b14ck

They are launching later this week--this HN post is their first publicity (as far as I know). They literally just enabled the beta invites to attract some attention.

It looks pretty good on the inside. Sort of an amazon.com with bitcoin.

I loved your post. I wish I could hire you to work with me! I really hope you find something, and that everything works out.

Best of luck, from one hacker to another.

Well, the idea is that instead of logging into production, you log into your development environment, do the testing there--then you write a script that replicates what you just did. Lastly, you run the script on staging, and if that seems to work, then run it on production.

There's a pretty handy tool I use now (fabric: docs.fabfile.org) that makes it pretty simple.

I just let it ride at the time. When I joined the company there wasn't any other tech guy around except me (our tech guy was on a vacation). So I was left alone for a while, and had to sort out of lot of craziness :)

That's true. I'm assuming that you (the developer) will already be consciously making these decisions as you discover new things, and will only feel the 'fear' if you realize that you do indeed need it.

Thanks for your input :)

I have the kindle DX (in graphite), latest generation. I love it.

I read a ton of programming books for fun (mixed with business and fiction), and spend a ton of money on amazon buying paper books, so I was naturally interested in the Kindle DX as it would save me a lot of money and space in my apartment.

Anyways, I've had mine for about 2 months now, and haven't regretted it at all. Every programming book I've purchased reads just fine, and I have had no issues what-so-ever. The only thing that kinda bugs me is that some books (I'm looking at you, pragmatic bookshelf) don't have a kindle version, however, most do.

Also, if you turn your 3G off, the kindle will run for well over a month without a recharge. I've had mine on for the past 1.25 months or so without charging, and that thing still has 25% battery left. Crazy.

If you're moving to LA, send me an email. I live here, been living here for a while, and really enjoy it. I'd be happy to help you out and get you acquainted with the place!

rdegges@gmail.com

+1 for fabric.

If you haven't used fabric, give it a try. It's an extremely simple API for performing remote management, deployment, etc.

I've tried numerous tools but nothing compares to fabric. It is just so easy and it always works. I can't imagine not seeing a fabfile.py in my project's deploy/ dir anymore, it just wouldn't be right.

I really enjoy reading. I take it as a serious hobby (I spend on average 1 hour a day reading, often times more).

I read a variety of books: programming (learn something new), business (keep yourself motivated and consider new approaches), lifestyle (what can I do to be a better person?), and fiction (oooh, a good story).

I can't being to explain how much of a profound impact reading has had on my life. I used to read a ton when I was younger, but when I started university I stopped for a while (hanging out with people, lots of social stuff), and didn't get back into the habit until the beginning of last year.

Reading keeps my mind focused, helps me relax, and teaches me new things all the time. When I read programming books, I make a point to write some software using whatever techniques / libraries the book I'm reading is discussing. This helps me get a better understanding of what I'm reading and learning about, and it's a lot of fun.

How often do you read? Do you enjoy what you're reading?

Don't forget nature sounds (animals, etc.) and weather. They both played a big part in it for me.

I originally didn't think it would make much of a difference. I just figured that sunlight and nature would have very little (if any) effect. However, after actually doing it, and seeing such a huge shift in schedule, I realized the importance of sunlight a LOT more.

I didn't see the article you're referring to (can't seem to find it), but I'll try taking a morning walk as well. Sounds like a peaceful way to start the day.

I've been working in the telephony industry for nearing 2 years now. I'm currently the lead developer at a communications company.

I'd recommend installing Elastix (http://www.elastix.org/) on any old p4 computer you can find. Elastix is an Asterisk-distribution (fully open source) which uses a customized version of FreePBX (a pretty awesome web interface for configuring / managing Asterisk).

It's extremely easy to use, and integrates with different CRM systems, supports faxing, and basically anything else you want. They also have 24/7 tech support available by phone (which is good), if you get stuck.

For phone lines, I'd recommend getting a SIP account with flowroute (http://flowroute.com/). They're a stable, cheap, and reliable SIP provider that has:

1. An awesome web portal. 2. Is easy to sign up with. 3. Is cheap. 4. Won't let you down.

You can't really beat them for US phone service.

If you want help setting anything up, I can even help out online (or over the phone) for free. I've set them up for friends, family, and some local businesses, and it has been a huge success every time.

Check out my profile for contact information if you have questions or anything, I'd be happy to answer them.

If you're looking for a good tech community / channel to hang out in, I can recommend two. These channels are best suited for programmer / coder types who enjoy hanging out and chatting about tech stuff.

irc.darkscience.org/#darkscience irc.oftc.net/#neverfear

And their respective websites:

http://darkscience.org/ http://neverfear.org/

I'm in the same situation as you (although I've only been working at home for ~6 months so far). Feel free to send me an AIM: comradeb14ck

I like this a lot. My suggestion would be to write a nice distutils package, then put it into the python cheeseshop. I'd be willing to generate one for you if you want.

Looks great though, I will definitely be using this :)

Your comment inspired me. I've been thinking about this for a long time, and after reading this, I think it's definitely worth the investment (only 400$), and if it doesn't work out, there's always ebay.

Thanks for your thoughts!

You said that the Kindle UI is clunky and that it is small to read on. The Kindle I'm thinking of buying is the new DX model with the 9.7" screen. I'm wondering if you think that one is still too small, or if that is suitable?

And regarding the clunky UI, what is the problem with it? The most important things to me, I think, would be easily flipping pages (back and fourth), and searching for text.

I love the website. The design looks great (don't change it!) and I like the simple, intuitive interface.

I spent about 10 minutes flipping through reels, and linked a friend. Now he's going through reels. We probably won't get much work done for the rest of the afternoon :D