mattchew

20 ms·

151.
by mattchew 16y ago
Well, you're welcome. Saying something that sounds bad isn't the end of the world (good thing for me). Live and learn.
152.
by mattchew 16y ago
> But the people who are ruling the poor nations have a vested interest in the status quo, which is why the region is poor, Not everywhere, and not in a perfectly unified way, which is why Romer got genuine interest in Madagascar and ap
153.
by mattchew 16y ago
It's not his standards, it's his weaselly way of talking about them. Here's what he said in plain English: "Even though I was dating her, she really wasn't good enough for me." Later he says "that doesn't mean she's not a great individual"
154.
by mattchew 16y ago
I'm guessing StayFocusd. At any rate, that's what I use and it is good.
155.
by mattchew 16y ago
> Chances are you'll end up going to some crappy Java school ... > This is what Universities do ... they train people to think ... So your average university can't teach me to code, but it can impart to me the wisdom of the ages.
156.
by mattchew 16y ago
Apparently, the collective unconscious is crying for 20 million web-based todo lists, rather than the 10 million we have already. I say this because I'm working on one too. :) > It's by design uncomplicated, not a ton of features for
157.
by mattchew 16y ago
I went to the local blacksmithing group just this week. I think I'm going to join. The work looks like fun and I liked the social atmosphere (slightly grumpy old guys who reminded me of my dad). > rigging old microwaves to melt coppe
158.
by mattchew 16y ago
Yup. I think Jeff is making a faulty generalization here. I've worked remotely for years, quite successfully. While I wish that meant I was a super rock star code god, it ain't so. You do have to be reasonably conscientious, but you d
159.
by mattchew 17y ago
I used Sarno's methods to get over my RSI. But I could see yoga addressing some of the same underlying issues (anxiety and chronic tension) and solving the problem from a different angle.
160.
by mattchew 17y ago
I'm another guy who had RSI and eventually got better by using Sarno's methods. Sarno's ideas are a little flakey and a little offputting. But if you have RSI and nothing else seems to help, I recommend swallowing your embarrassment and gi
161.
by mattchew 17y ago
> Regarding 3: don't you think happiness should be optimized? If happiness is defined as the feeling one gets from winning a bingo game or watching a hilarious comedian, then nope, I sure don't. If happiness is defined as behaving in th
162.
by mattchew 17y ago
Academic research can lead to learning truths, but I do not assume that everything that comes from academia is true, or even most of it. I think the modern world has an entirely unwarranted, and somewhat harmful, credulousness when it co
163.
by mattchew 17y ago
When Bhutan is measuring happiness, how do they know what they're measuring is really "happiness"? Why do they think their methods are optimal, or at better than some other method, or meaningful at all? Is it just an assumption?
164.
by mattchew 17y ago
Unfortunately, I think Bhutan is in the vanguard here. We don't yet have a prime minister who gets to issue policy initiatives to increase Gross National Happiness. But you can certainly get a lot of approval publishing articles explaining
165.
by mattchew 17y ago
If the rule is cannot deny coverage, high risk people will buy the cheap policy and then switch when they need the expensive benefits. For that matter low risk people will switch if they roll snake-eyes and need to schedule something expen
166.
by mattchew 17y ago
I have not heard that catastrophic coverage is banned by the bill, but the end of this sort of insurance is implied because of adverse selection. Either "insurers cannot refuse coverage" will have exceptions, or reduced cost/reduced benefi
167.
by mattchew 17y ago
The numbers are a red herring. COBRA vs. private health insurance costs are not the issue that should be scaring entrepreneurs. Thousands of dollars a year in new expenses is not a red herring and is plenty scary. It's not what's importa
168.
by mattchew 17y ago
You're right, we probably weren't going to disentangle the insurers. That is not an argument for handing them the keys to the nation for the sake of "doing something". Doing nothing would have been better. At a guess, doing nothing would
169.
by mattchew 17y ago
By now you've probably got bots watching your blog and autoposting new entries to the queue upon publication. You could spread your new posts out by a day or two if it really bugs you.
170.
by mattchew 17y ago
First, that distortion already took place. Providers and insurers have spent the last two decades colluding on pricing and process in ways that transformed Blue Cross from an insurer to a poorly-regulated utility. The health care bill tak
171.
by mattchew 17y ago
Asking for half a year of full time unpaid work is asking for an awful lot. I think it's fine to ask, but I wonder who Jono is imagining when he's thinking of potential applicants.
172.
by mattchew 17y ago
I'm not sure if you're disagreeing with me or not. Medieval Iceland was a violent place, and the threat of violence was much more overt than it is now. But it was not a society where disputes were primarily settled by killing. > th
173.
by mattchew 17y ago
You're probably talking about Njal's Saga. There is a feud that degenerates into exactly that--but it is also clear if you read the story that this is not the normal way disputes get settled. We got a saga out of it precisely because the
174.
by mattchew 17y ago
Thanks for the correction. Hg newbie.
175.
by mattchew 17y ago
hg export, hg import
176.
by mattchew 17y ago
Thanks NN. I don't think this is quite the same thing as what I was thinking of, but useful anyhow.
177.
by mattchew 17y ago
Some time back on--I think--Overcoming Bias, I read that less than half of medical studies are verified when independent verification is attempted. Does anyone have this reference? I can't find it again.
178.
by mattchew 17y ago
Proof that Joel still has something to offer developers besides "if you were any good you'd be on StackOverflow right now". <g> As it happens I started moving to Mercurial yesterday , how is that for luck. I think the Hg site doc
179.
by mattchew 17y ago
Your experience is different than mine. I usually have an acceptable-to-good experience when I call a credit card company, which happens often enough. I have always gotten excellent phone service from my car insurance company (Progressive
180.
by mattchew 17y ago
Akrasia means not actually doing what you think you should be doing. For example, actually spending time reading HN when you should be coding. I think this article would get more traction if a different term was used, or a parenthetical ex

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