skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
"The problem is that when you do find a few toasters that match your requirements on Amazon, most have reviews like "stopped working after 2 months" "completely uneven toasting" "doesn't pop toast" etc etc. So then you have to wade through review upon review on model upon model in order to find the least sucky toaster. That is when the toaster hunt becomes a time sink."

No, you don't have to. You didn't in a brick and mortar store. Why do you have to here? Because there are customers saying the product broke? But the only difference is that in a brick and mortar store the failures are hidden from you.

Look, products fail. That's just the way it is. Get over it. Realize that every product has a potential story of failure and the best products will have unsatisfied customers.

Counting is good. Statistics are good. I've found Rotten Tomatoes to be much more reliable than individual reviews, and I don't even have to waste my time reading the reviews. Similarly, the Bestselling ranking at Amazon is not a bad way to sort out the better from the worse, if you don't want to spend the time.

If you don't want to spend the time you don't have to! Sure, if you don't spend the time, your choice won't be as good as it could have been. But if we were back in brick and mortar land your choice would be worse! Now you have the choice, and even if you choose not to spend the time, your resulting purchase is still better. It's win win win in every direction.
Writing TokyoCabinet wrapper for Go language
While the first and third are legitimate the second point regarding Digg isn't so clear.

The Digg example could have used MySQL without modification had they added the correct indexes. And if they didn't want to do that, they could have heavily cached queries in Memcache (or something) and performed the join on the fly. And before get flamed for speculating, I know this because I was responsible for the same feature on another Top 100 site of similar scale.

Getting performance out of MySQL might not be as simple as it is in a key/value store, but scalability isn't a new issue, and MySQL is decent at doing it efficiently (although in a way only DBAs would know/understand). It could have saved Digg 3TB of disks to maintain.
I would think that this is more common, and they only got caught because it was so egregious this time. Someone should take plagiarism detection software and turn it on the congressional record. Then we'll know for sure.
Thank you for your eye-widening comment. It's surprising how we swallow "well known facts" as this (everybody pretends to know that we import energy from french nuclears), without any research.

The comment you answer wasn't mine, but it could have been. Thanks.
I'm planning on getting laser eye surgery in 10 years when I can't go higher in my contact and glasses subscription. I think entrepreneurs can handle the deadliness of eye strain in order to change the world.
As a kite surfer I enjoyed your post.
jQuery has simply won the Javascript framework marketplace in dramatic and dominating fashion. I don't remember the numbers, but some really high percentage of web sites now use it. Mootools, Dojo, and all other competitors are more on the fringe every month. People with all of the arcane knowledge needed to make complex DOM manipulation work perfectly across all browsers (including IE6) were rare to begin with, and now with jQuery at the level of maturity and support it has, and with performance issues improving, it seems almost silly for anyone aquire this knowledge and attempt to use pure JavaScript alone (especially since it's a highly flawed language to begin with.)
I really hate I didn't come back and reply to this. Since when is contributing to the problem less, burying your head?

I agree share resource is the answer, but it'll never happen. YOU however can make a change today by not going to all you can eat sushi.
The Haskell programmers should really ask themselves how to get closer to C/C++ in speed - especially since the Haskell language implementations (GHC!) are mostly static and code is usually statically compiled - just like C and C++. If Haskell compilers generate slower code or user code is slow, Haskell users have little excuse, only poorer tools and/or poorer code.

Obviously Haskell could improve, but can it be as fast as C? How do you shave the last bit of overhead of type safety and strictness?
1) It's OK to somewhat forgive the criminals [after their punishment is served], but it's NOT OK to forget about it.
2) Restricting freedom of speech without overwhelming reasons to do so -- is not a good idea.
3) If German courts are going severely persecute Wikipedia for NOT REMOVING FACTS, then the best course of action for Wikipedia would be to withdraw from Germany.
Apple should be crushed for violating Xerox PARC's patents.
Forth compiler in one literate x86 assembly file
It certainly does! Thank you.
My favorite part:

Asked about the Congressional statements, a lobbyist close to Genentech said: "This happens all the time. There was nothing nefarious about it."

Not sure the second statement necessarily follows the first..
Aurora plumbing
"Learn How Local Dupage Plumbers Stop Plumbing Emergencies | Don't Pay Extra for an Emergency Service Call"
The submission url is the same so I am surprised I was not redirected to the originally submitted thread.
Really? It was on the front page two years ago (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=78409).

There must have been a quality bump somewhere around a year ago.
That is true -- some high-end TVs come with ambient lights behind the panel for this reason, to ease the transition between bright screen and dark room.

I know this won't help you (no glasses) but I often alternate days between contacts that give me 20/15 vision and intentionally weak glasses that give me about 20/40 vision or so. I'm thinking that changing the effective distance that my eyes have to focus each day might help with eyestrain.
Sexy Girls 919: An Artists Pose Leads To So Much More
I wonder to what extent rank is used as currency. If holding the title 'VP of Sales' can raise one's earning potential, it's worth something. Part of your implicit package could be title.
I write my number down incorrectly and can't find it after voting.

Straightforward error correction techniques would help identify and compensate for minor errors and simple adding machine style recipt printers incorporating such logic could be made available within voting booths. Voters who want a recipt would just type the revealed code into the printer.
If someone doesn't use computers much, and you hand them a laptop with a big Apple logo on it that is using Linux, why shouldn't they assume this is one of those Macs they've heard so much about? They aren't "dumb" for not knowing something.

By your logic, I can throw you into any profession that isn't your day job, and consider you dumb for not knowing something.
About 25% of all sites crawled by builtwith.com use jQuery:

http://trends.builtwith.com/javascript/JQuery
While I know very little about MySQL, I was surprised by that example too. How a relational join could be slower than that couple of query's? Moreover, at first glance, why didn't do exactly the same with a subselect(MySQL supports them now, right)? The second query seems to me a performance killer (dynamic by nature, has to be parsed every time).
Billiards!

Everyone here will surely suggest frequent breaks, which is great advice. I'm going one step further to suggest that you play billiards during those breaks. However, you must play correctly. Be sure to line up shots with both eyes open. Alternate your focus between the tip of the cue, the cue ball, the object ball, and the target pocket until you are confident your shot is aligned. Doing it this way will strengthen your game, as well as your eyes.
Scientist announces that she is call girl and blogger Belle de Jour
Wow, you should be seriously concerned. First things first, stop wearing your contacts...completely. You're drying out your corneas basically. Seriously, even though it sucks, stop wearing your contacts and get eye drops and use them every few hours. Rinse and repeat until your eyes get better else go to a doctor.

Having to wear sunglasses is just insane, there's a serious problem here.
trialpay.com
I've tried a couple tiling window managers (xmonad, awesome, dwm, and even ratpoison) but I always end up using tmux. It works on most unix operating systems so I can run it at work on OSX and at home on Ubuntu. I like having a dedicated workspace / virtual desktop to run tmux full screen in a terminal so it's there for when I need it. Oh and you don't even need to launch X to use tmux. It just seems much more convenient to me.
Blink. :) It's silly, but it's really easy to stare at the screen for long periods of time, especially when reading. Catch yourself doing this, and force yourself to blink more often.

Instead of just turning away to adjust your eyes, do your whole body a favor: stand up and walk away. Go find a drink, and in the process look around to rest your eyes. If you drink a lot, you'll naturally want to walk away from time to time. :)
Definitely a good idea, but did she patent it? What's to stop one of many companies in this area from producing it or a variant? Does she have the resources to enforce her own patents?

I don't know, I'm honestly curious as I've been in similar positions before with things I thought I could take the market.
I think you may be assuming a distinction that isn't there.

If (as the article seems to suggest) consumers can get high-value programs as well as low-value programs for the same "free" price , the value of the program isn't going to matter too much from a revenue perspective (for the program producer).

That will result in the end of high-value programs that are expensive to produce. It won't be the first time that people make short-term decisions that hurt them in the long-term
I would purchase it in a heartbeat (despite its humongous pricetag) if it had dead keys. I live in the US, but speak other languages as well -- to put accents on certain letters, I need to use dead keys.
Unfortunately the original article[1] tells us:

Does This Actually Work? · Not quite, at the moment. I mean, it works fine for the first 50 million lines or so of the big dataset’s quarter-billion, keeping my eight-core 32-thread SPARC T2000 maxed, and I mean smokin’, you can see the 50M blocks that Paralines is reading go by pop-pop-pop. But then it hits its heap limit and descends into garbage-collection hell and thrashes its way to a miserable single-threaded standstill.

I'm hoping he will eventually arrive at a clean solution that can handle the full 43GB or so of input.

1- http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/11/11/Clojure-Re...
Interviews for Designers
Well, that is why I watch Vimeo.Low-budget and good.
And in general, that is very American way of thinking, that the best movies necessarily have to use most advanced technologies. For example, European movies are often low-budget, yet better than Transformers or Twilight, or similar stuff.
1) why would the inclusion of jquery preclude developers from contributing with their own raw javascript? seems like adding jquery would only add value, without removing it.

2) kind of seems ironic that someone thinks that django, a development framework, should be against using a development framework because of the nature of frameworks.
A lot of it has to do with the relative power of context in languages. If I write a statement, what other places in the code could the meaning of that statement be modified? Languages like Lisp let you modify the meaning of things in tons of ways. Languages like Java only let you change the meaning of things in certain carefully restricted ways, like object polymorphism.

In order to understand what is actually happening in any one part of a Lisp program, I may have to understand most of the rest of the program, if it is written in a particularly complicated way. This is usually never the case in Java.
I think a more effective "alphabet" would be amount downloaded by that IP. Start with the people who download the most first and then publicly announce what the limit was each week. The people who download the most are the most likely to be aware of this scheme so you mitigate against the problem of ignorant users.

Also, in this scheme, the inability to track every download is a virtue, not a vice. Say they announced that the limit last week was 600Gb and you downloaded 500Gb last month. you decide to download 250Gb this month just to be safe but of the 500Gb you downloaded, they only tracked 300Gb so you're bringing the limit lower for next month even though you're nowhere near the boundary case.
The problem isn't that the information is available, it's how the information is used. That is, the problem isn't Wikipedia, it's the coworker who treats the reformed and repentant ex-convict like trash, then goes home and beats her kids. Or the neighbor who tells guests that "a criminal lives next door", without being asked and for no good reason.

Our built-in reputation heuristics don't function correctly when our memories are so wonderfully enhanced by technology. I look forward to the days of disposable identities and the Friends of Privacy. Or genetic screening against being a dick.
The most obvious solution is not to level down the computer usage (although that should be a step). Rather than asking the community you most definitely should go to an eye doctor as this is a serious problem that you have to wear sunglasses while working on a computer.

If you don't take that suggestion work in a brighter room (like near a window) in order to counter the screens brightness... fluorescents probably will only hurt this problem.
take breaks.

not necessarily standing up and walking around, but change your range of focus. look out the window every once in a while, or something similar.

its simple, but it works wonders for me.
You could just upvote the "thanks, this is very helpful" comment...
Trillions of computers
I think that there are two problems with approach taken on hurl's homepage:
1) New user may be confused and not discover sign up functionality behind log in link.
2) Two buttons in the dialog require thinking each time when existing user logs in (i.e. common scenario).

When I was designing Memengo's homepage (http://www.memengo.com), I was trying to provide streamlined execution path for 3 different scenarios: see demo, register, log in.

I hate web sites that have tiny log in link in the top-right corner. After all, I usually visit home page to log in immediately, so I expect email and password fields to be provided right there.

To streamline sign up there is a need to ask as few things as possible, preferably on home page as well.

Potential users should be aware that there is a no-strings-attached functional demo one click away, so this area requires some screen estate as well.

The final design: 3 equally sized boxes on the bottom of the page: 1 click demo, Sign up (with all required fields), Log in (with all required fields).
Google Flu Shot Tracker
While I personally enjoy Raymond Smullyan's logic puzzles, I don't think they are appropriate for an interview unless the job requires writing something along the lines of a Martin Gardner column.

Regarding bicycles for the visually impaired, I'd probably suggest a tandem model.
Persuasive enough, mathematically. Practically, though, people wouldn't allow the definition to recurse like that.

Consider a hypothetical person filling in descriptions for all the interesting numbers. "Smallest prime", "Smallest odd prime", "Smallest square" . . . He would get to the smallest uninteresting number and write, "Smallest uninteresting number." Then when he got to the next one, he'd start to write that, realize he already had one, and ponder for a bit.

The divergence occurs here.

If he was a mathematician, he would shout, "Aha! There are no uninteresting numbers!" If particularly diligent, he would go on to write "Was the smallest uninteresting number until that made it interesting" on all the other numbers.

If he was a normal person, he'd criticize the definition. Yes, he does think the smallest uninteresting number is interesting, but he doesn't think the next one is. So the technical definition shouldn't be recursive, and that keeps the initial annotation from being so self-defeating. He'd then go back and write, "Smallest number which would otherwise be uninteresting" on the first one, and leave the rest alone.

I side with the normal person. A definition which allows so many numbers with the same description to be considered "interesting" doesn't actually correspond with what I think interesting means. I think it is reasonable to require that the definition of interesting be stable regardless of what order you evaluate the integers in, so a definition that allows for this sort of nonsense should be modified until it doesn't.
What is the incentive for the members of Congress to insert this into the record verbatim? I don't see any way this makes them look better than not saying anything would have. If anything, it makes them look corrupt and incompetent. (Do they get "stuff" from lobbyists for doing this?)
Malcolm Gladwell, Eclectic Detective
It'd be cool to make a whole desktop UI around that. Very cool.
This is not a startup pitch, but it's also helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ntLGOyHw4
How to acquire and develop mental Focus
I have a problem, I'm learning how to program (C/Python -- keep the URLs coming!) but, find that I cannot focus very much on documentation that I read on either topic; instead I'd rather watch television, or sneak glances at IRC; etcetera, how do you achieve complete mental focus? Having motivation is one thing, having a constant will to study, is another.

Thanks
In my experience, it's not only for the times you look to the side of the screen. Working in a dark environment with a relatively bright monitor is very harsh on the eyes, even you stare at the monitor all the time.

So reducing the contrast between the ambient and the monitor is key to reducing eye strain, at least for my eyes. You can even improve this, by choosing a dark green or blue background, and some beige like pale color for foreground in you IDE or text editor.
Assuming perfect energy storage, the number you want is the average power production. You get this by multiplying the maximum output by the capacity factor, which is 21-23% in Spain.
If there isn't a market for high-value programs that are expensive to produce, at a price greater than free, then those programs are by definition not high-value.
This Week in Science : The kickass science podcast
I disagree with the premise that there is a correlation between production cost and quality.
Question: do you have a good quality LCD screen?

I have 2 laptops: a MacBook and a Dell Vostro. I can use the MacBook comfortably for 5 to 6 hours at a stretch, whereas using the Dell for even 1 hour is a pain, even with brightness turned down to zero. Problem is, low-end laptop makers use crappy screens that burn your eyes. Even the MacBook screen is only okay-ish, not great. Buy a high-end LCD screen for your laptop. Your eyes will thank you.

Besides that, try to use low-contrast color themes on your OS. Windows and most Linux distros have too many bright colors in their default themes, which make your eyes hurt after a while. Windows Classic is a great theme if you're using Windows. On Linux, you might want to use vanilla ClearLooks.

Set your editor to use large, variable-width fonts. Also, ZenBurn and Wombat are two color schemes that are incredibly easy on the eyes. These are available for both Emacs and Vim.

Oh, and take frequent breaks. Wash your eyes. Spend more time in natural light. Glasses are better than contacts, so get them as soon as you can manage to.
well duh...these things happen all the time. Just look at the guy who wrote the anti-net neutrality bill to control the internet, you know...John McCain? The guy who said he needed help just to check his email.
We already know for sure. Their lips are moving.
I don't know if it's acceptable to comment on things like this at HN, but this article is written terribly.
Frankly, being sued at all is a pretty big punishment. It's not fun.
"the job will go to a candidate who manages to answer the question by designing an extremely overcomplicated solution for a completely non-existent problem. And that candidate will be the same person who designs their software."

I wont lie. I have been laughing for several minutes. We ALL know how awful that can be.

I would make the bike have three wheels for stability (the person is blind so they could potentially have trouble riding a normal bike) and give the bike AI. So the person is RIDING IT- not steering it. Oh gosh-that'd be like a blind person driving-no thank you
Microsoft: Windows 7 "looks and feels" like Mac OS X
If you can't focus on it, it must not really be that important.

Quit your job and make it your means of survival.

If you're a student, focus on your schoolwork instead. If this IS your schoolwork, consider switching fields.
Go, see a doctor. Read up on workplace ergonomics (make sure there is no window behind the screen). Try another monitor. Don't wear contacts when working. Don't work at night or in the early morning. Maybe use a dark background.
Back Seat Sex Car Chase
The software on the DVD is a physical property of the DVD, if you look at a low enough level. Repurposing the item based on that physical property, than than (e.g.) it's shape or weight, is the same thing, in principle.
Color: The Next Limited Resource?
Oh wow. I was just lurking here, and I see my own blog mentioned!

I hate to be an exasperating pedant, but I am, and I must annoy you:

"Spain only gets about 9% of energy from renewables on average,"

It's actually 9% of electricity from wind power, which is a very different statistic. As other commenters point out here, actually ~25% of Spanish electricity is renewable [1]; most of the difference is hydropower, which is also renewable. And then the proportion of energy is different yet, since most energy consumption is in forms that are not electric: i.e. natural gas heating, petrol fuel. See example energy flowcharts here [2].

[1] (PDF file) http://www.ree.es/ingles/sistema_electrico/pdf/infosis/sinte...

[2] https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/energy/energy.html
to follow up with all of this: this whole thing got sorted out shortly after bringing it up. seems like it was a misunderstanding on both sides. cheers!
the authors wanted to design away some common developer errors, which average developer cannot overcome.

There is no rocket science in memory management and pointer manipulation, but, from commercial (manager's) point of view, those difficult to find and debug memory issues is the common cause of troubles with schedule and budget, because good programmers are rare, expensive and difficult to deal with, while average code monkeys are cheap in the first place, and easy to hire and replace.

That's why Java is the de-facto standard for corporate in-house development (read - coding fabrics) and no one in that world even considers that stuff like the ability (in theory) to run the same code on a different platform, especially while it is impossible in so-called objective reality. (Just try to run some bloated, poorly designed spring-hibernate-with-dependences project on a platform other than x86).

And finally, consider RoR - same approach, same and big success.
Removing distractions is one technique. Kill your IM apps and work in a quiet area. You'll still feel like checking those distractions out for a while, but once you get into the groove you can work smoothly with little effort.

The other thing is that once you done some work, and you're getting tired and finding it hard to concentrate, take a break. You tend to work more productively when you're fresh than when you're weary.
Being unable to focus can simply be a side-effect of being distracted, tired, or trying to learn something that really pushes your brain.

The fact that you have a hard time doing something does not mean you should give up on it.