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janezhu

43 karma · joined February 16, 2012

@sleepbot @janezhu
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janezhu··on 2048 AI
Finally made it-- cascade gif: https://vine.co/v/Mbb07Wh0UPM/
janezhu··on 2048 AI
I got up to 16220 that way-- the thing you have to look out for though is as you build the cascading layers, when you get the row three, not to block yourself in (having all 3 rows full so that the only direction you can go, is the one you are avoiding).

Try to keep your cascading layers down to 2, and keep about 2 steps ahead when you get to the 3rd layer. Many people have suggested keeping your highest number in the corner but I've found that doing so makes it easier to have 2's and 4's "invade" that fortress of high numbers you're building close to the wall. The best position is for the highest number to be 2nd or 3rd in the row closest to the wall cushioned by the second highest numbers on either side so that you can build up the numbers to either side of them, and eventually add them in.

Example:

X___X___X___X

X___X___2___4

8___16__32__16

64__256_512_128

janezhu··on How much sleep do we really need to work productively?
Google Sleep is coming out with a new method to make people get more sleep utilizing their multiple platforms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c40V1bCvLAs

It's called "bedtime guard."

janezhu··on This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again
Why are people are having such a visceral reaction to this idea? Finding alternatives to solid, "fresh" food is an issue we will have address in the near future, if not right now. With forecasts about population growth rapidly rising (We said it would reach 10 billion by 2100. It only took 13 years to jump from 6-7 billion.)

This could be implemented not only for hunger in impoverished nations, but for world overpopulation and depletion of resources including livestock and agriculture.

People are commenting this guy is crazy. But in the next few decades I'd rather there was 100 crazy guys trying this for every McDonald's junkie.

janezhu··on Google Glass
Actually this is one step closer to H+, lying a few years(?) ahead of Glass?

Sight: Contact Lenses with Augmented Reality (Conceptual) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJKwHAvR4uI

janezhu··on Google Glass
This actually reminds me of the opening scene to the Youtube series "H+". The web series is surrounds the subject of 'transhumanism' and the changes we experience in our daily interactions when living with technology. People become remarkably disconnected with each other, and unable to survive without being perpetually connected.

The implant H+ gives people constant access to information through the internet, and are always online, which creates the foundation for a global disaster in which someone hacks the system and shuts everybody "off."

I always thought it was ironic that the series came out shortly after the Google Glass announcement because if you take a look, H+ seems strikingly similar..

A basic conversation with H+ (Compare with Google Glass): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qelEYjJkVIk&t=2m44s

janezhu··on Uber NYC and the Surge: Right, Wrong, Lessons Learned
"Uber probably didn't have a "what to do in a human tragedy" playbook and instead ran their normal operating procedures."

While this is true, it's surprising that they do not have a PR/customer service/support person that specifically keeps an eye out for incidents (or opportunities) like these. As much as their business is based on algorithms, it is run by humans, at least one of which who could have understood how the situation would appear to the average person.

Especially when you see pure-PR stunts Uber is pushing like this: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/election-day-fre...

"Uber: On Election Day, this car-service company will be offering customers a free ride to or from a national polling place, up to $20.12. Any amount above $20.12 will be charged, and the offer is only available during the city's voting hours."

I can guarantee no matter how many kudos Uber gets for encouraging people to vote-- "The average person just heard that Uber was charging New Yorkers more" post-disaster.

janezhu··on Uber Increases Fares 2x in NYC
it's a shame to see the headline right below this thread is "Airbnb waives fees for Hurricane Sandy affected area."
janezhu··on Uber Increases Fares 2x in NYC
That's exactly what they did after the flood of negative press. I live in the Lower East Side and even without the stoplights there are traffic cops directing and it is generally safe walking and driving downtown with no water and debris in the streets. Yellow cabs and black cabs are already hiking up their prices and "negotiating" with passengers so it would have been nice to see Uber step up in this case.
janezhu··on Uber Increases Fares 2x in NYC
"...Uber finally backed down and agreed to pay drivers an increased rate but keep fares at their normal leves"

The outrage here stems from the fact that people do not perceive Uber as the corner grocery store, or some guy on the corner selling umbrellas at twice their cost when its raining. Uber is perceived, as most startups are, as a "good guy," an entity who would try first and foremost to help during a crisis before trying to make a profit. If they had done this (eat the losses) from the beginning not only could they have avoided the bad press but probably gotten enough good pr to increase their customer base.

janezhu··on Product fitness
The square Coke bottle concept was designed by Andrew Kim: http://www.minimallyminimal.com/2010/3/15/ecocoke.html It allows for 1-2 additional bottles in the space it takes to transport 4 round bottles.
janezhu··on Product fitness
I read a book recently called "Cradle to Cradle" (http://amzn.to/Y9iRqm) and it argues against the existing, linear cradle-to-grave lifecycle of consumer items. That instead of taking the "reduce reuse recycle" approach to sustainability, sustainability needs to be achieved from the most basic foundations of design.

It asks the question, what if instead of avoiding waste, we could “eliminate the concept of waste” altogether? What if instead of “working hard to be less bad,” we could create things with completely positive intentions and effects?

Muji is going the right direction with small and achievable design changes to address "high hanging fruit" that actually create substantial impact, though more importantly, they invite the notion that we can live in a sustainable world without reducing our ability to produce and consume to the fullest extent.

janezhu··on Yahoo Homepage redesign going live
The new design doesn't seem to change much though. This is understandable since they started working on this before Marissa Mayer joined Yahoo, but it'd be nice to see how an entire redesign including a better way to categorize that left column would look. I especially hope that giant "astrology" section is just a module users can change out..
janezhu··on Thieves "bug" debit card PIN pads in 63 Barnes & Noble stores
Wow I was wondering why Chase randomly sent me a warning and a new debit card a few weeks ago. I had made no unique purchases aside from coffee and books from Barnes and Noble and initially thought the new card from Chase was a fake. At stores like the one at NY's Union Square, the cashiers never leave their stations from 10am to 10pm. I wonder how this could have been done so quickly as to not cause suspicion. Perhaps there might have been some internal cooperation?
janezhu··on Colourlovers (YC W10) launches Creative Market
It seems like CreativeMarket is focusing a lot on the creators of their content, much like how Etsy showcases their craftsmen with special blogs and features.

I've also been using Envato's resources for the past few years but I use it much more like I would Ebay or Amazon, searching for the right items to purchase and compare and not really noticing the people behind the work.

janezhu··on Incorporate your startup only when you’re forced to
An LLC also helps if you're planning on releasing an iOS app under your startup's name, not your personal name.
janezhu··on Remove your alarm safety net and fix your sleep
I think this argument really depends on how much sleep you're getting/missing-- not just for that night but over an extended period of time. As a student, I didn't just use snooze-- I actually set 3 or 4 separate alarms in addition to having snooze enabled on every alarm. The reason for this being that I wouldn't even hear the first alarm and would often unconsciously hit the snooze button without knowing it. At one point I had up to 4 different alarm times with different ringtones, volumes, and snooze durations using both my smartphone and a regular alarm clock! And I remember still not waking up for a few classes during long periods of sleep deprivation.

After graduating this year. I started sleeping on a regular schedule. I consistently slept from 2am - 11am (9 hours) for over two months and now I can get up each morning at 9am using one alarm, and automatically 9:30am-10am without an alarm at all.

janezhu··on Rethinking Sleep
I did this for the first two years of college-- I'd often sleep for about 3-4 hours each night before class, and then sleep another chunk of time in the afternoon. However, it had the opposite effect on me as it became more and more difficult to go "back" to sleep in the afternoon unless I waited until the evening. What ended up happening the last year or so is that I started sleeping 5-6 hours per night without a nap, and then sleeping more on the weekends. Surprisingly, this schedule (with morning coffee) got me through classes much better than having a combined total of 8 hours per night. I started researching sleep to build a sleep tracking app and the theory (there are a number of books regarding this) is that your body can catch up on a certain amount of sleep "debt" within a period of 1-2 weeks. The "debt" is not a scientific measurement but within 14 days, your body has a general idea of how much sleep/rest is missing, and if the debt is made up gradually instead of all at once (and also by going to bed earlier rather than sleeping in), it can actually decrease the effect of drowsiness from past nights.

Actually now that I started working I sleep 7 hours a night and wake up the same time every morning and it's the first time in 6 years I don't need coffee to get through the day.

Disclaimer-- I also referenced a product I built. The app is called SleepBot and it's a very simple mechanism to help people track sleep and get an idea of their sleep "debt" over short periods of time. As David mentioned, sleep has been an untapped market but there's recently been an influx of sleep apps into the market including tackers, sound machines, and alarms. I think what we're seeing is an increased concern for sleep as more of us try to figure out how to improve our health beyond diet and exercise.