So, the primary bit worth really noting:
"Build your think" (I'll assume "think" was intended as "thing".)
This is the "build something people want" of the YC model. There's nothing better you can do if you want funding than to build something people want. It's possible to get funding for things people don't want, but much harder, and why bother? Get to the point where you're sure people want it, before trying to get big funding (big being anything over $50k). You'll be in a stronger position in negotiations, and you'll be able to choose from good investors.
"network with your peers"
This is the weekly dinners part of the YC model, and I believe it was more useful to us than all of the other great stuff that YC brought to us (and I frequently say so). If there were a "technical startup founders club" that existed in some startup hub, and had some kind of barrier to entry akin to the YC application process, I believe it would produce nearly as many good businesses as Y Combinator. You need the barrier to entry, because business idiots flock to events that have lots of hackers looking to start businesses, hoping to find someone to implement their killer idea. They end up making it a useless business card exchange--I noticed this at quite a few of the more open YC events and meetup type things around YC--hackers are shy, and so the business idiots end up doing all the talking, and the hackers just kind of stand around being assaulted by the loud jackasses with killer ideas. Without the seriously smart hackers and designers-only rule, there's no value. Even without the money or Paul Graham, this kind of weekly event would product great results.
"Slashdot is read by an older (more experienced) crowd than news.yc. It would be a good idea to understand some of where they are coming from-- after all they were around during the last boom when the average YC foundre was not yet a teen!"
On this bit, well, I'm kind of stunned as how much the trolls have taken over Slashdot in the past couple of years. I've been a slashdot reader since it was chips and dips (yeah, I'm old), and it was once a place where people starting companies would get a warm reception and reasonably good advice. The remaining old-timers seem to be just bitter about failed ventures during and in the aftermath of the boom...that's not wisdom. Take note that I've founded a Y Combinator company, and I'm also one of those Slashdot old-timers of which you speak (hopefully, having the experience needed to make rational judgment calls on these issues), and I found little but trolling on that thread, which is was I felt compelled to respond.