SethMurphy

They have just discovered the value of sitting solitaire on a barstool. Random social interactions avoid echo Chambers and free us of algorithmic information influence.

I make a habit of reading the headlines of at least three major news websites daily (Fox, CNN, NY Times), in addition to reading articles mostly on one. This doesn't mean I really know what's going on, but at least I know what people think is going on which seems to be as important these days. Oh, and of course HN.

Naming or framing things in a difficult or obtuse way can be a good way to limit your audience. However, if it works others will follow and it will no longer be effective.

I had a similar experience with a Meetup I once hosted which I specifically put in a location that was difficult (but admittedly becoming trendy). It worked for a bit but eventually attracted the crowd I was trying to alienate.

Comical misquote, "Switch to PDF" replaced "Go to the Moon".

In addition on my pixel 3 you can open camera app and long press QR code. This works with or without enabling lens suggestions.

So, double press power button, long tap QR code, and click link to visit site.

They should buy the Howard Johnson's restaurant trademark.

"The film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was "one of the first to carry 'product placements' for companies" such as Howard Johnson's, whose logos appear aboard the space station."

I occasionally use Safari to extend battery usage on a laptop. For me Chrome uses significantly more power.

'Clean Code' is a style, not all practices are best. I feel that a good software team understands each other's styles, therefore making it easier to read others code within the context of a style. However, when people disagree on code style it has a way of creating cliques within teams, so sometimes it's just easier to pick a style that is well documented already and be done with mainly petty disagreements. Clean code fits the definition of well documented and is a lazy way of defining a team wide style.

Without transparency in salary ranges it will be very difficult to close the gap between white men and everyone else. It evens the field in negotiations and allows people who typically would not negotiate the ability to do so. Of course the downside would be the employer knowing your salary where you last worked, but that is often requested anyhow in my experience.

As a parent I need both my own down time and time alone with my spouse to feel mentally healthy too, and that is usually after they are in bed and asleep. Maybe more than 6 hours is easy, but it's usually less than 8 if I manage to do all my normal expected activities. Often I do sleep instead now though as I quickly realized my temperament is only agreeable with enough of it as I age, and the other things I need to do suffer. Others may not make the same choice, and it's not a wrong to prioritize other important aspects of mental and physical well being.

This is so calming for me. I could draw myself to sleep.

Zork was responsible for my initial interest in computer programming (and first program in BASIC, forever lost). Probably loved it because it was so much like a choose your own adventure book of the times.

While not related to TV (but possibly radio), My political radicalism probably peaked in 4th grade due to my surroundings. Young minds can be very easily influenced before they fully develop critical thinking.

A small wooden pizza paddle is a great tool to build the pizza on and transfer to a hot surface. I use semolina underneath the dough so it can slide off more easily. Lifting a little to get some air underneath helps if it doesn't slide off at first. I haven't invested in a pizza stone, I just make them personal size on an inverted cast iron pan.

Edit: As other similar response mentioned peel seems to be the more specific word for paddle.

Also, food is not included and is a significant portion of my perception of prices. Food prices went up significantly last year and it's not something you can decide not to buy.

It may be pandemic influence, but that's the world we live in now.

From USDA (source: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/su...):

In 2020, food-at-home prices increased 3.5 percent and food-away-from-home prices increased 3.4 percent. The CPI for all food increased 3.4 percent over this same period. In general, food price inflation in 2020 was much higher than in 2018 (0.4 percent), 2019 (0.9 percent), and the 20-year average (2.0 percent).

The noise is a feature. It is a social signal that you are clean for everyone in the establishment, or at least for everyone who can see the entrance to the restroom.

This is what "Defund the Police" means in practice and hopefully this could lead to meaningful and positive changes. I recently witnessed an encounter in NYC involving paramedics and police interrogating an individual who did not want medical care, and any involvement with police. The paramedic was definitely using deescalation skills that I would usually equate with police work, as the police took a stand back and see attitude. I didn't see the outcome, but it seemed there was no one size fits all solution for this particular situation and the skills needed by both professions had a large overlap.

The problem seems to be about eroding trust in the police relationship with communities. The solution being proposed is creating new trust relationship with another public organization. Either way we need trust with every public organization/community interaction in the end and moves like this, if successful, are still just solving half the problem.

"Vaccine allocation and centralized distribution will utilize HHS’s Vaccine Tracking System (VTrckS), which is a secure, web-based IT system that integrates the entire publicly funded vaccine supply chain from purchasing and ordering through distribution to participating state, local, and territorial health departments and healthcare providers."

This seems to imply they are building a package tracking system to integrate with 3rd party carriers. A tool like this could be used by the government to track any package though broader integration in the future.

Quote source from linked document: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/strategy-for-distrib...

Yes, all text in a message scanned, matches made are for manual review. In the world of financial compliance false positives are in the majority. No company can afford to skip a true match for the sake of scalability based on current audit practices.

As an "Engineer" by job title, I strive for efficiency at work, and it certainly creeps into my daily personal life also. With this pandemic I have learned to realize that efficiency is not the end game for everything, and the things you do efficiently should be chosen wisely. I have seen the the toll it takes on those in my daily life more clearly, but have also seen how it can lead to a safer less risky life during these times (i.e. shopping habits). It is also clear that efficiencies built into our supply chains (i.e. food) have become a liability as of recently. I do see this as a time of great reflection on efficiency for both individuals and corporations or markets. I think this re-evaluation will lead to some of the longest lasting changes to come out of this pandemic.

I and mostly the students Grandmother now are home schooling a first grader in the NYC public system and would like to provide a description of what our situation looks like to better facilitate this discussion for those that are not living though this.

1. Everyday there is a video conference call.

This communication is mostly about trying to keep a relationship with the teacher and sharing stories they are writing only if a student desires.

2. There is no teaching, just lesson plans.

The responsibility of the actual schooling has been left completely up to the caregivers at home.

3. Schoolwork is expected to be uploaded daily.

There was no set way to do this. We are simply taking photos of the work done on paper (and at times screen shots if a login is shared for an activity) and pasting them in a google doc for each day in the students NYC google drive account.

4. There has been zero specific feedback on any of the work submitted.

The only accountability has been an online sticker chart where parents award award stars and teacher do also. We have given 1 star a day for completing assigned work, and 2 for a day when it is done with less struggle to maintain attention. Each parent has their own view of what a star means.

5. Writing has been the main focus over the past month.

My child already struggles with “writers block” even in school. We are fortunate to have a retired teachers assistant in our household who is able to do one-on-one teaching. While not trained or experienced in first grade education with the attention my child receives I have seen more improvement in the past month than the previous three months by a long shot.

6. The schooldays often goes later than when in school, and rarely earlier.

This is skewed by a new 9:00 start time, so the actual time may be less, but I would say it feels like more. It took at least 3 weeks to get into a rhythm where the days did drag out from morning to night.

7. There is no homework anymore.

Well, more correctly homework was initially part of the daily lesson plan, but we always did it during the day.

8. Reading, social studies and science have been done almost exclusively online.

This is the easiest for us as it is mostly self directed at this point. Additionally no work needs to be uploaded. IT started with Social Studies and Science each day, but they are now alternating days.

9. Friday’s have just become catch up days.

This is great, but in our situation was not necessary. We are hoping this means a 4 day school week.

10. We left NYC to a place where we have space to have school in a separate room behind a closed door.

I don’t think it would have been possible in our NYC apartment to limit distractions. There is also a younger sibling that requires attention and provides distraction to the student. In addition we now have ample outdoor space to allow the children to play with zero pandemic anxiety involved.

11. We still get assignments for the enrichment classes (music, art, physical education, and foreign language) separate from the primary teacher.

The first three are generally videos posted of the teacher providing interactive instruction. Foreign language is done with an online lesson and mimics social studies and science comments above.

The morning conference call does not address these at all.

In summary, my child has probably been doing better or as well as most in their class, and I don’t think they are falling behind. However, this is due to the time we have to teach them ourselves and not the attention given by the teacher. The teacher has been good at creating lesson plans and lowering our expectations, but other than that has been diminished to a technical support role in our case. There has been little to no remote teaching. We do have the ability to call hotlines and request more help from the teacher, but I can’t comment on those methods.

My point was many lower wage workers can not afford the luxury of prepared meals or child care. I was in no way comparing cooking professionally to cooking domesticaly. As someone who worked at every job except baker in the food service industry for a decade and changed careers because of the stress I can not agree with you more. Restaurant work is hard and in my opinion underpaid.

My apologies, I misinterpreted your remarks as saying plumbers were essential but not able to work. I was therefore defending plumbers necessity and showing their status based on it. Thank you for the clarification on your point for me.

I do agree with you. Those that are able to work now are certainly lucky (as long as the work allow proper social distancing) whether remote or essential.

My last point was on remote workers, especially those in tech which I am most familiar with, is that one should realize how pampered that role has become at the cost of others. Many of the new stresses those situations involve now with cooking and child care that was done by the service workers who are not essential and can not work remotely are the same stresses those service workers encounter all the time, not just in a pandemic situation. If one is able to work remotely now you should take this time to count your blessings and re-evaluate your own internal definition of struggle and what you are entitled to as part of society.

Also, as you may have alluded too, remote does not necessarily mean job security, rather it could be quite the opposite in the long term. It is times like these I wish I was a plumber.

The plumber example doesn't hold up here (https://www.contractormag.com/around-the-web/article/2112665...)

As someone who had a plumbing emergency I can attest it was essential also. I can also say I am sure we would have been able to get the repair done regardless, as humans want to help (and make money).

It is correct that those who are working remotely are no longer supporting the cooks, child care workers, etc ... while also having hardship due to the lack of these services. These hardships however are temporary. Our society can't really afford to live with these disparities. I spent a first career in the restaurant industry before learning to work with computers. I can say for certain in my case the first career was much harder and had much less rewards. However, I don't see eating out as essential, but a privilege. I am not sure how we walk back this system, but it seems the time has come that more people raise their own children and cook their own food regardless of their jobs.

Why is it that only those at highest risk of dying should be the only not taking risks shopping? It as not as if shopping is any safer than any other activity, it is just necessary. Would it not be better for everyone if shopping was done once a month now (or some other longer period than normal), even for those with lower mortality rates? The word hoarding is thrown around a lot now without any specific numbers. Angela Merkel was seen buying 4 bottles of wine and one roll of toilet paper (which seems a low example to set). How many rolls is too much? Or more generally how much time is too much time to be prepared for without exposure to outside your household? I am not planning for the Apocalypse, but certainly want at least a month's supplies on hand to enable physical distancing to be more effective.

While it is great Amazon is available it would seem better to spend a little more money and spread it around. Think of the "shop local" movement. Until there is a benefit other than free shipping (i.e. safer deliveries and working conditions) we all need to help the economy any way we can. I don't want to live in a post-pandemic world where Amazon has more market power with fewer businesses to compete with.

It seems as if the default assumption for all kids content is the "kid" did it, and hence assumed they also made the playlist. Perhaps features will be added at a later date to re-enable features such as playlists with default implicit parental consent.

I rather like the hard handed approach as a parent (who can be both lazy and diligent) as I think it reinforces good parental control of video content.

This will force lots of behavior changes for both consumers and producers. The key will be how they handle the suggested videos, which may have unintended negative consequences, as I am sure the UX will still be based on generated maximum ad dollars, targeted or not, and not "healthy" video viewing.

Yes, the fall of the original Digg happened long ago.

https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/12/betaworks-acquires-digg/

At the time Digg was acquired in name only. The team had a short period to replace the then current (and very expensive) infrastructure and hijack all traffic. They did a pretty awesome tech job of moving to AWS and stopping the bleeding from the then in place bare metal setup. I remember a tech talk where they spoke of the money they saved from moving to AWS, it was substantial and allowed them the resources to try to save the product. Since then it was a re-birthed startup with a new team that had quite a long runway IMHO.

In our current political system the accidental moderate seems left out. How do they choose the right candidate when the campaign system is wholly based on ideology? Sure, accidental moderates may have great opinions, but how does one put those in action in the current political climate within a political framework. They would seem to be best living outside the system, with no label defining the political affiliation or ideology, while the moderate is free to be wooed by the right or left choice of any given election.

I appreciate good sound and for this I have always preferred wired, however I have been wireless for a couple years now for one simple reason, as an insurance policy for my phone. As a desk worker I simply got up tethered and dragged my phone with me too many times. It's up to the individual to decide if Bluetooth hiccups (and a need to charge) are worth it in their case. I found for using in the office wireless was the way to go. If I am bundles up in a jacket with a phone and wired headphones I don't have as many issues. Ironically the only headphones I ever broke because of dangling wires were an early pair of "wireless" buds with a neck lanyard for the battery wired to the buds.