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zests

1,106 karma · joined August 17, 2019

SWE
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zests··on El Salvador’s new Bitcoin wallets could cost Western Union $400M a year
10% of 25% is 2.5%
zests··on Show HN: PeeYork, Bathroom finder app for NY
How recently did you check? There was a debacle in the past year or two and I think the policy changed.
zests··on Ask HN: How did you become a software engineer?
I was taking AP classes in highschool for fun just to take as many as possible. That included AP Computer Science.

I felt behind at the beginning so worked extra hard to catch up. The teacher let us work at our own pace and before I knew it I was several chapters ahead of the rest of the class. Then I spent class time writing naive math programs to do stuff like numerically compute integrals. When I discovered BigInteger I was so excited.

I think my future career was determined then but I did not realize it at the time.

zests··on Rebracketing
The word helicopter is not heli+copter but is really helico+pter. Helico as in helix and pter as in pterodactyl. "Heli" is a modern prefix that comes from helicopter, not the other way around.
zests··on A Victoria man has gone two decades without money
Of course it would be impossible for modern society to stop using money altogether despite what this man might hope. Its easy to see this person as someone who just doesn't want to work. At the same time, I read a historical religious fiction book that describes monks going from town to town offering enlightenment in exchange for food and presumably shelter. Is this any different?

All of modern society joining a monastery or becoming enlightened is perhaps an even bigger ask.

zests··on A contentEditable, pasted garbage and caret placement walk into a pub
(? ((have you written) lisp before))
zests··on 93% of Paint Splatters Are Valid Perl Programs (2019)
I am very glad that I did not do all of what my peers were doing.
zests··on Senet
I love ancient board games. It's amazing to think about chess and how rules have been changed slightly over time for 1000 years. The game has since been stable for about 500. The computer era is revolutionizing the game again and maybe will usher in new popular variants (Fischer random, no castle chess) as our understanding of the game evolves.
zests··on US democracy: The threat in 2024 is 'completely uncharted territory'
I would advise people who are worried about this to read more global news. Similarly, read about political polarization in the US during the Nixon era.
zests··on Amazon rainforest now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs
You should expect this to be true of any shrinking rainforest. A growing rainforest will absorb more CO2 than it emits. A rainforest that remains the same size will be carbon neutral.

The idea that the rainforest removes a significant net amount of CO2 from the atmosphere is simply false. The rainforest even emits methane.

zests··on We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything
It feels like there are two classes of engineers in the US. One class of engineers makes 60k-120k and the other makes 150k-500k.

Is this just a really well kept secret? I don't really see many engineers trying to migrate from the first class to the second class. I'd expect most software engineers would jump through hoops at the prospect of doubling their salary.

zests··on Ask HN: At this point, are PUT and PATCH helpful?
This comment makes me want to read a book about distributed systems.
zests··on A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit
There doesn't seem to be a great consensus on the best microphones to use on my usual sources (HN). This is surprising because the difference between laptop mic or bluetooth mic and a good microphone is enormous. I also don't mind spending a bit more $$$ because this is for my day job.

But when buying a mic, I've read many types of good microphones (bluetooth streamer/podcaster looking mics vs XLR traditional looking mics e.g., Shure SM58-LC). Its hard to pull the trigger and know whats best. At this point I'll go with the Shure model, a stand and an XLR to USB-C cable sooner rather than later.

I have a nice webcam so a great mic is the next step.

zests··on U.S. workers are among the most stressed in the world, new Gallup report finds
Rich tech jobs can be very stressful. It was hard for me to realized that I should not be stressed at my job.
zests··on Survey shows people no longer believe working hard will lead to a better life
The parents were immigrants. They were successful -- just not in the way its normally measured.
zests··on The rise of remote work may reshape college towns
Did you live on the green line?
zests··on Pandemic homeschoolers who are not going back
Are you going to ban relocation to a better school district as well? I don't see where the rabbit hole ends.
zests··on Ask HN: What's a good personal development plan for junior software engineers?
It's hard to give advice over the internet. That being said, if you're not writing code I'd recommend preparing and looking for a new job.

When you interview, people tend to ask you what you're looking for and wanting to write more code to get more experience is a great reason to look for a new role.

zests··on I’m Not Scared to Reenter Society. I’m Just Not Sure I Want To
I've always found the real world to be infinitely more stressful than the world of work and school. I also recognize how this is somewhat absurd.

During COVID my to-do list was basically to work, spend time with family and get some exercise. Now my to-do list is to move back to a major city, get a new job to support an increased standard of living, make new friends in a new area. I have to carefully budget my "keeping up with the Joneses" energy because there is no way I can do it all at once.

The absurdity is that I don't really need a new job or to move to a huge city in order to be happy but I'm doing it anyway.

zests··on Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests
These are 'God Days' which are special days used to make our equations line up. They have not been observed directly but most experts think that God Days are abundant in the universe and that they have had a strong influence on its structure and evolution.
zests··on Tesla loses U.S. designation for some advanced safety features
This is the kind of shenanigans that a software company would pull. On the surface it seems like a great business decision from Tesla.
zests··on San Francisco’s Shoplifting Surge
What happens to all of the people who are too mentally unstable to live in a hotel/SRO/shelter?
zests··on San Francisco’s Shoplifting Surge
I struggle to figure out why the homeless are so visible in SF but not in other cities like Manhattan. My only haphazard guess is that it has to do with the weather. I could ask the same question about why SF is the only city that has to lock up soap in their grocery stores.

SF strikes me as the city with the highest highs and the lowest lows.

zests··on The Amazon Rainforest Now Emits More Greenhouse Gases Than It Absorbs
My pet peeve is people asserting that rainforests are a carbon sinks. Mature rainforests are carbon neutral. The rainforests are carbon banks -- not sinks. This article is simply saying that the Amazon Rainforest is shrinking but it's using a lot of words for dramatic effect. I'd always expect a shrinking forest to emit carbon and an expanding forest to absorb it.
zests··on Use Alacritty instead of Termite
I use Kitty with Jetbrains Mono
zests··on Use Alacritty instead of Termite
Many terminals lack ligatures. Once I started using a monospace font with ligatures I could never go back.
zests··on Ask HN: Dotfiles Management Tools?
Here's a guide using a git bare repository: https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/dotfiles
zests··on First GMO Mosquitoes to Be Released in the Florida Keys
Everyone knows southern states are doing everything wrong. The state you list are doing everything right. We hate the outgroup.
zests··on The value of downvoting, or, how Hacker News gets it wrong (2009)
Except this one :)
zests··on Lambda School is a predatory bootcamp that lies about students outcomes
What a weird stat. I've never seen anyone take a fraction of a median like that. I can't think of any reason to create such a strange figure besides being dishonest.
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