blanderman's comments

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Why Prosperity Has Increased but Happiness Has Not

I just see a lot of very bold assertions without statistical references to back them up.

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Why Prosperity Has Increased but Happiness Has Not

It's odd to me how the president from 1969 to 1977 and 1981 to 1993 was a republican, but the argument is that 'hippies' took over?

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Venezuela devalues the bolivar by 95% and pegs it to ‘oil-linked’ cryptocurrency

"Venezuela’s Maduro under investigation in $1.2 billion U.S. money-laundering case" https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article215663355.htm...

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Introduction to Augur, an open-source, decentralized betting marketplace

"In the summer of 2018, assassination markets became popular among bettors. If those markets are seen to incentivise people to take illegal action, Augur could be shut down completely."

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Intangible investment behaves differently

More quantity demanded = more quantity produced = better economies of scale, in theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: EPA is allowing asbestos back into manufacturing

It has a more dramatic effect on state governments: "In 2000, 21 state governments had governorships and state legislatures controlled by one party; 15 of those were Republican. But by 2010, 33 state governments were under one-party control, 22 of them Republican." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/04/2...

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: MoviePass Slashes Offering to Three Films a Month

repost from today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17697751

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Boston-area startups are on pace to overtake NYC venture totals

That explains their recent advertising push!

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Young people don’t want construction jobs

That website does not seem very comprehensive. The government makes thorough statistics on income available for free: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes470000.htm

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Cherry MX History

Sorry I wasn't clear, I meant that keyboards are a commodity. They're mass produced low margin items and there's little differentiation for the most part. There's rarely a compelling event that causes someone to replace their existing keyboard. The industry always wants more profits and better margins so creating the perception of mechanical being better and therefore more expensive allows them to extract more money from an already mature market through the illusion of superiority. I do find the whole thing annoying but I suppose it's good for the economy, so more power to anyone that cares for them.

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: China's Peer-To-Peer Lenders Are Falling Like Dominoes as Panic Spreads

You also need to compare their rates to what else is available in those markets. The loan terms might be bad but they're better than the other bad options, so at least it's pushing things in the right direction.

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: And Nobody Noticed It Was a Fake Cake

It's good for the economy, and purely voluntary (if you ignore the manipulative marketing indoctrination).

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Books found in dumpster belonged to Thomas Jefferson

Had to look this slang up: naff - lacking taste or style

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Cherry MX History

I believe that it's a combination of a satisfying sound (to the user), a complete disregard for the comfort of those within earshot of the user, and a lot of marketing to justify luxury pricing for what is now a commodity item. The target demographic for these skews younger from what I've seen.

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Vitalik Buterin on Cryptoeconomics and Markets in Everything

Is there anyone that has significant influence over Vitalik and/or his family that might benefit from Ethereum having value?

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Why Japanese Whisky Is So Good and So Hard to Find

Maybe there's an industry trade group that does marketing?

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Hawaiian Style: The Roots of the Aloha Shirt

I think they look antiquated. I'd prefer never to wear clothing that needs to be treated with harsh chemicals.

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: The Biggest Digital Heist in History Isn’t Over Yet

Is it stealing if the person gives it to you?

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Surprising Findings About How People Actually Buy Clothes and Shoes

You could set up an eBay search for the model/size of the pair you want. Any time a new listing matches the search you get an email alert.

blanderman | 7 years ago | on: Massive Martian dust storm endangers NASA rover

They might be able to store excess energy using a gravity system https://www.planetforward.org/tv-segments/storing-excess-pow...