BrainScraps

Such a man of mystery, this Bret Victor is!

Seeing the design elements that went into making the Model S from the ground-up, I am excited to see what a "family" all-electric car built from the ground-up will look like. I wonder if there's going to be another HUGE touchscreen panel.

And how many seats? I'm pretty stoked. And maybe my Tesla stock will have a nice bump after the unveiling. [weak disclosure] :)

If you don't read the text below, you're missing the best part. (No offense meant to the superb design work, of course.)

Regretsy for hacks?

Some ideas for promoting the app:

Try to get linked from an official web site, whatever the equivalent of this is: http://www.caltrain.com/schedules/Mobile_Device_Schedules.ht...

That may require navigating some bureaucracy, but it may be surprisingly easy.

Also, try handing out fliers with QR codes or placing stickers somewhere where train riders with Android phones are.

You could also possibly leave Foursquare tips at every train station that you have access to. Hope this helps. :)

My favorite on that promo? Endomondo Pro. I love the free app, now I'm going to rock it Pro!

Sketchbook Mobile is a brilliantly designed app as well.

Idea for new names: AppBouncer, Blank Check, AppReduce

Apparently down here in California, they're all the rage with folks who grow a certain high-dollar hydroponic crop indoors.

Hey bro, don't worry about all of the snarkaristas around who want to get all in the guts of your project and pick it apart while still developing. I totally get the point of your post and appreciate your brazen honesty and transparency (where appropriate, naturally.)

I'm in your corner (as a fellow noob) and can't wait to see what you're up to. Check out my info and let me know if you think I can help out at all.

(As a side note, I almost spent last summer helping with the marketing of a Mycorrhizal innoculant called Mykos at http://xtreme-gardening.com That stuff blows my mind! )

In the U.S., remember Veterans.

I'll be there with bells on. :)

Can you guys hook it up with some student discounts?

>how the "moving pieces fit together" matters more than how much anybody cares.

It takes both to take any meaningful, equitable, decisive action. Analysis without motivation leads us to scholarly indifference.

Your point is taken when it comes to empathy without logic.

Thanks for your insight and for your past championing of a more "ground level" approach to improving some crucial systems.

The sort of community of which you speak does certainly sound like an exciting and powerful one. I hope that it exists, and I hope that it finds you - and maybe me.

It is a bit disconcerting to me that commenters here are fascinated by the technical analysis of this system and appear quite oblivious to the problem of starving human beings.

Perhaps I am not intellectual enough to appreciate the empathy hiding behind this analytical ruminating about the problem - but I wish that I got the impression that there was more reaction happening than "Wow, what an interesting phenomenon in the commodities market- how do all of these moving pieces fit together?"

To quote the sometimes poignant Jack Johnson: "Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die? At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eyes"

I knew Wolfram would be involved with handling these queries - especially when that demo had the "How many calories are in a banana?" line !

I'm with you -

This could be why it would be available only on the newest, 4G-enabled iPhone. If this was all handled in the cloud and delivered at 4G speeds, it could be compelling.

This is loving and potent satire. Well played, folks!

Smaller: NAV (Nano Air Vehicle) by Aerovironment - engineering folks behind the General Motors EV1

bottom-right corner of their homepage: http://www.avinc.com/

PSS + Vinegar

Just kidding, that's not a webapp framework, but if I wrote one, that's what I'd call it.

I'm sure that it pays off for a percentage of organizations, but for many, that game represents a lot of time, money and effort that create no value.

And with campaign contributions? Come on. For the federal elections of 2008, we used $5.3 Billion dollars. What did we get for it? The exact same number of elected officials we would have if we spent $0.

What value was created? Better representatives? Quality entertainment?

What else could that money have been used for? As I said earlier: Ugh.

Reading this just makes me think of all of the lobbying dollars and campaign contributions that must have been paid by the super-rich to get these tax breaks.

Am I the only one that feels some populist rage welling up when he hears how much money is wasted on campaigning for office and influencing people in office? Aren't there more worthy uses of wealth and scarce resources?

And it just pains me that so many people think that they "have to play the game" to get things done by politicians. Non-profit organizations that use large percentages of their spend on "wining and dining" elected or appointed officials to try to make things beneficial things happen. Ugh.

Well said. Someone got some perspective into your head before it inflated out of control. Bravo to whoever did it (you or someone who taught you as a youngster).

lovely work!

nicecurelom

Thanks for the tips, folks!

I just paid for this like 5 days ago! BLARG!

Not the snappiest title, probably wouldn't make it to top of HN.

But definitely more realistic.

C'est la vie.

I think that's an over-simplification. Call me naive, but I think that to most people, "do whatever it takes to succeed" assumes a certain baseline of ethics in the intended audience.

This phrase here is meant to spur the reader to do the right sorts of "anything": being disciplined, getting out of their comfort zone, learning, taking risks, getting their "hands dirty" in good honest work, hacking and building.

The author cannot be blamed for those who act immorally because they lack ethical training or discipline.

I don't want to be a Debby Downer, I really want to help you out, so please know this comes from a good place.

Have you talked to any merchants? If you had, they would tell you what would be required for them to participate. They would say "What is the point of this?" or "How will this make me money?" And you could talk to them (your customers) about it instead of polling the Lords of Ether.

And then you would start giving reasons why your app would drive sales, and they would help you to frame your message to make it compelling for merchants.

It seems that you have stumbled upon the two-sided network chicken-egg problem.

To conquer your problem, you need a small band of folks on both sides (consumer and merchant) who are in love with your system and will provide you with precious feedback,referrals, and case studies. They will make or break your service, so find someone who really needs you.

I had more, but I hope this gets your train of thought going in the right directions. Best of luck!