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apstuff

155 karma · joined May 14, 2008

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apstuff··on The Case For Working With Your Hands
When I was in high school and college I worked for a local construction supply company unloading railroad cars of bulk and bagged stone 'by hand.' It was back breaking work to put it lightly.

But it contributed to my education in more ways than one.

Last summer I was asked by the same company to consult, advise and implement a complete conversion of their accounting and information management systems. I did and it went well. They paid me more for that work than I ever made working in the yard.

As much as I like working with my hands, I'd rather get paid for using my mind than for using my back.

apstuff··on Artists Commandeer (illegal) Manhattan Billboards
Hey, RB. Haven't been there since Amanda threw herself to the floor kicking and screaming. ABC wasn't it?
apstuff··on How did you break into the programming industry?
Opened the manual and taught myself BASIC on a PDP 11/44 running RSTS/E. Then Pascal and C. I still enjoy writing code.
apstuff··on What the World Will Look Like by 2050
I agree with the statement on water. Other than that, thanks, but I have to get back to work.
apstuff··on Top 10 reasons to have a job
Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur or take the risks necessary to create wealth beyond that of a full-time job.

There are as many reasons for this as there are people but to strike a condescending tone towards their decisions is arrogant.

Some, like the readers here, like to see things succeed by being able to contribute to the success.

I enjoy HN and I try to make it better by creating comments I hope others will read. But I don't spend my day trying to write my own version of HN. I'd rather work on my own stuff.

Employees are the same. Just because they have full-time jobs doesn't mean that's their end-all and be-all.

apstuff··on The United States of Entrepreneurs
"One of the country’s most popular television programmes, currently being recycled as a film, features the USS Enterprise boldly going where no man had gone before."

Actually, two of the country's most popular television programmes feature people singing and dancing their way to stardom. Like entrepreneurs, some fail miserably, some exit disappointed but graciously, and some make it big.

Still, point taken.

apstuff··on How to make PCBs at home in 1 hour without special materials
Tom Gootee's article is worth reading. He did a lot of the heavy lifting summarized in this article.

I've tried this and it works -- but...

You must be very, very careful with the solution -- whether it's Ferric Chloride from Radio Shack or a muriatic/peroxide homebrew. Gootee's article and others show how to create safe 'bubblers' for this step. Look at these first.

Please be careful. You are entering 'Breaking Bad' territory here.

apstuff··on Anxiety, Depression, Technology, and Me
Exercise + Cognitive Restructuring Therapy helps a lot.

It's hard not to feel anxiety and depression in today's world and some events can't be controlled. But how we perceive those events can definitiely be controlled by analyzing and challenging them for correctness.

Vilayanur Ramachandran's talk at TED on phantom limb pain addresses this idea very well.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on...

apstuff··on College dropout makes $100,000 a year, with a two-day workweek
When I read this article all I could think about was Raffi singing 'Banana Phone.' Now I can't get it out of my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-LbvFPLpeo&feature=playe...

apstuff··on Some Indie Facebook Developers Pulling In Over $700,000 A Month
Let's all run to that side of the boat because that's where the fish are biting.
apstuff··on "Francisco's Money Speech" by Ayn Rand
I read the full article, understand the point, and get its relevance to today's circumstances.

That said, I have to admit (and I'm sorry for being way off topic here) I found myself being drawn instead to the overall simplicity of the layout and ease of readability than to the actual message.

It's probably because I'm working on my own stuff and appreciate it when pages are done well (i.e. hacker news).

I looked at the style sheet and it's also very concise.

I know they're using .asp but I'm led to believe capmag.com is fairly easy to maintain.

Please continue using Hacker News to discuss Ayn Rand if you like, but as a developer I thought I'd throw a couple of pennies into the design fountain.

apstuff··on TechStars Fills Void Left By Y Combinator With New Incubator In Boston
I'm in Chicago. Here the politicians sell the voids.
apstuff··on Obscure HTML tags that you should know and even use
Firefox froze when this page loaded.

Default behavior for fieldset is different under IE, FF and Opera. IE rounds the corners where FF and OP do not. Not critical but if you're after the same look and feel it should be tested. Didn't try CSS with it.

apstuff··on Skiena's Algorithms Lectures
Buffering. . .
apstuff··on The Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan - Open Source Funding
I'd rather be bankrupt of money and have the idea than be bankrupt of ideas and have the money.

Thank you Mark. But no.

apstuff··on Javascript is good enough
Reading...okay, reading...okay, reading...what? Aw c'mon. What about...meh. Back to less alarming development.
apstuff··on On the Internet, a university without a campus
Why is it a good idea to charge the 2B+ people around the world earning $2 a day the equivalent of a week's wages to enroll in a class and the equivalent of a month's wages to take a test?
apstuff··on Circuit City to liquidate all US stores
Agree.

"First who, then what" is still my favorite from the book. I think the "who's" changed at CC and that is "what."

apstuff··on Ask HN: How do you produce product demo videos?
Blue SnowBall (usb mic) + Audacity + Camtasia.

Start with the written dialogue, record it meticulously then do the visual.

The Blue Snowball referral came from Scott Chacon at GitCasts. Great piece of equipment. Thanks Scott.

apstuff··on Circuit City to liquidate all US stores
Circuit City was one of the companies featured in Jim Collins' book "Good to Great." So was Fannie Mae.

He got Wells Fargo and Walgreens right tho'.

apstuff··on Dude, Where's My Job?
I'm a 'late boomer' and teach high school CS to the so-called 'entitled.' I can say from personal experience that while there is indeed a percentage who follow that modus operandi, the truth is that the current crop of high schoolers work a lot harder at their studies than I ever did, have more pressure to perform well on standardized tests than ever before, face a future marbled with inordinate debt obligations from their undergraduate and graduate degrees, and see a marketplace unsure about where, or if, their skills matter.

This article sucks and the author should be ashamed of herself for not doing better research into this generation before writing them off as a bunch of incompetent brats. They are far from it.

This generation represents our future lady. Disparagement might keep you employed by selling magazines and newspapers to a dwindling audience but encouragement rebuilds nations and economies and provides hope to the billions yet to come.

These are great kids. We should celebrate them. They play by rules 'we' have set for them and as I have said, they work incredibly hard against all odds. It is my belief they will ultimately drive a worldwide entrepreneurial explosion unseen before. Not out of greed, as this article incorrectly infers about their parents, but out of pure necessity. In that regard, they are very much like their grandparents just after WWII and we all know what that generation accomplished for us.

apstuff··on How to fight & argue in a relationship, how to fight fair
Born: 10-23-1942. Died: 11-04-2008

Let him rest in peace.

apstuff··on JavaScript: The World's Most Misunderstood Programming Language Has Become Most Popular
FYI: Douglas Crockford is a contributor to Yahoo UI Theater. His lectures on js can be found there.

http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/theater/

apstuff··on Computer ownership by country
The list is from 2006. It would be interesting to see the current numbers for Brazil and Russia given their supposed ascendancy. Plus, half the world's population live in China and India, neither of which is on the list.
apstuff··on Computer ownership by country
I've never been to 'Canda' so I can't speak to the issue.
apstuff··on Using an automated day trader to generate income
boolean TraderAnxiety(boolean mktStatus) {

  if (mktStatus == FALLING) {
    Sell();
    return true;
  }

  if (mktStatus == SURGING) {
    Buy();
    return true;
  }

  if (mktStatus == FEAR) {
    Loathing();
    return true;
  }

  if (mktStatus == OVERMYHEAD) {
    UseProfanity();
    return true;
  }


  return true;
apstuff··on 20 Years Ago Today: Dijkstra's "On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computer Science"
Thanks for posting this Michael (saw it on /. too). A much better read than the terrorism submissions that seem to be showing up here lately.

A title correction however: Should be 'Computing' Science. I might be wrong but I think Dijkstra drew a deliberate distinction between the two.

The precision of his words is refreshing.

apstuff··on How to Stay Alive in a Terrorized Hotel
New title please: How to stay alive during a Reddit-izing.
apstuff··on Pictured: The robot that can pull faces just like a human being
Reminds me of Jude Law in A.I.:

Patricia in mirrored room: I'm afraid.

Gigolo Joe: Of me?

Patricia in mirrored room: Yes.

Gigolo Joe: That I will hurt you?

Patricia in mirrored room: Yes.

Gigolo Joe: I think... you're afraid of letting go. I think you're afraid of happiness. And this is starting to excite me. Are you afraid of seeing the stars... Patricia? I can show you how to reach them.

Patricia in mirrored room: I'm afraid of what you've got under there. May I see what it looks like first?

Gigolo Joe: Is this your first time... with something like me?

Patricia in mirrored room: I've never been with Mecha.

Gigolo Joe: That makes two of us.

Patricia in mirrored room: I'm afraid it will hurt.

Gigolo Joe: Patricia... once you've had a lover-robot you'll never want a real man again. Are these the wounds of passion?

Patricia in mirrored room: Do you hear that music?

Gigolo Joe: You... are a goddess, Patricia. You wind me up inside. But you deserve so much better in your life. You deserve... me.

apstuff··on When To Work For Free
My friend's father would always say (and meant it):

"I've never had a problem finding work. Getting paid for that work, now that's a different matter."

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