HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

anon9001

1,944 karma · joined August 12, 2019

submissionscomments
anon9001··on New federal rules limit police searches of family tree DNA databases
I don't know if anyone else will say it, but I think part of the reason is because not every crime deserves a prosecution.

Most murders probably do, but if you have this database you might as well use it for automatic paternity tests too.

Ever spit gum somewhere you shouldn't have? If I was a cop that stepped in gum, with an instant DNA scanner in my pocket, I'd be tempted to scan it and pay the offender a visit.

Laws change very slowly, and things are going to get weird very fast when anyone can run a global DNA scan from their iPhone.

anon9001··on U.S. Judges Admit Enhanced Interrogation Is Torture
Ah the good old days, when state crimes required a facade of reasonability, an abundance of ass-covering, and the assurance of good-faith.
anon9001··on Stop Using Internet Explorer
Wow, that's a lot of core features. And it sort of makes sense because it's all in ActiveX, and ActiveX is not supported by Edge.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/deploy/emie-...

So an ActiveX control written in 1996 can run in Windows 10 Enterprise today via IE11. Neat... I guess.

anon9001··on Takotsubo cardiomyopathy triggered by wasabi consumption
I just assume everything has some small chance of killing me and try not to let it bother me too much.
anon9001··on A guide to set up your own round-robin DNS-over-HTTPS proxy for privacy
It's definitely feasible. Old hardware + 2 network cards + pfsense makes a router that can do network-wide VPN. Even a lot of prosumer routers can do VPNs now, but I'm not sure how well it works.
anon9001··on Update from Chef
You seem like you don't understand what happened and are chalking it up to fake news, so I'm going to answer your question of "where was the outrage under previous admins?" and explain to you why the current outrage is not hypocrisy:

In previous administrations, people in violation of immigration law were given a court date and released. The new policy is to hold the people in detention until their court date.

I understand that this sounds like a reasonable response for an administration that wants to take a hard line against illegal immigration, and I can understand why right-wing folks would support it. After all, if someone has broken the law, shouldn't they be detained until we figure out who they are and what they're doing?

Here's the problem: If you have to detain people until their hearings, that means you have to house/feed/cloth/etc them. The administration has done a poor job of this and people have died in detention. That's bad policy. If your funding doesn't match your policy, you shouldn't implement that policy knowing it will be underfunded and cause harm to humans.

Also, because parents are being detained, the children with the parents have to go somewhere, so they're being sent to detention camps for children. This is why you're hearing about "kids in cages" more now than in previous administrations. It's a bad consequence of bad policy.

Keep in mind that detaining kids is not new. It's just that in previous administrations, it was a last resort that only happened if a parent was actually a threat that needed detention, and if there was no other family arrangements that could be made to care for the kids. The reason to minimize this type of detention is the enormous psychological harm it does for young children to be ripped from their parents. Due to policy change, this is now common.

If you accept the premise that detaining people pending immigration cases is a sensible policy, at best the policy change caused massive unintentional collateral damage to children of migrants. You could even go so far as to blame Democrats for not funding massive detention centers, which is what the right is doing, but this doesn't have credibility for me. We all know you can't scale up and then be surprised when the servers shut down because you can't pay the bill. In this case, outrage is appropriate, because the administration intentionally put people in harm's way.

If instead you think it's all political theatrics, then you'd believe that the underfunded detention facilities and stripping children from families aren't actually failures, but rather are by design. In this line of reasoning, if enough migrants die in detention and they gain a reputation for being death camps, and if enough children are put through hell of being separated from family, then it will have a deterrent effect on future migration. This may "work" in a technical sense of discouraging the activity, but it's evil. If that's the argument for doing it, we might as well be intellectually honest and just start executing anyone we catch crossing the border. Trump wouldn't be the first leader to put heads on pikes. If we're intentionally harming humans on display as a deterrence policy, it's understandable why that's causing outrage as well.

In previous administrations, there wasn't outrage because this detention and separation policy wasn't in effect.

That policy change is the whole reason people are upset. It's no surprise that ICE and CBP, who carry out the policy, have developed an even worse reputation than usual. It's also not surprising that it's bad for business to work with evil organizations, once the public is aware.

Also, to preempt the obvious rebuttal: Yes, I realize that this policy change was due to public outrage over illegal immigration that put Trump in office. No, I don't think inhumane policies are a reasonable response to Trump's mandate to address illegal immigration.

edit: If you're going to downvote my understanding of this, consider leaving a comment explaining why. I'm pretty sure I've got the facts right.

anon9001··on Face transplant recipient’s donor face now failing
> “We all know we are in uncharted waters,” Tarleton said. “I would rather not have to go through a catastrophic failure.”

If anyone hasn't been through some tragic medical shit in their life, pay attention to that. You'll understand it later.

anon9001··on What happens to tech workers when their skills become obsolete?
Heh, I don't think I've ever heard SDLC mentioned in industry outside of bad consultants.
anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I know this is a throwaway for you (and it sort of is for me too), but I just wanted to reply to you and let you know that I'm cheering for you to find a way to make things work. If I ever solve this problem for myself, I'm going to shout the solution from the rooftops, in the hopes we can all learn to live as humans instead of drones.
anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I've given this some thought, as I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself. I think I'm going to try this after my current startup sells or fails.

What I think I would do is reach out to anyone I know and let them know that I'm open for business and looking for clients. All of my employment jobs have worked that way, so I think it's probably a good first step for consulting too.

After that, I'd probably contact companies with job listings and offer to help them as needed with an hourly rate. They can always keep my number in their contact list in case they get into a bad spot and have trouble finding devs later. I know there's good job boards on SO, AngelList, and the monthly HN thread. I've been at plenty of companies where we wish we had an extra dev to get us out of a bind or pick up some extra work without committing to a full time hire, so I assume most small companies would be happy to be introduced to me, in case I'm needed later.

Then there's upwork, toptal, and a few others. Those sites really sketch me out because it seems like a race to the bottom, and it seems like it'd be harder to build relationships with clients when you're one of thousands that they picked from for this particular task. After all, they can just dump you and get another from the same web interface. Maybe I'm wrong about this and should give them a try.

This thread has really made me do some hard thinking about what I want in life, and I think I could put in another year or two and become semi-retired, take some time off, and then try to do a little consulting work and see how it goes. I've been paralyzed by fear to try, because I'm not sure if I'd be able to go back to employment if I fail. But after reading all these replies, that seems like a level of risk I should be willing to accept.

I also secretly hope (though I have no idea if it's true) that if I had a few months off work, I'd start building something so interesting than YC would want me. I don't actually know if I'm capable of that, because I've never had the time to experiment and find out, but that seems like a worthwhile attempt just to know what my actual capabilities are when unconstrained by work.

Also, I know this thread is getting old now, but I'd just like to say (in case anyone checks back) that I appreciate the replies here so much. I've never had so many people understand how I feel before. And reading all of the different life experiences that people have shared makes me realize that there is hope for me to do something else, and that I might not be trapped here until I'm dead, which is how it seemed before I started talking about this.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Thank you. That's eye opening. This thread is making me realize how much the US health care system really is impacting my life choices.

> It's not an extraordinary life, but it's mine and I like it.

From where I'm sitting it seems pretty extraordinary :)

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Are you not saving at all and only working when you need money?

If you become unable to work, aren't you concerned that you'll become homeless or starve?

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I do remote now, but I don't think much of anything is based on "results". We still have mandatory morning meetings, many meetings through the week, lots of questions to be answered, bugs to be fixed, new features to be written, etc. Maybe I should stop working for startups?

If I had a clear goal of "get this done for the week" and that was it, why wouldn't I just do it as quickly as possible and then not do anything else? I just assumed this whole system of meetings/checkins/standups/code-reviews/slack-channels/etc was set up to avoid people doing that.

If anything, I feel more pressure to be readily available when I'm remote.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Ok, that makes sense, but you make it sound like I know what I should be doing.

It's impossible to know what I should be doing in any kind of optimal way without knowing when I'm going to die.

If I'm going to die next year, I'd be pretty upset that I didn't quit my job today.

If I'm going to die far in the future, then I'm going to die homeless if I quit my job today, because I don't think I'd be ever be able to force myself to go back. I sometimes wonder what percentage of homeless people started off like me, where they couldn't take it anymore so they quit and then the money runs out.

> If you are so miserable while doing any kind of thing in a set way over any length of time, then you may find a soul-crushing moment where you have achieved permanent financial independence, are living your dream, and find this feeling overtaking you again. But this time there is no hope of an eventual way out.

I don't even think I'd be upset if this is what happens. At least I'd learn something about myself. I really have no idea who I am, and I've never had the chance to explore who I'd be without work for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Based on the few limited breaks I've had over the years, I suspect I'd be a very different person than I am today.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Yeah it is, based on age and savings and one of those FIRE calculators, and predicted spending based on what I know like house maintenance, food, clothes, etc.

My Spanish is no bueno, but if my job was "learn Spanish", I don't think it'd be a huge problem.

Wouldn't you have to worry about political instability down in Panama? How would health care work? Can I return to the US if I leave? Do I have to give up US citizenship? Would Panama be ok with me working remotely?

There's gotta be some catch besides the choice of language.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
My plan is to not have any family because of this employment problem. It'd be neat to have kids I guess, but however good it is cannot possibly be worth an extra 20 years of employment.
anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
That's a useful data point. It's hard to get a sense of these things when nobody ever wants to talk about them.
anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I stalked you a little based on that comment, and I can't figure out what it is you really do.

You must be living a good life if you've got time to maintain a toy programming language (https://github.com/kerkeslager/fur), and you must be able to pick your work carefully if you're so passionate about GPL, which I can respect.

But how do you make money? And how did you get started? I'd be concerned about losing health insurance or draining savings while losing the opportunity cost of employment. How sure were you that your plan would work before you took the leap?

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I'm trying so hard to get out. I'm single with no plan to have dependents, and a debt-free homeowner. I'm not in a relationship for obvious reasons, but if I was, I guess I'd be limited to FIRE people who don't want children, which isn't a very big pool.

According to the calculators, I still have to put in at least another 10 years and save aggressively before I can quit.

I don't think I'm gonna last that long, and if I do, I don't know if there'll be any of me left to enjoy it.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Thank you. You shouldn't be downvoted for saying this. I feel like you're saying what everyone else around me is thinking, but nobody has ever actually said.

I don't even know why you'd have to preface it by saying you mean to be compassionate. If your belief is the common one, why isn't that something people talk about? Is it that taboo? Shouldn't this death of self be celebrated if it's how were made to be?

Also, I think it's not a coincidence that my views on this definitely have not changed since I was a kid that hated school. I also rejected religion as a kid, and have continued to do so as an adult. Seems like you've got me figured out so far.

> It's not easy because it's like part of you has to die and it doesn't go quietly.

That is exactly what it feels like.

> But on the other side, where it becomes easy to start thinking about others first, everything starts to fall into place.

This is where you lost me. From my perspective, I would be a better person without the work obligation. I don't really know what I'd do without the obligation to work, but it would probably be more philanthropic than whatever my employer has me doing. Maybe I'd work on free software or anti-censorship? Or maybe I'd find joy in helping the disadvantaged in my local community? Or maybe I'd find virtue in starting a family? I have no idea, but I won't find out unless I luck into a few million bucks, because I can barely function while I'm employed. I can assure you I'd be a greater asset to society if I was unemployed than building commercial software.

> And I don't think we can really be happy until we achieve this state. When you can find joy in satisfying others, you have access to a bottomless well of happiness.

I don't understand. Are you saying that I should accept some greater wisdom that giving my employer my best waking hours is helping the company, and that is somehow greater than helping myself? If that were the path to fulfillment in life, I should be taking a pay cut and working longer hours, which is quite the opposite of what I'm trying to do here. I'm trying to hoard as much as possible because I know society won't support me later if I become unable to support myself. Which incidentally, is also what I believe my employer is doing for himself.

I suspect society only works because your view is widespread, but I still can't understand it.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Oh ok, that makes sense. I know that's one way to view the problem, but I guess it carries more weight as being the correct view due to the divine origin of the advice?

Maybe the bible is right here, but another way to view that parable might be that the rich person was planning for his safety, which is wise. And by dying, he has transferred the safety that he was building for himself to his legacy, which can continue without him. I think most people in our society would describe that rich person as being prudent, not foolish. We call that "estate planning" today and it's recommended that everyone does it.

There's a lot of other guidance that I consider very wrong in the same bible though, so its authority doesn't help me much in deciding if it's correct about how to view life. It also seems like this advice might have been more applicable before the invention of medicine.

In any case, I appreciate the explanation.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I'm blown away by that. How did you make the transition? I didn't know anyone transitioned from how I think about life to how you now think about it.

I've got "love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life" filed somewhere between "atheism is just a phase" and "you'll want kids some day".

I'm starting to think I've missed some key developmental step.

anon9001··on What happens to tech workers when their skills become obsolete?
Exactly!
anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
Wow, as advertised, there's 43k people who feel just like me.

I agree with almost everything I'm seeing there, but it seems more about highlighting the problems than finding solutions.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
> Talked to my boss on Skype once a week to discuss progress. The rest was up to me. Most of communication was done via ticket comments.

Wait, is this common? I'm constantly answering questions and helping my team along as people get stuck all day. If I had the kind of an arrangement you're describing, I'd just get all my work done for the week in a day, and I wouldn't have a problem. Was there anything preventing you from doing that?

Maybe I'm doing remote wrong? I can choose "where" as long as it's quiet and has good internet, but I can't choose the "when" at all.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I don't believe in any gods, and I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean.

Is that advice actionable for you in some way? What do you take it to mean as it relates to modern employment?

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
> Maybe I'm just weak, for not being willing to throw it all away and go live in a barrel up in the mountains.

It's unclear to me if this is a weakness or a strength. I don't know which way is up.

Are you a stronger person if you're willing to say fuck it and go do your own thing and not be concerned with things like health care and financial stability?

Or are you a stronger person by steadfastly holding your station at work, because you just barely have enough grit to tough it out?

I can't shake the feeling that making peace with this half-living state as a daily existence is either the greatest achievement or the biggest mistake. So I remain anxious about it and pretend I haven't committed either way, although my resume would show you that I've clearly opted for permanent half-living through continuous employment.

Maybe it's too much to think about and I should go back to fantasizing about a life worth living while another work day ticks by...

anon9001··on Technical Breakdown of a new NES game written in Lisp
Sort of, it's in the game as an emulated ROM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZffFxLyD4Ig
anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
I did that and relocated from SF to a cheaper part of the country. How does working on a beach help?

I'm expected to be online during core work hours and available for calls (in a quiet location with good internet).

I feel like I've optimized working as much as humanly possible and I'm still going insane. My job pays well, has good benefits, has good coworkers, my opinion is valued, my work is appreciated, my boss is fine, I learn new things every day, I now do 12-8 instead of 9-5 by switching time zones, and I make sure to be done with work when the office is done with work. I keep telling myself all these objectively good things, but I feel like I'm wasting every day for a paycheck. I store it all away and invest it, as if there's going to be a future, but I'm fully expecting this to kill me long before I'd have enough funds to quit.

I must be doing something wrong though, because if everyone felt like I do, society shouldn't be able to function.

anon9001··on Ask HN: Are you ok?
How does that work in practice? What do you do? I can do just about any tech job, but every employer I've ever had is only interested in more than full time.

Maybe I've been unintentionally signalling that I'm capable of doing more and that's why I keep finding myself in this situation?

I'd be much happier if I had half the salary and somehow was able to work 2x12hr days instead of 5x8hr days, but I have no idea how to find employers that would agree with that. If you could get two people like me to do 2x12 at increased productivity during work hours with half the cost, you'd be coming out ahead, and you'd have more knowledge on tap in the organization.

← PreviousPage 18 of 19Next →