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fsargent

240 karma · joined March 28, 2012

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/fsargent; my proof: https://keybase.io/fsargent/sigs/rMubH62pI6BbZbNSOOpT8TVRRtOkCvj8WgOiFWprtUk ] https://felixsargent.com On the market for Engineering Management roles in SF Bay Area or Remote (as of 2020-05-08)
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fsargent··on Building a no-code toxicity classifier by talking to GitHub Copilot
I seriously thought that GitHub CoPilot was suggesting how to find new kinds of sarin gas. https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/17/22983197/ai-new-possible-... How long until it does?
fsargent··on Approval voting: The political reform engineers – and voters – love
I think if anything it'll simplify things. Right now the tactical concerns are huge. Read about the congressional primary tactics here: https://electionscience.org/commentary-analysis/no-one-guard...
fsargent··on Approval voting: The political reform engineers – and voters – love
Author here. I’m the chair of the Center for Election Science. Happy to answer any questions that anyone might have. I’m really excited to have this article published in rollcall, which is a significant Washington DC newspaper.
fsargent··on Show HN: I made a 5-key keyboard
Definitely check out the mechanical keyboards part of Reddit. There are a lot of ordinary keyboards with fancy switches but I’ve enjoyed getting into the ergo layouts like [Soufle](https://josef-adamcik.cz/electronics/let-me-introduce-you-so...) which I’m just about to build for myself.

The Romac is a numpad version. Same techniques all around. Use a Pro Micro chipset and install the QMK firmware and you’re off.

fsargent··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2020)
Applied for the Eng manager role. Thanks for posting!
fsargent··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2020)
Applied for the Engineering Manager roles -- thank you!
fsargent··on Münchhausen Trilemma
Consciousness can very easily be an illusion. Existence too. Ever tried doing science while dreaming?
fsargent··on A simpler, more organized Slack
When are these features available? It's not listed, and it doesn't seem to be in the current version.
fsargent··on Bosch Smart glasses: A tiny laser array paints images directly onto your retina
I believe that's the difference here -- This isn't a DLP projector. It really does paint on to your retina snow-crash style.
fsargent··on Show HN: Ryeboard – Visual Workspace
This just makes me miss Google Wave.
fsargent··on NHS gets £40M to cut login times on its IT systems
Auth0
fsargent··on The Science of Wi-Fi on Airplanes
Thank you. Was very disappointed to not find that in the discussion.

Looks like it’s already being trialed for military C-12 planes.

https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-ser...

fsargent··on Ask HN: What do you do with your Raspberry Pi?
My wife and I went to Paris, and in our AirBnB there was a fantastic little radio. We'd turn it on and listen to Radio FIP and just leave it going. I had forgotten the pleasure of listening to what was on, rather than picking, or worse, skipping songs. I hooked up my raspberry Pi to a small LED header with directional buttons on it. Each button was a different french radio station's m3u stream, output to speakers. It perfectly simulated the radio. I want to put in a delay where it would be time synched with California so the theme is more aligned (slow night time music at lunch is noticeable).
fsargent··on Berkeley City Council fairly prioritizes issues with Reweighted Range Voting
OC - AMA.
fsargent··on Approval Voting versus Instant Runoff Voting
It can't be mentioned enough that Approval Voting works with existing voting machines. One of the unfortunate difficulties with IRV is that it often requires a wholesale replacement of the voting infrastructure. The Center for Election Science is a big supporter of IRV as a better system than our current "Choose One" voting method, but we've found that Approval Voting is both more descriptive and less prone to strategy, as well as being significantly easier to implement and use.

NB: I'm the Chair of the Board for The Center for Election Science. AMA.

fsargent··on Night Sight for Pixel phones
Can you link to some research on that? I'd love to throw together a hack where you use LED light strips to do this. Isn't it possible that the light would increase bacteria though? https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/66878/blue-light...
fsargent··on Show HN: Early version of a Speed Dating Community
The problem with dating isn't lack of meeting people, it's lack of heuristics. Speed dating just makes it faster to judge, but it doesn't actually do any work for you. One of the big benefits to OkCupid is that the heuristics are relatively good. Improve on that, and you're golden.
fsargent··on Open Speech Recording
Huh. This is strange. It's asking me to say "My voice is my passport. Authorize me."

(Hint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVgWpVXb64)

fsargent··on First 100 miles on my E-Bike
You should check out vanmoof. You'd never know it was an ebike if it weren't for the iconic branding.
fsargent··on Who Are the Top 1 Percent in America?
The fact that capital gains include both corporate wealth and land value is insane. One is a productive asset that for the most part improves society, and can grow in quantity and value indefinitely. The other (land) is a measure of scarcity for an essential commodity.

It's fine that people make lots of money doing hard or rare work. Also great that people are loaning their saved money so companies can expand. It doesn't make sense for people to get wealthier for owning land.

fsargent··on Markdown Here – Write email in Markdown
Is it really easier to use markdown than bolding things using a keyboard shortcut?

And tables are downright awful in markdown (or anything barring a full spreadsheet editor). When would you want to do this by hand?

fsargent··on Tesla's head of battery engineering exits
I see what you did there.
fsargent··on Index Investing Makes Markets and Economies More Efficient (2016)
It depends on how they saved it. If people put it under their mattress it would be a problem. If they keep it in a bank (which offers an interest rate) the bank can loan that money out again, which massively increases the money supply. The stock market is a far smaller market compared to credit and loan markets.
fsargent··on Researchers unravel the biosynthesis of psilocybin
Since 1P-LSD is theorized to be a prodrug of LSD, it would likely be illegal in the United States under the Federal Analogue Act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Analogue_Act
fsargent··on My own private basic income
Property management companies do not take the majority of the profit. They often work for marginal fees based on the unit itself - somewhere around 10% of yearly rent. On top of that are fees for the maintenance of the building. Depending on how you bought the place you may need to pay financing -- or not. The rest is pure gravy. And that's just the rent. Next you also need to take into account the appreciation of the underlying asset - the land the property is built on. This is where the majority of the profits from home ownership come from.

A lot of work goes into property ownership. It's just not very expensive.

fsargent··on Fundamentals of an Enterprise Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) System
> It is very common amongst large companies to accrue hundreds or thousands of roles over time. Having an intuitive GUI lets you manage this debt, keep your roles up-to-date, and keep your system secure.

... Such as..?

fsargent··on Keybase is out for iPhone, Android
Woohoo! Great to get notifications and chat on my phone.

Nice to have a truly encrypted, secure chat application where I control the keys.

fsargent··on M.M.A. Fighter’s Pummeling of Tai Chi Master Rattles China
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAeqVGP-GPM Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

fsargent··on How to ask a developer about a web based app?
To put it bluntly, yes, you are naive. That's OK though, there are plenty of successful businesses that are started from that place. You should do what you would do in any business situation - get multiple quotes and offers, and compare. Interview multiple candidates, and developers, and rely on your intuition. Good developers tend to be clear in their requirements, have a good grasp on technologies, and can consider other technologies for their benefits or flaws. You don't need to 'run away' from anyone because they suggest one thing over another - just make sure that you are talking to an engineer who has had some experience, and doesn't recommend a 'one size fits all' solution. Then again, expect to pay a lot for a good engineer.

It's ok if your system is a bit crap if it gets the job done, and you make business. Grow the business, and fix it later.

fsargent··on Problems with Swagger
Check out Stoplight.io for a good tool for managing swagger documentation. It's a lot easier than managing the YAML itself.
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