Ask HN: Are you alone in San Francisco on Thanksgiving? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are you alone in San Francisco on Thanksgiving?

475 pointsMediaSquirrel94 comments

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

If you're in San Francisco and alone on this special day, drop me a line. We'd love to have you!

Twitter: @MattMireles Email: iwantbeer@swigme.com

My girlfriend is making cranberry sauce, stuffing and sweet potatoes to go along with our gigantic turkey. GautamSivakumar (http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=gautamsivakumar) of MediSaS (who I first met through HN) will be joining us from England for his first ever American Thanksgiving.

I've been helped by strangers and friends and strangers who became friends. When I was 20, it was the people who picked me up on my cycling/hitchhiking mis-adventure down the California coast and let me stay in their homes on Xmas. When I was 25, it was the New Yorkers who welcomed me into a new city and taught me how to stay safe in my job as a paramedic. When I was 29, it was the entrepreneurs who introduced me to Silicon Valley and showed me how to get from Zero to 1.

And now, I feel compelled to return these favors in some way, small or large.

So...if you're in San Francisco and you need a place to call home for Thanksgiving, let me know. We saved you a seat at the table.

-Matt Mireles CEO, Swig!

SwigMe.com: The Liquor Store in Your Pocket. Get Beer, Wine & Booze Delivered To Your Door in Under an Hour

Amazed by the turnout. What an awesome thanksgiving!

http://instagr.am/p/SWvz6dOENk/

That is fantastic. I hope you guys had a blast. :)

Saw it too late. Awesome!!

This is beautiful and shows one of the coolest parts of a great community like Silicon Valley. Thanks for giving back, Matt.

I sincerely hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving!

Thanks man. I count myself one of the lucky ones.

Matt is one of the coolest people in the Bay Area and it is definitely worth spending the day with him if you're on your own today.

I'm not in America, but would really like to know how many people actually asked to join you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's only a 12 hour drive from Phoenix! I can make it!

(I'm kidding, that would put me in SF around 1:00am -- hanging out in the hackerspace with my girlfriend making stuff instead :) )

Do it man! We're in North Beach, near Coit Tower.

See: http://www.staysf.com/upload/attraction/20080519180416_coit%...

Bummer. I kind of wish I hadn't agree to go to my gf's family's house. I would rather be nerding out.

Very nice of you! on a related note, I'm curious. SwigMe.com seems very interesting, but I would think there are a lot of legal loopholes you need to jump through, no? What happens when teenagers try to order and present a good fake ID at the door?

I always thought that you can see fake IDs only on TV.. Do kids in USA really have "fake ids"?

I mean cmon ..this is hilarious

100% Yes. I know of 3 ways to get a Fake:

1) Online "Novelty IDs" 2) local "ID Trucks" Philly has a few. 3) An older friend that you may look like.

It's almost a right of passage in the US depending on your social circle.

Fake ID's are extremely prevalent in US colleges for getting into bars and clubs. People usually acquire them from older friends who look similar, or order them from fake ID sites similar to idchief.com (a Chinese company that was recently closed after scrutiny from a group of U.S. senators).

I knew someone in university that knew someone that made fake ids in Michigan. Even after they upgraded the driver's licenses to have holograms, etc, this guy apparently had sheets of hologram stickers to put over the fake ids. This stuff seems like big business in 'college towns' where there are a lot of under-age kids on their own that want to drink.

Yes, absolutely, and not only in the US.

In Germany the legal drinking age is 16, but you need to be 18 to get into most clubs. When you're 16, you get an ID card in Germany. It's relatively easy to change the birth date on those using small, thin stickers that exactly match the font and background on the card.

Wow, is that common where you are? It's been five years since I was a teenager in Germany, but while tons of my American friends had fake ideas, I never even heard of faking your birth date that way. Now, using someone else's ID card was very common.

Once had someone give me an id that was simply a second id with the face cut out and his id taped in behind it. Worked too until they separated handing it back to him.

They used to sell fake "college IDs" in the arcades at Times Square in NYC, not sure if they still do. But I was able to use that when I was 19 to buy beer at gas stations all the time.

Believe it or not: yes. Here in the UK I remember most of the people in my school using the laminator to make loads of them.

Yes... sometimes it's fake but often you just get a hand-me down ID from an older friend/relative who may look like you

Haha, no need for fake ids in Europe :) :)

Not sure where in Europe you're located, but in England (with a drinking age of 18) the usage of fake IDs by 16 and 17 year olds is pretty frequent.

Admittedly my experience is a good more than a 13 years ago, but I've never known anyone in London who used a fake id to drink. While the age at which one can buy alcohol is 18 (there's no prohibitions against drinking it, just buying it) it's so loosely enforced that it's generally just a matter of going to an off licence down the road if the first one asks for ID, so there's almost no point at all in getting a fake ID. Added to that is that there isn't any form of ID other than passports or driving licences which would have a data of birth on them, and an under 21 yr old not having either wouldn't be particularly unusual anyway.

I think things have changed a lot in the last decade or so in the UK in this respect. When I was at high-school we all went drinking in pubs from age 16 (with an 18 lower age limit); I genuinely doubt that's possible now given bar staff are supposed to challenge you if you look under 21.

Apparently there were too many under-18s who looked over-21, many bars now advertise a policy of checks for anyone who looks under-25.

That's true. I didn't EVER get away with it and I tried so much.

Croatia, funny thing I was in England few weeks ago.. I just can't imagine seeing a kid with a fake Id xD People would make fun of him in Croatia

As a UK national I can corroborate this :) I was the proud owner of a fake university ID (think it was from Heiot Watt) in my mid teens. Traded it by ripping some CDs with a first gen burner (which were still quite new in 1997/8!)

For a few dollars extra ups and fedex wil verify that the recipient of the shipment is 21 years or older.

This is truly awesome, it's so nice to see that (although there is at times bickering) the HN community still is alive at heart.

Way to go! Good turnout, too!

It makes me sad that all the HN stuff typically appears to revolve around SF and SV area, though. I feel left out. I think the problem is that PG and YC are on that side of the world, and the rest of us get screwed. I'd like to see a map of IPs geoplotted for the last hour, last day, last week, month, year, all time for those hitting HN, those commenting, those with the most karma points, etc. I'd like to feel like it isn't all west coast U.S., NYC, and India.

Awesome! That's really cool, Matt. Cheers to helping everyone get a little higher on Maslow's pyramid today.

On that note... Here's a link to donate to the SF food bank's holiday food drive. https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5420/shop/custom.jsp?do...

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I'm in Santa Clara, (so I won't be able to come up) but I'd like to help out. Any way I can chip in to the meal?

do you have a place to eat dinner?

Thankfully, I ended up finding a place just less than an hour ago. :)

ah, great. We are stil cooking, not ready for about 2 more hours I think.

Although im not in san fransisco this post alone made my day!

That is super cool. Matt Mireles you have a big heart. You just earned a new customer for Swig

This is awesome. Kudos to you for posting, Matt.

I just moved to the city (it'll be 1 month tomorrow), but luckily I had great friends waiting for me who I'll be enjoying the evening with.

But the awesomeness of this post almost makes me want to join you regardless haha

Matt is a mensch! Great to see you're continuing to fly the entrepreneurial flag.

Thanks Chris. Happy Thanksgiving to you, TK and all the little Yehs.

Awww Matt, happy thanksgiving - hope get to celebrate with you sometime!

It's a shame this isn't the UK - I'm going to be alone for christmas this year and it would have been cool to spend it with like minded, kind people such as yourself and Gautam.

Geekup (blackpool) generally have a christmas meal. It isn't the same but it's as close as your going to get. Good bunch of guys that go from the NW, most of @wearefarm will be there which are based around the corner from you

Blackpool is 45 minutes away on the bus - thanks for this, I was really dreading sitting alone at christmas!

Give us a follow on twitter @nullUk

There is a preston Geekup to but i'm not involved with it as much as the blackpool one as I work with a few of the people who help organise & run it even though we all work in Chorley.

Thats a humongous coincidence, I work at the end of Cowling road just by the Spinners!

The world is such a small place.

Happy thanksgiving to you Yanks from the south. What I find cool is that you say you started your entrepreneurial jaunt at 29. I'm 30 and just taking step 0.23 in my self-employment scheme but I often feel like I'm maybe too old to be trying out for this particular team. It's encouraging that it seems it's never too late to just try building something. So thanks for that :)

You're so nice Matt. Big hugs to you!

Sometimes I see random acts of kindness (like yours), and they still surprise me.

I bet every one of us did a few, and received a few.

Hope someday, when I visit Silicon Valley, you would host Thanksgiving too. Would love to join you then.

For Now, Happy Thanksgiving from Nepal :)

Hey Matt-

I just shot you an email- I'm staying near Height and Clayton, and this is my first Thanksgiving alone- How far is it to North Beach ?

You are awesome. Cheers from Pennsylvania!

Would take you up if I were down there! All the way up in Vancouver, BC but I'll take a raincheck :).

I wish I had done this for our Thanksgiving.

An especially happy Thanksgiving to anyone here from out of town or away from friends & family!

Dood, go to a hackerspace. lots of people having Thanksgiving at Noisebridge and Hacker Dojo, I am sure.

I know it sucks being alone on a holiday, but you know, yer only there by choice. Lots of friendly people here inviting you over.

If yer still depressed Saturday, come to the MADE (Oakland's videogame museum) and play your heart out. http://www.themade.org

What city?

I am alone but not in SF. It is really nice of you. You are truly having a great Thanksgiving day.

This was an awesome event! Just wanted to give a shutout to Matt for hosting all of us. It was great to meet tons of people from around the world who were all in the same position. It really made my day to know this community supports each other so much.

Thank you so much for being an awesome human being. People like you are my motivation.

Well done, Matt.

We haven't hung out in a while. Let's get together when I come to SF in January.

This is just plain nice. It's not often you get to say than on HN :)

This is beautiful.

I had a short gig in SF earlier this year and finding this kindness would have definitely helped me make my stay there a more enjoyable experience.

Abrazos from Mexico City.

I think it's people like you who give me hope about the future of humanity! :)

Thanks and Happy thanksgiving.

PS: I would totally drop by, if i wasn't living about 8000miles away! :D

This is such an outrageously awesome thing that you have done.

Thankyou.

Wow how nice of you. This is why I like HN especially after being pushed around in Walmart :P I would've ping if I was around SF.

You've gotta bring swig me to NYC! I'd use it!

This doesn't apply to me but this is absolutely fantastic. It's great to see people with kind souls doing nice things.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Too bad it takes caltrain 1.5 hours to get up there from SJ. oh well. Thanksfor the offer and happy thanksgiving

We haven't started eating yet. You can make it! If you want, I can pick you up from the Caltrain.

Sown, you should go! Matt, you rock!!!!

I'd like to but it'll be 4 or 5 by the time I could get there. i'd probably just break their toilet or something on accident, as I'm prone to do at parties.

edit: And yes, Mr. Matt rocks. He even offered to pick me up at caltrain.

Wow! I wish I was in SF. Hopefully someone as friendly as you will be doing this in London (UK) next year.

Let us know how many people show up!

That's very nice of you, Matt. Wish I was near San Fran! Have a great time nevertheless.

Matt, thanks for the invite! Although I wasn't there this is really heartwarming :)

This is incredible. Great thing you're doing! How about that hospitality. :)

If only I am in San Francisco..... Have a great thanksgiving!

One more thing to give thanks for is people like you, Matt.

An awesome gesture. Happy thanksgiving from Singapore!:)

Don't be lazzy make a language like Guido did

what? xD

Probably a reference to Van Rossum developing python during a lonely christmas.

Oh, nice :) Thanks mate

LOL!

Great gesture dude. Thanks for giving back.

This is amazing. Kudos to you kind sir.

Classy move, Matt! Happy Thanksgiving.

Super cool man. Have a great holiday!

awesome idea! wish i could have made it (even though i'm in another part of the world)

This is by far a great gesture!

Kudos Matt!

good show Matt, way to celebrate the holiday

nice marketing..but still remarkable offer one big PLUS

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