skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Went into the Borders in North Bethesda, MD today to see what they had on sale. Lots of STORE CLOSING! signs and various sections of the store were on sale from 20-40% that I saw. However, every book I thought interesting, I compared to Amazon on my iPhone. Amazon beat the Borders sale price every time, sometimes by a significant margin (up to 50% less). This was for new books! I could get things even cheaper if I bought from Amazon used. I gave up after a while and left, totally unimpressed and not wondering why they were closing now. There were a LOT of people in there though and long lines at the checkouts.
I would keep your grades up for now, and try taking a year off school to try it. I did this and haven't gone back yet.
Yes, I also expected an official Google stance on using Lisp.

I am new to HN, but I think you should try to read posts before you vote them up. At least that is what I do, after clicking on the comments page. Often, HN comments are even more valuable than the article itself.
I agree that the copy is too verbose. The funny thing is, it didn't even occur to me until someone pointed it out.

As for action, I personally get really energized just having conversations about an idea, but that isn't enough alone. There is a function within each Spark that lets people offer help if they like the concept and want to be a part of it. Outside of that, I still want to do more to encourage action.

We've talked about running a startup version of a hackathon. An event where people would share their ideas over a couple days, a committee would pick the best group, and people could join up to do them. Instead of a normal hackathon though, you'd build a landing page and spend a week marketing to sell your idea and get people to sign up or even commit to buying your product. The winner of the event would be the one who gained the most traction, not the one with the coolest hack.
I think the verbosity is fine! Of course, I'm verbose.

Seriously, there's a pointing finger with "Sparks over this way" - that's your tl;dr shortcut right there. I like this site a whole lot.

Nice cartoon work, btw - where did that come from?
Building Your Dreams In Chile
Don't do it. Transfer to a different school or try to make your experience at your existing one better. It's a big risk moving to a new city without money and trying to make it work. Don't ruin your safe and stable situation.
The segment during the dance class was... weird. With the exception of the mention of the great leader, it's almost completely identical to something you'll see over here. Right down to "I need to go on a diet".
The idea of "programs as propositions" espoused here is in apparent conflict with the more widely known Curry-Howard correspondence [1], which states that programs can be interpretted as proofs and _types_ are propositions.

[1] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Curry-Howard_...
I learned taking time off does not have to equal dropping out. You can return and finish your degree, if you choose.

I gained a lot of perspective when I took off and moved to SF to run my start-up. When I returned to school couple years later, I enjoyed it a lot more. I credit it to better class selection(now that I knew what I was really interested in) and an improved attitude towards school(I learned that I didn't know it all as I often thought before I took off).
Our website does this too. (I work part-time at a B&N.)
I was at a Zynga Hackathon at Berkeley a year ago. I suppose it's true a good amount of networking goes on, but that didn't bother me too much. I was really there just to hack something together overnight, and my team actually moved to a separate location so we wouldn't be disturbed. So overall it was a pretty good experience despite what other teams were doing. Hope you also feel this way in the future!
Was Borders as widespread as B&N? I've lived in Arkansas, Ohio and DC and I've only seen a Borders in DC, while I've seen and shopped at a lot of B&Ns.
I found processing powerful and really easy to pick up. It is also very easy to port from processing to javascript (processingjs.org)!
Thanks, I did do the design myself but had the help of an illustrator for the drawing aspect. One of my main goals with this project was to improve my design skills so I appreciate the compliment.

My employer doesn't have a problem with me participating in open-source projects, having a personal blog, or generally playing around with tech on the side. However, I've not tried to build a profitable project on the side yet. If I were to, I would consult with them first and make sure it was cool. Most of the time, I've found people don't mind if you are 1) working at a smaller company, 2) not competing with them, and 3) still doing awesome work for them.
Twitter only? Not every good hacker wants a Twitter account...
Then, you're misunderstanding the word "immoral". To quote Steven Pinker from "The blank slate" (p.269):

"People feel that that moral rules are universal. Injunctions against murder and rape, for example, are not matters of taste or fashion but have a trancendent and universal warrent. People feel that other who commit immoral acts ought to be punished: not only is it right to inflict harm on people who have commmited a immoral infraction, it is wrong not to, that is, to "let them get away with it,"...

You have never suggested a law, but that's what the Free Software movement is about: In Stallman's mind -- and to those who understand him - , publishing non-free software is not just a matter of taste or fashion -- it's immoral and wrong; just like murder, rape, and stealing.

It must be punished.
In business, as in biology, those who discover and exploit niches get the rewards.
Well, then. Why not? Even if you don't find a job, SF is a great place to be unemployed.

Plus, if you decide you want to go back to school, you establish CA state residency, go to a CC for $20 a credit, then transfer into to a UC.
You can always go back to college in this area as well. Sonoma State is nice for a CSU, and UC Berkeley is obviously excellent.
Quick suggestion, cursor:pointer in your css. I notice that all of the clickable stuff doesn't look clickable.
Kudos to his manager for actually looking at the code and recognizing the problem. Maintainable code is extremely important. Just keep your code simple. Adding another layer of abstraction instead of writing a simple and readable loop (if the language doesn't have accumulators) is not a good solution.

I've seen this too many times. Smart developers write complex code, just because they can (and often it does make it shorter), but then mid- and junior-level developer struggle with it. So company has to spend more money on smarter developers.

Here's a relevant post by Linus:

http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/57643...
Thanks, I worked with a couple illustrators from deviantArt on the artwork. They weren't too experienced with web media, but we made it work.
I was more trying to say that XML is better for heterogenous trees because XML's default is a tree structure. XML parsers default to a tree representation of your data (we use python's ElementTree, for example), JSON parsers don't. XPath is designed to be a tree navigation language. CSS selectors are... also designed for navigating XML. No equivalent exists for JSON that I know of.

Obviously, we could use JSON or YAML or S-Expressions for representing something like a parse tree, but none of them have the same robust tool chain for tree manipulation that XML has.
There's been some criticism of Microsoft's "Community Promise", such as this:

http://techrights.org/2009/07/09/community-promise-sham/

and

http://www.fsf.org/news/2009-07-mscp-mono

and of Mono in general:

http://www.fsf.org/news/dont-depend-on-mono
I don't think it is a big risk. I don't think you have to ruin your safety. And stability in your late teens and early 20s is overrated imo.

Knowing what the average HN user is capable of, I don't think moving to SF is a huge risk in terms of survival.
If you're getting a lot of code out of it then you're doing a fine job.
Python certainly has lambdas[1], and they're very 'typical' lambdas at that.

[1]: http://www.secnetix.de/olli/Python/lambda_functions.hawk
Thanks, I will review all the clickies and make sure they've got it.
For this reason, I wrote a chrome extension that shows more of the subdomain on hacker news: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/amenlkcfjlmchdpo...
I have done several hackathon's and I have always coded the entire project there. I usually do all of the planning and organization ahead of time but I always complete the code during the event. Thats part of the fun of it IMO.
I rarely use TDD for prototyping or even the first version of a project. I tend to only write tests on my second pass through a chunk of code (generally when I'm refactoring it).

Works for me perfectly well, and I don't give a damn what the TDD True Believers think.
Interesting article. As mentioned above, I'm not sure that just generating ideas is the same as generating good ideas. And when it all boils down to getting things done (GTD), I really have to pay attention. If I'm in a creative mood, and I don't have time schedules looming over my shoulder, then sure, it's okay to let the mind wander.

I'll also mention that I've recently gotten into Pomodoro, and that has really helped me to pay attention. I never would have thought so, but I'm actually able to code and be a lot more efficient in my Internet usage using the technique.
when are we going to finally start seeing these in products?
Anything for those without a twitter account?
I debated this for so long. My final rational was that I was going to lose some people but Twitter helps people connect. Since the site is partially about connecting you with others, I decided to give it a go. If it blows up, I figured I could offer email-based registration on top of it.
> But isn't a language defined largely by what people are willing to do with it?

This isn't true for a formalized language. Heck, it isn't even true for FRENCH where there is an official bureau that determines what is "proper" french, and any deviations from it are not part of the standard language.

> If every JSON parser in the world accepted single-quotes for keys, wouldn't that imply JSON supports single-quotes for keys?

It might in the absence of a formal spec, but not all JSON parsers accept single quotes.

For example, the official Python JSON parser does not.

>>> import json
>>> json.loads("{'foo':'bar'}")
ValueError: Expecting property name: line 1 column 1 (char 1)

I question how many other highly popular languages have JSON parsers built to the spec.
Whoa, weird - the "popular" list isn't selecting distinct, looks like. Very strange effect.
There's already such a Wikipedia and it's called the Web. Not sure we need another one...
I've been to several hackathons in Ontario and there's always tonnes of coding getting done. We had 19 apps one time.
Old man speaking here again. It's fashionable the past few years to drop out of college and head to Silicon Valley to strike it rich. I get that. I would not recommend dropping out of high school. You've got perhaps 2 years left of it. If you want to slack there and hone your skills on something else - fine. But unless people are already paying you a crapload of money for stuff you've done, stick it out. That probably sounds very 'stick in the mud', and it possibly is. Just... stick it out. Out of the probably 70-80 years you've got left on this planet, another 2 spent getting the most rudimentary education and exposure to a variety of ideas (even if it sucks) isn't going to kill you, or indeed kill your startup baby.

If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that good ideas and good opportunities constantly present themselves - it's like a river. You need to be able to grab on to one when you're ready, and at 15 I'm just not sure you're ready.

Yes, we see stories of 9 year old CEOs making fortunes on the web (one started a furniture company or something like that) but they also have close-knit supportive parents and families. You've not mentioned parents, but you're already not on the same wavelength as your brother, which is a big red flag.

I did a 'startup' (services consultancy, really) with my brother for several years - it didn't end well, but we've stayed friendly and in touch, which (to me) is ultimately more important.
It made me go get a password reminder for Twitter, dammit. Probably a good thing, all in all, but still. Good for a beta, but add Facebook and email (imho).
I didn't think joining HN, I'd be spending so much time answering questions from young people, but hey, it is somewhat satisfying in lieu of more technical and human science discussion.

I'm 38 and I took a GED to leave high school for a programming job. I didn't realize until my 30's how much fun college probably would be. I'm not going to discuss the merit or benefit of a degree, because it is a highly personal evaluation. I simply wish I had the experience my friends had with some of the stories and adventures, friends and social life. I didn't take my first real vacation until I was 33 - almost 17 years of non-stop 80-100 hour weeks.

That being said, I'm also old enough to look at a post like this and feel both frustration and excitement for your position. Statistics about a college degree earning more over a lifetime, don't lie, you will simply have an easier time in life in almost every way if you complete your degree.

Here's the "tough love" part: You have provided nothing to indicate to a reader whether you would be an asset at 19, other than passable writing skills. Not that I wouldn't hire you based on this criteria, but why should I when the market is heavily saturated with experienced people?

Being 19 with no work experience, college education, deep technical talent and on top, you bore easily? Honestly, no, and you haven't made a good case in your post. One more semi-nasty point: product and business development people generally have relevant experience in developing products and sales, its a skilled field, not something to do because you can't program.

I'm glad you're excited to move to San Francisco, as a 9th generation native of the Bay Area, it is an awesome place to live (this damn rain, notwithstanding), but it is a very expensive, very challenging place to live without a network of loved ones, patient relatives, a sure source of income or a solid job offer.

Since you've indicated you have no money saved, I'm assuming you'll try and borrow funds to get here; make sure you let them know you'll probably need more and try to avoid burning any bridges with family or friends.

Because the Bay Area is very populated, the unemployment here is very high and I have friends who have been without an interview, even in technology for well over a year. My cost of living is very high compared to most of the country, public transportation is decent, but not expansive. There are far easier places to strike-out to with a wild-hair and not be eaten alive.

I am, however, envious of your youth and future. I wouldn't TRADE mine, but darn ain't it fun and exciting to be 19, have no prospects, no responsibilities and have the world in front of you.

Take older to younger advice; slow down. Make a plan, save your money, network remotely, visit with your savings and complete your degree. Build something that will impress people, even if its a website discussing your perspective on product and business development.
TDD/BDD isn't hampering my startup(s) agility because I'm not letting it. We don't do them. I only write real code I actually need to do something real. This is pretty useful when you're pre-revenue and your feature set or implementation choices may need to change drastically and/or be abandoned entirely. Less ballast the better.
Where can I find young, passionate, developers who are willing to trust me as a non-technical person?

First of all, why are you worried about age?

Anyway, are you looking to hire employees or are you looking for co-founders who will receive some substantial equity stake for joining you? You talk about only finding people who are "in it for the money" but people do have to pay bills... are you offering salary + equity or just salary or just equity or what? In the end, you'll have to sort out what combination is appealing to the people you're looking for.

Beyond that, the answer to your question is really no different than the answer to my question, which is basically going in the opposite direction: "How can I find a hungry sales/marketing/bizdev person to get in bed with my startup?" And the answer really reduces to sales... when you talk to potential co-founders (or early stage employees) you're selling, just as much as when you talk to investors or prospective customers. You have to sell them on you, on your vision, on your ability to build and manage a company, and - perhaps even more importantly - on their role in this creation you're concocting.

If you approached me, I know I'd need to you convince me that you were serious about the project, invested in the project in some fashion (not necessarily money, but something beyond just an idea), committed to the project; and you'd need to convince me that my role would be something where my needs (whether that be financial, professional, psychological, whatever) would have a reasonable chance of being met.

For example, as a "tech guy" I'd want a fairly strong say in any and all technical decisions (duh, right?) but that would also extend to the the point of including discussion of product features, long-term product strategy, and anything that would have a substantial impact on "my stuff." I doubt I'm alone in this regard, as techies go. So if you come across as "I'm the product idea guy, I just need a programmer to slap this together, and just do what I tell you" then yeah, you're going to get guys saying "sure, pay me market rate and I'll build that for you" or "sure, go outsource to so-and-so software development, inc." Come off as "I'm building this thing and I want people to become a real part of this" and you have a fighting chance.
Oops, good thing I worked in a giant red reset button to my admin! Gonna have to add another case to the unit-test on that one.
it's not that hard to transfer after 1-2 years to a place like Stanford

citation please? from anecdotal evidence, selective private schools take very few transfer students. however, good public schools like UC's take a lot of transfer students from the California community college system
I do MDD. Market-Driven Development. It's the latest craze! But secretly I think the cool kids have been doing it for hundreds of years, we just forget about it from time to time.
This idea has fail written all over it. Unless you can land a gig with a startup before you move finish your degree or at least stick it out another year until you have a great idea to pursue or find a startup that really wants to bring you onboard. Also, you didn't really mention what your skillset is? Are you a rockstar developer or designer with a proven body of freelance work? This may be a different story then.
I completely agree with transferring to a different school. There are plenty of places outside of San Francisco with great startup scenes and great schools. Cities like Austin, Boulder or Boston all have growing startup cultures and incubators where you can stay in school and find great people to pursue an idea with.
Drop out of school.

School is for some people, not everyone. It doesn't sound like it's for you. A degree is a good way to get a crappy job (and these days, it's no guarantee of that). It's not the best way to learn, especially for tech stuff.

Ask yourself what you're hoping to get out of school. You know what you'll get by moving to San Francisco and HUSTLING. If school isn't going to give you what you want, then ignore what everyone else says and quit. A degree isn't the safety net it used to be... being self sufficient and skilled IS.
That makes no sense. Being an HN member does not grant you magical survival abilities. Also, despite being an awesome place to be, SF is expensive to live in.
Makes sense. The situation is definitely more complex than I have thought about.

When I said "non drug treatments" or "cures", what I meant was... are there many examples where a disease was investigated and either

1) a treatment was found which was available using a non patented substance, such as DCA (which was available for a hundred years), basically research published by a pharma company that found you can treat a disease in a way that doesn't make money for pharma companies via patents, or

2) a cure that basically eliminated the disease in most cases so no further treatments were necessary.

I am not asking this with an agenda, I am just genuinely curious. I want to find such a list.

It would also help me understand better whether the current system is capable of producing and popularizing treatments (and cures) which may not be helping the pharma company's bottom line. I don't want to parrot quacks who talk about pharma "suppressing" this knowledge, just wondering how often knowledge like this is willingly published, and where.

The reason it seems plausible to me that this issue might be a problem, is the economics and incentives of it. If you were a pharma company and you sunk $100M in research for a cure of disease X, and somehow you found two things (in your own labs, say), that

a) there is a treatment that you can patent and charge a markup to recoup your investment and make a profit, and

b) there is an equal or superior treatment which cannot be patented because it was freely available or there is prior art

I don't see your promoting or even publishing (b) as being fiscally responsible to your shareholders and your company's bottom line. So it seems to me there would be a conflict of interest if a non patented treatment is found. A similar case can be made for a cure. Why push the cure if pushing the treatment generates a much bigger long term return on investment? It just seems to me that there is some conflict between the interest of the shareholders and actually publicizing a cure. Of course, there is some value in the PR that your pharma company found the cure, but if it's estimated to be less than the profit from the ongoing treatment, what is the incentive? What is the company going to do?
Was this ever a question? Of course it is business.
I won't say if you should or shouldn't do it, I think there are risks to doing it but if you can find a position it could pay off and give you some experience. If you decide to transfer a bonus would be somewhere with a tech scene, i'm not sure where you are from so am not sure if there is a startup scene where you are but if you decide to start a company while in college knowing there are other startups/tech resources within a travelling distance will give you some of the benefits you'd find in SF. On a smaller scale depending where you go. I think you should just think it over and make a decision.