Hacker News: chflamplighter

The great nutrient collapse

chflamplighter — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 15:08:12 +0000

Article URL: http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/food-nutrients-carbon-dioxide-000511

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15248761

Points: 10

# Comments: 1

New comment by chflamplighter in "How Google Could Rig the 2016 Election"

chflamplighter — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 19:41:13 +0000

Link to original study.

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/E4512.full

How Google Could Rig the 2016 Election

chflamplighter — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 19:40:04 +0000

Article URL: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/how-google-could-rig-the-2016-election-121548.html?ml=po#.VdzEFvZViko

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10118993

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

New comment by chflamplighter in "Destroy the soil and we all starve"

chflamplighter — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 21:17:10 +0000

Although erosion is a problem driving an overall loss of naturally occurring plant available nutrition, most growers mitigate this loss with the addition of nutrient rich materials (chemical fertilizers, Poultry Litter, Organic Material, nutrient packages, etc). With these additions growers can ensure a nutritious enough soil for production. The real issue is the loss of the ecology found within that soil through erosion and chemical intensive production practices. If you think about it, soil is basically a plants stomach. It is constantly cycling nutrition to and from a plant accessible form mainly through microbial mediation. Just like your digestive system, soils contain critical populations of Beneficial Microorganisms which are a requirement for crop production. As an additional tool along with Nutrient inputs, growers are introducing Beneficial Microorganisms into their production programs. As a result Growers see a more balanced level of plant accessible nutrition and a more efficient utilization of those Nutrient inputs thus driving an overall increase in the ecological fitness and production of their crops. I personally think we should place the highest value on soil, water --- heck all of our Natural Resources but it is an interesting time as we pick up the pieces left by our agricultural production systems looking towards an ever increasing population.

(disclaimer: I am not a grower but the current iteration of my career is working for a Biotech which has developed teams of Beneficial Microbes for Agricultural and Environmental Applications).

Soil Doctors Hit Pay Dirt in Manhattan's Central Park

chflamplighter — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:10:26 +0000

Article URL: http://www.npr.org/2014/10/02/353066730/soil-doctors-hit-pay-dirt-in-manhattans-central-park&sa=U&ei=tAouVLHXHsGryATlo4KoDw&ved=0CA4QqQIwAA&usg=AFQjCNGQKtdiodU8GxwPdl8ed7hFAeedSQ

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8405602

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

The Hidden Biases in Big Data

chflamplighter — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 15:19:46 +0000

Article URL: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/04/the-hidden-biases-in-big-data/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7868843

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by chflamplighter in "A group of 3,000 citizens is making better forecasts than CIA analysts"

chflamplighter — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 13:19:32 +0000

I was having the same thought, at what point/how do you factor in the, "if I make this predication, which is contrary to my boss's expectations, will I still have a job". Surely there is a huge amount of pressure on "rowing in the same direction" towards a predetermined group think (which is terrible, of course).

New comment by chflamplighter in "Technology and Wealth Inequality"

chflamplighter — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 19:01:41 +0000

I think the stresses are apparent if you have faced them. The main issue with being poor (speaking from experience) is the unavoidable fact that an unexpected outlay of $$ (car repair or trip to the doctor or parking ticket or broken water heater) can have such a profound effect on your finances, one which you may not recover from. The reality is that when you are poor, living pay check to paycheck, the margins are beyond fine. There is no second chance when life strikes, so the daily stress you feel is intense and surely has an effect on your state of mind. Soon you begin to feel trapped and that is when hope becomes a memory with survival the only concern. I feel fortunate to not have those stresses anymore and can tell you that the stresses I feel now are significantly less stressful in comparison. Stresses now could ruin my day but not my life (barring the most catastrophic events). When you are poor, everything $$ is significant and can have a radical impact on your life.

New comment by chflamplighter in "How Silicon Valley CEOs conspired to drive down tech engineer wages"

chflamplighter — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 15:30:26 +0000

Nailed it right there "A hustler is just a social hacker; a hacker is just a technical hustler. But a human being, they are neither: they are whatever they wish to be."

New comment by chflamplighter in "Nokia posts disappointing Lumia sales"

chflamplighter — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 15:08:05 +0000

Lumia 928 owner and I love my phone, for me the OS/HW is great. To me, it feels like a lot of the dissatisfaction centers around the fact that WP is an MS product. Of course there are things that could be enhanced or done better but compared with my past experience with iOS and Android, WP is tops for me. That being said, it is a beautiful thing to have choice so more power to the iOS and Android users. Get in where you fit in!

New comment by chflamplighter in "Ukraine Tracks Protesters Through Cellphones"

chflamplighter — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 17:00:25 +0000

I couldn't image getting this text: “Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”

Puts a bit more focus on the reach available to anyone via my reliance on tech to "always be reachable". Good when my friends/family/customers need me but horrible when in the hands of bad actors.

The Cult of Overwork

chflamplighter — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:19:20 +0000

Article URL: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2014/01/27/140127ta_talk_surowiecki

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7090236

Points: 8

# Comments: 0

New comment by chflamplighter in "We stopped advertising on Facebook"

chflamplighter — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 16:19:38 +0000

Completely off topic, but reading this ^^ has made me go and grab a Coke from the office fridge. Can't say I wasn't thirsty but can say seeing the word Coke several times above did have an effect.

New comment by chflamplighter in "News is bad for you"

chflamplighter — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 16:20:21 +0000

I was raised on NPR and have used/use it as my main source for general news and find it very informative. Although it is not perfect, NPR seems to focus on the delivery of information in a balanced (if that is possible) way allowing me to draw my own conclusions. My problem with the big news outlets (cnn, msnbc, fox, etc) is that they are clearly a business and focused on profitability (I have much empathy for them as I do the same when I am at work). The problem is when editorial decisions are made not by what is news worthy but by what will draw the most eye balls. For me it feels presenters are trying to one up each other with outrageous comments as their personal views become the story at the expense of the news. I am sorry but I want the news presented in a sterile/factual way. But instead it feels like American Idol with the presenters angling for a book deal, more twitter followers or other forms of personal enrichment. Of course there is nothing wrong with self-promotion, I do it every day at work, but maybe I am old fashion in my longing for the days of Ted Koppel who for the most part delivered the facts as he knew them and purposely tried not to show emotion one way or another. So I don’t think consuming news is bad but the self-promotion/echo chamber creating delivery of that news is another thing entirely.

New comment by chflamplighter in "How I Learned to Work a Room"

chflamplighter — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:33:58 +0000

I second that, it is one thing to actively look to enter a conversation but one must be prepared to politely move one. Time is valuable and knowing when/how to exit is an important part of any effective strategy.

NIST to Review Standards - Cryptographers Cry Foul Over NSA Meddling

chflamplighter — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 21:23:27 +0000

Article URL: http://www.propublica.org/article/nist-to-review-standards-after-cryptographers-cry-foul-over-nsa-meddling

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6692497

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by chflamplighter in "The Logic of “Stupid” Poor People"

chflamplighter — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 17:56:33 +0000

The old chestnut, "Fake it till you Make it" comes to mind.

In some cases this can be helpful, ie pretending to follow the Champions League to get along with the fellows in the office, but following this as a blueprint for life can hurt much more than it helps with tons of unintended consequences(over spending, loss of your true identity, being a liar.....)

New comment by chflamplighter in "NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide"

chflamplighter — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:09:45 +0000

"game of probabilities and trade-offs where convenience wins" that is it in a nutshell, well said.

New comment by chflamplighter in "Employment in America: WTF is going on?"

chflamplighter — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 14:51:22 +0000

This idea is missed by a lot of candidates "Write on your resume specifically what the job ad asks". When I am navigating the online job posting jungle there is one thing I try to remember, you are being judged by the paper you present. Your goal is moving to the next step (interview)so you can dazzle them with your skills/personality. Spending some time learning about the tech the company uses, and from the JD, how they use that tech instead of rushing as quickly as one can to the submit button can make a huge difference. Give some consideration to who is on the other side of that submit button. In most cases the person reviewing your resume is not technical and could really use your help discovering why you are a fit for the job. At some point the non-A playing Ninja Rock Starey regular folks (myself included) are playing a numbers game and tailoring your resume to speak to the specific position/company can help shorten the odds. That being said, networking is by far the best way to find a gig but can take time, and always works best when you have a job.

New comment by chflamplighter in "Ways to make yourself happier"

chflamplighter — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 20:10:09 +0000

Interesting or maybe as we get older we have satisfied/achieved aspects of that sexual drive and no longer see it as the end all be all with respect to happiness. Either way I think you have a point with the narrative that sex = happiness for some.