keyboardhitter

Former Racker here, while I wouldn't agree all of their techs are amazing, what I liked about working there was the vast amount of knowledge spread between teams - coupled with Texan kindness and hospitality. Generally speaking any answer I needed I could get from a phone call or a few IMs.

Working there was a great learning experience, and I met a ton of super intelligent, motivated people from the Austin office.

But, all good things come to an end. Early 2015 I noticed talent being pushed towards newer offerings (e.g. Azure support), which made the typical, aging, "Linux support for small to medium business on bare metal machines" not so 'fanatical' anymore. People started to jump ship because the force behind the changes. It was a tough transition and probably still is; so I'm not really surprised that the layoffs are continuing.

In any case, I appreciate your compliment and I'm glad you have had a good time with the company.

One can dislike advertisements without being offended by them.

> Most of my content has a universal appeal by design.

Maybe you've just gotten used to this idea? It is possible your data is vastly different from other individuals, even if it appears universal on the surface. It is very easy to feel exempt from scrutiny if one thinks their data is only included into "safe" or "popular" categories or topics.

(Not entirely related, but this type of uncertainty helped me rationalize the deletion of my Facebook account.)

Hyperion

Reading this book is a nice way to step into another universe for a while.

It is a good point, I guess my assumption was this would be a lesser chance than it happening at Google. In any case, they have been reliable as an email host, so I am grateful for that. I wanted to suggest another option; not a perfect option.

I suggest runbox.com.

https://runbox.com/why-runbox/email-privacy/

I feel it's important to mention that not all drug users are addicts. So where is the line between 'drug user' and 'problematic addict' being drawn here? ...Are you conflating the two?

There are so many situations in which someone might illegally use drugs.

For instance, I self-medicate with various substances. I've gotten great relief over the years with ketamine, lsd, and mdma. I learned how to administer drugs in a safe and cautious manner. I have never been arrested, nor had any major social conflict, while under the influence.

With your approach, I should be sought after and sentenced.

Interesting

> and if people die while using them it's not like we didn't give them enough fucking warning.

Who is "we"?

And do you actually think that "warning" is the main contributor in avoiding addiction and dependance on drugs?

Your comment reads as if your opinion is common knowledge. Can you elaborate?

I like the description of types of daydreaming. I find myself to be more productive when my daydreaming is, as they put it, "positive constructive" daydreaming. e.g. imagining my goals for the future and what fun I could have, thinking about how I'll grow as a person and how I might reflect on myself after having grown each year. The more I think about these things the 'lighter' I feel.

I suffer from PTSD. When I first started allowing myself to think about my dreams in a positive light, I would distract myself or cut myself off mentally with the excuse that 'Those daydreams aren't real enough. There's no point.' And I would quickly divulge back into negativity.

Because of trauma it can be easy to feel that negativity is what I 'deserve', which leaves a sense of futility that I desperately want to overcome. In searching for some balance, I discovered the same is true about (again, using their term) "guilty-dysphoric" daydreaming: it's not necessarily representative of facts or absolute truth in my life, even if it does feel more real. By reminding myself of this and practicing mindfulness (focusing on the present moment) I'm able to pull out of bad daydreams and flashbacks a lot faster.

Anyways, I don't know if there is one answer for the title of this article - I think that it is just clickbait. But to humor it, I know personally my 'default mode' might gravitate towards suffering because of trauma. But I also know I have a lot of room to change if I am patient enough, while new neural pathways/networks are formed.

Well, I don't think interviews are always about answering something correctly. It might just be nice to have an applicant's opinion on x y and z, to spark conversation, gain some insight into their personality and what is important to them, etc. In my opinion, discussions like that can be invaluable: sure, someone might have all the technical answers correct, and if so that is great. But humans are more complex than just being right or wrong. It's also good to see if the candidate has a similar view on the role they would be fulfilling.

This comment adds nothing to the conversation - please stop. This is not /pol/.

I agree with this, the simplest solution is often the best, and then work on it until it is elegant. In the visual arts, i use the same line of thought when i am turning a sketch into a full painting, for comparison.

I agree that it would help with a better understanding. I can't help but wonder why aspiring sysadmins and programmers DO NOT have immediate interest in such things? To me it just 'made sense' and 'clicked' almost immediately. Maybe I learned from a different angle, but it seems obvious to me to want to learn these things (C and Linux fundamentals, I mean).

Maybe you would prefer this, it explains new measures they will be taking for QA instead of just the battery-centric infographic https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-announces-new-and-en...

> an apparent perception of easing symptons might just as well be another symptom

Placebo effects are not exclusive to those with mental illness

You should read this article and discussion. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13164925

"Sane Thinking about Mental Health Issues" - it discusses the phenomenon where in some cultures 'getting professional help' before reaching out to friends or family is absolutely necessary, and that 'abnormal' mental health related feelings should not be shared or discussed.

Your comment reminded me of that attitude. Maybe it would be enlightening for you to read about other perspectives

Small typo on the loading screen, "If it's taking to long" should use 'too'

Adding onto this, I prefer to research this kind of web content with a VPN or public internet that isn't associated with my ISP. Paranoid, sure. But the less personally identifying information involved in these transactions, the better.

I got laid off recently. I took two weeks vacation; one week to see some friends in a place I love, and one week just to myself, to get all the errands done that I never had time for when working at the demanding startup job. My mind wandered far in vacation land, and it felt great. Yet, I felt my conscience nagging me.

Because of that little mosquito-like feeling, I suspect that if I vacationed any longer, I wouldn't be doing my best in interviews now. To each their own, I suppose. The writer's long term suggestion really surprised me. Maybe I'm missing out on a feeling of true detachment and serenity? Hmmm.

Sharing your experience is a great idea. But I can see your concern with blogging it. Maybe just write in a physical notebook instead?

I wonder if Zuckerberg would be helping with the current white house initiative, or if he wants to deploy his own 'free' internet?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/09/21/new-steps-deliver...

> I'm not exageratting... I've never met a caucasian person who's been arrested for marijuana posession. Never.

You can meet one now, on HN! I was arrested in 2011 for having ~3 grams of marijuana in rural Maryland. I am Caucasian. Got cavity searched and sat in jail for about 18 hours. Without going into too much detail, the charges were still dropped - apparently the police officer who arrested me had a bad track record of illegally detaining people. (It is questionable if my race had anything to do with their willingness to drop charges of course, but that is a totally different discussion.)

In any case, I wonder if this would have happened to me if MD had passed their decriminalization laws earlier? I've since moved to Washington State.

Cold water on the face stimulates the vagus nerve. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagus_nerve#Vagus_nerve_stimul...

> - tried melantonin, calming teas, etc etc, bullshit, money wates

Melatonin, while not effective for everyone, should not be grouped together with "bullshit money wastes" in my opinion.

> Guys, be grateful for your lives and go out and speak with people, one day this magic substance might be found, but I am more convinced that it will come from machine/human merger that from substances. Good or bad, that is the most likely future.

This is a very positive outlook, but bear in mind how reality changes for people who are deprived of sleep. As I'm sure you know it becomes a state of desperation. So while you may not want foreign stuff / substances in your body, others are definitely willing to make the sacrifice, even if that doesn't mean good sleep indefinitely. Other people may be willing to be dependent on substances in order to feel rested, for example. Myself included.

> I am more convinced that it will come from machine/human merger that from substances. Good or bad, that is the most likely future.

Curious, what kind of machine/human concept are you thinking of?

> At some point you have to step back and question the narrative that's being pushed. There is not, and never has been anything stopping women from learning to code. All you need is a computer, an internet connection and self motivation.

I think the narrative is more focused on women being treated differently (whether that is intentional or not) in existing social / work settings in the industry. I did not get the impression this article was referring to learning, but perhaps I missed those points.

Yes... I came into this thread wanting to comment about how I relate strongly to Jules, but then was disheartened at the many comments diminishing these experiences. Oh well. the "DGAF" attitude mentioned at the bottom of the article works wonders for worrying about things like HN ;)

Unnecessary comment. This might be a better question / discussion for Reddit. My two cents - it's akin to using "Agreed." True, that can be vague at times, but this is no reason to be passive-aggressive against what you perceive as "young people".

Just began reading and got sucked in for two hours - great work here, Pieter.

Agreed, but those who answer in detail should be mindful of if their handle or user description correlates or links to their business.

Thank you for this link. this seems right up my alley - I'm trying to avoid being an uninformed critic. i've had bad experiences in my life with psychiatry, been in and out of the system since i was 12 and witnessed a LOT of ... let's say bad practices. do you have any other suggested reading / sites for someone in my position?