skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
You mean it's interesting how irregular natural languages are, but those are the ones we use instead of well-defined ones? Yeah, I guess it is interesting. But then again, nature comes before science, right? (Well, not if you asked a string theorist.) We're trying to impose logical systems where they do not exist, like reliable computers built on top of unreliable transistors (or relays, or vacuum tubes, for that matter). Heck, we even mix countable and uncountable, continuity and discreteness. We count two rocks and therefore we think we can have exactly two meters of something.

Why can't we just be well-defined formal systems? :/
"Google" is not one uniform hive-mind:

It was probably created by one department, and when it start getting big someone else noticed the raising cost and made them shut it down.
Fifteen Things I'd Like Apple to Tell Us About the iPhone Today
Guy Kawasaki's Alltop gets more personal with MyAlltop
Read read read. How to survive 8727km from Silicon Valley? A great list of blogs.
Some quick notes on a app that I think I will use in the future to manage the todos for our small firm (just need to convince the CEO/wife :-)

1. Being a swede I like the date format YYYY-MM-DD

2. The controls for changing the projects (private, completed etc.) on the bottom feels unconnected to the project. Perhaps you should place them just below the project bar or to the right of it.

3. The term changelog feels like programmer talk, perhaps you should use reports or history
I actually think this is an excellent move on their (tipjoy's) part. Although I am not sure why people will use this other than it being gimmicky.

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't tipjoy get 3% and paypal (possibly) another few %?
That makes the $1 twit-tip very much less.

I assume they are just doing it for the growing twitter crowd. hell, twitter does not even make much sense to me, so maybe this will work for them! ^^
I feel like unnecessary variables are extra bad; in cognitive terms they feel like they add more than one token to the length of a program.

Do you mean your username is actually descriptive? Since you are obviously a Lisp hacker, I'd be happy to have a truce. Can you send me an email?
I may well not be getting something here. It seems to me that money, at the core, isn't a true representation of wealth. Obviously economics is not zero-sum in terms of wealth, but isn't it supposed to be zero-sum in terms of money? Certainly businesses aren't expected to manufacture the cash to represent the wealth they create.

At the same time, I understand that banks much prefer that a loan be repaid in money, rather than raw wealth. When you fail to repay a loan and they repossess your house, that's sort of like payment in terms of raw wealth, I guess...

Obviously I've got something wrong, because if the total money supply is constant but the total wealth is increasing, then money should become MORE valuable over time, not less. So, either the actual supply of money is increasing faster than the actual amount of wealth (for whatever reason) or else money doesn't actually represent wealth like it's supposed to. And if wealth and money aren't properly correlated, the daddy model of money may be very appropriate even if the daddy model of wealth is obviously wrong.
But at the same time this junk variable is code-as-documentation professing the incomplete destructuring is intentional.

You could go a step further and have a special ignore symbol, (for instance * ) like most pattern matching languages/libraries have with the property that it can appear multiple times:

arc> (let (x * y . *) '(a b c d e f) y)
c
How software developers work (send to your boss)
This is great "motivational" advice. So for anyone that needs motivation, here it is!

Practically speaking though, the post encourages a lot of learning, reading, researching, networking, talking, etc ...

...at the end of the day ...

Get

Work

Done.
I think group is expanding lately also to include people who have nothing much to do with their time.

While I agree with what PG said in this particular case, I think it should nevertheless be silently patched just in anticipation of further grow, which is inevitable, at the very least due to layoffs and which is also bound to include bored, occasionally malcious, people. And certainly Zach is none of such. Attitude should change.
i think much of this is due to the language barrier, and also due to the ease of use (and ease of writing nginx modules)...
That storm-climbing maneuver sounds really cool!!! Do you have more detailed info on that? Other than Wilbur Smith's novel, that is.

It reminds me of that classical optimal control problem in the 1960s: the U.S. Air Force wanted to find the fastest climb for its F-4 Phantoms (so they could reach their operational ceiling ASAP to intercept Soviet bombers). The optimal path was counter-intuitive: first climb, then dive, reach supersonic, climb again. Sounds crazy, but they could reduce the climbing time dramatically that way!
Dodged a bullet there I'd say. At least your "hacker" seems to be a reasonable guy. Seems like he could have done a lot more damage. I hope your backups are up to date and verified recoverable; a more malicious intruder might not be so kind.

While I appreciate and admire the sentiment that this is a "community of trust", security still must be taken seriously. There are plenty of guys out there with the ability to pull such tricks; they may not care about trust, and the website is accessible to anyone, good or bad.
I am particularly amazed by the F-22 avionics. More info on this at: http://www.f22fighter.com/avionics.htm

An excerpt:

"The F-22's avionics and software system is the most advanced ever integrated into an aircraft. It is the first aircraft to use integrated avionics, where the radar, weapons management system and electronic warfare system work as one, giving the pilot unprecedented situation awareness."
True enough, but I'd strongly prefer a more general policy (such as a payroll tax holiday) that would benefit all businesses.

Anyone under 40 should feel quite foolish paying payroll taxes anyway, considering that social security will self-destruct long before we get any benefits.

So in addition to paying payroll taxes, tech startups are helping to subsidize loans for startups in other industries!
Can You Pass a C.E.O. Test?
Custom fit Golf Clubs
Forgan supply Golf Clubs, Golf Sets, Golf Trolleys, Irons, Golf Bags, Golf Balls, Golf Shoes, Discount Golf at low factory direct prices.
No, in-kernel http servers went nowhere because of sendfile(2)
Thank you. I've sent you an email.
Indeed. fnid = function id
I'm from Detroit and I've seen the way union thugs intimidate and essentially coerce people not to cross the picket line. While there is a hint of nostalgia for the early labor movement still present in the word, these days the word Union is synonymous with backward, seniority-oriented, immigrant-hating, dying industry working thugs.
Another thing:
I created a team member for testing purposes, now I'm stuck with "him", it should be possible to:
* remove accounts
* remove a member form the team
* be member of more then one team

Most likely something you have under way but wanted to add a quick note
No, a plane discovered it and after being called in archaeologists used Google Earth to see what the plane saw.
How to Backup MySQL Database automatically (for Linux users)
If you are a serious webmaster and have your own server, you should take special care of your data. If you are a BSP (Blog Service Provider) or have a large forum, you need backup the database every day. But it is a boring work indeed. Why not to let the computer do the dirty work? Cron can help you.
Ask HN: Is it necessary to learn maths to enter into programming?
I'm 14yr-old-guy. (going into 15 after 2 months)

I want to learn programming, but the problem is some ppl are saying "we've to be very good in maths in order understand anything about programming and moreover, you are too young".

Is that true? I'm not that much good in maths, I know only school-level maths.

Could anyone please give me links/books to learn maths (something like learn maths for entering into programming) ? Hope you guys will understand my problem.
Tangential Question:

"Page: * 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 Next Page »"

Is there some usability/design advantage of having an article split into pages like this? CPM advertising revenue? It drives me nuts - sometimes you can escape it with print view, but it slows down reading and forces you to navigate/break train of thought a few times per article.
The Grand Unified Theory On The Economics Of Free
Global Seed Vault, Svalbard
Glossy screen - instant disqualification.

It's really sad how the proverbial "average consumer" who runs into a consumer electronics store, gravitating to the glossy displays "oooohhhh shiny" ruins it for the power users who then get stuck with this crap too (or have to pay a premium to get an "inferior" display).

I saw the Adamo's unofficial (gizmodo I think) preview video a few weeks ago, and the screen was so glossy that you could clearly see the guy holding the camera in its reflection.

I have a macbook, and I'm frequently distracted by significant reflections if there is any light source behind me.
You don't use much of the stuff you learn in HS math in everyday programming. You don't need to understand calculus to write most programs, for example. But the underlying ideas you learn in math can make you a better programmer. E.g. the idea that the right notation can be very powerful.
"we've to be very good in maths in order understand anything about programming and moreover, you are too young"

That's nonsense!!! I started programming at age 8. I know people who started at age 4.

You DO need to know math if you want to develop software for avionics systems, robotics, or cryptography (among many others). If your interests are none of the above, all you need to learn how to program is time, passion, and dedication. It takes time and effort, not maths. OK, some basic concepts of logic are helpful, but not strictly required. Last but not least: read PG's essays on programming.
My experience is that developers who think they are gods gift to programming have too little self-doubt / introspection to:

1. produce code usable for others
2. solve problems in a simple and sustainable way - since they are so great, anything they do must be good... solutions tend to be cryptic
I've noticed another big factor here is how often & in what order I use all the things I plug into my computer. I use a MacBook, so all the ports are on the left. If I plug in my USB, then power, then audio, etc, every time I do so I pull the wire I'm plugging in to the top of the stack. Doing this often causes the wires to become knotted/woven together.

Anyway, you're right about this article applying more to earbuds, they talk about coiled string in a confined space.
I think you don't need to learn maths to enter into programming. I am a web developer for more than 1.5 years, and I don't need maths at all.
Blogs for Developers
True Ventures: The VC Startup (RWW Interview)
Home and Bedroom Furniture Adds
Home and Bedroom has added the Amisco line of Bar Stools existing lineup of Hillsdale, Pastel and Linon Stools, to give customers a tremendous selection. Also, trying to help the many customers who are fighting tight budgets, they are running a &quot.
Of course it was hacked... By the creator of it :). That's why other hackers find it interesting.

For the question whether it's cracked... I dunno but nothing is perfect.
For a very tight virtual server config I can see the use for nginx, but for a normal server, running just apache, memory is not going to be an issue. There are probably other limits that will affect performance, such as the connection just as you say.

For example I tried running a server with apache + passenger on an ec2 node, bumped up the MaxClients to 1024. I evened out at around 400 simulaneous connections. Maybe it was due to some mysql limit or limits from the placed I sent the load from, but I was consuming around 50% cpu, so there seemed to be some other thing.
Yeah, the integrated monitoring in passenger really simplifies rails deployment a lot. It was always very tricky to shepherd the mongrels.
Combining Agile Development with Customer Development
You don't have to name it. It could be _.

(let (x . _) '(a b c) x)

It sounds like you're treating list destructuring like CL's mvbind. While it's subjective of course, I'm more comfortable with the runtime doing what I mean when I control the number of values (modulo `(apply values ...)').

I'm not comfortable with destructuring values "flexibly" when I don't control the data coming in.
Everyone knows math. The more math you know, the better a programmer you will be.

That said, there are more important things to programming than math. The very first of these is practice, as with anything.
Late iPhone 3.0 Prediction - Preview Dashboard
Thanks alot. I'm happy that there are real hackers who can remember that they even had a first time in learning something. The real hackers share.

The lamers just blame away the "askers". In HNs case the lamers 'reducing points' (at their will). I believe that those lamers think that they are 'born knowing everything' & haven't ever heard the phrase "With great power comes great responsibility".
Im a very poor mathematician and I think I am a pretty ok programmer!

The math I have ever used in programming has been minimal/low level stuff. So yes you need to be ok at maths: but only to a basic level.

At the moment I am doing a lot of work with hash algorithms and that is fairly heavy math: but still doable with some research.

I've always said that a good ability to write english (or whatever your native language is) is more important. If you are a good writer chances are you will be a good program writer too (note: not necessairily a good programmer).

A strong writing ability will let you write solid looking, readable, fluid code (which is often one of the most important things) whilst a basic mathematical grounding and some "out of the box thinking" (focus on the latter) will give you the ideas for the code to write ;D

Your never too young.
There is a difference between trust and anarchy.

Without the passwords there is no trust. With accounts and account passwords you assume that one account == one person. That is the trust we put into the community.

Having no passwords does not mean extra trust: it just means we would have to trust what people post less because there is now a higher chance that it is not them. :)
That's a thoughtful post.

But why do I literally need to get out onto a life raft in the ocean with my co-founders? Are there customers out there?
Haha you can tell this is hacker heaven... I automatically typed 2 == without even thinking aobut it :D
The people you are talking to are totally wrong on the second point and neither wrong nor right on the first.

You will never be a good programmer unless you are very, very good at certain kinds of math. You can start programming if you have a fair grasp of arithmetic and know that a symbol can stand in for a number. That is, in many countries, covered in pre-algebra.

Much of the math that generally gives people trouble is not needed in the day to day lives of most professional programmers. You can also proceed quite a ways into learning foundational programming concepts (syntax, input/output, etc) before you start hitting things that will be impossible to understand without more rigorous math or formal logic.
If Firefox goes that direction, I will no longer be able to use it.

No tabs == all the disorganization of IE6, with all the "new media" crap of iTunes.

I don't mind change. But I want it to make me more productive, not less so. I don't want flash and "ooh ahh" technologies because some geek who never has to use it thought it was cool.
"we don’t have Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and Citibank to compete with."

So this might not indicate any particular health in computer science in itself, just comparatively.
Ask HN: feedback on The Great Movie Experiment - an alternative to IMDB star ratings.
Hi everyone, I would very much appreciate your feedback on a new site. The gist is that we're compiling a list of movies based on head to head votes, as an alternative to imdb star ratings.

The format is 1000 movies facing off in a round-robin tournament (~500k votes per round). We needed a non-arbitrary sample of movies to vote on, so we've started with a list of the Top 1000 US box-office takings. Each round, the bottom 50 will be culled to make room for the top 50 in the Up & Coming.

We're working on... 1. an 'add movie' page, allowing you to add any movie to the up&coming 2. member pages showing your own votes & reccomendations, 3. actor pages, ranking the movies people have been in by popularity.

Monetising... 1. netflix add-to-queue buttons, 2. amazon links (the site is great at reminding you of things you want to see), and feasibly 3. targetted advertising (ie. only show this ad to people who have voted for romcoms).
Cisco’s Data Center Love Fest
Tutsplus is great.

I found this Smashing magazine tutorials rather useful http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/03/10/web-20-tutorials-....
If wordpress is unmaintainable then why do they keep releasing new versions of it? How come so many people use it?

And you're writing it in Perl? Sounds maintainable!
>> It's easier to grow fast if you're a country that has been blown to bits and is putting everything back together, rather than one that's already prosperous.

Yup. In 1949 the US had had something like 80% of the world's manufacturing capacity. From there, it had no place to go but down. Or more exactly, the others had no place to go but up.

Also, we think of the Euro-zone economies as being sclerotic because for the last 20 years most of them have been. The book was published in 1982, before the European regulatory and welfare spending onslaught. Averaged over the last ten years, Germany has had little growth.
It's a metaphor for the fact that all you have is your cofounders, so choose wisely.
Such as what? (honestly interested)

I would dispute the need for a good amount of logic / logical process. But I dont think that is purely about math :)
It depends. :)

You don't need any in-depth knowledge that e.g. a university math student would gradually attain. On the other hand being rather good at, for example, high school math will help you understand basic concepts such as complexity (why 1000x operations is better than x^2 operations...)

Logic and logical thinking is also valuable but it can exist without much math per se. It also helps a lot to know set theory because you can think of many things in programming as sets.

On the other hand being smarter is more important than knowing math, because if you're smart you will usually pick up enough of any basic math that you need. Also, there are lots of people who like to, for some reason or another, explain and model their ideas and algorithms mostly "in math" whereas doing it "in English" would also be possible and much more comprehensible, thus removing an artificial barrier to understanding something.

However, most important of all is practising and hacking as much as you can because that's what eventually makes you smart, with regard to programming too.
Make the images smaller - they tend to load slowly on slower-ish connections meaning the text/title changes but the image is of the previous movie. Cue confusion ;) Otherwise pretty good show.

Also how about doing a mobile version if you can, that would be snazzy (Iphone yeh!) :D

I'd be interested to see the rankings you get from this.
YOU ARE ALL GAY; BURN IN HELL
The anatomy of cloud computing
I actually had the opposite experience in high school. I could program, but my math was terribly poor. My last math teacher was also a computer science teacher, so he helped me to make connections between concepts in programming and concepts in math that allowed me to grasp things I otherwise would not grasp.

So, no, you don't have to be very good at math. It can help, and is needed in certain fields, but I don't think it's needed to be a math whiz. If anything, it can help your math.
How does this compare to Rightscale? Is there an overlap in services?

Either way, great idea... We'll consider moving to it for my startup (NewsCred).

EDIT: Also, very interesting that you don't provide much information or details about your service on the site. Three logos, and three short sentences at the bottom. I was clicking around trying to find out more, but then realized I would have to sign up (I didn't yet). But I can see a lot of people signing up just to take a look.

Was that an intentional strategy? Doesn't it reduce the number of signups or does it increase? Did you A/B test it?
Jeff Dean: Challenges in Building Large-Scale Information Retrieval Systems [PDF slides]
The clan society actually remind me more of modern day Somalian system rather than Iceland. That society was actually doing better in comparsion with their neighbors in some aspect. Did you know that they have the cheapest international call rate on the continent?

However, I know little about them since I never travel there.(Iceland is historical so that's a different story) One has to travel to Somalia to decide for themsleves if anarchy actually work. Even then, you have to take into political situtation so you don't get a skewed view.(The UN is trying to establish a state I heard)

In as so much for special interest group. I thought such society will undobutly exists in a free market society but they probably will be kept in check by the free market. My big worry is more about the system collapsing into a centralized system, which become a big vector for corruption.

If you want the definte work on how a free market society might work, you might want to read the Machinery of Freedom, written by David Friedman.

However, I know no such works dealing only with organizing a society's incentive and disincentive structure to deal with corruption.
Actual talk recording: http://videolectures.net/wsdm09_dean_cblirs/

Summary:
http://glinden.blogspot.com/2009/02/jeff-dean-keynote-at-wsd...
It's running from the server in the attic just now so it won't be as snappy as possible! Our intention would be to put the images on a CDN at some point. In the meantime, would a loading spinner on the graphics avoid confusion with the title text?
Seems like a really weird way to compare ratings, when you have match ups of childrens movies to horror movies or something along those lines I know I for one cannot compare two movies in separate genres well as you can't base them relatively. Just an opinion of mine, if you compare lets say stuart little to the omen, one person may choose the omen because they don't like animated childrens movies, another may choose stuart little because it made them feel fuzzy or w.e, now if you put the omen against halloween or stuart little against madagascar you get a more truthful comparison.

I guess I'm saying I would like it better if you had like different genres, they don't even have to be that specific like say horror action comedy family; and could compare withing those, but I guess that is limited with your selection right now.
I would prefer a Liked, Disliked, Haven't seen choice pattern where "Liked" and "Disliked" reload both pictures.

It will be less annoying than clicking on "Haven't seen it" ten times on both pictures and will provide more comparison data.

Edit:

If you don't like the "Disliked" choice, you could simply reload both pictures when clicking on "Haven't seen it".
There's no reason not to other than life's led me here just like it's led you there. When (not if) I go back I will start a startup there.
It's because when you read that article you have to click to a new page 3 times. Thus what would be 1 page view for an article becomes 4 page views. More page views = more impressions = more ad revenue.
Also, many data analysis problems are solved best using functional style. This leads you down the right thinking path, regardless of what language you learn or use.
"Super fast" game download launch