bkmartin (u/bkmartin)

bkmartin commented on Optimizing for the Speed of Light bizcoder.com/optimizing-f... · Posted by u/elemeno

The site is back, but I this was a sufficient kick in the ass to finally get the blog moved onto a proper platform.

bkmartin · 7 years ago

After being cheeky I wanted to make sure I circled back. I liked the article a lot. Well written, solid points. I think that client side caching, is something that gets overlooked a lot, especially in enterprise web apps. Performance sure does make us perform a fine dance.

bkmartin commented on Optimizing for the Speed of Light bizcoder.com/optimizing-f... · Posted by u/elemeno

SomaticPirate · 7 years ago

Looks like it's down

bkmartin · 7 years ago

not optimizing for hn.

bkmartin commented on How to Design Software Good haiku-os.org/docs/HIG/ind... · Posted by u/davisr

fao_ · 7 years ago

I kind of feel that you just read the title here. It's not talking about the 'fullest':

  An example of this would be if a music composition
  program has an easily-reached maximum song size because
  the code monkey who wrote it used a 16-bit variable
  instead of a 32-bit one. *While there are sometimes
  limitations that cannot be overcome*, the actual code
  written and the architecture used when it was written
  should have as little effect as possible on what the user
  sees and works with when using your software.

(emphasis mine)

I think it might be better rephrased as:

1) Don't add unnecessary constraints (or: Don't prioritise efficiency/etc. over the interface).

and

2) A good interface abstracts away technical problems, rather than presenting them in a different form.

bkmartin · 7 years ago

The most common example I see is the password requirement that it must be between 8 and 16 characters... The 16 character limit is the main issue there... You know it has to do with the wya the data is stored.

bkmartin commented on Ask HN: What's the best private budgeting app? · Posted by u/kotrunga

bkmartin · 7 years ago

Working on one right now, will be subscription based, but won't share your data with anyone.

bkmartin commented on Discovery of nitrogen-fixing corn variety could reduce need for added fertilizer ucdavis.edu/food/news/gro... · Posted by u/selimthegrim

golem14 · 8 years ago

My guess: it's shaping up similarly to the solar/wind <--> coal fight.

At some point, there's not enough money you can lobby with compared to the real world needs and competing lobbies (here: food/nmonsanto etc) and the balance shifts. Also, in non-US countries people might take a more pragmatic approach, giving new tech a leg up.

E.g., China, India might not care so much about the US fertilizer lobby.

bkmartin · 8 years ago

The only way to really fight something like this is to make GMO's and the people who produce these plant varieties into some sort of boogeyman, no? We see this happen all over the world, not just in the US. The current level of misinformation about the safety of GMOs is already very overblown in the world. Don't get me wrong, GMOs are being weaponized for monetary purposes in, what I believe, are very unethical ways. But those arguments are not what you see most when arguments against them are made.

I just don't see any other angle to attack nitrogen fixing corn other than to make some sort of GMO boogeyman out of it. It is really amazing the amount of misinformation that is populating the world for the purpose of protecting cash cows.

sidenote Thanks for the downvotes :) apparently my sarcasm hit a nerve.

bkmartin commented on Discovery of nitrogen-fixing corn variety could reduce need for added fertilizer ucdavis.edu/food/news/gro... · Posted by u/selimthegrim

bkmartin · 8 years ago

Just another reason for big Agriculture to create more GMOs. /s

This would really be amazing. Honest concern... How does the fertilizer industry fight this? There are billions of dollars a year at stake here. Nobody faces billions of lost revenue without a fight.

bkmartin commented on Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies businessinsider.com/san-f... · Posted by u/fluxsauce

satsuma · 8 years ago

as someone who works in a place a solid few miles from restaurants, and has a break room with a few microwaves/a toaster oven as well as a vending machine with gas station tier food... how common are workplace cafeterias like this? is it just sv megacompanies or is it smaller firms across the country?

bkmartin · 8 years ago

I work for a medium sized company in the commercial insurance space in PA. We have a cafeteria. They do charge for meals, but we have access to unlimited drinks. I think larger companies in general will have a cafeteria of some kind, but free food is very much a perk of software companies on the whole, I do believe.

bkmartin commented on The 'Over-Parenting Crisis' in School and at Home (2015) npr.org/sections/ed/2018/... · Posted by u/Ibethewalrus

rayiner · 8 years ago

I'm working on kid #2, and my takeaway is this: "parenting science" is like "nutritional science." It's almost entirely bullshit, and little to no progress has been made in the field ever. There is no use paying attention to it, other than doing/not doing the obvious things. (Don't eat too many calories; don't emotionally destroy your kids.)

Your kids will turn out how they are going to turn out. Instinctively, you'll love them and want to keep them alive, so don't worry about that. Other than that, do what you think is right and hope for the best.

bkmartin · 8 years ago

This is wholly and categorically untrue. Parenting today is much different than it was 100 years ago. The way we approach children, discipline children, and help them grow into their best selves has changed a lot. And it is based on lots of research. It is also based on all of the work that therapists do with adults after their parents have messed them up so bad with their horrible parenting. Every child will be their own adventure, personalities makes parenting every child different. But to say that there aren't guidelines and that you should just do whatever comes natural is dangerous. Because beating children comes naturally to some people. Being passive aggressive or emotionally blunt with them can come naturally. Being an absent parent and not spending any time with them can come naturally as work gets in the way. If you are unsure then seeking professional help to make sure you have the basics covered is a great way to start.

Parenting is very much an art, but like all art, there is definitely a science backing it up.

bkmartin commented on Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US newsweek.com/comcast-xfin... · Posted by u/crazysane

jasoncartwright · 8 years ago

HackerNews is served from Cloudflare, which employs caches close to you as well. Seems like Comcast has a problem routing over distance.

bkmartin · 8 years ago

Seeing talks about 2 separate fiber cuts... Lots of issues all over the US. Chicago to NY and also another cut that goes south to SC. r/sysadmin has good info

bkmartin commented on Massive Comcast Outage Hits the US newsweek.com/comcast-xfin... · Posted by u/crazysane

jasoncartwright · 8 years ago

Netflix and YouTube have caches inside Comcast's network. That'll probably be why they are still serving?

https://openconnect.netflix.com/en_gb/

https://peering.google.com/#/options/google-global-cache

bkmartin · 8 years ago

I'm on HN...seeing your update...I an connect to my employer remotely... Feels like Comcast is not the whole story...