Recent submissions

Comment · 8 years ago
P.S. I am awfully glad that in those 51 years I was never again put in a polygraph situation such as an investigation. I just know I'd fuck it up.
Comment · 8 years ago
In 1967, as a soon to be graduate from a university in what is today called computer science, I applied to the NSA and nothing about that interview was nice. I failed the polygraph on two consecutive days and that's all she wrote. What tripped me up was the question "have you had any homosexual activity." The pen almost went off the graph when I truthfully said, "no."

Where and when I grew up that was about the worst thing that could be said of a young male. On the trip to the interview my magic magnifying mind had wondered about whether sensitivity to a question alone could cause truth to appear to be a lie. Of course the question that popped into my mind which I anticipated was the question on homosexual activity. Well, having thought about it beforehand, sure enough I reacted strongly. It was just as well because the overall interview had shown me that I didn't want to work there anyway but it was still traumatic to be accused of lying and about that in particular at that time.

For a short period of time I questioned my sexuality but can say that in the intervening 51 years there has not been one moment when I considered homosexual behavior. This is not to say anything negative about homosexuality, just how one's fear of responding to a question can cause one to respond negatively even with a truthful answer.

Times were different then and my attitude was too. I doubt I'd fear the question today given that my accepting attitude toward homosexuality in general has been normalized.

Comment · 8 years ago
Actually I did think of the desirability of exactly this somewhere around 1984 or thereabouts. It didn't go further than a wish though because the only access to the Unix system that I'd installed for use by the group I managed was via dumb terminals and the DIY arena was nowhere near as rich as it is now. Especially in a building in a corn field somewhere between Rockford, IL and Belvidere, IL:-)

If wishes were fishes we'd all swim in riches. Really nice job moving beyond that!

Comment · 8 years ago
If you believe your argument then you must find scientific study and discovery an exercise in making one dumber.

I'm afraid I find your argument to be a defense of ignorance.

Comment · 10 years ago
Perhaps he was simply clued to some seriously bad consequence of proving his ownership of the Satoshi hoard.
Comment · 10 years ago
One thing I think we can count on is that now that there has been a retreat we will never hear another word about this from FBI or NSA. And probably from Apple.
Comment · 11 years ago
Nonetheless interesting. I had not heard of him or his website and just spent a couple of hours there. Thanks to the O.P. for the heads up.
Comment · 11 years ago
I'd bet it depends on the kind of ant and the kind of termite. I'm in Northern Ca and haven't seen trace of a termite since I stopped killing the ant colonies.
Comment · 11 years ago
I think they are just as attracted to the termites themselves. They love the eggs.
Comment · 11 years ago
I ceased killing invasive ants with borax, a substance taken back to the hive to destroy it, when during one such defense I saw them divert from the track I was poisoning to attack newly hatched termites that were emerging from under an appliance. They were incredibly effective. They also raid termite colonies and carry away the eggs. I switched to a lemon oil based repellent applied locally as needed.
Comment · 11 years ago
There is no question in my mind but that Don Herbert propelled me into engineering. My fascination with the show started in 1951 when I was 7 and came to an end with my entrance into E.E. at the University of Illinois in 1962 strictly because there was no way my fraternity brothers in the TV room would stand for it.

I loved my career and have Don to thank for it. I'll bet there are a whole lot of us who owe our careers to his wonderful influence.

Comment · 11 years ago
As could be expected this has poked a hornets nest of opposition because of its implications regarding backward compatibility of extensions we use. Many of us are hoping for a fork based on the current release that will continue to evolve and be maintained and which values backward compatibility first and foremost.

Users can snapshot the current 40.0 release by copying the installation directory and creating a cloned profile for it with updates disabled. Personally I find the 42.0a2 development channel release to be backwards compatible with all extensions and to have superior memory management.

Comment · 11 years ago
That is correct. From the point of view of the infalling object, however, nothing changes as he crosses it except his position in space.

I say who gives a shit about the point of view of the infalling object. :-)

Live from the official Hacker News API

A modern reader for Hacker News · SvelteKit + Skeleton