smackay

19 ms·

151.
by smackay 7y ago
When drawing or making things for your kids the drawing or model is the least important thing in the entire process. It's the act and the engagement itself that is the most prized. It works in reverse too.
152.
by smackay 7y ago
It's a resource that's hard to ignore. There are good electricity grid connections nearby because of the, now decommissioned, fast-breeder reactor at Dounreay. It's a hellishly difficult place to work but that's kind of
153.
by smackay 7y ago
Here's a description of an earlier attempt, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/inside-worlds-firs... All the press releases and articles describing work in the Pentland Firth are breathlessly optimistic. Th
154.
by smackay 7y ago
Or you could just fix all the bugs that are upsetting customers and causing them to flee. I've been in the situation where the metrics were used at a detailed level. Net Promotor Score (NPS) was used by the company and I tried, somewha
155.
Huawei: ARM memo tells staff to stop working with China’s tech giant(bbc.co.uk)
6 points by smackay 7y ago|1 comments
156.
by smackay 7y ago
The photo in the article shows three Song Thrushes (Turdus philomelos) (the larger ones); the smaller one in the middle of the picture is most likely a Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita). The small bird, the in background, next to one of t
157.
by smackay 7y ago
There's a very good reason why seabirds in general are long-lived. Breeding failures are common. Arctic Terns in Shetland, Scotland basically did not raise any chicks for 10 years due to food shortages, probably due to overfishing for
158.
by smackay 7y ago
Anecdata: I rarely counter Coca Cola bottles on the few times during August when I clean a small section of beach here in Portugal. What does occur in large quantities are the plastic stems of cotton buds (which I think are banned in the US
159.
by smackay 8y ago
Yes, Scafell Pike. Another, sad example of a townie knowing nothing about the countryside. https://www.threepeakschallenge.uk/national-three-peaks-chal...
160.
by smackay 8y ago
I think it caught the spirit of the conflict, which is inherently political and cultural, rather well. It also appears well researched. The conversation with Tony Banks and his references to Peter Freeman give a lot of historical perspectiv
161.
by smackay 8y ago
SEEKING WORK | Lisbon, Portugal | Remote Bogged down by bugs? Tangled up in legacy projects? Dealing with issues in existing code saps developers energy and enthusiasm, draining the creativity from your team and slowing you down. Let me hel
162.
by smackay 8y ago
The biggest time saver for scientists would be a funding process that does not involved writing voluminous proposals with key metrics and other make work information that keeps bureaucrats happily well-fed and well-paid. I'm not saying
163.
by smackay 8y ago
Although the title says UK, this is really an EU initiative. The interesting part is that this would also appear to be a framework for the development and adoption of self-driving technologies. Not sure how restrictive it might be to compet
164.
by smackay 8y ago
This is the future I want: tools so anybody who has the inclination can publish interesting things for anyone to see. Imagine if web servers were just standard containers and services which anyone could upload applications to. That would ta
165.
by smackay 8y ago
It's still worth your time to read it. I read the article when it was originally posted and I am still struck how, in the wrong environment, you can be two small decisions away from disaster.
166.
by smackay 8y ago
Freelancing jobs, especially the better ones, like any relationship are fundamentally built on good communication and trust. It's pretty hard to replicate this with technology, except where it make the process of getting the necessary
167.
by smackay 8y ago
Mostly small mammals but also small reptiles and insects. In this case I think it is likely to be the latter. To give you some idea of how widespread this species is, there are Barn Owls on the Desertas Islands, (SE of Madeira), https:&#x2
168.
by smackay 8y ago
For fans of new islands, Surtsey (date of birth 1963) is another example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey . The speed at which life colonised the island is quite amazing.
169.
by smackay 8y ago
I do this and the main reason is that milk with the greatest number of days has also been on the shelf for the least amount of time and consequently has probably had fewer things happen to it - like the refrigerator door being left open and
170.
Book Review: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions(slatestarcodex.com)
8 points by smackay 8y ago|0 comments
171.
by smackay 8y ago
It's pretty standard for people to work abroad for a couple of decades then retire back home to their birthplace and open a pastelaria (cafe). Sadly, the market is pretty saturated and the net contribution to the economy is not that hi
172.
by smackay 8y ago
There are two parts to this. One is (cold war) propaganda where there is a somewhat vague feeling that the USA has to a greater or lesser extent a set of shared (western) values and aligning ourselves next to them is probably in our own lon
173.
by smackay 8y ago
There is some underlying reason for this however. The Economist had an article (can't remember when) about children being accused of being possessed by demons in Africa and either thrown out of the family or village and sometimes being
174.
by smackay 8y ago
I can't help but have the feeling that there is something simplistic and fundamentally flawed with the concept of productivity in this context. The assumption appears to be that advances, like buses in the public transport system, shou
175.
by smackay 8y ago
This is a bit cliched but does anyone think there should be a set of end of year predictions made/voted on by everyone on HN ? It would certainly be a bit more interesting and informed than the average celebrity blogger predictions tha
176.
by smackay 8y ago
I spent a few days in around Beja in Baixo Alentejo this year, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beja,_Portugal The area with new new olive plantations is simply staggering as producers race to capitalize on the shortages
177.
by smackay 8y ago
While it's likely there were problems in the supply chain. I don''t think you can fault Quaker ethics, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quakers_in_the_abolition_movem... However I guess it's hard to fi
178.
by smackay 8y ago
You misunderstand. I am not making a value judgement on the cost of pilots. I absolutely want somebody who is highly trained flying the plane. However whenever strikes hit airlines it's because of poorly paid flight crews so clearly th
179.
by smackay 8y ago
The reason for the moral outrage aimed at Cadbury comes from their early history, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadbury . It's a great example of the Quaker model of doing business where social improvement was part
180.
by smackay 8y ago
Pilots are expensive to train, expensive to maintain in terms of salary and cost a lot afterwards with regards to pensions. I am sure airlines are doing everything they can to reduce these costs and as a result competence is suffering. It

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