ccallebs

Fully static sites don't necessarily mean static content in a user interaction sense. A lot of blogging platforms are database driven, but generate static documents instead of rendering the pages on the fly.

I agree it's a hyperbolic claim but it can work depending on the domain.

I'm definitely not suggesting that self-subsistent farming will be common with the product. Certainly not in SV!

But it doesn't have to, right? If it can augment your grocery trips and prevent however much food you would've purchased from being shipped cross country, it's definitely left a mark.

I didn't mean to suggest it would supplant the supermarket, only allow people to more easily grow their own food.

> I operate a CSA and grow thousands of dollars of food every year.

That's great! And at the level you're at, the product probably doesn't make much sense. Everything is easy once you learn how to do it.

I'm curious which of the things I listed aren't significant issues? They're all things I've came across when trying to grow food.

I do agree that the current incarnation of this product fails to address those things, but the maker community will surely expand upon the platform. It appears to be extraordinarily modular.

There are a lot of nuances to planting that the back of a seed packet will not prepare you for.

There are plants you don't want close to each other. There are plants that require more irrigation than their neighbors. The soil pH matters, pests are varied between species, and temperature levels can be paramount. Planting time absolutely matters.

If you have ever tried to grow more than a few things in a garden, you realize exactly how complicated it can be. And while the product at hand does not address all of those things, it lays a foundation for a future where it could. The framework is built and it's open source.

In its current incarnation, it's not going to be replacing the supermarket anytime soon. I'm not trying to suggest that it will. But I do think it has the potential to disrupt.

I own a small farm myself. If the price point were low enough, I could easily set up acres of this technology and map out my crops using my computer. It could keep track of when crops needed to be harvested, when I needed to weed, how much I need to plant of one thing for a season. And then eventually could do those things for me.

This product allows a person that knows nothing about farming to be a farmer. How much space does the average person have in their back yard? Sitting idle, wasted. Not doing anything but providing a bit of aesthetic appeal.

If the price point gets low enough, if construction is easy enough, and if enough people latch onto the movement this could be a game changer. Even if 10% of a family's food comes from Farmbot, that's 10% of food that doesn't need to be shipped across country for their consumption.

This is essentially a 3D printer for food.

Wow. Just wow.

I don't know that I've been this excited about a piece of machinery before. This product has the potential to completely change the way we obtain and consume food. I understand it's very niche at the moment. And the price tag will likely be huge for the first run. But this is a great first step and I'll try to pre-order a kit.

I agree with you.

People that are otherwise intelligent always seem to inject pre-conceived notions into the idea of evolution. As if evolution is a "path" instead of mostly unrelated tweaks/optimizations. I suppose it's not as easily digestible to frame it in that context. The following just isn't as sexy:

- "At some point in history, immediately capable offspring stopped being an evolutionary advantage for humans."

- "Women who produced smaller babies less likely to die in childbirth, augmenting their ability to procreate."

- "Infants able to survive at a smaller birth-size more likely to pass on their genes."

Elixir and/or Clojure.

I would also like to improve my JavaScript chops but can't see myself diving into Node.js. Will probably try to familiarize myself with ES2015.

That definitely sounds like it should be reported as a bug.

Would a system where the liquid fresh water was stored at a significant altitude be feasible? Via evaporation + condensation you could create a battery during the day to use at night.

They mention that in the article -- they postulate that there may be "sweet spots" with the correct temperature to be habitable. These would be located close to where the planet transitions from light to dark.

I'd argue that any sort of bias is orthogonal to the idea of an absolute reality. However, it doesn't preclude any reality. Out of pragmatism we need to be able to define one. The survival of our species also hinges upon that.

But thought experiments have the luxury of not needing pragmatism.

If I may make a shitty analogy...

Most humans see reality through the lens of high-level languages. A hyper-defined DSL of Ruby. Our everyday interactions and understanding of the world are both informed by that DSL. However, as people specialize into various areas they realize that there exists something deeper, something closer to the metal.

Eventually, Julie the scientist discovers that our language can be broken down into more discrete operations than our Ruby DSL would lead us to believe. After much study and experimentation she finds heaps of cryptic-looking code dedicated to memory management, CPU optimization, fault tolerance, etc. The more she studies, the more she finds. By now she's uncovered machine code and developed an instrument to compile it down to an even more fundamental entity: binary. You can take this analogy down to the hardware level -- I'll spare you.

But as human beings we cannot process the world in binary and still function normally. We can certainly think about it and after much effort place our experiences in that context. But we need the aforementioned abstractions to quickly and easily process that we need to run from tigers. Although we know the Ruby DSL hides many details of reality from us by its very nature, we ignore that out of pragmatism.

The point he makes is that those instruments and theories have an inherent bias to the kind of reality we perceive. That reality is a result of our evolutionary fitness and is not objective. Even the words we use to describe concepts are a function of the limitations our vocal cords and frontal lobe.

Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3CptVZDYU

Often in Texas, it's cheaper to ship the cows to the food than the alternative. Not trying to be pedantic, but it's an interesting factoid.

I think it's much better. However, I also don't enjoy KFC chicken. I find it slimy and too saturated with grease.

Hey! I own my farm in Corbin, KY and my grandfather worked for the Colonel when he peddled chicken at the service/bus station. The "historic" Sanders' Cafe that exists there today is actually across the road from where the original once was.

If you're ever around Simpsonville, KY it's worth stopping by Claudia Sanders' Diner. It still cooks his original recipe, unlike KFC.

I had a watercooler discussion with a buddy of mine where we came up with PetCube. Apparently we're not as clever as we thought. :)

I only saw two pure-social apps in the list. Is that atypical for a batch?

Another +1 for the game as well. As I get older, it takes a lot more for a game to put me into "binge mode". This game did and then some. If you enjoy solving puzzles / architecting software / survival games, you will probably dig Factorio.

I should've said *those people. I didn't know it was a team of two.

People dangerously modify their body for non-practical reasons already, so I think it's a given. Once technology catches up to science fiction, cyborgs will be a real (and probably common) occurrence. Hell, I would probably do it.

I definitely understand, I'm not saying pirating is good. I'm especially not saying "Once you hit a certain level of success, you should pirate!" Just suggesting that due to this incident the creators made quite a few sales.

I think pirating is wrong and I pay for my software/music.

Edit: Whoa! You're one of the creators. Congrats on getting this kind of exposure. It's unfortunate it has to be because wealthy people don't pay for your product. :(

I understand that what Kanye did was as wrong as any other pirating. However, as a result of that screenshot that software got a free endorsement from Kanye West. I imagine that guy is going to wake up surprised this morning when he looks at total sales from last night.

I think the point is there's a very low signal:noise ratio when it comes to TEDx talks. Do your topic and knock it out of the park. It should raise the aggregate quality of available talks.

I'm seeing a few people claiming this proves we're in a bubble. That we've reached peak computer science. Why?

Maybe I'm being touchy due to my location[1] but that sounds rather arrogant. This seems to be a more comprehensive training program than 6 week "hacker" schools so many are fond of. The workers were even paid while being trained. Is it because they're hillbillies?

[1] I live in southeastern Kentucky.

> Where do you see negativity?

The same place you saw the negativity, which is why you prefaced the sentence with "I'm sorry."

One should not assume someone's technical prowess based on one poor decision (a decision they've recognized as suboptimal). Also, they still shipped.

I second this. I'd love to know how ISP companies back then were operated.

I'll preface this entire post by saying I have no idea what I'm talking about.

But it makes sense to me. I read an article a few years back about an elderly man (90+ years old) that attributed his longevity to donating blood regularly. It would not surprise me if simply "refreshing" your supply had health benefits.

Yeah, his expiration date (if correct) is on there too.