Hacker News Reader

Pasteurised, UHT but no mention of powdered or condensed milk.

bootloadon An Accident No One Talked About

"I was the first to get to him trying to assess his condition and help. Those were his last moments. There was a lot of blood and I was helpless."

Those first ten seconds are shocking. For me it was understanding ^control^, the lack of control and the fight to get it back. The situation you were presented @bitcharmer is binary and anything other than a win can be seen as failure.

For me it took a long time to understand that whatever I did, I had no real ^control^. Understanding control, the complete lack of it, in extreme situations like the one you describe lets you move one step closer to understanding death. To understand what it is like in @bitcharmer shoes, read happened in a similar situation back in 2012 (non fatal) https://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/7949327460

After this I'm one for one.

bootloadon An Accident No One Talked About

“Could you just start at the beginning and tell me everything?”

Nobody talks about death, especially violent death. This quote stands out the most. Do you want to know why people who have been there don't talk? It's the interruptions, the funny looks and having to answer stupid questions. So if you are in the company of someone and they talk about it, it's probably because they trust you. Let them talk it out to the end, interruption free.

When I do talk, it's quietly to mates who were there and those who have been in similar situations. There is no great divide in understanding, no interruptions and plenty of trust.

bootloadon Fourteen Months with Clojure

"I've never seen code bases descend into chaos as fast as our clojure ones have."

Is this a function of the teams or the language?

bootloadon Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years

"What is the reasoning behind this sort of opinion?"

The banking system is not using excess capital to create or generate business. Instead it is being poured into land speculation. Dumb money.

bootloadon Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years

"Australia’s banking regulator further tightened lending curbs Friday to try to cool investor demand for residential property that’s helped drive up prices. Data released hours later showed investor lending increased 6.7 percent in February from a year earlier, the fastest growth in 12 months."

No mention of the ^Elephant in the room^ with respect to real-state and housing: transparency in financing property. [0]

Reference

[0] "Corruption and Property Laundering" https://www.prosper.org.au/2017/03/30/corruption-and-propert...

bootloadon Landing on a U.S. Aircraft Carrier Is About to Get Easier

I'm in awe of how the USN land F/18s at sea, at night in rough weather. When the pilots on ship are sitting down with pop-corn watching night landings in rough seas of their flight team-mates using IFLOLS... watch this video on landing on pitching decks. [0] The real problem is being able to land in all weather consistently. The advantage of Precision Landing Modes (PLM) is described this way:

"“Every aircraft is continually on glideslope with a stable and predictable energy state. Ultimately, this makes landing at the aircraft carrier safer,” said Lt. Greg “Cinder” Blok, CVW-8 Paddles." [1]

Because landing is visual [2] and aided by LSO (Landing Signal Officer) the precision on landing is more variable than using PLM.

“All results showed benefits in touchdown dispersion reduction of more than 50 percent when compared to current landing control techniques,” [3]

References

[0] Video showing USN in the Pacific in rough seas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4HTXBTkcpg

[1] "Fleet Flies Magic Carpet" http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodlive.mil/2017/03/14/fle...

[2] "IFLOLS—the improved Fresnel lens optical landing system—is a stack of 12 light cells, which produce a single ball-shaped image used by carrier pilots to determine the glideslope as they approach the carrier to land."

[3] Ibid, "Fleet Flies Magic Carpet"

bootloadon Trump's staff 'wiping their electronic devices', anticipating giving evidence

^Wiping^ phones to remove content will not remove the "meta-data" [0] which is more important for investigation.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata#Telecommunications

bootloadon Break Up the Liberal City

Interesting response by Noah Smith https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/846057873721372673 and comparison "The High-Res Society": http://www.paulgraham.com/highres.html

bootloadon Mathify – Simple Text Equation to LaTeX

"why not just use LaTeX?"

Augment. Why not let the silicon do the grunt work of remembering latex and let the user get on with the job?

bootloadon Medium releases Memberships

I don't know why the parent is being down-voted, it raises some valid points.

"Honestly? No. They're that thing my dad would buy on the weekends, read one page of, and then we'd use it for potato peels, lining the floor when painting rooms, and stuff like that."

I see no problem with not living in the time of centralised news. A quick history lesson. Newspapers are old forms of information dissemination, they do however offer a glimpse of a solution to some problems you describe, Not all.

News in the form of facts used to be collected by reporters, and journalists who would write up what they saw. The raw information would be passed to editors (subeditor in newspapers) to correct, then transcribe news into a house style fit for publishing. This is what we used to see in news. On the news-stand, the radio and to a lesser extent television.

The WWW removed this technical hurdle to publish news. Think about that. Some of the processes were technical requirements, others were there for accuracy. This resulted in (degrees) of quality news.

"By the time I was old enough to even consider reading newspapers, they had devolved into clickbait sensationalist garbage."

The money part is one problem. There are hints of what companies are trying. [0] The rivers of revenue from car sales, houses, jobs are gone. They had a monopoly and have now lost it. Journalism and news was always subsidised from these revenue streams. I don't know the answer to this.

Then there is the problem of where we get our information. The real problem now, is serious attempts to generate dis-information. Disinformation, distortion of news is not new. [2] At it's mildest it's the annoying advertising passed as news. What is going on in the Whitehouse is at the extreme end. [3] For most of us reading online we have to wade through the middle ground trying to work out what is worth reading. This is a job that could be tackled by humans trained in understanding and curating news and information, aided by smart algorythms. AI won't solve this problem (yet). It is too easy to game.

In the mean time, as Dave Winer suggests, invest carefully in your own personal news flows. [4]

reference

[0] "Ads, he said, “[are causing] increasing amounts of misinformation…and pressure to put out more content more cheaply — depth, originality, or quality be damned. It’s unsustainable and unsatisfying for producers and consumers alike….We need a new model.”"

https://thenextweb.com/opinion/2017/03/23/ev-williams-lost-g...

[1] "Since January I've been adding to a thread on how Bannon and Trump are building a disinformation validation network."

https://twitter.com/justinhendrix/status/844718202349371393

[2] If you read through the CIA reading room, search for Soviet disinformation and be surprised at the attempts to destabilise western democracy through fake news: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/search/site/soviet%2...

[3] "This is a thread about #RussiaGate and Paul Manafort's $10M/year contract to further the interests of Putin's government:" https://twitter.com/AndreaChalupa/status/844710804985393153

[4] "One of the most patriotic things you can do is to upgrade the quality and breadth of the news you read. Invest in your personal news flow." https://twitter.com/davewiner/status/844691778724859904

bootloadon Apple has acquired Workflow, an automation tool for iPad and iPhone

"Providing hundreds of actions that interact with the apps and content on your device, Workflow opens up infinite possibilities of what you can do with your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch."

Interesting that Apple is looking at meta-tools ordinary users can program to organise their workflow over more applications. [0]

[0] http://my.workflow.is/docs/introduction-to-workflows-and-act...

bootloadon Medium releases Memberships

"If I was Medium, I would use machine learning to curate a feed for each individual subscriber."

If I was Medium I'd hire a team (three or four) experienced newspaper editors [0] and use their expertise to bring back some discipline back to the story process. Do you remember newspapers? There were hundreds of competing stories but the news was carefully selected on a daily basis. This is what is lacking.

The machine is being gamed. Maybe the editorial teams' suggestions should be used to train some aspects of story and category selection? Machine learning is a tool and if Facebook with all it's propellor heads have a problem, what hope have Medium? A different approach is needed.

reference

[0] Lots of newspaper people are out of work or under utilised and as such their availability is high. For example this tweet highlighting guardian journalists getting the sack: https://twitter.com/Hadas_Gold/status/844580929226072065

bootloadon Apple in talks to acquire Australian startup Sonder (2016)

"The Reddit user said the chief differences between the Apple prototype and that shown in the Sonder clip was all the keys had a screen and lighting panel, and the display updated instantly with no slow transition from black to white. As a design-for-testing model not due to be released before 2018, the design was far from confirmed but the Reddit user seemed optimistic about the early unit. “It’s really a solid indication of the future of input technology,”"

Hadn't seen this, though it was submitted five months ago. Makes the rMBP menu-bar look like a joke.

bootloadon Most Electronics Being Banned on Certain US-Bound Flights

" there are water refilling stations, usually close to the restrooms or after you pass through the security checkpoint. "

Done that, security check on one flight I was on at boarding forced all liquids to be emptied.

bootloadon Most Electronics Being Banned on Certain US-Bound Flights

"I'm 40+ and can tell you exactly when things started going down hill: September 11, 2001."

older, 22 Nov '63.

bootloadon Two classic columns on JFK's assassination by the late Jimmy Breslin

"his iconic column from those tumultuous days. “A Death in Emergency Room One” chronicles Nov. 22, 1963, from the attending emergency-room surgeon in Dallas."

These are important documents. Written within 24 hours of the JFK assassination, the information collected by a trained journalist reporting from first hand witnesses in print. This: Large hole in back of head, you don't see this in the Zapruda film. First time I've heard of a .25cal round being reported; 7.65, 0.223, .45, 6.55 but not a .25

"The occipitoparietal, which is a part of the back of the head, had a huge flap. The damage a .25-caliber bullet does as it comes out of a person’s body is unbelievable."

then this: Already the press is reporting that a lone shooter is known and confirmed.

"The ugly kind of factory window. Particularly at the corner window on the sixth floor, the one where this Oswald and his scrambled egg of a mind stood with the rifle so he could kill the president."

Think about this. Hole in the back of the head, but we have a lone shooter from ^behind^.

bootloadon The BSD family tree

thx @tedunangst probably should have duplicated the txt diagram with a proper diagram. A jump could be shown with a "<" or "(".

bootloadon Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

"A bank's reserves are the funds it holds in its account in the central bank."

Are those reserves (capital) fluid? From the tier-1 you refer I get the impression these are real physical assets and in flux. Interesting. How do the UK banks handle market runs? (I must read more about the banking system) In Aus major banks are government backed with minimal competition.

bootloadon The BSD family tree

"4.4BSD Lite2 -> OpenBSD 2.3"

What happened with the 4.4BSD lite to OpenBSD fork? The next OBSD is a parent of NetBSD.

bootloadon Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

"In normal times, the Bank of England implements monetary policy by setting the interest rate on central bank reserves."

thx @soVeryTired, plz excuse lack of financial knowledge. What is the definition of "reserves"?

bootloadon Frozen Alive

"Rule #1. Don't ever leave the car and setoff overland."

Rule #1 applies equally to desert conditions as well. Shade, potential water and source of things to burn to signal for help.

bootloadon Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

"As general financial advice"

Bordain is being very specific. This is about personal debt and being risk adverse, "I am fanatical about not owing anybody any money. I hate it. I don’t want to carry a balance, ever." The whole article is explaining his prior life as working chef.

Notice he has a lone but tries to avoid risky debt?

bootloadon Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

"I wish more people thought this way."

It used to be common to view personal debt this way.

I noticed a big change in the way debt was perceived by during the late '80s. Since then, debt is seen as normal. I'm pretty sure the finance industry has pushed 'Fractional reserve banking' to the limit to allow unchecked borrowing for land and housing. [0]

Reference

[0] "fractional-reserve banking permits the money supply to grow beyond the amount of the underlying base money originally created by the central bank" ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional-reserve_banking

bootloadon Anthony Bourdain on not having debt

"Once I did that risky thing, leaving the only profession I knew to become a professional writer and TV guy, I was, and continue to be, very careful about the decisions I make every day."

Sage advice. Here's the link to the book publishing mentioned ~ http://www.eater.com/2012/2/22/6611779/the-lineup-for-anthon... / http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/pu...

bootloadon Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women?

" I hear a lot of unpleasant anecdotes, but very little data."

Question was asked in the article, ("Where are the numbers?"). [0] For all the posturing on how good SV is at data, the question has to be asked, "Why can't tech companies collect and show data on staff?" [1] The only conclusion I can make is SV tech companies do not see this as an ^authentic^ problem.

Reference

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13880515

[1] Staff numbers, pay, diversity, disciplinary actions taken, reported, etc.

bootloadon Genetic variant accelerates normal brain aging in older people by up to 12 years

"I have found that times in my life when I exercised less, I forgot more. I also find less time to exercise as I grow older."

Want to improve your memory and brain function at any age? Exercise. [0] Want to add new neurons (neurogenesis), exercise. [1] Want to improve your neuro-plasticity? [2] Learn new skills.

It's always bothered me nerds/tech-heads optimise their lifestyles for time, not realising fitness, novelty and rest can be used as a strategic weapon to getting better at what you do. I'm not being critical of the OP, I'm just observing what I see in my own tech circles.

Reference

[0] http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-...

[1] https://www.dnalc.org/view/848-Exercise-induced-Neurogenesis...

[2] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v427/n6972/full/427311a...

bootloadon Rent a Raspberry Pi 3 on a native IPv6-only network

Mythic Beasts ran raspberrypi.org for a while on the RPi3 [0] and also host the RPi site. The price is pretty competitive (AUD96.40) compared to Czech [1] and Au hosting. [2] It's not only cost that would tempt me, it's the ISPs specialist knowledge of RPi.

Reference

[0] https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/the-little-computer-that-co...

[1] https://raspberry-hosting.com/en/order

[2] https://www.micron21.com/services/cloud-infrastructure-servi...

bootloadon WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)

> wordstar -> turbo pascal

working with wordstar meant the turbo pascal editor was easier to use. [0]

[0] http://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/user/userse32.html

bootloadon Autobooks closes $5.5M venture capital round

"Autobooks is a startup that offers bundled payment and accounting software to small companies, which is made available to them through their banks or credit unions. Auto books licenses the technology to the financial institutions, which then makes a profit by offering it to their customers."

My first thought was, "how many different accounting packages can you build and sell to a market?" what makes this company useful is it fills a gap for bigger businesses.

"The first wave of fintech [financial technology] companies focused on disintermediating banks from their customers, but they found that to be hard to do. The current generation is finding it productive to partner with banks,"

Selling a startup to banks.