brianlash

Most of HN will see the net win for Hackety Hack, and that's fair enough, but I'm sorry he won't be on the front lines of CloudFab's campaign to disrupt rapid prototyping. I loved the wild-eyed way he talked about upending the industry, and he and cofounder Nick Pinkston formed exactly the mad-scientist-meets-cunning-business-guy pair you could see pulling it off. So while I know this move had to happen and I support his decision, I also think another (admittedly very different) cause will suffer for its loss of an important contributor/activist.

Also, anyone notice The Assistant's copy of Founders at Work?

Not bad for a weekend project! Good name. Smooth and predictable functionality. No bizarre usability things that surprise or confuse and a generally interesting concept. For simplicity's sake I would make the entire images clickable, but that's my only nitpick. I think the site is neat and appeals to everyone's inner Perez (in a _good_ way).

The number tells us to expect a list. That's information. Then it tells us that it's a long list, which in turn rules out the likelihood that it's one of those 3-point time wasters someone from Demand Media whipped together in the name of page views. More information still.

I'm not saying that makes it right in the eyes of PG or in terms of the guidelines. But IMHO those 2 characters tell us a lot about what to expect on the other side.

Missing is his hatred of adverbs; To King's mind "He screamed angrily" is a terrible sentence because it uses the -ly construction to say what should be clear in context. So with precious few exceptions he scraps all the -ly's and lets his characters' actions do the talking.

It's important as a runner that you have a solid "highway system" of muscle fibers that can handle the waste throughput of your regimen. The most popular way competitve runners achieve this is by running lots of slow* comfortable base miles over several months. Increasing mileage 10% a week will break the cells down, while planned rest allows the body to regenerate 'heartier' cells capable of handling greater and greater loads. In the most relatable sense that burn you feel when you work out will start happening later and later; In physiological terms you've "increased your lactic threshold." The advantages of building an aerobic base transcend the muscle highway concept and seem to have really solid implications for cardiovascular health. Just something to think about.

*slow is relative and implies that you're running about 2 minutes off your tempo pace. A little huffing/puffing is okay, but it should feel natural to hold a conversation. Maintaining this slow pace - even when you feel you could run faster - is the hardest part of base building and therefore that piece which seems to pay the best dividends (for those who are disciplined).

Remember that walking is technically exercise. 5 miles walking is 5 miles jogging is 5 miles running, at least as far as your heart is concerned. Calorie burn is roughly equal too.

I won't pretend to know anything about you (You might run laps around me!) but if you think jogging sucks there's a chance you're making some classic mistakes re: not investing in slow base miles, not developing 'cellular piping' so your body can efficiently wick away waste, etc...

This topic strikes a chord with me because I hated running a few years ago. A marine friend of mine knocked it into my head that I was going about it all wrong, and I finally came around (kicking and screaming) to his way of thinking. I read Galloway's book (http://books.google.com/books?id=3kqUP3upHQ4C&printsec=f...) changed my approach and started running for pleasure. Now I log 20 to 30 miles a week for recreation, and formerly 'breakneck' paces feel comfortable (I think the charge from that natural pace is a positively excellent time to let the endorphins supercharge your thinking). And for the record I'm not blazing fast... my 5k PR is 20 minutes and change. But again speed doesn't really count for beans; It's really about following the fundamentals and letting the miles take care of themselves. BONUS: The boost to my fitness helped me earn a qualifying time for my fire department's Rapid Intervention Team, which was really gratifying.

You don't need to kill yourself to see awesome benefits from running, and I truly believe (moderate) physical exertion can plausibly yield higher order thinking.

If you're open to trying an all-in-one I'd add Espresso from macrabbit and Coda from panic to my short list. Between the two I think most consider it a toss-up, although I slightly prefer the former.

My only issue with his comment is that he's challenged an argument on the basis of a faulty assumption (that charities do good) by introducing a new assumption (that charities might do good, but often do evil) without defending it. So from the standpoint of defensible logic it isn't much better.

I see another commentor made a point about the International Tobacco Growers Association. That's all I was looking for... something we can sink our teeth into that allows the skeptics among us to reject Conclusion A for Conclusion B.

Also, I think you mean a priori.

There are more shades of gray for someone going into their first year. If you're already halfway done I tend to think it'll be to your advantage to set your jaw and grind through your last year or two.

Do something that will afford you plenty of lateral freedom (so you can take that calligraphy course a la http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc#t=4m28s) but that will give you some skill you can make money with on the other side.

If grad school is your goal (you didn't indicate so I'm only guessing) then a purely theoretical degree is fine; you'll satisfy your intellectual curiosity while demonstrating that you have the chops for higher level thinking. Otherwise, please please get a degree in something more specific.

The business of designing your own degree makes me nervous. On the one hand you can use it to show you had the industry to do something off the beaten path. On the other hand it's this thing no one can easily relate to. If I tell you I have a degree in Economics you understand what that means (that I'm no economist is besides the point!). But it comes with certain expectations about the materials I studied and the manner in which I was trained to think/solve problems. That signaling goes a long way with employers and/or clients and you might pay a price if you get too creative.

Also you never, ever know where life circumstances will take you. Best not to get a chip on your shoulder. Not saying that you have, just saying that I've seen it happen; we entrepreneurs get it in our heads that "none of this matters... I'm starting my own company when I graduate." You might be 100% right, but best to find out when you get there.

One final thing: Don't take anything I've said too literally. A year in the Business major doldrums got me overly concerned with doing something more pragmatic (again, I think this is only natural of we entrepreneurs) so I added Economics to my CV and rushed my schooling to finish a year early. Looking back that was so foolish... I should have lightened my course load and finished on time with my buddies. That would have given me plenty of opportunity to explore more interesting classes (like softer stuff in communications and theater) while using the extra time to get my business off the ground. You know what they say about hindsight.

Good luck either way. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders so I'm confident things will work out for you.

As an aside, while this demographic has less total buying power than that of responsible consumers, it's also a hell of a lot more likely to buy stuff. Possible net positive?

Again it's just my opinion but I rather like the name.

Are you getting at the pursuit of higher understanding angle i.e. separating the pragmatic pursuit of workplace advancement from the more selfless or idealistic pursuit of knowledge?