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    1. Parent links?

      Just a few hours ago I was thinking about how much I miss parent links from Hacker News, and now I see that they have suddenly appeared on user pages and in topics. Did Deimos just roll out an...

      Just a few hours ago I was thinking about how much I miss parent links from Hacker News, and now I see that they have suddenly appeared on user pages and in topics. Did Deimos just roll out an update, or have I been blind this whole time?

      4 votes
    2. If you were to recommend up to three books to read up on your niche (or any subject), what would they be?

      as in the title. Be it textbooks, bios or anything else. Somewhere I've heard that a couple of books in a given subject can give you quite a good understanding of it. It does not have to be a...

      as in the title. Be it textbooks, bios or anything else. Somewhere I've heard that a couple of books in a given subject can give you quite a good understanding of it.
      It does not have to be a niche either; I am interested in hearing about your favourite general psychology or biotechnology books just as well; I hope we can exchange recommendations about how to dive into a given field.

      For me, I'd say that to get a taste of Computer Science from the metal to high level concepts, I'd go with:

      • Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen et al. - for many it's bible of algorithms designs, I also enjoyed it very much (and I like to think that it was not only because of widespread aclaim)
      • CODE by Petzhold - for people who like to understand every part of the system they build; it goes through the process of building a computer, starting with logic gates and ending with fully working Turing machine.
      21 votes
    3. Experiences with LineageOS and/or moving from iPhone to Android (or LineageOS )

      Hi there, I'm considering purchasing a used Galaxy S7 and moving to LineageOS and would like to hear about similiar experiences. I currently own a iPhone 5S (only my second smartphone). I plan to...

      Hi there,

      I'm considering purchasing a used Galaxy S7 and moving to LineageOS and would like to hear about similiar experiences. I currently own a iPhone 5S (only my second smartphone). I plan to continue using Ting as my provider.

      I am attracted to LineageOS because it's open source and allows greater control than the standard Android-build I'd get from an ISP. I'm not afraid of installing ROMs or tinkering - I know I'll be doing a lot more of that by moving to an open-source OS.

      I was looking at Galaxy S7 because it's well-known and has wide support/information available on forums, etc and of course because it's relatively cheap to get a used one ($200-ish).

      I'm in the US and use Ting as my provider.

      So some questions I have are:

      • Should I expect to use the standard Google Play store? I'm still a little unclear on this after looking at the LineageOS website and wiki. The best I could find for an answer is this article talking about installing default google apps. I think my question is so basic it's not addressed on their site lol.
      • Can I drag and drop MP3s from my computer to the phone? In other words, can I get my music on there without having to install something dreadful like iTunes or use Spotify/Amazon Music?
      • The LineageOS project looks healthy to my untrained eye...any rumors that it'll vanish overnight?
      • I found these instructions for a Galaxy S7 Anything else I should know or look out for?
      • Any general thoughts/advice about moving from the Apple to the Google ecosystem? I'm entrenched in Google everywhere BUT my iPhone where I mostly use Google apps.
      • What else should I look out for? See any gaps in my understanding?
      19 votes
    4. Covers with less than 10k views

      One of the things I've been doing recently is trawling Youtube for cover versions. I really like the less-produced versions, and the "authenticity" of someone just singing a song. I noticed that...

      One of the things I've been doing recently is trawling Youtube for cover versions. I really like the less-produced versions, and the "authenticity" of someone just singing a song. I noticed that there are a bunch of covers that just sit there on Youtube with hardly any views.

      So, in this thread it'd be nice if people could post links to the covers they enjoy, and probably also to the original.

      Jesus and Mary Chain: Just Like Honey -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EgB__YratE

      Cover by Rascalton (somewhat up-tempo) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAqusW_B6rI

      Cover by Ryan Barrington Cox (acoustic) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r4qLrqCWk8

      7 votes
    5. Passion, direction, inspiration : How do you rediscover it?

      I'm stuck in a rut. What do you do to get out? How do you rediscover something that inspires you? Or something that you can be passionate about? I've got a handful of "projects" on the go at all...

      I'm stuck in a rut.

      What do you do to get out? How do you rediscover something that inspires you? Or something that you can be passionate about?

      I've got a handful of "projects" on the go at all times - writing some music, getting better at the sport I play, learn a new language for work, do some "proper" research. But they all sort of sit there looking tedious on my whiteboard. I'm just not passionate about any of them really (except maybe the sport, but I'm approaching 40 so it's not like I'm on the verge of setting the world on fire with it!).

      What do you do to rediscover your inspiration? What has worked for you?

      15 votes
    6. How do you deal with stress and anxiety in a healthy way?

      I'll preface this by saying that I'm a high school student, so obviously I can't be facing any real stress, but it seems real enough to me, anyway. My strategy is usually just to bury it in...

      I'll preface this by saying that I'm a high school student, so obviously I can't be facing any real stress, but it seems real enough to me, anyway. My strategy is usually just to bury it in entertainment, but I see a lot of the people around me turning to using substances like nicotine, weed, or alcohol.

      I don't think any of these are really good options, so I'd like to hear what you guys do.

      22 votes
    7. Infinite parallel universes

      I'm not a religious person. I'm agnostic and look at religion and spiritualism from very far, as a curiosity in the humanities. That said, one thing I believe is more likely than not is the...

      I'm not a religious person. I'm agnostic and look at religion and spiritualism from very far, as a curiosity in the humanities.

      That said, one thing I believe is more likely than not is the infinite parallel universe theory. The theory that there's an unending amount of parallel universes which contain a lot of the possible states of the universe at all times.

      Now i don't believe they necessarily have to contain every state. An infinite set of numbers does not have to contain every number, after all.

      However as I'm sitting in a hospital bed after the second worst near death experience in my life, I'm reminded of that theory.

      I remember that theory whenever I look at the world and think "huh, I could have died there". A slip in the shower, a small electric shock, a car coming too close. I didn't die, but in very slightly different circumstances I could have. When these things happen I think of my life, my friends, my mom. I especially think about the versions of them in the parallel universes I believe exist.

      I make a lot of choices based on this. It's a type of fatalism: I'm not so much worried about death here, as I am afraid about the consequences of it in the universes it does happen.

      In other words, I often get sad for the parallel universe versions of my mom. there's a lot of problems with this overall theory, but I can't quite shake it.

      10 votes
    8. On hiring for tech positions: How do you get what you need from the HR department?

      I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a manager complain, “The HR department included ‘must have college degree’ in the job req even though I don’t care” or “They asked for 5 years of...

      I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a manager complain, “The HR department included ‘must have college degree’ in the job req even though I don’t care” or “They asked for 5 years of experience in a technology that’s only been around for 3” or “I have no idea why they rejected this candidate without even contacting me.”

      Still, in many cases you don’t have a choice. If you want to hire someone, you need to deal with HR, at least to a small degree – especially if you work in a big company.

      So I’m writing a feature story for technology managers, collecting real-world advice from people who learned their lessons the hard way. Here’s the questions I’d like you to answer:

      • Tell me about a frustration you had with the HR department (in regard to hiring). That is, tell me a personal story of HR-gone-wrong. Because we all love schadenfreude, and that gives me an emotional example with which to begin.
      • Let’s say you have a new opening in your department. In what ways do you involve HR? (That could be anything from, “give them general guidelines and let them choose the best candidates for me to interview” to “I do the search myself, and use HR only for on-boarding.”) What makes you choose that path? How much choice do you have in the matter?
      • What weaknesses have you discovered in your HR department’s ability to serve the needs of a tech-focused department?
      • What have you done to cope with those weaknesses? Which of those efforts worked, and which failed?
      • What do you wish you knew “n” years ago about dealing with your company’s HR department?
      • So that I can give the reader some context: Let me know how to refer to you in the article (at least, “Esther, a software architect at a Midwest insurance company”), and give me some idea of your company size (because the processes appropriate for a 70-person company aren’t the same for one with 7,000 employees).

      You don’t have to answer all those questions! I asked these to get the conversation going. Tell me as much or as little as you like.

      Please don’t assume that I think HR always sucks. However, there isn’t as much to learn from “why HR is your friend.” The idea here is to help techie managers cope when HR doesn’t offer what you hoped for.

      16 votes
    9. Suburbs and car centric urban design is the worst mistake in modern history

      Designing our countries to accommodate cars as much as possible has been one of the most destructive things to our health, environment, safety and social connectedness. The damage has spread so...

      Designing our countries to accommodate cars as much as possible has been one of the most destructive things to our health, environment, safety and social connectedness. The damage has spread so far and deep that it has reached a crisis point in most developed cities in almost every country. The suburbs we live in are subjected to strict zoning laws baring any form of high density building and any form of mixed zoning. As a result our houses are spaced so far away from each other and from the essential services we need that unless you own a car you are blocked from having a normal life. The main streets full of independent stores and markets have all been killed by megamalls 30km away from where people live with carparks bigger than most park lands. All of this was caused by car usage pushing our societies further and further apart to the point where many people find it acceptable and normal to drive 40km each direction to work each day.

      One of the more devastating effects of this urban sprawl is the supermarket has been moved so far away that most people avoid going as much as possible and limit it to a single trip every 1-2 weeks. Fresh food does not last 1-2 weeks which leaves people throwing out mountains of spoiled food that wasn't eaten in time as well as the move to processed foods packed full of preservatives. As well as a shift to people buying dinner from drive through takeaway franchises because their hour long commute has left them with little time to cook fresh and healthy foods.

      Owning a car in many countries is seen as the only way to get a job. This locks the poor from ever regaining control of their life because the cost of owning and maintaining a car is higher than most of these people get in an entire year. Our city streets which should be places of vibrant liability have become loud, unsafe and toxic.

      Elon and his electric cars solve none of these issues. Electric cars are not the way of the future. They don't even solve air pollution issues entirely because a large part of air pollution is brake pad fibres and tire wear which is proportional to the vehicles weight. And these Teslas are not light.

      The only solution is reducing personal vehicle usage as much as possible in urban areas. Of course there will always be some people who will genuinely need vehicles such as in rural areas but there is simply no reason to have the average person drive to and from their office or retail job every day. Its wasteful and harmful in so many ways.

      There needs to be a huge push to reclaim our cities and living spaces to bring back the liveability that we could have had. In my city some of the side streets were closed to cars and the change was incredible. Plants and seating filled the spots that would have once been a row of free parking. The streets are filled with the sounds of laughter instead of the roar of motors. The local pubs and cafes have benefited hugely. They didn't benefit at all from street side car parks that were always filled by people who have done 5 laps of the city looking for an empty park and do not intend to shop there.

      What is everyone's opinion on this topic and what can we do about it?

      64 votes
    10. Share your DIY projects

      I am currently trying to learn how to fix things myself by learning how to solder and fix things like that. I also want to DIY some things for quite some time. My current project is working...

      I am currently trying to learn how to fix things myself by learning how to solder and fix things like that. I also want to DIY some things for quite some time.

      My current project is working through the book Make:Electronics , I bought it at humblebundle some years ago. Yesterday I powered a led via a power outlet for the first time, by connecting it to a cut off USB cable. I'll share a picture of the abomination later.

      So: what have you built at home? What are you building? What are you planning to build?

      8 votes
    11. Docker Installer Link

      Docker recently made it so that it requires you to have an account on Docker Hub in order to download the Docker Desktop Installer. So, here's the links:...

      Docker recently made it so that it requires you to have an account on Docker Hub in order to download the Docker Desktop Installer. So, here's the links:

      https://download.docker.com/win/stable/Docker%20for%20Windows%20Installer.exe

      https://download.docker.com/mac/stable/Docker.dmg

      10 votes