j_baker

54 ms·

511.
by j_baker 14y ago
It sounds like what you're saying is that the strawmanning can go both directions. People who want longer variable names can be regarded as lacking intelligence and being inefficient. People who want shorter variable names can be regarded
512.
by j_baker 14y ago
This is a strawman. When have you ever heard someone say "Let's choose short variable names! Screw readability!" ? I don't buy that short variable names are necessarily less clear. I think the ideal is to find variable names that are ter
513.
by j_baker 14y ago
It seems fairly simple to me: I like being alive. Therefore, I want to live longer. What reason do I have to stop?
514.
by j_baker 14y ago
From the page itself: Please keep in mind that this is just a port of a javascript library, please don't get started with the "but it's not pythonic" stuff. This library has no intentions to be pythonic, infact it tries to bring same under
515.
by j_baker 14y ago
You know, life would be so much simpler if companies could just force their idea of "consistent user experience" on people. Sometimes we as engineers have to take on additional complexity and just give the fucking customer what they want.
516.
by j_baker 14y ago
Assuming this isn't a just a rumor, this reeks of corporate politics. Loren creates an app that gets peoples' attention. Loren leaves. Twitter for Mac slowly dies. I don't doubt that someone has a rationalization for this, but I have to
517.
by j_baker 14y ago
Really? Because based on the story edw519 gave, it sounds an awful lot like the offshore programmer had just made a silly little mistake while the "client" was the one who was actively incompetent/manipulative. If anything, his choice of
518.
by j_baker 14y ago
It's somewhat ironic, but I frequently see this attitude espoused by programmers or other people who are more on the "clever" side than the "kind" side, and it sounds a bit like a "grass is greener on the other side" type of thing. As some
519.
by j_baker 14y ago
You're joking right? Oftentimes the fact that lives are involved makes jurors even more irrational. The life of the victim usually takes precedence over the life of the accused. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty
520.
by j_baker 14y ago
Ok, so maybe it's an exaggeration to say that everyone does that. I bet you'd be surprised if you really sat down and thought about it though. "You know, Leslie Fischer and I are totally BFFs. She went to the dance with Bobby Jones and
521.
by j_baker 14y ago
The world is filled with liars. I can come up with examples of this happening outside Silicon Valley for almost all of these points. Vanity metrics? "Customers saved an average of $200 by switching to Geico" Acquisition boasting? I'm su
522.
by j_baker 14y ago
I think the answer is probably "as soon as people stop giving money to cable cos for HBO".
523.
by j_baker 14y ago
Much as I hate to get the government more involved in software development, I really wish someone would hold companies accountable for this behavior. Just think of how many peoples' computers are vulnerable to these exploits.
524.
by j_baker 14y ago
Now if only that would happen here in the US. I simply don't understand why I should have to pay to get something the next day when I could get it for free minutes after it airs.
525.
Lessons From the Anternet: What Ants and Computers Have in Common(theatlantic.com)
1 points by j_baker 14y ago|0 comments
526.
Arctic sea ice reaches record low, Nasa says(bbc.co.uk)
1 points by j_baker 14y ago|0 comments
527.
by j_baker 14y ago
This has been my experience. I think people tend to read too much into acqui-hires. The reality is that acqui-hires seem to typically be a means of salvaging something from a failing company.
528.
by j_baker 14y ago
"Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting." - Emmet Fox
529.
by j_baker 14y ago
I think a better title for this would be "Why Jason Fried gave his company a month-long hackathon", because that's basically what he did.
530.
by j_baker 14y ago
They're probably better deals than if the companies went under. I think his point is that the possibility of an acquihire removes a good deal of risk.
531.
by j_baker 14y ago
I nominate the title for the loaded question of the month club. When will the author stop beating his wife?
532.
by j_baker 14y ago
Certainly there are traits that most great managers share. I think it's a stretch to say they're all alike. That said, I generally agree with the given points.
533.
by j_baker 14y ago
The economist would claim that fracking is actually far less invasive than other forms of mining: http://www.economist.com/node/21558462
534.
by j_baker 14y ago
If you've read more of Derek's (excellent) posts, you'll know that his complete hands-off style led to the company almost collapsing. I would like to see these posts. Could you link them?
535.
by j_baker 14y ago
Power plants that burn coal produce more than 90 times as much sulfur dioxide, five times as much nitrogen oxide and twice as much carbon dioxide as those that run on natural gas, according to the Government Accountability Office, the inve
536.
by j_baker 14y ago
Want to see evidence? 1. Go to a mental hospital. 2. Find the most insane person there. 3. Teach them how to code. Once you've done that, I will grant you that anyone can learn to code.
537.
by j_baker 14y ago
It's good that you're rejecting that attitude, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate the grandparent's point. Some people can't learn to code because their mind just doesn't work that way. Just like they probably have some skill that
538.
by j_baker 14y ago
I would imagine such a manager wouldn't have to eliminate all tasks but N. The simplest solution would be to make N the least important task.
539.
by j_baker 14y ago
anic is the reference implementation compiler for the experimental, high-performance, implicitly parallel, deadlock-free general-purpose dataflow programming language ANI. One other thing: anic is buzzword-compliant.
540.
by j_baker 14y ago
You make it sound as though the options are either to hold it together with bailing wire or never ship. I think the correct answer is somewhere in the middle: Polish it when possible, hack it when practical.

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