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JonLim

574 karma · joined December 9, 2010

jonlimtoronto@gmail.com - @jonlim
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JonLim··on Factorio Friday Facts: Steam Deck, Ghost bugs, Docs improvements
As someone who uses (or used to use) Steam Link to be able to use a Windows PC headlessly to game from a macOS machine, I think it's a really compelling argument to consider it before considering a Steam Deck.

However, I'm viewing Steam Deck as a mobile gaming machine, which might be replacing my current Windows gaming laptop, and I can leave my Windows gaming laptop at home (or replace with a tower altogether). And if Steam Link works with a Steam Deck, I can have the best of both worlds (mobile gaming + regular gaming via Steam Link)!

JonLim··on The number of cities with municipal broadband has jumped over 4x in two years
Depending on where you live, check and see if you have Natural Wireless[0] available in your building/residence. Recently moved into an apartment that is lucky enough to get their service, and we get gigabit for ~$70 a month.

Have had almost zero issues, and their support has been tremendous.

[0]: https://naturalwireless.com/

JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
It's a good question - I believe it's the latter, terminating status with previous employer with validity matching previous expiration date.
JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
Going through this right now! Applying for a new TN through change of employer (COE) while residing in the US. I was given the option to fly back and forth to apply at the border, but figured this would be the safest (and lowest friction) option.

However, it's been a slow process, especially with having received word of USCIS requesting additional evidence from my first application.

JonLim··on ProtonMail CEO calls Apple's forced in-app purchases 'Mafia extortion'
Am curious: what made it so difficult to cancel / unsubscribe?

If you subscribed with a credit card, did the option of chargebacks ever come up? (Asking because these sorts of situations seem perfectly in line for disputing with your credit card provider.)

JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
Interesting! Thanks for sharing that. What sort of supporting documents did you end up having, to prove that you were supporting "a professional in the scientific field"?
JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
100%.

The decision to approve or deny is entirely in the hands of the officer, and I managed to get a NAFTA officer who interpreted the agreement in my favour. It's why so much time and effort goes into the supporting documents.

JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
If I understand the requirements correctly, it's _any_ diploma or degree, plus 3 years of Computer Systems Analyst experience.
JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
It's my second go at getting a TN visa (for Computer Systems Analyst designation) and you don't necessarily need a CS degree, but if you don't have one, you will need at least a two year diploma and three years of experience in the field.

My current TN visa application was held up by USCIS questioning my experience in the field, and the validity of the visa for my new role. (Despite having cleared both last year. Figures.)

I wrote about my first experience [0], if you're curious!

[0] https://jonlim.ca/blog/getting-computer-systems-analyst-tn-b...

JonLim··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
Have you seen any issues lately with H1-B/TN visas being granted to technical employees who don't have a degree in CS or software engineering?

Additionally, what questions/documents would you recommend people prepare in advance to make their immigration lawyers' lives easier?

(I sent over a lot of documents to the lawyers preparing my application, but they took only a few in my initial TN visa application, and I ended up with a Request For Evidence from USCIS.)

JonLim··on Laid Off, Now What?
Not that I would (or have) tried either idea, but you'd still need USCIS to grant you a TN visa that's tied to your employer, and I imagine it would be tougher if it was a no name or self made company.

In fact, for your own company, I think that's a different kind of visa, but I'm not very well versed in immigration law.

JonLim··on Laid Off, Now What?
Ah, thanks for sharing that. Guessing once the RFE was sent off, everything was okay?

Crazy that it took 3 months to prepare and send the RFE, though I'm assuming USCIS provided an answer within 15 days with Premium Processing.

JonLim··on Laid Off, Now What?
The lawyers have not mentioned anything near that, otherwise I'd be working right now!

My application used Premium Processing, and I got an RFE, so I'm still sitting here on my hands. It's frustrating, but is it worth asking the lawyers about being able to start since I'm in the process of the application?

JonLim··on Laid Off, Now What?
Oof, that's a long wait. If you don't mind me asking, is it because of the whole H1B status with the current administration, or of additional hoops you had to jump through for the RFE, or something else?
JonLim··on Laid Off, Now What?
Does the 60 day timeline include the amount of time you need to be approved for the visa, as well?

I wasn't laid off, but am in the process of changing employers with my TN visa. This is probably the least smooth part of the entire interviewing/job changing process, at least from my perspective, as a software dev who doesn't have a degree in computer science or computer engineering.

Wish it were all a little more transparent, and that it wasn't just a big waiting game with lawyers and USCIS!

JonLim··on Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix
As a counter point: the golden handcuffs for startups/companies aren't guaranteed to pay off, so the employee may decide that the options are still worth $0 and not bother with incurring taxes by exercising.

I'm probably okay with losing out on a sale event with a startup I've left, especially if my stake is <1%, if the big tech company pays as well as it's reported. YMMV.

JonLim··on Interviewing the “Passé” Way, For a Reason
I gotta ask... are companies you're interviewing with expecting you to have memorized particular algorithms? Or to be perfect with syntax?

In my most recent round of interviews, I found almost no one expecting me to recall a particular algorithm and implement it for a solution to a problem, but I did find plenty of questions that involved dealing with data structures, and writing my own code and algorithms to solve those problems.

Maybe I've been fortunate with not having been asked questions like "implement the quick sort algorithm"?

JonLim··on The Failure of the iPad
Would you be able to expand on what your setup looks/looked like? I've long wanted to get an iPad to do development work, but haven't been able to find a great setup for JS/Go development.
JonLim··on Calibre 4.0
I've gone through the motions of emailing the book to my Kindle, which allows it to be downloadable on other Kindle devices or the app, and also syncs up reading location.

Doesn't work for huge books, but has been a great boon for most books!

JonLim··on Using Hugo, Gitlab Pages, and Cloudflare to Create and Run a Free Static Website
Agree! And I'm sure it's also another script to add to the templates, at the footer of a post template, probably?
JonLim··on Using Hugo, Gitlab Pages, and Cloudflare to Create and Run a Free Static Website
Not OP, but you can embed Google Analytics (or Tag Manager) into your Hugo template, and it's fairly straightforward to do.

Comments I'm not entirely sure of, because I never wanted them on my site in the first place!

JonLim··on Using Hugo, Gitlab Pages, and Cloudflare to Create and Run a Free Static Website
Ah, you know for some reason I was thinking Cloudflare was also doing some hosting, and now I realize I shouldn't make comments on things without having consumed a coffee to start the day.

I also have Cloudflare in front of my site, but that was there before I made the switch, and it's great!

JonLim··on Using Hugo, Gitlab Pages, and Cloudflare to Create and Run a Free Static Website
Guess it's having connectivity issues?

Haven't read the post yet, but any advantages to using Gitlab Pages and Cloudflare with Hugo over using Netlify?

My personal blog[0] is Hugo + Netlify, and it's been a pretty great experience, so I'm always curious about alternatives! (I'm not a fan of the Netlify CMS though.)

[0] https://jonlim.ca/

JonLim··on Why Good Developers Are Promoted into Unhappiness (2007)
As someone who's about to enter management track, I'd be curious (and open to a conversation!) about what you've been doing to both demonstrate your management skills and putting up your hand about your desires.

Sometimes, your own managers don't know what you want, until it's too late! But I don't want to assume anything, so please do start a conversation if you're up for it!

JonLim··on Show HN: Giving a Broken Barcode Scanner a New Life with Elixir and Nerves
Love this!

I was thinking of something similar, but mostly as an inventory + expiration tracking system, because we often forget what we have in the fridge and cabinets. I love the integration with Wunderlist for adding to the shopping list as well!

JonLim··on Apple’s 2019 Mac Pro will be shaped by workflows
I really wish I could get the 2015 MacBook Pro with USB-C ports and Touchbar MBP size.

As painful as it was to have to buy dongles and whatever else, having monitors + USB docks using USB-C has been pretty pleasant.

JonLim··on Firefox 58
> But then I pop open the dev tools and they're unbearably slow - like I simply can't do real dev work in FF anymore, have to use Chrome.

+1

I've had to sit patiently waiting for sourcemaps to load or finally hit breakpoints in FF, I usually try to test changes in Chrome and hope that they work well in FF. Minor inspector usage for CSS styling and what not.

(It's still my primary browser at work, though.)

JonLim··on How to grow into your best developer self
I don't disagree on your sentiment on the gamedev industry and how it treats devs, but I agree with the author on the point of optimizing for a better career than just optimizing for salary bumps.

Their checklist shares a lot with mine, and I can only assume money will come with having grown in supportive and great development environments.

JonLim··on Panoramio no longer available after Nov 4
Thanks for posting this! I've wanted to do something useful and/or helpful with my spare computer + bandwidth, so this is lovely.
JonLim··on Courage
Currently using a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35, which are wireless and connect via bluetooth.

The only issue I have with it is that pairing can occasionally take a minute or two, because I have to pair with a different device sometimes and it remembers the last connection first.

However, other than that, they work fantastically. The noise cancellation is on point, the battery lasts for ~8 hours or so, and I have been a very happy camper since getting it.

Recently compared it to my girlfriend's QC25, and I really enjoy having the convenience of not having to pop in a battery and no wires.

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