Hacker News: gordian

New comment by gordian in "Hey Look, It's Every Bootstrap Website Ever"

gordian — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 05:59:25 +0000

Hmm, I guess trollstrap.com was taken?

The secret to airplane flight? No one really knows

gordian — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 19:05:49 +0000

Article URL: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/science/the-secret-to-airplane-flight-no-one-really-knows

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11141396

Points: 6

# Comments: 1

Scanner reveals gruesome, high-definition images of the human body

gordian — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 18:55:01 +0000

Article URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2907492/Brains-veins-bones-ve-never-seen-Scanner-reveals-gruesome-high-definition-images-human-body.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8881753

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Best free resources for learning Node.js

gordian — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 16:47:35 +0000

Let's see em!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8618993

Points: 23

# Comments: 7

If I'm floating in space and I turn on a flashlight, will I accelerate?

gordian — Mon, 19 May 2014 01:21:25 +0000

Article URL: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/112866/if-im-floating-in-space-and-i-turn-on-a-flashlight-will-i-accelerate

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7765199

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Give me back my money... with interest

gordian — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 05:43:01 +0000

My business takes orders over the phone, internet, and even SMS. Most customer pay via credit card.

The number of customers who dispute charges with their credit card companies is very low. My response rate is 100% and I have never lost a dispute.

Nevertheless, the first thing that happens when a customer initiates a dispute is that the disputed funds are debited from my merchant/bank account. I am also charged a flat fee.

I always contact the customer the same day I receive notice of the dispute and I send my reply to their bank immediately after that.

The dispute process is ridiculously long considering we're in 2014 and it usually takes around six weeks. I've even had customers admit they erroneously disputed the charge and they call their bank with me on the phone to drop the dispute. It still takes six weeks for my merchant to show the dispute as resolved in my favor!

That means it takes six weeks to get my money back. Thankfully my merchant also refunds the dispute fee if it's resolved in my favor, but that's six weeks where I've been unable to use those funds (including the dispute fee) and I no longer have the merchandise that I shipped.

So after six weeks, when the dispute is resolved in my favor: GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY WITH INTEREST!

Credit card companies charge their customers interest if the dispute is resolved against them. Why don't I receive interest on my money?

Throughout those six weeks my money goes somewhere. I don't know if my merchant holds onto it or if the merchant actually sends it back to the credit card issuer; even if it gets put into a lousy bank account then it would earn some interest.

The bottom line is that the funds are disputed, not stolen and the time value of money applies to merchants the same way credit card companies apply it to their cardholders.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7584706

Points: 3

# Comments: 4

Craigslist is down worldwide

gordian — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 16:20:39 +0000

Article URL: http://sitedown.co/craigslist

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4959780

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by gordian in "What programming languages were used by the Soviet Union's space program?"

gordian — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:41:46 +0000

I believe the primary language used was BORAT. Sorry, couldn't resist.

New comment by gordian in "Show HN: weakurl.com super simple urlshortner"

gordian — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:13:03 +0000

Depends on how the links are created. If they traverse combinations as they become available then it could be nice. Right now they may be just adding one random lowercase letter, then when those are all used up they switch to one uppercase letter. Then two character combinations until those are used up, etc., etc. Nice idea...

New comment by gordian in "Show HN: weakurl.com super simple urlshortner"

gordian — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:17:25 +0000

Nice! Simple and to the point. Also makes very short URLs. How long can that last, though?

New comment by gordian in "Solving FizzBuzz with CSS"

gordian — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:53:32 +0000

The dev community should not be at the mercy of incompetent sysadmins. Evolve or die. Such is life. Such is business.

New comment by gordian in "Solving FizzBuzz with CSS"

gordian — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:39:45 +0000

All horrible arguments. "Stuck?" Download a real browser.

IE8 viewers expect devs to slow progress or cater to them would be like horse and buggy drivers from days of yore lobbying to prevent cars from going faster than horses.

Stop complaining, get off your horse and get a (free) car. Encourage your clients to do likewise.

New comment by gordian in "Halfway between a plant and animal. What is it?"

gordian — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:39:05 +0000

Taken right from the Wikipedia page: "Kingdom: Animalia." I'd say that pretty much clinches it!

New comment by gordian in "[dead]"

gordian — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:00:16 +0000

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. 'Fraid not.

New comment by gordian in "I got first class degree in CS, but I know nothing about computers"

gordian — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:08:55 +0000

Ouch. This advice sounds alarming and extreme. Degrees will only carry you so far. One place they will carry you is into debt. Experience > formal education.

New comment by gordian in "Newbie Freelance Web developer"

gordian — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:43:10 +0000

It might be helpful to leave your contact email.

New comment by gordian in "Wind-up Double-A Battery - Sound Science packed into an Amazing Design"

gordian — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:00:31 +0000

Similar idea but from 3 years ago: http://www.geekalerts.com/wind-up-battery/

That one appears to harness the mechanical energy directly.

New comment by gordian in "Ask HN: can I get a parking ticket?"

gordian — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:38:42 +0000

My understanding of these parking stall systems is that they often include bundled handheld devices for parking attendants. These handhelds are used to issue tickets and include a nifty feature of alerting the attendant when a particular stall number runs out of time. It is, of course, then up to the attendant to venture to that space and verify that a violator's vehicle remains parked. If they are not on lunch and promptly make such a verification you will most certainly end up with a ticket. This happened to several friends, all of whom were issued tickets two to three minutes after their prepaid time expired. If the attendant is on a lunch break or if there is not a high parking turnover in your lot you might get lucky and be overlooked. Bottom line: it's a risk you are free to take.

New comment by gordian in "The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)"

gordian — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:03:35 +0000

Curious that Roert Silverberg's "Up The Line" did not make this cut. It was the inspiration for Back to the Future and is an entertaining time travel story.