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pktm

68 karma · joined September 17, 2010

Founder, PocketMac terenceg [at] pocketmac [dot] net
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pktm··on Why isn’t New Zealand richer and more productive?
I'm reminded of "Fiddler on a Roof": "It's no great shame to be poor, but it's no great honor, either."
pktm··on Ask HN: How can I talk to people about death without freaking them out?
Hang out with Buddhists. Seriously.
pktm··on Webcam spying goes mainstream as Miss Teen USA describes hack
IIRC, that is how it is with Macs. I've no idea about other brands/hardware though.
pktm··on Open Source "Coca-Cola"
Yes, please do.

I'm a homebrewer, but have never gotten into soda. I would be very interested in your results.

pktm··on Ask HN: Twilio/Plivo style service that supports MMS?
Try mogreet.com.
pktm··on Poll: What Internet slang are you most annoyed by?
"Meta," as an adjective and not, say, a prefix.

Bad: "That show is so meta."

Good: "Let's look at the metadata to make sure our tables are really well-structured."

pktm··on Ask HN: Founders on Different Continents?
I've done this before, though admittedly, we were already off the ground when my situation changed and I got the opportunity to live overseas.

I'd advise setting up your business wherever it is easiest (tax-wise, work-visa wise, etc.) to do so, provided one of you plans to remain there for the duration.

I personally found this arrangement to be wonderful. I was able to have the first part of the day for language lessons and such, then come home and work on the business in the afternoons/evenings. However, my business partner found it tough to schedule calls and such. (He's also my brother, so it's not easy to tease out the various possible factors here.)

Anyway, the short version of all that is: don't let geography keep you from this project. That's what Skype, vonage, emails, etc. are for.

pktm··on Your eyes get damages from computers. Finally, here comes a hero!
What's the science behind this? Obviously, like (nearly?) everyone else here, I make my living staring at a screen and if it's damaging my eyes, I'd like to know about that.

Similarly, does anyone have a pair of these lenses? Any good? Do your eyes feel any difference?

pktm··on Ask HN: Asking what you did wrong in an interview?
I frequently 'name a price'; that is, I disclose my current salary without remembering that it locks me in for later negotiation.
pktm··on Ask HN: List of Revenue Models?
Thanks for all of the great ideas!

I'll pore over these lists and keep brainstorming how each of them might apply to the idea.

pktm··on Give HN: domain names
I'd like googleisfunny if that's still available. Thanks!
pktm··on Microsoft code contains the phrase 'big boobs' ... Yes, really
This is hardly the worst thing I've ever seen in source code - mine or others'. Heck, I had a developer once send me something where the "placeholder" image was a dog turd.

Surely this can't be worth all the oh-noes.

pktm··on Warren Buffett, hypocrite
I'm not convinced that, in his role as BH's CEO, stalling on paying BH's taxes makes him a hypocrite vice wanting to pay more personally.

As a CEO, his goals and responsibilities are almost certain to be different (and/or opposed) to his goals for himself.

And in the end, is this not just a base tu quoque fallacy? (His argument about the wealthy is false because he himself...)

pktm··on Ask HN: What should I do with my wildduck.ca domain?
Private/bespoke hunting trips, perhaps? I know that in the southern US at least, private land owners rent out a small cabin to hunters during duck season. I imagine there's a wider market for arranging such things that doesn't depend on knowing a guy who knows a guy.
pktm··on Why don't elevators allow you to toggle whether they stop at a floor?
They do, just not in the US.

This is achieved by again pressing a lit (i.e., previously pressed) floor button throughout many areas of Asia, IIRC.

pktm··on Show HN: iBrewLog
Great, great idea!

A few comments (because this is HN):

- I'd like to see some mention of pricing on the main page. I get that it's (probably) free until you get to some sort of critical mass, but seeing that on the site would still be nice.

- Why no "about", "contact", or "FAQ" style links anywhere, so I could ask about pricing (or anything else)?

- I know this'll sound odd, but honestly, I'd like to see you have at least some modest advertising or something so that you make back your money on this.

- Last but not least, how about some sort of policy statement? Do you own the recipes I post? Do I? Just sayin'.

pktm··on Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$
If I had to guess (and I guess I don't /have/ to), I'd say it's strictly psychological pricing, and is not intended to reflect some sort of idealized exchange rate or the like.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing

pktm··on Vive la Différence: Why American Kids Are Brats
Ok, let's say the author's methodology is flawed. Does that make her larger point invalid? Should we not, as parents, be mindful of our children's manners?

My daughter is starting to develop her vocabulary now, and this article was a good reminder to me that we need to start pushing "please" and "thank you".

pktm··on More $99 HP Tablets
Nope. Still foolishly hopeful.
pktm··on Even my grandmother got immutability
I have to confess that I read this as his grandmother _acquiring_ immutability, the way, say, one might _get_ "+5 health" in a game.

Why you'd want an immutable grandmother, I'll never know.

pktm··on [dead]
As far as I know, it's real people. I have never personally used these services, though I know someone who used similar firms and he was quite pleased with the results.
pktm··on Ask HN: Did anyone hear back from HP/Palm on the developer Touchpads?
I didn't. I don't have any additional information, though. Sorry; I wish I could be more helpful.
pktm··on JSIL: CIL to Javascript Compiler
Full disclosure: I'm a Mac guy.

I don't understand why I'd want this, though I would desperately love to understand why one would. Can anyone help?

Please & thank you.

pktm··on Patent Issued, now what?
Please read my text more carefully. I acknowledge a much with "that ship has sailed".

In any case, though, my original query still stands. I'm not after a philosophy debate, but a brainstorming session - please.

pktm··on Ask HN: What do you do while code is compiling?
Usually, read another post on HN.
pktm··on Ask HN: What startups have you bought things from?
Does kickstarter count?
pktm··on Ask HN: Help, my $150,000 student debt is ruining my life, and my future
I don't know the details of this (sorry!), but I seem to recall reading that the laws were recently changed to allow relief of student debt if the debtor had worked in the public sector, education, etc. for a certain period of time.

Since you're in a bit of a tough spot, and could continue your business efforts on your own time, you might consider seeking a job in those fields.

I hope that helps.

And, for the record, I thought the kickstarter idea was a great one. Certainly, I think you'd have to be quick about it, as that's the sort of thing where it pays to be first to market.

pktm··on Nerd Fort
I'm not looking to appear picky, but please break out the contact info & the address. Right now, prospects are required to thoroughly read the text, even if they're sold and want to sign up right away.

HTH

pktm··on Ask HN: Does a "find me a cheap interantional adventure" service exist?
The only thing I know of like this is Space-A travel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-A) Obviously, if you've never served in the military, this probably isn't that viable, though I do think this is the concept you're after.

You might also inquire with Intrepid Travel (http://www.intrepidtravel.com/) to see if they could help put together something a bit more random for you. I've used them before and been quite pleased.

pktm··on [dead]
Don't a lot of us create throwaway accounts when posting something we don't want associated with us forever? :)
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