skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I hear you. I am still a "google fan," specifically I have a business idea I want to implement on top of Wave, and I plan on continuing using GMail.

That said, I switched my default Firefox search to Clusty yesterday. This morning, I searched for a vendor of old Rudger Mark II magazines/clips. I clicked on a paid link, and ended up spending a fair amount of money. Clusty got a profit slice that Google would have got if their privacy issues had not caught my attention.

The sci-fi author David Brin (a cool guy, BTW) advocates for no privacy as long as everyone has an equal amount of "non privacy" - the problem as I see it is the corporations, who profit by knowing everything about you via discount cards at supermarkets, the web, etc. I'll stop complaining when we have the ability to know private corporate details, have congress people have to wear Nascar-like advertisements on their clothes, etc.
It's especially common since Python purposefully doesn't have a fake switch/case statement -- if it can't be turned into a jumptable at compile-time, it ain't real!

The inane lisper bon mot is stated backwards: it should be "Data isn't code"
At Level 2 with respect to the observable universe, heading for Level 4. I don't understand why this list has a Level 3.
Actually in Python is pass-by-reference with lists and dictionaries.
If action comes from outside the program, this can open up unexpected behavior. The dispatch table is closed - there's less chance that user input will invoke something unintended.
I use this all the time in C++.

std::map<std::string, boost::function<void (int)>> handlerMap;

boost::assign::insert(handlerMap)
("football", &handleFootball)
("comedy", &handleComedy)
("crime", &handleCrime);

handlerMap["football"](channelNumber);

Makes the code so much easier to understand. And when the handler functions start getting too complex, you can just add another level:

handlerMap["comedy"]["situational_comedy"](channelNumber);
Ask HN: Ask to be acquired?
I run Obsidian Portal ( http://www.obsidianportal.com ), a content management system for tabletop RPGs (ie. Dungeons & Dragons). We've been doing this for about 3 years now.

When I originally started, I (naively) believed that the publisher of D&D would see the value of what we were doing and immediately acquire us. Back then, I just thought that's how things worked. Make a site, get bought out, go buy expensive car.

Fast forward 3 years, and they've never once contacted us. I actually met one of their web developers at a convention, and introduced myself. First thing he said: "Yeah, we know who you are..." So, they definitely have heard of us, and frankly at this point, it would be impossible for them not to know who we are.

Anyways, we instituted a freemium model about 1.5 years back and things have been great. We've got a lot of premium subscribers, and the ranks are swelling every day. We're not rich, but we're getting close to ramen profitable.

However, we've started to hear rumors that the publisher is getting ready to develop their own campaign management system. They tried once before and failed miserably, but their new team is very competent and I have every reason to believe they'll succeed this time around. With their exclusive access to all the copyrighted material, I'm pretty sure it will be a big hit, even if they lack some of the cool features we have. Plus, I fully expect them to borrow heavily from our feature-set. It's what I'd do in their place...

So, I'm frustrated and worried that they're about to enter the arena with a big advantage (ie. the brand and the exclusive content) and I won't be able to compete. Still, it seems that even after all this time, my site remains a perfect fit to be acquired. We could deliver exactly what they're looking for without all the risk of developing it from scratch.

Since they've never once tried to contact me all this time, is it time I put a foot forward? I've read the conventional wisdom that "companies are bought, not sold", but my shy-girl-at-the-dance stance of waiting to be asked so far hasn't generated any results.

How do I go about making that first contact? Who do I contact? Do I propose some kind of partnership in the hopes that the relationship grows from there?

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated.
It took reading these summaries to get me in the mood for a big spec in the morning :)

ECMAScript 5
http://blogs.gnome.org/xan/2009/05/23/ecmascript-5/

ECMAScript 5 Objects and Properties
http://ejohn.org/blog/ecmascript-5-objects-and-properties/

Make sure to read the comments on ejohn's blog - they are quite useful.
Direct link: http://www.obsidianportal.com
I mostly meant that as a polite version of "didn't manage to advance beyond the colonial age". Thanks for not forgiving it :)
I don't know but I've heard "Love what you do than do what you love"
Yeah, right, that Twitter Go example that you did -- you didn't have to download and install Google Go or read its documentation to get started. So much for "google's thing would work when I click the link"...

Talk about biased.
How Hollywood plans to keep prices up as movies go online
Mininova Traffic Plummets After Going ‘Legal’
I have had 3 customers have me use github, and that works fine.

For my own stuff, I prefer using one of my own servers.
Chromoscope - the Milky Way at many wavelengths
I think the confusion results from the fact that people use the phrase "pass by reference" without ever explicitly stating what the referenced thing is.

In the original sense of the phrase, I believe, that thing was the variable itself in the form of an alias, not the object/value that a pointer variable might be pointing to.
As an Italian citizen, you'll be able to enter the US under the WVP. You won't be authorized to work though. Taking part in YC under the WVP is possible.
I think I first saw this debated in comp.lang.java in 1996: http://bit.ly/5XOSey
I don't think the arguments have changed much.
On a side note, is it possible to do YC as an OPT.

Edit: I couldn't reply so Ill explain here. OPT is Optional Practical Training, it is what F1 visa holders(full time students) can do. We are able to stay for 29 months after graduation, to work in the field we studied for in order to get practical training.
> New behavior can be injected without changing any core code.

While it probably is easier to change the dispatching part of this code now, I'd hesitate to call the dispatching part the "core" code; it seems like the functions that actually do the work have a better claim to that, so what this does is to move the core code away from the calling location, and removes the name, so the core code has to be found by tracing or simulation, rather than by reading. Of course, a comment pointing at the file and line of the actions table would be nice, but might get out of date, and since the table is passed rather than global, at some point there's going to be more than one actions table that do other things as well...

This code will be a nightmare to debug when there's a few thousand lines of similar redirections. :/
Lists and dictionary aren't special, and they aren't pass-by-reference in the sense referred to in the article.

def foo(my_list):
my_list = [ "my", "new", "list" ]

Executing this function will not change the value of the list passed to it, it will create a new list and reference it locally. If calling foo(old_list) caused old_list to now contain [ "my", "new", "list" ], then it would be pass-by-reference in the sense this article refers to.

EDIT: To clarify, you can mutate mutable arguments in-place, but you can't change what is being referred to by the identifiers used to refer to these arguments outside of the context of the function, which is what is meant by pass-by-reference in the article.
True, and again I don't really think the __vert label means much when it comes to half-listening.

But what does introvert really mean? There's a vague understanding that it's a kind of person who "directs energy inward to the mind as opposed to outward to the environment."

Lots of programmers spend a lot of time programming, which is a solitary activity, so they all think "they are introverts." Just like all these other people who "are introverts." It's very comforting. But it's lazy.

Most people express both kinds of behavior, and are quite capable of thinking in different ways. People who become Buddhist monks don't have to be "introverted people" but they practice what would be described as introverted behavior. Do they "become introverts" via training? Someone who has spent most of their life programming can learn to direct energy outward playing soccer. They can learn to experience the thrill of improvising a story to a crowd, making it bits as you go based on how you want them to feel about it.

The general assumptions are way too broad. "uncomfortable in social situations" - Why? Low self-esteem? Maybe it's as simple as bad posture. You are slouching and don't realize it, this means you have to make a lot of effort to use your voice. This makes you reluctant to talk and when you do, your voice is soft and sounds a bit strained and uncomfortable. It's hard for people to hear you and they don't enjoy listening, so they have to ask you to repeat yourself, you get frustrated and feel embarassed. So you go home and say "I don't like social situations." "I must be an introvert." When really you just need to practice standing up straight and breathing properly.

It could be hundreds of different things depending on the person, and giving yourself a broad label like "introvert" and "extravert" only interferes with your ability to understand those things.
Tell HN: Namecheap stores unecrypted passwords + let's sales staff see them
Saw this on another forum, so I though you guys might want the heads up.
I would recommend watching this instead of waiting for your browser to unfreeze after 20 seconds.
Recent GTkSourceView/GEdit changes
Do you have a Flash player installed? If so, what's the difference between Adobe's browser-disruption technology and Microsoft's?

I'd agree that content requiring either is almost universally annoying, but at some point you have to compromise if you want to investigate something that may be worthwhile/interesting/worth ridiculing.
The word 'reference' have precise meanings both when taking about references to objects in Java and when taking about pass-by-reference vs pass-by-value in function call semantics. But it is two different meanings.
Drawing lines around big groups of people and making sweeping generalizations is exactly what will be made obsolete by proper sequence-the-whole-DNA genetics. You really don't have to give a damn if one parent's ancestry is this and another's is that, if you can look at the actual genes. As information, it's "screened off" - knowing it tells you nothing extra.
Italy is part of the EU, so Italian citizens are entitled to work most places in Europe. If you want to improve your English, I recommend working in England or Ireland instead of the US.

[Edit: removed stuff about the Schengen area]
I'd add: Get a credit card or two.
In a real world program you would validate input and make sure you get something callable (with either technique). The only additional unexpected behavior is when there could be unexpected handle_xxx attributes. If we take for granted that the programmer defines the dict for the explicit dispatch table, though, we can also assume that the programmer defines the object for the implicit table.
Yes to this. If you want to improve your english, head to the UK. As kaizyn says, you should (as an EU citizen) have the right to work there.
Wait until you start creating something that you're sure will work, and it commits recursive suicide.

Or maybe you know exactly the necessary steps, but can't get sufficient funding.

We all visit Level 3 at some point, it's just a question of how long.
The $0.99 Problem
I rather think that not upvoting the really good stuff here is the main problem.

I agree. Actually, I'd prefer there to be no downvotes and only upvotes. It works for the front page and doesn't lead to bad feelings or people trolling to get downvoted.
This is insane, this is not an attitud question. Working ilegally in US it's a very bad idea.
I don't really understand why you would have your bot spam a site that's dedicated to developers and software engineers.
Also in a similar boat..coming from overseas. Most interested in NY / ON, CA and surrounding regions..
I reason I think this discussion is ever a problem is because in C++ "pass-by-value" has an extra meaning: that a deep copy occurs. There's no precise term for this, so people started (incorrectly) using "pass-by-reference" to talk about parameters that don't get deep copied. After all, in languages that do it right (Java, Ruby, Python, CL) there's only one parameter passing technique, and therefore no reason to make the distinction.
Haskell is something like pass-by-name. At least staff only gets evaluated at most once. But it's definitely not pass-by-value, since not everything gets evaluated down to a value.
Taking part in YC under the WVP is possible.

Careful there. It's almost certainly not. Unless you're just a "brain" doing meetings only, you'd almost certainly be doing something that could be considered "work" and it doesn't matter if you're not being paid.
they are definitely developing a competing product, the reason they haven't contacted you, is to avoid you raising stink later: "they talked to me, stole all my ideas, then came out with their own product

what kind of money are we talking about here? $100K sale or $10M sale?

Also looking at your Alexa rank(150,890) it doesn't look like you are driving a lot of traffic, and your forums don't appear to be all that active(~700 users)...

so I see 3 strategies for you:

a) tell the DoD guys, that your site is for sale for $XX thousand.

b) list the site for sale on eBay(made like $250K for that note taking site, so you might find a "sucker" who'll spend more than the site is worth)

c) list the site for sale on Flippa
Just a tiny error: Schengen AFAIK has nothing to do with entitlement to work.
I would say you're burning out. It's definitely not normal. I'd change jobs if it's possible.

Same stuff happens to me. Alas, I'm not in a position to change my job easily (think immigration issues).
Hence the word "traditional" in the article.
Long URL: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.java/browse_thread/...
Though my_list.append("blub") does change the outside list. Does this matter?
Free and Best Mininova Torrent Alternative Sites
Hey thanks for these alternatives of mininova.. I recommend thepiratebay as the best alternative compared to isohunt :)
Umm, these are indeed the best of the best mininova alternatives.. I am sad for mininova to be dead.. I wish to see mininova back up soon
Are entrepreneurs these days playing it too safe?
Unless you have a work permit, the only way you could "work" would be if you come in on a B1/B2 visa for "business meetings".

But you couldn't get paid by a US office - it would have to be your Argentinian employer paying you and in their interest to have you here for business meetings (of course the US office could reimburse the foreign office for expenses, but now your salary) - that effectively means you will need to interact with a US office of the company you work for in Argentina (or an associated firm, e.g. in the case of the Big Four).

If you come for "business meetings" you should be ready to demonstrate such.
Science does the same thing in many instances. Cellular life is divided into 3 domains: archaea, bacteria, and eukaryote. ALL cellular life is presorted into one of those three domains, and new ones get placed appropriately as discovered.

Disagreeing with your MBTI label doesn't mean you can take the test again and answer questions differently - if you can honestly answer a question in a different way, you fall on the spectrum between things.

What many people miss is that the labels are merely points on a spectrum, each of the four factors is given a percentage rating showing how strongly that factor applies (70% E, for example, implies 30% I - you're more extraverted than introverted, but still have that introversion in your personality).

I'm not saying MBTI is 'science', as there's no way to scientifically prove personality traits, but your specific argument against it is flawed.
What's an OPT?
It is just the terminology that is confusing, because the word 'reference' has a different meaning when talking about parameter passing semantics, than when talking about references to objects.

The Effbot suggest we call Python call semantics for 'call-by-object-reference' http://effbot.org/zone/call-by-object.htm which makes it a lot clearer.
Probably not. Though I am not a lawyer.
B1 visa = you cannot earn any money. Business men should show proof of finances to cover their expenses. Employees should show proof of employer paying allowance (not salary).

B2 visa = tourism or family visit.

The only way you could earn money legally is to get a H1 visa or come as a temporary work force (can't remember the visa name).
This is a question I'd be interested in having answered as well. I run a small educational website that has a comparative niche advantage and you're summary of how you thought web startups worked sounds very familiar. So far no expensive car. :)
You are wrong.

You can modify the original list in your example by having foo() call my_list.append("pwnd!"), for example. You can even use id() to verify that it really is the exactly same object that is visible to the caller and the callee.

Python doesn't pass by reference (in the aliasing variables C++ sense) and it doesn't pass by value (in the functional sense) but rather, it passes references.

Everything is an object anyway but objects aren't copied around. They're just bound or rebound to new variables.

In the above example Python creates new local variables for all function arguments and binds them to the objects passed in as arguments.

If those local variables are assigned to, they're just rebound to point to the new local object while the original variables in the caller code still remain bound to the original object.
Regarging the ability of foreigners to participate in YC, this is addressed in the FAQs here: http://ycombinator.com/faq.html

From my understanding you could do it, because foreigners are allowed to own or start U.S. corporations. I'm not sure how much work on the project you would have to do at home versus here, though.
Do you have any proof of this other than seeing it on a forum?

It is like I heard from a friend who knows someone who's father works there kind of thing without evidence.
If you're "always angry", you need to get out now. If you're occasionally angry or stressed (e.g. 5 to 10% of the time) that's normal.

Every job has annoyances, but if you're constantly pissed off, you need to do something. My advice would to be to start speaking out when people take advantage of you. If a client is being unreasonable and making your life hell, he's probably making your boss's life even worse. Figure out who you can talk to, and what you might be able to say, in order to improve your situation. You may have to find another job. If you're this angry, my advice would be to start the search process now.

A lot of Americans think it's a reasonable strategy to bottle in anger at the workplace, rather than speaking their minds. This made sense when people stayed at the same company for 30 years, and when getting fired or laid off was a disaster, because you'd be around the same people for most of your working life. Now that the average job lasts 2 to 5 years, it doesn't make sense. You're better off raising the issues (in a respectful, reasonable way) than repressing the anger and damaging your health.
one spams github because github.com has a high google page rank.
I have Netflix. For movies that are available on BluRay, I love getting the disc, but for the rest I use Netflix' PS3 streaming service.

I probably watch on average one movie a day.
Mapping the geographies of Wikipedia
Ask an Academic: Why Women Have Sex
In Python you never deal with an object itself, just a reference to it, so you can change the value of any mutable object you pass to a function, lists and dictionaries are just a couple of examples of these.

The problem (discussed by the article) is that "pass-by-reference" is a term that is used a couple of different ways. By someone's definition, this property of Python objects might cause them to consider the calls to pass-by-reference, but the way the author defined it in this article they are not.
Europe and Asia are diverse places. (As is Africa.) E.g. the German Kaisers used to be weak leaders most of the time. And Kaisertum was never hereditary.
I completely agree. The fact that you are a doer, does not imply that what are you doing is beneficial to you.
The movie industry should just get together, and create a content streaming box like Netflix.

Then on movie release date, you'd get a popup, that so and so movie came out, gives you a 3 minute preview, then prompts you to watch it for $39.99

Movie industry doesn't have to pay a dime to theaters, people don't have to pay the money for overpriced popcorn, and everyone wins.

+ there is the incentive for people to buy the movie to be able to talk about it at the water cooler on Monday. Could make it a cultural thing, make it the thing to do, to watch the movie on release weekend.

And for piracy, there is no reason to do it, since you are offering much higher quality offering, and are making it easy for people to watch your movie.
I acknowledge that everything in your post is true (save myself being wrong ;) ) and was not arguing otherwise. I know that you can mutate mutable arguments passed to functions in Python, I was just saying that it isn't actually pass-by-reference as the individual I was replying to was saying. I've edited my post to clarify. :)
Actually in QuickTime player (not sure about others) you can adjust the playback speed. Command-K will bring up A/V controls and you can speed or slow it without affecting pitch.

I use this trick often when watching developer screencasts.
Thanks for the feedback. Here is some background info related to your questions:

1) We're probably closer to the $100K mark than the $10M. Then again, I think paired up with a strong brand it would be killer. We've got great features, but not the branding or marketing.

2) The forums are a very sideline part of the site, and we have considerably more users than 700. I don't like to give out the actual number, but it's comparable to some of the larger D&D websites. We're not big overall, but we're big in our niche (ie. tabletop RPGs). Surely that counts for something. Plus, we have a proven revenue model and are approaching ramen profitability with our current traffic.

To be honest, I don't think I could ever sell it on a place like eBay or Flippa. I'm very attached to my site and handing it over to just somebody off the street is out of the question. Plus, I have a reputation to maintain with my userbase. They would understand me selling to a major player in the community, but would be horrified if I just tossed it onto eBay.
His twitter go example wasn't supposed to run in the browser.
how does this mesh with paying individuals (who do not hold us work permits) while they are situated outside of the united states? i'm think in particular of small outsourced software development projects.
no proof, but with countless services that are doing this, I wouldn't be surprised.

+ the person who reported this wasn't some noob, so I trust him

oh and i found out by talking to their support people. I
didn't believe the dude when he told me, so i asked him
for some random characters (i.e starts with, ends with
etc) and he had the right anwsers
I feel the version from the original comment is most Pythonic. The other version is close to an eval-function, which seems to be frowned up on in Python.