HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

dunkelheit

2,503 karma · joined July 21, 2009

submissionscomments
dunkelheit··on The Raft Consensus Algorithm (2015)
Kudos to the raft authors for making distributed consensus accessible. Structuring the presentation in terms of RPCs and making the algorithm well-suited for implementing replicated state machines may not sound like a big deal, but those decisions really helped to make it approachable.

In a span of a decade consensus transformed from an esoteric algorithm that you can maaaaybe try implementing if you are a google engineer, to being widely deployed across many storage systems and readily accessible libraries and Raft played a big part in it.

dunkelheit··on Dystopian tales of that time when I sold out to Google
I just love how John Patience became Джона Пейшенса, like it is some exotic slavic woman's name.
dunkelheit··on Updates to H-1B
> That and companies are just hilariously bad at finding workers they want to hire for nebulous reasons. I have no doubt even if my company hired 95% of the workers it had marked down as "no hire" they'd be able to squeeze a salary's of value worth out of each of them (well, if management is competent, which it tends to not be).

Isn't it ironic that a comment making fun of companies for not hiring workers who can barely contribute above their salary's value, in the very same sentence blames management for incompetence. Well, guess what, managers are hired workers too, so if you apply the same principle to them, this is what you get.

What you suggest makes sense from the "homo economicus" point of view, but the result will be a barely functional hellhole riddled with incompetence (at least this is what it will feel like from within.) Can we blame people for being "selfish" and not wanting to work in this kind of environment?

dunkelheit··on Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun
> Is that fair?

I don't know! Probably not. It is all a political struggle and Musk for sure pursues his own goals in it. But if all this results in a twitter that is more interesting, open and less prudish than before, I think it is worth it. You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

dunkelheit··on Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun
> This is ironic if you consider all the complaining that Musk does in the public sphere about "freedom of speech"

Another ironic thing is the number of people who lectured anyone disagreeing with twitter's content moderation decisions that twitter is a commercial enterprise that can do whatever it pleases (usually this means yielding to activist pressure) and who are now acting indignant when Musk acts like he owns the place (which he does).

dunkelheit··on Ask HN: Depressed, need to leave web development, what can I do?
First, you need to take a big break, a couple of months at least. The less computing-related activities the better. The summer hasn't ended yet, do some outdoorsy stuff with other people. Depending on your situation of course, it may not be possible. Then just radically cut back on work and try to spend more time with your loved ones.

Second, you need to get your love for technology back. It is still there, but it manifests as hate. My theory of burnout is that it arises when the amount of effort you put in is disproportionally large compared to perceived payoffs. The brain just does a ROI calculation and refuses to put more effort in. To combat that, you need some easy successes. Try doing some small fun project and bring it to completion (for some definition of completion that makes you excited). This should bring back your confidence and excitement.

Third, you need to think strategically about your career. The truth is, for run-off-the-mill web development returns on experience taper off after a few years, so you are at disadvantage compared to younger folks that haven't lost their enthusiasm yet and are prepared to work long hours for less pay. So to make yourself desirable in the eyes of employers, you have to offer them something those people don't have. One option is to go into management (no need to scoff at it, it is hard, offers plenty of opportunity for growth and is exactly the area where older folks can shine). Another is to specialize and become an "expert in X" - maybe in some subject area or in distributed systems or machine learning. Think about what most suits you.

Good luck.

dunkelheit··on Soft deletion probably isn't worth it
This brings back memories... Some time ago I was an intern in a team working on a UGC map editor. We were using this soft-delete pattern and for some task I needed to deploy a database migration that fiddled with the "deleted" status field. It was quite late and after the migration finished I almost went home but for some reason decided to check community forums. There users were having a time of their life taking screenshots of deleted objects that suddenly became visible (many of them quite amusing, including swear words written in 500km letters). Dunno how this escaped testing, but horror of what I have done brought clarity of mind and I quickly found an error and devised another migration that fixed the data. That worked and I was able to finally go home.

So yeah, be careful with the soft-delete pattern :)

dunkelheit··on Twitter Layoff Started Today
One problem is that companies like to talk about these stock grants as if they are as good as regular salary (and employees seem to play along, using terms like "total comp" and ascribing some definite dollar value to it). But they really aren't. So it is a bit of a deceptive marketing.
dunkelheit··on McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
There is not much use for dollars in Russia right now other than hoarding them (you can buy goods, but many imports are sanctioned). And after initial panic subsided, trust in the banking system looks quite high so people are less keen on hoarding cash.

Also, if you are an oligarch who plans to load your private plane with suitcases of dollars and fly to the Cayman islands, you are probably sanctioned, so that is out of question too.

dunkelheit··on McDonald’s to Exit from Russia
You are a bit late to the party. Many Russian assets have already been seized, among them the Gazprom subsidiary in Germany.

We are in a weird spot where Russia is very much interested in economic relationships continuing more or less as is (exemplified by the conciliatory rhetoric from the Russian government, essentially they are saying "no hard feelings, return any time" to the departing companies) so will mostly respect property rights. OTOH the West sees financial and economic relationships as their main weapon in this war so most funky moves related to property rights will be initiated by the Western governments (e.g. many "sanctions" essentially are extrajudiciary property seizures).

dunkelheit··on US plans campaign to attract Russian scientists, engineers to America & CERN
> From my social circle, most developers are leaving for SWIFT ban.

This of course can change any day, but for now SWIFT transfers still work with non-sanctioned banks (e.g. Tinkoff). So this may be a pretext.

dunkelheit··on US plans campaign to attract Russian scientists, engineers to America & CERN
Moscow seems similar to San Francisco/New York in this regard - you move there if you want to be where the action is and put up with minor inconveniences. Climate-wise the Bay Area of course wins hands down, but I'm constantly hearing people living in the Bay Area complain about ridiculous rents, homeless, feces on the streets and muggings and in these areas Moscow fares quite a bit better. Grass is always greener.
dunkelheit··on US plans campaign to attract Russian scientists, engineers to America & CERN
Every statement that paints Russia in a positive light must be propaganda, right? This becomes tiring really fast.

> Moscow average salary: 1100 USD 2021 Bucharest average salary: 1,614.91 USD 2021

It makes precisely zero sense comparing absolute numbers without factoring in cost of living. And we are talking about experienced software professionals. OP's uncle is probably making at least 4x more than that. Imagine making 4x average salary in your region.

dunkelheit··on US plans campaign to attract Russian scientists, engineers to America & CERN
> Moscow is too expensive

Compared to what? Compared to other Russian cities it is certainly expensive. Compared to e.g. San Francisco it is very cheap.

> it prices even software developer leads out.

Doesn't match my experience at all. It doesn't require extraordinary thrift for someone with a software developer lead salary to start a family and pay off a mortgage for a decent apartment.

dunkelheit··on Ask HN: How to Make 1M $?
Fairly risk-free way (well, compared to alternatives): invest $10K in interview prep, negotiation coaching etc. Get a FAANG job. Live frugally. In a few years you'll have your $1M.
dunkelheit··on Finland and Sweden set to join NATO as soon as summer
> The lie is that Ukraine wasn't even considered for NATO membership and would be ineligible due to lack of territorial integrity ( Donbas and Crimea). NATO and Ukraine didn't claim Russia was bluffing, Ukraine refused to surrender their autonomy by promising they'll never join NATO.

Isn't it a bit contradictory? If Ukraine can't join NATO, then promising it won't is irrelevant. Rather, it was their stated goal to somehow resolve the territorial intergrity question and then join NATO. So ineligibility was just a problem to resolve, not an insurmountable obstacle. And of course increasing military cooperation can be done without joining.

I agree that "calling bluff" is not the best word. Rather, it was politically infeasible for both Ukraine (runs counter to their stated goals) and the West (looks too similar to what Chamberlain did) to enter into an agreement with Russia. So it didn't happen.

> And of course, the real lie is that Russia was going to war no matter what. Leaked conversations of Kadyrov show that Russia was prepared to go in since last year, and the negotiations asking for impossible things was just a distraction. Like the Austrians did with Serbia in WWI.

Even if the leaks are true, how does it prove that the invasion was inevitable? Yes, Russia was preparing for war to make the threat credible and this preparation included making detailed plans. Doesn't mean that Putin couldn't scrap those plans.

> Please go whatabout something else, people are literally getting slaughtered over the delusions of an ageing autocrat who has lost touch with reality.

Your comment was better without this addition.

dunkelheit··on Finland and Sweden set to join NATO as soon as summer
> The result is that their promises about not attacking someone if "they stay out of NATO" are worthless crap and the only way for smaller European countries to stop them is with force of arms and help of a big military alliance.

The sequence of events: 1) Ukraine government states that it is their priority to join NATO 2) Russia amasses troops at the border, states "don't join NATO, there will be consequences" 3) NATO and Ukraine say "you are bluffing, we'll do whatever we want" 4) Russia invades.

Where is the lie?

dunkelheit··on Finland and Sweden set to join NATO as soon as summer
The amount of ad-hominems in replies to your comment is simply staggering.
dunkelheit··on Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source
Open source (and by extension a large chunk of software industry) runs on the expectation that people won't do random disruptive things even if it is plainly stated in the license that there is no such guarantee. Perhaps we should move away from this expectation (and events such as these will certainly accelerate the transition), but this is the current state of affairs.
dunkelheit··on Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source
Two counterpoints: 1) the kind of people that use open-source libraries are one of the most plugged into the world political discourse parts of the population (BTW I am not sure that this is unequivocally a good thing, this "discourse" is just another brand of propaganda at this point) and 2) If some random open-source maintainer from across the ocean starts lecturing me that I am guilty of not overthrowing Putin or, worse, wipes my hard drive, I'm not going to be moved by this, I'm just going to think that this person is out of touch and be really annoyed.
dunkelheit··on Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source
It is kind of crazy when one remembers all the human rights abuses that companies providing popular products and services tolerate and benefit from, and where the tax money goes. It is almost as if if the goal is to be consistent and avoid hypocrisy, the only two options are abandoning modern lifestyle... or not protesting at all.
dunkelheit··on Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source
Actions speak louder than words and the reaction to the current conflict is certainly unique. I haven't heard of people pressuring companies to stop doing business with the US due to the Iraq war.
dunkelheit··on Why economic sanctions do not work (1997) [pdf]
I think you are ovestating things. Yes, this was true in the 1990s, when McDonalds was one of the few windows into what western capitalism has to offer, but this magic of novelty is long gone. Right now McDonalds is, like in the rest of the world, just a place where you can grab food of predictable shitty quality when you are low on time and money (though indeed often the primary choice).
dunkelheit··on Roskomsvoboda statement on foreign companies’ sanctions against Russians [pdf]
If history is any guide, businesses are totally ok with dodgy payment methods (Russia paid Pepsi with warships once) and dealing with governments that are not that respectful towards private property as long as profit is expected. The main risks now are reputational. Cynically, I would put it that way - withdrawing from Russia has gone viral, all the cool kids are doing it.
dunkelheit··on Roskomsvoboda statement on foreign companies’ sanctions against Russians [pdf]
This won't work because a) many of the current measures mainly hurt the most westernized part of the population (i.e. those most critical of the current regime) and b) this plays perfectly into Putin's narrative that the West hates Russia and the Russian people.
dunkelheit··on Russians are trying to flee – data from Google Trends
AFAIU this applies only to Russian airlines because their leased planes can be confiscated abroad. But e.g. Turkish airlines can still fly.
dunkelheit··on Yandex warns of bond repayment and supply risks
Some of Ukrainian propaganda are myths designed to bolster morale of the local population, some (such as claiming that >10k Russian soldiers are dead, fake videos of Russian POWs, spreading rumors that martial law will be declared on Friday in Russia) is offensive disinformation clearly aimed at Russians.
dunkelheit··on Yandex warns of bond repayment and supply risks
Some of them definitely do. I've watched a few broadcasts from a Ukrainian twitch streamer who remains in Kiev and people are excitedly discussing latest exploits of the ghost of Kiev in chat.
dunkelheit··on Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments
Some of them are, some of them are not. What's your point? Your original statement is emphatically not true because cards issued by many of the biggest consumer banks (among them Sberbank, Alfabank) continue to work internationally. And internally all cards continue to work. So please don't spread rumors if you don't have access to accurate information.
dunkelheit··on Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments
They mentioned "geopolitical risks" in every prospectus they issued. So the answer is no - investors have been warned that this might happen!
Page 1 of 18Next →