j_baker

18 ms·

121.
by j_baker 12y ago
I disagree. Research has shown that becoming good at something is more about practice than anything else.
122.
by j_baker 12y ago
Like similar abstractions, participation is an empty goal unless it is gauged in relation to the job to be done. It is a means, not an end, and when treated as an end, it can become more repressive than the unadorned authoritarianism it is
123.
by j_baker 12y ago
I have a ton of issues with this post. For starters, the idea that some people are just inherently exceptional programmers and others can only be competent is elitist. Is it any wonder that every programmer in Silicon Valley thinks they&#x2
124.
by j_baker 12y ago
This article is built on a fundamentally invalid premise: > 30-60% of CS college majors have failed their Introduction to Computer Science course because they simply could not learn to program. This "You either have it or you don&#x
125.
by j_baker 12y ago
I sure hope you wrote this message on a device that was naturally made and not assembled from materials (metal, glass, plastic) that were extracted from their natural ecosystem. We humans manipulate "natural" ecosystems all the ti
126.
by j_baker 12y ago
There absolutely is a negative feedback mechanism. The question is whether that mechanism involves the destruction of humanity.
127.
by j_baker 12y ago
My first question: is this intentional or is it a bug? This wouldn't be the first time a website has mistakenly prompted a user to upgrade their browser.
128.
by j_baker 12y ago
> Sure, our phones are great, but that’s not the same as being able to fly across the Atlantic in eight hours or eliminating smallpox. I don't understand why the author is so down on phones. You know, on the original Star Trek (wh
129.
by j_baker 12y ago
Environment variables are useful in their own situations. For instance, OpenShift signals the open IP and Port number as environment variables. Which is useful when you have a program with an unknown set of command-line parameters. Either t
130.
Facebook Supplier’s Drivers Join Teamsters to Boost Pay(bloomberg.com)
1 points by j_baker 12y ago|0 comments
131.
by j_baker 12y ago
Python also keeps refcounts for other objects that shouldn't be garbage collected such as None, True, and False. The reason being to prevent having certain objects that need to be refcounted and certain objects that don't. Otherwi
132.
by j_baker 12y ago
When the GP talks about "small integers", I'm assuming he's talking about numbers between -5 and 256, which are cached ahead of time. They're never going to be garbage collected, so refcounting is largely unnecessar
133.
by j_baker 12y ago
Recruiters aren't here to offer anyone opportunity or employment. They're here to make a big commission off of hiring a high-salary techie, and can be very pushy in achieving that goal. "Hey, I realize you're not probabl
134.
by j_baker 12y ago
I don't know. Our generation certainly had our fair share of military madness. What about the Gay Bomb? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bomb
135.
Congress Still Has No Idea How Much the NSA Spies on Americans(theatlantic.com)
5 points by j_baker 12y ago|1 comments
136.
by j_baker 12y ago
Egoism is also a form of madness, is it not? Narcissism is actually well-known to be one of the more creative personality types, and there's research to back that up. http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/narci
137.
Tech political giving ticks off Silicon Valley liberals(politico.com)
3 points by j_baker 12y ago|0 comments
138.
by j_baker 12y ago
Ahem... the last vacuum tube product? http://www.samsung.com/us/2012-vacuum-tube-amplifier/
139.
by j_baker 12y ago
Who are the majority of people who work for tech companies? Twenty-something people who live a Brooklyn lifestyle. Guess who the products are made for?
140.
Bay Area apartment rents at record high(contracostatimes.com)
2 points by j_baker 12y ago|0 comments
141.
by j_baker 12y ago
Serious question: what's wrong with the word "journey"?
142.
by j_baker 12y ago
I'd like to point out that the Google quote is not from Google's webpage and is in fact likely a banned interview question. The facebook quote on the other hand is from their webpage on a tool that is used for recruiting.
143.
Why Workers Can Suffer in Bossless Companies Like GitHub(wired.com)
1 points by j_baker 12y ago|0 comments
144.
Moral Combat(eastbayexpress.com)
3 points by j_baker 12y ago|0 comments
145.
HBO is launching a stand-alone streaming service in 2015(washingtonpost.com)
3 points by j_baker 12y ago|0 comments
146.
by j_baker 12y ago
> How to resolve this? A police “back door” for all smartphones is undesirable — a back door can and will be exploited by bad guys, too. However, with all their wizardry, perhaps Apple and Google could invent a kind of secure golden key
147.
by j_baker 12y ago
This really sounds more like a simple personality clash to me. The funny thing is that had the CEO really just kept his mouth shut like he originally intended, the thing would probably have blown over. The employee wasn't really making
148.
by j_baker 12y ago
This is neat. But what practical use is it?
149.
by j_baker 12y ago
Honestly? I don't buy it. The VCs are the ones that have been pouring cash into these companies so they can blow it on obscenely expensive parties and offices. I think they're just trying to deflect criticism away from themselves
150.
by j_baker 12y ago
Yeah, I think Ellison is heading for a "phased" retirement. Eventually, he'll give up the CTO role and just be Chairman. Then he'll give up the Chairman role (perhaps when he dies).

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