skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
> I do not find, however, much evidence to support the idea that physician reimbursement has anything to do with our high national health costs.

Really? I have read that the increases in the mean wage of doctors have outpaced or at least tracked medical inflation at least since Bush took office. Given that doctor salaries are a major component of health care costs, there aren't too many ways that that can not have anything to do with our national health costs.

In general, doctors in the US make close to twice as much as doctors in other rich countries, while enduring similar costs of living. Doctor salaries definitely aren't the whole picture--we also spend almost twice as much per patient on prescription drugs along with twice as much on bureaucratic overhead.

Drug costs:

The NSF funds a near majority of the drug research that is done in the US (and this doesn't include much of their basic biology research even when it later proves crucial for drugs), and meanwhile drug companies spend close to 50% of their budgets on sales and marketing. Of the research that they do carry out, a large portion of it is on developing clone drugs to get around other drug companies' patents. Some portion of their research budgets also go into things which in a sane world I could have categorized under marketing and sales without drawing comment: stuff like cures for baldness.

Overhead:
I don't know a lot of details about why the bureaucratic overhead is so much higher; I've heard some handwaving on lawyer costs involved in eeking out payments from estates during medical bankruptcy, the costs of dealing with multiple insurers, etc., but I haven't seen any hard numbers itemizing these things. I do know that malpractice isn't a significant part of it: around the time Bush came into office touting his catch-all solution to the problem of rising health care costs--malpractice reform--the ratio of malpractice judgments in dollars to national health care spending was around 0.60%. I don't know if that included settlements, but there is a pretty decent upper bound on what settlements/judgments could have been in total: the ratio of the amount spent by doctors on malpractice insurance premiums vs. national healthcare spending was 1%.
Humour is like a really sharp sword: in the right hands it is unbeatable, in the wrong hands you're picking your own body parts off the carpet.

If you are planning on following the article's advice and use it as a mediation tool, or for any other serious purpose, I genuinely suggest you try and get an honest opinion as to whether you are actually funny.
This is a cumulative problem -- the more you let them slide, the less value they're going to give your work.

If you give something away for free, by definition, your work is worthless.

I have a clear contract and clear expectations, and every week I confirm, in writing, with the client that the work is meeting their expectations. Everything may still be "subjective", but when you have a written record of them saying you're doing a good job, and then still not paying? It's a different ballgame.

In general, what separates good consulting from bad consulting is the ability to say "no".
I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of our Congress, but at the same time, surely there is more to be gained here than simply getting our money back. Isn't the potential for technological advancement worthwhile? Even if they never release a truly inexpensive mainstream electric car, the odds are good that they will produce technology which can be improved upon by others, and in that case, we do come out ahead, if not financially, then socially.
I brought up some concerns about full content scraping last time this was discussed: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=542552

I used the feed for a few months but found the feed-readerized articles lifeless, frozen in time and free of discussion. I'm also not a fan of the title-only RSS feed. Some sites simply lose too much in feed form imo.
SublimeText 1.2 Released
facebook filtering can be very annoying. you can't send an mms:// link to friends in a message. i've to lookup their email and mail it.
Not sure if this is a quiz or not, but I assume you are refering to PartnerUP?

http://www.partnerup.com/
It's time to start guessing at what the iPhone 3GS's successor might be like.
Boy it was hard to focus on that with all the distracting ads :-)

And if you are staring at that last sentence and wondering what on earth I’m talking about, you might want to scan back a few paragraphs to find the spot where you zoned out.

This why I find audiobooks quite challenging - when the inevitable happens and I start having a tangential though (usually but not always related to what I was listening), it's hard to go back to where you were when your mind wandered. Scanning a printed page is a far superior way of recovering.
People moan about the rapidly ascending east. Well, once they start innovating instead of copying, then I'll moan too.
Robots will inherit the universe, hopefully
Humans are stuck on earth because we need it for sustenance and energy. We've had the technology to go out into space for a while now but it seems we are tethered to the blue planet indirectly. Humans need oxygen, but fortunately we can build machines that we call robots that don't. We may have trouble getting off this planet for good, but we can build machines that can.
We autopost to any blog running metaweblog api, which square space does. I was able to add a square space site to my test account and autopost to it fine, but others have had issues. email us if you need to do this and need help
Unfortunately the iPhone isn't a great example of a hackable device. With each new hardware revision, Apple has closed security holes and made it more difficult to jail break your device.
Oh and please don't sync with the server everytime I start the app. My god that takes way too long and thus becomes very annoying very fast.
Finding (and keeping) Woz
[This is a question about cofounder dynamics. I had a cofounder but he is soon departing, so out of respect for him I'll try to keep things anonymous.]

Question: Is it realistic to expect to find (or retain) a Wozniak-caliber cofounder for my web startup before the technical work becomes challenging and interesting? For my startup this could be 6-12 months after launch.

Background: I'm mid-20's, have liberal arts degree, been part of startup scene in major US city for 2.5 years; been failing "quickly and often" while bootstrapping. This January I finally attracted a Woz-caliber technical cofounder (50/50 split). We were same age, single, shared same values, both had part-time jobs to cover expenses, and I thought were both passionate about the vision and building this company into the next Apple or Google or whatever. All was good for 4 months. // Then he says he's bored out of his mind and can't finish the 2-3 weeks of work for the alpha launch. He can't imagine building features for a year while waiting for the big problems to emerge. So he's left to find a startup that, in his own words, "would make me want to pour my soul into it at the cost of something else."

So if he can't see past the "boring" work, is there anyone of his caliber who would? Or should I just expect not to find a proper cofounder until the work gets interesting for someone like him?
I see that you've added you need a windows box, but the best shared host around is Dreamhost by a long shot (however, they do linux only I think). Shell access, svn, etc. No other shared host comes close IMO.
how about starting the game with some easier/less intimidating puzzles too. My brains hurts and I'm on puzzle 2!
So, unicode isn't called multicode because...?
As we understand the power of placebo better, we will have to tackle the inevitable struggle of medical ethics. Is it okay for a doctor to lie to you and say "this blue pill is a new breakrthough, much better than the red pill you were taking before" when the active ingredient in both pills is identical? Even if she knows that you are much more likely to get better after her little story than if she said/did nothing?

It's a toughie.
Sounds like a startup opportunity: provide a service to track down stolen phones and return them to their owners.
As a single 26 year old with no house about 30 percent of my salary is deducted for government expenditures.

Given I have little choice in how that money is spent on a large scale at the federal level (beyond voting for my senate, presidential, and house representatives). I am happy that least some of it is going to help develop a new technology that has needed more support and could have a large positive impact. Even if the chances of success aren't definite, at least they have a working product.

While listening to my fellow colleagues and friends reflect on how much is spent on hourly rates for defense contractors here in washington dc that have very little working product I don't feel as bad.

Although, I agree that it can be a negative as we are investing a company with foreign interest and already wealthy private equity holders. To resolve your issue more stipulations could have been made for Tesla in order to grant them the money so that the public can somehow have a more assured return on investment.
Kodak to Retire Kodachrome
I always wondered--could placebos be an indicator that we have a latent power over our bodies that we don't understand? Meaning, could everything placebos accomplish be duplicated with direct control via meditation, or bio feedback.

Not that you'd really know if it was working, or just the placebo effect...
"This is the satutory definition of publication"

I don't see where it discusses "editorial selection" which you consider to be "a defining feature of publication"

"disintermediating the gap between feed reader software and end content."

Republishing content under copyright with XML tags and an .rss extension is no different than republishing content under copyright with HTML tags and an .html extension.

"lack of monetarization by Nirmal has legal significance"

Just because a website doesn't have ads doesn't mean it's suddenly immune to copyright law. It doesn't pass any of the fair use tests, and even if it did, courts are notorious for siding with copyright holders.

"as does the unavailability of the content in human-readable form on his website"

It's just as human-readable as HTML, both raw and rendered, and modern browsers (and all RSS readers) render it just as they do HTML.

As I said, I am opposed to restrictive copyright and am devoted to CC, but copyright is what it is. If you disagree, feel free to publish a feed of full Associated Press articles, bring it to their attention and see what happens.
Interview: Jared Brown, iPhone developer about having his app rejected
Ask HN: Online Shopping Carts? Is Satchmo any good?
I am looking at setting up a shopping cart solution for my day job and I came across Satchmo ( http://www.satchmoproject.com )

Has anyone here used this with any success? Built from Django it looks like a pretty robust, well engineered, and modifiable system. Though, I would like to hear from some of the people in the field that have used it on a production server.

I used Magento in the past and found it to be a pain to modify the templates and it broke things into so many files that the sites built with it are pretty slow out of the box.
How long does it take to sync?

You can turn off the sync from settings btw.
O'Reilly only pays the speakers that wouldn't speak otherwise. I can tell you I've never gotten paid to speak at an O'Reilly conference and Chris Wanstrath wasn't paid to keynote at RailsConf either. I assume they do this because they know we'll speak whether or not they pay us.

I'm totally bewildered over the fact that a high-dollar conference run by O'Reilly does less for speakers than small regional conferences like GoRuCo.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk Sets The Record Straight About Pending Lawsuit
or http://dodgit.com/
The upcoming v1.4 update lowers the hurdle to proceeding to a new puzzle to 75%.
The thing that interested me was that on the BBC the Nokia spokesperson was saying that inspection technology (phones) is asked for by most governments in the world. The spokesperson tried to step around the issue but wanted to make it clear that this technology was nothing special to Iran.
I have had good experiences getting paid by O'Reilly sponsored conferences.
I must say, my brief experience in managing a team of Indian developers had all the same sorts of issues. There were certainly bright and talented individuals, but the inability to rely on any given level of competence was maddening. I think it was made all the worse by a cultural fear of challenging authority that made them extremely averse to admitting any inability to understand or comply with direction. They would all smile and tell me they understood everything and then produce code with basic flaws that proved they didn't understand anything, even core concepts that were well within the supposed certifications they had. It took a lot of time but eventually they became a reasonably productive team, but I'd hesitate to recommend any company go this route unless it's a major and long term project because the overhead of getting through it all is enormous.
Free Functionality And Load Testing Tools For Web Applications
Twitter Targets Revenue This Year From Starbucks, Whole Foods
Three Kinds of Code
Here's the quote from BBC
He added: "Western governments, including the UK, don't allow you to build networks without having this functionality."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8112550.stm
>You can't type "mailinator.com" in Facebook chat

Or anywhere else on Facebook, for that matter.
Trying to hack a good night's sleep
Did they really ban white coats?

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/06/16/ama-the-white-coats-a...

Personally I don't get it. If white coats harbour diseases, doesn't it follow that whatever else they wear will have the same problem? Presumably one of the reasons coats were white were to show up dirt so that they would be washed more promptly. In what way is wearing a black t-shirt (or whatever) more hygienic?
"I certainly hope that programming heroes like Kent aren't being left high and dry because the money is going on pointless eye and mind candy at some of these conferences.."

Seems there are many different conference cultures. Speakers and attendees need to decide which of these they want to support.

I've spoken at many Ruby conferences. I've only been paid once. The usual renumeration was free or discounted admission. That was fine; the early conferences were small, semi-chaotic, and they weren't assembled as a business proposition or marketing event. Now, though, there are a range of true grass-roots events and flat-out for-profit ventures.

I think I see the value proposition for each of these, but prefer to a) avoid the "conference as business" event (both as a speaker and attendee), and b) do what I can to support the local grass-roots events. Basically, throw my time and money into the things I want to see more of.

No free video released after the conf? Sorry, not interested. Hosting a pricey and seat-restricted event? Sorry; that's not a culture I want to encourage.

When people decide to participate in these things, consideration needs to go into more than just, "Will I see some good talks?"

We can create a better conference culture by thoughtful, selective support.
I thought this is an interesting article since so many of us try to cheat sleep in order to gain more productivity. Perhaps you guys can share some tips on what works for you to get a good night's sleep.
A sad sad day for photographers. I recall seeing gorgeous prints of Steve McCurry's Kodachrome photos on Cibachrome paper a few years ago. The beauty was shocking compared to the film/paper commonly available nowadays.
I like this idea. I think the clearest way to do this would be to have an Agree and Disagree link, which led you to a page with a reply textbox and a confirm button. If you wrote a reply, it would post it as a reply; otherwise, it could just count it as an agree/disagree thing, like facebook does it. (Then, next to the first line of each post, it could say "5 Agree; 2 Disagree" or something like that.)

That way, agreement/disagreement and good/bad are separated, and displayed nicely.
I heard the Paul Simon song in my head upon seeing the headline, even before clicking through to see it mentioned in the first line of the article.
There're plenty of disgruntled Tumblr users right now looking for a way out.

Interesting. Why? Anything besides that security snafu awhile back?
Unlike the usual arbitrary, capricious, and infuriating appstore rejections, _the developer deserved this._

In order to implement something like Quick Shot, you have to muck around in the undocumented innards (private API) of the Apple-provided camera view widget. This is clearly forbidden by the developer agreement, and will easily result in your application breaking across minor and major releases. This breakage is evidenced by Jared Brown having to submit a new update for 3.0.

I take umbrage with his characterization of Apple leaving his users in the lurch. This is incorrect. Apple's minor culpability is only in choosing to not provide a better camera API.

Knowingly selling a product that clearly violates the developer agreement and will break in the near future is dishonest. The product is defective. I have sharp words for the App Store, and Apple's ridiculously arbitrary revue process, however, in this case the developer is clearly in the wrong.
It is fitting that this would be announced during the month of Sol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fixed_Calendar
You'd want to use really big public keys for that one.
Sounds like a pitch for a reality TV show.
A glass of whiskey and a few pages of HP Lovecraft always does it for me. But the dream, the dreams...

Seriously, a drink and a bit of light reading followed by 5-10 minutes of pillow talk works fine for me. I avoid the computer for at least a half hour before going to sleep: it's the routine of settling down for the evening that helps me sleep, rather than any individual components. The reading material is usually something I've read before rather than something new which I Must Complete.
Three days after its release, the iPhone 3G S gets a name change
Man, see now I want to upvote whoever downvoted this comment. Because it's hilarious.
Top 100 Aussie Web Startups - June 2009
no television (read somewhere that tv gets the brain revved up in a way that's counter-productive to sleep)

meditation (15-30min) - settles the whirring mind before sleep

following through with the meditation once i'm lying down (as in not getting hooked by thoughts of the day - keeping focused on inhaling and exhaling)
I just ordered a new MBP last week and I was saddened when I heard about the reduced SATA speeds. I cannot express how pleased I am to hear about this update!
Redbox's machines take on Netflix's red envelopes
"Code that’s built to last. Well factored, well understood by the team, with strong automated tests, and generally meeting the team’s standards for something they’d happily maintain forever."

Name an example of code of that kind?
How the Facebook Basic Info exploit worked
Tumblr started off as a quiet, clean way of posting. It has since then become noisy, obsessed with popularity, and filthily cluttered. I joined originally because I like that it never pressured me to do things on it. They nuked that style in favor of loud and obnoxious.
It is. Google for it.
I said it on another posting here, but it bears repeating, in my mind:

This is yet another example of why it's stupid to continue developing apps for the iPhone. The developer agreement and the review process need to be completely rethought and replaced. This is unethical, immoral, stupid, and outright anti-developer.

Developers should stop developing for the iPhone until Apple gets their heads out of their asses and stops doing this shit. If you're developing for the iPhone, you're just setting yourself up for financial losses, wasted time, and heartbreak.
Does anyone know if you can make a local copy (or imported PDF) have all the nice features the article describes, such as page syncing?
Great idea. Amazed it's happening in anti-ads, anti-money SF.
It's more a matter of people being able to go to your profile and click a "view photos" link. Some people don't want to restrict privacy, but they don't want drunken pictures on their profile. In the event that my boss looks at me on Facebook, he won't go searching through friends' photos looking for things I untagged.
I've been wondering why there are no pizza delivery services that also deliver movies. But then it seemed backwards to consider physical delivery of movies anyway.
Needs a third frame: projected to a few years from now. Probably one tweet-sized headline on a page full of ads and rants. :(
Patient: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this."

Doctor: "Don't do that."

Yes, we get it, Apple rejects apps. The only news about this is that people still think it is news. News flash: When you cede 100% control to a third party, you have ceded 100% control to a third party. Next time, don't do that.
Surprised that Zeo wasn't mentioned in the article. The startup just launched their product 2 weeks ago. It helps track your sleep patterns using a head band that reads brain activity. The software analyzes this information to help improve your sleep. It also has an alarm clock that waits until you are no longer in deep sleep to wake you up.
It's unethical and immoral only if Apple isn't currently attempting to make the system better, and we have no evidence of that. I agree that it's stupid of them, I agree they're not supporting developers like they should, I agree that lots of people are getting hurt, but not every awful system is intentionally awful. It's been only a year since the program opened: I'm going to give Apple the benefit of the doubt for the time being and assume they're hauling ass to fix things.

99% of iPhone developers don't see these problems, and don't have their hard work rejected. Wanting the system changed is certainly a fine thing, but calling iPhone developers stupid is a stupid and meaningless insult that belies your one good point.
...because Unicode is a Universal set of Code Points that uniquely refer to Characters.

Even if some asshole decreed that there'd be variable-width encodings, you'd still have endianness issues and combining characters to trip over. Shit ain't easy.
Impressive! And kudos to Elon for coming out in the public to talk about this, even though he didn't need to. Read it start to finish. It's well written, well cited, stays professional and doesn't make personal attacks.

If it's true, I have no sympathy for the former CEO, as he really screwed things up. Tesla seems to be in better hands with Musk, who I've always admired personally (which could make me biased, but reading this has confirmed by feeling about it).

EDIT: I don't think of myself as too biased. I admire Musk, but Martin Eberhard graduated from Illinois, which is where I go to school. I would see both as innovators, but Martin seems to have stepped way out of line on this one. There is a huge rivalry with UPenn, so I can't claim too much admiration towards Musk ;)