jon_dahl

59 ms·

541.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I'm hopeful - but there was a time when #3 was true of Reddit, too. Now if your Reddit comment includes the word "fap", you're about guaranteed to be upmodded.
542.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Understanding the development cycle of an application. I can fire up vi and complete exercises, or build an artificial tool, but that only takes one so far.
543.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I don't agree, but this shouldn't be downmodded either. I definitely don't have a month free to learn a language. But I have a few hours a week free, and I'm not in a hurry. :)
544.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Great advice, ricree and m_fish. I think this is right on. That's why I don't want to learn Python - it looks like a great language, but I already have Ruby. I've been trying C and Scheme on the side, but through reading (SICP and K&R),
545.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
This may be true. Or it may not be true - there's always a crisis looming, and often when things look bad, the market has already factored that in. Personally, I'd rather stay invested in index funds through good and bad rather than trying
546.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Agreed. Just take Taleb with a grain of salt - he's a polemical writer, and swings to an extreme. (He's seen the excesses of hedge funds, and so puts most of his money in treasuries.)
547.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Thanks - OCaml looks interesting, and would be a little further from Ruby than Lisp because of its static typing, right? Any frameworks (or good libraries) for web apps? I enjoy digging into languages on their own, but I also want to get th
548.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
ETFs are just fine. There are pros and cons to each, but they are minor. Generally, ETFs have lower expense ratios, but you have to pay a commission to buy them (maybe $10 per purchase at a discount broker). Mutual funds are usually free to
549.
Ask HN: what language should I learn next?
14 points by jon_dahl 18y ago|58 comments
550.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
The first and best book on investing that you should read: A Random Walk Down Wall Street ( http://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Down-Wall-Street/dp/039306... ). This book has great investing advice; is funny, interesting, and well-written; an
551.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I'd look at it more like chaos. Theoretically, there is absolutely nothing random in the shuffling of a deck of cards or the roll of dice, bracketing the human elements. It's just really really complex, so we call this chaos/random.
552.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I think that most of what I said about Go could also apply to chess. I just have less experience with chess than with Go.
553.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Good thoughts - I too have a lot to learn with both Go and programming, and I know there's a lot more going on (with each) than in my original post.
554.
Why programmers should play Go(railspikes.com)
48 points by jon_dahl 18y ago|51 comments
555.
Testing is overrated?(railspikes.com)
8 points by jon_dahl 18y ago|3 comments
556.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Without being an expert, I'm pretty sure that OCaml is more strictly functional than Erlang and Javascript, though they all support functional programming to one extent or another. With languages like Javascript and Ruby, you can program fo
557.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I've used Other World Computing ( http://www.macsales.com/ ) for 5-10 RAM purchases over the years. Good prices and I've never had a reliability problem. Mac focused, though RAM is generally RAM.
558.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Agreed - IMO, until 2 or more players have saturated the market, competition isn't going to necessarily keep you out. Two other bits of advice: 1. Find something limited in scope, and build it under constraints. At least to start, assuming
559.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Good point in the second to last paragraph. Do you want a corporate job? If so, consider .NET or Java. Do you want a freelance/startup/independent job? You may find the Ruby (or Python etc.) community more supportive. There are exceptions t
560.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
How is brand different from identity? And if you have a quality product, isn't it your brand that communicates this to your customers?
561.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Tell me if this answers your question: if I were you, I would form an LLC ("Smith Software"), but push your personal name ("John Smith") as you network, look for jobs, introduce yourself, etc. So Smith Software goes on your contracts, and (
562.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I went from 2 people (myself and a partner) to 8, so I didn't do the individual thing myself. In my experience, a single person ("John Smith" or "John Smith Consulting LLC") isn't at a big disadvantage against a small company (John Smith as
563.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Some of the calculations here are fine, but it leaves out by far the most important cost of contracting: dead time. If you're a contractor and you work 2000 hours/year (50 weeks) for five straight years, you've got a sweet gig. Most consult
564.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
This is a good rule of thumb, and probably the most common one. It's basically identical to 2x your hourly rate as an employee. (FT employment is often figured at 2000 hours/year.) So if you want the equivalent of $75,000/year, charge $75/h
565.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
I did contract work for 5 years before founding a product company. Most of our work came from two sources: reputation and relationships. Reputation took several years to build, so it isn't 6-month solution. Relationships, on the other hand,
566.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Personally, I prefer reading words on a printed page over a computer display. Print offers much better resolution, a more natural way to read (for me), and I'm not distracted by email/blogs/work.
567.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Can I just say "Thanks" to the Hacker News crowd? comatose_kid asked a fair question about religion and atheism, and yummyfajitas gave a fair answer. No trolls, no painful Reddit-style debates on atheism vs. religion. Let's keep this up.
568.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
Top 3 mistakes businesspeople make when forming partnerships: 1. Trusting the relationship at the expense of a signed agreement: the relationship is critical, of course, but relationships can change. So all details should be spelled out on
569.
Ask HN: What's your search traffic breakdown?
1 points by jon_dahl 18y ago|1 comments
570.
by jon_dahl 18y ago
At the risk of sounding inane, you have to do both. Iterate, release early, and listen to users (PG). But also think deeply about the market, how you differentiate yourself, how you'll get the message out, and be sure you're really building

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