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williamgb

153 karma · joined August 25, 2016

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williamgb··on It’s not that London is too big, but that other large UK cities are too small
I'm at all sure that follows.
williamgb··on ‘Remember, we only kill black people,’ -Georgia police officer
His words seems to be have been said with not a small degree of (inappropriate) sarcasm.
williamgb··on [dead]
> What’s happening now, though, is the rise of the female archetype. Examples Ismail gave that embody the female archetype are open-sourcing, the maker movement...

One might say open-sourcing and the maker movement equally embody the male archetype of risk taking and managing scarcity.

williamgb··on Intel CEO leaves American Manufacturing Council
OK, so the implication being that we need more democrats from the far-left, or a collective shift by existing members in that direction?

Neither extremes of the spectrum have a particularly good track record, so you'll have to excuse my preference for moderation.

williamgb··on Intel CEO leaves American Manufacturing Council
The right are mostly moderates too, no?
williamgb··on Death in the clouds: The problem of bodies on Everest (2015)
Wouldn't the label "western tourists" be wildly inaccurate though?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_died_climbi...

williamgb··on Some 4.5M Japanese aged between 35 and 54 are living with their parents
How so?
williamgb··on Gender-neutral Chromium code
Matthew, the person you are arguing with, or rather, hurling snark at, did not make the claim that language should never evolve. I'm not sure why you felt so compelled to end a reasoned comment on such a nasty note.

I am in full support of this code. It approaches a sensitive subject with the care it deserves and does not seek to strip anyone of their dignity. Quite a world away from the punitive actions advocated by Erik Michaels-Ober on other projects.

williamgb··on [dead]
> However, because this mistake has stood since 1985, I have changed all of the pronouns to be female, to make up for lost time. If someone would like to revert this patch or switch to neutral pronouns after 30 years, feel free to set your alarm clock for 2045.

Is that how it works? If using a gendered pronoun (contentious) was a mistake, what sense is to be found in repeating it?

williamgb··on Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with
Interesting! I cannot recall any such marketing materials for Ovaltine. The only reference I can find regarding this strategy is from 2000[0]. Both the drink and the brand, in my experience at least, have always been associated with comfort, family, pajamas and bedtime. I seem to recall "Ovalteeney" being a mild pejoritve to describe those of a quiet/calm nature.

[0] http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/ovaltine-target-younge...

williamgb··on Scottish Parliament Backs Independence Vote and Defies U.K
Putting aside your condescending commentary, and disregarding for the time being your hysterical proclamations of closed borders, pray tell... What is it you feel my non-EU wife and I, both living in Edinburgh, are putting up with (or not, as you say)?
williamgb··on UK Home Secretary says encryption on messaging services is unacceptable
We saw prominent features on the BBC, furious headlines from the Daily Mail and self-congratulation from the Guardian. What would you have considered sufficient coverage for yesterdays demonstration?
williamgb··on Building a Command-Line Application with Crystal
What point were you trying to make? You made one great statement, with which I agree fully, but followed with statement drawing a comparison between the documentation for a funded open-source project, and a typo in a comment thread. It's not just "kinda silly", it's utterly asinine.
williamgb··on Building a Command-Line Application with Crystal
I absolutely do not share the opinion of person to whom you are replying, but to state that their comment is invalid due to a trivial typo is unnecessary, and has potential to be incendiary.
williamgb··on [dead]
And vice versa. The Guardian in particular were rather more relaxed regarding Hilary's usage of a private email (and the highly questionable activities which followed) than they are here.
williamgb··on Would Calexit be a good thing?
I'm British and would prefer to remain in the EU. Yet I am quite satisfied to remain here in Edinburgh, both for employment and the quality of life. Believe it or not, there are a great many who share my opinion.
williamgb··on The Age of Rudeness
Excuse the slight deviation from the principle of the linked article. I am compelled to speak out about one egregious paragraph.

> Meanwhile, in the Essex town of Harlow, a Polish man is murdered in the street by a gang of white youths who apparently heard him speaking his native language.

I spent the first nineteen years of my life in Harlow, living in the area of the murder referenced in the quote above. Most reports suggest the attack happened after a prolonged confrontation[0], not on sight of sound of a Polish voice.

While this act was desperately sad, Harlow remains a home to relatively large Polish and Lithuanian populations. It is, however, also afflicted by high youth unemployment and drug-related crime. The Stow in particular has seen some horrible crimes over the last 10-20 years, including the brutal murder of my childhood friend's aunt, mere feet away from the scene of the 2016 murder[1]. Indeed, violent crime is a real problem[2].

I found it distasteful at the time when sections of the press pounced upon this story in a reckless frenzy of angry, vindictive narrative building in the immediate aftermath of the EU exit referendum vote. I find it to be utterly disgraceful now.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/01/boy-15-charg... [1] http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/anniversary-appeal-killer-mother... [2] http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/harlow-council-leader-jon-clempn...

williamgb··on Peter Thiel won’t be involved in YC’s work with the ACLU
At this point in time, you'll do well to justify the statement of difference, insofar as comment threads for President Trump related submissions.

Hysterical and partisan comments are as present here as they are anywhere else. Let's not slander other communities when our own has shown itself to be perfectly capable of descending to sub-reason heights of discourse.

williamgb··on [dead]
He was holding a rally?
williamgb··on Taking PHP Seriously
I understand your situation :) I keep a long list of seemingly innocuous words which, through no fault of their own, are repugnant to my ears. It's utterly irrational.
williamgb··on Taking PHP Seriously
Interesting! I have somehow developed the opposite opinion. The phrase "to reason" is plain English and uncomplicated. Grok, by comparison, is arcane and to the uninitiated is semantically opaque. The latter strikes me as a more suitable vehicle for demonstrating pretension.
williamgb··on Please stop saying it’s hard to find female founders
No, that isn't accurate. Predominance does not necessarily equate to exclusivity, as you seem to be hinting.
williamgb··on Hillary Clinton's Wall St Speeches Published by Wikileaks
The anti-globalism revolt, for better or worse, has definitely been noticed by great many people here in the UK in the wake of the unfortunate referendum result in June!

Regarding corporate influence in politics, I'm a combination of too cynical, too ill-informed and too jaded to offer you any worthwhile thoughts on the matter, and therefore fear I will be wasting your time! It seems to me that entities who generate immense wealth have and will always wield influence in society and the mechanism by which it is brought into order (i.e. politics).

williamgb··on Hillary Clinton's Wall St Speeches Published by Wikileaks
I've noted several negative reactions toward Clinton based on prior leaks from people who had simply inferred wrong-doing on the basis that the most notable leaks tend to reveal duplicity. This handful of people whom I have observed felt it unnecessary to actually delve into the documents before passing judgment.

Anecdotal, but I'm convinced I'm not the only person with this experience.

williamgb··on Hillary Clinton's Wall St Speeches Published by Wikileaks
One could ask a similar question about most media vendors, replacing Trump with Clinton. WikiLeaks, whether deliberately or not, is simply doing its part to redress the balance in negative and scandalising news coverage.

It should be made clear that I am neither a US citizen nor a Trump supporter. Huge emphasis on the latter!

williamgb··on Lawsuit: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer led illegal purge of male workers
As a man in tech from an underprivileged background, I couldn't disagree more. I worked as a cleaner for three years while educating myself, at the same time slowly winning freelance work. I know and worked with other men who went through similar situations. That we might be considered ripe for purging due to our genitalia is some somewhat remarkable. That people seem to support it with apparent glee is disheartening.

If you recognise intersectionality is "a thing", how can you justify supporting any measure which discriminates based on an arbitrary attribute such as gender? Surely the concept is one which demands a little more nuance in matters like this?

williamgb··on Why I hate frameworks (2005)
I have no doubt that is true. Utterly unnecessary and somewhat jarring!

I can remember being made to feel uncomfortable and quite unwelcome upon witnessing a renowned female* developer and entrepreneur joke about killing a group of men who had offered advice on suitable materials for makeshift bottle openers.

* Or "chick" shudder, if we're accepting that "dude" is holding the appropriate tone for this conversation.

williamgb··on Ask HN: What software engineering related podcasts are you listening to?
Software Engineering Radio[0] is a useful resource for in-depth discussions on software and development practices.

Developer on Fire[1] tends to feature more personal interviews with software developers.

Software Engineering Daily[2] produces episodes at a similar rate to the previous podcast but discussion tends to be product-oriented.

Coder Radio[3] can be good fun sometimes. The hosts can sometimes be a bit over the top.

[0] http://www.se-radio.net/ [1] http://developeronfire.com/ [2] http://softwareengineeringdaily.com/ [3] http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/coderradio/

williamgb··on To the 4 white male policemen who beat me for checking the health of [detainee]
Interesting to see that "white" managed to lead the spate of pejoratives toward the end of the article ("Each of 4 white, ignorant, racist asshole police officers").

I've been the victim of interracial crime, at least once due to my race. I did not consider the race of my assailants to be anywhere near the top of the list of characteristics to which I should like to object.

williamgb··on Crockford
Sorry, should have been clear in saying that the first link was to a tweet @nexxylove had retweeted.
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