Hacker News Reader

itmagon Erlang programmer’s view on Curiosity Rover software

I have been wanting to get started with Erlang for a while now. Mind telling me a bit about features I can look forward to? What makes Erlang great?

itmagon Show HN: SendRail - Easy P2P File Transfer From The Desktop

We use Facebook to validate your identity and send the download link directly to the recipient's Facebook message inbox.

Technical question: how are they able to do this? I needed to programmatically send Facebook PMs a while back, and from what I could tell it was not possible. What gives?

itmagon Pwdr - an open source powder 3d printer

Yeah, that's what I thought. My surprise was at the notion of set and forget machines for arbitrary metal parts.

itmagon Advice I Wish I Could've Given Myself 5 Years Ago

I see most things in life as a three-step process: first there is (apparent) simplicity, then there is the pain of discovering the real complexity of things, then there is a third step of attaining enlightened simplicity. But this only comes after having been through the complexity. So the goal to strive for is simplicity on the other side of complexity.

itmagon Pwdr - an open source powder 3d printer

That's interesting. I would think that a machine capable of making arbitrary metal parts would very quickly be subjected to heavy government regulations?

itmagon Pwdr - an open source powder 3d printer

Why the downvote? I was just pointing out something that the gov't is sure to latch on to.

itmagon Pwdr - an open source powder 3d printer

A machine that can make metal parts from a blueprint can also make all kinds of weapon. Do you think such a 3d printer would be legally available to the general public?

itmagon Advice I Wish I Could've Given Myself 5 Years Ago

I've often wondered if it's possible to actually get to a place where you are receptive to learning from the experiences of others without having to experience the mistakes yourself. Perhaps it's this thing that people call wisdom :)

itmagon How a Single Oxycontin Pill Nearly Ruined One Man's Life

I'm surprised he didn't commit suicide.

Whoa, what?

itmagon FarmLogs (YC W12) Letting the Cloud Watch Over the Farm

How can I contact you? Email?

itmagon FarmLogs (YC W12) Letting the Cloud Watch Over the Farm

Which career came first?

itmagon FarmLogs (YC W12) Letting the Cloud Watch Over the Farm

I am a farmer

This makes me curious. What brings you to HN? :)

itmagon Why Men Can't Have It All

He changed his moniker: http://heartiste.wordpress.com

itmagon Reversing the Decline in Big Ideas

Those people doing "trivial" startups are learning important operational skills. Later on, they might go on to do greater things. It's a levelling-up process...

itmagon Why Men Can't Have It All

high status men and low status women

Do I detect a roissysphere shibboleth? :)

itmagon Creating a friend recommendation algorithm from social network data

I would claim that Facebook is essentially the "end of point" of a friendship.

What would the Facebook of starting-points look like? :)

itmagon Blind man shocks researchers with what he sees.

These are the kind of thoughts that keep me awake at night ;)

Then you probably don't want to read Thomas Ligotti's "The conspiracy against the human race". It's a philosophical and neuroscientific treatise on existentialism written by a lovecraftian horror writer...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Conspiracy-Against-Human-Race/dp/0...

itmagon 1987 Time Capsule Predictions by Sci-Fi Writers About 2012

High school kids, debating endlessly with a hostile audience every day, are turning into frighteningly persuasive writers all on their own.

u jelly brah?

itmagon 1987 Time Capsule Predictions by Sci-Fi Writers About 2012

It rubbed me the wrong way too. I'm a visual thinker myself, and I don't consider myself barely literate :p

Then again, I guess it could be interpreted in a different way...

itmagon 1987 Time Capsule Predictions by Sci-Fi Writers About 2012

Most Americans are barely literate, think in images rather than symbols

This rubbed me the wrong way. Thinking that way does not make a person stupid or illiterate.

itmagon Pasting Text Into Vim

That's correct, and there doesn't seem to be that many emacs people here. What gives?

itmagon Yahoo returns acquired startup to founders

"Yahoo has great undervalued, underutilized assets"

Such as? I'm not doubting you, I'm just curious to know.

itmagon Why You Won’t See Hard AR Anytime Soon

I think a big problem to solve also is the decoding of the external world, so that the AR knows what is empty space, what is floor, what is a wall, etc.

itmagon G4S is just the latest in a long line of outsourcing disasters

I personally suspect that the real mechanism is not private vs public, but rather organization structure and leadership style.

SpaceX is led by Elon Musk, 'nuff said.

itmagon In Dieting, Magic Isn’t a Substitute for Science

I suspect that taste has a lot to do with weight gain.

See for instance the Shangri La Diet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-La_Diet

itmagon What are the most intellectually stimulating websites you know of?

I think HN does host an abundance of really smart folks.

The main irritant is that so many of them are nitpicky and/or snarky.

Anyone else noticed this?

itmagon Pay Too Much for everything

Is it just me, or do jeans seem very cheap in America?

In Sweden, a pair of regular Levi's jeans might cost you 1000 SEK, which is about $136. The designer jeans might cost 1500+ SEK.

itmagon Garry Kasparov defeats Alan Turing in chess in 15 moves

Paranoid delusions seem to be a significant occupational hazard at top levels of play.

Any theories on why that is?

Maybe having super-charged pattern-making ability makes for great chess AND great paranoia.

itmagon Why I Believe That This Will Be The Most Innovative Decade In History

The term for this is super-empowerment (also known as Fifth-Generation Warfare).

Everyone should check out John Robb's blog, it covers this kind of thing: http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2008/02...

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2011/05...

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2007/01...

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2010/03...