acconrad

Indigo Agriculture | Back-end, front-end, DevOps, PM, Data Science, Computational Biologist | Boston, MA | Full-time | On-site | https://www.indigoag.com/join-us

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We're the fastest growing unicorn you've never heard of [0].

Indigo is revolutionizing agtech by offering better crops to farmers through technology. Agtech is one of the most underhyped technology trends [1] and we're serving a multi-trillion dollar marketplace services industry [2].

We're growing so fast that we have to add 35-50 engineers in 2019. Back-end, front-end, devops, data science; you name it, we need the help (including PM and UX roles - see all of them here: https://www.indigoag.com/join-us ).

Our tech stack includes AWS, Docker, Kubernetes (DevOps), Postgres (DB), Node & GraphQL (back-end), React & Apollo (front-end), and Python (data science / comp bio).

We also offer incredible perks. Free lunch (a rarity in Boston), massive commuter benefits (both MBTA and bicycling), fitness reimbursement, ample vacation; we really focus on and believe in both health and sustainability.

I'd be happy to tell you more, so feel free to PM me and I'll personally refer you to the company.

[0] https://www.builtinboston.com/2017/09/26/agtech-startup-indi...

[1] http://stateofstartups.firstround.com/2018/#trends-and-takes

[2] https://andrewchen.co/how-marketplaces-will-reinvent-the-ser...

Congrats on the weight loss! Happiness with friends and family is vastly undervalued.

Indigo Agriculture | Back-end, front-end, DevOps, PM, Data Science, Computational Biologist | Boston, MA | Full-time | On-site | https://www.indigoag.com/join-us

We're the fastest growing unicorn you've never heard of [0].

Indigo is revolutionizing agtech by offering better crops to farmers through technology. Agtech is one of the most underhyped technology trends [1] and we're serving a multi-trillion dollar marketplace services industry [2].

We're growing so fast that we have to add 35-50 engineers in 2019. Back-end, front-end, devops, data science; you name it, we need the help (including PM and UX roles - see all of them here: https://www.indigoag.com/join-us ).

Our tech stack includes AWS, Docker, Kubernetes (DevOps), Postgres (DB), Node & GraphQL (back-end), React & Apollo (front-end), and Python (data science / comp bio).

We also offer incredible perks. Free lunch (a rarity in Boston), massive commuter benefits (both MBTA and bicycling), fitness reimbursement, ample vacation; we really focus on and believe in both health and sustainability.

I'd be happy to tell you more, so feel free to PM me and I'll personally refer you to the company.

[0] https://www.builtinboston.com/2017/09/26/agtech-startup-indi...

[1] http://stateofstartups.firstround.com/2018/#trends-and-takes

[2] https://andrewchen.co/how-marketplaces-will-reinvent-the-ser...

Make it a good one!

How isn't really the right question. That's fairly well documented:

* Write them down (use SMART as a framework for this)

* Ask someone to help you stay accountable

* Use both external (e.g. payment for failure to reach goal) and internal (e.g. passion) motivators

* Break down each task into the smallest possible sub-tasks

I imagine what you're really wondering is why are your goals so difficult to achieve? It sounds like you have some combination of lofty, unrealistic, or "non" goals.

Lofty in that they are very difficult to start/work on/finish (see the advice on breaking tasks down).

Unrealistic in that you're trying to do too much (see the advice on SMART goals).

Or "non" goals...I can't really come up with a better term than this, but what I mean is that your goals aren't something YOU really want to achieve. They aren't a goal you've set out for yourself, but what you think you SHOULD do because someone else told you it's a good idea. For example: starting a blog, learning AI/ML, learning Mandarin. Those are all very useful things for a good portion of the HN crowd. They may improve your life or career.

But if YOU don't actually want to do it and instead you were motivated to do it in 2019 because you read some blog somewhere that all of our jobs are going away and you better learn ML or else you're worthless...well, now you think "well my goal is to learn AI/ML in 2019" but really...you never would have made that a goal unless someone instilled some unnecessary fear in you. I mean if you're a graphic designer or a civil engineer and you love that stuff there is just no reason to force yourself to learn AI/ML because it will make you more defensible. It won't. It really has nothing to do with what you're already passionate about.

I think at this point I'm rambling but hopefully you can read through this and use this as an exercise to both prune out the goals you aren't truly motivated to accomplish and re-frame the ones you do so that they are achievable.

Good luck in 2019!

> “This idea that people should eat less and exercise more — if only it were so simple,” Dr. Hall said.

For the majority of people, it is that simple. That doesn't mean it's easy. To give most folks a hall pass on their poor eating habits with bariatric surgery or a special pill (which are for extreme outliers) is dishonest at best and harmful or dangerous at worst.

> I've found snowboarding sucks compared to skiing if your skiing in somewhat consistently icey conditions

You should try New England :) I'd add that skiing is superior if you're doing a lot of backcountry traversing as well. The only remedy is to either learn to ski or get a split board (which will set you back $800+).

I never thought I'd see a fusion of these two, but I am so happy it's here!

Snowboarding has been my connection with nature since I was a kid. When I finished my Eagle Scout project and moved to the city, I was left with this hole for nature that needed to be filled.

Now as an adult living in a city, my reconnection with nature is through snowboarding. Once I started riding deep powder in Canada, Japan, and Europe, my life changed.

There are few things in my life more awe-inspiring than a fresh pow day and untouched trails. And until you've experienced it, it's very difficult to describe that feeling you get when touching nature in a way few experience.

My grandfather skied until he was 89. I hope to make it that far as well.

ALSO, my first job was working in a ski shop as a kid. And I totally geek out about snowboarding gear, so I'm happy to make recommendations to anyone here looking for board/boots/bindings/accessories/clothing gear/backcountry items/etc.

If you do decide to head into the backcountry, take an AIARE level 1 avalanche course, and be sure to buy a pole, shovel, and transponder: http://aiare.info/providers_list.php

FINALLY, tips after reading through the whole beginner recommendation chart:

* TAKE LESSONS. LOTS OF THEM. They may be expensive, but an immersive 2/3 day lesson plan will rapidly accelerate your learning. The less you know, the more you fall. The more days you fall, the more pain you're in. Save your ass (literally) and just take as many lessons as you can afford until you're linking turns and carving down the mountain. Then take more :)

* GEARTRADE.COM - This site looks like it was made in 2002 but they have the best deals. A lot of the Backcountry.com returns get sent here, so it's basically like-new quality for a fraction of the cost.

* For a board, get a true twin. If I could go back and learn all over again, I'd learn switch as quickly as I learned regular. A twin board helps immensely.

* Boots matter probably even more than the board and bindings. If you're gonna drop cash, drop them here and in the clothes so you stay warm/dry.

* DO NOT GET STEP-IN BINDINGS. Even the 2nd gen of Burton step-ins are improved, but people still have problems with them. The ease you get (even with the Flow bindings) doesn't make up for the lack of contact/feel you get with traditional bindings. The analogy I think of is like a Tesla - yeah you could get autonomous driving capabilities, but it's just not there yet. Save your money and wait a few more years before putting all of your faith in this system.

* It's easy to get caught up in the Burton hype. Burton is a very holistic company in that they can get you a board/boots/bindings/clothes. And they're not a bad company. It's just that there are also a lot of other great companies that make stuff as well.

* Get bib pants. Even if you aren't riding pow in the backcountry, trust me. Bibs provide more freedom of movement, you never have to worry about bringing a belt or it snapping/breaking on a ride, and even if you're on a trail and you eat it, you could still get snow up your back.

* DON'T OVERSPEND ON GLOVES. Someone will try and justify Gore Tex Hestras to you. Just pick up KINCO 901 SKI MITTENS. There's a reason every ski patrol and service person wears them. They're cheap (<$20), durable as hell, and can be waterproofed with bee's wax in about 1 hour.

* Don't wear cotton. Always prefer poly base layers and down/fleece mid layers. They can be had for very cheap at the basement outlet stores (TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc).

* On that note, YMMV but if you layer properly, you basically have 0 need for an insulated jacket. That saves you money to spend higher on outer layers that focus on waterproofing. Plus you can use that uninsulated shell as a rain jacket in the sprint/summer.

* Goggles are another thing to spend up on. The last thing you want is compromised vision. Get goggles that have interchangeable lenses (I prefer the Electric EG3 for super wide visibility and easy/cheap interchangeable lenses). GET 1 FOR CLOUDY/DARK AND 1 FOR SUNNY/BRIGHT. Don't worry about mirrored lenses; if you can afford to spend up on polarized it will help in bright conditions, but for cloudy it won't matter, though generally yellow is considered the best lens color for dark conditions (superior to amber and rose).

* I highly recommend the YouTube subscriptions mentioned. SnowboardProCamp and Snowboarding Addiction are awesome instructional videos. Ryan Knapton has the best buttering technique as I've ever seen.

* Yes, buttering is a thing. And it's awesome.

I just audited this class. One thing to note about this repository is that it usually (not always) includes the odd solutions to the problems in the book. And they aren't verified by Prof. Skiena, so it would be advised to run the programs locally to verify they actually operate as expected.

It's painful to see that younger people are worse off - poorer and life expectancy I see is down again. I thought we were trying to give our children a better life? How did we become so narcissistic that we don't even want to make future generations better off?

Same thing here. Clicked thinking I was going to see how the emulator works. I need an emulator to try for my slackbot, and instead I'm on the landing page for the bot. And now I read in the comments that the slackbot simulator isn't even ready and we can't view it. I feel tricked.

I just sacrifice sleep. A few months ago I thought it would be a great idea to audit Steven Skiena's algorithms course and see if I could implement it in JavaScript - 2 months later and a lot of sleep lost... https://www.userinterfacing.com/tag/algorithms/

I keep a list of 50+ sites that focus on remote-first (or remote-only) jobs:

https://userinterfacing.com/here-is-the-full-list-of-my-50-r...

Any tips/sites for biking in certain areas/cities? I just bought a bike to commute in Boston, but part of me is terrified (I got hit by a car in the suburbs a good 10 years ago). For example, my route is from South Boston to Charlestown and there are definitely some hefty roads to cross to get from point A to point B...and it would be great to know if other people ride a route like that and what roads they take/recommend.

The people who are actually old in these blue zones were around literally before gyms or recreational running became a thing. I'd like to compare that against someone who has been going to the gym their entire life in those blue zones and see if they live even longer.

I asked this a couple of years ago here and I feel like I keep have to asking: is this our industry's way of trying to tell us something about where our jobs are headed?

I can't help but get the sense that we're trying to tell ourselves "evolve or die" and that the web jobs will move towards AI/ML if you want to stay employed in the 10-20 year range.

The tangible benefits:

1. Increased vocabulary

2. Practice and improvement of skills I'm specifically reading about (as many of the books I'm reading are for acquiring skills related to my job)

3. Simply reading about new topics encourages me to read books further exploring on that peripheral knowledge

The intangibles:

1. The momentum for reading begets more reading, which makes me feel good about spending my time reading over watching TV/movies/surfing the net.

2. I feel more knowledgeable and empathetic. In this past year I read stories about impoverished refugees from North Korea, American politics, and stories of overcoming seemingly impossible odds. These are topics I never get to explore in my day job, and it helps me feel more well-rounded.

I started reading things that were related to programming but weren't textbooks (i.e. The Pragmatic Programmer and The Mythical Man-Month).

Then I started reading books on skills I wanted to acquire (i.e. Traction for marketing and SPIN Selling for sales).

All of those books lead to recommendations into other books.

Listening to podcasts that recommend books increase the breadth of books I'm reading.

My wife brings home books from the library and I read whatever she reads (i.e. Hillbilly Elegy and The People vs Democracy), and those lead to other nonfiction books I become interested in. And then there are the "classic" novels I interleave from time to time (i.e. Siddhartha and Meditations).

It just starts with maybe a handful of books you are dying to read, try to read for 15 min before bed, and before you know it, you're 50 books into the year!

I'm about to turn 33 and only within the last year have I really discovered the joy of reading books. I went from reading maybe 1 or 2 books a year to reading a book a week, and I'm on track to read close to 50 books this year (slowed down quite a bit by reading a textbook as part of auditing a class).

If only I had discovered this earlier in my life who knows where I'd be now, but better late than never I suppose.

I removed all social media and I found that for the development community specifically, the only social apps that really matter are GitHub (if you consider that social) and Twitter. I had no problem as a dev removing Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat.

When I removed Twitter, I found that there was definitely a missing piece of my outreach to the community. If you use Twitter effectively, it can help build your personal brand which, in turn, can help your company's brand.

Just don't let it turn into mindless surfing. Keep your activity tactical with a marketing objective. The goal is to add value to your business in terms of hiring and technical influence.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Nick Zakas is an acclaimed author in the JavaScript world. He probably makes a decent amount more from speaking and conferences, but it's still surprising to me that in spite of having multiple books under his belt that was all he was making considering how much of a value add it is just to have his name for whatever company he was working for.

Agreed, though I'd add the "different routine" is just doing what you already do but:

1. more flexible hours

2. outcomes not tied to income (meaning you no longer worry about what you're paid as the deciding factor in why you work somewhere)

A demonstration of Hooks is live right now at ReactConf and looks very cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz3nVya45uQ (go back about 1.5 hrs into the past to see the start of the demo).

VR does seem like the logical next device frontier for Apple, but Oculus really has a significant early-mover advantage. I don't agree that it's exactly a mistake to have bought Oculus, but I do think we're still 5-10 years out from mass adoption (which also makes it a great time to get involved as a tech person and claim your niche!)

It sounds like this trend is exactly what Facebook wants. They buy some software (and its people) and mold it to their specifications whether or not it costs that team its most senior management/visionaries.

The more interesting thing will be to see what happens when all of these ex-CEOs have left and how Facebook has managed to maintain all of these acquisitions without the key leaders of each division.

I second the Manager Tools podcast, it has been great for getting started with engineering management. Here's what's distilled down from a lot of their intro casts:

1. Have a 1x1 once a week with each direct for 30 min

2. If you can have your 1x1 walking (go for coffee, head outside) try and do that; conversation flows easier when it's not in a confined space like a meeting room.

3. Loosely allocate the meeting in 1/2: 15 min for them to talk about whatever they want. 15 min for you to talk about what you need to talk about (usually top->down information), and at least leave a few min at the end for career development or tactics.

4. Throw out rule #3 if they want to talk more than 15 min. Always cut your portion down to accommodate them. The point of the meeting is to build trust. Building trust means listening to your directs and getting to know them and what makes them tick. You'll always learn more by listening than instructing.

And that's basically it, that will get you a long way for now!

Your use of "bully" is a red herring to your argument. Both people break norms, yes. But when you "bully" the fat cats in government, that's called "doing your job."

The president is essentially the highest-paid public servant. It is (supposed to be) the president's job to fight for what the people want.

Trump is fighting for himself. He's fighting for big business. He's fighting for exactly his own self interest. That is anathema to what FDR did. Thus, Trump is a bully and FDR is not, and that is why your opinion is being downvoted.

I'm a technical consultant so the business isn't the same but I do have to do a ton of sales and I've done multiple six-figure deals and generated multiple six figures in revenue per year, so I am able to sell to some regard.

I'd recommend just reading a ton of books. There's a formula to sales that is well documented, you just have to adapt the pieces that work with your personality. The ones I'd recommend reading are:

* SPIN Selling

* Never Split the Difference

* Getting to Yes

* To Sell is Human

* Read any free information online about SPIN/NEAT/Sandler

I read all of those cover-to-cover right before I started my consulting business and it made a marked impact on my ability to sell. Like anything, it's a combination of study and practice. Read a book, figure out the nuggets that are important, then practice those tactics. Learn, rinse, repeat.

I never feel good enough. Ever. Part of that is my personality - I'm very hard on myself. But especially on HN (for better or worse) it seems like everyday I see someone who is making more money or building a better business or someone who just is an amazing programmer and I still have so much to learn.

It can be a positive motivator for continuous improvement but at the same time it can be overwhelming to feel like there is always so much to learn and you'll never learn it all.

That's like saying I prefer kicking puppies to eating broccoli - it's an absurd comparison.

I don't prefer cards and borders anymore than I prefer keeping my job.

Show me a fortune 500 website that uses 0 borders, cards, or forms. If you prefer vertical rhythm to those things you prefer to be unemployed.