eldavido

24 ms·

151.
by eldavido 6y ago
Agree 100%. I wonder how much memory management affects this. My journey has been a bit different: traditional engineering degree, lots of large Ruby/JS/Python web applications, then a large C# WPF app, until finally at my last jo
152.
by eldavido 6y ago
Completely agree. Had a friend start a career at Intel, moved to Apple because he saw it coming. In case anyone isn't totally clear on why Intel is in such trouble: they made a lot of money selling high-end CPUs for desktops, and even
153.
by eldavido 6y ago
Financial results are always a lagging indicator in tech. That doesn't mean they aren't important, just that you can coast on an existing product line for a really long time (decade+) and then everyone's "surprised"
154.
by eldavido 6y ago
I live in a building in (Bay Area) Oakland Chinatown. A phrase the older Chinese folks use a lot in my building is "the older generation" or "the younger generation". As in, "the younger generation likes buying thin
155.
by eldavido 6y ago
Good salespeople help customers by thoroughly understanding their needs, matching what the company sells to the customer, and explaining why the thing being sold is the best in terms the customer cares about. Don't hate salespeople. Ha
156.
by eldavido 6y ago
So, I've thought about this a lot and concluded democratic governments (democratic, not Democratic) just can't do this. The incentives to cheat are just too strong. Problem is accounting standards? There's always a legal-by-t
157.
by eldavido 6y ago
The whole thing is so nakedly corrupt. In Illinois, where I'm from, guys like JB Pritzker (governor) and Mike Madigan have made whole careers out of getting elected on the back of organized labor (e.g. AFSCME), and once elected, give t
158.
by eldavido 6y ago
Me too man. Tired of this partisan bickering. Parent obviously doesn't like the GOP, fine, but call a spade a spade.
159.
by eldavido 6y ago
Skimming or cross-subsidizing? Part of the problem with universities IMO is the accounting for revenue<->expenses isn't at all straightforward. Athletics generate a ton more money than they cost, most people seem fine with that.
160.
by eldavido 6y ago
Maybe that belief isn't wrong, but outdated?
161.
by eldavido 6y ago
American here - The Netherlands is a pretty small country (population wise) but the more I learn about it, the more impressed I am. Low public debt, sophisticated commercial culture, great education system, very cosmopolitan, and sensible.
162.
by eldavido 6y ago
In my view, this is a situation where technology changed our understanding of morality. When Aquinas was alive, there was nothing remotely similar to modern banking. Money was lent at punitive rates of interest (20% or more/year), with
163.
by eldavido 6y ago
I'm not saying borrowing for the stimulus was necessarily a bad idea. Only that, unless you think the current level of debt is either sustainable long-term (maybe?) or that it can continue to rise, that the only rational conclusion is
164.
by eldavido 6y ago
This is probably what's going to happen, but only if we take a LOT of human labor out of it. Either that, or accept that every class will be huge (200-500 students) with minimal attention given to students, no office hours, and low-pai
165.
by eldavido 6y ago
I have this evolving metaphor of the US as a financially overextended household or business. We've lived large since WWII. Bought new cars every few years, built the suburbs, provided quality education to a lot of people, etc. Is it al
166.
by eldavido 6y ago
People need to understand, the value of a 100% of final-salary pension for people earning 100K retiring at 55-60 is likely millions . It's even worse with the games people play with PTO and other benefits (where they bump pay 20-30% i
167.
by eldavido 6y ago
I think you're right, but like politicians (or anyone entrusted with handling large amounts of power), the real test is how you fare over the long run. Quoting Buffett, recessions like we're heading into now are where the tide goe
168.
by eldavido 6y ago
Times like this are when they wash out.
169.
by eldavido 6y ago
If you look at the bigger picture it's hard to imagine this wouldn't be the case. Not trying to start a generational food fight but realistically the world has changed since the boomers grew up. The US is facing major great power
170.
by eldavido 6y ago
Long before this comment, I've believed software engineering is becoming more like law. There's been a noticeable uptick in credential-obsession, more of a "tracked" career, just eveything about it is heading in a more h
171.
by eldavido 7y ago
Nailed it. The question is how you put the genie back in the bottle. I think this is the core insight of small-government conservatism. When big, powerful institutions exist, they can do great things...provided they're always run by ex
172.
by eldavido 7y ago
I think this is what it looks like when the government becomes more activist in the overall running of the economy. The pendulum swings. We had a lot of government involvement in the 40/50s. It declined through the 60s and 70s until we
173.
by eldavido 7y ago
If you have some time, read a few books about how huge debt crises get resolved. It's fascinating. My friend Drew is a huge "bankruptcy geek" and eats this shit up. A good starter book: "This Time It's Different&quo
174.
by eldavido 7y ago
Yes it is. It is exactly the same thing. A landlord is an unsecured creditor just like a lender with a loan that isn't backed by pledged collateral. In general, any unsecured creditor, whether bank, landlord, etc can sue or take other
175.
by eldavido 7y ago
The thing you want to read about here is "material adverse change". Look it up. It's a contractual clause common in M&A that lets the buyer back out if something "bad" happens. A textbook MAC would be, I'm
176.
by eldavido 7y ago
It is a good core business. The press is just trying to spin this into some big exciting story as they are wont to do, this time playing up the "How the mighty fall" and "David v Goliath" angle. I am a paying wework cust
177.
by eldavido 7y ago
This whole thing frustrates me so much. It's like people are just spouting off random opinions not substantiated by any data or real-world experience...at all. I just looked it up. WeWork has 848 locations globally. These locations are
178.
by eldavido 7y ago
Offhand...Walgreens? CVS? Wells Fargo? Chase Bank? Just look around you, much of the Fortune 500 is in mass consumer retail, and they tend to rent rather than own.
179.
by eldavido 7y ago
Is this informed by any data or facts whatsoever? Last time I checked, WeWork was a going concern with 600,000 customers more or less happy with their service. What would tank them? Are their lease obligations too large and can't be re
180.
by eldavido 7y ago
I don't know where this 18-22% number comes from. A simpler explanation is that it's all driven by fund size. We all have the same 24 hours/day, 7 days/week and all investments require analysis and oversight. If I'm

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