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plusbryan

3,028 karma · joined October 10, 2006

Solchange.com sol at electricfox.com
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plusbryan··on HN 15 Years ago
No I believe you are right. It’s all related.

Passion is love. Love is the force of creation. When we love something unconditionally, we pour the energy of creation into it.

When we love with conditions/incentives (ie I love this be because I’m making money), that pure energy is distorted/blocked. The most powerful way to create something is by unconditionally loving it.

But how do we filter on passion, when incentives seem to be required to attract anyone these days?

plusbryan··on A lot of people are getting the OnlyFans story wrong
Agreed. Onlyfans is probably large enough that if they told their customers they could only accept visa or crypto payments that they would lose a lot less business than if they jettisoned their (core?) business.

In fact, MasterCard might lose enough business that they might reconsider. So this can’t be the full story.

plusbryan··on PG&E power line suspected in Dixie fire was set to be buried underground
Don’t rely on a “they” to solve a problem you’re passionate about. If you feel passionate about it, you should solve it!
plusbryan··on LOL just got kicked out of @ycombinator
This is really distressing, especially considering the ongoing public behavior of the original founder. Kicking out Paul seems like the opposite reaction for YC to have. It would be helpful to hear a public comment from them about this situation.
plusbryan··on One Day With the Squad That Removes Needles and Feces From Downtown Portland
You can call 311 to report issues like this to the city. However, I quickly realized that the crew isn't too happy about being called out for such matters. After reporting yet another dump on the sidewalk in front of our home, I saw the city crewman pull up, take his power sprayer, and blast the feces under my fence and all over my side yard - effectively rendering it no longer his problem.
plusbryan··on How to increase your chances of finding a hidden camera
Agreed. A "guest" could target popular listings and hide a camera without the host knowing.
plusbryan··on Ask HN: What are your favorite board games?
If you have a dedicated group of players, like a group at work, one fun way to play Game of Thrones is to only do one round per day (usually about 30-60 minutes, perfect for a lunch break). It actually breaks the game up well, and builds the intensity. Up to you if negotiations are allowed away from the table!
plusbryan··on Ask HN: What are your favorite board games?
As much as I’m a fan of meaty strategy games like Diplomacy and Game of Thrones, the best games are the ones you actually take out of the closet to play!

Usually I find myself playing in groups where some people are unfamiliar with a given game, so I also prefer games that are fun for new players. For me, those games are:

Pandemic Original or Legacy: one of the best cooperative games I’ve played. Fun for groups or just two players. My wife and I had the best time playing Legacy Season 1 over many months. There’s something so magical about a game that changes AND self destructs as you play it.

Acquire: easy to learn and set up, with the right blend of luck and strategy so that players of mixed skill levels can enjoy together.

Carcassonne: same positives as above with slightly higher learning curve.

Puerto Rico: quite a bit more complex than the above, but relatively accessible and quite fun once you learn the strategy. Takes a game or two to really enjoy.

Blokus: a fantastic informal game for a lunch break. Easy to learn with deep strategy. Quick game best for 4 players.

Eight minute empires: fast paced and easy to learn civilization building game.

plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
Agreed. Even if I choose to have recording devices in my home, and then rent out on a temporary basis, it would be trivial for me to take them down before renting it out. Plus, I have the financial incentive to do so.

Allowing hosts to have cameras inside the rented space, regardless of recording state, seems like a bad policy indeed.

The only "legitimate" reason a host would want active cameras in the home is for protection against bad guests. This belies AirBnB's supposed "host guarantee" which should prevent this concern in the first place.

plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
Unless AirBNB solicits more fine-grained reviews to elicit feedback on such things, or enacts a policy around consumables, this is the direction many hosts will go. As long as it doesn't reflect in the photos, corners will be cut.
plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
Downsides aside, one thing that AirBnB as a service provides over hotels is heterogeneity of location. Especially remote, suburban, or certain urban neighborhood locations will always be underserved by hotels, while still being desirable to potential guests.
plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
To add some background to the discussion: As a host, you are asked to check a box entitled "Surveillance or recording devices on property". If you check it, it asks you to "Describe any device that records or sends video, audio, or still images. Specify each device’s location and whether it will be on or off."

As this is a text box, it is up to the host to accurately describe things like location of device, viewable area, on/off/recording status, and if there is a microphone. There is also no structured way to specify if the recording device is posted outside (ie a driveway, facing away from the property for security) vs inside the rented space.

Finally, they link hosts to their policy here, which specifies (among other things) that cameras that record guests are fine if disclosed, provided they aren't in bedrooms or bathrooms: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/887/what-are-airbnb-s-ru...

plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
When you stay at a hotel, you are definitely being recorded in hallways and most public areas. AirBNB should modify their policy to allow hosts to have recording devices outside their home (public spaces), but blanket ban any recording devices inside (off or on). Significant fines/banning would result from discovery. This policy would not deter legitimate hosts, while significantly reducing the likelihood of a PR disaster involving serendipitous recording.

This "as long as it is disclosed" policy invites grey areas like described in this post.

plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
I don't think most people think it through that well. I once had a guest stay in our attached guest house where we live and try to sneak in a dog (explicitly not allowed).
plusbryan··on Airbnb and security camera disclosure
As an AirBNB host that manages remote properties, I think a camera that operates like this could be a good solution - provided that guests understand and trust such a system. While it wouldn't prevent a guest from trashing the place, it could be a useful property protection against theft.
plusbryan··on Babies born to older fathers 'tend to have more medical issues'
> what agenda does this website have by publishing this clickbait title

Contrarian positions will always attract clicks. Their agenda is eyeballs.

plusbryan··on San Francisco: Where a six-figure salary is 'low income'
Sonoma County and the greater Sonoma County are also saddled with an unbearable housing shortage caused by the 2017 fires - we wouldn't be of any help even with a better rail system. Rents are up 50%, construction bids on labor alone are up 30%... it may not last forever, but it will certainly have an impact for years to come.
plusbryan··on Here’s Some Cryptocurrency. Now Please Use It
There are plenty of examples of incumbent players being disrupted by new technology. Besides better interop, what do you reckon would a competitor need to offer for it to be compelling offering to banks?
plusbryan··on Ask HN: What are the things that you have automated in your personal life?
I also use a Fujitsu ScanSnap and have it save to Google Drive automatically. The unit connects directly to WiFi so. I need for a separate device to plug in to.
plusbryan··on FedEx reserves 20 Tesla Semi all-electric big rig trucks
They clearly get as much value out of it as Tesla. Look investors, we're an innovative company too! When was the last time you saw a positive press cycle about FedEx on their own?
plusbryan··on California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?
Care to expand?
plusbryan··on Look for the duct tape
Fantastic article! This is precisely why founders that are novices in their industry sometimes come up with the really big ideas. As counter-intuitive as it is, it’s easier to see the duct tape when you’re looking with fresh eyes.
plusbryan··on Zuckerberg on Cambridge Analytica situation
That is true. Words must be followed by actions to mean anything. I suppose I've gotten so jaded recently about people in power throwing their underlings under the bus (eg VW) that even statements that acknowledge the correct position of accountability seem miraculous. We'll see if he makes good on that perspective.
plusbryan··on Zuckerberg on Cambridge Analytica situation
"It was installed by around 300,000 people who shared their data as well as some of their friends' data... this meant Kogan was able to access tens of millions of their friends' data."

I wonder why the Facebook of pre-2014 thought that this was an acceptable level of data sharing to developers?

Did they trust that all platform developers would forever have good intentions? Or perhaps they felt the data being collected was harmless in perpetuity (i.e. did not anticipate the political ramifications of the CA abuse)? Or that their legal team could effectively enforce their TOS to prevent abuse?

In hindsight, the pre-2014 policy seems ridiculously careless - but I'd love to understand why they didn't anticipate a breach of this magnitude at the time (or if they did, why they dismissed the concern).

plusbryan··on Zuckerberg on Cambridge Analytica situation
"I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I'm responsible for what happens on our platform."

Regardless of my feelings about how this was handled, I appreciate the level of leadership accountability demonstrated in this statement. I wish that more founders, CEOs, and politicians facing difficult circumstances would adopt this perspective. Even if you didn't personally code/negotiate/write it - you made managerial decisions (hiring, culture, review process, etc) that induced it.

plusbryan··on An Underground Farm Delivering Rare Herbs to New York’s Top Chefs
Isn’t this the same ideology of Tesla? Innovate your product via the dollars of wealthy early adopters; as cost declines, widen your reach.
plusbryan··on Coinbase Wants Wall Street to Resolve Its Bitcoin Trust Issues
Coinbase has said they've scaled their support team 2x in recent weeks. Surely that's not an easy feat and speaks to the sort of volumes they are handling at the moment.
plusbryan··on Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B
What does this mean for Instacart I wonder? Will Amazon shut them off from their stores?
plusbryan··on My First 10 Minutes on a Server
I love the article, and thanks for the credit.
plusbryan··on My First 10 Minutes on a Server
What was wrong with 5 minutes? :-)
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