skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
This is exactly what I feel, too, so I deleted my early comment because you summarize it so well. It feels like memory "diff" sizes more than anything else. As you get older fewer things change versus what you've experienced before, so fewer memories take root in that duration of time versus youth. And the memory samples are the tickrate by which we sense the passing of time.

I think there may be a minor biological element to this, too. Because of this reduced need to remember new things rapidly, our brain optimizes in other areas and it can be more difficult to retain those things when you need to do so.
Senior year of high school felt longer for me.

I buy the "you compare each experience to your previous experiences" argument. If new experiences happen at a constant rate, that works out to simple ratios of time, eg. senior year of high school was 1/17 of your life, freshman year of college was 1/18. But new experiences don't always happen at constant rates: some people open up much more in college than in high school. Hence it feels longer.
It might be the theory of relativity in action or even a scale thing (physically and logically). When you are a kid walking it takes twice as many steps. Just like when you learn something new you have to iterate over documentation and tests/result/feedback loops more, seemingly taking longer.

I saw something that I can't find right now, about compounding exponential age or relative perception of age in that when you are 1-10, 10-30, and 30-60 these are all thirds of your life, seemingly. So 1-10, 10-30 and 30-60 all feel about the same length of time. Maybe there is some sort of memory filtering system that contributes to that.
18 for one more month. :)
Is the idea that postmodern literary criticism is hard to read because we're untrained really that toxic?

I have a graduate degree in literature and, for what it's worth, even with years of training I find a lot of that stuff unintelligible. At the time it struck me as a classic emporer's-new-clothes situation. I would occasionally amuse myself by tossing out bogus sentences that sounded just like, say, Derrida, and people would nod in the same way.

That said, I applaud your open-mindedness. Postmodern criticism is full of the most unbelievable bullshit, but in retrospect I can't dismiss the whole thing. This sympathy would probably vaporize if I were forced to read those papers again. But I've learned about two things in the meantime that are reminiscent of postmodernism and which I do take seriously.

One is the recent wave of neural/psychological research about how our experience of ourselves and reality is constructed in ways that don't at all correspond to our beliefs. There are many such findings and from what I've gleaned, they consistently refute our concept of ourselves as rational actors making controlled decisions as we move through objective reality. (I'm still waiting for someone to write a good general survey of this material. There's a crying need for one, though it might not be very popular.)

The other is the history of religious and spiritual ideas, which I was astonished to find contain many of the same teachings about how our identities are constructed and conditioned. If you read any Vedantic literature, for example, the first thing you run across is "you are not who you think you are". Similar concepts are found in Western traditions. This skepticism about the artifacts of the conditioned mind is very postmodern in a way. But there is also a profound difference: while spiritual teachings are all about connection with something beyond mental constructs, the postmodernists deny any such beyond. Regardless of one's position on religion etc., I think this points to the real weakness of postmodernism: because it treats everything as the same kind of fiction to be deconstructed, it lacks any compass for distinguishing true from false or good from bad. It's inevitable that you end up with a profusion of arbitrary language, a.k.a. bullshit, when you start from the premise that everything is bullshit in the first place.
The site is very locally oriented (it's a community site featuring news/events/discussions/image galleries for a small city) and the only "Macs" we're seeing around here are iPods.
If you have a good idea for an app, go with Android and enter ADC 2.

http://code.google.com/android/adc/
Can you point to any philosophy papers that are useful?
The main thing to take away from this is that this guy got lucky on many fronts. People slipped up. He didn't root any boxes, he didn't exploit a software vulnerability in any webapps, he just took advantage of human mistakes and got lucky. Without the hotmail thing happening, I seriously doubt he would've gotten anywhere. Its almost a complete fluke, but it can happen in many other places because of how users handle accounts. I also agree, if this guy was trying to 'help', he wouldn't have posted the info to a news outlet like TC that he knew would post it. Wow some 'hacker', he got lucky and guessed a gmail password from recovering an expired hotmail account. I guess the apology is to try and keep Twitter from frying his ass.
I have started accepting credit cards using Auth.net and a merchant account. There are a lot of cashflow benefits to receiving money immediately. And screw 30/60. I am not a bank. My invoices are due on receipt. I don't start the collections process until after 30 days, but I find the majority of companies pay earlier than that if they see due on receipt. If they want a longer payment schedule, it is going to cost them up to 15% on the project.
I try to take care of myself in fundamental ways. Like eating well, exercising, and sleeping on time.

I've found having control of basic things provides a deep sense of security.
Yuk, why is everyone suggesting say-so theories without any suggestions for testing them? Truth isn't truth if it isn't falsifiable. Instead, how about:

In hindsight, length of time is perceived as change in world view. The more your mental state has changed in a given period of time, the longer it seems. The reason the decade from 5 to 15 seem so much longer than 55 to 65 is because of the drastic changes in your world view that occur during childhood. It's the same reason not a lot of 5 year olds are friends with 15 year olds, yet I imagine most 55 year olds can be good friends with most 65 year olds.

This hypothesis would predict several micro and macro phenomena which are testable:

For the micro scale, two groups of subjects are placed into an environment with no way of tracking time (no windows, no clocks) for a month. The control group is provided with books/TV shows/news programmes of their choice, asked to pick ones that they've read/seen and enjoy. The test group is asked to pick books/programmes they think they'll enjoy, but have never read or seen. After about a week, notable events are planned - maybe the light bulb burns out, or the sheets are changed to ones which are bright red, or maybe the food in the cafeteria changes. At the end of the month, the person is asked to estimate the amount of time that passed between certain events. If the hypothesis is correct, the control group should perceive less time having passed between the events compared to the test group.

For the macro scale, my theory would predict people with monotonous, repetitive, jobs to experience the effects of "time passes faster with aging" more than those which expose them to new phenomena. So a Java-only career engineer will experience the effect more than someone who spends time learning new languages.
Windfalls for Bankers, Resentments for the Rest
I've always channeled my emotions during times like that into workaholism. It may not be the healthiest way to address problems, but at least you get output from your angst :)

Just be aware: you'll have to deal with the emotions directly sometime.
Could be something with the ability to make choices and control of things. For instance when you are driving as a kid it is "are we there yet" but when you are in control you know how long it will take. Lots of waiting around for rides, parents, bells to ring when you are a kid.
That's only the hard part if the site doesn't tell you when to expire it. Squid (and many others) have excellent cache expiry and replacement heuristics; but Squid can only cache 20-35% of the web, because it's simply not safe to cache the rest of it, either because it's session-based and could be different for every user, or because it is SSL-encrypted and can't be seen by the proxy, or because it explicitly disallows caching with Cache-Control or Expires headers, etc. And, even if the site doesn't tell you how long you can cache something, it's reasonably safe to guess based on the age of the object (a five year old object is probably not going to change in the three days it takes to run through a full replacement in your cache; while one that is 30 minutes old could possibly change dozens of times, so Squid will send an If-Modified-Since a few minutes later, with gradually lengthening periods between checks as the age of the object increases).
A tough one. The one time I remember having a problem like this, I wasn't exactly tasked with doing programming at work. So I solved my problem by turning to hacking! I did nothing but Perl for weeks. A rather productive time of my life, actually. Fortunately my boss was very pleased with all the code I wrote.

Try this: Change your work environment. Move to a different office. Work at the library or the coffeeshop. This is normally not a good thing for your productivity -- what you generally want to do is establish productive habits, and encourage them by keeping your environment consistent and allowing it to cue those habits. But being surrounded by familiar things might be distracting at a time when they tend to dredge up feelings of unhappiness.

There was a time when simply walking down a particular street would fill me with dread. Emotions are cued to places. Fortunately I'm much better now.

This may be why we're always telling people who are feeling burnt out to take a vacation and travel somewhere.
My site, http://www.mobilitea.com/blog/ is geared towards both software developers and BlackBerry users!

1. Firefox: 46.74%
2. Internet Explorer: 35.35%
3. Chrome: 7.23%
4. Safari: 6.04%
5. BlackBerry 9530: 2.01%
6. Opera: 1.01%
DRM is Dead, RIAA Says
Any complaints about the Tour? I'm thinking of getting the Tour on Verizon (and an iPod Touch for 'iPhone' apps and wifi.)
My previous company built technology in this space, based on Squid, and some custom tools. I vividly recall competitors making bold, outlandish, claims like these on a monthly basis back then. None of them ever came to pass. They required too much infrastructure build out, too much cooperation from ISPs and website owners, and the companies behind them demanded too much involvement and too much money from all parties in the chain. There was a CDN rush back then, too, and only a few managed to raise enough money and build out fast enough to be successful at it. This kind of technology requires a build out similar to a CDN, but with far more involvement of parties that are very unlikely to have an interest in being involved.

I've had long conversations with folks at Akamai, Red Swoosh, and many others, in this particular area...and it's astonishing how much money it takes to build this stuff out, and finding profitable ways to build out small (making it useful enough to make money on without first spending millions and signing on dozens of ISPs) is very difficult. I just don't think there is that much VC money floating around right now, even if (big giant if) they've actually figured out technology that works on the scale they're promising.
Looks like not just geeks, but young people in general, use Firefox. As hoped, Chrome tends to take market share from IE, not Firefox.
Music while coding, westerns/zombie/scifi epic movies while doing smaller tedious tasks, get some gaming in maybe some L4D (important to have fun on your workstation).

Also, be sure to setup and knock down many tasks and todos that feel complete, smaller tasks for quick accomplishment. Game design your projects.

This applies to all slow downs, could even just be related to a long project or a moment you might not feel as hopeful.

Also get outside a bit and be cool to yourself, it is pretty much just you for the long haul anyways.
Even a tiny little web dev shop like mine (http://www.codeistry.com/) seems to have managed to acquire clients across the globe - much to my surprise. They all seem to know about paypal, but only larger ones are happy with international bank transfers. I have both IBAN and paypal details (along with normal domestic bank & contact details, etc..) on my invoices and it's been working out Ok. Paypal is expensive though, as pointed out in the article.
In Denmark you simply go to the bank, or log onto your netbank, and transfer money into another account. All you need is the account number. Couldn't be simpler. Isn't that standard practice in the US?
You need to communicate your situation to family/friends, make yourself not feel isolated. Many people feeling anxiety and depression think they're the only ones they know, whereas many people are vulnerable. And when i see people prone to chemical dependencies or extreme behaviors, i urge them to seek counseling.

One thing that helps me is multiple 5-15 minute exercise breaks over the day. You can walk up a hill or a couple flights of stairs or do yoga poses or pilates things.
http://subaru.co.uk (horribly put together site, we didnt make it!)

1. Internet Explorer 80.59%
7 - 55.17%
8 - 26.13%
6 - 18.68%
2. Firefox 15.08%
3. Chrome 2.41%
4. Safari 1.16%
5. Opera 0.36%

http://tinyjs.com

1. Firefox 65.83%
2. Internet Explorer 12.21%
7 - 49.58%
8 - 38.48%
6 - 11.86%
3. Safari 9.79%
4. Chrome 8.09%
5. Opera 3.02%
For most people, those two years are so close together that the incremental fraction might not be perceptible even if the theory is correct.
It is the same in the US. It is called an electronic transfer. You just need the account number and routing code for the bank.
I second this. I can't relate the the part about a sense of security, but I've found that it's very important to "take care of myself", in whatever form. For me that often means cleaning my apartment, taking care of business I've been procrastinating on, etc. Those are concrete, actionable tasks that are guaranteed to make me feel better, even if only a little bit. At work, I similarly try to focus on specific small tasks if possible, to keep my mind off of things.
Remember that sites that look like they haven't been designed are often the best designed ones. Wikipedia is a good example. It's simple and easy to navigate and it doesn't hurt your eyes.

Google is another prominent example, it looks like it was just thrown together, but in reality it's highly designed to look simple. Did you ever notice the dropshadow in the Google logo? Did you know that the blue line at the top has been chosen as the best one out of 45 shades of blue?
I'd say find a creative outlet, if that's hacking then so be it, but if it's writing or painting or just drawing for a couple of hours it can help to get things off your chest and clear your mind. That way when you're ready to work your mind won't be as distracted with these other problems.
I understand some of the downfalls of postmodernism and I won't defend it, but I'm not going back to rationalism, which influenced the Nazis, or Platonic or Christian Essentialism, which has marked humanity in negative ways for too many centuries, etc.

Why assume that we have to choose among a small set of predetermined schools of thought? The beauty of the scientific approach is that it makes as few assumptions as possible while remaining sane -- it doesn't force us into any single dogma. Good science doesn't lead to Nazism; a racist agenda and the backing of a powerful nation does. Sure, science has been misused (social Darwinism), but why not examine those specific misuses instead of throwing out the entire rationalist agenda?

For those who are interested, I recommend E. O. Wilson's Consilience for an in-depth discussion of how to salvage rationalism in the modern world. Flip to the end of Chapter 3 for an excellent examination of postmodernism.
I would be very interested in techniques used to make lengths time feel slower. Productive but stretched out. To what extent can we control our perception of time?
Focus on the positive: are you healthy? Have enough to eat? Have hot and cold running water? A roof over your head? Air conditioning? Those thing alone make you better off than most of the people on the planet.
How to Name (or Rename) Your Company: 3 Steps & Mistakes to Avoid
http://www.railsforum.com/

1. Firefox - 65.33%
2. Safari - 16.56%
3. IE - 7.84%
7.0 - 46.53%
8.0 - 28.97%
6.0 - 23.69%
4. Chrome - 5.42%
5. Mozilla - 2.36%
6. Opera - 2.06%
sleep. exercise. eat healthily. spent time with great friends.

most importantly, put time aside to spend dealing with the emotions that come up. don't bottle them up. they will be expressed in destructive ways when you least expect it.

see a therapist if necessary; having someone help you get through growth roadblocks is the best money you will ever spend.

realize that whatever you're dealing with will eventually pass, despite being difficult to deal with now.

and know that there are no hacks for emotions. difficult times need to run their course and the best way to cope is to process your emotions.

good luck and know that we've all been there... dealing with difficult issues is a more challenging part of the human experience, but it also presents great opportunities for growth.
listen, people be asking me all the time, yo mos, whats gonna happen with hackin. i tell em, you know whats going to happen with hackin? whatevers happenin with us. if we smoked out, hackins gonna be smoked out. if we doin alright, hackins gonna be doin alright. people talk about hackin like it's some giant living on the hillside comin down and visitin' the towns people. we are hackers, we are systems hackers, we are life hackers, we are world hackers -- me, you, everybody. so -- hackins going where we going -- so... the next time that you ask yourself "where is hacking going?" ask yourself, "where am i going? how am i doing?" - and you get a clear idea.

speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape -- now let it fall! my restleness is my nemesis. it's hard to really chill and sit still, committed to projects, i write lines, sometimes won't finish for days. scrutinize my literature, from the large to the miniature. I mathematically add, minister, subtract the wack, selector, wheel it back, i'm feelin that. -- haha! from the core to the memory and back, you know the motto - stay fluid even in staccato.

-- altered lyrics of Mos Def's Hip Hop
CUDA-based hash crackers for the EngineYard contest
Yes. Neural degeneration is my preferred explanation as well. Not the sort of thing people like to think about, though, so I doubt the theory will be too popular.
Barrett Garese : Scarcity, Experience, And A New Seat At An Old Table
http://www.virtualmin.com; our audience is heavily Open Source oriented, and it obviously skews results heavily. This represents roughly 60,000 visitors.

1. Firefox 64.45%

2. Internet Explorer 17.22%

3. Safari 6.95%

4. Chrome 4.94%

5. Opera 3.37%

6. Mozilla 2.35%

7. Konqueror 0.30%

8. SeaMonkey 0.17%

9. Camino 0.11%

10. Opera Mini 0.03%
http://www.genlighten.com

A genealogy-oriented site with a decidedly older target demographic. Monthly uniques only around 1-3k.

1. Firefox 52.31%

2. Internet Explorer 37.00%

7.0	20.86%

8.0	9.66%

6.0	6.47%

3. Safari 7.19%

4. Chrome 2.47%

5. Camino 0.41%

6. Opera 0.31%

7. Mozilla 0.21%

8. Konqueror 0.10%
As a long-time emusic subscriber, I don't know what has changed. emusic hasn't sent us anything explaining it./
Cocaine and hookers.
Not surprised that Rails guys use Firefox and Safari.

catone: How do I get in touch with you? This is about that beta management system thread you posted months ago. I actually built one. email me at danny - at - launchset.com
really just depends on what type of product you have at your site. if you are selling your design skillz, obviously you want the site to look nice, but clean and nice doesnt necessarily mean fancy shmancy.
Truth isn't truth if it isn't falsifiable.

Quite a claim. Is it falsifiable?
Ah, I never noticed that :-)
http://WoodySchneider.com
1.	Firefox 54.48%
2.	Internet Explorer 27.59%
3.	Safari 16.55%
4.	Opera 1.38%
They do all of those things already, or hadn't you noticed?

What's more likely? A cracker breaking into the office and copying down their password? Or an electronic attack against their lame passwords? Electronic attacks are far more likely than a physical attack.
yeah kyle that email rocked -- all the best at algorithmics
"No, NASA's problem has everything to do with gravity and economics"

Well, politics and bureaucracy, I'd say.
Same boat. I only noticed it when I realized I could download Michael Jackson and Leonard Cohen on the site all of a sudden.
Good point. There needs to be a balance of both, I just think Jeff leans too far toward the 'soft' side of things sometimes.
I'm in my mid-30s. If there was anything we'd recognize as "edutainment" software in the 70s and early 80s, we couldn't afford it. Anyway, I have an average-software-engineer IQ, more or less, on tests in the 80s, and I can't remember ever doing much brain teaser or abstract shape puzzles -- those weren't interesting to me. I spent every waking hour I could reading past age seven or eight.
Slightly tangential, but I had this thought the other day. In our industry, shutting oneself into a room with a computer and being alone with our own thoughts is considered functional and praiseworthy. I think a lot of my most productive colleagues deal with almost everything in life by diving deep down in this mode. Is this really a good thing?
Not for anything too official. I'd lost my license for a few days so it was all I had. But I showed it to a bar bouncer once. I'm 26, so it wasn't really iffy and he let me in. I also used it to get a locals discount at a ski resort. And I've used it to check what my drivers license number is.
Thank you Nik, you were one of the people who inspired it (and thanks for the applause, unprecedented).
Ask HN: What has your startup venture financially cost you?
I've been working on my project for over a year now, and I've reached the stage of pondering what this venture has cost me so far. When I first decided to take on this project, I was sure I would have had something presentable by Christmas time last year, but here we are past mid July.

I'm happy with what I have so far, but after reading the story about Sampa and how it failed, I've found myself wondering what this has cost me.

I've turned down jobs that would have paid 6 figures and it looks like I'll be going into debt in a few months to pursue this even further. This isn't all gloom as I have an amazing opportunity in the next couple months that can really open a lot of doors, but like the story of Sampa, failure is never all that far away.

What I would like to know is, can others share stories of how they have sacrificed financial stability to chase a chance. The happier the story the better :-)
Apple makes most of their money from being the "sexy consumer electronics company", and no matter how you try to spin a telecom, you can't make it sexy.

They could buy Sprint and have it "spin-out" another company whose job it is to provide the communications for Apple's products. Apple would be hands-off the old Sprint, so long as the Apple-communications company got all the resources it needed.
He3 is a fuel that can be used for aneutronic nuclear fusion -- a type of nuclear fusion with far less of a radioactive flux putting less demands on the wall material. The moon is one of the only sources (apart from the solar wind).

Which is not to say that it's a good idea, just that, were small fusion power-plants (for military applications, for example) ever achieved technologically, it may quite possibly require aneutronic fusion, and that a fuel source would start to really matter.