weisser

> Megacorp X ... couldn't begin to give a toss about the actual content

If they did they probably wouldn't be in this position.

See also physical books, letters, LPs, etc.'

Until relatively recently it wasn't expected that everything would stand the test of time.

Yes, I meant to emphasize the long journey being the main factor.

> Not everyone has access to this freedom

Exactly! Completely agree.

You and I are rather fortunate. People who have this freedom should realize it and be advocates for others so they might have similar opportunities.

The reason some vegetables (particularly tomatoes) taste fairly subpar in the United States is because of the journey they make to reach your salad. If the tomatoes are coming from across the country (or Mexico, or another nation) they are actually picked prematurely so instead of ripening on the vine they ripen during transit. If you've ever had a tomato that tastes "mealy" this is the reason.

This mass transportation of food over long distances explains why you can get an orange any time of the year in Boston but also why the quality can be so poor - you're far away from the source.

After moving to San Francsico (from Boston with it's crazy winters) where local produce is available pretty much year-round at the local food Coop, I've noticed a pronounced different in the average quality and notably lower prices.

I hope they do. Nintendo has been pretty awful at hardware for a while now but I still love the characters.

Rare being bought by Microsoft was very unfortunate, however.

There is a fantastic French film by Eric Rohmer called Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray) where this phenomenon is a central element to the story.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Green_Ray_(film)

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. Beautifully shot, heartfelt, and often hilarious dialogue. I discovered Rohmer and this film through a screening Richard Linklater and the Austin Film Society hosted. Linklater introduced the film and he hosted a nice audience discussion afterwards (you can watch his introduction and the audience discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTfV3tA054s)

Yes, I got a PSP when it first came out and it pretty quickly became exclusively a Nintendo emulator for me. Pokemon on the PSP at faster speeds was remarkable. It mad going back to the Gameboy painful.

All we ever wanted was a Pokemon (like the gameboy games) but in 3D and for a home console.

We hoped they'd do it for the Nintendo 64 (Pokemon Snap was FANTASTIC, Pokemon Stadium fun, but no full-fledged Pokemon adventure game).

Then we hoped they'd do it for the Gamecube.

Then we hoped they'd do it for the Wii.

Then I crawled under a rock and stopped caring about video games.

Also, since about halfway through the lifecycle of the Wii I really wished Nintendo would start being a software-only company and move away from hardware so they could focus on amazing content. I'm still rooting for them even though I don't keep up to date with what's current in gaming.

Thanks - should be fixed!

We're currently in beta with a DNA-based health advice service (http://withinhealth.com) and here are a few observations (this will be written about more in detail at a future date on my personal website)

- People remember health information that is specific (personalized) to them.

88% of our beta users are able to remember their genetic insights/advice 3 or more days after receiving them.

- A compelling, personalized reason can help users get over the hump of taking an action.

No one wakes up in the morning and decides they want to get some blood work done for the heck of it. We identified interesting genetic predispositions for beta testers which were enough to motivate 7% of them to get blood work done. 21% of beta testers took an some type of action based on the personalized and advice we presented.

It hardly goes against common sense to believe that personalization would facilitate retention and action but it has been fulfilling to witness firsthand.

I was just at a coffeeshop today in SF that had a chip reader and it seemed to be plugged into a Square register.

That's the main reason I haven't bought a smart watch.

> What about the girl seeking $600 for her “personal development journey”? (Not much to ask, but she was so beautiful, I didn’t understand why she didn’t develop herself into a model and make a whole lot more than that.)

What a bizarre comment.

This headline (and the one from the NYTimes) is a bit misleading – 23andMe is resuming giving health data but they’re actually giving a different kind of data. This new data is related to carrier status – genetic mutations that could lead to disease in your offspring. They still hope to gain approval to give info on health risks (what they provided up until 2013), but there is no public estimate for how long it might take. It will happen, it’s just a matter of time.

> Public schools are often filled with petty tyrants

This American Life devoted an entire episode to covering one of them...

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/419/p...

My favorite Western game and probably in my top 10 personal favorite games.

Would love to hear more about your experiences if you'd care to share. My email is in my profile.

I'll definitely be doing an AMA about my specific project. I'm not at all an expert in the field but I'll share the story and my experiences.

Wow what an interesting coincidence...I just moved to Austin and am working on preserving some extremely historic recordings. Emailing you now!

Foursquare isn't about checkins anymore, it's about discovery and the TL;DR.

Yelp users love to go on and on and on in their reviews while Foursquare's ratings aren't review-driven though I've found them just as accurate.

I think most people realize this anecdotally but the switching costs are too high for many to remove themselves.

Personally, I have many connections exclusively only on FB - I don't have their emails, phone numbers, etc - that I remain on FB only to be able to message them.

I wish I could automatically message them and easily collect their email/phone #s with minimal effort...probably a way but I haven't looked into it.

Eventually Uber will fire all drivers and replace them with self-driving cars. In many ways Uber is currently doing things that don't scale with regard to relying on humans to drive customers. Eventually the cost-intensive humans won't be needed and Uber will grow massively.

I could see this happening in many business models. Obviously Magic may fail entirely (it appears to be pretty much just an idea currently) but I could see AI replacing the human components.

I'm not sure how I feel about all of this.

Non-technical co-founders need to avoid this way of thinking too. It's detrimental to the personal relationship and any potential for a positive outcome.

What does doing well in school have to do with intelligence?

Getting on the front page of Hacker News doesn't really qualify as going viral unless the conversation spreads outwards in some significant way.

Austin, TX is at the cutting edge of the edible insect trend in the states. I had the pleasure of grabbing some mead and enjoying some snacks with a bunch of the companies down there.

Anyone doing anything with cricket-based foods in the US is likely supplied by World Ento (which recently merged with Aspire International). They're building a massive cricket farm in ATX to try to keep up with the demand.

It's a monopoly because of multiple factors (some of which you've expounded on already.

A main reason Google's search engine is a monopoly is due to switching costs and the fact that all of our habits are built around using it.

Another way of putting it: once the word google became a verb they had solidified the monopoly.

Surprised no one has brought up bulletproof coffee yet.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3032635/most-creative-people/bull...

I've been experimenting with it for the last 2 weeks and have lost 3 pounds. I've also noticed reduced cravings during the time between breakfast and lunch and I don't feel an intense caffeine hit like I did when I would drink iced coffee.

I'm not sure how long I will continue experimenting with this nor do I know the long-term effects of having this drink every morning.

This has a ways to go in terms of content before I would actually use it.