Hacker News: jacoblyles

New comment by jacoblyles in "Yes, we’re being bought by Microsoft"

jacoblyles — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 18:18:26 +0000

Whether or not a tech company is a good investment seldom depends on valuation, and I suspect it will be the same for Mojangosoft

New comment by jacoblyles in "Valuations"

jacoblyles — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 19:16:08 +0000

I recently took a trip to Asia where capital is hard to come by and startup valuations are much lower. It seems that if VCs are having trouble finding return, they might be well served by investing in global expertise.

Are the consumer markets so much better in America that it's worth paying 4x valuation and competing with lots of other VCs for deals? The answer may be "yes", but it doesn't seem obvious to me.

New comment by jacoblyles in "Mike Judge Skewers Silicon Valley With the Satire of Our Dreams"

jacoblyles — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:04:01 +0000

I thought it was "meh" until the doctor started pitching the main character on his startup during an appointment - then I lost it

Coursera Brings In Longtime Yale President Rick Levin as CEO

jacoblyles — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 21:12:21 +0000

Article URL: http://recode.net/2014/03/24/coursera-brings-in-longtime-yale-president-rick-levin-as-ceo/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7461531

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by jacoblyles in "What if you didn't need money or attention?"

jacoblyles — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 01:07:09 +0000

The original works of Seneca and Epictetus are also surprisingly applicable to modern life, and their problems are surprisingly relatable. I recommend Seneca's "On the Shortness of Life" and Epictetus's handbook in modern translation.

The Dating Ring Is Raising Money To Fly Women From NYC To SF

jacoblyles — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 21:26:09 +0000

Article URL: http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/04/the-dating-ring-is-raising-money-to-fly-women-from-nyc-to-sf-because-dating/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7343283

Points: 37

# Comments: 49

New comment by jacoblyles in "Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs"

jacoblyles — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 00:09:05 +0000

I hope those guys do something interesting with their billions. But so far the only billionaires that realize the power of a billion dollars in personal capital seem to be Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

Balaji Srinivasan Joins Andreessen Horowitz as General Partner

jacoblyles — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 21:08:25 +0000

Article URL: http://allthingsd.com/20131209/balaji-srinivasan-joins-andreessen-horowitz-as-general-partner/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6876995

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by jacoblyles in "Started a stupid company. Failed. "

jacoblyles — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 17:29:16 +0000

I can't help out a lot. But I did accidentally order a pretty nice Christmas present that it turns out I don't need. Drop me an email with your address and I'll forward it for the kids.

New comment by jacoblyles in "FDA Orders Genetic Testing Firm 23andMe to Halt Sales"

jacoblyles — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 05:42:16 +0000

I'd rather see them shut down the FDA than 23andMe

New comment by jacoblyles in "Feinstein wants mass domestic spying. Let's get her off intel committee."

jacoblyles — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 01:18:11 +0000

It's worth remembering that both California senators Feinstein and Boxer were cosponsors of PIPA. They are no fans of tech. I'm waiting for a tech movement to realize that they are giving their money and votes to the enemy.

New comment by jacoblyles in "The way government does tech is outdated and risky"

jacoblyles — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:30:45 +0000

If someone does a bad job on a campaign, he gets fired and replaced with someone that can do the job better. Campaigns run on a limited budget - they don't have all the money in the world. They have a well defined goal and strict timeline.

Pretty much the opposite of a government project.

New comment by jacoblyles in "Bitcoin breaks $200"

jacoblyles — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 18:09:09 +0000

PPC has better features than BTC, but people haven't heard of it yet[1]. That said, BTC may win by being "good enough" and having a strong network effect.

[1] http://www.ppcoin.org/static/ppcoin-paper.pdf

Balaji Srinivasan - Regulation, Disruption, and the Technologies of 2013

jacoblyles — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 22:34:48 +0000

Article URL: http://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/startup%2Flecture_slides%2Flecture11-regulation-disruption-technologies-2013.pdf

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6578197

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by jacoblyles in "Why I moved to Miami"

jacoblyles — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 04:57:23 +0000

Developing a thick skin and tolerance for the culture of the locals definitely helps you enjoy the good things you find in life.

New comment by jacoblyles in "Why I moved to Miami"

jacoblyles — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 04:47:34 +0000

Wake Forest class of 2005 here, now working in the Valley. I can't help but be jealous of my college friends when I go back home and see their humane cost of living. Everybody I know in NC owns a home that would cost seven figures in Mountain View, CA. Everybody I know in California rents and lives dorm-style with roommates.

Making a Silicon Valley salary remotely in Winston-Salem would let you live like a king.

Besides, the Carolina skies are just breathtaking, and not available at any price. I recently visited Winston with my California native girlfriend, and we were both charmed by the beauty and open space of Carolina.

New comment by jacoblyles in "To an alarming degree, science is not self-correcting"

jacoblyles — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 19:26:52 +0000

Status quo apologetics. Ewww.

New comment by jacoblyles in "To an alarming degree, science is not self-correcting"

jacoblyles — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 19:24:56 +0000

The truth machine is broken. How do we fix it?

And why is it that whenever I see a list of the "top 10 most important problems" to solve, this isn't on it? Most educated people take the veracity of published science as given, and we clearly know that's a false assumption.

I know we need more transparency in science - sharing of data and code, and negative results. But institutionally, I don't know how we get there with the tools we have.

Part of the reason the current system stays in place, despite failing at its charter mission, is billions of dollars of annual subsidies. Changing the way research dollars are allocated would change the structure of the academic enterprise, but that is incredibly hard to do. Few systems have as much momentum.

New comment by jacoblyles in "China's State Press Calls for 'Building a de-Americanized World'"

jacoblyles — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 03:54:02 +0000

The more you learn about economics, the less you will trust economists. They have trouble predicting economic growth one quarter ahead[1] and there are tons of competing schools and models on the macro level that endlessly bicker without coming to agreement (not one of which is very good at predicting the future). They have like, degrees and shit, so the world considers them experts. But take them with a grain of salt.

[1] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-10/not-world-youre-hop...

New comment by jacoblyles in "Bitcoin Network Doubles to 2 PH/s in Four Weeks; the First 1 PH/s Took 4.7 Years"

jacoblyles — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 18:30:42 +0000

There are two ways to fund mining operations:

1) Tax the holders of coins

2) Tax the users of coins

Bitcoin starts with 1 (mining rewards) and then moves onto 2 (transaction fees) for long-term stability. I think this is dumb if your goal is widespread adoption because it taxes the activity that causes network effects to grow (transactions).

PPC sticks with 1 for the lifetime of the system (through a slow-growing monetary base), strengthening my belief that PPC is a strictly better design than bitcoin.