Hacker News: read_wharf

New comment by read_wharf in "Ubuntu Releases 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin"

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:19:04 +0000

Ubuntu is more than Unity.

If you don't like or have trouble with Unity, try one of the other Ubuntu variants. I love lubuntu (lxde-based), it's just windows and a panel. Anything that gets between my windows and panel (like Unity) gets thrown over the side without even a wave goodbye. Lubuntu is what xubuntu once aspired to, lightweight and simple.

Here are all the ubuntu variants:

http://cdimages.ubuntu.com/

What is Ubuntu? It's the "easy" Linux distro built on a highly curated version of the debian repository and their apt package system. Mainstream Ubuntu also has Unity. It has a large user base, and a large developer community. It's a nice place to be.

When Unity first hit my laptop, I went running to Mint, only to discover that they've made a search deal. I then looked at other debian-based distros, but I missed ubuntu's curated repository. While flirting with other debians, I discovered lxde, and then lubuntu. I'm there, for now.

New comment by read_wharf in "List of those who voted for and against CISPA"

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:03:53 +0000

There should be a Congressional Technology Office, similar to the Congressional Budget Office.

New comment by read_wharf in "Ask HN: Help - I've hit a wall. "

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:46:32 +0000

They say that you should never re-write a project, but that's in the context of something deployed and operating. It sounds like you are not deployed.

You've put a lot of time into the project so far, so you've learned a lot about the project and its domain.

When you first started your project you didn't know as much as you do now.

So consider using everything you've learned to date, and start over from scratch. Total re-design, total re-write.

If you have trouble explaining the dependencies of your own project to other developers, that's a sign of ... something. If you can't break the project down into pieces for yourself to work on, that's a sign of ... something.

New comment by read_wharf in "A course in how to deal with ferocious intensity at Google"

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:54:11 +0000

It's a network study. :)

New comment by read_wharf in "Big Data's Big Problem: Little Talent"

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:44:49 +0000

If dev is outsourced, then they'll be right there in the building when they need to tap a QA shoulder.

New comment by read_wharf in "Gen X Hits Another Bump in the Road"

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:52:56 +0000

I'm no economist ... I think houses were appreciating while people were upwardly mobile in the economy. So not just more people, but more people with the means to buy a house (or borrow money for same).

Now we're stagnant, and people are talking about the disappearing middle class, and housing prices are flat.

New comment by read_wharf in "An employee, whose last name is Null, kills our employee lookup app"

read_wharf — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:15:34 +0000

I have received mail from SSA addressed to Unknown, because of confusion over my name.

New comment by read_wharf in "Consider this a job offer to work at 42Floors"

read_wharf — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:23:18 +0000

You need the best and brightest so that you can say you have the best and brightest.

You say that you have the best and brightest so that you can say you have the best and brightest.

New comment by read_wharf in "Microsoft Dumping Bing?"

read_wharf — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:13:43 +0000

This was my immediate (and only) concern.

New comment by read_wharf in "GMail: designer arrogance and the cult of minimalism"

read_wharf — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:11:11 +0000

"Am I the only one ..."

The answer to this is always "no."

Except this time.

New comment by read_wharf in "A $20 Trillion Rock That Could Turn a Startup Into Earth’s Richest Company"

read_wharf — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:03:55 +0000

"Of course, there’s a catch. You couldn’t offload all those metals on the world market at once, for fear of crashing their prices. But the company would still own that much in equity, which would allow them to borrow against it. They would be that wealthy, to all intents and purposes. That’s just how capitalism works."

You don't have equity to borrow against unless you can liquidate and transfer to the lender.

You can't liquidate and transfer to the lender unless you can bring it all down here (destroying the market and making the equity worth much less), or transfer any on-going and steady operation that is bringing it down little by little (show me the money), or by bring us up there in the form of widespread operations across multiple companies.

If we go up there in a big way, well, precious metals aren't so precious.

New comment by read_wharf in "TSA agents forced crying 4-year-old to undergo pat-down after hug"

read_wharf — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:22:46 +0000

The worst thing we've learned is that all we have to say is "we followed standard procedures" and we get a free pass, regardless of how egregious standard procedures or implementations may be.

New comment by read_wharf in "Rethinking Programming Language Tutorials"

read_wharf — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:05:57 +0000

Yes, exactly. We need tutorials for people who are primarily learning to program and are using a language for that, and tutorials for people who already know how to program and are using a language for GST.

New comment by read_wharf in "Python Deployment Anti-Patterns"

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:02:58 +0000

I have just been educated by reading more of this thread. I can see an obvious need for one virtualenv, so that you can separate your service and its needs from the system python and its needs. Beyond that my inclination would be to go more servers rather than more virtualenvs, but circumstances vary and my experience is narrow.

New comment by read_wharf in "Python Deployment Anti-Patterns"

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:24:41 +0000

"First DO use packages that come with the OS."

I'd go middle ground, and start here, but consider a self-built package where necessary. It depends in part on the focus of your distro.

virtualenv. What problem does it solve? Different python version/environments? Wouldn't that be better solved with another (virtual) server? I understand if an extra $20/month is an issue, but otherwise ...

New comment by read_wharf in "Why not render posts at publication time rather than request time?"

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:11:37 +0000

Wasteful organization.

The post:

  http://static.matthewlmcclure.com/s/2012/04/22/wasteful-computation.html

One up, 404:

  http://static.matthewlmcclure.com/s/2012/04/22/

One up, 404:

  http://static.matthewlmcclure.com/s/2012/04/

One up, 404:

  http://static.matthewlmcclure.com/s/2012/

One up, something:

  http://static.matthewlmcclure.com/s/

Why do this? I understand the desire to organize, but why make bins with nothing in them? As it is, all he needs is /s/.

I would naturally expect .../2012/ to have either all the 2012 posts or all months that have posts, .../2012/04/ to have all of 2012's April posts or all days that have posts, etc. But not nothing.

New comment by read_wharf in "You can zip open Google's homepage today."

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:09:08 +0000

I got my ... pointer stuck in the zipper.

New comment by read_wharf in "Living The American Dream"

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:04:24 +0000

Welcome.

New comment by read_wharf in "The first animated graphic novel"

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:57:08 +0000

It looks really cool. I wish, however, that the overall ecosystem was easier to create these things cross platform rather than per-corporation. I don't really want three or four different devices so that I can read works on iPhones, Androids, Kindles, etc. In fact I don't even want a device, I already have a browser running on a screen.

The current ecosystem has the feel of the 1990s, when corporate web sites were walled off behind the AOL domain, although I admit that today's walled gardens are much shinier than AOL ever could have been.

New comment by read_wharf in "The first animated graphic novel"

read_wharf — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:48:19 +0000

It sounds attractive to me, I like the idea of separate animated panels. I also think the idea of localized animation, to coin a phrase, could lead to some interesting presentation methods in more traditional books.