Hacker News Reader

zeddieon Warren Buffett’s Best Investment

Is there any credible objective evidence that Ian Murdock was abused by the police? I think that you could have chosen a clearer example of police abuse to better support your point.

zeddieon 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

Bread is a processed food.

zeddieon Rock climber Alex Honnold doesn’t experience fear like the rest of us

Your comment suggests reservations about Joe Rogan content...what are they?

zeddieon ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Donations Lead to Significant Gene Discovery

23andMe has contributed to the science described in several dozen articles published in the top journals: https://www.23andme.com/for/scientists/. Is all of that useless garbage?

zeddieon Justice department 'uses aged computer system to frustrate Foia requests'

"In 2014 total federal compensation averaged $119,934, or 78 percent more than the private-sector average of $67,246."

http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/federal-worker-pay

zeddieon The Terror and Tedium of Living Like Thoreau

That area would have changed a lot, if it weren't for a very active preservation effort. The Walden Woods Project, founded by Don Henley (yes, that Don Henley) prevented multiple large commercial development projects from happening in the 1990s, and has allowed the character to be maintained.

zeddieon US intelligence mining data from 9 US Internet companies in broad secret program

Right, you probably wouldn't get terrorism coverage as part of your homeowner's policy. However, terrorism insurance is big business! Berkshire Hathaway has extended coverage to airlines, the World Cup, the Sears Tower, etc.

zeddieon US intelligence mining data from 9 US Internet companies in broad secret program

Yes, of course. I was pointing out that Buffett has thought more carefully about terrorism risks than most people, since his business has written very large insurance policies providing (limited) terrorism coverage.

zeddieon US intelligence mining data from 9 US Internet companies in broad secret program

Buffett's insurance business took a $2.4 billion underwriting loss from the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks. The insurance industry as a whole paid $33 billion in claims (in 2001 dollars).

zeddieon US intelligence mining data from 9 US Internet companies in broad secret program

Buffett (via Berkshire Hathaway) has made huge amounts of money selling insurance against catastrophes. This includes natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods, as well as other catastrophic events including terrorism.

zeddieon Beg HN: Rethink your job posting strategy

The premise of the job posting, "Salesforce is a hugely profitable company..." is also completely false.

Salesforce had negative earnings for fiscal year 2012, losing millions of dollars. The projections for 2013 call for much larger losses. It is unclear when, if ever, Salesforce will be profitable again. The company has recently been hiding their huge losses by trumpeting bogus financial numbers using non-standard (non-GAAP) accounting practices.