Hacker News Reader

glenntzkeon Amazon Selects New York City and Northern Virginia for New Headquarters

This need not be a thread battle over airport commute times, but I've made the trip from LIC/Astoria to JFK many times and even with a good amount of train luck it roughly takes an hour door to door via public transit. In no situation has it been on the order of 30 minutes.

glenntzkeon Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin

Another perspective, from a skateboarder: In New York skateboarders are banned from sidewalks and have to skate in traffic. I've got a solid push and hold my own among bikes and cars but, regardless, get all kinds of flack from drivers. When I take the to sidewalk due to dangerous road conditions pedestrians are simply far too unpredictable, scared, and oblivious to permit me on board so I reluctantly walk. You know who I never see walking when they're on the sidewalk? Scooter riders, electronic and otherwise.

glenntzkeon Spotify may delay IPO to 2018 as it rethinks licensing deals

This is a symptom of a heavily mobile-first strategy. There are many developers at Spotify passionate about improving the desktop platform - and not just for feature parity with mobile.

glenntzkeon Tesla footage of braking before crash ahead [video]

I was in a very bad accident when a GMC pickup t-boned my 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS at ~55mph. My car crumpled and was totaled but took the hit and went for a 4 wheel slide across the road. A nice balanced car takes hits really well. And I'm very glad I wore my seatbelt.

glenntzkeon Today is Towel Day

I'm 91% through a full series read (kindle stat) and while I find some parts to be funny it's more arduous a task than an entertaining read. You're not alone. I like a good dose of silly but sometimes I just roll my eyes at the Guide. 9% left...

glenntzkeon I'm a fucking webmaster

The link you wanted was https://github.com/jyotiska/minni as the one you provided links to a different github user :)

glenntzkeon We Hire the Best, Just Like Everyone Else

This is ok in an industry where there are far more jobs available than workers. I'd say it's fine in any software hotbed like NYC or SF where there's really no excuse to be unemployed as a software developer unless you are so willingly or incompetent.

Privilege is working both ways here: the developer has their pick of the crop and so does a highly successful and desirable employer.

Edit: I want to point out that I think it's only acceptable in a region where the developers have the market advantage.

glenntzkeon A free shipping mystery

NYC's USPS is notoriously unreliable, especially for those of us without the luxury of doormen. Despite living in a nice neighborhood with a vestibule that would certainly house a package just fine - and then include that the postman has keys to get to just outside my apt door - USPS packages are routinely lost, yet "delivered".

Amazon at least mitigates this loss risk by unquestionably resending the package without additional charge. This exercise has grown tiresome.

glenntzkeon Here’s $100. Can you win $800M at Powerball?

I'm genuinely surprised by the popular opinion that people play lotto only to win a nearly impossible jackpot. I rarely play, but when I do it's during the big frenzies like this just for kicks but with decent chances making my money back with a bit extra. I spent $3 (powerball single + multiplier). I won $4 last night by getting just the multiplier right (1:39 odds).

The Mega Millions games has 1:14.71 odds of winning. I'll play both Powerball and MM once or twice a year and my loose accounting on my winnings lands me around +$4. Basically nothing over the years but I have enjoyed the frenzy.

I don't think I fall into "stupid tax" territory and I do understand the probability of a jackpot win. I just don't care about it and enjoy the little rush of the chance.

glenntzkeon Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

This is what I thought in response to the "first world problems" comments. I grew up with a calendar on my fridge that kept the family in sync (as much as anything else) and think a family calendar that works with everyone's online calendars is a fine idea.

In a discussion about this kind of technology integration, FWP comments aren't constructive.

glenntzkeon Swift is Open Source

I find the number of typo PRs to be amusing. Makes me wonder if there's a mass effort to slog through commented code just to jump into the contributor list.

Correct spelling is certainly good, but the interesting phenomenon is getting a PR merged in a high-profile project - however slight the change - as a badge of cool.

https://github.com/apple/swift/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Ap...

glenntzkeon Screenshots from developers and Unix people taken in 2002

I find it interesting how often the phrase "[my desktop] is pretty boring" is said in a nearly shameful manner. These people that were producing content with their computers that was anything but boring (in the practical, effective sense) still felt that their screenshots lacked mystique and beauty.

Well, then there's CmdrTaco's desktop :3

glenntzkeon What Is Code?

The activity on the article's accompanying github (https://github.com/BloombergMedia/whatiscode) is really interesting. Users have suggested edits not only to the code in the article but even to add citation.

This adds another dimension to the content by including the open source community such that the subject matter (coders) can influence (and improve!) their article's content.

glenntzkeon Hello, World

How did you get back to the software industry so easily after a long industry break working as a bartender...

I would like to read the response to this question. I think there are many software engineers out there who would like to take a break from office and/or coding jobs to work simply – be it bartending, woodworking, volunteering – using their hands and interacting with a diverse community of humans.

As someone who has interviewed many candidates for coding positions, I always give attention to those who have ventured out of the field and ask for insight into those experiences.

Note: this is a bit of a cross-post since I commented on the article, too

glenntzkeon Winamp 2 in HTML5

Just FYI you can control whether or not iTunes manages your music folder and there is some customization in Pref > Advanced.

I chose to let it manage the files but reduced some of the folder nesting. It doesn't obfuscate file names and you can elect for Artist > Album > [file] structure or whatever your heart desires.

glenntzkeon Google killer-robots.txt

How is that an Easte...OOOH now I get it! +1

glenntzkeon Nissan's ‘Self-Cleaning’ Car Prototype [video]

There's good reason to have shown this on a white car because of this fact. 1. white give nice contrast for dirt but importantly 2. white nicely hides the frosty appearance of Ultra Ever Dry.

Check out the ars technica article - the UED video at the top shows work boots frosted over with the stuff. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/03/the-internet-demanded...

glenntzkeon After months of delay, Soylent finally ships

I would love to follow a Tim Ferriss (well-versed body hacker and author of 4-Hour Body) experiment with Soylent. I've read his book and his analyses convinced me to try a diet for the first time in my life to change my body composition. Now I go through Slow-Carb diet phases a couple times a year. If he had praise for Soylent I'd be willing to give it a try, too.

glenntzkeon E-Go: A sub-$1000 electric longboard

As a long time skateboarder (mostly street and transition with dabbling in longboarding with some friends' boards) I see this as the segway of skateboards. Looks like a neat commuter ride for those who want minimal effort and minimal excitement, but it removes much of the joy of skating.

You don't see anyone sliding these boards or reverting (180) - I wonder what the effect on the motors is if you try that. And several posts here mention speed and this really looks spiritless. I suppose their target audience is a far cry from the street skater, but even my purely commuter long boarding friends opt for quality bearing/wheel combos for speed, control, and certainly fun in their ride.

glenntzkeon Think piracy is killing the music industry? This chart suggests otherwise

This is the direction in which I was immediately thinking. As a software dev by day and musician by night/weekend/days off with experience living, working, and playing in several major east coast US cities I can say that the musician's job has gotten significantly more difficult as the physical medium dies.

Record companies used to provide a lot of money up front for prospective bands - this created much of the rock star persona the world came to love. Now, unless you simply luck out on connection or blatantly craft your music as a sale, it's prohibitively expensive to practice, play, and tour without living in squalor.

Without the capital from record companies willing to take a risk, the returns on personal (band) investment in their own recordings are dim.

glenntzkeon Making the web fun again

I heartily agree with this sentiment. Angelfire and GeoCities were gateway sites for that opened the door to a career in web development far beyond animated gifs and marquees.

While I have happily moved on to github and managin my own servers, any platform that promotes writing one's own markup over quick tumblr-esque posting is potentially a good thing.

glenntzkeon Snapchat, You've Made a Huge Mistake

I'm bothered by the tone and inclusive language of this post. Of course an inspection of one's private conversations is intrusive and will make them uncomfortable, but this isn't true for all: "We get incredibly offending[sic] when someone reads our text messages, but even if they never see the messages themselves we are still embarrassed the second they see who we are talking to."

I'm not embarrassed by the people I communicate with - hell that would make my friends list on facebook a nightmare! And when you see my snapchat best friends, it's my girlfriend and 1 other guy and 1 other girl - my 2 top traveling friends. We use snapchat while on the road to share funny, temporal traveling moments that don't warrant setting up a real shot or publication. And it's a lot of fun.

I suppose if you need anonymity for your snaps you shouldn't be sharing your username with those you trust. And you shouldn't be trusted, either.

glenntzkeon New GitHub Logo

See the home button in the upper left corner of the page. You don't see the suckers but it is recognizable. I don't think they're terribly worried about seeing those details.

glenntzkeon Boston Subway Time-Scale Map

Fix with your browser's style inspector or if you can access a javascript console:

document.getElementsByClassName('paragraph')[1].style.color = '#000000 !important'

I find alternate maps like this fascinating. You really don't need to bother with much of the description though - the maps speak for themselves!

glenntzkeon Diamonds Are Bullshit

It's important to think about how this is a product of the people with whom one surround oneself.

I think my SO would be happy with an alternative stone (or perhaps no stone at all!) and that's because her and my friends largely aren't the type to ogle a ring, a watch, or a car. Friends that do fancy material things are able to recognize it and laugh at their own materialistic tendencies because they are the outliers in our circles. Watches are cool but experiences are cooler (plus my g-shock from '98 happily survives the abuse travel and hobbies give it).

Now, we aren't a couple that will settle for tying human hair around our fingers and calling it a wedding band, but I sure as hell won't be spending 20 grand on a rock. And my friends will happily accept the free rounds that savings can cover over the next xx years.

glenntzkeon This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

I am a 27 year old software engineer and am glad to see a peer researching alternate nutrition (and it truly is just that) that doesn't boil down to [Agent X] is EVIL or [Agent Y] is MIRACULOUS.

I have a negative appetite in the morning and used to forego breakfast. Last year I opted for a protein and fruit shake as soon as possible after waking and began a low-carb low-sugar diet. I highly recommend it for a lifestyle that unavoidably includes sitting far too long in front of a computer.

His idea is taking that to an extreme - but I'm certainly interested in trying that extreme.

glenntzkeon Evil Ruby

If you find these sort of ruby (ab)uses interesting, take a look through the ruby Koans solutions at http://rubykoans.com/

Playing around these examples led to a fun discovery: I'm 5 days away from begin 10000 days old. Maybe I'll take Monday off!

glenntzkeon Farewell Foursquare

I use it fairly religiously and love it. I like the nearby updates for adhoc meetings with friends and - because close friends of mine also use it - it provides a nice way to estimate full party arrival. And it has a lot of Amex $5 off deals. I've probably saved $100 on those. I also use it to find nearby pubs and such when in unfamiliar cities.

And, of course, I still like earning new badges.

edit for additional note:

If you have friends that use it heavily while on tours it is fun to track their travels. Follow an entire band or tv crew on tour and get anecdotes from different personalities live updated as they travel - it's like a real reality show in small doses.

glenntzkeon Skyscraper built in the Firefox inspector's 3D View

I've played with it but haven't found any great use case (except, now, this). Next time I come across an annoying z-index bug I'll probably bust it out. Anyone who has had the displeasure of build modals on modals (always a good UX) could sympathize.