4 ms·

Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

96 points by jaboutboul 10y ago

jaboutboul 10y ago
Literally thankful to be alive.
JonRB 10y ago
I'm incredibly thankful for my education. I've had the privilege of being relatively well educated and looking back I am incredibly grateful that my parents were both willing and able to put me through decent schools.
olalonde 10y ago
Thankful to have a passport which allows me to travel almost anywhere (probably the most overlooked advantage of being born in a first world country).
chairmankaga 10y ago
I'm very thankful to have quit my job to travel and freelance 8 months ago. It wasn't all pretty but I have grown and challenged myself in many ways that I otherwise would not have been able to! I'd be glad to discuss with anyone interested in doing the same either over a Tokyo beer or email (:
- soulchild37 10y ago
  I am interested to go Tokyo (maybe work there), whats your email address?
- du_bing 10y ago
  Hi, very interested in your freelance work way, how do you get jobs?
- micaksica 10y ago
  Is Japan a travel destination, or home base? 日本語がわかりますか。
tvanantwerp 10y ago
I'm most thankful for my wife. I don't think I'd have it in me to work as hard as I have if it weren't for her. I know she's always got my back, no matter what.
- bebop 10y ago
  Here here! Also thankful for my wife and family.
loblollyboy 10y ago
Modern dentistry
woodruffw 10y ago
I heard this one over the dinner table tonight, but rule of law.
rjammala 10y ago
The Go programming language.
- tuxlinuxien 10y ago
  Couldn't agree more!
keithnz 10y ago
I'm thankful for living in the most prosperous country in the world. http://www.li.com/about/press-releases/new-zealand-is-the-most-prosperous-country-in-the-world http://www.li.com/about/press-releases/new-zealand-is-the-mo... and I'm thankful for living in the country with the most liberty! http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-research/2016/5/24/2016-state-of-world-liberty-index http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-research/2016/5/24/2016-st...
- cconcepts 10y ago
  When you're from NZ, no one is desperate to kill you or trade with you. Its a double-edged sword.
rayalez 10y ago
I am incredibly thankful for the internet, and to all the people who have created and shared videos and wrote books that helped to pull me out of the deep dark hole of ignorance/hopelessness/depression. I come from a pretty dark environment, and I can't count the times when the access to the internet and information created by brilliant people have literally saved my life. And, perhaps more importantly, made it worth living. I am thankful for Owen Cook, Paul Graham, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Ayn Rand, Dan Harmon, Randall Munroe, Louis CK, and countless other brilliant and bright people. They are my heroes, they have created things that inspired me, and taught me about the world, and brought a lot of joy into my life. ---- I am also very thankful for the fact that I have discovered 3D graphics at a very early age. It showed me what it feels like to be extremely passionate about something, and how awesome and fun it can be to create things. It taught me to think and to learn things and to care about my craft, and to pursue mastery at what I do. It drove me to learn English language and, ultimately, opened to me the world of everything else that I love and care about.
- ue_ 10y ago
  Out of interest, what about Ayn Rand's writing in particular, or what themes, were appealing to you? If you do not mind saying, of course. It's a good list of people.
  - rayalez 10y ago
    She showed me how to think well. She is amazing at writing in a clear, precise way that demonstrates the thinking process of a rational person. She taught me to face reality and deal with it rationally, instead of flinching away from it and trying to ignore/rationalize things. To solve problems by thinking about things deeply, determining the best course of action, and then pursuing it. To think for myself, from the first principles, to rely on my own judgement, to have the courage to believe in what makes sense to me. To take responsibility for my life(for my choices and their results). She taught me about determining my values and optimizing for them, choosing a purpose and pursuing it, stepping on a path to mastery and striving to become an expert at what I do. She inspired my interest in engineering, science, entrepreneurship, rationality. Her heroes(Dagny, Hank Rearden) gave me a vision for the kind of person I want to be. The massive impact Atlas Shrugged had on my life, and the amazing quality of her writing, made me want to become a good writer.
pmyjavec 10y ago
Air to breathe, water to drink, sunshine and my family.
doweig 10y ago
The new MacBook Pro
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
vowelless 10y ago
Incredibly thankful for the opportunity to have moved to the US 10 years ago. It's not a perfect country -- but there is no other place I like to call home today.
- doweig 10y ago
  That's heartwarming. Can I ask where are you coming from originally?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
1337biz 10y ago
For all the Trolls keeping theinternet
du_bing 10y ago
I am most thankful for my family, my parents, my brother.
RickS 10y ago
I'm thankful for the luck of the industry. I use futureme.org to write diaries to my future self, and when I went into college after dropping out of high school, I wrote one that said I'd drop out of college too if a job were to offer me 40k/yr. 4 years later I graduated and moved to SF for 140k, and it didn't stop there. I wish I could say I knew it would go this way, and was destined for greatness, yadda yadda, but I was as surprised as anybody. The thing I was passionate about happened to explode into a darling of basically every company. I'm thankful I was in the right place at the right time.
mcs_ 10y ago
For smart questions
aianus 10y ago
I am extremely thankful to speak English as a first language.
Esau 10y ago
I am thankful for my wife, who loves me. I am thankful that both of my daughters are healthy and smart young women. I am thankful for the AT&T team who created UNIX. I am thankful for the programmers who work on the Linux, GNU, *BSD, Plan 9, and FreeDOS operating systems. I am thankful to all the programmers who make free software possible. I am thankful for the ACLU, the EFF, the CBLDF, and the NRA. I am thankful to Edward Snowden for revealing that our government has been breaking the law. I am thankful that there are things like Pinboard and Tarsnap out there, where building something good is the goal. I am grateful for Project Gutenberg, Wikipedia, Hacker News, and Lobste.rs; all for providing me interesting things to read.
ghfoaway 10y ago
I am thankful I'm not black. What with all the lynchings.
quickConclusion 10y ago
I am thankful for my elders and felllow citizens to provide for free education, free healthcare, and retirement for all. My turn.
hkmurakami 10y ago
My health, after having been hit by a car while cycling (airlifted to Stanford Hospital back in 2013), and having gone through depression several times in my life which could have taken bad turns. My family, who was supportive of me quitting my first job from stress and depression and gave me the time to recover. My childhood friends, who all grew up in SV together and still remain close friends (just went on a morning hike together on Thanksgiving day). We definitely keep each other sane amidst the insanity, anxiety, and hypercompetitiveness of modern SV. My social situation, which spares me from the fear that many peers feel regarding the upcoming presidency and the emboldened vitriol of the hateful.
yousifa 10y ago
I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about my surivival and the survival of my family and friends. Too many people around the world have reasonable doubt that they will survive to tomorrow or if they will have another meal. I'm thankful for my friends and family who's support I couldn't do without. I'm thankful for all of the strangers and community members that have helped me along the way, asking nothing in return. I hope I can do the same for many others. I'm thankful for all of the great people who stand up for others and do good when they have nothing to gain.
ImTalking 10y ago
I am thankful for my life. I am thankful for my kids who think of me as their 'rock'. I am thankful for my relationships and experiences. I am thankful that I have Asperger's and think logically about everything. I am thankful that I live in the age of information, which will (hopefully) make the world a better place.
ascotan 10y ago
God, country and family. Maybe also for computers :9
jrcii 10y ago
I'm thankful for being persecuted on HN for my political beliefs by fascist moderators who are going to tell me how to think.
kearneyandy 10y ago
I'm so thankful I work in an industry with high enough demand that I can have a job I love
tomcam 10y ago
Being alive. Being an American. Kids being alive and delightful. Having a Constitution, one protected by a brave, dedicated volunteer force. Health. Hacker News. The opportunity to work for Microsoft a couple decades ago. Fantastic coworkers. JavaScript, web2py, golang. Fender guitars. Owning our home and being debt free. Surviving childhood beatings.
rezashirazian 10y ago
StackOverflow. The website, not the error of course.
- diegoperini 10y ago
  I'm thankful to both.
vuyani 10y ago
Im thankful I have the ability to exercise critical thinking.
ud0 10y ago
I am thankful for the internet and all the opportunities it has provided me.
raisedadead 10y ago
I am thankful to Tim Berners-Lee. I am thankful for being born in this era. I am thankful to everyone who is in Open Source. I am thankful for your time reading this.
SunShiranui 10y ago
I'm thankful for everyone that decided to contribute to the world by sharing information freely, be it knowledge, software, entertainment... Those are my heroes, small and big.
nstart 10y ago
My job at buffer. It rescued me from a job which left me sad most days (mostly a difference in cultures there. The people were fine). And did so just in time for our child being born (4 days ahead to be precise). Thanks to that I now work from home, alongside my little one and wife, both whom I absolutely love, and I've been fortunate to witness every single "first" of my son's. All while working on things I love with amazingly supportive people. When I'm older I'll probably look back on this part of my life with the hashtag #HappinessIs :)
blubb-fish 10y ago
after watching "trans fatty lives" I am thankful for not being challenged by anything even remotely as severe as ALS.
botw 10y ago
I am thankful to be alive.
samblr 10y ago
Dad : For his perseverance and patience which saw us through many struggles to get us an education. His words : things learnt stay learnt - no forces can steal them from you echo strongly now. Internet and programming: opportunities and possibilities that it provides is unprecedented.
NumberCruncher 10y ago
I am thankful for living in the "information age" and for the effort of the people making it reality. Once I spent my holiday trakking in Turkey and was reading HN during a pause on a mountain. I stumbled upon the link https://sivers.org/book https://sivers.org/book. I used my kindle to by some books about stoism and read them on my jurney. In English, which I mainly practice on online forums. I came back home with a different view of life. Now I know that happines is not measured in the PS of my car, the area of my flat, my bank balance or the jealousy of neighbours. OK, a high bank balance is still a fine thing but I stopped caring about the rest. And I become a better person. This couldn't have happened without the "information age" being reality.
max_ 10y ago
Python
drakonka 10y ago
I am thankful for my cats and my partner. I'm thankful for the very faint hope that I might get to see Mars in person one day. I'm thankful for the fact that we care about AI and are making progress in that field. I'm thankful that I was born lucky, into a middle class family who moved from a post-Soviet country to the U.S. and gave me opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had. I'm thankful that I lucked into some good genes.
NoCanDo 10y ago
Licorice

96 points by jaboutboul 10y ago

Literally thankful to be alive.

JonRB 10y ago

I'm incredibly thankful for my education. I've had the privilege of being relatively well educated and looking back I am incredibly grateful that my parents were both willing and able to put me through decent schools.

olalonde 10y ago

Thankful to have a passport which allows me to travel almost anywhere (probably the most overlooked advantage of being born in a first world country).

chairmankaga 10y ago

I'm very thankful to have quit my job to travel and freelance 8 months ago. It wasn't all pretty but I have grown and challenged myself in many ways that I otherwise would not have been able to! I'd be glad to discuss with anyone interested in doing the same either over a Tokyo beer or email (:

soulchild37 10y ago
I am interested to go Tokyo (maybe work there), whats your email address?
du_bing 10y ago
Hi, very interested in your freelance work way, how do you get jobs?
micaksica 10y ago
Is Japan a travel destination, or home base? 日本語がわかりますか。

tvanantwerp 10y ago

I'm most thankful for my wife. I don't think I'd have it in me to work as hard as I have if it weren't for her. I know she's always got my back, no matter what.

bebop 10y ago
Here here! Also thankful for my wife and family.

loblollyboy 10y ago

Modern dentistry

woodruffw 10y ago

I heard this one over the dinner table tonight, but rule of law.

rjammala 10y ago

The Go programming language.

tuxlinuxien 10y ago
Couldn't agree more!

keithnz 10y ago

I'm thankful for living in the most prosperous country in the world. http://www.li.com/about/press-releases/new-zealand-is-the-most-prosperous-country-in-the-world http://www.li.com/about/press-releases/new-zealand-is-the-mo... and I'm thankful for living in the country with the most liberty! http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-research/2016/5/24/2016-state-of-world-liberty-index http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-research/2016/5/24/2016-st...

cconcepts 10y ago
When you're from NZ, no one is desperate to kill you or trade with you. Its a double-edged sword.

rayalez 10y ago

I am incredibly thankful for the internet, and to all the people who have created and shared videos and wrote books that helped to pull me out of the deep dark hole of ignorance/hopelessness/depression. I come from a pretty dark environment, and I can't count the times when the access to the internet and information created by brilliant people have literally saved my life. And, perhaps more importantly, made it worth living. I am thankful for Owen Cook, Paul Graham, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Ayn Rand, Dan Harmon, Randall Munroe, Louis CK, and countless other brilliant and bright people. They are my heroes, they have created things that inspired me, and taught me about the world, and brought a lot of joy into my life. ---- I am also very thankful for the fact that I have discovered 3D graphics at a very early age. It showed me what it feels like to be extremely passionate about something, and how awesome and fun it can be to create things. It taught me to think and to learn things and to care about my craft, and to pursue mastery at what I do. It drove me to learn English language and, ultimately, opened to me the world of everything else that I love and care about.

ue_ 10y ago
Out of interest, what about Ayn Rand's writing in particular, or what themes, were appealing to you? If you do not mind saying, of course. It's a good list of people.
- rayalez 10y ago
  She showed me how to think well. She is amazing at writing in a clear, precise way that demonstrates the thinking process of a rational person. She taught me to face reality and deal with it rationally, instead of flinching away from it and trying to ignore/rationalize things. To solve problems by thinking about things deeply, determining the best course of action, and then pursuing it. To think for myself, from the first principles, to rely on my own judgement, to have the courage to believe in what makes sense to me. To take responsibility for my life(for my choices and their results). She taught me about determining my values and optimizing for them, choosing a purpose and pursuing it, stepping on a path to mastery and striving to become an expert at what I do. She inspired my interest in engineering, science, entrepreneurship, rationality. Her heroes(Dagny, Hank Rearden) gave me a vision for the kind of person I want to be. The massive impact Atlas Shrugged had on my life, and the amazing quality of her writing, made me want to become a good writer.

pmyjavec 10y ago

Air to breathe, water to drink, sunshine and my family.

doweig 10y ago

The new MacBook Pro

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

vowelless 10y ago

Incredibly thankful for the opportunity to have moved to the US 10 years ago. It's not a perfect country -- but there is no other place I like to call home today.

doweig 10y ago
That's heartwarming. Can I ask where are you coming from originally?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

1337biz 10y ago

For all the Trolls keeping theinternet

du_bing 10y ago

I am most thankful for my family, my parents, my brother.

RickS 10y ago

I'm thankful for the luck of the industry. I use futureme.org to write diaries to my future self, and when I went into college after dropping out of high school, I wrote one that said I'd drop out of college too if a job were to offer me 40k/yr. 4 years later I graduated and moved to SF for 140k, and it didn't stop there. I wish I could say I knew it would go this way, and was destined for greatness, yadda yadda, but I was as surprised as anybody. The thing I was passionate about happened to explode into a darling of basically every company. I'm thankful I was in the right place at the right time.

mcs_ 10y ago

For smart questions

aianus 10y ago

I am extremely thankful to speak English as a first language.

Esau 10y ago

I am thankful for my wife, who loves me. I am thankful that both of my daughters are healthy and smart young women. I am thankful for the AT&T team who created UNIX. I am thankful for the programmers who work on the Linux, GNU, *BSD, Plan 9, and FreeDOS operating systems. I am thankful to all the programmers who make free software possible. I am thankful for the ACLU, the EFF, the CBLDF, and the NRA. I am thankful to Edward Snowden for revealing that our government has been breaking the law. I am thankful that there are things like Pinboard and Tarsnap out there, where building something good is the goal. I am grateful for Project Gutenberg, Wikipedia, Hacker News, and Lobste.rs; all for providing me interesting things to read.

ghfoaway 10y ago

I am thankful I'm not black. What with all the lynchings.

quickConclusion 10y ago

I am thankful for my elders and felllow citizens to provide for free education, free healthcare, and retirement for all. My turn.

hkmurakami 10y ago

My health, after having been hit by a car while cycling (airlifted to Stanford Hospital back in 2013), and having gone through depression several times in my life which could have taken bad turns. My family, who was supportive of me quitting my first job from stress and depression and gave me the time to recover. My childhood friends, who all grew up in SV together and still remain close friends (just went on a morning hike together on Thanksgiving day). We definitely keep each other sane amidst the insanity, anxiety, and hypercompetitiveness of modern SV. My social situation, which spares me from the fear that many peers feel regarding the upcoming presidency and the emboldened vitriol of the hateful.

yousifa 10y ago

I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about my surivival and the survival of my family and friends. Too many people around the world have reasonable doubt that they will survive to tomorrow or if they will have another meal. I'm thankful for my friends and family who's support I couldn't do without. I'm thankful for all of the strangers and community members that have helped me along the way, asking nothing in return. I hope I can do the same for many others. I'm thankful for all of the great people who stand up for others and do good when they have nothing to gain.

ImTalking 10y ago

I am thankful for my life. I am thankful for my kids who think of me as their 'rock'. I am thankful for my relationships and experiences. I am thankful that I have Asperger's and think logically about everything. I am thankful that I live in the age of information, which will (hopefully) make the world a better place.

ascotan 10y ago

God, country and family. Maybe also for computers :9

jrcii 10y ago

I'm thankful for being persecuted on HN for my political beliefs by fascist moderators who are going to tell me how to think.

kearneyandy 10y ago

I'm so thankful I work in an industry with high enough demand that I can have a job I love

tomcam 10y ago

Being alive. Being an American. Kids being alive and delightful. Having a Constitution, one protected by a brave, dedicated volunteer force. Health. Hacker News. The opportunity to work for Microsoft a couple decades ago. Fantastic coworkers. JavaScript, web2py, golang. Fender guitars. Owning our home and being debt free. Surviving childhood beatings.

rezashirazian 10y ago

StackOverflow. The website, not the error of course.

diegoperini 10y ago
I'm thankful to both.

vuyani 10y ago

Im thankful I have the ability to exercise critical thinking.

ud0 10y ago

I am thankful for the internet and all the opportunities it has provided me.

raisedadead 10y ago

I am thankful to Tim Berners-Lee. I am thankful for being born in this era. I am thankful to everyone who is in Open Source. I am thankful for your time reading this.

SunShiranui 10y ago

I'm thankful for everyone that decided to contribute to the world by sharing information freely, be it knowledge, software, entertainment... Those are my heroes, small and big.

nstart 10y ago

My job at buffer. It rescued me from a job which left me sad most days (mostly a difference in cultures there. The people were fine). And did so just in time for our child being born (4 days ahead to be precise). Thanks to that I now work from home, alongside my little one and wife, both whom I absolutely love, and I've been fortunate to witness every single "first" of my son's. All while working on things I love with amazingly supportive people. When I'm older I'll probably look back on this part of my life with the hashtag #HappinessIs :)

blubb-fish 10y ago

after watching "trans fatty lives" I am thankful for not being challenged by anything even remotely as severe as ALS.

botw 10y ago

I am thankful to be alive.

samblr 10y ago

Dad : For his perseverance and patience which saw us through many struggles to get us an education. His words : things learnt stay learnt - no forces can steal them from you echo strongly now. Internet and programming: opportunities and possibilities that it provides is unprecedented.

NumberCruncher 10y ago

I am thankful for living in the "information age" and for the effort of the people making it reality. Once I spent my holiday trakking in Turkey and was reading HN during a pause on a mountain. I stumbled upon the link https://sivers.org/book https://sivers.org/book. I used my kindle to by some books about stoism and read them on my jurney. In English, which I mainly practice on online forums. I came back home with a different view of life. Now I know that happines is not measured in the PS of my car, the area of my flat, my bank balance or the jealousy of neighbours. OK, a high bank balance is still a fine thing but I stopped caring about the rest. And I become a better person. This couldn't have happened without the "information age" being reality.

max_ 10y ago

Python

drakonka 10y ago

I am thankful for my cats and my partner. I'm thankful for the very faint hope that I might get to see Mars in person one day. I'm thankful for the fact that we care about AI and are making progress in that field. I'm thankful that I was born lucky, into a middle class family who moved from a post-Soviet country to the U.S. and gave me opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had. I'm thankful that I lucked into some good genes.

NoCanDo 10y ago

Licorice