capstone

(I am not necessarily arguing against more H1-B visas, I am simply saying the article applies equally to all developers regardless of origin so it really doesn't speak for looser immigration laws - if anything, once you apply the math to the immigration issue, the logical conclusion is negative).

http://www.intel.com/technology/io/thunderbolt/325136-001US_...

To answer your second question, I've never seen a recruiter that does full-time or contractor but not both. They always try to steer you toward full-time however those full-time positions usually start as contractor-to-hire anyway.

It's really quite easy to find good recruiters in NYC. They are usually subscribed to technical mailing lists and LinkedIn groups. Broadcast your availability and see who contacts you.

One last bit of advice: check out Freelancers Union for health insurance. The options aren't stellar but still better than anywhere else.

What kind of work do you do, if you don't mind my asking?

http://blog.chromium.org/2011/02/chromium-to-feature-in-pwn2...

Don't take the list above as endorsement though. From a toddler's perspective, they leave a lot to be desired. I have some thoughts you might find useful but perhaps you could elaborate on what kind of app are you building first?

Exactly. Instead of a blanket "keep your kids away from electronics", why not add parental controls where kids have access to educational apps but not videogames?

My 18-months old is getting really good at several puzzles on my old iPhone. He also deletes apps constantly, because there is no lock mechanism/parental controls. The fact that the iPhone is exclusively his to play with is irrelevant, as is its price.

"Show them the money" is equally irrelevant. By definition, you cannot measure how much consumers value something that's not there. I'd love to show Apple my money but I can't magically pay for a non-offered feature.

http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2011/02/15...

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2204545

1. New York Times publishes an article that says, female participation on Wikipedia is really low but hey, let's be careful not to contribute it to sexism.

2. Slate publishes an article that says, female participation on Wikipedia is really low but hey, stop contributing it to sexism!

Here is the interesting part. Something about the article's belligerent tone and non-sequitur logic seemed familiar so I looked up the author and bingo, it's Heather McDonald. Every single year I see the same re-packaged piece along the lines of, "feminists should stop hyperventilating about the Web gender gap", "the desperation of the women’s grievance movement", "the perpetuation of the patriarchy myth", etc.

So I googled around a bit, and bingo again - Heather McDonald is a staff writer for the right-wing lobby think tank, the Manhattan Institute. The Slate article makes it look like journalism but it's propaganda, pure and simple.

1. How to mark items as purchased. Relying on gift givers to "reserve" and "unreserve" items may be a step up from restaurant reservations but that's not saying much. I wouldn't be surprised if your honor system led to close to half of every registry ending up in a black hole of forgotten reservations.

2. How to keep up with out-of-stock items and price changes. Baby registries usually span months, so how do you deal with outdated information or dead links? From my own Amazon baby registry experience, about 30% of my wish list went MIA by the time of the actual baby shower, when most of my friends and family made their purchases.

3. How do you deal with bad UIs. Drawing again from my Amazon experience, a lot of older relatives almost bought the wrong item because of all the "you might also like" items all over the screen. I wouldn't be surprised if a large chunk of your purchases got diverted by bad 3rd party UIs.

4. Varied URL standards. For example, some shopping sites get product options from user session so non-logged in URLs link to an item's default color and size. So once you are off to a 3rd party website, there is no guarantee the gift giver would buy the correct item.

As far as I can see you've built a wish list that you are marketing as a registry and I am not sure if that's a good thing. The key feature of a registry is that a retailer makes sure that the correct items get purchased (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_registry) so I think there is a broken promise there.

Fair use fro educators depends on several factors which I don't think are in your favor. One, fair use limits the percentage of material that can be used, and two, fair use must not hurt sales of the music. With your users likely uploading whole songs, and having the option to obtain paid licenses just like those for dance teachers and studios, either pre-condition is questionable.

BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC are the 3 orgs for the publishers, composers, and lyricists in the United States and they do expect choreographers and dance instructors to have licensing to use the music (Grand Rights). So do recording companies if you plan on using pre-recorded music. You could contact them and see what they offer.

Otherwise, you could make the choreos available to logged in users only. Private exchange of videos may be ok, plus it's much less likely the publishing companies will find out.

Of course, this stereotype was perceived as The Truth. Mother Nature, backed up by statistically demonstrable demographic evidence. Can't argue with that, right? And so it goes...

There can be a reason for a girl in college to take some courses in computer science: Look for a husband!

Having women pursuing computer careers will stick like water on a duck's back -- not a chance.

What possible avenues for a "reasoned rebuttal" do you see here?

(I am not being sarcastic. I am with you on approaching an opposing opinion from a constructive point of view but how do you rebutt butt-headedness of such epic proportions)?

With feminism, some girls believed "Women can and do things, too", charged into male careers, and paid a very high price in lack of children, busted marriages, and sometimes even their lives. It's not nice to try to fool Mother Nature.

Further, what on earth are you talking about when you say that his post is in line with expert opinions on the subject?

A few random quotes...

It's not nice to try to fool Mother Nature. To get girls to major in computer science, you are dealing with forces you cannot possibly understand.

Having women pursuing computer careers will stick like water on a duck's back -- not a chance.

There can be a reason for a girl in college to take some courses in computer science: Look for a husband!

I am all for a balanced discussion but seriously, is this not a little nutty?

In general, I am a little apprehensive of Feynman's "sexist pig" rep. His younger sister became a physicist largely through his encouragement which tells me that his views on women in science were rather progressive, even by today's standards. He is also known for having sided with a female professor in a sex discrimination suit at Caltech - again, very ahead of his time.

I also recall that at least some of that rep came from his use of stories that were presumably sexist, such as stupid driver (woman), smart cop (man). But according to Feynman, it was his critics, not him, who assumed that the smart cop was male, so the egg was on them.

Finally, a lot of people conflate Feynman's womanizing with sexism, and I think the guy should get a break for trying to find solace in as many women's arms as possible after watching his wife slowly die from cancer.

EEOC: It is illegal to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying for a job because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. For example, a help-wanted ad that seeks "recent college graduates" may discourage people over 40 from applying and may violate the law.

One exception is BFOQ (bona fide occupational qualification). Some obvious examples are labor jobs, religious education and the performing arts. There are gray areas as well, such as a college-oriented start up hiring recent college grads, however the company would need to prove that the age requirement was necessary to perform the job in question. Personally, I think it's rather hard to make that case for programmers.

Interestingly, a preference for minorities is not a BFOQ. It is illegal to specify race or gender even if end goal is workplace diversity.

And yes, I meant accountant's fees. You don't just have your IRS filings, you also have the state and the city which depending on your location require multiple filings plus UBT and other complications. So you have a minimum of 15 different filings (1 yearly plus 4 quarterly, times 3 for federal, state and city), and usually more. I am not sure where you live - personally, I've filed in the US, East and West coast and Midwest and it's never cost me anywhere near $75. Perhaps you and your accountant have been ignoring deductions, self-employment taxes, UBT, etc. I simply don't see how you could have a professional CPA charge $75 for all that.

As far DIY tax prep I think it's a waste of your time to understand all the complexities. Tax requirements change every year and sometimes mid-year... if you are a consultant, your time is best spent doing what you know.

(So did I understand correctly that your accountant files just one yearly form in addition to your personal taxes? That doesn't sound right. If you are not in the US, you can probably gamble on not being audited, otherwise I'd be looking for a new accountant asap, and paying him to re-file your previous years as well).

As far as costs, yes, it may cost you $25 to register your sole proprietorship but then it will cost you hundreds of dollars to file your year-end taxes, plus all the quarterly's. Add hundreds more for UBT. Plus most states get you in other ways, e.g. the metropolitan commuter tax in New York.