Hacker News: mnm1

New comment by mnm1 in "Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix"

mnm1 — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 23:29:57 +0000

Not in my experience.

New comment by mnm1 in "Parents are 5X as Worried about Infection and School than Work and Paying Bills"

mnm1 — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 23:29:08 +0000

Then extend those programs. That should be obvious. Open up socially distanced food lines for kids and their parents that give out free food. None of this is impossible especially with the amount of wasted food we have. None of these problems lead to the conclusion that we should open schools when we can resolve these side issues in smarter, better ways that don't put the entire society at risk for covid. The House passed a relief bill 3 months ago. The failure of the Senate to do the same is simply inexcusable. That failure should not be the reason for even more people to die. This is so fucking absurd.

New comment by mnm1 in "Parents are 5X as Worried about Infection and School than Work and Paying Bills"

mnm1 — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 21:20:46 +0000

The rest of society is certainly not happy to make that sacrifice for your extreme selfishness and callousness and frankly, we shouldn't have to die because your kids might grow up fearful. What a selfish, disgusting attitude.

New comment by mnm1 in "Parents are 5X as Worried about Infection and School than Work and Paying Bills"

mnm1 — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 21:01:19 +0000

> Their ability to spread to adults is their biggest risk factor, not the disease itself.

Even if this is true (we already have evidence it's not for some children), it's completely irresponsible to allow schools to open. We know children are infectious and easily spread the disease. There are other members of society besides children. Letting the virus run rampant in schools will lead to parents and other adults getting sick and dying. It's not ok for children to die but if their parents, grandparents, teachers, or parents' friends die it's somehow ok? What kind of logic is that?

New comment by mnm1 in "American Airlines bans masks with exhaust valves and vents"

mnm1 — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 20:17:26 +0000

I assume this is based on the CDC recommendation which doesn't seem to be based on any scientific research. On the other hand, this study finds that valved masks are as effective as cloth masks as far as leakage is concerned. (1) Also, I would assume a valved mask covered by a surgical would be ok (doctors and nurses do this sometimes) but that's not clear. Otherwise, they are asking people to wear less protection based on nothing but conjecture.

(1) https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/early/2020/...

New comment by mnm1 in "Developer won’t get hit by a bus, they’ll get hired by Netflix"

mnm1 — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 18:05:56 +0000

You're asking that businesses think about long-term goals, efficiency, and what is best for the business. After having worked at over a couple dozen companies, I've never seen such an attitude from any business. Industry and size are irrelevant. Occasionally things line up by accident and the business does well, but every single business I've ever worked at or seen has a culture of shooting itself in the foot:

* No training (Not just for engineers but for anyone, including for specialty positions that simply don't exist outside the business)

* No focus on employee retention

* No significant raises / bonuses (Lucky to get a cost of living raise these days)

* No consideration for employees' goals

* Stressing employees unnecessarily with shit vacation benefits and no sick time

* Stressing employees with shit equipment

* Stressing employees with shit hours

* Stressing employees with shit office conditions

* Reducing benefits to slightly cut costs

The list goes on and on. Businesses succeed despite their own best attempts at hurting themselves, not because of it. Owners, executives, and other stakeholders are deluding themselves into thinking this isn't the case and often driving the business into actual bankruptcy or just below mediocre performance.

It's no wonder most employees are disengaged from their work. When you treat employees like shit, they will treat your business like shit to the greatest extent possible. They will do the minimum and it's extremely hard to change that course once it's been set. Employees are humans. Most businesses treat them like slaves, or machines at best.

New comment by mnm1 in "TSA considers new system for flyers without ID"

mnm1 — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 17:16:33 +0000

This will be a disaster as is usually the case with government outsourcing duties to the less qualified private sector. Surely there must be a "law" named after this by now.

Realid itself is a clusterfuck. I tried to get a driver's license with it. Presented all the paperwork. Was told my signed lease was not acceptable proof of residence and that it would be impossible. I'd have to get a regular driver's license or come back at a later time, pay again and more this time for a second license. Fuck that. What a clusterfuck of stupidity. I'll try again when it renews, assuming the pandemic in the US is completely done. Or not. It's just a fact of life that to fly from state to state, one needs to carry a passport now. In a "free" country. How ridiculous.

New comment by mnm1 in "TikTok to Sue U.S. over Ban"

mnm1 — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 07:18:43 +0000

This ban is clearly a distraction by the white house to take attention away from actual national security matters, specifically the foreign hacking of elections. It's absurd that this is a priority but protecting our electoral process is not. Only fools would believe a social network like this is a real threat.

New comment by mnm1 in "America's window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 is closing"

mnm1 — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 20:00:57 +0000

People have seasonal behavioral patterns, not the virus. The end result is similar.

New comment by mnm1 in "Postmaster general reorganizes USPS ahead of November election"

mnm1 — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 18:35:59 +0000

It's interesting to see the election being manipulated right in front of the public's eyes and be unable to do anything about it. This post office bomb is only one part. We are being told by our representatives about their briefings from intelligence agencies on foreign attacks on our elections, yet are not allowed to know any details. The white house clearly supports both domestic interference and foreign. They are actively perpetrating the fraud domestically and passively doing nothing about foreigners. There are other players, like Facebook which intentionally allows conservative conspiracy theories to thrive. It's hard to imagine this year's elections will be fair with so much meddling allowed to happen. Will we have another election decided by the Supreme Court because ballots can't be counted quickly enough? Full me once shame on ...

New comment by mnm1 in "Apple takes legal action against small company with pear logo"

mnm1 — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 00:58:01 +0000

It works as a rule if it only applies if the loser is the plaintiff who brought the case in the first place. That would indeed discourage the filing of frivolous lawsuits. In some cases, it should work the other way, but that should be up to the judge and be based on the circumstances of the case.

Edit: The downside is that it would also prevent poor plaintiffs from suing richer ones. But that is already generally the case. It's probably best to judge on a case by case basis.

New comment by mnm1 in "Apple takes legal action against small company with pear logo"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 21:13:52 +0000

About as much as an apple looks like a pear.

New comment by mnm1 in "Atlassian tells employees they can work from home forever"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 07:54:32 +0000

In software, remote work is way more productive in my experience working remotely for the last almost seven years. It's a win win. More productivity and way better working conditions (home office, nice desk etc.). Less hours needed to finish. Easier to concentrate. Easier to deal with bad bosses or co-workers or take time out and breaks during the day. More flexible schedule. Much less stress. The pros go on and on. The only negative for work is promotions and visibility, but when everyone's remote, even that works itself out.

New comment by mnm1 in "Atlassian tells employees they can work from home forever"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 07:27:25 +0000

That's exactly the end result of capitalism, at least in America, due to lack of proper regulations. There's nothing more capitalistic than a monopoly or duopoly. Oligopoly at worst. This is the goal every single capitalistic organization in the world strives for. From Google to Apple to drug dealers and slavers they all want monopoly or close to it. To claim that monopoly is not capitalistic is delusional. It's the most capitalistic situation possible and the most desired and sought after universally. It earns the winner the most capital. America has really perfected this system in its legal markets, although on the black market many other countries have too.

New comment by mnm1 in "Atlassian tells employees they can work from home forever"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 07:14:15 +0000

Wouldn't any company hiring workers in Europe need to provide the same benefits as any European company, roughly the ones listed above? Or can an American company just hire remotely and offer American benefits directly to employees (not talking about independent contractors of course)? It would seem like the former no? Or is there a possibility of the latter? Say I'm remote and would like to work in Europe. I think this is the big problem with trying to keep a remote American job there without becoming a consultant and getting paid Corp to Corp. Is remote work for an American company even possible if that company doesn't have a European presence in the country the work would be conducted in or would they need to get such presence first before it was legal? If it's the latter (seems like it would be) it could really limit the companies willing to hire in Europe.

New comment by mnm1 in "Alcohol as a social technology to check the trustworthiness of others (2014)"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 05:56:02 +0000

I think it's likely genetic (though I'm no expert in the biology), however addiction is not a flaw. It's a dominant trait for a reason. Addiction helps people achieve amazing goals when directed at the right problem. The problem is when it gets directed towards negative things like alcohol, some drugs, or other destructive addictions (like hn or reddit ... partially joking). When directed at exercise, learning, building, writing, creating, or other positive passions, it can help addicts achieve what most non-addicts can't even fathom. It needs to be balanced though, which is sometimes the most difficult part, if it's even possible.

Applying addiction to work can be beneficial, but overdoing it (which is always the struggle) leads to workaholism. Even drugs and alcohol work the same way. A little can be amazing. A lot can lead to rehab or death. Or videogames. Programming. Technology. Music. Anything. Addictive behaviors can lead to a lot of good or a lot of bad. Great artists, musicians, programmers, designers, etc. Or living on the streets drinking, shooting up, or smoking crack/meth. Two sides of the same coin. It can be a thin line. It depends on the individual, their mentality, the support around them, and many other factors.

Only one thing's for sure. It's not a genetic flaw.

New comment by mnm1 in "Silicon Valley’s Vast Data Collection Should Worry You More Than TikTok"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:46:39 +0000

These are all Chinese people the article is talking about. It's quite obvious that using Chinese apps as a Chinese person is dangerous. That's not what I asked about and certainly no reason to ban the app in America.

New comment by mnm1 in "Silicon Valley’s Vast Data Collection Should Worry You More Than TikTok"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:42:28 +0000

Chinese contacts who have never been to China. Fascinating.

New comment by mnm1 in "A Swedish doctor's perspective on Covid"

mnm1 — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:11:44 +0000

I wish I could play soccer but that'd be incredibly stupid during a pandemic and everything is shut down anyway. Running yes. Contact sports hell no.

New comment by mnm1 in "Silicon Valley’s Vast Data Collection Should Worry You More Than TikTok"

mnm1 — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 23:02:06 +0000

Please provide examples of US citizens who have never been to China being abducted by the Chinese for searching the wrong thing. Or is this just your own delusion?