dcminter

I have a Sony Reader which despite very similar flaws to those described by Nielsen I rather like. For me the killer feature is not cost, despite my own nasty physical-book habit. No, the value is in …

I did a MIQP package for the DeBeers Trading Company to help them decide who to sell to. A very odd project in many ways!

Absolutely. I'd like to add that the killer feature for me (well, aside from the good quality links and discussion) is "noprocrast" and that I'm particularly grateful for the relatively recent removal…

The study you're thinking of is probably "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments" - it's completely fascinating and sligh…

I wouldn't have dinged you - but I don't think that the comment really added anything. Since as I understand it the karma's supposed to be about improving the SNR that moderation seems reasonable. If …

"You think that spitting on someone should be illegal!?" As noted it is illegal in most countries. "I don't understand what you mean, anyway. [...] What would he have to do to make you finally relinqu…

I dislike techcrunch and I dislike his writing, but I'm full of sympathy for the man . He should take the matter to the police and with any luck the contemptible coward who spat in his face will get …

Rain is not unknown in London. But even though you can do it cycling is unpleasant when it's raining particularly when, despite the carping, the alternative of public transport is as good as it is her…

Absolutely. Not to be an ass about it, but Amsterdam is flat as a pancake and San Francisco (which he compares it with) is definitively not. Bikes are often very practical in cities but not when it's …

Yep. It's a bit self-consciously whacky, but he had a serious point to make and brought it across really well.

One of the articles I perused mentioned that the pilot was a glider pilot as well. I wonder if he acquired some transferable skills!

Hmm. I would say more like 50/50 these days sadly. Quite a few of the issues over the last couple of years have had borderline crank science articles as the main feature. They also now have lots of du…

"I'm not sure where you missed the fact that I can't play full-screen DVD's (both discs and iso's) in ubuntu" No, I didn't miss that. Something doesn't work for you under Ubuntu on a particular hardwa…

My experience of Linux these days, under Ubuntu, is that it's no more quirky than Windows or OS X. You're probably blind to many of OS X's deficiencies because you've become used to all but the most i…

Possibly, but I'm not sure I've got the bandwidth. Drop me an email and let me know what you have in mind (dave@paperstack.com).

This thread (with some excellent ideas in it) reminds me of the half bakery: http://www.halfbakery.com/ The half bakery has some good idea, some mediocre ideas, and some very entertaining bad ones. …

I love that idea. I'd use it.

To be picky, snake oil/crank rather than perpetual motion per se by the sound of it.

This is an argument that I often hear and which I think is pretty much completely bogus. Learning the syntax of a language can be achieved fairly quickly for most languages. Learning the implication…

As an aside, my hosting company accidentally deleted my backup share on their off-site SAN. I was not amused. First rule of backups: trust nobody!

Ah, ok, seems to mean "Wins approval" http://www.willyourememberme.com/australia/austslang.html

Possibly a stupid question, but what does "guernsey" mean in this context? Other than the island I've not encountered the term.

I've bought a few presents on Etsy. Currently the customer experience is good (particularly nice personal touches from the vendors). I worry about its future (will it fill with rubbish when the bulk v…

Nice. Good work on styling the form elements, particularly.

Ack. What I'm looking for in London is really a late-hours coffee shop with a bit of a community. Hackers optional. Any suggestions?

Isn't this the one that was mocked by Feynman?

Paraphrased from my fuzzy recollection of some random interview with a recruitment guru: "The best question to ask is 'What would your mother say was your greatest weakness?' - it's like truth serum. …

Sure, it's annoying. But I didn't say it was nice, I said it was a good incentive for the developer to create software that was snappy. Those suggesting the use of a separate slow test environment are…

"Developers need fast machines to be productive" Possibly. But one of the advantages of giving developers comparatively slow machines is that it gives them a personal incentive to produce fast softwar…