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researcher11

196 karma · joined February 14, 2017

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researcher11··on Ask HN: What do you want to see in Ubuntu 17.10?
I don't like the direction they're going and I'm certain giving them more money won't change it.

It's in the ~$100Ks. I usually pay people directly to build things I think the world needs and then have them give it away.

I'm not here to brag and I'd like to stay anonymous so I'm going retire this HN account now.

researcher11··on Ask HN: What do you want to see in Ubuntu 17.10?
Pretty much. It's probably worth $6K at replacement cost today. It's for deep learning and I included what I spent on it and I've refreshed the 4 GPUs once. The current config is probably still good for a couple of years. Now if I need more GPUs I'll just get a second box. The irony is that I graphics power coming out of my ears yet I spend most of my time in vim and tmux.
researcher11··on Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years
It's via friends I made in SF. If you want to do something similar I'd recommend doing a long stint in SF first. Get any job you can and then switch once you know some people. I try to keep anonomous in general so no portfolio.
researcher11··on Ask HN: What do you want to see in Ubuntu 17.10?
I think most people are unaware of Mir vs Wayland and the issues that Ubuntu using Mir will cause. I only know about it because I was thinking about building a tiling window manager (because I'm weird like that).

I think there is a good chance that Mir will be technically inferior to Wayland and a better chance that Ubuntu UI designers will reinvent the user experience from a phone perspective.

researcher11··on Ask HN: What do you want to see in Ubuntu 17.10?
FLAVOR: Ubuntu Desktop

HEADLINE: Dump Mir!!!!!

DESCRIPTION: I know Canonical has put a lot of effort into Mir and at this stage it is probably "too big to fail". But for various reasons my bet is that it will fail. I think this is Canonical repeating Microsoft's Metro mistake. I have a $12K dollar desktop and I don't want an OS optimized for phones !!! I will be able to avoid it but I would rather your engineering effort was better placed.

ROLE/AFFILIATION: Software Engineer / Data Scientist

researcher11··on Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years
If I had $10M I'd move back to Sydney. It's a nicer city. I do data science / machine learning and for work there is no comparison, SF is where it is at. I had to leave SF because I wanted to be a contractor and none of the visa options would allow it. I have recently moved on to a cheap tax haven (Boquete Panama) where I work remotely and get paid the same. My margins are so good here that I only have to work 1-2 days a month. I'm quazi retired at 31 and could never go back to normal working. I get to be very picky about what I work on and spend a lot of my time studying things that I'm interested in. I highly recommend this lifestyle to others.
researcher11··on Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years
The banks think they'll be bailed out. Maybe not in a US way with direct cash injection but maybe in an EU way with the government creating a Bad Bank and buying their mistakes at above market rates. Of course they'll lie about it and say it's a good investment to sell it to the public.

Everyone who has money is beholden to the banks.

researcher11··on Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years
I escaped that ponzi scheme 10 years ago and moved to way more affordable San Francisco. It was cheaper then and still is.
researcher11··on Australia hasn't had a recession for over 25 years
HA! I did the same thing.
researcher11··on Telstra’s Gigabit Class LTE Network
Rain
researcher11··on Launch HN: Boxouse (YC W17) – Shipping-container homes
That is interesting. I had no idea. I already had my reasons for not liking Warren Buffet but this was new to me.
researcher11··on Launch HN: Boxouse (YC W17) – Shipping-container homes
Guys; I like the idea but your prices are too high. You're in the decent trailer price range.

The big advantage of a shipping container is the ability to cheaply ship it. Once you cut into it you can't ship it anymore. It's not a great use of recycled material as it uses way too much steel for a dwelling.

I'm actually in the market for a shippable shipping container house. Similar to https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sPgjndFqqwY . He gives the quote of $50K including high quality fittings and market price labor. I will probably build one myself then ship it to where I need it. I'm an expat and I historically move countries every year or so. If you were to build a clone of this I would buy it.

Another benefit of shippable shipping container homes is you can service customers anywhere around the globe! Not just SF.

researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
It's per year. Panama is more expensive than many areas of the US but the lifestyle is subjectively better. Plus you don't go broke trying to pay for medical coverage or treatment. And there is no tax on foreign sources of income.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
This thread is in the context of a major economic downturn. Many @ 65 are not set up as defensively to survive one.

Counters to your example would be modern day Detroit, modern day Greece, and the Weimar Republic.

researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
What is stereotypical and divorced from reality are the things you are missing.

The economy is structured as a ponzi scheme. The ponzi scheme will collapse and many unsympathetic boomers will go broke.

To take your interest rate example. Prices are inversely correlated to interest rates. If you buy when interest rates are high (low prices) and sell when interest rates are low (high prices) then you benefit enormously. Since interest rates are pretty much as low as they can go then there is no upside left for millennials. Only downside. I, like many millennials, wish for much much higher interest rates. Low interest rates are another wealth transfer from those with earnings (millennials) to those with capital (boomers).

I do not suggest that all millennial complaints are valid. I'm simply saying that they shouldn't be dismissed with technological handwaving. The hidden message in the complaints is that we're in this together. The ponzi scheme economy hurts all of us.

researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
With lawyers. It cost me $8K and took 6 months. $3K of that was for a company and bank account.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
I have a $20K passive income of and living expenses of $10K. My hobbies are really cheap and centered around building skills. Programming / construction / sports. I do miss my friends in SF though. That's the biggest downside. I've been trying to encourage more to come down.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
Pensions are the first to go. They already are in many places. Taxpayers will be unable to bail them out. If you think being 20 with a shitty job is bad then consider being 65 with no savings or income whatsoever.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
It is so perfectly stereotypical and dicorced from reality part of me thought it was a joke.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
I think the social penalty of a young man dropping out is lower than a young women because their perceived social value is much lower. It is a lower height to fall from.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
I'm in rual Panama. It's probably the best for tax and lifestyle reasons.
researcher11··on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality
I dropped out and retired at 31 to a third world country. I'm going to study whatever I'm interested in while the economy sorts itself out. I may never re-enter the job maket. I'm ok with that. I'm not rich but it's really cheap here. I don't want to be forced into a rental market or stock market. The jobs don't pay enough and the margins are too thin. The risk is too high and all of my statistical modeling is telling me that the debt fueled market ends in tears. Good luck with that. Count me out. Don't blame me if you can't find someone to help you build software.
researcher11··on Imperial Airship Scheme
There might still be potential for future ultra heavy lift airships for niche transports of things heavier than 20 tons, bulkier than 40x9x9', and destinations lacking in an airport.

I'd say the major problem is that the niche may be too small to amortize construction cost across a big enough fleet. A reduction in global poverty may be able to increase demand to make the niche market big enough to be viable. For now we wait.

researcher11··on Inventors and the invention: The Rolling Fluid Turbine
I think the disruptive aspect is not the efficiency but in how cheap it is (or could be - I'm assuming it will be). It looks like something I could fabricate in my workshop.

The ability to work with low head and with dirty water means installation and maintenance would be way cheaper as well. People who DIY hyrdo power often complain about the constant cleaning and maintenance required. This thing looks like it could easily swallow small sticks and rocks with little to no damage The plug thingy looks like it would be cheap to replace if it was ever damaged. There are no blades to break or nozzle to clog.

The rotation appears pretty slow which I presume would lower the gear reduction needed and make that aspect cheaper as well.

It sounded pretty quiet as well so you could build it closer to your house. DIY hyrdo is often really noisy.

There is a crazy amount of hydro potential near where I live but they have banned dams. Corrupt construction companies were trying to extract money out of the area without giving any of it to the locals so the locals banned them for 'ecology' reasons. Something like this would enable locals to install their own hyrdo generators on the year round streams that run through their properties.

researcher11··on Study: Immigrants Founded 51% of U.S. Billion-Dollar Startups
As much as I'd like to see it happen the Trump admistration has stated that H1B reform is not a priority. I doubt anything will come of it. Just more bait and switch.
researcher11··on I had an autoimmune disease, then the disease had me (2013)
That's what I'm doing; it's just taking time to get here. ETA one more weeks.
researcher11··on I had an autoimmune disease, then the disease had me (2013)
This is next on my list if LDN doesn't work.
researcher11··on I had an autoimmune disease, then the disease had me (2013)
What about LDN? I know I'm sounding like a broken record / shill here. I've not had the chance to try it as it's not available in my country. But it's available in the US as prescription as off label and compounding chemists can often refer you to a dr that will prescribe it. I'm even considering flying to the US to try it.
researcher11··on I had an autoimmune disease, then the disease had me (2013)
AFAIK the latest on CFS is that it is autoimmune. Also thyroid conditions often goes into remission so negative tests don't necessarily mean there is was nothing there. And yes both can be triggered by stress (as in my case of fixed Graves and current CFS) but I don't think lifestyle and lower stress is necessarily sufficient for everyone to improve. Effectively retiring wasnt sufficient for me. I think there is a multifaceted brain / microbiota axis but I'm still researching and experimenting. LDN will be my next experiment.
researcher11··on I had an autoimmune disease, then the disease had me (2013)
I have CFS/ME which I manage to about 60% normal. It's not enough and like many I'm doing enough to continue existing but nothing more. My next experiment is Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) which sadly had to be bought illegally over the Internet so it's taking a long time to get. Has anyone here tried this? Did it work?
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