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andersonvom

262 karma · joined September 12, 2013

Software Developer Check out some of my ideas at http://andersonvom.github.io

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/andersonvom; my proof: https://keybase.io/andersonvom/sigs/Rihkp_DZVVZIAsYuSSIJqzST_eTosLI-UOquACAqjpw ]

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andersonvom··on As Covid hit, Washington officials traded stocks with exquisite timing
I don't know about age limits, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have term limits (both consecutive and total)
andersonvom··on I have complicated feelings about TDD
I think people sometimes forget that tests are made of code too. If it's possible to write bad code, it's certainly possible to write bad tests. And writing bad tests first (as in `test-driven`) won't make them any better. At some point, people see bad tests _and_ bad code together and instead of blaming it on the "bad" part, they blame it either on the tests, or on the fact that the tests were written first.
andersonvom··on We need to reclaim our attention
This only goes to show that the current system is inherently broken, but this is a completely different conversation.
andersonvom··on We need to reclaim our attention
If the two horrible options were free from context, sure. But that's hardly (if ever) the case. It is very convenient to start from a place where A has power over B, then say "B is free to choose whatever crappy options A offers, because... freedom".
andersonvom··on We need to reclaim our attention
I think there are two main factors that are different (not necessarily in order):

* companies can much more easily weaponize their services and tailor them to get individuals addicted, than individual video games ever could. And the feedback loop happens much faster.

* it was easier to moderate video games, because they had a single purpose: entertainment. since you can be in a device for any number of reasons: gaming, studying, catching up, reading,... and _everyone_ is on their devices _all the time_ (both kids and parents), it's much harder to establish good boundaries.

andersonvom··on We need to reclaim our attention
> Everything the free market does is voluntary by definition. Every "intervention" is by definition not.

In some ideal world, where both parties of an exchange hold equal bargaining power, the "free" market might be "voluntary".

This is certainly not the current state of affairs, though. Being able to "choose" between a crappy option and a horrible option is anything but voluntary: "you can choose to work for me for little to no money... or you can choose to starve to death. it's your 'free' choice."

The very premise of what would make a free market efficient in the real world simply doesn't exist, but we keep trying to convince ourselves that it does because we don't know or aren't used to anything different.

andersonvom··on You can't download this image
It also works in this case, too: at some point the connection does close (if it doesn't, just hit escape) and you can save the image as usual, now from the cache.
andersonvom··on The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used
Even if Framework goes out of business, most crucial parts that are likely to fail are standard (hard drive, memory, battery), so you'd still be able to replace them yourself. And even for the ones that aren't (like the modular ports), the schematics are available [1], so anyone would be able to make new ones.

[1]: https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/ExpansionCards

andersonvom··on The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used
You technically can, in 66 easy steps and about 1-3 hours [1], all the while risking damaging your laptop. Compare that with 3-6 minutes [2] for the actually replaceable battery on the Framework.

[1]: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Touch+Bar+2...

[2]: https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Battery+Replacement+Guide/85

andersonvom··on The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used
It also goes a little bit beyond that: if one of your ports stops working (e.g. rust, water damage, etc), you can just buy a replacement port and you're back on track, as opposed to "welp, I guess I'll have to do without it..."
andersonvom··on Amazon Prime inflates prices, using the false promise of ‘free shipping’
It's great that we can use this as reference for what it used to be. Presumably, this is what competition should bring in: "traditional retail sucked, so amazon comes in and takes over it by offering something better."

The same thing would still apply now too: "if sellers are able to offer their goods elsewhere for cheaper, they should be able to", instead of being forced to raise prices everywhere.

andersonvom··on Nonnative English speakers share their gripes about speaking English
Languages are not inherently easy or hard. It all depends on where you're coming from: if you happen to already speak languages that are similar, then it can be said English will be easy to learn, otherwise, it's a language like any other. Just ask any Japanese or Chinese speaker how easy/hard it was to learn English.

The reason English got so popular is purely because of the power and wealth English speaking nations have amassed in the recent history.

andersonvom··on Microsoft says mandatory password changing is “ancient and obsolete” (2019)
This is amazing: "guaranteed at least 24h of exploiting a recently compromised account or your money back"
andersonvom··on 91% of plastic isn't recycled (2018)
Probably not if the product in a plastic bottle is much more expensive than the same thing in a glass bottle, right?
andersonvom··on Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke
Maybe it was the case, a long time ago, that the very rich accumulated their wealth by "living frugally", but it is certainly not the case anymore. Neither is the case that the estate tax discourages saving is just nonsense: at least in the US, the estate tax doesn't even apply is your estate is under $11M. [1]

> "As a result, only about 2,000 estates per year in the US are currently liable for federal estate tax." [2]

[1]: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...

[2]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_Sta...

andersonvom··on Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke
This is already how things work in the US: you only need to file if your estate is greater than 11.5MM as of 2020 [1].

"As a result, only about 2,000 estates per year in the US are currently liable for federal estate tax." [2]

The argument that it "discourages living frugally" is just complete nonsense.

[1]: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...

[2]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_Sta...

andersonvom··on Linus Torvalds: 'I Do No Coding Any More'
You're talking about the title of the commit message. Yes, the title is supposed to be under 50 characters. Now add a blank line after it and you can write all you want (line wrap at 72 chars).

If you use markdown Syntax in your commit body, github and other tools will gladly render it correctly. You can grep for commit messages with "git log --grep <pattern>" and it will also search commit bodies as well. It's beautiful!

andersonvom··on Amazon added a non-compete after the employee entered the U.S. on an L1B visa
Lobbying itself is not bad: legislators need information to make decisions about things, and lobbying provides them with it.

The bad, and frankly unbelievable part, is the whole "money is speech" and the fact that it's OK for lobbyists to just transfer money in many different forms to politicians as a firm of persuasion to vote for/against certain pieces of legislation.

andersonvom··on Ask HN: Who has been laid off?
And the full blog post with more details:

http://lenkiefer.com/2020/04/03/us-labor-market-update-april...

andersonvom··on IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete with TurboTax
> They can't so much as coordinate with the PAC.

There were whole weeks of "The Colbert Report" where Colbert and Jon Stewart legally set up a super PAC for colbert to run for "president of South Carolina" where they exploited every bit of the super PAC legislation just to show how easy it is and what kind of legal things people can do with the money. The "you cannot coordinate" part was hilariously easy to get around.

andersonvom··on HTML is the Web
Since the article's main point is that you should use semantics as much as possible, it's probably better that you used the "wrong" tag when choosing between <section> or <article>, than using the wrong tag and choosing <div>s for lack of not even having asked the question "what should this be?".

While rewriting what's already out there may be a business decision, choosing between what HTML tag to use when changing/writing new ones, is completely business agnostic.

andersonvom··on Corona Fit Packs
They mention the design being open source, but it's being surprisingly hard to find anything other than just the claim that it is open source. :(
andersonvom··on Philadelphia Is First U.S. City to Ban Cashless Stores
This is disgusting. Here's a completely opposite example of a restaurant that is not run by discrimination: https://dc.eater.com/2017/2/17/14635410/kazi-mannan-mayur-ka...
andersonvom··on Ask HN: What is an example of a super simple SaaS that is profitable?
$500/month will go a long way in many countries out there or for many life styles. Since we don't know who this person is or how/where they live, I wouldn't automatically assume they need to target a higher MRR.
andersonvom··on H&R Block and Intuit Lobby Against Free and Simple Tax Filing (2017)
Currently you're responsible for mistakes you make in your tax returns anyway, so not much would really change, except that it would be a lot easier and less stressful for the vast majority of people. Edge cases get treated like edge cases.
andersonvom··on Screen time: how much is too much?
That's "inside-out" helicopter parenting, where someone else is being the helicopter, not the parent. Kudos to Utah and their "free-range parenting" laws: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/well/family/utah-passes-f...
andersonvom··on Avoiding a transit of the United States
Probably not in the short term and only if enough people start doing it. I like the idea of making it clear for the people you're voting for and against why you're voting/not voting for them. Hopefully, it'll influence their future platforms.
andersonvom··on Project Alias hacks Amazon Echo and Google Home to protect privacy
I think the point is that bugs exist and will continue to exist: whether it's the same bug, a different one, mal-intent, negligence, or anything else. Sure, this one device won't solve every single problem out there, but should we not solve anything just because we can't solve everything?
andersonvom··on Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet
The US has a little over 4% of the world population, yet it's responsible for 15% of carbon emissions [1]. Even if the US is the only country to implement it, it would already make a huge difference.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...

andersonvom··on Ask HN: Best Command-Line Applications?
gitsh - https://github.com/thoughtbot/gitsh

Since git is by far the command a lot of people type the most, this shell comes in really handy. It supports all regular git aliases, has autocompletion, super useful for setting temporary names when pair programming, and you can set default commands to be run when you just press return.

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