fredfoobar42's comments

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Twitter Is an Unsafe Public Square, Facebook Is a Private Living Room

For values of "your own good" equal to "for advertisers" but yeah.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: All NYC Subway Stations to Receive Wi-Fi by End of 2016

So, January 2018. Got it.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Lazy Authentication Still the Norm

PayPal seems to have a lax attitude towards security in general. I had a similar issue a year ago, that (fortunately) didn't end up in having my account compromised <http://www.sanspoint.com/archives/2014/09/11/great-paypal-em... but my dealings with PayPal support didn't give me much hope for if and when things do blow up.

In this case, it's likely that phone support is optimized for speed, rather than security. Good if you're legit, bad if you're a target.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Two-thirds of the world's population under 50 have herpes

Herpes Simplex. If you get cold sores, you have Herpes Simplex. It's not the STD version.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Why Twitter’s Dying (And What You Can Learn from It)

This rings so incredibly true. It takes a lot of curating on my part (and a gigantic mute and blocklist) to avoid the stresses of Twitter. Most people aren't going to put in that degree of effort, or even want to.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Evernote is in deep trouble

The Evernote Mac client is the one of the worst piece of software on the Mac platform. I've actually been using a $5 replacement app, Alternate, and moving my Evernote text notes back to nvALT synced through Dropbox.

Evernote, please, I do not want:

- Work Chat

- Headlines from Business Insider

- To be CONSTANTLY BUGGED TO UPGRADE

That's the biggest thing. I'd love to give Evernote money, if I knew I was going to get left alone. Instead, all the Evernote Premium members I know are _still_ bugged to upgrade and get all these stupid, useless features thrown at them that they don't want.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Rise of the Synthesizer

Nice to see DEVO get a shoutout too.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Show HN: Cancel your Comcast in 5 minutes

Yup. That's how I cancelled Comcast.

Me: "I'm moving."

Clerk: "Oh, where to? We can set up your service ahead of time so it's ready when you---"

Me: "Ireland."

Clerk (disappointed): "Oh."

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Android Wear now works with iPhones

By all accounts, it works as well with iOS as the Pebble does, which is to say "Barely."

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Okay, so this is one rare example that's actually true.

Let's break the point down a bit. For an actual rape survivor, it's possible the word "violate" might be triggering. If that's the case in that room, then perhaps another word should be used.

As for not teaching rape law, while rape law is something that might be triggering to a victim, this is a rare example where not teaching it, at least if it's a requirement of the program, is a problem. There's a discussion that can occur about the appropriateness of teaching rape law in, say, an introduction to law course at the undergraduate level. Having the discussion is important.

Funny how the people who say that coddled students want to shut down all discussion, only to shut down discussion about what's appropriate to teach in general courses or for a university to endorse.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Telling someone to shut up because they're being abusive is still speaking up and taking responsibility. You have all the right to say what you want. Nobody has the right to listen to you, and they have as much right to tell you to shut your hole.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Some opinions aren't worth having a discussion about. If someone says that "all fags should be rounded up and shot" there's nothing discussion worthy there. A rape survivor is under no obligation to have a discussion with someone who says "all rape victims deserve it, or are liars, or both."

These are extreme examples to be sure, but the principle remains.

And nobody is saying "you can't say 'all fags should be shot.'" They're saying 'You can't say it _here_." Freedom of speech is not freedom to be heard.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

And if you can cite a real female law student who is actually offended by the idea of learning about rape law, or even the word "violation," you might possibly have the vaguest sense of something possibly resembling a point if you happen to be looking at it from the right angle.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Exactly. I'm 30, and I'm heartened by the idea of the next generation coming up with a culture that's more compassionate towards people who are different from them in various ways. For people in the HN demographic, behaving with compassion is clearly an inconvenience.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Have you ever thought why that is?

I'm a "white NT cishet male", as well, and at a glance, you can't tell the decent people from the awful ones. It's about behavior, and in a space where most people who look like us act like shit, it's not unreasonable to generalize a lack of trust. It's not on them to be understanding, it's on _us_. because we're in the position of privilege in this situation.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Speaking up when someone hurts you, deliberately or otherwise, _is_ taking responsibility.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

>Sleeping in a university during "normal work hours" (gasp!) has been normal for decades.

Seriously. There's a reason campuses have lounges and quiet areas, and it's not just so you can sit and do homework during your downtime.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: University Students are Afraid of Everything

Or, we could take women and minority students at their word about the stuff they find offensive and hurtful and treat them with a little respect.

Oh, wait, that's too much work. They're just a bunch of whiners.

Edit: Not sure if the downvotes are because people don't get this was sarcastic, or if people do.

Either way: Try listening to the people complaining instead of just brushing them off as "whiners". I hope that clears things up.

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Inside the Goth Chicken: Black Bones, Black Muscle and a Black Heart

It's like "How much more black could this chicken be?" And the answer is "None. None more black."

fredfoobar42 | 10 years ago | on: Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2015)

  Location: New York, NY  
  Remote: Yes  
  Willing to relocate: No  
  Technologies: HTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP (enough to be dangerous), Email Newsletters, Social Media  
  Résumé/CV: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/502172/randerson_resume.pdf  
  Email: [email protected]