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was_hellbannedon Skunk Works Reveals Compact Fusion Reactor Details

The ".NET Rocks!" podcast did three GeekOut shows this year on nuclear fusion, which will probably make you only more skeptical of fusion research claims.

Fusion Power GeekOut: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=1013

Fusion Power GeekOut #2: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=1022

Cold Fusion GeekOut: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=1037

was_hellbannedon My story of applying, getting in, and being a mom in Y Combinator

I see nothing particularly negative with that.

I found it distracting and it struck me as lazy writing. Apparently, though, you can't criticize writing style on HN submissions.

was_hellbannedon My story of applying, getting in, and being a mom in Y Combinator

Why acknowledge sample size when snark is on the line?

was_hellbannedon My story of applying, getting in, and being a mom in Y Combinator

I'm not saying this to be negative, necessarily, but something struck me in this essay, so I grep'd it. There are 47 instances of "I", by my count.

was_hellbannedon Show HN: Dating Ring (YC W14) – We do the work, you do the dating

I've heard (anecdata alert!) that some men get frustrated and will start sending out "form messages" because they will take the time to craft meaningful messages only to get no reply

This was documented on the old OKCupid blog. I think the post was taken down after Match bought them.

Men grow frustrated and get tired of wasting their time, so they stop sending in-depth messages. Women are then even less likely to respond, which ultimately sends men into a downward spiral of desperation.

was_hellbannedon Programming is terrible; so learn to enjoy it

I think programming is great, it's people that are terrible.

People write horrible APIs and document them poorly (ugh, Microsoft's SetupAPI put me into burnout mode last year).

People make demands of the programmer but kick and scream about clearly documenting those demands (specifications).

People don't appreciate and thank the programmer for his hard work. Managers and owners are suspicious and resent the programmer for not being grateful simply to receive a paycheck.

Other programmers think the programmer is an idiot for asking a question, thinking that every other programmer must know everything I know.

Yeah, it's been my experience that people make programming awful. If you can surround yourself with good people and the products of good people, you'll probably be a lot happier. I can't advise on how to find that nirvana, unfortunately.

was_hellbannedon “Complete Acquiesence”: How the Pontiac Aztek Happened

It's my recollection that it was very well designed in almost every way aside from appearance. As in, the creature comforts were good, considerations for rear loading, ease of access, reasonable performance, etc. Unfortunately, when it comes down to it, people really make their vehicle buying decision based upon appearance. They may use a few requirements to pare down the field (e.g. AWD, four doors), but after that it's mostly looks.

was_hellbannedon For business school graduates, investment banking is out and consulting is in

Couldn't one just as simply say "Programmers are toxic to business. They're classically myopic optimizing for 'fun' technical stacks without understanding the business they're working in." That's obviously untrue as well.

Is that untrue? I'd say it's true, and it's exactly why you need a skilled manager to keep an eye on the big picture. Programmers are professional rabbit-hole chasers, and it's extremely easy to lose sight of the business goals.

The difference is that the programmer, if properly wrangled, creates real value. The MBA, in my opinion, primarily creates the impression of value.

was_hellbannedon How would you improve BART?

If I remember correctly, legislation was passed in 2007 requiring trains everywhere in the US to blast their horn four times (length unspecified) before every crossing. The only exceptions are quad-gated crossing (I believe that means a gate covering each lane of traffic on both sides) or in specified "quiet zones".

In my area, the trains only get active at around 11:30pm, an continue their racket through the entire night. I'm regularly awakened by needlessly long honking around 4am. It's awful.

was_hellbannedon What I Saw as an NFL Ball Boy

It's disturbing to see so many people insist that the NFL doesn't "deserve" to be a non-profit, because they don't give enough to charity.

The NFL shouldn't qualify as a non-profit because they promote only NFL football, not football in general. It's qualified as a trade association, but it shouldn't be, as it's clearly a for-profit corporation managing a brand.

was_hellbannedon The Birth of Visual Basic (2006)

Yeah, the weird thing is how large and critical these VBA applications are that he works on. Lots of local banks and small businesses have, essentially, their entire business wrapped up in an old VBA CRUD app. Not that there's anything wrong with continuing to use the old technology, but all we hear about is the latest and coolest.

was_hellbannedon The Birth of Visual Basic (2006)

I have an older relative who is still cashing in nicely on his VBA skills. There was a "demand vs pay" graph for tech skills going around awhile. VBA is low demand, but among the highest paid of the technologies.

was_hellbannedon A 10-Year-Old's Journey, from Lemonade Stand to Silicon Valley

I always find stories like this troubling because 1) how much of it was actually driven by the parents? 2) what's going to happen when it's no longer a quirky action by a cute little girl?

Planet Money's podcast 567 covered an assertive, outgoing little girl who was making good money by buying lollipops at retail and going around selling them to adults at a markup. She acknowledges that it only works because she's adorable, and that her sales have dropped as she's gotten older.

Maybe this kid is really driven and will go on to great things, or maybe she'll end up burnt out and miserable because her primary value turns out to be her youth and novelty.

was_hellbannedon The Forgotten Female Programmers Who Created Modern Tech

I took a trip to ground zero for today's computer revolution, Stanford University, and randomly asked over a dozen students if they knew who were the first computer programmers. Almost none knew.

I'm simultaneously horrified and amused at myself because, as I was reading along with the article, I thought to myself, "Linda Lovelace!"

was_hellbannedon Yahoo Hacked

you're saying that CCleaner is a bad idea simply because they cannot possibly understand the registry well enough to make the changes that they're making.

It sounds more like, "the software vendor is doing incorrect or incomplete things with the registry and CCleaner cannot possibly know that."

As a long-time Windows software developer, I've been stunned at how sloppy desktop programs and installers are, even today. People ignore Microsoft guidelines, somehow get the software to the "works for me" stage, and deploy it.

was_hellbannedon Reddit CEO Calls Out Former Reddit Employee on Reddit

reddit hires incompetent people who are not getting much work done.

That explains why I don't recall ever seeing a new user feature (e.g. tagging, user blocking, a useful save or search function) in the years I've been on Reddit.

was_hellbannedon How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math

As someone who graduated with a math minor and promptly forgot the vast majority of what he learned, something that really messed me up were gaps in my education.

For example, I took a graduate level course in the foundations of mathematics (proving natural numbers and arithmetic). I grasped the lectures, but one day I was completely stumped by a step in the proof where algebra was performed across an inequality.

I had never in my life seen algebra across an inequality! As an undergrad senior in a 500-level course.

I grew up moving a few times, and even within single schools I found the teachers weren't on the same page in terms of how math would be taught. For this alone, the Common Core sounds like a good idea to me.

was_hellbannedon How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math

A corporate trainer once told me there's specific kinds of learners.

I don't believe there is compelling evidence that this is the case.

Instead, different people have different backgrounds and experiences. Learning requires making connections. Depending on what you have in your head already to which you can connect, you may respond differently about a particular topic than someone else.

was_hellbannedon How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math

Project Euler. Also, the whole 'kata' movement, where you write and rewrite relatively brief solutions to problems until you master them.

was_hellbannedon Why Clay Shirky just banned technology use in class

I went to college in the late 90's, before laptops were really viable for use in lectures (despite what I recall from the 1986 movie Back to School). We did have our math class in the computer lab, so we could graph functions. Of course, I spent most of my time reading newsgroups and mailing lists, the equivalent of modern students on Facebook.

Looking back, I really regret the use of technology. I'm talking about the computer distraction, but also the heavy reliance on advanced calculators like the TI-92 that did symbolic integration and differentiation. The classes were focused on making the graphs appear and getting answers, not on grasping the fundamental, underlying concepts. I'd prefer a strict paper and pencil analysis course.

I also remember the countless student questions, "will this be on the test?" The basic concept of testing student knowledge is that you can only administer a test where a small set of questions are randomly distributed across the much larger subject matter. You aren't supposed to memorize the answers to some questions, you're supposed to demonstrate that you learned everything.

I didn't even learn what learning is until a good fifteen years after I was done with school. I suspect the students engaging in these behaviors, also, don't understand what learning is, and will graduate having passed some tests without knowing much.

was_hellbannedon Trying to Hit the Brake on Texting While Driving

In my opinion, the problem is that drivers, by and large, are absolutely terrible at driving. They're so bad at driving that they have no idea how bad they are at it.

We're a nation of self-promoting, self-obsessed, angry narcissists, incompetently sitting behind the wheel of multi-ton, wheeled death machines. We have a single license tier for a ridiculous variety of vehicle shapes and sizes. We have zero ongoing driver education requirements, and only require retesting if sufficient complaints are received (when's the last time that's even happened?) or we reach sufficient age.

Demand better driver training. Stop engaging in inane behavior when you have greater responsibilities. Demand that others in your life do so as well.

was_hellbannedon Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

“The reason mountain biking is so popular,” says Charlie Kelly, “is that it’s one of the only ways in modern life that you can turn on your adrenaline pump, and leave it on for a long time. You can go big-wave surfing or skydiving, but downhill bike riding gives you all the adrenaline you can handle.

I find that quote funny and sad, given that any skidding on trails in that area are now highly ticketable offenses, and have been since at least the early 1990s.

Given the popularity of mountain biking these days, it's ironic that I now find it easier to get my thrills by doing downhill road cycling. I don't have to worry (much) about coming across a cyclist or pedestrian in the middle of the road, and cars are the only thing slowing me down.

was_hellbannedon Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

My revisionist view of the mountain bike craze is to see it as a natural reaction to what politicians, planners and motorists were doing to our roads.

I disagree with this entirely.

Mountain biking (and BMX) grew entirely out of the motocross and desert motorcycle racing scene that exploded in the 1970's and early 1980's.

BMX riders were entirely mimicking motocross riders. These downhill mountain bikers were mimicking the berm-riding, rooster-tail-shooting cornering of dirtbikes. Around the time of the photos in this article, people started adapting the front suspension from motorcycles for their downhill bicycles.

There was even a sidecar phase in BMX racing, which is very obviously taken straight from sidecar motorcycle racing.

was_hellbannedon Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

there isn't really a $400 category for mountain bikes ... then there are the $1000+ bike store bikes.

That's not quite accurate. Here's a random example:

http://www.rei.com/c/mountain-bikes

You should be able to find plenty of decent hardtail low-end mountain bikes in the $500 - $900 range, particularly if you wait until the off-season to do your shopping.

My personal advice would be to buy your way into a decent frame and upgrade components as they fail. If there's one thing I found from several years of avid mountain biking, it's that parts wear and break much faster than they do in road riding, giving plenty of upgrade opportunity. :-)

was_hellbannedon Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

I would say that if you're riding on rough terrain (e.g. rocky, boulder-strewn, heavily rutted, etc.), you would be shocked at what you can do on a full suspension bike. I know I spent the first couple of months with a F/S bike just riding over random obstacles out of sheer amazement. If you're riding mostly smooth dirt trails where your primary obstacle is occasional tree roots and ruts, then a hardtail is probably fine.

was_hellbannedon What Happened to U.S. Plans to Raise the H-1B Visa Ceiling?

People with STEM degrees who don't have jobs are stupid.

That is probably the dumbest assertion I've ever read on HN.

was_hellbannedon What Happened to U.S. Plans to Raise the H-1B Visa Ceiling?

Uh. What? Did you intend to reply to someone else?

was_hellbannedon Ask HN: Has anyone ever tried building an OS that doesn't use files?

Funnily, modern file systems (extfs3/4, NFTS, HPFS+?) all support extended attributes in some form or another. However, they are currently only rarely used: Mostly for the "this file was downloaded from the internet, do you really want to open it" flag.

For anyone interested in these, they're called Alternate Data Streams in Windows. When you download a file from the Internet, an ADS is created, called "Zone:Identifier", which contains a ZoneID indicating where it came from.

I believe Windows 2000's Explorer allowed the user to add arbitrary tags to any file, and that those were stored in an ADS. For some reason, that was removed in, I think, Windows Vista.

At least one virus stored itself using Alternate Data Streams, which I imagine is related to why they've been more or less downplayed.

was_hellbannedon What Happened to U.S. Plans to Raise the H-1B Visa Ceiling?

How about it being cheaper for companies to hire and maintain

Don't forget about being able to effectively deport them on a whim if they voice any objection over their treatment.

was_hellbannedon iPhone 6

Not GP, but my Nexus 4 is perpetually at its limit, filled with podcasts and a small selection of my music. I spend a lot of time in areas with a very poor signal, so streaming isn't useful to me.

Personally, I want a MicroSD slot because that way we both win.