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blaines

298 karma · joined April 25, 2010

Programmer.
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blaines··on Phreak.ing – Internet Phone Switch
For a good time call https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo
blaines··on Long live American Science and Surplus
Jameco in Belmont, CA jameco.com

This is my Bay Area resource for electronic parts in a pinch.

blaines··on Okta to Acquire Auth0 for $6.5B
I have a couple friends who previously worked for Okta and they similarly lamented that the comp was shit and they treated folks poorly in the IPO process. For them, it wasn't worth it.
blaines··on 90-year-old man spends $10k on 2 ads in WSJ to tell AT&T CEO about slow internet
That is not accurate in reality. Just because a provider is reported for an area doesn't mean they are obligated to service the entire area.

The data presented is unreliable and so a potentially valuable tool like this becomes worthless.

blaines··on Simple Bank Is Closing
Absolutely, but these folks are the one's I'm applauding as it was their work that was the foundation for the next nearly ten years.
blaines··on Simple Bank Is Closing
Thanks to the countless folks that built a customer focused bank. It's really sad to see Simple wind down, and it's been the best bank I've had the chance to use. Their service has been unmatched compared even to the best local banks in my area. I've been a customer for nearly a decade now - wow. Early on I exchanged emails with Josh and the team not just regarding banking matters, but reporting bugs, design issues, or giving feedback. They were always receptive and I appreciated that they took the time to respond to my messages.

They had downtime once and credited my account $50. Simple, I know, but it was a gesture that really set them apart and humanized the company.

Thank you for starting Simple. Thank you Josh and the rest of the team at Simple: Shamir, Ian C., Brian M1, Toby, Adam, Rachel, Tom, Dustin, Zac, John, Ryan H., Melissa, Ian E., James, Liene, Collin, Matt S., Daron, Cameron, Eric, Jarred, Chris B., Shane, Dan H., Dan D., Robyn, Ryan D., Will M., Brian M2, Michael M., Chelsea, Kelly, Tristan, Will C., Justin, Steven, Matt W., Chris S., Charlie, Mimi, Orlena, Michael E., Krista, Bar, Jen, Matt H., Jake, Matt M.

:')

PS: Startup marketing tip - Add a call to action at the bottom of your email newsletter that reminds your customers to share their experience with their friends and colleagues. Here was Simple's:

> PS - We often have people ask how they can help us continue to grow. Firstly, you're awesome, thanks for asking! Secondly, Its easy–just tell your friends! In fact, you can even send referrals directly from our mobile apps.

blaines··on The cleverest floppy disc protection ever? Western Security Ltd
The comments are rather interesting as apparently George Keeling himself commented and confirmed everything. :)
blaines··on Amazon Liable for Defective Third-Party Products Rules CA Appellate Court
That's pretty much the point of chain-of-custody systems, because everyone in that supply chain is involved in ensuring that food is safe. Chain of custody systems help identify the error which lead to an incident, and all parties are held accountable for their part in that process. For example:

- The store refrigerators may have lost power. Those products are now waste or potentially hazardous and must be tossed. (Otherwise risky, temperature can be tracked, but in a loss of power scenario is more difficult)

- The delivery truck broke down. Perhaps the temperature in the trailer went above acceptable food safety thresholds.

- The packaging company potentially stored a product outside of the coolers, leading to a food safety hazard.

etc.

blaines··on I ordered a box of boxes from The Packaging Wholesalers via Amazon.ca
Just today this happened to me! I ordered a 6 pack of batteries and got a box of 6 packs of batteries. Now I’ve got enough for the rest of my life!

I had already read this thread, and first thing I check is the barcodes. The box of packs of batteries has the same barcode as the package of batteries itself.

https://twitter.com/blaines/status/1227430981134516224?s=20

blaines··on Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node
I'd love to both participate and lurk :)
blaines··on Techshop Closes Doors, Files Bankruptcy
Have a look at my other comment. Possibly hacker dojo
blaines··on Techshop Closes Doors, Files Bankruptcy
It'd be good to have your support for whatever comes next! Check out the reddit post/slack group: https://www.reddit.com/r/Techshop/comments/7d7e0m/san_franci...
blaines··on Techshop Closes Doors, Files Bankruptcy
Let's stay in touch if you're interested in keeping the bay area maker community together. I started a slack group, maybe we can all coordinate. More details here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Techshop/comments/7d7e0m/san_franci...

I know a number of people, artists, machinists, hackers, entrepreneurs, some who became friends who have used Techshop to jump start their livelihood, startup, or bootstrapped business. I'd like to see the community workshop live on.

---

Some alternative options open to the public:

https://thecrucible.org/

https://www.noisebridge.net/

https://www.hackerdojo.com/

http://biocurious.org/

https://www.acemonstertoys.org

http://beniciamakerspace.org/

https://695space.com

https://woodthumb.com/

Some private options, generally by invitation, education, or business:

Autodesk Pier 9

Berkeley Tool Lending Library https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/locations/tool-lending... (You need a library card and I think residence in Berkeley)

https://doubleunion.org/ (Possibly Women only?)

---

Edit: Our group is growing quickly! If you have a need for tools, equipment, or have them available for use you should join. Members of Wood Thumb, 695 Space, and others in the community are active. Thank you everyone!

blaines··on Seeing AI for iOS
There was a demo of this on the series Bill Nye Saves The World
blaines··on Docker Betas for AWS, Azure, Mac, and Windows
What does beanstalk do exactly? I stopped using it once I needed multi-container deployments but I know that's supported now.
blaines··on Docker Cloud: Build, ship, and run any app anywhere
That's about what I gathered as well. ECS task definitions seem to do just fine.
blaines··on Docker Betas for AWS, Azure, Mac, and Windows
I can't get GPU instances on GCE and high CPU instances max out at 32 vCPU which is a blocker for me.

After further review, they don't seem to have a product similar to SNS, looks like I might be able to do most of the same things with Pub/Sub though.

blaines··on Make: Electronics Book Bundle
Well if you're looking to donate, Equality Florida is on the Humble Bundle charity roster. They're collecting for and helping distribute money to Pulse victims and their families.

http://www.eqfl.org/ https://www.gofundme.com/PulseVictimsFund

blaines··on NYC tech catching up to Silicon Valley, while Seattle flails
Walmart Labs is in San Bruno - I believe may also or formerly be in SF :)
blaines··on Polymagnets
I've used it but it's only good for making magnets and most people need something more than just a magnet. A table saw on the other hand is a tool good for many projects and purposes.

It's pretty cool really, the software isn't too bad (as compared with other CNC software). The machine is definitely a one-off unique thing it's serial number is 0002!

blaines··on $250k of DigitalOcean credits for YC startups
Who exactly at AWS were you asking? I talked to people at the AWS loft a few times and they said there was nothing they could do for our startup.
blaines··on With Lyft Line, Passengers Can Split Fares for Shared Rides
I agree. Also worth noting the Lyft had a TC article about this. Getting a product and press definitely takes more time and effort than a beta signup.
blaines··on Show HN: San Francisco MUNI Transit Delays, Visualized
I agree, but it's useless at the beginning or end of routes as drivers don't depart on time.
blaines··on Show HN: San Francisco MUNI Transit Delays, Visualized
Hang out around Embarcadero Station during evening rush or 4th & King sometime. It's a real mess. I've seen 4 busses running back to back, and some mornings I'll see 5 or more trains backed up. Not to mention the entire system already runs at a snail's pace. I generally bike, and I will usually get there in about 1/2 the time. Compare to Chicago where there's no way I could outrun a CTA bus, let alone the trains.
blaines··on Please stop serving .git to the outside world
Apparently fixed as it's now a redirect loop.
blaines··on Hand-to-mouth living from a credit card company perspective
> There is a significant amount of government assistance that only kicks in when you run out of savings.

Can you elaborate?

blaines··on Airport Exposes Class Divisions in Silicon Valley
Have you heard of O'Hare or Midway? [Formerly] Meigs Field? All of these can accomodate private aircraft.
blaines··on Security theater martial law and a tale that trumps every cop-n-donut joke ever
Did they say that when asking people to stay home or did they tell people they would be safer at home?
blaines··on Security theater martial law and a tale that trumps every cop-n-donut joke ever
Yeah the author was definitely off topic there. Maybe they are unaware of how hard it can be to move around the world at a moments notice. I believe golf courses and the other facilities are hugely beneficial to our service members and are well deserved.
blaines··on FBI Updates on Boston explosions
Yep your link (kind of) worked. It's not loading quickly or entirely.
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