skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
This observation was in regards to the http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=297080

Regardless of whether I am right, I am basically the only countering argument and reduced to a grayed out presence.

I do not care emotionally a bit whether I am read, this is an intellectual observation regarding YC's downvoting of anti-mainstream thought while promoting much of the same.
My little pet theory, based on the 10/20/70 rule, is that the individual reviews themselves become less important. The 70% of yelp users will only want 2 type of information: what's the star rating of a place and how expensive/category it is.
Off the top of my head: because it would require too much effort to enable any sort of productivity.
Excel is useful though because it makes it easy to extrapolate how fast you will be in the future. Just being able to know whether your cardio is improving linearly or logarithmically is huge, along with various muscle groups. It's very hard to identify your sticking points without being able to turn the data into graphs.
Satellite launches for hi-resolution Google Maps
You cared enough about it to post this (which seems a bit narcissistic, no matter what you say). I upmodded your original comment, so right at the moment it isn't a "grayed out presence" but I'm not going to upmod this.
Effective Web Site Promotion – Low Cost Internet Marketing
I'd like something to breach the gap between sites like these and forums. Because... miracles rock.
The comment about using them regularly was mostly targeted at rsync, tar, and other backup tools. I never invested the effort to automate my backups even though I am well aware of cron.

Part of the problem is that the manual part of connecting the backup hard drive remains. I don't like online backups since I don't have sufficient bandwidth. So what I was really looking for was a nicely scripted backup solution that integrates with udev, so that I really only have to plug in my hard drive. And figuring out udev -- which tends to change from version to version -- is something that I thought I'd do "later."
The problem with Yelp is that the reviewers are all a bunch of nouveau riche twentysomethings who only care about the ambiance, not the food. Most of the reviews are about how cool the reviewer is, and not the restaurant itself. I'll take Zagats any day.
man, I guess these stupid Mac ads don't work

"Despite new products like the iPhone, variations of the iPod and the Apple TV set-top box, this was a Macintosh quarter. Apple shipped 2.3 million Mac computers in the quarter, 51 percent more than in the quarter a year ago. Revenue on those computers increased 54 percent."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/technology/24apple.html

old article but then again this ad campaign has been running a while
I tend to get a whole assortment - might be very location/type dependent.
The main problem is the vertical reinforcing bars - unless, of course, the robot was redesigned to build the walls in vertical passes instead of horizontal. But then you have to cope with the horizontal reinforcing - I think it is a difficult problem which they haven't solved yet. The only clean solution I can think of is a new kind of concrete that has tensile strength - maybe there is a nanotechnology solution to this.
"Man, how is this guy so famous?"

Because he has several hundred feeds in his RSS reader and engages lots of individual bloggers in conversation. You'd think that if you started a new blog, you'd have to get it really big before guys like Scoble would link to you. But in reality if you start a new blog then Scoble will probably be the first one to link to you, because all he does is read blogs and link to the posts he likes. Then people link back to him and his own site gets popular.
out of curiosity (and not sarcasm) what took so long?
Why would you have an intellectual argument about an empirical question?
Maybe your right, but I just saw a greyed out post (my own) that seemed like the only good counter (again, maybe only because it's my own viewpoint). The rest of the discussion did not seem like MEAT, thus this post.
...and now you know why the arab sheiks ship their Lamborghini's to Britain for an oil change
autofs and test -e for the existence of a file in the mount point. But this is all moot since you've already decided to let Apple handle it. I wonder how many people who use Timemachine actually verify the backups created with it.
I find Yelp's UI to be much more friendly. Also, their free iPhone app is awesome -- coffee near me is the secret sauce. I use Yelp heavily around Stanford.

It's pretty clear to me that Yelp-like sites are the future of (this type of) food review online, especially since Zagat is charging.

Playing off the network effect for a user generated content site seems key, and charging a subscription certainly doesn't help with that. Traffic stats and restaurant coverage mentioned in the article bear this out.
I would be very surprised if Robert Scoble has ever assembled a computer.
Genealogy the Ontological Problem -  Key to the Semantic Web?
> You should make a guess at what the candidate's weaknesses are, and then push on them, push on them some more. This will also help you learn how well they deal with adversity.

I disagree.

Find out what they think that their relevant strengths are. This is usually fairly easy because they'll almost always tell you, often without being asked.

Test said strengths because that's where they'll go first, when things are tough, etc. Also, said strengths are probably where you want them working. If your needs are elsewhere, they're not your solution.

If their actual strengths are elsewhere, they've got a problem. Are they worth making said problem yours? (There are lots of reasons why their strengths might be elsewhere, some worse for you than others.)
Well, FWIW, I am presenting at DEMO this year. We do actually have a video link right on the front page of our web site, and yet he claims that only one did, and the one he linked to wasn't us. http://paragent.com

I was tempted to post a comment, but I would rather avoid directing his vitriol directly at our company at this point. DEMO is a HUGE commitment for us. 18K is nothing to sneeze at, and a substantial part of our budget. However, living in the midwest, it is very difficult to form the kind of relationships that occur naturally on the east and west coasts. DEMO is an opportunity for us to meet face to face with many people we otherwise we never get to meet, and have some chance of attracting attention. Who knows if DEMO will have been worth it - I'll let you know after it is over. Undoubtedly, it will either end up in a best-of or worst-of compilation.
Well, I don't think that comment should have been down voted, you were starting a discussion by disagreeing from experience.

I don't like the idea of down voting comments you simply disagree with as long as the content isn't harmful (I realize that "harmful" in this context is common pro-censorship vocab, I just mean that comments like "all root passwords should be set to 'password'" should be downvoted).
Sorry, I'm calling bs on your lifts. Additionally, you don't know what you're talking about. The sports athlete lifts (correctly) to enhance his/her body's ability to generate force for a particular sport, that's all. If the athlete does not lift correctly, that's not the barbell's fault. The Oly lifter measurably generates more force than athletes in any other sport. Ex. When Reza Zadeh weighed 300, at 6 ft tall he could high jump a 6 ft bar. (He's about 370 now). Even well into my 30's, at near 300 I could standing long jump over 10 feet. I throw stuff though, I'm not an oly lifter.

If you're trying to throw a baseball, lifting might slow you down, but you won't be able to throw a 2k disc very far, and pitchers aren't very good batters either. The top discus throwers in the world all have huge lifts, and we all know what muscles do for batting.

But all this is off-point anyway. The thread starter just wants peeps to beta for him. If you don't like to lift, or you don't like to keep a journal while lifting, don't beta test.
I love this part:

"Q: Do you think, that, while Google is popularly perceived as being cool and open to ideas and freewheelin', that it might start to grow into the kind of staid, corporate behemoth some of its close rivals have become?"

"Well I think there's that conventional wisdom in The Valley that integrity doesn't scale, and I suppose there's always the danger that it'll be hard to maintain that atmosphere, but certainly Google has risen to a considerable scale without losing that flavour so far, and I wish them luck."
His nickname comes from how he would configure machines with vigor, or something -- he would "Scobleize" machines. He did plenty of putting together machines, but he's certainly not a developer.
It'd be interesting if a down vote were actually a special case of reply and required an explanation.
The fact that testosterone can be raised via exercise does not exclude the possibility that testosterone signals sexual arousal. I'm told that there is some "sex" in the exercise high.
Harley-Davidson has a trademark on theirs.
I think all these sites should put a picture of scoble in the header. Just like he has.
Without some kind of logbook, how do you even evaluate how well you're doing?

In my experience, most successful bodybuilders take a scientific approach to their training. The main variables that affect physique are genetics, diet, and routine. Different diets and routines work for different people, so to achieve the best results it's important to experiment. A log book gives you data to learn how to improve your routine.

Even your point on the importance of varying routines is best achieved by using a log book. Try a steady routine for 3 months and measure your gains. Then try "dramatically varying" your routine for 3 months and measure your gains. Now you have data to support your own optimal workout plan.

Finally, to your point about picking up the pace: most routines involve rest between sets, so if you log while resting then it doesn't slow you down.
Well, except there is actual money to be made in being "tech scene famous." He owns a house in Half Moon Bay, probably earns a nice six figure salary to do whatever the hell it is he does, gets lots of freebies (he was at frigging Davos), and probably speaking fees. Of course, I don't know, there might be actual money in winning the special olympics.

And I'd bet any CS college professor (that's any good) doesn't know who he is, either.
Interesting. I am surprised. His website's about section is, ironically (considering the subject of this thread), almost 50% a disclaimer.
The New Classics of Computer Science
I Am Trying To Believe (that Rock Stars aren't Dead)
As a user:

I use Yelp quite a bit... but I don't really trust their rating system since I heard a while back that they pay a lot of their reviewers or "marketing associates". I've often found myself disagreeing with their ratings.

I used Zagats almost exclusively during my corporate days. Reviews seemed pretty trustworthy but the whole annual publishing thing was way too slow.

As a business:

I've heard from classmates of a Zagat family member that the company does pretty well financially. From what I remember, all my consulting/banking friends got a Zagats membership as a company perk, which helped build brand loyalty and probably generated dependable cash flow.

On the other hand, I've heard from media reports that Yelp doesn't generate a lot of cash (they've taken 4 rounds of VC financing). I guess they're waiting for the big exit for their great traffic growth.
maybe turn off voting on comments, but keep voting for stories. That way good stories get dug up and bad stories don't. And you don't have people voting you down because you said something they might disagree with.

i.e. today I got voted down(went down to -1) because I said I don't like ads.
People congratulate themselves when they have an idea. A group doesn't get an idea. You get a meme from someone else, and it seems to survive on its own. Not all ideas are memes, and not all memes are ideas.

But finding a meme these days is like mentioning the long tail. It seems a little antiquated and cutesy.
The short of it is, in all honesty, the only way I know of this guy is through news.yc.
The long if it is I avoid the high traffic sites like techcrunch and reddit, as I really don't feel I get much value out of them, for part of the same reason I stopped reading slashdot some time ago. News.yc is my main source of startup news at this time. Even then, I think the stories/news links have been getting more diluted with crap since I started visiting here. (I'm to blame too, as I've submitted some fluff myself).
True, but eventually most talentless hacks are filtered out and even if Scoble isn't, he's still an epic joke. There's money & free goodies to be obtained winning the special olympics as well.

Also from my understanding, he used to be largely sponsored by Seagate right? I don't get what value he brings to sponsors - seriously. When Arrington or Fred Wislon recommend something I at least check it out.

When I think of Robert Scoble I think: "too many cheeseburgers, annoying perpetual laugh and bad writing" NOT "I better buy whatever he recommends."

What does he actually _do_? I still don't understand. As far as I can tell Robert Scoble is the Washington DC or Paris Hilton of the tech scene.
Wow -- every head MRI should include one of these as a souvenir.
Ask HN: What consulting firms have you worked for?
Are there any internet entrepreneurs that started their careers at McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Booz Allen, Deloitte, Accenture, etc? Has your experience in consulting added any value to your startup career?
I disagree that we can "just build more". It isn't just simple supply and demand because land, and hence living spaces, is finite.

Potential living space is not limited to a horizontal plane.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22growing+vertically%22+%22l...

There is a reason that San Francisco buildings are notoriously short, and the reason is rent control.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-274es.html
I went through all the company webpages as well... and I didn't think they were all as bad as Scoble makes out. I have to agree with some of his gripes, but on average, the sites were pretty good.

Some of these companies are genuinely cool too, mainly the hardware startups like Adapx, microstaq, fusion-io. I also liked TravelMuse, GreenSherpa, Quantivo and Telnic.

Side note - I noticed that quite a few of these companies are based on the fuzzy social networking premise of "share this with your friends" (or "unified collaboration environments" as QTask so eloquently puts it) plus a twist (such as more security, creating lists, increased productivity or some revolutionary algorithm to share important info). The way I see it, this is a tough space to compete in. The twists usually aren't compelling enough for people to not only migrate over from the big players (facebook, myspace et al), but also convince all their mates to do so as well. One day a company may come up with something that is, but I suspect it'll have to be a big innovative step change, a game changer, not just small incremental baby steps.
Well, I'm no Scoble, but my opinion is that your site looks great. Best of luck at DEMO!
> most routines involve rest between sets

Body building and power lifting routines involve rest between sets. The rest is needed to achieve the volume which induces sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Those guys look puffed up and ridiculous, in my opinion. They're also slow and have diminished hand speed and explosive power. High volume bench pressing, for example, will actually weaken your punch. Capillary density is also reduced and endurance is weakened. Brief and intense routines with very little rest give you endurance, make you fast, lean, and not puffed up.

You routinely see chubby guys lumbering around, resting, and then moving some heavy weights. Every time I see some one going for brief intensity they're ripped, and usually among the strongest anyway.
JVM is pretty fast, and pretty stable, and pretty easy to monitor, compared to other newer language runtimes.

For example, a crashing/security bug like the one that bit Ruby in June is in much less likely for the JVM. And, there are lots of ways to profile the memory usage and code/threading performance of Java apps.
Globe & Mail Interviews 7 Canadian Start-up Founders
"Resist complaining about being downmodded. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading"

http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Criticism without an offer of a solution is pretty useless.

I think software could be better.

I think democracy could be better.

I think humans could live better.
Remedial reading strategies
Pretty cool. One of the reasons I always liked TextMate.
Those power lifters probably did a lot of anabolic steroids.
Dr.F: Would you mind telling me whose brain i did put in?

Igor: And you won't be angry?

Dr.F: I will not be angry!

Igor: Abbe...someone.

Dr.F: Abbe someone? Abbe who?

Igor: Abbe Normal.

Dr.F: Abbe Normal!

Igor: I'm almost sure that was the name.

Having gotten that urge out of the way, this is really cool and would make a great educational product, I want one for me, um I mean my kids. Really, my kids would love this.
Ask HN: Recommended path for self-study math and CS?
I've been programming since I was 12 or 13, all self-taught, but I went to college for Business. I've been a full-time freelance developer for a little over a year now, and I've been inspired by a lot of the deep technical stuff I've read here on HN. I've always really enjoyed math and programming, and delving into more rigorous CS and/or Math really interests me.

I'm just wondering if people would recommend seeking a grad degree at this point, or going more of a self-study route. And if the self-study route, are there any particular books or online courses you would recommend to start?
I don't think the Internet will kill the Jonas Brothers. People will still buy music, though probably not as much. The marginal cost of a song distributed online (hq) is probably less than a penny; the music industry should look at this as an opportunity not a death knell.

These arguments have been made before in better prose. The article is too long, even if you enjoy the description of the NIN concert inside.
I workout regularly and have for quite a few years.

a) I don't track the numbers, I know what I lift without writing it down.

b) Overtrainer is a bad name...as mentioned. Over training almost never happens and has a bad stigma. People have difficulty getting TO the gym, not staying away.

c) I don't see it solving a problem. How many people do you know that say 'I wish I could have better charts of my lifting amounts'? Or 'I wish I didn't workout as often'.

Sorry for the negative feedback, but it's sincere.
Yep, especially with tools like kcachegrind for visualizing the output of valgrind's profiler (valgrind --tool=callgrind)
A new and improved post, based on the feedback I received for my first post (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=296641) from PieSquared (thanks!).
In that case, the model - charging people for a potential risk - had a fault. Perhaps following a different model would have worked.

And thanks.
A Web OS? Are You Dense?
That's like saying "I don't have to take care of myself or look good, girls will like me anyway because I'm a great person" which is nice, but completely not how the real world works.
List of likely startups launching at Techcrunch50
My experience is that in the Bay Area, there's a critical mass of "talentless hacks" that basically support each other and create barriers to entry for actual talented people. Scoble is their king. Sarah Lacy is queen.

That being said, there's a ton of really talented people in the same area, just that most of them have either cashed out, work for Google or Apple, or are so busy building stuff that they don't have time to blog crap.
In Chicago, I've become wary of trusting much on Yelp. I've been checking out touristy stuff lately and had some really lousy experiences. Inevitably, when I check to see what the yelpers think, they rave and 5-star it.
I really disagree with things you state as facts.

Firstly, the different between appearing ripped and appearing 'puffy' or bigger is far more about diet and cardio than anaerobic activity. The guys with abs at the gym are far less about practical strength and more about a strict diet and large amounts of aerobic exercise to put them at an unnaturally low body fat percentage.

High volume bench press will weaken your punch? I call bullshit. Tell that to someone like Houston Alexander. Or Rashad Evans tonite, knocking out the best puncher in MMA (and clearly a weightlifter).

Brief and intense exercise doesn't give you very little endurance. Instead, it works your muscles, primarily recruiting fast twitch muscles and improving anaerobic efficiency.

Lastly, if body building/power lifting routines are making you slower and less explosive, why when I was training as a competitive gymnast were we training with large weight/low reps and weighted pylometrics to gain speed and explosiveness?

I always hear talk about 'overtraining' but really I think the huge issue is under nutrition. I trained 20+ hours a week when I was younger as a competitive gymnast and didn't come close to overtraining. Overtraining occurs when serious bodybuilders workout 4+ hours a day, not when you workout twice a week for 30 minutes.

Finally, I find your 'ripped is the strongest' statement ridiculous.
Well if you consider learning what you want to learn or grad school as a middle step, what do you want your destination to be?

If you want to go into research or teaching, then a higher degree is probably a very good idea. If not, it might not be the best. That is not to say that you can rule it out with certainty.

If you're doing it purely to satisfy your curiosity and desire to learn new things, I would (and did, and am) just pick up some recommended books on the topic and try to absorb what you can. I find if you force yourself down a path on what you currently find interesting, it can begin to feel like a chore.

Find some like-minded people, join a community, start a project and never stop learning.

In terms of recommending books, you'd have to be more specific what interests you. If you don't know, which is fine too, you can read about general things you find interesting on Wikipedia and crawl links starting there. You're almost guaranteed to stumble on something interesting.
totally agree. i lift regularly. i'm just not going to use a site with that name. even to test it. it's just a huge mental block. sorry.
One of my favorite things about graduate school is that you can be a complete information glutton. Go as ridiculously far as you want in your research, and then justify some of it later with a degree :-)

If you've got the time, money, and diligence to do it, it can be a lot of fun. By fun I mean lots of hard work and suffering, but yeah, "fun." :-)
I still don't think "famous" is the right word to describe him.

The conversation, early adopter aspect Scoble brings is kinda cool. The throwing stones from a glass house aspect isn't.

Yeah DEMO blows and it's ridiculous to charge startups 18k to present - but obviously the startups saw enough value in it to participate.
I've read through your replies to comments up to the time I'm submitting this comment.

Please explain why or how you think YC promotes ME TOO mentality.

I'm not disagreeing or agreeing with you, I just want to know better where you're coming from. For my own view, I see that there tends to be a habit of mob upvoting of already upvoted comments once comments reach a certain threshold above other comments in a discussion.
I'm going to quote you one day - that's a phenomenal line.
Simple answer: you can't. Best you can do is ask people why they bought from you, but usually their response is suspect. Most will say "through a well-balanced comparison of your competitors" when the answer is really "your ads had the best-looking font."