portman

80 ms·

1. 301.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   I'm curious if anyone in the anti-marriage camp has children. I've heard the "marriage is an anachronism" argument for many years, exclusively from childless couples. If that's true - and it may be just due to small sample size of my pers
2. 302.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   I know it's considered gauche on HN to say "thank you" for upvotes. But thank you. (I'm assuming the upvotes are a way of saying "I'm sorry dude, I feel your pain". If so, they are much appreciated.)
3. 303.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   There are even worse stories. My parents divorced two years ago. I was paying my mother's attorney bills because she had no money and hadn't had a job in 35 years. After the first bill from my mother's attorney, for $15,000, I asked the fir
4. 304.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   >> Even paypal is 1.9% - 2.9% + $0.30 USD for the bulk of transactions. Actually, we use PayPal's micropayments service, which is 5% + $0.05 USD. This is only $.10 out of every dollar to the merchant processor. https://micropayme
5. 305.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   There is a non-trivial PR bump that occurs when a VC-backed company announces its strategy. Our company is in "stealth mode". We were funded in April, but we would prefer to have our one-time 15 minutes of fame in October, so we'll be wait
6. 306.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   Amazing support. I got a Google Chat invite and a follow-up email within 5 minutes of posting. If you guys can keep up that level of service as you scale, you will crush it.
7. 307.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   Hm, it looks like the transactions aren't being linked to a sub-account. I have 8 accounts with Bank of America, marked 1/2 as disabled, but the transactions from the disabled accounts still show up in my register. Even if I try to filter t
8. 308.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   Of course raising children requires time and money, just like any other activity. I have a friend who competes in Iron Man. It takes a huge commitment of time and energy, and every time I talk to him he has just spent $1000 for some new att
9. 309.▲
   by portman 16y ago

   Paul Graham, exactly one year ago: "What a startup (bootstrapped or not) takes is 100% of your performance, not 100% of your time." http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=679278 He was talking about exercise, but I think the same is true w
10. 310.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old, an 8 week old, and a startup. Having kids has no impact on having your own business. They're completely orthogonal. Using that as an excuse for not having kids makes as much sense as saying "I don't want t
11. 311.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    I 100% agree, and would summarize as "You are not as good as you think you are". http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1209119
12. 312.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Registering now. And wow was I off-base on my estimate of how many HNers are in DC. I would have guessed 5,6 tops.
13. 313.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Yay, frontpage! This would be a great opportunity for HN'ers from DC to self-identify. There aren't many (any?) of us.
14. 314.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    PayPal has a "micropayment" option where the transaction fee is only $0.05. https://micropayments.paypal-labs.com/ This changes the equation at the low end ($1 and $2 transaction sizes) and makes PayPal come up extremely favorably when co
15. 315.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    "While putting metal in a microwave can damage the magnetron by causing an impedance mismatch, it depends on the shape and size of the metal and the time it is in the microwave. Electrical arcing may also occur on pieces of metal that are
16. 316.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    My little brother did not have a cellphone for most of his just-completed Freshman year of college. He had an iPod Touch with Skype and omnipresent WiFi. He called me (on my cellphone no-less!) while walking to class. The iPod Touch already
17. 317.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Furthermore, couldn't you replace "FaceTime" with "Skype" and the article would still make sense? "[Skype], I think, is a first step in the direction of a mobile “phone” with no mobile carrier. If and when [Skype] is supported over 3G in a
18. 318.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    I can't access GMail via IMAP today. Started at 5:15 AM EST. Google Apps accounts are fine; this is only consumer GMail. And yes, I've been having problems with GMail, FeedBurner, and Docs with escalating frequency.
19. 319.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    We already have all of the IPN data in a database. Unfortunately, it looks like using the QuickBooks API might be the best way to go. I'm still shocked that this functionality isn't included out of the box.
20. 320.▲
    Importing PayPal into QuickBooks Online

    2 points by portman 16y ago|2 comments
21. 321.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    I have used both http://www.sharefile.com and http://www.leapfile.com for this exact purpose. I liked ShareFile better (UI), but both of them worked as advertised and would be ideal for your described scenario.
22. 322.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    There was speculation that because the original agreement did not include the iPad, Apple was under no obligation to give AT&T exclusivity on the iPad, and that they renegotiated the contract when the iPad was released. Such a renegoti
23. 323.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    The Family Medical Leave Act only applies to companies with 50 or more employees. http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.111... I agree with all of your sentiments, however.
24. 324.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Says who? http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsoleted http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obsolete
25. 325.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Apple did sign a five-year exclusive with AT&T. Sources: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/confirmed-apple-and-atand... http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/Apple_iPhone_Ex... http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/A
26. 326.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    "It is unethical in all cultures to keep someone waiting while you flout the time commitments." I think you mean "impolite", not "unethical". Keeping someone waiting doesn't really have a moral value one way or another. Secondly, unless y
27. 327.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Well, now we now. At WWDC 2010, Jobs announced that Apple has paid out over $1 billion to app developers. That means Apple has pocketed $428.6 million from their 30/70 revenue split. A small amount of their total margins since the App Store
28. 328.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/confirmed-apple-and-atand... I had always thought it was a 3-year deal expiring in 2010. I didn't see this news when it broke last month. So, no great mystery here.
29. 329.▲
    by portman 16y ago

    Note that in the UK, iPhone 4 will be simultaneously available for three carriers: O2, Orange, and Vodafone. Does anyone have any insights as to how AT&T is maintaining its iPhone exclusivity in the US? It's obviously great for AT&T
30. 330.▲
    "Fragmentation IS progress"(yafla.com)

    1 points by portman 16y ago|0 comments