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andrew_gardener

88 karma · joined May 23, 2013

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andrew_gardener··on Burnout is real – how to avoid it
Might be stepping out but I think you've already identified quite a few things that can be worked on in order to help yourself out.

hobby - honestly just try a bunch of different things for a while and you might be surprised what you like. Take up gardening, hobby games (build/paint miniatures and play 40k, battletech, etc.), hiking, really anything that requires some focus and a bit of work. In a lot of cases its more about having something to do other than work and being tired/lazy/depressed at home vegging out and/or getting into a worse headspace.

mate/social circle - honestly this can be hard (especially if you’re really introverted) but getting into a hobby can open new doors. Also think about getting a pet or two. Animal companionship can really be more than a substitute for other people and fill you with all sorts of joys.

life purpose - this is really hard but honestly you and in complete control over this if you push yourself hard enough. Literally just choose something. It can even be to just live as long as possible despite any shitty circumstances (doesn’t have to be some grand unachievable goal).

I really hope I'm not stepping out of line but your message seemed like a call for help. I've had my own long spells of depression and some of the above have helped me a lot. Please also consider getting in contact with professional help if it’s really getting bad. Forget about shame, nervousness, or whatever had headspace your currently in, your life is 100% worth more than any of that.

andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: How to deal with a low competence co-founder that you're stuck with
To further this point, it might not be the end of your relationship if you encourage her to seek meaningful employment in whatever expertise she has from her PHD. It doesn't sound like she's as interested as you think she is in your start-up.
andrew_gardener··on Why can’t the world’s greatest minds solve the mystery of consciousness?
What's they're trying to say is that the goal for what AI is supposed to be/achieve is always raising as when we actually reach the goal.

The general the goal of AI is to do things only Humans can do (in the past this included chess or holding a semi-coherent conversation). Now its more focused on human consciousness like Data from Star Trek so their statement is fair enough.

andrew_gardener··on Needless Crunchtime- run or rough it out?
If you're unhappy if your job in general, go with the 3rd option (look for something better during the holidays).

If you're only unhappy if the pending deadline and the ensuing chaos, go with the 1st or 2nd option. This depends on how you feel the CEO will react to the deadline not being reached (he could take it out on the people around him or the people who took time off).

If you genuinely care about the company and what its trying to do, go for the risky 4th option. If it doesn't pay off, fallback to 3rd option.

my 2 cents

andrew_gardener··on Leo The Homeless Coder Is Still Homeless
Its my sincere hope that it is a "soft" ultimatum. That is, if the deadline is reached, that Patrick will just extend it with another deadline. I think Patrick is just trying to apply some pressure to help Leo take the money in one form or another (now if that's a good idea or not...)

Of course I have no idea what Patrick will do if it comes down to the deadline but I truly hope he's not going to force some sort of resolution.

andrew_gardener··on Leo The Homeless Coder Is Still Homeless
The reasons he hasn't been paid is because Leo doesn't want to open a bank account and they both agree that cashing out is a bad idea. Its important to know that having a lot of cash on hand can be dangerous for anyone and even more so for the homeless.

There are ways around it and receiving smaller sums over time might solve the problem but its really up to what Leo's comfortable with.

andrew_gardener··on Algorithmic tagging of Hacker News or any other site
After receiving 42 comments, I've ran their tagging algorithm on this page and got:

tags tagging hours link doppenhe reply ago lda

looks pretty promising!

andrew_gardener··on The worst year of my life
Do you really think a child is ever going to tell any (responsible) parent that they just beat up another kid for fun today and ask for a high five?

I don't think I've ever encountered, in real life or media, a child coming clean with their parents about harassing and hurting other people without some outside pressure (aka other parents or the school getting involved)

andrew_gardener··on Show HN: I built a platform for scripting your own Bitcoin trading bot in Python
I'm very interested. I've thought of bitcoin bots but haven't had the time really get into it yet.

just a couple of questions:

How long is it between ticks?

How easily will it be to get money in or out of your system?

Is there any long term storage assigned to the bots? (something that will survive a server reset)

Edit: I just realized that the example uses a storage variable. Can you give me details about that (how large, stable, secure, etc it is)?

andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: best music to code to?
I usually listen to whatever is on the top of the list for anime radio stations (http://www.shoutcast.com/radio/Anime) while at work (since its easier to just stream some music).

At home I have a large collection of random music (some music from video games, anime, metal/electronic bands, parody/comedy songs, meme themed songs, etc)

andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: best music to code to?
It works differently for different people. For me it helps drown out background noise in the office and helps relax me so I can get in the zone. Its important to note that I play my music very low with headphone and with rather no lyrics or lyrics in a different language so that it doesn't distract me.

With all that said though, there is nothing worse than being subjected to a coworker's music choice. Having experienced this at different jobs, I can totally understand why other people avoid music at work like the plague.

andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: A first (or early) upvote bonus?
Wouldn't that just encourage vote spamming?
andrew_gardener··on If developers are decision makers, they buy better tools
All company blog posts are adverts (or they're doing it wrong)
andrew_gardener··on Yelp reviewers claim to be employees in lawsuit
so if this lawsuit were to win, would this be the beginning of the end for user generated content sites?

Not that I think they'll win. Its a bit of a stretch to call these reviewers employees unless there is something missing from the article (I've never heard of Yelp before so I don't know much about them).

andrew_gardener··on Get a free copy (No BS) of Ryan Holiday's Bestseller "Growth Hacker Marketing"
thank you ^_^
andrew_gardener··on Show HN: Sketchology
So does the tool just abstract pixels or is it using Vectors? If it is vectors, what kinds of tools does it offer for exporting?

Note that I'm not into designing at all but I might suggest this to a friend for their projects

andrew_gardener··on Save Airbnb in New York
What law(s) do they want to change even? The email is very vague in that regard.
andrew_gardener··on Ethical to ask interview candidates to solve your company's toughest problems?
As long as your truthful that these are problems your company's facing and are actually hiring it should be fine. Please do hire the person who's solution your going with and put them on that project though.

If your just scraping ideas/solutions, it is certainly unethical though I don't think it is illegal.

andrew_gardener··on Show HN: war2map.com mmo rts on Google maps
I can't try this out right now but I'm wondering if you can band together with people close to you and build alliances/nations? Would be very cool to be able to take over countries and eventually the world if so
andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: I've been asked to give a speech: I am terrified.
If you feel you cannot do it then don't do it. There is no reason to torture yourself psychologically and physically if its not something you want to do.

I see a lot people writing comments about how to improve your speaking skills (which could be something good to do but...) while ignoring the fact you're basically worried about breaking down again from the pressure.

Please take care of your basic needs and mental stability before worrying about satisfying others. If you feel you can do it, give it a shot. If not, save yourself (and the organizers) grief and bow out now.

Please be well and take care of yourself.

andrew_gardener··on We paid $634 million for the Obamacare sites and all we got was this lousy 404
I believe his main point is that its not just the States that has a corrupt/ineffective government. Other places with there own government problems have managed to gain some form of public free/cheap healthcare.
andrew_gardener··on ShowHN: Naming Tool
Thanks, found the edit icon.

I honestly wasn't expecting to find it in the title line though. Maybe you could add a button with the text "edit" below the description to the right of the constraints? That's more where I expected to find it. That or just make it stand out more.

One final suggestion for the UI (please keep in mind I'm not a designer and therefor you can freely ignore my opinion if you want), the left side is a lot more content heavy then the right side of the screen on the entry page. Maybe move the "Got a cool name for this?" section underneath the listed names on the right side?

andrew_gardener··on ShowHN: Naming Tool
Is there a way to edit entries after they've been entered? I have a tendency to make typos (which I made on my entry) and don't see any way to edit the description.

One feature you could add (maybe premium) is the ability for the entry creator to see if domain names are available for suggested names. I had one name suggestion for my entry and this is the first thing I did.

Wish you the best luck and success with this!

andrew_gardener··on ShowHN: Naming Tool
Pretty cool idea. Added one for testing :)

How long does a free entry stay on the front page for?

andrew_gardener··on Ten days and nights unplugged
You likely find it stressful since they are completely and totally ignoring you and not even trying to be polite or nice about it. Its one thing to be part of a conversation and not really contribute to it (but are at least paying attention and trying to absorb the information) and another to be "part" of a conversation and completely oblivious to said conversation.

This has happened to me a lot in recent years and I find it stressful as well. Probably the biggest problem I have with it is I don't understand the purpose of going out somewhere with people to not participate at all. Why not just save everyone time/trouble and not go in the first place?

andrew_gardener··on Show HN: Share your memory and we will photograph it
I hate to ask but how does this even work (sorry I don't get it)? I send to a detailed story and you make a mock scene of it and send me the picture?
andrew_gardener··on Using Historical Data To Rank The Top Magic: The Gathering Cards
I believe they are more popular since it offers more flexible.

You can get dual lands, effect lands like wasteland, and regular lands instead of being stuck with any given one of the listed.

You also get the benefit of lowering the odds of drawing a land since you've cleared another one out of your deck.

Finally you get a chance to shuffle (which might matter in some decks).

andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: Help? Despite years of trying, I cannot learn to program.
In that case you can try and make your developers life as easy as possible by taking on a more supportive role (what that entails depends on the developers) to help them pump out the code.

That or really stick to your guns and get into coding for real. It seems that the major problem is that you lack the proper motivation to learn. So why not ask your co-founder if there is some small aspect of the website that you could work on in your free time?

Get your co-founder to set you up on your own branch so you can work in isolation and learn how to do that small feature step by step. This way you'll have the motivation that your feature might someday make it into the final product. Just make sure to have your partner review your code and live with the fact it might not be good enough to use (yet).

Practicing on features used in real projects can really help you learn at lot.

andrew_gardener··on Ask HN: Help? Despite years of trying, I cannot learn to program.
This! You may not realize it but your co-founder is likely very dependent on you getting those users. You can try and broaden your horizons but make sure you get your work done first and foremost!

Also ask yourself, does my co-founder even want me touching the code and servers?

andrew_gardener··on Show HN: My first web app - helping elderly take their medicine
Can't agree more.

Though the design could be improved for the HN audience, it might actually work better with the target audience (but what do I know! I'm no designer).

Good for a first app. Good luck!

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