skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Oh, Mafia. Sweet game. There are special cards just for the game, now?

edit: Whoever's handling the slide transistions sucks at it.
They are proud of a positive trade balance for the EU (of 3 billion, which seems tiny for a 16 trillion GDP). That's silly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism

David Hume famously noted the impossibility of the mercantilists' goal of a constant positive balance of trade. As bullion flowed into one country, the supply would increase and the value of bullion in that state would steadily decline relative to other goods. Conversely, in the state exporting bullion, its value would slowly rise. Eventually it would no longer be cost-effective to export goods from the high-price country to the low-price country, and the balance of trade would reverse itself. Mercantilists fundamentally misunderstood this, long arguing that an increase in the money supply simply meant that everyone gets richer.[20]

Countries with trade surplus are giving loans of wealth and capital to other people who are better at actually using stuff. In return for their giving up their stuff they get money, which has only one use: getting some stuff back later. Whereas countries with trade deficits are like new companies that get a loan and go do something useful with it -- they are the ones who are best at using stuff.
Gillette's fanaticism with R&D
A Programming Textbook Joke
More something kind of amusing than funny.
Just curious, why choose Python to learn first? Is that what most here would recommend?
I lived in Germany for 7 months last year. Everything looks good to me, they have a very strong consumer market as opposed to what I've seen here in the States.
Yes, I did say you would probably still move (and still want to move). But not necessarily to SV.

If there are 'only' 5-6 startup hubs today, not too long ago there was only one. Since the other 4-5 hubs managed to grow in spite of SV's existence (and dominance), I do expect this number to increase further, by one order of magnitude at least.

I don't think the star-system is necessarily a relevant analogy because it is focusing on individuals, who as actors, actually have quite a few more options than just Hollywood. Rather, what would happen if 50% of the next generation of movie producers and production companies were from St. Louis (or Bollywood)? Or, for a different scenario, 50% of the next generation of SFX and post-production companies? Do they all have to move to Hollywood? Can some of them move back? For some types of companies, It's actually demonstrable that they don't all make the move, and a rash of soundstages and post-production facilities are sprouting up in secondary hubs across the US because Hollywood is too expensive and crowded.

Your empirical argument is well taken. By no means was I arguing that SV would become irrelevant to the current industry because of growth per-se, but you're assuming that startups are (and will remain) an 'industry', and second, that they will remain the same industry.

Personally, I anticipate quite a bit more disruption and creative destruction than that. The US rust-belt is testimony that further growth in an industry can under the right circumstances pass existing hubs by, eventually making them irrelevant because the industry itself has changed in fundamental ways. It is also possible that 'startups' might get distributed into the broader economic fabric as thoroughly as 'web design' or 'desktop publishing'. This may actually be required if companies in all industries (in industry-specific hubs everywhere) are to grow by acquiring startups rather than hiring.
What is an idea worth?
Here is a common situation for starting projects. One person comes to the table with an idea, and one or more people join them.

What is the idea worth? If there are 3 people, how could you split up things from the beginning? Is the idea worth anything?

On the same note, if someone has some domain knowledge and contacts in the field, how should that play into the first split?

I have discussed this with several people, and their opinions have been wildly varied, so let me know your thoughts!
Mint Rakes It In
SafariWatir: The Watir Driver for Safari (test your Rails apps automatically in Safari)
That reminds me: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33930
ASUS Motherboard Ships With Embedded Linux, Web Browser (boots in 5 sec flat!)
What does that even mean? It's called programming! Making software! Stuff!

"Hack" is a verb that badly needs a direct object behind it, usually with the word "together" in between, and even then it's still cringe-inducing, because usually its usage takes some form of "look at what words I use." The word "hack" is practically a form of profanity.
I disagree with Matt too on this one, but it's a bit rough calling someone an idiot without at least telling him why...
until something like open id becomes more mainstream, I guess it's probably because we have to login to so many different sites...
> It would be rare for a cofounder of a non-broken company to have as little as 5%.

Good point.
I don't understand; I'm not very educated about economics. If a country has a surplus of money, wouldn't it make sense to invest that in countries that are appreciating, like those with trade deficits? (Investments like real estate, stock, etc don't show up in trade balances, do they?) Then there's no oversupply of "bullion", and I don't see why trade surpluses can't expand indefinitely.

In fact, the phrase "oversupply of bullion" doesn't even make any sense when I think about it. Bullion is defined as "that stuff that can be exchanged for anything else", so how can you have too much of it?

If these are stupid questions, sorry :)
I thought this was gonna be about Mint.com making a ton of money.
Curse you, chaostheory! You've revealed my secret weapon!
You've stumbled onto a pet obsession of mine, so I'm compelled to comment. This isn't hacking-related, so apologies in advance.

The most important element of a good shave is by no means the razor--it's wetness. If you start using a shaving brush and a good cream (the kind that comes in a small tub, not an aerosol can), and make sure your skin is always wet, the improvement is something like switching from a chainsaw to a scalpel.

Secondary to that is the razor. In my experience, the best shaves are to be had with a single-blade safety razor. The learning curve is steeper, because it doesn't let you get away with all the bad habits and sloppy technique that pivoting, vibrating, multi-colored blades forgive. After three or four shaves, though, you're all set.

http://shaveblog.com hasn't been updated in a while, but its archive is informative and well-read by shavegeeks.
Ideas by themselves are not worth very much. Its really about how the idea is executed that matters. Apparently ideas are not worth much very much in the legal sense either, unless backed by a patent.

If you are just starting out you might want to consider an equal 1/3 split between everyone. For our startup, I've been doing most of the work up until now, but I still insist that we each have equal share. I want everyone to be accountable and feel responsible for the companies success. Basically, no one should ever feel less obligated due to a lower ownership percentages; we all have to work our asses off 100% in order to win. Even small changes to the initial split could alter this balance. At least that is my opinion.
Web 3.0 - Just Hype?
If the work is of a commodity nature (ie something a quick visit to rentacoder could accomplish) then the idea is worth a lot, relatively. But most ideas aren't worth much. It depends. Ask yourself: Does my idea fit one of these molds:

Social networking for X.

A combination of google maps and Y.

An online app to let you keep a personal list of Z.

...then your idea isn't worth much.
What is a bliki engine?
A mentor once told me "talk is cheap until you hire a lawyer", that said ideas alone without a definitive plan on how to tackle it followed by actual execution is nothing but hot air.
I also put the most emphasis on execution when it comes to starting off. I think ideas really are a dime a dozen.

I guess the trickier question comes when someone has a lot more domain knowledge and some contacts in the field. This knowledge can translate into a "good idea" that is solving a problem in the industry. How much does this factor in?
Is not a BK idea but FON's (http://www.fon.com), an Ubuntu-like WiFi movement/business that already has the support of Google, Skype, Sequoia Capital and others.

And I think that, yes, the secret plan it is to overthrown the telcos oligopoly.
A combination of blog and wiki. Blog articles are written like wiki entries. Wiki articles can also end up in the blog.
We've hijacked this thread enough by now. Time for us to make our closing arguments and move on. This will be my last post, though I'll read whatever you post in response.

Your last post seemed scattershot to me, but I do want to respond to what I think was a very peculiar argument in your first sentence.

The US isn't forcing anyone to burn hydrocarbons, of course. But a treaty is still important, because many smaller nations will conclude that if the huge emitters aren't going to change, there's no real point in sacrificing themselves (to some extent, this was Australia's rational for rejecting Kyoto).

There's an article in this week's economist about applying prisoner's dilemna to global warming action - where it pays to defect (let other people do the heavy lifting on reducing emissions). If the rest of the world gets it together on global warming, then you'll get a free ride. If the rest of the world doesn't - well then we're all going to hell in a bucket anyway, so why bother with sacrifices? But if everyone acts this way, we'll all be much worse off than if we had cooperated.

The economist article also points out that while defections pay off in single-run games, they don't necessarily pay in repeat games, where subsequent punishment for previous defections may cost more than the benefit of the original defection. In this context, the community of nations who do cooperate may be able to punish defectors severely enough that they prefer to come on board.

I suspect that California is trying to signal to the world that it is cooperating, not defecting, on global warming - by making a very big and public break with national policy. This, along with other policies, is part of the california "brand." While California needs to do more (and an editorial in the SF Chronicle comparing California's policy to New Zealand's shows that we are in no position to get smug), this is no bogus fabrication.
I wouldn't claim more equity for being the idea giver. It is hard enough to find co-founders as it is, so I figure giving away my idea for free is the price I have to pay to convince other people to join me. Hopefully we will still all get rich, so who cares.

It would annoy me if the co-founders were less dedicated to the idea than I am. In that case I would try to negotiate more equity from the beginning.
Very, very important observation. Coincidentally, the recent Wolrd Bank story (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=64367), is quite relevant to this thought.
I guess ideally each person would contribute something valuable to the team (maybe something the others dont have), making the even 1/3 split justified. The person you talk about would be contributing their domain knowledge.

If one persons contribution is low to point that an even split couldn't be justified, then I would just make sure that you really need them as a co-founder, as apposed to an early employee. If things are close though I would try to justify the even split so everyone is on the same plane.

In my opinion its just not worth getting greedy over small percentages, if it could compromise the success of the team or cause internal strife. The following quote comes to mind: "I'd rather have a slice of the watermelon than a whole grape."
cool, wish their website would work in safari though
> giving up their stuff they get money, which has only one use: getting some stuff back later

It's not just for "getting stuff back." It's capital. It can be used to buy up or create dividend producing assets. Nations that accumulate capital can invest it, and through the magic of compounding interest and capital investment they can race ahead of competitors.

> countries with trade deficits are like new companies that get a loan and go do something useful with it

This way of thinking is so at odds with historical reality I need to know where you encountered it. Every great and ascendant nation has run consistent trade surpluses. Nations with trade deficits are either banana republics or headed that way.

The US trade deficit is not from imported capital goods. The US imports consumer products.

The US now runs a trade deficit with every region of the world. The US has a net trade imbalance in every category of industrial/scientific machinery and high-tech products.

Sorry, there is no way to spin trade deficits as positive.
if all you have is money, what do you eat? this isn't a problem, you can buy some food. but if you do, that creates a trade deficit. if you never have a trade deficit after a surplus, that would mean your country is full of money that it never converts into useful wealth.
> if you never have a trade deficit after a surplus, that would mean your country is full of money

Don't be ridiculous. The surplus can be invested overseas to buy up foreign competitors and suck away the profits, creating even more trade surplus. The surplus can be invested in creating higher margin export industries domestically, again growing the surplus.
"Interest in Mint.com spiked after TC40"

Mint LAUNCHED at TC40, so yeah, DUH, interest peaked.
"if you never have a trade deficit after a surplus, that would mean your country is full of money that it never converts into useful wealth."

My original question suggested a way to turn that money into wealth -- buy real estate, stocks, etc in other countries. (This is, from what I understand, what actually happens -- more productive countries buy parts of less productive countries, in effect.) Actually, I think there are only two possible answers to my question: first, that purchases of real estate, etc, are included in any analysis of trade. (This would mean my question is just a misunderstanding of what a "trade surplus" is.) Second, that Hume was wrong, and that a country can maintain a trade surplus.

Now that I think about it that way, I'm almost certain the answer is the first.
As ridiculous as things have got here with the welfare state and the size of government, the problem is much worse in Europe. There is just no way they can continue to afford the government payrolls and social benefits they have.

The US has a chance of navigating out of the failing socialist systems. The cultural heritage of individual independence and government mistrust means it's possible. But Europeans exhibit nothing but obstinate rigidity, even with a more serious problem. It's a ticking fiscal time bomb.
Daniel Defoe - On Projects (free ebook, text from 1697)
consider equity as a reward for risk taken. if people want more equity, they should take more risk (drop out of school etc)
Angel Financing: How long until I get my money?
In any early stage company, availabiliy of cash to fund operations & growth is an area of prime concern. So in this article I will talk about the timelines around securing angel financing. I will outline a hypothetical week by week timeline as a company progresses through the funding process. Obviously every situation will be unique so take this all in context.
GPhone Revealed: With 'phone' project, Google has mobile ad dollars in its sights
The person with the idea should get at least 50% of the company.
if you're buying things (real estate, stocks, etc) from other countries -- ie, trading with them -- that has to count towards any reasonable definition of trade surplus/deficit.

so, i think we agree, even though kingkongrevenge considers it ridiculous.
Pmarca: OK, you're right, it IS a bubble
Technology trumps nostalgia. Sorry buddy, a good modern cartridge blows away straight edges and single blades. And wetness has nothing on the sharpness of the blade.

In any case, the best daily shaving experience is to be had with a high quality electric foil razor. Wet shaving daily irritates the skin too much, and one day's growth isn't enough for the razor to pull on and make a close shave.
Oh, dear god...don't learn how to program from K&R!

Aside from K&R being a bad first-time instructional book, C is just a bad choice of a first-time language. Most CS departments start freshmen with Java, these days (hell...back in my day, most new programmers started with Basic or Pascal, before moving into the ugly world of C.)

If at all possible, learn a scripting language first. Learn Python. Learn Perl. Learn Javascript. All are more productive and fun for first-timers than C. Compared to C, they're all ultra-expressive and ultra-friendly, and you will have an easier time understanding the why of programming, since you won't be as distracted with the details of the how.
Discovering how Phish tapes were being shared through the internet was my first hacker experience. I was 15 when I got into this scene thanks to an AOL account my parents had. This was pre-napster and it was the only way to get a copy of live music that was not available in the record store. Learning about the whole process of taping a show and distributing it with trees of people who made copies of the show for people underneath. A lot of it was social networking since the tapes were sent through the mail, but it was all coordinated over a newsgroup and email.
Breaking: Newsvine Acquired By MSNBC.com
Python gives you the nice features of modern, dynamic languages (you might not know what this means, but trust me: they're nice), while still forcing you to think and write clean code. Plus, it's not academic -- Python is a full-fledged, big-boy language, and people use it regularly for real work.

There are other languages that you could learn first, but Python offers a really friendly cross-section of features and flexibility that makes it an attractive beginner's language. It's definitely the language I would teach to first-time programmers, given no other constraints.
Have you tried to hire or fire anybody? It strikes me that big multi-nationals might be better able to deal with the cost of European bureaucracy than startups. My opinion of Europe is that it is a place where a person is dependent on his corporation and his government to shelter him, provide for him, and make decisions for him.
This is ridiculous.

Trade Deficit = Current Accounts.

Current accounts are primarily composed of a nation's trade balance, plus any interest paid/received and things such as foreign aid.

Investments = Capital Accounts.

Capital accounts are the flip side to the coin which helps balance the books. Capital accounts are a measure of capital flow in and out of the country.

The United States with its ridiculous current account deficit needs to attract tremendous amounts of Foreign Direct Investment. I.e, since we're owe money in our current accounts, we have to attract investments in our capital accounts (sell off assets) to balance the books.

When a country has surplus of money (China and its trillion dollars in reserve), it means it is running a surplus in the current account. There's only two things it can do with it: hold it (which serves no purpose... as Milton Friedman said: you just exchanged goods for paper) or invest it. China invests it by buying up US T-Bills (hello Foreign Direct Investment), buying assets (oil rights, mineral rights etc), improving infrastructure, and creating government backed private equity firms to invest heavily and well to ensure future growth.

This is also similar to what the smart Middle Eastern countries do. This way, down the line a country running a current account surplus will have a diversified and growing rate of return (interest/dividends) and can cover any dip in the trade balance.

So that, simplistically, is how the system works. Trade deficits aren't inherently bad (after all, someone has to run a deficit since trade is a zero sum game), but running huge trade deficits and then running huge budget deficits on top of that is really, really bad.

I hope that made sense.

EDIT: wording.
This article is a mess. The strategy here seems to be "setup complete straw men for all of the arguments you don't like, then dispense with them not by making counter arguments but by showing the (straw man, distorted) arguments to be silly." Plus it's hard to read.
Marketing Using a Facebook Application
Ideas are worth (almost) nothing. In the information age there are as many ideas as there were rocks in the stone age. It's having the ingenuity and work ethic to make something out of the (rock) idea that will separate you from everyone else who has a worthless idea.
$100k in One Month Challenge: Help YC News!
Here's the deal:

I met this guy, Paul Charlton (http://www.linkedin.com/in/techguru), at a SuperHappyDevHouse party (http://superhappydevhouse.org/).

Long story short, I'm now "Director of Ventures" at Ventures by ByIQ. I'm 23.

While the fund is being raised (probably about 10MM), my first task is to "earn $100k in one month."

There's no catch, no reward, and no consequence. Just do it and win, or don't do it and fail.

The conditions are:

- 100k profit. Donations are OK, too.

- Selling equity doesn't count towards the goal. Neither does equity valuation of any ventures.

- 100k must be cash equivalent, US dollar.

BUT there IS a loophole. I don't have to earn the 100k myself. I merely have to be "responsible" for creating it.

That means I can get help. From you.

So how about it, YC News?

This is a concrete goal and it's the right kick to actually get your business started beyond just "thinking about it." I have a big plan to make this happen, but I'll need good brains on keyboards. If you don't have an idea but have skills, that's fine.

Our base of operations is at my office at in Mountain View (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q...)

Oh, and it starts NOON tomorrow (10/8/07 @ 12:00 PST).

There is a meeting at Neto Cafe (http://www.netocaffe.com/) on Castro in Mountain View noon tomorrow (Monday) for those interested. RSVP here or just show up.

UPDATE
=================

I can spot up to $3k for expenses this month per person if you qualify.

UPDATE
=================

You keep your own money.

Think "Profit Pledge Drive." You keep your own profits, but you do have to create them with something that you do within the space of the month. It's the spirit of the thing that matters.

Do you log the time you walked to the store in a "walk for cancer research" pledge drive?

My personal motivation is to simply see this happen for the hell of it. The company motivation is obviously to gather ambitious and intelligent people, which is significantly more expensive and difficult than spotting a few business expenses to try a few ideas.
You don't join Y Combinator because you hope to increase traffic to your site.