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> regardless of how wealthy he becomes It may be the reverse that happens here: he is wealthy enough to have time to play with Lisp.

by p4bl0 7y ago

dang 7y ago
He was playing with Lisp before he was wealthy and also while becoming wealthy. HN's software, which runs on Arc, used to run YC too. It was all one codebase. Only after pg retired did YC move the business parts of the software out of Lisp, and it got a lot bigger and more complicated in the process—as any Lisper would expect.
- pg 7y ago
  At first it was not just all one codebase, but all one thread. If HN was busy, all our internal software would run a little slower.
  - mattknox 7y ago
    have you thought about publishing the full source from then? The HN source was dense but very educational, and it would be really interesting to see internal tools written in arc.
    - pg 7y ago
      You wouldn't learn much more from reading it, because (to an almost comical extent in retrospect) the internal code was just like HN. In fact, not just like; it was mostly the same code.
  - arthurcolle 7y ago
    Interesting, am I reading this the right way that the larger YC organization's codebase is an outgrowth of the message board tech? You guys post updates on investments/ideas for what startups should be doing just like news links are shared on HN, but actually on HN/not visible to other normal-HN users?
    - pg 7y ago
      That was once true, but it's all been rewritten.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Bigger and more complicated and handled many more users.
  - dang 7y ago
    I was in the room when the decision was made, and it wasn't about more users. That's the kind of thing people say because they assume it must be so. If you do that about unconventional things, which this software was/is, you'll simply reproduce the conventional view.
braythwayt 7y ago
There are a LOT of things like that. Travel is a good example. For people making a living wage, some think “I don’t have the money to travel.” Then when they have the money, they think “I don’t have the time to travel.” They don’t really travel until they retire, and then they have trouble going anywhere that isn’t friendly to their knees and faltering eyesight, so they buy an RV. Others travel in college from hostel to hostel. When they get work, they negotiate longer vacations to travel, or they deliberately become giggers so they can travel. I met a couple in Thailand who climbed, they worked five months a year around the clock as nurses, and climbed seven months a year literally everywhere. They lived on the cheap so they would have more climbing days. I have similar stories about people who ride bicycles and dive. If you are passionate, don’t wait for some magical day when you can fly the Concorde to go climbing in Europe with your friends (true story about some Yosemite dirtbags who came into illicit cash). If you’re passionate about a thing, go do that thing. Now.
- mikepurvis 7y ago
  Link for the lazy: https://www.thecannachronicles.com/the-dirtbags-of-dope-lake-1976/ https://www.thecannachronicles.com/the-dirtbags-of-dope-lake... This is discussed in the Valley Uprising documentary as well (the whole doc is amazing and definitely worth your time).
  - braythwayt 7y ago
    I haven't checked your link, but John Long told the story in one of his many autobiographical books. He also was credited with the story idea that became the Sylvester Stallone climbing action movie "Cliffhanger," and that is loosely based on the incident.
    - mikepurvis 7y ago
      Oh yeah, I'm definitely not providing the definitive or original account, just throwing out a decent overview for anyone interested in more details.
acomjean 7y ago
A rule devised on college summers from a state school. Students had money or time, depending on if they had a summer job. Seems to hold true to most peoples existence. until you have enough money to make more money without adding much time..
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HeavyStorm 7y ago
Completely agree. While I have no idea what I'd actually do if I was this wealthy (maybe just enjoy life and give into time consuming addictions), but I have numerous projects that are "on hold" from lack of time.

> regardless of how wealthy he becomes It may be the reverse that happens here: he is wealthy enough to have time to play with Lisp.

by p4bl0 7y ago

> regardless of how wealthy he becomes It may be the reverse that happens here: he is wealthy enough to have time to play with Lisp.

dang 7y ago

He was playing with Lisp before he was wealthy and also while becoming wealthy. HN's software, which runs on Arc, used to run YC too. It was all one codebase. Only after pg retired did YC move the business parts of the software out of Lisp, and it got a lot bigger and more complicated in the process—as any Lisper would expect.

pg 7y ago
At first it was not just all one codebase, but all one thread. If HN was busy, all our internal software would run a little slower.
- mattknox 7y ago
  have you thought about publishing the full source from then? The HN source was dense but very educational, and it would be really interesting to see internal tools written in arc.
  - pg 7y ago
    You wouldn't learn much more from reading it, because (to an almost comical extent in retrospect) the internal code was just like HN. In fact, not just like; it was mostly the same code.
- arthurcolle 7y ago
  Interesting, am I reading this the right way that the larger YC organization's codebase is an outgrowth of the message board tech? You guys post updates on investments/ideas for what startups should be doing just like news links are shared on HN, but actually on HN/not visible to other normal-HN users?
  - pg 7y ago
    That was once true, but it's all been rewritten.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
lonelappde 7y ago
Bigger and more complicated and handled many more users.
- dang 7y ago
  I was in the room when the decision was made, and it wasn't about more users. That's the kind of thing people say because they assume it must be so. If you do that about unconventional things, which this software was/is, you'll simply reproduce the conventional view.

braythwayt 7y ago

There are a LOT of things like that. Travel is a good example. For people making a living wage, some think “I don’t have the money to travel.” Then when they have the money, they think “I don’t have the time to travel.” They don’t really travel until they retire, and then they have trouble going anywhere that isn’t friendly to their knees and faltering eyesight, so they buy an RV. Others travel in college from hostel to hostel. When they get work, they negotiate longer vacations to travel, or they deliberately become giggers so they can travel. I met a couple in Thailand who climbed, they worked five months a year around the clock as nurses, and climbed seven months a year literally everywhere. They lived on the cheap so they would have more climbing days. I have similar stories about people who ride bicycles and dive. If you are passionate, don’t wait for some magical day when you can fly the Concorde to go climbing in Europe with your friends (true story about some Yosemite dirtbags who came into illicit cash). If you’re passionate about a thing, go do that thing. Now.

mikepurvis 7y ago
Link for the lazy: https://www.thecannachronicles.com/the-dirtbags-of-dope-lake-1976/ https://www.thecannachronicles.com/the-dirtbags-of-dope-lake... This is discussed in the Valley Uprising documentary as well (the whole doc is amazing and definitely worth your time).
- braythwayt 7y ago
  I haven't checked your link, but John Long told the story in one of his many autobiographical books. He also was credited with the story idea that became the Sylvester Stallone climbing action movie "Cliffhanger," and that is loosely based on the incident.
  - mikepurvis 7y ago
    Oh yeah, I'm definitely not providing the definitive or original account, just throwing out a decent overview for anyone interested in more details.

acomjean 7y ago

A rule devised on college summers from a state school. Students had money or time, depending on if they had a summer job. Seems to hold true to most peoples existence. until you have enough money to make more money without adding much time..

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HeavyStorm 7y ago

Completely agree. While I have no idea what I'd actually do if I was this wealthy (maybe just enjoy life and give into time consuming addictions), but I have numerous projects that are "on hold" from lack of time.