skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
You know, I've been turning it over in my head for while. I'm of a similar mind.

Mason may know a whole lot – but he commands none of the respect I feel for the other names associated with YC. He's an antibrand. Maybe someone can someday make a compelling case for why Groupon isn't a completely scummy greater fool play. But all the sane, non-frothy things I've read about it make that a tough mountain to scale.
I am making a some assumptions in this advice I'm giving you. You should get out, I understand you have invested the time and effort. But if they can't carry their weight, there is a lot of potential risk for the future.

"I think my co-founders are idiots". What are your expectations of them for the future. Do you see them becoming geniuses? Staying in with the expectations that a bad player will become a good player is an insane risk for you.

If this start-up becomes big, how stake in the company are divided will become a huge pain point. They are going to want more than they deserve. I've been around plenty of people who are all talk and heard many horror stories. I'm fortunate not to be burned but I've made a strong effort to surrounded myself with the right people. I'm telling you this to minimize mistakes that may take a huge portion of your time. Time is the most valuable thing you have so spend it on projects and people that are worth it.
This. If the only thing keeping you from bailing is an attachment to past decisions... don't let it keep you.
From what I've read, the best approach seems to be to sit, but also to set a timer to get up and walk around for a minute every half hour or so

FWIW, that's exactly what my doctor recommended when I went to see him about back pain. I asked "Um, I hear great things about standing desks?", he didn't even say whatever, he said, "I don't want you to use a standing desk."
The three types of specialist
It's probably going to be pretty good, at the very least entertaining. Andrew has a music background and he's funny as hell. As an ex-Groupon dev, I'll pre-order it at full price.
For me, HN is a platform to discuss interesting things with interesting people and to expose myself to opportunities that I would otherwise not have. So yes, I do use my real identity.
They could have added them on the side. But they where trying to tap public markets and avoid revealing the operating costs at the same time. Going to Wall Street is optional, but going there is a huge commitment and those bankers act in a very predictable manner.
I didn't realize anyone would not use a real identity on hn.
So fighting a lawsuit that threatened to cost them money "forever" vs. whatever it cost to fight and win "now," that would not fly with you?

Could you invest in my company please? I like to spend money all the time.
My manager at Google had a 5-year-long history of using fake performance problems to tease out peoples' health issues, and then using that information to fuck with them. (For one case, there's a year-long record of meetings moved to conflict with therapy sessions.) HR did absolutely nothing about him because he had a reputation for "delivering" in spite of his known sadistic behavior. (I spent months investigating this shit, and went places I didn't belong.)

Oh, and Google is one of those stuck-up companies where if you get a bad performance review, you can never move to another project.

It finally ended up being up to me to expose that manager (which I did after finding my next job) and when I did, I experienced some extremely unprofessional attacks. Someone (possibly my ex-manager) found out where my next job was and called in a hit.

Given that, I'm justified in enjoying Google's stumbles.
If you have a doorway adjacent to a hall, stand in the middle of the doorway and angle yourself slightly off parallel to the hall and do your jumps there. You make a lot of noise hopping in the middle of a room but (assuming a similar floor plan below you) stacked doorways lead to short beams for support that don't flex or echo near as much.
As a Jones, I feel you. It is almost impossible to find a good username or email address that is not already taken. My wife was formerly a Kokernot, and is finding she can no longer command first.last@gmail.com.
Google really needs to understand the culture.

No-one minds if you avoid[1] part of your tax. It's expected behaviour. But Google have taken it to extremes.

People usually say "What's the problem? They're obeying the law".

But Google (and others) might not be obeying the law. They hire expensive huge companies who specialise in tax avoidance. These schemes are borderline legal, sometimes illegal.

When the companies are caught they make a deal to repay some of the tax, and agree not to do it again.

Starbucks claim that they make no profit in England. That's clearly nonsense. Amazon paid about £3.5million in tax, but received £2.5million in government grants.

Avoid a bit of tax, just stop taking the piss.
I think this might touch on a larger point. If a startup grows with poor customer service then how incentivized are they to add it later on?
The question presumes the existence of a singular, unified "real identity".

Nevertheless, I answered 'Yes'.
I think its great idea to have him at YC .He was at the helm of fast growing tech company of all time , He could defintely help the YC founders with tips on hyper growth and what pitfalls to steer clear from...the hardly working ep uhhh not so much but you never know
Embracing the Void
AT&T blocks Google Hangouts
can someone explain to me why people view service shutdown's (by Google in particular, it seems) as some kind of epic betrayal?

In every other industry, discontinuing a product is a non-event. In fact, even within the software industry its usually a non-event. Nobody is out there screaming havoc when Goodyear tire discontinues a product line that wasn't selling well. Google isn't allowed to do the same?
Its never too late to change or fix a bad decision.
Sounds like its time to go.
Show HN: Zoomendar - My new take on the iPhone calendar
The Poison of "No"
> * I walk several miles a day to and from work.*

You don't wear flip-flops a lot walking long distances, do you? The lack of heel-support is a huge contributing factor to over-pronation and probably Plantar Fasciitis. If you're not wearing flip-flops, are you walking several miles with proper support shoes for that distance if you have a flat foot? Something like the Asics Kinsei or Kayano series.

I'm a runner and regularly walk/run several miles to work too. I have no arch in my foot, but this was a couple years before I ever got a standing desk. I developed serious foot pain one summer wearing flip-flops everywhere.

I also have a standing desk I've had for 2 years now. It's a Geek Desk, and has a motor that allows it to raise from sitting to standing. First couple months I definitely had some new aches and pains, but they eventually went away. Two years later, I don't have any pains now. I don't stand all day though, I alternate between sitting and standing, and I take breaks about every 25 minutes.

I wonder about your posture on your makeshift standing desk. If the desk wasn't at the correct height it could also cause problems.

Edit - Also I picked up one of these years ago and use it daily, helps a ton: http://www.amazon.com/Medi-Dyne-ProStretch-Unilateral-Stretc...
This is very good advice, and there are a number of times in my career (and life, really) that I wish I had respected this mode of thinking. It didn't get through to me until I read it in a book about chess, actually. In the book the author warned that beginners get into trouble by paying attention to momentum. Instead, it suggested, it was better to look at the board each move as freshly as possible and ignore what happened to get it into that state because it was irrelevant.

More often than not, I think that's good advice for darned near everything. I'd say take a fresh look and weigh your options. If you didn't have a job right now is this the one you'd take? If not then stop! Because that's what you're doing every morning, you're taking this job for no better reason than you took it yesterday and the day before that.
Great work. Just needs a beautiful favicon so it can look great sitting in my bookmarks bar ;-)
FlightCar, a cheaper rental with a twist: It’s somebody else’s car
just move on. I'm sorry you were treated badly by your manager. taking it out with public tantrums doesn't make you look like the good guy though.
Banks do their transactions with reorderable increments and decrements, and reconciliation after the fact - they are "eventually consistent".

More realistic example of stuff actually mattering: you sold product and took the money. People will be annoyed if they don't get their goods.
Flash has this feature for at least 10 years now. So no need to exclude.

Proof: http://web.archive.org/web/20031221102318/http://www.macrome...
We did exactly the same thing in my C programming course. Its funny how the best way to learn is to reimplement functions and algorithms that were revolutionary 30 years ago =)
Curtains don't protect me when I'm outside in my backyard, and convincing my neighbors to invest $500 doesn't really scale.
For a totally alternative and HN-relevant take on this subject, see http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/fashion/art-and-techology-..., a NY Times article about the uncomfortable relationship between the traditional art collecting world and the new tech millionaires. As someone actively involved in the art world (photography, music, dance, and theater) as well as the tech world, this article made sense to me. A lot of it, though, gets down to the art world simply not understanding their (potential) customers. The art cognoscenti have traditionally sold a sense of elitism and insiderism that is, frankly, alien to most programmers. If they want rich programmers to support the world of fine art, they need to find a way to make it valuable in non-financial terms. Programmers simply don't value "taste" the same way (see PG's excellent essay on taste here for a different take).
In a nutshell Zoomendar is a fully touch-enabled calendar. Basically you navigate your calendar by swiping, tapping and pinching. As always I'd love feedback of any kind.

Video to see how it works - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbrBKmPruLA
> I think my co-founders are idiots, that they fouled up their side of the deal, but I feel as though I've invested too much time and energy to bail now.

You've got to let go of this attitude. If you cling to it, then you will never leave, even if your co-founders are idiots and the business is a failure. What you need to do is quit as soon as possible. Only then can you start on a better endeavor and improve your quality of life.

I once heard someone say, "Give up on crap." It may sound juvenile, and it goes against the rosy, feel-good "Never give up" pep talks that we're used to and almost expect to hear. But I've found it to be a much better guide in life decisions. Go with it.
Argh, sorry for that. I did not have CS5 to test. I'll see if I can at least put in a better error message.
"...I feel as though I've invested too much time and energy to bail now."

Unless you feel there's a realistic chance of success within the timeframe that your personal situation allows, you should bail. Don't let the past trap your future.

"I've learned more in the last year than I have at any other point in my life, and I've become a better programmer and designer. I've always said that even if this doesn't work out, I'll have become a better, more capable professional in the end. And I feel that I have."

And you no doubt are! I'm not sure where you are, but there are tons of companies in SF/Silicon Valley with 6-50 employees, VC funding, etc that will pay relocation and a nice salary for a versatile full-stack developer with demonstrable skills. There may be a startup in the future, but there's no shame in using the skills you developed at this startup to get a nice job for a year or two. The choice isn't between BigCo and no salary frustrationsville.
Take a "founder leave of absence" and start doing consulting. Tell them that as soon as they raise money you're back on (they probably won't).
Can somebody please explain why Groupon has 12,000 employees?
HBO orders Mike Judge's Silicon Valley to series
Using science to reform toxic player behavior in League of Legends
Can you clarify what "called in a hit" means?

I'm not exactly in the tech community, so I'm hoping it means something different than my understanding.
Did you think that the non-tech people you picked would be great co-founders at the time (whom you now consider idiots)? Or did you think that they'd be useful in getting funding (which they failed to do anyway)?

You say that you've become a better programmer, and are proud of your product. It's the business model that stinks, right? If product is all you care about, why aren't you working on an open source project? You'll constantly get developer reviews and user feedback and can build a truly fantastic product. If business model/ funding is secondary ("let's just pull in a couple of idiots who'll take care of it for me"), you really shouldn't be starting up.

Okay, you're already here and want to know what to do now. Cut your losses and get out. Now. Get your shit together and figure out what you want to do.
> the notion that a bunch of internet strangers will be able to give you some miracle advice is absurd

While not miracle advice, I cannot think of a better venue to ask startup-related questions. I don't know anyone in real life, none of my friends do this, etc. In contrast, a substantial portion (if not the majority?) of users here have been part of a startup, and have firsthand advice.

Sure, it's not miracle advice, but the fact that these are strangers on the internet is not sufficient to discount the wisdom that many here are willing to share.
My username is associated with practically everything I do online, and my real name is trivially discoverable from it, so I voted Yes. Although, Google+ seems unable to figure out what my real name is, even after uploading my driver's license (I found it ironic that in reply to my uploading a photo of my government ID, Google+ suggested that it would go better for me if I just used my legal name. Er, what?), so maybe it's not that easy. ;)
You could easily liken it to being angel investors in Silicon Valley. A middle class couple might become great at it, but they wouldn't be able to pull it off in Sheboygan.
Wow, congratulations on all of this to everyone (Harj leaving is kind of a surprise, he's awesome).
Meta question: Is there still a compelling point to having long-term unique URL checking on HN if submitters are going to tack on things like "?repost"?

It makes sense over the period of a day or so to avoid 100 simultaneous duplicate items, but beyond that it seems people are working around it all the time anyway.
Google, NASA Open New Lab to Kick Tires on Quantum Computer
Yup. This kind of complexity they have been forced into because the simple general solution that they think should work and which does the vast majority of the time also routinely causes pants on fire emergencies.
Play this thought experiment in your head. Imagine:
1. you have not been involved in this company
2. you are approached to take over in the technical role given where it is

What are your thoughts?
Are you interested in participating.

It's a typical "sunk cost" decision.
From the tone of your note I would guess you would answer you should leave.
*chea or chur!
http://dwave.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/first-ever-head-to-hea...

Geordie's reply to Scott's blog: "The majority of that post is simply factually incorrect.

As one example, Troyer hasn’t even had access yet to the system Cathy benchmarked (the Vesuvius – based system). (!) Yes Rainier could be beat by dedicated solvers — it was really slow! Vesuvius can’t (at least for certain types of problems). Another is he thinks we only benchmarked against cplex (not true) and he thinks cplex is just an exact solver (not true). These types of gross misunderstanding permeate the whole thing.

I used to find this stuff vaguely amusing in an irritating kind of way. Now I just find it boring and I wonder why anyone listens to a guy who’s been wrong exactly 100% of the time about everything. Update your priors, people!!

If you want to know what’s really going on, listen to the real experts. Like Hartmut.

http://googleresearch.blogspot.ca/2013/05/launching-quantum-...
Just checking in, did any of that work out for you?
In our case yes.
And still is really sad that Google employees still waste time creating memes about Michael in their stupid internal memegen site many months after his departure.
The ironies are indeed rich. Thanks for that!
How to build a Mars colony that lasts – forever
I think the new photo features announced yesterday alone are worth it. It will save people from countless hours of photoshopping. I just hope they integrate those features into Picasa.
Good. I'd say it should help. Not that you need it, but all counts. (: Good luck with YC. I've always seen you as a stand up guy, after that episode with FB wanting to buy you out and you declining. Takes character to do that. Something rarely seen in SV.
"I managed over 12,000 people at Groupon, most under the age of 25."

So mostly CSRs / sales, right? Outbound cold calling and the like.

"Haven't you read any business books? Good to Great? Winning? The One Minute Manager?"

Why would they? Those are books aimed at business management, not customer service representatives.

I'm working as a paramedic. I don't prep for my new paramedic job by reading the textbooks my Medical Director (an MD) does.
I was in a very similar situation, I built a web-app pretty much exactly as my biz partners needed; I spent probably 15 months writing it. I put everything into this venture, I lived on my savings and drained my 401ks as a last ditch effort hoping things would turn around.

Guess what, never happened. My partners were idiots, they didn't want to do anything I suggest. I told them about TechStars Boulder at the start some 2.5 years ago now (I live in Denver), they didn't like the sound of it, didn't like having to give away equity for 'nothing in return'. Now, 2+ years later, the one remaining Biz partner wanted to do TechStars, is leaving his day job to put everything into this. I told him I simply couldn't take the time off to do it now, that time had past, I have a new fulltime job I love and there is no way I'd jeopardize it for our startup now (turns out he applied and we were turned down anyway, probably for the best).

Unfortunately sometimes you just have the wrong partner(s), it's as simply as that. Why not get a full-time job and go into maintenance mode ont the startup? That's basically what I finally did. I told my remaining partner I can't live like this anymore, barely scraping by and that I was going to get a fulltime job and commit to them 100%. I will still fix bugs but as far as new features go, I simply tell him I won't add anything until he signs up 10 new accounts and pays me for my time now. Hasn't happened yet and he's been trying for about 6 months now focused on the business trying to sell accounts.

Be honest with them and tell them you can't live like this any more, you've kept your end of the deal, they are welcome to soldier on but you have your own responsibilities to take care of. You'll gladly help maintain what has been built, fix bugs and do what you can outside your normal 9-5 job, but otherwise you are going to have to focus on what's best for you and your family. If they are good people they will understand, if they are not, then you've done all you can and should feel fine with moving on and doing what you need to do.
I think the correct sentiment: if you're relying on an advertising company like Google, you're going nowhere fast.
Found it myself: mostly deal writers. Still, holy shit.
No. I try to be bias free and open about where I come from, but I've worked for large employers who can be quite emphatic about managing their corporate image. I feel that by not using my real name I'm able to talk more freely- whether it be criticisms of my current employer (career limiting move), or non-public but not trade-secret information.

I feel that I can be less biased and more honest by using a pseudonym.
This is wonderful.

Can you make a way to skip sections?

Living in a house built in 1840, jumping jacks are out of the question...

(Also if you click rapidly on the 3/2/1 countdown you can kind of skip things, because the app goes to all madness.)
a lot of people on phones trying to source good discounts in every major city in the world.
Very cool! You got me off my butt and moving for 7 minutes and it was a great work break.

A few notes for you and others:

1) There are a few that switch sides/legs and I would handle them differently. For the lunges and step-ups, I think alternating sides is good. For the side planks, I think it would be useful to give the other side a whole segment. Splitting it in half wouldn't be much of a workout.

2) This is awesome because for the most part, you can modulate the workout however you want. In fact, keeping a log of the number of pushups/situps/high knees/etc would be cool because people could see progress. This might be a nice extension for the site!

3) It may be good to balance things out as far as muscle groups go. Pushups are repeated multiple times, as are squat related exercises. It is important to balance these out with the muscles that oppose these exercises.

4) Even better (at least for me) would be to have a series for desk workers that open up your body. We spend so much time crouched forward that a series of exercises to counteract this would be awesome.

Thanks and I hope you keep building on this!
If you no longer believe in this idea, let it go. Find a job with income and relax for a while till you are ready for the next adventure!
Thanks man, yeah you can now attach full files on dribbble.
If this were just about me being unlucky, I'd be able to do that.

The problem is that these things are common. They happen all the time, and they keep happening to people all over the place, and nothing is done to these fuckers. That's what makes me fucking angry.

The guy pulled that shit for years and HR not only did nothing, but repeatedly kept people from moving away from him. Same story, five fucking years, over and over, and they did nothing.

One bad manager is just life. A company that deliberately allows them to thrive for supposed project expediency gains has no right to use the motto: Don't Be Evil.
Do web designers actually use the internet?
Cold-call sales reps, often working largely on commission.
This situation is actually very simple, don't let it feel overcomplicated:

Tell them you need an actual salary and actual health insurance in the next 30 days. If the venture can pay you to keep at it, that's great. Otherwise you'll have to start looking around for a real job in a couple of weeks. Even the most brick-and-mortar type of businessperson will completely understand this.

Stick to your schedule. It will either work out or it won't.

If it doesn't, no hard feelings.
Parcels find their way to you via the crowd
There's a funny cartoon (from 1996, no less) about the downside of posting on the internet.

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?GhostOfUsenetPostingsPast
> I feel as though I've invested too much time and energy to bail now.

Look up Sunk Cost Fallacy.

Also this related episode of Freakonomics is great: http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/09/30/new-freakonomics-radi...
Ask HN: would you pay for an email service?
Right now, almost all email services are from providers who use email as bait to get users to use other services. If there was a service with no other goal except to give you the best email experience, provide support and keep your data safe and not use it for marketing purposes, would you pay for this service?
I don't think there is any long-term unique URL checking. I'm pretty sure it only checks for recent duplicates. I think that's by design.
That's me - only I'm like that in person too.