thebear

15 ms·

151.
by thebear 14y ago
One issue with languages that use smart pointers (as opposed to a global garbage collector) for memory management is circular references . For example, one can create a memory leak with C++ shared pointers by having two objects each of whi
152.
by thebear 14y ago
I was speaking a tad facetiously here: those feature requests come from myself. Seriously, I am an avid user of this thing who cannot live without it, and there are missing features that I absolutely want.
153.
by thebear 14y ago
I have what is probably a zombie company. Here's the dilemma: I'm doing this alone, I really, really want this thing for my own personal use, and I have a ton of feature requests. So now on the one hand, I enjoy working on this thing and I'
154.
by thebear 14y ago
The author describes the old, pre-revolutionary way of doing mathematics as "relying on intuition and physical experience." In certain fields, such as algebra and number theory, the old way of doing it had another important trait: to prove
155.
Show HN: The "Lost Decade" for investors: did you make money or lose money?
3 points by thebear 14y ago|0 comments
156.
Being Reminded of Dostoevsky on Launch Day(blog.greaterthanzero.com)
3 points by thebear 14y ago|0 comments
157.
by thebear 14y ago
Thank you for mentioning the case of implementing algorithms. I could not agree more. Without comments, it can be excruciatingly difficult for a reader to map (thanks for using that word, spot on!) the code to the high-level description of
158.
by thebear 14y ago
The way I understood the original submission was that "100%" indicates the point where the thing is ready to be released to the world at large. Before that, one may well do iterations involving users and potential customers. That will of co
159.
by thebear 14y ago
I feel much the same way about finishing and releasing. What I find interesting is that once I put something out there, opinions will vary wildly on the question whether it's way overdone and should have been released much earlier, or whet
160.
by thebear 14y ago
It is perhaps worth pointing out that sometimes, a good way to redefine a problem is to "widen" it, that is, to consider another problem of which the original one is merely a special case. That's been called "the power of abstraction," and
161.
by thebear 14y ago
Compilation time is of course only one of many things to be taken into consideration when choosing a programming language. What always surprises me is how many people in commercial software engineering underestimate the consequences of slow
162.
by thebear 14y ago
I would also recommend Jeff Atwood's (second) blog post on the subject: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/01/is-worse-really-bet... Jeff Atwood just blows me away with the way he combines information, entertainment, and insight in his
163.
by thebear 14y ago
I think it's a bit disingenuous to write that Linux uses C++. I like the civility in this sentence, yet I'm inclined to say that it's more than just "a bit disingenuous." Is there anybody who has not read this post by Linus Thorvalds on C
164.
by thebear 14y ago
As always, the shining counterexample is TeX: "Missing $ inserted."
165.
by thebear 14y ago
True, Java has primitives, but I believe it is pretty much decided that they will be discontinued beginning with Java 8. (The fact that the wrapper classes like Double and Integer are immutable makes them behave sort of as if they had value
166.
by thebear 14y ago
Thanks for this post; the importance of Alan Kay's work can hardly be overstated. Here's another quote by him that I find interesting: I invented the term Object-Oriented and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind. Whether or not you s
167.
by thebear 14y ago
Don't schlep until you've got evidence that the destination will be worth the trip. I see what you're saying. I just think that this leaves unresolved the one crucial question: what constitutes "evidence that the destination will be worth
168.
by thebear 14y ago
The day you had problems with customs trying to pick up a boat is probably not a good day to reflect on the United States of America as a whole. A better thing to focus on would be the fact that you can afford to buy a boat overseas and hav
169.
by thebear 14y ago
Good point. I've always felt uncomfortable with the lean startup mantra "If it's not working out, pivot." If something's not working out, it could be for one of two reasons: either you're doing the wrong thing, or what you're doing needs mo
170.
by thebear 14y ago
On a similar note, one must wonder to what extent those who tweet are even local. For Napa, CA, which is mentioned in a comment, that would probably not be the case. Another example is Nevada, which, according to their map, must be somethin
171.
by thebear 14y ago
I'm never going to achieve my dreams and accomplish what I want to accomplish Stephen Stills famously said, or rather sang, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." Similarly, there are many dreams one can pursue
172.
by thebear 14y ago
I always think of Tim O'Reilly as an inspiring example of a Maker. Will I ever be anywhere close to being up there with him? No. Will I consider myself a failure if I'll never be a true Maker? No. But it doesn't hurt to go through life with
173.
by thebear 14y ago
I believe that Tim O'Reilly is a shining example of a "maker" as described in Jason's blog entry. I won't claim that I myself am a maker rather than a taker, but this quote by Tim never ceases to inspire me: “Pursue something so important t
174.
by thebear 14y ago
I stand corrected.
175.
by thebear 14y ago
For anybody who feels that there may be something to this, I highly recommend the movie "Idiocracy" with Owen Wilson.
176.
by thebear 14y ago
The article starts out with these words (copied and pasted, emphasis mine): "It’s now common practice for colleges to require instructors to discuss with their students, on the first day of class each semester, the fundamental PRINCIPAL of
177.
by thebear 14y ago
In my book, a fanatic is someone who unleashes diatribes on people with whom he/she is pretty much in the same camp, apart from minor differences that outsiders don't even understand. I am reminded of "The Life of Brian" and the People's Fr
178.
by thebear 14y ago
It seems that a lot of applicants didn't have their demo sites looked at. This together with what I've seen on PG's Office Hour videos leads me to believe that YC is somewhat idea-centric: if we like your idea, we'll look at your potential