mdakin

19 ms·

151.
by mdakin 19y ago
That's beautiful; and I'm sure deeply disturbing to some. Hehehe. I need to watch that movie again.
152.
by mdakin 19y ago
This reminds me of Dr. Strangelove's post-apocalypse planning. I wonder if a conspiracy is afoot.
153.
by mdakin 19y ago
Understood, and I agree about Python's consistency and coherent evolution relative to CL. Thanks for the link.
154.
by mdakin 19y ago
My first Lisp experience was SICP/Scheme and it always felt cleaner and nicer as a language compared to CL. I gravitated towards CL over time due to perceived runtime and library advantages. If any Lisp could pull it all together like Pyt
155.
by mdakin 19y ago
Indeed I hope pg has a strategy to grow a Python-like library around Arc.
156.
by mdakin 19y ago
I'm no expert (merely a user of these systems) but it seems to me that the Python runtime is a POS compared to what you find in some Common Lisps like SBCL. The really appealing approach to me would be to pull Python into the Lisp environm
157.
by mdakin 19y ago
They are and it's a direct result of CS's immaturity. Python is close to something very, very good but not quite there. Logix in "Base Logix" mode seems to fix some of Python's problems while retaining its redeeming qualities. If only a re
158.
by mdakin 19y ago
Look into rsync [1] if you want transfers to be fast . You have the option (but not the requirement) to encrypt by using rsync in concert with ssh. Incidentally I do transfer private business data over the network, encrypted, every sing
159.
by mdakin 19y ago
"Competition" may or may not take care of the problem. As imgabe points out the market for high-speed internet connections is an oligopoly. Depending on the specific scenario an oligopoly can be almost as efficient as a free market (compe
160.
by mdakin 19y ago
You're welcome! Forgive me if this is obvious but there is one corner case worth mentioning with the Fu Cookie approach. The Fu Cookie authenticator expires. Be sure to consider what happens if this expiration happens in the middle of som
161.
by mdakin 19y ago
Take a look at the paper "Dos and Don'ts of Client Authentication on the Web" by Kevin Fu et al. [1] You should respect your users and always transmit their passwords over an SSL connection during the authentication process. Also only ke
162.
by mdakin 19y ago
One hundred years from now will an "elite college" still exist? The reputations of today's elite colleges stem from a perceived legacy of alum achievement 25, 50, 100 years ago. Are factors operating now that will more evenly distribute t
163.
by mdakin 19y ago
Using different services/accounts to narrowcast specific segments of your life to specific groups of people is a traditional use of social networking tools. But this story is not about using social networking tools in traditional ways. The
164.
by mdakin 19y ago
It would be interesting to know how many users would vote with their feet based on this point. Trying to "solve" this multiple identity problem is complex both from a personal as well as a technical perspective. I suspect most people ne
165.
by mdakin 19y ago
Creativity [1] is another very important characteristic to have on the team. And luckily you can detect the most creative people within minutes of talking to them about hard problems. [1] n. the use of the imagination or original ideas (
166.
by mdakin 19y ago
I scan the stories using a once-a-day RSS update but I never bother with the comments.
167.
by mdakin 19y ago
I speculate the general engineering requirements exist because the most complex engineering projects require an interdisciplinary approach. The different disciplines need a set of shared concepts and language to work effectively. Thus the
168.
by mdakin 19y ago
I have not looked at the software exams and if your assessment of them is a common one then there are likely problems with the current exam. I have looked at the EE FE/PE exams and I thought they were decent and fair. I suspect that most p
169.
by mdakin 19y ago
Faulty software in a life-critical system can kill just as easily as faulty mechanics or faulty electronics. If society considers it important to license mechanical and electrical engineers for particular jobs why should the software case
170.
by mdakin 19y ago
I think the key to making this work without censorship is ruthless downmoderation of low quality, uninterrsting, and annoying discussions. I am often hesitant to downmod but this is the tool that we have to shape the culture. If enough of
171.
by mdakin 19y ago
The key to getting positive insights out of controversial topics is to raise quality of the discussions rather than to censor them. My instinct was to agree with epi0Bauqu but one of the few stories I've upvoted after reading in the past d
172.
by mdakin 19y ago
I understand. A lot of services tend to make too much information public by default. And I think you're correct that meetup is too public. This factor hinders adoption of social services beyond the young and the extroverted. When I see y
173.
by mdakin 19y ago
Nice work! I had not associated you with your username here until now.
174.
by mdakin 19y ago
Very thought provoking. And I agree with your conclusions but I get there via a different route that is contradictory to your route at least on a semantic basis. I like to assume that a person tends to act rationally within his internal me
175.
by mdakin 19y ago
You might be interested in _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ by Pirsig. I believe it's the source of the quotation. It's a philosophical book about "quality"-- that which makes some things "better" than others. Beware it's a ra
176.
by mdakin 19y ago
"The pencil is mightier than the pen." -Robert Pirsig on the importance of revision
177.
by mdakin 19y ago
In the long run, never half-ass anything.
178.
by mdakin 19y ago
The universe is not static. And demands and supplies are particularly dynamic. Intuitively I see no reason why penetration percentage can't wax and wane with time due to changes in supplies, demands, populations, behaviors etc. He obvious
179.
by mdakin 19y ago
I completely agree about learning rather than reinventing. And I think learning different languages in particular is valuable because it helps to intimately introduce one to various useful concepts. But in general the most valuable of tho
180.
by mdakin 19y ago
If you read my replies carefully you will realize that we are likely in agreement on many points and that you are putting words into my mouth. As for the Sapir-Whorf argument the relevant case is not what the Lisp programmer thinks while pr

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