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dnewms

843 karma · joined March 19, 2010

<hn username> @ gmail.com
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dnewms··on New textbook teaches students about matrix methods and their real world apps
There is another University of Michigan professor who created an Introduction to Computational Linear Algebra course: https://grizzle.robotics.umich.edu/education/rob101.html

with free textbook: https://grizzle.robotics.umich.edu/files/ROB_101_Textbook_W_...

dnewms··on YouTube Gives Us Love Without the Messiness
Great point. The sharing economy destroyed an entire set of spaces like this... when hosting a couchsurfer, I was told that I could make a ton using Airbnb instead. That money wasn’t the point was lost on this guest — but thankfully not the many other world travelers I was able to share my local area with.

Airbnb or VBRO offers great experiences on their own, but introducing a transaction turns everyone into a service provider or customer, and brings a set of expectations to both.

dnewms··on Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
Yeah, an herbicide like triclopyr breaks down quickly, but still can bioaccumulate in wildlife and humans need proper protection during application [1].

Also, glyphosate (RoundUp) is debated as far as safety... and unfortunately for Monsanto, they got too cozy with the EPA and trying to ghostwrite positive scientific studies that no matter the scientific evidence one way or another, a jury found them responsible for causing cancer in civil trials. [2]

[1] http://www.npic.orst.edu/factsheets/triclogen.pdf [2] https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/30/727914874/sa...

dnewms··on In Brazil, Amazon Protections Are Slashed and Forests Fall
At least Norway does: "Norway makes annual payments to Brazil as part of a long-term billion-dollar program to curb the loss of Amazon rainforest to slow global warming."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-brazil-amazon-idUS...

dnewms··on For years, Guatemalans traveled thousands of miles for jobs in Mt Pleasant, Iowa
For more on this, check out the PBS Frontline on child slave labor in an Ohio egg farm: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/trafficked-in-americ...
dnewms··on Reservoir computing using dynamic memristors for temporal information processing
For those without a technical background: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2017/12/new-quick-learning-neur...
dnewms··on Direct Primary Care
Nope - the last workplace-provided insurance I had was my parents.
dnewms··on Direct Primary Care
<30 midwest
dnewms··on Direct Primary Care
UnitedHealthcare -- though my plan may have been grandfathered in to be acceptable under ACA.
dnewms··on Direct Primary Care
For anecdotes: I've had a HDHP before ACA, started at about $45/mo now up to about $60/mo with an outrageously high $12.5k or so deductible.

I've had two different DPC, one about $45/mo, now with one about $30/mo.

Both combined are still less than I would pay in any marketplace.

It's nice to be able to just see your doctor without worrying what it might cost. A large list of simple procedures are covered, and tests cost next to nothing. It's a health subscription to an actual doctor who can be just as cost-conscious as you are while still incredibly knowledgable and invested in your health.

dnewms··on A $700 Juicer for the Kitchen That Caught Silicon Valley’s Eye
That's exactly what it is, K-Cups of juice, and it's genius. People love throwing things away instead of cleaning.

And like K-Cups, Juicero has already created a system to lock out generic veggie bags past their patent with the barcode scan to check freshness.

The $700 might be worth it if you were able to use your own reusable veggie squash bag, in addition to their premixes. But, it seems like the smart machines themselves might be sold at-cost if they've built out a distribution network for expensive pouches.

dnewms··on Ten Days of Silence
It's more than not talking, though. It's extreme meditation. If you didn't have to worry about anything in your life for ten days, where to sleep, what to eat next, the next project, proposal, email, significant or insignificant others, where would your mind wander?

I don't think it's feel-good anything, and not claiming to be scientific. I think it's stressing the mind in a way that it's typically never stressed, resulting in outcomes that others have never experienced. And because of that, they want to share it -- as is human nature.

dnewms··on Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway, Hides for 80 Years (2012)
Since voices don't change until puberty -- any kid screaming sounds the same.

And in the vein of special individuals, there are little girls who love and hate insects, and little boys who love and hate insects. Perhaps a more original phrase or analogy would be better: I would scream like a Dryococelus australis being attacked by rats.

dnewms··on Review: Amazon’s Fire Phone
Mayday is truly a new level of customer service, and makes the phone a great choice for those who might struggle with new technology -- like the remaining population without a smartphone.
dnewms··on Show HN: Artistic Maps of Over 4,000 U.S. Cities
Here is a similar remix of OSM, that allows you to zoom in and pan, export as .jpg, or embed - for free: http://maps.stamen.com/#watercolor/12/42.3318/-83.0503
dnewms··on Delta Financial Offers Interest-Bearing Bitcoin Accounts
The site offers a 5% minimum interest rate. With such a (relatively) high return, the risks are also high, as your money is used to leverage trading on Bitcoin itself.

Taking such a risk with a currency that can move 5% in hours seems foolish or exactly the right strategy, I'm not sure which.

dnewms··on Show HN: Ratatouille is an app to share your extra food
To the creator, let me know if you have q's -- http://leftoverswap.com/ was a fun project for my buddy and I that seems to have brought up the exact same criticisms.
dnewms··on [dead]
I think there's a whole literary niche that has yet to catch on or be truly explored that just tells the story from texts and other electronic communications - like the modern version of a story told with just letters.
dnewms··on Young, Unemployed and Living on the Street
While humanities majors are on the lower end of salary scales, there are plenty of assumptions that you made there. For one, "paying through the nose" is unlikely -- one term at Seattle area community college is about $1,300.
dnewms··on Americans Want to Live in a Much More Equal Country (They Just Don't Realize It)
This appears to be the study that the figures are taken from: http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_589.pdf

And here's the definition of wealth:

I also use a more restricted concept of wealth, which I call “non-home wealth.” This is defined as net worth minus net equity in owner-occupied housing (the primary residence only). Non-home wealth is a more liquid concept than marketable wealth, since one’s home is difficult to convert into cash in the short term. Moreover, primary homes also serve a consumption purpose besides acting as a store of value. Non-home wealth thus reflects the resources that may be immediately available for consumption expenditure or various forms of investments.

dnewms··on Facebook Is Worth More Than ... - Interactive Feature
Unfortunately, Facebook is worth only $66 billion now...so about two Pricelines.
dnewms··on How to seem good at everything: Stop doing stupid shit
This also seems relevant to a general takeaway from the "Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance": 'embrace quality'. Always strive for the best you can do in the situation you are given - whether it is chess, piano, coding, or mowing the lawn.
dnewms··on Happy Hackers Love Whiteboard Wallpaper
I'd say the most economical is picking up white tileboard or backerboard from a home improvement store. Roughly $10 for 3ft by 5ft.

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000679.php http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-Flooring-Tools-Accessories...

dnewms··on Some Remarkable Résumé Designs
True, but if I were any of them I'd just give a more readable version along with the incredibly creative one.
dnewms··on Sunglasses that block out glare with lcd spot
Great idea and all, but the frames are going to have to match the style of current glasses - without the electronics on the nosepiece. Otherwise, the cool factor of wearing glasses is lost, and he might as well sell the honky prototype.
dnewms··on Head of Design at Facebook: How Her Team Uses Data To Make Decisions
I wonder how many users visited that deactivation page just to see "x will miss you" once they heard about it, without any intent to deactivate.
dnewms··on David Byrne: Don't Forget the Motor City
Many people have thought this (John Hantz), but there's a reason it hasn't begun. The cost of cleaning up the land is too great to start cost-competitive large scale farms.