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smaug7

436 karma · joined May 20, 2013

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smaug7··on TSMC expected to announce $100B investment in U.S.
This to me is the correct answer. A lot of times in war it's not about logic or reason, it's about emotion and feeling. Throughout Chinese history, a leader is only "legitimate" or dare I say, have the Mandate from Heaven, when they have unified the country under one banner. It is a stain on their authority that there is "rouge" state outside the CCP's control. They will do anything to unify their country for national pride.
smaug7··on Ask HN: What companies have a good work life balance?
do you have examples of companies that are rational and steady?
smaug7··on Ask HN: What companies have a good work life balance?
I'm curious, if you're interviewing at a company, what's the best way to figure out of the lead/team has this balance? What kind of questions could you ask without sounding like you're trying to be lazy?
smaug7··on Ask HN: What companies have a good work life balance?
That's a fair point. I have coworkers with kids but I've noticed the lead is a workaholic (with a child) and that reflects on the rest of the team.
smaug7··on Ask HN: What companies have a good work life balance?
Love this. Can you clarify what a state org is? Do you mean like a tech department within your state government?
smaug7··on Healthcare companies are yanking info from their leadership pages
FWIW, I saw Tim Cook in Pac Heights a few months back just walking around. There were two "guys" in plain clothes in front and behind him on that Saturday morning. I was able to say "hello" and he was nice. I imagine there are probably others monitoring his security that I couldn't see also.
smaug7··on A new book shows how the power of companies is destabilizing governance
I don't have a specific answer to this as I'm not a trained historian. However, didn't we see this with the invention of the printing press back 500+ years ago? That also dramatically increased knowledge distribution and probably lies and mistruths. How did society handle that?
smaug7··on McKinsey Under Criminal Investigation over Opioid-Related Consulting
This is fundamentally different. Arthur Anderson was an auditing firm and did accounting. Their selling point was to be the "source of truth" for their client's books. What's that confidence is lost, then no one would hire them for their work. McKinsey, as a management consultancy, doesn't have to be a "source of truth" and offers perspective, which can be neither right or wrong. Management makes decisions on if they want to take McKinsey's advice or not.
smaug7··on Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
I used to work for Twitch and built the Custom Live notifications for streamers. It was a relatively straightforward change where we just changed the payload of what the streamers wanted the iOS, Android, email notifications to show. There were some behind-the-scenes work where there is actually a language/curse word check and decisions on if we needed to translate the copy to the receivers local language.

The measurable change was a 30-60% increase in the notification CTR and resulted in hundreds of millions of incremental hours watched.

smaug7··on Alphabet Earnings Report Q3 2022 [pdf]
While I don't necessarily disagree, my understanding is that engineering tends to drive more of the product decisions. I question how much power the product team actually has.
smaug7··on The McNamara fallacy: Measurement is not understanding
Was looking for this comment. In McNamara's reflection, a tenant he called out was to understand the enemy. US didn't understand the Viet Congs motivation for fighting the war (freedom from colonizers) whereas the US viewed the war as a larger Cold War. This is the same as what happened in Afghanistan that we didn't learn.
smaug7··on The next generation of AirPods
This is a refresh of the original AirPods. The Pros are the ones with the in ear caps.
smaug7··on Show HN: I made a simulator for personal finance and financial independence
Yup let me try that out!
smaug7··on Show HN: I made a simulator for personal finance and financial independence
This is super cool. I just got a lifetime membership. Please keep this going!
smaug7··on Show HN: I made a simulator for personal finance and financial independence
I am planning on getting married later next year - would we be able to add that in for the future?
smaug7··on Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
Curious - what's your profession? Depending on your skills, you could, ironically given the nature of this article, apply to come to the US and it would be valued.
smaug7··on Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
The article points out that the industries that the European companies are in have slow growth rates. I can't imagine industrial pumps, chewing gum wrapping machines, large curved glass panels can have the same growth rates (or profit margins) as some of america's top mid sized companies.

https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-mid-cap-companies/#66cd8f8...

Here's a list to get a gauge of what's out there

smaug7··on Venture Capitalist: A Rise to Riches (1981)
https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/venture-capitalist-p...

He was so right about facebook and microsoft back in 2012

smaug7··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2020)
I'd be interested in the PM role. Any way we can grab coffee to learn more about it?
smaug7··on Lyft Announces Q1 Earnings
Hi Mike!
smaug7··on IPOs Bring Tax Jackpot for California; Can Lawmakers Resist?
The SF budget is roughly $11B but about half of that is already allocated to services that benefit the region - SFO international airport, water infrastructure, transportation. Fun fact, SF city/county doesn't pay for schooling in the city. That's paid for by the state.

https://sfmayor.org/sites/default/files/CSF_Budget_Book_2017...

smaug7··on Silicon Valley is changing, and its lead over other tech hubs narrowing
....that's what the article mentioned too...
smaug7··on Ask HN: How do you decide which company is right for you?
That's a loaded question that I can attempt to answer. The list below isn't by priority but it is the through process I go through.

1. Compensation - Would you be comfortable with that salary and can you do the things you want to do with it (vacation, hobbies, etc.).

2. Interest - Is the work that you will be doing at the company engaging to you? Are you interested in solving those problems? Would I be excited going into the office every day?

3. People - While interviewing, did you enjoy the conversations you had with your potential coworkers? Do you think similarly but do you also challenge each other to be better versions of yourself?

4. Size - Small companies don't have process and you'll have to wear many different hats. Large companies have more defined roles and your focus will be better planned by higher ups who set an overall strategy.

5. Location - The best way I thought of this is the commute. Count the minutes (hours) it takes to get to your new company. Will you be "time poor" but "financially wealthy"? Would you be okay with that?

6. Risk - Smaller companies naturally have more risk. I personally think we tend to over index on the risk (Prospect Theory) and forget about the lessons and professional development you learn at a start up.

7. Regret - This one helped me out the most. I ask myself "Would I regret not working at this company with its people and product X years from now?"

smaug7··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2018)
Twitch | Frontend Engineer - Growth | San Francisco, CA | Full-Time

My team at Twitch.tv is currently looking to hire a frontend engineer.

https://jobs.lever.co/twitch/b0f8e321-5275-4cd1-bba6-fca47fd...

smaug7··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2018)
I read this article and downloaded Notion! It's been great to use so far. I use it for personal and work note taking so far.
smaug7··on As Bitcoin nears $700, Coinbase out of coins to sell
The Chinese