4 ms·

I was a much better parent before I had kids, the old saying goes. It proves itself out every day on sites like Reddit and Hacker News. The description you gav

I was a much better parent before I had kids, the old saying goes. It proves itself out every day on sites like Reddit and Hacker News. The description you gave above sounds like any working parent anywhere. If the answer is "No" to a startup, then it would have to be "No" to being a simple employee as well.

roel_v 13y ago
Both I and my wife work and while I may not have a high-flying career with million-dollar IPO's and jet-setting across the world with VC's (and write humblebrag blogs on how to start half a dozen startups and 'still' get to gasp have dinner with my children once a week), I can objectively say that I'm (compared to how it's described in the article - I have nothing to go on but that) much more involved with my children than this guy. Look, everybody is entitled to live his life the way he sees fit, but don't go around claiming you've found such a great work/life balance (and that you're such a great parent) and then have it turn out to be like described. On weekends, I go to the zoo with my children, I don't drag them across the world under the pretense of 'they get to experience so much' to leave them with complete stranger babysitters in hotels across the world, and pretend that waiting times in airport terminals with them is quality parenting time.
- tptacek 13y ago
  I think it's generally never a good rhetorical strategy to argue how much better a parent you are than someone else.
  - roel_v 13y ago
    Well it's true that I lose pathos (and ethos), and generally come across as a dick, but in my experience and congruent with this site's target audience, readers here give logos a disproportionate value anyway. And maybe I did make the wrong choice when I compared him to myself, it's not about me - but the GP implied an argument about my lack of experience and hence reduced value of my statement. I should just stop arguing on the internet all together, really - it's a no-win situation.
    - skrebbel 13y ago
      Not entirely: I enjoyed reading your comments here (and I agree with them). It's a warm welcome amidst all the American 'work work work work work life balance' culture that's prevalent on HN (for understandable reasons, after all, most of HN is American). There's no point in telling each other all the time how you can't do a startup (or good/interesting software work in general) unless you put in 70 hour weeks for two years straight, so I like reading the occasional counter argument, such as yours here.

roel_v 13y ago

Both I and my wife work and while I may not have a high-flying career with million-dollar IPO's and jet-setting across the world with VC's (and write humblebrag blogs on how to start half a dozen startups and 'still' get to gasp have dinner with my children once a week), I can objectively say that I'm (compared to how it's described in the article - I have nothing to go on but that) much more involved with my children than this guy. Look, everybody is entitled to live his life the way he sees fit, but don't go around claiming you've found such a great work/life balance (and that you're such a great parent) and then have it turn out to be like described. On weekends, I go to the zoo with my children, I don't drag them across the world under the pretense of 'they get to experience so much' to leave them with complete stranger babysitters in hotels across the world, and pretend that waiting times in airport terminals with them is quality parenting time.

tptacek 13y ago
I think it's generally never a good rhetorical strategy to argue how much better a parent you are than someone else.
- roel_v 13y ago
  Well it's true that I lose pathos (and ethos), and generally come across as a dick, but in my experience and congruent with this site's target audience, readers here give logos a disproportionate value anyway. And maybe I did make the wrong choice when I compared him to myself, it's not about me - but the GP implied an argument about my lack of experience and hence reduced value of my statement. I should just stop arguing on the internet all together, really - it's a no-win situation.
  - skrebbel 13y ago
    Not entirely: I enjoyed reading your comments here (and I agree with them). It's a warm welcome amidst all the American 'work work work work work life balance' culture that's prevalent on HN (for understandable reasons, after all, most of HN is American). There's no point in telling each other all the time how you can't do a startup (or good/interesting software work in general) unless you put in 70 hour weeks for two years straight, so I like reading the occasional counter argument, such as yours here.