MengYuanLong

The reason they add to over 100% is due to the 10% fee on profits which limits arbitrage. Specifically, all profits have a fee assessed but it doesn't account for money lost on associated contracts so if you buy Biden winning the election for $0.90 and buy Trump losing for $0.10 ---> if Biden wins, that contract resolves to $1 but you only receive $.99 due to the fee. Meanwhile you have lost $0.9 on your other contract. This effect is most noticeable in markets with multiple contracts (e.g., who will be named secretary of state).

I don't have familiarity with speech-to-text but wouldn't it be possible to weight words based on their probability in this application to help resolve this. For example, suspect is probably a low frequency word in normal speech but very high in radio chatter.

I concur it is about respect for time most of all. Though the technical portions are interesting, they could have been broken out into separate articles for people who want those additional details.

I may not be the target audience (novice coder) but I also feel the writing style would greatly benefit from greater focus.

A sentence that stands out in that regard is "Although my co-founders Thomas and Erin have done substantial work with securing real stock exchanges over their career, I have no particular background in finance." This sentence could be refined to "My co-founders Thomas and Erin have substantial experience securing real stock exchanges". This kind of editing would help the author avoid 8k word essays without a significant loss of content value.

I am going to a group discussion tomorrow about first-refusal rights in the NFL and happened to do a brief naive analysis of extra point vs 2 point conversions earlier today. In brief, the EV of a 2 point conversion was .91 while an extra point was .99. That said, for every 19 extra point attempts there was only one two point conversion attempt. Frankly, I am all for variance so I am rooting for the more ambitious two-point attempt.

I can't access a lot of posts in China but this one works great \o/

Today was National Day in China. So, this sort of attack, at the very least, functions very well as propaganda fodder.

W1ntermute is decrying the fact that the Ubuntu team is in a position where they feel it is necessary to rely on selling access to their userbase.

It seems the most valued contribution skilled peoples can make to Ubuntu is in code and time. Even non-technical users can contribute valuable assets to the project. If your company has spare hardware, that is also useful to the SPI.

However, if you lack those resources, donations are openly accepted by both Ubuntu[1] and Debian[2].

[1]http://www.ubuntu.com/community/get-involved/donate [2]http://www.spi-inc.org/donations/

Taking fifteen minutes, considering the value added by Ubuntu and choosing an appropriate amount to donate is not "a high mental cost". Nor is writing a check or completing the electronic ClickPledge checkout form.

Further, the argument that if Ubuntu had more money it would undermine their organization's mission and cause endless infighting is baseless. Would you make the same argument about the Wikimedia foundation or EFF?

I speculate that it may be an attempt to stem movement to the significant number of private trackers that dependably provide higher quality torrents earlier than public sites. Allowing TPB to stay up means that people must sort through muck and viruses to locate the content they want. For many, that is enough and they don't bother looking a little deeper.

Lol, but that is 'conspiracy-esque' speculation.

As an aside, I find some irony in the fact that a growth hacker uses blogspot. All Blogspot blogs are blocked in China without the use of a vpn. Thus, a sizeable chunk of potential readers is excluded.

"Growth hacker" is the in vogue jargon for "marketer". I have read arguments promoting the title on the basis that there is an increased reliance on quantitative analysis but the bottom line is they are just marketers naturally applying their craft to their own job titles.

For those that would disagree, please tell me what would differ on a growth hacker's resume vs. a marketing professional's resume. A big clue that they are the same role is that both jobs would list user acquisition numbers as a key metric of their work efficacy.

Really interesting read. Thank you for posting the link. I certainly would have missed this otherwise.

I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on JFK's answer to why he would like to attend Harvard.

I suck at writing essays but it seems his reason for wanting to attend Harvard is incredibly trite and superfluous, especially coming from a man who would eventually be considered a great orator.

For example, he states that Harvard " is a university with something definite to offer." Yet gives no definitive examples. Why is "To be a 'harvard man' is an enviable distinction" in President Kennedy's mind? Essentially every sentence lacks justification and specificity.

Sigh. These sorts of materials at least provide fuel to refocus on work and studies. Being born outside a powerful family may lack certain advantageous but they can be overcome. Right?

Zed Shaws's Learn Python the Hardway is a wonderful introduction to Python and because it is very concise, it makes for a handy review resource as well. There are a few portions that I recall were a bit confusing but Zed does a great job of monitoring the comments and giving extra help when necessary.

Likewise, the Django tutorial throws you off the deep end but working through it twice gives a good overview of how the different pieces tie together.

I must second JulianWasTaken's dislike of Dive Into Python. I tried working through the book but had trouble integrating the information and recalling code discussed in previous chapters.

All that said, I think the most important thing to remember when learning any subject is to find what works for you. Start with a recommended source but if it isn't working, don't be afraid to try a different source or style.

You may feel fixies are impractical but they carry benefits. The primary one being better power transfer. Second, you can often make a cheap fixie by finding an old frame, refurbishing it, and replacing the rear hub. Yes, you can buy them for $700+ but unlike iPhones, there are a number of ways to obtain one for cheap.

Further, a bike that costs less than $200 is certainly not a bike I would buy for commuting. Having commuted without a car for over three years, I can assure you that steel frames are not your friend and arguably not practical if you want to enjoy your lifestyle.

I'm unable to access the article but I'm very surprised by many of the comments in this thread. A large number of articles are posted each month belittling (at the very least questioning the value) of non-technical founders. These and similar posts are then filled with sermons advocating individuals learn to code.

Apparently, OP took these statements to heart, put in the effort/time, and what does he get as a result? Derision. What is this community about if it isn't about personal and financial growth coupled with creation?

Perhaps in his post, OP makes some grandiose claim about being a master programmer, okay fine, cut him down. But I suspect it is far less egotistical and merely his way of celebrating a small victory brought about by what is so often advocated: That learning to code really is a way to improve your life.

I'm extremely late to this thread and unsure where best to post this. That said, if I wanted to seriously question an individual, I would most want to control the environment. Would video conferencing allow that?

I'm surprised by the article's premise. I was just in SK and everywhere I went Psy was on the radio. I wonder if that is the same pricing package.

I am hard pressed to believe his fans wouldn't by some sort of paraphernalia, booklet, or ticket to support him. Further, it seemed there were lots of concerts available for music fans. Certainly in both Korea and China it is extremely common to be involved with the marketing of lots of products (whereas in America it seems frowned upon).

Though the emphasis of the article is on 'lesser known artists' in which case I think they probably have a hard time everywhere.

By the way, if you need fast internet Seoul is amazing! I easily hit over 4 mb/s on a torrent transfer.

NASA is American... So, who is the target audience then? Is the author intending to persuade western Europeans to fund NASA?

Swearing may be 'fun' but it still isn't what should be front facing for a business.

Seconded. His Kickstarter video and copy seemed like a stream of thought joke. Why should I give a rich Hollywood actor money when I can give a well planned and spoken individual the same funds.

Further, it seems pretty unlikely that a person ought to make a movie about how to lead a grassroots campaign if they can't even lead one for their own project.

This is true outside the banks as well. If you make any purchase exceeding 250 USD (approximating a purchase requiring 10+ 100RMB bills), chances are the store will have one of these machines.

China is also the only country I've found myself in possession of counterfeit currency. Sigh, I guess I should just take the loss of 100 RMB but I keep thinking a little luck in a taxi could keep the system flowing...

The most interesting part of 1921 is that the original(?) Brewster's Millions was released. In the original movie, the protagonist had to spend $2mil in a year and remain unmarried to inherit the full $10mil. By 1985, the remake dropped the marriage requirement (honestly, being a single rich guy in the 1980s wasn't too bad) and upped the spending requirement to $30 mil in 30 days to inherit $300 mil.

My, how times change. I wonder what Montgomery Brewster will have to do in 2049 to earn his inheritance.

I am starting to love kickstarter more and more. It seems like it will be full of business 101 case studies before the year is out.

I don't often wear a coat but I do often wear dress pants, collared shirts and dress shoes. I also often hop/climb fences while wearing them, so... yes.

That isn't necessarily true. He doesn't specify rotary phones.

Even if he did, like the folders and envelopes he also mentions, corded phones which look like the picture are still quite common in office places and thus many peoples lives outside of silicon valley.

Wow, that is crazy. I am really shocked that I got to watch it sooner in China than you did in Japan. I wonder why there is such a difference between the two countries...

Doctorow's novel is amazing. It really inspired me to change the way I approach life and appreciate value. Plus, it is relatively short!

Basically, that book is to blame for me converting from a slacker to a hacker.

I would be interested in meeting up for fun/ programming practice/ etc. depending on where you live here. If you would like, shoot me an email and we can chat :)

Edit: ninja

Thanks to all of the replies even though I'm only posting under Jconnolly!

You all succeeded in answering my question and making me consider applying more deeply.

I certainly can write FizzBuzz but I was rather intimidated by the projects that attendees were working on.

Thanks a bunch!

Could you be more specific about the minimum level of programming? My programming is still in a nascent stage but I am considering applying to HS and wonder what the minimum bar really is. How would you describe the initial coding level of the least experienced attendee for your batch?

The conversion is low but you inadvertently stated the reason. They see millions of impressions for people wanting a large assortment of different content. Honestly, most probably go there for TV/Movies/Porn.

It isn't going to see the sort of conversion rates you might see on a site like The Hype Machine where users are there primarily for music discovery.