullying. There was definitely tons of the other sort.
I remember watching the linux communities response to the mono project and realizing it was sort of hopeless.
> Supply and Demand is nice in theory, but really, pricing is more a game of "ask the maximum amount you can get away with".

Most relevant point, well said. Is there any academic term for this?
“More Doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette” (1946)
> It is incredible to me how straightforward and undoubtedly true the point you are making is

Even the part when it relies on private lending behavior being driven by security provided to lenders by federal loan guarantees that haven't been available to private lenders since July 1, 2010?
Gah. I agree that electric vehicles are cool, but there is no need for parroting "facts" about ICEs that were true in the 1970s.

If you look at the torque curve of a modern pickup truck engine, it's either completely flat or it's actually decreasing as you go from low to high RPMs. E.g. the GM Duramax 6.6 maxes out at 1200 Nm at 1600 RPM, then decreases to 900 as you go higher in revs. For comparison, the Model X P100D puts out 660 Nm at peak.

Wrt. Tesla's acceleration numbers - it's always been possible to obtain those. In fact, sub 2-second 0-60 times were achieved with road legal Ford RS200 in the mid 1980s. Sports car manufacturers have instead been competing on track times on famous circuits like the Nurburgring Nordschliefe. Tesla hadn't a snowballs chance in a hatching machine to compete on that, so they went and optimized for a spec where there was no real competition, and that fit their technology well.

As for traction control, there is no system in the world that is superior to just locking all three diffs. This is what you find in serious off-road machines, and many decent pickups. No sensors, no intelligence, no response times, just simple mechanical engineering that will always automatically distribute torque to where it is needed. Instead of being reactive, acting when slip has been detected, it is proactive and gives you torque where there is grip.
We also introduced another role (Raft-learner) to the Raft group and make a columnar extension. More details can be found here:
https://pingcap.com/blog/delivering-real-time-analytics-and-...
If nuclear isn't happening in time, neither are renewables. Countries like Germany that are transitioning away from nuclear and towards renewables have actually increased their fossil fuel consumption in recent years because renewables just aren't keeping up.

Not to mention that many of the delays and drawbacks of nuclear power are precisely due to the antinuclear movement itself, which imposes barriers and regulations instead of the subsidies that renewables have received.
I'll admit I haven't tried this personally, either; I've just heard that it's possible.
While certainly a shift for the Salt Lake Tribune itself, it's certainly not the first non-profit news orgs, right?

NPR has been non-profit since forever.
Perhaps "The Circle" wasn't that far off...
UChicago is respectable, sure. But they also host the Toyota Technical Institute:

> TTIC offers a graduate program leading to a doctorate in computer science, and is currently focusing primarily on theoretical computer science (algorithms and complexity), applications of machine learning (computational biology, computer vision, natural language processing, robotics, and speech), and scientific computing (including numerical analysis, numerical optimization, and signal processing).

> Both regular and research faculty receive endowment-provided research funding sufficient for equipment and normal academic travel. Research faculty are not expected to raise external funding. However, regular faculty are expected to eventually raise their summer salary and to support their students with external funding.

> Research faculty are in non-tenure track positions with no teaching requirements. This is similar to a postdoctoral fellowship, but comes with endowment-provided independent research funding. Regular faculty are expected to teach only one quarter per year.

> TTIC is located in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago campus and has a close affiliation with the University of Chicago Computer Science Department. An agreement between the University of Chicago and TTIC allows cross-listing of computer science course offerings between the two institutions, providing students from each institution the opportunity to register in the others courses. Faculty and students enjoy full privileges of the University library system, athletic facilities and other services.

https://www.ttic.edu/about/
Let's hope you're right
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/us/politics/impeachment-r...
More along the lines of everyone takes a test and the top X% are in the college prep track, the next Y% are in the 2 year community college track, and the rest are on the industrial/shop class track.
>They are buying cash and paying for it with future income.

Yes, that's what interest is, and it often makes sense.

There's a lot of value of having something (that you buy with money) available to you now rather than in a couple of years - especially if the means to make money depends that item (be it a car, education, a tractor, a musical instrument, set of tools, or what not).

Also, there was a lot of value for me to travel when I was a grad student and had a much more flexible schedule - and, frankly, was younger. I wish I took out loans for that, paying them off now that I'm working full time would not be a burden.

But while you rob your future self by taking a loan, you can't donate anything to your former self no matter how much you have.

TL;DR: there's value for people in having the right things at the right time.
> Supply and Demand is nice in theory, but really, pricing is more a game of "ask the maximum amount you can get away with".

That's exactly what the theory of supply and demand is premised on.
That’s a bit idealistic. When I’m sitting on a DC Metro train jerking into the station because the infrastructure deteriorated so badly they had to turn off the automatic train control, I’m not thinking “this is the result of Democratic will.”
It does a great disservice to smart kids to pick them out of the regular rank and file completely. You really need to be aware that stupid people exist, and how to deal with them. And that they are still people.

There are a lot of smart people that have spent their entire lives in a bubble that is only inhabited by people at least a standard deviation above average, if not more. And it shows.
> The Wi-Fi connectivity is nice when it’s working (like it was during the springtime) since it means never having to adjust the time after a power outage or time zone change.

I bought one of those "atomic clocks" 20 years ago that pick up the time from some government radio station. It's always dead on correct, and adjusts automatically for DST. There is no user interface, put a battery in and hang it on the wall. Best clock I ever bought.
>immediate short-term compensation bump

Did you believe you could deliver better long term compensation? This phrasing suggests that, it's a clever way to suggest something without promising it.
RobinHood Bug Allows Users to Margin Call at 1000x Leverage (Some $1M in Debt)
Any context? Is it a real document or a parody?
That approach is against site guidelines, and for good reason. If one nasty comment is grounds to engage in a flamewar, this place is going to lose any ability to have a reasoned conversation.
It's funny to watch this now. Living in Cupertino, none of those benefits materialized. Only 10% of Apple's workforce lives in Cupertino (thanks in large part to those busses he talked about). Apple barely pays any taxes in the city, because they get a bunch of tax breaks. Their employees do patronize the local restaurants to some extent, but for the most part they eat in their cafeterias.

And most importantly, the campus is closed to the public. The original proposal was to make the center of a spaceship a public park, but somehow they managed to get it approved as a private space.
I think Jellicle is correct to some degree, which is not to say 'they're all the same'.
Not at all. It would only imply that everyone has had 1 bad boss at some point in their career.
I agree with this 100%, but the issues are not intertwined. We need to fix how classes are taught in "low achieving schools," but that's really hard to do when teachers are paid so poorly. Teaching isn't a lucrative career, and thus those that would be great teachers don't generally go into it. It's a really complex and difficult problem that I don't know I have a solution for. I do know that getting rid of magnet schools isn't it, though.
So... you invented a new word that means the same thing as the old word, but isn’t associated with people doing stupid things yet?

Seems like a wasteful approach to language.
Does it make a responsive design or do you have to do that yourself?
> Who gets to decide what constitutes incompetence and corruption?

Can we at least have Swedes decide “what constitutes incompetence and corruption?” Like democracy, except only Swedes in Sweden get to vote in US local elections. Once a year, a committee of Swedes will have to come over here and ride BART/the NYC Subway/Metro and report back before voting.
> Porsche buyers know that 'Turbo' means

As a car guy, I strongly disagree. In the car world, nearly without exception, including all previously Porches, "Turbo" is a label indicating that a specific piece of hardware is installed on the ICE: a turbocharger.

This is like putting a "manual" or "automatic" label on an electric. Sure, you could probably consider an electric a manual 1 speed or automatic 1 speed, but it's not going to get anything but marketing BS eye rolls from anyone that knows about cars.
video of someone losing $50K+ in real time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-tNkuYV4_Q

$900K+ Loss https://i.imgur.com/3sMhGi7.png

Summary: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/ahbea5/a_us...
> One reason is because they really really need to wake up on time and don't want to rely on their phone.

Also, a standalone alarm clock won't automatically switch to daylight saving time... on the year daylight saving time was finally discontinued. Happened to many people a few weeks ago (at least the daylight saving time switch, like the federal/state/municipal elections, is always on a Sunday).
Yes, that would be huge too. They have a lot of clout with the Cupertino City Council. They could lobby to have the entire city up zoned!

But that might not be in their best interest, because then a lot of local residents would be pissed at them.
Microsofts failure in mobile has simply been due to the fact that they weren't able to excite users with hardware. This changed with the Surface line.
+1 for Zim.

The UI is utilitarian, simple and efficient. It stores all of its note files as .txt so there's lots of other ways to access the info (e.g. grep).

Zim is extensible with a variety of useful plugins too.
I know that's the reasoning behind it. My problem is that it's still selfish, just a different flavor of selfishness from EULAs, and maybe falls under a different sense of the word protectionism... well, I can't quickly come up with a better one. It's all rather Western and not as noble as I used to think.

I want to give everyone all the same freedoms that the GPL guarantees, and I want to include freedom from the GPL. I don't want to be afraid of wrong people doing wrong things so that I'd be spending time and energy trying to stop them, especially not if it interferes with doing useful things for anyone. The Sqlite blessing is really neat.
Intelligence is adaptation on the timescale of minutes.

Trees are too slow to be technically intelligent. Although on a larger timescale what they are is indistinguishable from intelligence.
Right, I saw and referenced that. Seems little used and rapidly eclipsed.
You can import any plain text or markdown file into Roam -- we take the indentation structure and parse it out.

Can also copy/paste in any html

Would build a special emacs importer if there was strong need -- but emacs export is so powerful you can also just export org-files into a format that Roam accepts already
Fair point, I think there's a fundamental difference between the data collection done by a company like Uber or the FANG or whatever and the data that other companies collect in the normal course of business but it's hard for me to think of a good definition for the difference.

There's also the idea that maybe we should have total access to a currently unthinkable amount of data [0]

[0] https://www.wired.com/1996/12/fftransparent/
Well, you could apply this to almost any of the highly abstracted financial instruments currently traded. Derivatives, options, etc. People claim they're "investing in real companies" (which at a very low level they are), but most of the time what is actually happening, is you are betting on whether other people will invest in the company, or what investor sentiment will be x months down the track. You aren't directly investing in the success of the company, you're investing in the investor confidence in the company. Buying stocks directly is of course, at least a bit different.

I see Bitcoin as much the same. Sure, it could be used as a real currency, in the same way that I could use options or bonds as real currency. I could ask you if you'd be willing to sell your car to me for x number of options I currently hold. But I haven't created a new currency, and the value behind that "currency" is just the investor opinion of it at any given time.
Companies aren't people, legally speaking. This is a bizarre myth that just gets repeated as a sort of mindless anti-corporate shibboleth.

Companies are legal entities which can sign contracts, hold debt, open bank accounts, etc.

So are government agencies, unions, churches, mosques, guilds, charities. Does that means these are all people, legally speaking? For some reason nobody says 'the IRS is a person, legally speaking'.

Companies cannot marry, vote, file taxes as a human, get a passport or driver's license etc, because they are not human, legally speaking. They're just legal entities, as people also are, but of different types.

Don't get confused about the words used in the legal world around 'natural persons' etc; legal usages of words don't carry their common meaning and there are lots of examples of this you know.
Sounds like “supply and demand.” U+1F602
How about a dst toggle switch too so you can just flip the hour with a binary switch.