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user_rob

64 karma · joined February 18, 2015

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user_rob··on Can you solve it? The four points, two distances problem
Yo - I'm not totally stupid - used circles and a table approach to show that there are only 6. Just took the time to write and draw in notebook.
user_rob··on Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined
Maybe it is the result of evolution and the hunter-gatherer optimisations for humans. Hunters hunt and are interested in clever things to do that and gatherers gather and are engaged in those type of activities. Both of these activities seem to be uncontrolled in much of the population. Without control or a dramatic evolutionary step we may be doomed to destroying our planet.
user_rob··on Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
Exactly; take every thing good or bad as a life challenge or experience to be fully engaged with and do not give up! Learnt the not giving up as a teen while race sailing; not giving up ever, resulted in a stack of trophies - but also a few submerged boats - in retrospect the submerged boats were more interesting. Winding years forward and experiencing many "challenges" I now have cancer that I am told cannot be cured - but its just another life challenge that I am experiencing and is quite interesting - like boats sinking, and I carry on doing what I like to do...
user_rob··on Psychology tells us why older people don’t enjoy new music
Not in my experience and I am in my late 60s. I think current trends are not radical eno
user_rob··on Cream drummer Ginger Baker died this morning. He was 80
Sad - and makes me feel old! Remember seeing him live as part of Ginger Bakers Air Force circa 1970 ish. Remember the gig well but not the date!
user_rob··on Scientists found the perfect way to make pancakes and that has huge implications
I already make perfect pancakes - 12 pretty much perfect tonight. But maybe my definition of perfect would be different from theirs and most likely their perfect would be my disaster - but since my browser does not think it safe to visit it will remain something I will not know.
user_rob··on How To Deconstruct Almost Anything (1993)
Interesting - but I don't recall academia being quite that extreme but I am in the UK. I find deconstruction so useful...[essay deleted]
user_rob··on [dead]
The median survival for me is 5 years! I have just had a stem cell transplant (well my own cells) and it wss hard - if I say hard then it really was and I feel a lot of empathy for those who are not as fit and determined as me. What I am doing is pretty much as before - being with and part of my family and doing a lot of endurance exercise (my other half describes me as a ultramarathon runner - I dont) cycling, running and rowing average 8+ hours a week even while having chemo. As far as I am concerned this high level of exercise is by far the most effective medicine, and also shows everyone that this is a life challenge to be met rather than a disaster. I also get some satisfaction from finding out that people such as one of the doctors taking care of me have now taken up running. ps - if you start doing exercise be carful and get good advice - I have known too many people dying suddenly of male exercise bravado.
user_rob··on How often should you change your sheets?
bacteria are healthy
user_rob··on Show HN: Simple tool to make a habit of exercising
For me it's the opposite issue - I am paid to motivate me to sit at a desk and stare at a screen. At all other awake times I cannot resist cooking, eating, running, cycling and rowing as much as possible. Occasionally I enter challenging endurance events. I prefer trail running because its the most challenging for me. I am not great at any of it but I just love doing it.
user_rob··on Ask HN: Best way to introduce programming to a 5 year old?
Don't!
user_rob··on Ask HN: Migraine prophylaxis?
I don't know what triggers my monthly migraine but I have found that Citrulline malate (an extract of watermelon) a vascular dilator prevents it for me 100%. Originally I had started taking it for sport reasons but subsequently found it fixes the migraine! Must be that my migraine is due to vascular constriction.
user_rob··on Dozens of Companies Are Using Facebook to Exclude Older Workers From Job Ads
I think its great!: In the high tech software company I am at there seems to be a disproportionate number of people over 60 - and we are are leaders in our industry both in profit and tech. Very pleased that our competitors won't be poaching our best people!
user_rob··on What was it like to self-learn programming before Stack Overflow? (2016)
Started my programming in 1975 on a pdp using fortran 4 - used punched cards for storing and running significant programs. Used something called I* to edit binary files. A fluorescent light with "crash" in big letters on it came on from time to time. Could play a few games including moon lander and some star trek game. Then it was RTFM and only a few people were knowledgeable and the run debug cycle was slow - 1 day per iteration - errors printed out on big sheets of paper. Everything seems pretty easy after that...
user_rob··on Inside the TalkTalk 'Indian scam call centre'
TalkTalk need to do more to fix this issue as they were responsible for not keeping customer information secure. Admittedly they did give out free stuff last year as a sort of compensation. However if this annoyance is not resolved soon TalkTalk's reputation will slide further.
user_rob··on Inside the TalkTalk 'Indian scam call centre'
You can use last number barring to block their calls. My best attempt at wasting their time was 28 minutes - normally would not bother but I was ill and needed something to distract me.
user_rob··on As an English European, this is the biggest defeat of my political life
Interesting, but wanting a fast negotiation is a result of panic and the prospect of an economic downturn for the EU. Germany does not want a weak pound as it will badly hit their exports to the UK. The EU's best strategy is to quickly agree to free trade after Brexit and then re-structure the EU so that other countries don't quit. Alternatively non-EU European countries like Iceland, Norway, Switzerland etc could conceivably set up a more practical alternative trading union. In any event the currency and stock trading frenzy is over the top and mainly fuelled by the hyper-reality presented by the media, as in the end it is still likely that not much will change economically short or long term - for the UK! The UK will take its time - and it should - it will take time for the major European countries to understand their and the EU's fundamental ineffectiveness in solving major problems.
user_rob··on As an English European, this is the biggest defeat of my political life
The EU is in a massive panic and stands to loose a lot more than the UK in money and structure than the UK if exit negotiations go badly. Therefore the UK is in a much stronger position and should just patiently refuse all proposals that involve paying the EU or allowing free movement; the EU will then need to agree quickly to stop the EU descending into chaos.
user_rob··on What Happens When You Get Struck by Lightning – Dara Ó Briain's Science Club
utter rubbish - when lightening strikes you; all the current passes over the surface of your body. This is because while electrical breakdown is happening in air the effective electrical resistance is _zero_ which is a lot greater than the resistance of your body. If it does not strike you directly and there is no breakdown then you will likely get a fatal shock through your body. Direct strikes are actually safer - but you will get burns on your surface where the breakdown happened.
user_rob··on Don’t abandon the Europe that I fought for – and my comrades died for
I am not quite 96 yet, but what nonsense - the British fought for freedom, self determination and democracy and not to be governed by a European state. NATO has provided the only effective security not the EU. Only France and the UK spend enough on defence. The EU is a slow lumbering giant full of indecision and differences as weak as its weakest member state. It is blighted by the misguided goal of political union. The UK leaving the EU will ultimately give confidence to the other EU member states to recognise political union for the nonsense and danger that it is. The UK electing not to be governed by the EU will help the UK to be more confident, act more decisively and be more effective globally. And finally if the UK does leave it can stop whining about the EU, which will make everyone here a bit happier.
user_rob··on Agile is not a Fucking Noun
"Agile" et al are sticks that those who cannot do things (managers) beat the people who can do things to make them do it the way that the managers want. Which of course is often the wrong way because the managers do not have the ability to do those things and so don't know their ... - Rob with 39 years experience of totally ignoring interfering managers attempts to manage him. Stand up for your intelligence!
user_rob··on Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
Yup a big one in the UK
user_rob··on Ask HN: What language do you use for programming Job interviews?
Sorry - I was being annoying. I do find the use of Duh amusing tho. It reminds me of my children and then me adding duh to the end of their names - that's very annoying but it cured them of their affliction. ;)
user_rob··on Ask HN: What language do you use for programming Job interviews?
English?
user_rob··on All developers should drink more water
Should? Are not developers intelligent enough to know how to look after themselves!? This could be the next interview question.
user_rob··on Ask HN: Oldest code you have written that is still in use?
I designed some of the electronics and wrote some firmware code for the Bell AH-1S Cobra in 1978 1979. The system is still flying as I see the external parts of the system in news clips. Does that count? Beat that!

Mean looking image of a parked up one - the red bag covers part of the system: http://www.vaq136.com/misawa/cobra73418-017b.jpg

user_rob··on Bank Underground, the blog written by Bank of England staff
This is a really good resource for anyone interested in economics at any level, but personally I would like them to provide a children's version (Which would suit my level of interest better).
user_rob··on Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry
I sympathise. I have not agreed to tech problems in interviews for years. In my experience I get more job offers for more $ if I refuse to do them rather than answering problems either rightly or wrongly. Either makes no difference. I have even turned offers down because of the stupidity of the interviewers. Stop doing silly interview questions professionals should be above that.
user_rob··on Ask HN: What should I do if I don't get a summer internship?
Go and help/work for/talk to/ random people who need it. It will make a difference.
user_rob··on Why Good Developers Write Bad Code: An Observational Case Study [pdf]
To mitigate these problems I try to always completely finish the current task including doc updates etc before moving to the next thing. I do this pretty much always even under management pressure. It can be awkward at times.
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