hakaaaaak

Thanks for the advice!

> If that's your expectation, you're simply not cut out for this.

I'm identifying a need. I know plenty of people like myself. The problem is not motivation. The problem is that by the time that most of us are old enough to recognize that we could do it on our own, we're also smart enough to realize that even if we knew all of the rules, the chances are 100% that our family has to sacrifice and chances are even with all of the knowledge, failure is frequent. I want to minimize failure. I would pay someone to have this info. Something focused on selling support for previously free open-source products with established international customer base, and converting from 6 figure salary with great benefits to working from home at same salary within a year at most. I'm the only wage earner and we have bills to pay. I'm not being a wuss. It is just something I want to do, but have no idea how to pull off. Many would say either "don't do it" or "start slow and see how it goes". I'm trying the latter right now, but I still have no fucking clue how to handle the practical stuff. I need to know the applicable laws, have the connections, and I'm not attractive to VC's or angels at all in my own estimate.

This was a nice short read. However, I'd like to see something between this and The Four Steps to the Epiphany. Something that held out its hand, so that I could grab it that would lead me step by step to:

1. Find out what in the hell I'm good at, love doing, and should be doing. Every book and website I read about this leads me to believe that I'm "creative". We'll that's great, but I don't know how to turn that into a business. I've read plenty of "you can do it" but there isn't a lot of "this is what you specifically should be doing because I know you- seriously".

2. Help me get my ass off the couch with a plan. A plan that leads me the way a morbidly obese person could be inspired to start doing small exercises like barely sitting up, but eventually actually get in shape. Not just a book on getting a business plan together. If I wanted one of those, I could spit 20 feet and find one. I mean a plan step-by-step of what I need to do to go from making X at company A to making X on my own, with a limited amount of time making x * 0.75 or x * 0.50.

3. Tell me whether I really need an LLC or just business insurance. Tell me the laws for doing business in my state, in my country, with other states, with other countries. Do I need a VAT id? What is the difference between a quote and contract of work that I'd need to do business with the U.S. government vs. a small company in Germany vs. a small company in Australia? All of these details, but in a really friendly language.

I know there are groups that support entrepreneurs and startups, but most of them don't support them to go international from day one, and they are more geared to evaluate and provide funding so VC's can invest and reap dividends. I have been approached by people around the world that want to pay me for my product or services, but can't because they can't tell me what I'm supposed to be doing.

That's the kind of shit I want to know. I love reading these hopeful posts. But even the most informative don't touch the surface, and the ones that go too far into depth miss the practical stuff.

I know it isn't easy. It sounds like I want everything wrapped in a golden ribbon. Well, I'm getting paid pretty well full-time and though I've always wanted to take the jump, spending years reading about others that have done what I want to do (kind of- if I knew exactly what it was), has gotten me nowhere.

Magical information and assistance like this just doesn't seem to exist.

Most mail is junk. What happens to that?

Are you going to scan a single catalog and throw the rest away? That won't work because some have specific codes required, so you'll have to know which those are or perhaps scan every catalog cover. Some catalogs are going to be hell. Just to name a few: Sweetwater has a fairly long one; Blick's art supply catalog is bigger; Both are free and have wide distribution.

Where do you draw the line between package, parcel, and letter? What do you do when it is filled with confetti? What if it contains cash. Seriously.

Musical Hallmark cards anyone? Are you going to record them? No? Ok, then.

This is a neat idea and works for some things, but is also very seriously impractical and insecure for the customer, and a terrible mess on the business side.

Add to that that people (especially women I'm told, but I know of no studies to prove that) enjoy real magazines. I personally enjoy getting things in the mail. It is like a gift. I don't enjoy getting email.

If your business relies on SEO or is affected by Google search rank in a critical way, it may not be a viable business long-term.

Yes, that means I'm talking about a lot of online businesses.

The intelligent thing to do is sell a product or service that has value on its own and neither relies on SEO nor is it likely to be blames by other sites or companies for lowering their SEO.

I feel bad for these folks, but if you are planning on starting a business that doesn't really provide much value on its own that is identifyable outside of the roach motel of SEO, then you are headed into the ocean in a dingy with a small outboard motor, imo.

Only SF and Mountain View/Palo Alto. That's not helpful to me unfortunately.

Agreed, but if the manager took responsibility for this he or she probably would be fired. Still, it is the only way to be; otherwise, you're not a real leader.

Whenever you go to a site and it promises something, you have to give it your email address to possibly get access to a beta later, and then it either never appears, doesn't live up to the hype, or pivots and becomes something you're not interested in. Or, how about something that promises it will be around forever, and doesn't. I won't name names.

It's too bad that more SaaS apps aren't held to the same level of scrutiny. Most stuff on HN is snakeoil.

I don't want to use Google+ because everyone I care about uses Facebook, and even that I'm growing tired of and use less than I did for a few years.

I'll continue to use my Google (Gmail) account for authentication to StackExchange and a few other sites, because it doesn't make me use anything but Gmail. But, if Google starts forcing me to use Google+ actively, I'm going to stop using it for authentication.

I wished the author would have mentioned that the term PC will no longer be relevant, because they won't be personal; mobile devices are personal; the tablet may be personal; the smartwatch will be personal. The central computer in your home should be called an HC or home computer, assuming there only needs to be one of them, and maybe it will be involved with home automation. It is unlikely it will be there to do truck-like tasks; that will be handled by services external to the home, like an "EC2 for the masses". Thinking of neighborhoods sharing PCs? Come on. Sometime in the 1980s was the last time I went to a neighbor's house to use a PC.

Unfortunately, rationalism is needed to prove rationalism, and once science is "accepted fact" and we all accept things like "round", "sphere", and "Earth" then we assume we have made progress.

But, there is not a single fact that could not be disproved by more evidence. Even "the Earth is round" could be proven to be wrong and we consider it part amorphous-hyperconical-hypertubular in the future, or perhaps we prove scientifically that we live in a simulation/a game and the universe, shapes, Earth, etc. is a simple allusion, comparable to the blocky pixel graphics in old Atari 2600 games.

Please read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis

While it is certainly possible that we understand one or more eternal truths that span all that exists in every dimension and every universe, considering the age, maturity, and abilities of the human race, it is extremely doubtful that we have made much progress or that we ever will. Science is great when approached from the standpoint of wonder and discovery, but it is terrible when it comes to "truth". Don't believe me? There is a whole religion devoted to the belief system that many are infected or affected by aliens (Scientology); many accept that this faith is based on a science fiction novel a.k.a. fiction, but many believe it is true. In the same way, many are convinced that science has elucidated truths, even though we don't know that it has or ever will. Yet, you accept science as truth in part. That is an irrational belief because the only way to accept it as rational is to have faith that it is rational. Rationalism is nothing without faith, but faith exists without rationalism.

At some point I'm going to give up using what everyone else uses. That will solve this problem once and for all, because no one will know or probably care what I'm using.

If we look at the history of science, most things that we held as fact many years ago are now considered either totally false or at least marred by misunderstanding or lack of data.

Extrapolated that means that almost all of our current scientific beliefs will be "proven" false or at least considered marred by misunderstanding or lack of data at some point in the future.

Humans can not understand everything, and they never will.

The difference is that in the 1990s, we went from having mostly isolated networks to mostly open networks using standard protocols. We also have introduced an incredible surface of attack via email, site browsing, USB sticks, etc. And provided GPS locations of ourselves. It is not the same. We are a time bomb.

So... here's the thing. "Cyberwarfare" is primarily data theft/information control but can also involve real danger like control of electrical grids, water supplies, and centrifuges for highly radioactive materials, to mention a few. Sure, information warfare has been going on a long time, and, sure, each major country does it.

But, when the world economy is teetering/has teetered and it's not clear how things will pan out, that is when wars start.

Now add to that that introduction of new disruptive technology is soon after used in war, and you have a problem that can't be whitewashed with a post like this.

Think about aviation. When I hear aviation, I think of the Wright Brothers- but what's next? Commercial flight? No, I think of bi-planes, the Red Baron, the use of aviation in the military, and war. The time period between the flight by the Wright Brothers in December 17, 1903 to the start of World War I on July 28, 1914 was 11 years. 11 years! Aviation didn't spawn world war, but you have to know that it contributed its part.

Think about the race for the bomb. And, what did we do when we finally had the technology? We dropped two of them.

It's sad to say, but the use of internet technology by the military is inevitable. The U.S. isn't trying to start a fight by identifying that China has state-sponsored attacks on American businesses. The fact is that even though we still somewhat live in a Cold war era (it never really ended) and to large extent, no one wants to see another bomb go off, the fact is, this shit is real. There is a power struggle on Earth and we've been a part of it since we were born. The internet binds us all together and helps us communicate our thoughts, fears, etc. and I want no part of a world war. But this "new war" has been in-progress for some time now and people have learned its ways and are using them. These little events like publically identifying centrifuges going down or that China is truly state-sponsoring attacks might not be Normandy or Gettysberg, but saying these are non-events is no better than hiding your head under the covers.

Agree, but would add that sometimes the reason you hate the job is in part because there are some other factors. I used to completely deny that my problems with work were anything other than my sucky job. Then I switched jobs, and the problems didn't go away. Here are some things that cause problems that can make a job (good or bad) seem terrible:

* Depression - maybe a parent died, maybe you had someone hurt you (mentally), maybe you just feel like you can't escape your profession but have no idea what else you could do, maybe you can't even find a way to function properly

* Being overweight- even if you aren't obese, some people have more adverse effects than others and doctors will gloss it over saying you are "within normal range"

* Sleep problems- sleep apnea - do the breathe right strips, sleep study, CPAP (greatest chance of working, but didn't work for me), dental appliance, and several made-for-T.V. products that don't work. Axe all caffeine, then you feel like you can't concentrate, etc.

* Attention issues- whether you've got ADD, ADHD, other executive processing or other processing issues, it really sucks. If you feel like you're doing all you can, you can try to just write down the items you need to do that are immediate vs. not, you can add sites you need to ignore to /etc/hosts to point at localhost, etc. but if you have some of these issues, you just aren't going to do what others do. Just switching jobs may put you into an even worse position.

* Past history- some people have really awful family situations. Unfortunately when you grow up in a toxic environment, you may have to work 1000x times harder and may just have to accept that you'll always have that pain and just have to manage it.

So, WTF are you supposed to do? Don't give up. Do try to work on the issues, and looking for another job is good. Try to fix the health stuff. Do what you can to enforce healthy behavior, but don't do diets- you will lose weight maybe even for months, and then you'll be even more overweight. Find some way to exercise that you like and doesn't make you uncomfortable. Hang out with friends and do things that you enjoy, and if you can, try to get better at them. No matter what it is, there is a chance you could make a business out of it, or at least a fun hobby. Just don't hurt yourself or anyone else doing it.

Anyway- I still dislike what I do. But I know eventually things will get better, and I know how to get better. It's just a matter of doing it.

Thanks for the tl;dr. The type was too small for me, so I couldn't read it, and I didn't feel like making it bigger. I know that sounds lazy, but there is a reason most sites don't have small type.

Any modern operating system that allows open development fits the bill. I think what the OP is saying is that he would settle for having it run on top of Linux, but I'd bet that he wants the core written as (or even interpreted by) a Python interpreter, so that everything from drivers to applications could be written in Python. Wouldn't we all?

I've been wanting the same for Ruby, which I think is superior to Python in its syntax, clarity, and readability. I'd settle for a Ruby interpreter in every browser.

However, first, I'd like to see Firefox OS succeed. The idea behind it is better: take the most well-used web development language (client-side) and make it also the same language for writing applications (client-side). The only things missing are being able to write lower-level drivers using Javascript (not just having to hack atop Android) and for all of the server (not just Node) to be Javascript.

There is a reason that what is usually used to write OS's is basically C (or some variation), though. C is an intelligible and useful language that can be portable across architectures. C, Javascript, Python, Ruby, Java, etc. are all very similar when compared with assembly or machine code. C has the advantage of allowing more flexibility in memory management. So, I just don't see Python as an language used to develop an OS.

As for whether it makes sense to develop the appearance of everything being in Python so that kids can hack it up: you'd be better off introducing them to Scratch, Lego Mindstorms, the Arduino and have them participate in Science Olympiads. There is no modern equivalent of what we grew up with.

Sleeping from 5-midnight is taking the "early to bed, early to rise" thing a little too seriously. Napoleon woke at 4am each morning to get the jump on everyone else, but that didn't help him in the end.

I think that the most natural thing is to (1) sleep when it gets dark and wake when it's light, and (2) not live to close to the parts of the world where that doesn't work because of the length of days and nights.

This is the important part to read:

"While I was in Thailand I got a dotted line tattooed across my wrist as a reminder of all those who didn't get another day, who all would I'm sure do anything to have just a little more time. I got the cut here line tattooed on my wrist to remind myself that if I ever don't fully appreciate the opportunity that I have and the life ahead of me, then I don't deserve it and it can easily be taken away. To me it's a very positive reminder, with a dark but real truth behind it."

Nice! Was just talking about my own personal experience. I'm sure that people that delt with mainframes talked about them being "down" when terminals weren't working. In the mid 90s I remember talking with my parents and them not knowing what a server was, but by ~2001 my dad at least probably knew about a website being "down".

The peculiar nouns "-osity" thing was not originally a hacker thing. Discounting other unnecessary word endings being introduced to the public at large by the Fonz in Happy Days when he continually added the "-omundo" to the end of things, the "-osity" type of adjective -> noun mutilation may have been picked up from surfer/Cali talk, introduced into the mainstream by movies such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Spicoli) and later by Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Pauli Shore (on MTV and then in really bad movies).

By the same token terms like "barf" and "bogus" were just popular terms in the very early 80s because of all of the California influence.

Of all of these, the ones that look most familiar for the time that really have little to do with popular culture of the time were: BITBLT (just because I remember seeing it and thought "what the hell"), crash (mid to later 80s when used the first Macs), and down (which wasn't really used much until the 90s, because when you couldn't connect to a BBS or Compuserve, etc. - which almost was never the case to my memory - you just couldn't connect, and prior to modems there was no connection- just cassette tapes and eventually floppies - and no I did not have a card machine :) and I didn't see a minicomputer with a huge-ass 8 inch floppy until my first network admin job in the 90s).

Basically, the majority of this is "bogus". ;)

China is no stranger to affecting the health of their population through gross negligence. Ever hear of the Plasma Economy?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_Economy

But in all fairness, you could point to similar tragedies around the world. How about Greece's government leading its people to believe it would take care of their health, and failing: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-10/greek-public-health...

You have now twice posted what I posted.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5256830

I should thank you for your promotion of it! ;)

If this guy got kicked off a flight for taking a single picture with his iPhone, and he did not cause any other problems, then he deserves to be able to post what he did, and United deserves to be scolded for its ridiculous policies that its pilot and GS dutifully followed. A service mentality is needed.

It reminds me of an experience I had recently at Best Buy. I bought an item and immediately after paying for it, before picking it up off the sales counter, I noticed that the end of the box had been untaped and opened, so I asked if I could exchange it for another. The cashier said, "I'm sorry but you'll have to exchange it at the service desk." I argued and was able to exchange it, but was flabbergasted.

In Computer Science, at least, outside of teaching, a Ph.D and a masters for that matter is required for only a small percentage of positions, and here's some evidence: http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends?q=%22computer+science%22+and...

Relative graph to assure you that the dip at the end is just due to less data collected recently: http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends?q=%22computer+science%22+and...

I have only would have wanted to apply for one position in my life so far that required a Ph.D, and that company did not end up doing well. I also managed a Ph.D before (from China) and, in my opinion, he was no more productive than others on the team that had neither Masters or Ph.D. That doesn't prove anything, I know. But, although I have a lot of respect for education, I don't think it is worth it typically.

Someone's going to have a nice meal for two or be ringing two incredibly large attention bells: http://btlondon2012.co.uk/pano.html?view.hlookat=-56.2662...

At least if she's wearing Google Glass, it will maybe look like she's looking at you and paying attention, even though she won't be.

But I totally understand. The good thing is that many non-chemical addictions, like internet addiction, can be easily beaten.

And, it might not be as bad as you think. Part of what is perceived as "internet addiction" at night is due to the blue light from the screens keeping us awake, according to a study I read: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Let...

I think e-ink without backlighting and incandescent lights in the home or carefully chosen warm light LEDs (with as little blue light as possible) is the way to go for nighttime use.

Conversely, blue light is good during the day; you need it to avoid depression http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder... , and certain blue wavelengths have actually been associated with an increase in intelligence: http://realdoctorstu.com/2011/05/23/blue-lights-shown-to-giv...

Just avoid blue light starting about 45 minutes before you go to bed, and tell your girlfriend how you feel.

"Google are pushing crap"

Is Google plural?

Will the deals already bought still be valid if they go under?