skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Someone once said this:

> That's the essence of a startup: having brilliant people do work that's beneath them.... Think Einstein designing refrigerators.

The idea being that once you've made your pile, you can go on to do more interesting things, like novel startup generator startups, or writing your own toenail clippings and oatmeal language, or whatever else you fancy:-)
I don't think he liked it.
if it's so bad, why'd he finish playing it?

and the time he spent playing it is worth WAY more than the $160 (as he must know).
This is awesome for me as I just discovered a Hack Space about 10 minutes walk from my house. HN continues to deliver :)
D-Wave’s Quantum Computing Crackpottery
what a paradox, compared with the 'amazon - best season ever' article...
This is a tangent, but since I know you're a Lisp guy, I'd like to hear about how you go about debugging. Currently working in emacs/slime/sbcl, it's my one real complaint. Really all I want is a normal single-stepping debugger with the ability to view local state. That doesn't seem like such an inordinate desire, but I haven't seen any setup that comes close to it, which is annoying. My email address is in my profile if you'd care to compare notes about this.
For some reason I read this headline as "Rails Reorganizes To Make Room For Merb."

Guess I need to lay off the eggnog.
Just because it's Steve Yegge does not mean a review of a mediocre game deserves to be on Hacker News.
The Science of Shopping (1996)
Reminds me of Greg Egan's Luminous. I can't find a link for it, but here's its sequel, which sort of alludes to all the important details: http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0805/DarkINtegers.shtml
The strange thing is, those who made correct predictions like Dean Baker et al., are marginalized even after they turn out to be correct.

The lesson: There is little penalty for going along with the herd, even if you are wrong, but there are consequences to being correct if you violate the herd norms.

Always being a contrarian would more often be right than the opposite, it seems -- especially lately.
Those into this idea should read this great (encouraging) article:

http://www.expatsoftware.com/articles/2008/05/laid-off-one-t...

It inspired the hell out of me.

It's more about NOT coding, and taking time to see the world cheaply, but looks like the author (Jason Kester) was so font of living this way that he started a company called Expat Software to code full-time from cheap exotic places.

Expat Software's site says, "Where exactly are we located? That is difficult to answer, as it changes on a regular basis. A good place to look would be a nice beach with cheap bungalows to rent and a fast internet connection."

:-)
Nicely framed by the Fred Wilson post that's also on the front page right now:

This downturn will be marked in history as the time where many of the business models built in the industrial era finally collapsed as a result of being undermined by the information age. Its [sic] creative destruction at work.
Ask YC: Cars?
I know that most of the "Asks" that we get here are business and tech related; but I get the feeling that hackers tend to be car people as well (I know I am).

Anyways, I'm in the market for a new car. I had an embarrassing situation recently where I picked someone up from the airport in my 2-seater and couldn't fit their luggage in my (tiny) trunk.

So, I thought I'd solicit the hacker opinion - What do you guys drive? Do you like it? Is it fun?

I'd like to keep it under 50k, used is fine too, if it's something you'd recommend. If you know something that's definitely worth it, but more than 50k; I guess I'd like to hear about that too - I just have a hard time buying a car that costs more than the house I grew up in.

I live in a car town, so bicycles aren't an option!
The one in London seems to be for so-called "hacktivists", not people who just want to code. I'll pass.
Innovating ones. :-)
surprised that there's only one space in sf (https://www.noisebridge.net/) - has anyone been there?
$14 Steadycam The Poor Mans Steadicam
i got an 07 nissan altima, and i like it. its just an all-around solid vehicle, so far. good value for the money spent, on my part.
In this New Yorker article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_... , there's a discussion about a novel cancer therapy for which this microscope is well-suited. The idea is that, when cancer metastasizes, that each of the cancer cells circulate in your bloodstream thousands or tens of thousands of times, so you've got plenty of time to nix them, if you can find them. If you could design a device that would shunt some of the blood out of and then back into a blood vessel, check for cancer cells in between (if you could develop a recognizer, which is apparently feasible), and remove the cells one at a time, you might be able to slow the disease long enough for other treatments to run their course.
I personally don't like cars very much and use them only for getting from place to place. Bicycles are way better on so many levels: exercise, a sense of freedom, a beautifully efficient machine, something fun to do to get away from the computer, a quick means of getting from place to place over limited distances.

But I'm not a fanatic and cars are useful, so: whatever is functional and won't break down. Toyotas are pretty good that way, or at least those I've owned are.
You're joking, right? Name 2 developers each for the Rubinius, JRuby, MRI/YARV, and IronRuby projects, 2 developers from Passenger, anyone working on the Nimble Methods blog, anyone working on EventMachine, any 2 developers working on Merb, any non-37s developer working on ActiveRecord, anyone working on Ruby-AST projects, anyone working on GitHub and anyone working on Ruby git bindings --- there, I'm at 20, and I haven't even gotten to _why yet.

Don't bullshit me. The fact that Zed talks the talk doesn't automatically mean he's walking the walk. He wrote a webserver. There are 100 Ruby developers who have written more --- and more important --- code than Zed, and I haven't heard about any of the crank calls they've gotten.
Amazon said that they had more orders; they didn't say what those orders were, and more notably, they didn't give estimates on revenue for the holiday season.

Amazon may end up doing well this holiday, but I wouldn't ring the death knell for traditional retailing based on a press release.
The Economic News Isn't All Bleak
We had this discussion on another thread and concluded that Java's a very bad introduction to programming. To understand even Hello, World requires an enormous amount upfront:

class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello, world!");
}
}

What's a class? Why does the name of my class have to be the same as the name of the file (and why do I have to rename it on the disk if I change it?) What's "public", "static" and "void" mean? What's an array? What're arguments? Why is String capitalized when main isn't? What is this System business, why can't I just print? Why do I have a semicolon on the end of that line?

If you want to teach people you've got to start from the freedom of using a suitable language, which means to all practical purposes LOGO, BASIC or Scheme.

10 PRINT "HELLO, WORLD!"

Or

(display "Hello, world!")
I've got a Honda Accord, and really love it.
C++ FAQ Lite
To be clear, I absolutely wish I could ride a bike everywhere; sitting around in traffic just isn't fun and driving never feels as interactive as biking. But the fact of the matter is that everything around here is measured in miles away from where I'm at so bicycling isn't really an option for me unfortunately.
Most hackers tend to be male, but I am afraid you can't ask what razor to buy on this forum!
The ones with a business model..

Revenues > costs
"Retailers went from 'Ho-ho' to 'Uh-oh' to 'Oh-no.'"

I feel like he's been saving this one.
This is something I'm actually interested in doing as well. I have a friend who lives in Bangkok - so I'd probably be crashing with him and his wife for a bit.

I'm also going to Hawaii for the month of February - lodging is free though since I have family friends who own there.

Working away from home can give you a bunch of new ideas. I'm currently in Jamaica for xmas and have had at least 2 dozen new ideas for current and new projects. A change of scenery is always a good thing.

Please let us know what you're doing - maybe start a blog. I'd be really interested in your planning/trip.
Its been there for last 5yrs or more. But why this on Hacker news?
Follow the YC mantra: "Make something people want"!
Sure, that's understandable, but you could also make some adjustments:

* Live in a more bike friendly place. Admittedly, that might be a pretty major change though.

* Wherever you live, structure things so that at least one or two things can be done by bike. I.e. live near enough so that you can at least go to work or somewhere else 'important' by bike. Maybe not every day, maybe not in all seasons, but it's a start.

Speaking for myself though, I think cycling is the perfect hacker sport, and wouldn't live anywhere where I couldn't ride my bike in terms of transportation and for fun:-)

Incidentally, where do you live? You're one of the many who have zero information in their profiles:-(
a good option. can't really go wrong with a popular honda or toyota model- reliable and extremely easy to find a place for repairs.
lexus is250 awd

You can pick one up for around $36k before tax. I have a rack for it and it's great in snow and for taking the mountain bike out. It has the best interior of any car that costs anywhere close to it IMHO. Definitely recommend it if you want something nice and are into outdoor stuff too.
the new Infiniti G35 sedan hands down, great value. Or if you want the coupe, I've driven a G37 coupe before and it is top notch as well.

I would recommend the BMW 335i but honestly it's too much for what you get, although the turbo 3L engine is beautiful and won an award recently for best engine of 2008 or some such.
I would find it very odd if this guy didn't know what an array was but did know what a linked list is.

I'm guessing (since I've been there myself at one point) that he thinks a list is just some list in memory and he doesn't understand the internal representation of any of the structures at all.
Yeah, but it's a great line. (Also, Mary Delk is most likely a "she".)
King of Shaves Azor gets my vote :-)
Would love if you can share a similar article on online shopping - that'll immensely help this forum.
We all are trying to create something that we would be able to offer online, or have people pay for subscription, or what have you. Would like to get into deeper psychology discussion on what makes people make such decision. Any thoughts? Articles?
that could well be the case, but do you think that schools around the nation will be able to find great programming teachers that understand teaching programming?
FeedBurner Quits Blogging, Gets Eaten by AdSense
I highly - highly - recommend the Cadillac CTS. You'd probably pay a tad more than $50K for the CTS-V, which does 0-60 in sub-5.0, but that's a great option if you're a torque freak (like me).

Small enough to parallel park, and the thing has a fantastic note when you go 10-60 up an on-ramp to the interstate. Caddy's new "Cut and Sew" interiors beat the pants off of the Japanese and are warmer than the interiors of the Germans. And the pop-up navigation impresses everyone. It won 2008 MT COY not for nothing.
Better yet, make something people will pay for.
I had a 2001 330i and liked it quite a bit, but it did feel like it was a bit pricey in comparison to a comparable Lexus or Infiniti. It was a fun car though, and the newer ones are definitely on my short list.

I've also driven a couple of G35s that some friends have had and they also seem quite fun. The coupe gives me some pause though; I drive a 350z right now and iirc they are roughly the same with regards to trunk space. Although, I guess I'm not sure if the G37 has that irritating crossbar in the trunk that the Z has.
Most of those jobs don't require a PhD. Perhaps a few of the quants, a few crypto programmers and a few operations research people. But certainly not all of them. As I noted, even many academic jobs (teaching positions) don't really need it.

While having the degree helps you get the job ("omfg you have a PhD you must be so smart!"), it isn't necessary. The number of jobs where PhD level mathematical knowledge is necessary is actually quite small. Producing more PhDs will probably not be as helpful jmtame seems to think.
If you "just want to code" then you fail. The reason to hack is to build, explore and fulfill your passions.

From "the one in London"'s website:

"The London Hacklabs Collective is a group of people interested in using technology to bring about social change. We establish, develop and run Hacklabs - political spaces used for independent media, the promotion of free software and other emancipatory technologies. Hacklabs are places to share skills, to learn and to teach."

Are you scared?
Improving startup virality using prediction markets to estimate failure probability.
The idea here is that users of your service will tell their friends about it if it is looking increasingly likely that your startup will fail without more word of mouth marketing.
I drive a toyota tacoma. The Taliban and African warlords use them as lightweight tanks. They literally never die. My lifestyle takes me off road and in deep snow frequently and I would never get anything else. I've just kicked it's ass for 100k miles and I've done nothing but scheduled maintenance. If you need more than a car get a tacoma. If you don't, they are a complete pain in the city and you'll drive yourself nuts.

Whatever you do you should buy Japanese. I beat up a subaru wagon for 150k near flawless miles before selling it for a good price. They are great. My friends have also had great luck w/ honda's.
Another option is to get city carshare, zipcar, or any other car sharing service. I'm in SF, and I'm thinking about doing that myself -- I get to use a car when I want to, and it'll be less money than if I owned a car (which incurs insurance, maintenance, gas costs etc).

I ride my bike to work, so the only activity my car get is moving from one side of the street to the other.
Audi A4 with Quattro.
A CS professor who taught my friend came into class soon after his wife gave birth and lamented his new baby's "poor user interface."
Paul Allen believes a tipping-point is near in brain research
I think it puts you at a disadvantage. It's generally far easier for the established, high-traffic, high PR, etc... player to add a new resource bundle with language de jour, than for you to rebuild their application and get the traction they already have.

Plus, if they came up with something new to begin with, they probably have smart folks coming up with ideas on what to add/enhance next.

I'm not saying it's a bad business move, or that doing something in order to make money is wrong, but copying someone else's effort just feels a lot closer to domain squatting than creating value (although yes, having a localized version of the web-app has some value) to me.

While I wasn't first to the market space with 10MinuteMail (actually I hadn't even looked if anyone else was doing it, as I was just doing it to teach myself Seam), 10MinuteMail definitely had a twist on the temporary e-mail thing (a good twist for some users/uses, bad for others). 20MinuteMail sprang up shortly after 10MintuteMail, and there a number of people who have or are trying to sell "10 Minute Mail Clone" scripts on various sites. So I've been on the receiving end of the pure cloning play. It feels kinda slimy to me. Plus 20mintutemail has less users since Aug '07 than I had before lunch today, so I'm really not sure it's a smart move for the cloners.
Buy an used 2008 -- I'm seeing loads of people dumping their new cars -- Honda or Toyota econobox and use the rest of that money for something else more important.
Well you have a number of choices...you really didn't tell us what you like.

I'm guessing Luxury/Performance, so I'd recommend the following:
For a little bit more than 50K you can get a bare bones M3 Sedan or a C63 AMG.

But if you want to save money, you can look at a 335i, and then after you buy it, spend about 1K on ECU mods. Straight-line performance you'll be a little bit quicker than an M3.

But you really need to tell us what you want you like, since pretty much the only thing you said it that it needs to have 4 seats and be under 50K.
The best one I have seen is: Karl's mortgage calculator:
http://www.jeacle.ie/mortgage/
But that's beside the point, why this on Hacker news?
the infiniti is definitely a fast car, and fun to drive, but the interior to me feels so much cheaper than the comprable Lexus (IS series) or BMW. At least the G35. I haven't been in the new G37.
Links to real info:

http://www.biophot.caltech.edu/research/ofm/ofm.html

[edit, more better:]

http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayHTMLArtic...
the audi a4 2.0T is also pribably a good one to look at. I've driven the A3 with the same engine and it's pretty good. You look down and realize you are going 80+ without even thinking about it. The new design is pretty hot too. If you want something more sporty check out the s5 2 door sedan, although that probably tops out at 60k fully configured.
those pesky chinese! The economy didn't tank because we didn't save enough, it's their fault for saving too much and ramming their money down our throats. </sarcasm>
I was just wondering what the Hacker Opinion on hair conditioners is? And maybe shoe polish? A lot of hackers seem to wear shoes, so Inquiring Minds Want To Know!

Uhm, can we please not have these threads here?
I never had much interest in cars. I want something safe and practical that will get me around. I'm about 6'3", and quite literally have a difficult time fitting comfortably into many modern sedan-like cars. (They seem to be getting smaller.) I occasionally need to transport some large-ish audio equipment around, so space is a plus.

To wit, I ended up with a Honda CR-V. It's roomy enough that I don't feel cramped, can hold most everything I need to carry on a semi-regular basis without being huge, and the top-of-the-line model costs around $25k (or, it did, when I got mine). Seems to have excellent safety ratings.

I've been very happy with it, but I'm sure car fans might fine my choice on the boring side...
I think this is the best option for most people. Audis are like Macs, they retain their value really well.
Is this forum really so wealthy that a casual recommendation for a $50k car seems normal to most of you? Or is this just posturing? Serious question.
Computer Science is a discipline applied to something, such as doing coding at a startup. Most CS students turn out to be coders. Not many people, for example, are going to go off and write new compilers and program in MIPS assembly. Most will end up doing the typical Java and C/C++ development stuff. My roommate for example doesn't have any interest in AI or machine learning or data mining (although I'm not necessarily referring to those fields as being easily outsourced).

The complaint I'm making is one that has been voiced already by many universities, including my own (Illinois.edu). It's the reason schools like Olin College are getting built and considered by Newsweek and Kaplan as "one of America's next Ivy League schools." It has nothing to do with computer science being difficult, it's because it's not interesting. This isn't about how to distinguish CS from coding, it's about fixing the outdated curriculum from the Cold War when we basically said "forget drawing and practice in the Computer Science and Engineering degrees, we're strictly math science and analysis now."

Java and C/C++ development is what most CS students will end up doing (coding). Those are the people I'm talking about; I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. If you think success is all about bribery, you (as defined by Michael Arrington) have a losing attitude and have no place in Silicon Valley. Not my words, but Mr. Arrington's. And I for one side with him in saying that hard work produces more results than flattery.

My point is this: nobody wants to learn coding with zero application. I'm saying that higher education doesn't have it right because 50% of students dropout, so you're going to try and move it into k-12 and expect better results? How on earth do you propose to do that exactly?
You need to provide some context about what you like/want/need in a car.

Do you want horsepower, handling, interior luxury, technological doodads, room for a family, three dogs, do you drive in the snow, do you race, is gas milage a big deal, what kind of styling are you into, do you like doing your own maintenance, do you want to mod it, how reliable does it need to be, etc...

I moved from a modified '99 Mitsubishi Eclipse to a '00 Audi S4 (which I LOVE). My criteria were:

I didn't want to spend of $20k, I wanted something over 300hp (used a chip to achieve this), I wanted it to handle/perform very well but to be more comfy/quiet/solid than the Eclipse, I didn't care about gas milage, I wanted something that had understated looks and didn't draw cop-eyes or look like a penis-surrogate, I wanted something with a strong modification community and vendors, I wanted something with bigger back seats than the Eclipse, I need all-wheel drive for snow, I wanted something I could track a few times a year.

The S4 is perfect for me (my next move will be to a 2009-2010 S4, S6 or RS4).
yeah Top Gear did an episode on the Tacoma...they dropped one from a 10 story building, drowned it in an Ocean, lit it on fire and they were able to start it afterwards w/o any new parts.

Here is the episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4Ksz3nHM + drop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDtC9kjVk
I have the Mazdaspeed 3. It's basically a souped up version of the Mazda 3. It's less expensive than many of the other cars mentioned (which I also looked at) but is far and away the most fun car I've ever driven. Can do a sub 6 sec 0-60, is a hatchback so doesn't catch the eye of the police (side benefit is that it will fit your friends' bags), and gas milage is good.

Never thought I'd drive a hatch, but this thing is a beast without looking super pretentious.
You should decide on criteria - what is important to you?

When I have realized that over 40,000 people die every year in car accidents in US I have decided to reduce my chances and focus on safety first. This means a lot of air-bags, all-wheel-drive, stabiltiy, traction and abs. Also a powerful engine and agile steering so that I can steer out of trouble and ramp-up quickly when I need to. This has reduced my choice considerably.

Next criteria was larger trunk space, so I figured it will have to be a crossover or a station wagon.

Further, I wanted good reliability (better than what I had from my previous Olds) - my time is too valuable to mess with repairs.

Lastly, I wanted it to look good within my budget (<$40k).

This actually narrowed my choice to two vehicles: Subaru Legacy Turbo and Acura RDX. My girlfriend then broke the tie in favor of the better-looking vehicle (the RDX). So far I am very pleased with all core criteria. The only thing that gives me grief is trunk space - I want it to be bigger still. One (very rare) feauture that I still want is remote start so that I can into a warm car.

If I were to raise my budget by $10k it will begin to include Acura MDX, Infinity FX35 and maybe a couple of others. Another $10k and I would start looking at Porsche Cayenne.
Just took a look at some of the New York City hackerspaces and came across ITP, "Membership fee	approximately $60,000 over two years." Somehow I don't think it's worth it.