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sharpn

1,574 karma · joined February 14, 2009

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sharpn··on Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?
LinkedIn & MySpace
sharpn··on I'm reading the FT and WSJ from 100 years ago each week leading to 1929
check out the Russell 3000 Index - that might be better
sharpn··on Build a house for less than $5000
Reminds me of a Tony & Faith Wrench, who have done similar things a few times in West Wales: http://thatroundhouse.info/ Interesting couple.
sharpn··on Ask HN: What documentaries are worth watching?
I loved Fermat's Last Theorum: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8269328330690408516#

And the recent 'Senna' for both capturing the passions involved.

sharpn··on Real-time map of Dutch rail traffic
Someone posted a similar thing for the London Underground from Matthew Somerville about 2 years ago here (can't find the hn link):

http://traintimes.org.uk/map/tube/

sharpn··on A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
I haven't read the book, but the more I learn about the Stoics (far beyond the simplistic modern definition of the word), the more I concur with you. I'm still a weekend Epicurean though :)
sharpn··on Tell HN: Uptick in mean-spirited comments
I have a suggestion: after first creating an account, users could be redirected to the 'guidelines' page. That might help frame the tone of subsequent comments.
sharpn··on Tips on giving a big speech
If you find making eye contact unnerving, look directly at the gap between a person's eyebrows whilst speaking - to them it's indistinguishable from actual eye contact.
sharpn··on Why didn’t people in finance pay attention to Benoit Mandelbrot?
That would be Taleb & Universa (the true extent of whose success has been questioned, fwiw)
sharpn··on Please support Saeed - Web Dev facing death sentence in Iran
Sorry to hear that. I've contacted Amnesty's International Secretariat to see if they can help.
sharpn··on Gift HN: Anybody want a subdomain of ww.com?
Thanks!
sharpn··on Gift HN: Anybody want a subdomain of ww.com?
Dank vriend, goede karma aan u! I'd like 'tst.ww.com' but I can't tell if it's free (seems parked/squatted, but maybe not). My domain is www.tstw.co.uk - don't know my dns off hand but can find it if needed & will email you this post.
sharpn··on Internet Explorer falls below 50% market share
and they had a road-side billboard near my house recently. Clearly going after the IE6 demographic :)
sharpn··on Coding Horror: YouTube vs. Fair Use
No, brazzy is correct - sorry if that wasn't clear. The game was in South Africa, but I filmed a live screening of it in Mexico - a shot of the screen & stage as a goal was scored, then pan to the (Mexican) crowd reaction. I wasn't complaining it was blocked, I was (hopefully) giving colour to the original assertion & conveying how quickly the obscured 'owner' was identified. I understood this was as a result of a 'safe harbour' ruling, but I guess dmoney's point about YouTube's 'partners' also played a part. [edit] corrected attribution.
sharpn··on Coding Horror: YouTube vs. Fair Use
I had a similar experience, but the matching success was even more surprising:

I uploaded a home made video of a world cup goal as seen from a plaza screening the game. Loads of crowd noise, AND a big chunk of the video did not have the screen visible (though I guess the commentator could be heard). About 20 minutes later I got a similar email saying FIFA had claimed the rights & the clip is now restricted in some countries. I guess they could have data mined from the title etc., but that's still damn quick for a live broadcast match.

sharpn··on Hackers accidentally give Microsoft their code
But are crackers who are stupid enough to hit 'send' representative of crackers in general? I'd guess not.
sharpn··on Ask HN: Finance degree without the degree?
working through examples/models/etc:

http://www.exinfm.com/free_spreadsheets.html

sharpn··on Ask a real musician: opera singer dissects top 5 metal singers
Alexander Pope disagreed:

"True ease of writing comes through art, not chance,

As he moves best who learns the steps of dance,

'Tis not enough no harshness cause offence,

The sound must seem an echo of the sense"

Learn the rules, then maybe break them.

sharpn··on Ask HN: Presenting or explaining past illness in a job application
If you mention it at all, I suggest being bold - under a heading of 'Other Achievements' include a brief sentence about overcoming the illness - alongside any sporting success or open source work etc. This frames the illness as (ultimately) a success, rather than as a weakness. Hope you find the right job.
sharpn··on [dead]
No-one comes out of this well. Good cautionary tale.
sharpn··on If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
No apology needed - thanks for the clarification.
sharpn··on If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
There are many fields (for example media, PR, some civil service positions) where communication is the primary skill being assessed - written in the CV & spoken in the interview. If you have a non-maths written component to your interview, you're being judged on your communication skills/literacy.

I agree there is often something else required too - but not always in a 'first' or 'graduate' position.

sharpn··on If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
You've really never seen anyone hired primarily for their communication skills?
sharpn··on The Acceleration of Addictiveness
In answer to your question, possibly not, but it boils down to a shift from passively absorbing a primetime broadcast & actively consuming either:

i) The same thing, but at a time of your own choosing, or:

ii) Only niche programmes of interest to you.

Or some combination of the two. Either way, mediocre programmes are less likely to occupy your time.

sharpn··on The Acceleration of Addictiveness
I agree with the main thrust of this essay, but there are nuances & counter-examples that make me more optimistic: For example, a nuance: More people are giving up television, magazines & newspapers than ever before - perhaps we (as humans) have a finite need of/tolerance for distractions, and are satisfying this need/reaching this tolerance more efficiently via the internet now? A counter-example (on the increase in 'hardness' of society's addictions): The Finns (and others) originally did not have practical access to alcohol, so they took locally available hallucinogens (and saw santa!). Then vodka, and later beer became affordable, so they now largely drink these instead - ie. the move is not inevitably one-way (see also various temperance movements). Also Hogarth chronicled Britain's descent into gin excess, but although this seemed overwhelming and permanent at the time, it was relatively brief.

In short: humans have always adapted better than predicted to change - so far.

sharpn··on Quantum Psychology & The Word "Is": Better Living Through Improved Diction
Interesting, but I'm not convinced the examples support the argument. English uses 'is' to refer to a permanent characteristic or a temporary state, depending on context. Other languages have two separate words (e.g. Spanish with 'estar' & 'es'). If the context is unclear, or you want to introduce clarity, say 'John is being grumpy' - rather than 'John is grumpy' - if you want to convey that John's surly mood is temporary or uncharacteristic. Avoiding the word 'is' often just makes communication needlessly long-winded.

Wave theory vs Particle theory is another matter - both are models that have acknowledged drawbacks, neither 'is'.

I do agree with the meta-point that trained clarity of expression can induce clarity of thought & is therefore worthwhile.

sharpn··on How can a website cost £35 million? You’d better ask the government
Not very, in my experience. Although they were very helpful on exporting goods, every other question I had was either answered incorrectly (!) or met with 'we can't give legal/accounting advice' - which is understandable but I did tell them my questions beforehand so they could have avoided a wasted meeting.

They then tried to persuade me to use a particular SEO company - so I left.

sharpn··on Mike Lee on why he can charge $1,000/hr for iPhone development
Fair enough then. I only came across the post through this site & couldn't see anything to substantiate his claims, but I guess they're a given.
sharpn··on Mike Lee on why he can charge $1,000/hr for iPhone development
There are no testimonials on his website. Just saying.
sharpn··on Share with HN: A good movie recommendation engine
Very good matches when found, and excellent clear descriptions to justify the match. If this is driven by algorithm, it's brilliant. Slow & incomplete, but hey it's beta. Bookmarked - thanks for posting.

[edit] - just read the 'about us' page & it's not an algorithm. It's compiled by video store clerks, hence the name (doh).

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