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halfnibble | 6 years ago | on: Big O Notation – Using not-boring math to measure code’s efficiency

Self-taught as well. It’s a game. All the big name software co’s and the startups founded by former big name software devs like to play it. Heck, I’m starting to enjoy the game (primarily because I have exceptional pattern recognition skills).

I was failing interviews too until I picked up an undergrad CS algorithms book and read through the first few chapters on data structures and theory. Then I signed up for LeetCode premium. After a couple months of reading and practicing, I was getting an offer from every place I interviewed at. Now I’m at one of those big name software companies, and if I’m ever asked to interview a candidate—well, I don’t know what I’ll do. Maybe something with a binary search tree. I’ve literally never had to use that in 8 years of development. :)

halfnibble | 7 years ago | on: How Amazon's Mechanical Turkers Got Squeezed Inside the Machine

MTurk sucks. I need to have over a thousand video transcripts manually fixed, and so far, only about 15% come back even close. Most MTurkers submit the original, unmodified transcript, or something completely irrelevant. I have to use diffing software just to quickly scan each submission for scammers trying to make a quick buck. Granted, I feel like a scammer myself for paying so little (but the decision for payout is coming from above me).

halfnibble | 7 years ago | on: Why Did San Francisco Schools Stop Teaching Algebra in Middle School? (2016)

""" ...unequal access to high quality education is a comparable injustice to unequal access to the ballot box and is "the clearest manifestation of the nation's caste system." """ The real caste system in education is those who can afford to send their kids to a high-performing private school vs. those who cannot. This solution only exacerbates that problem.

halfnibble | 7 years ago | on: PHP 8 to Add a JIT

I understood that "array expression" meant "associative array", and that the closest equivalent in JavaScript is an Object. But I don't consider myself a PHP guru.

halfnibble | 7 years ago | on: Ask HN: I just got fired from a startup. What now?

1. Ask if they would feel comfortable recommending you. 2. Apply at a better run startup. 3. ??? 4. PROFIT!!

Seriously, I get the best recommendations and referrals from former colleagues at failed startups. We were in the trenches together. It forms a special bond—even if you don't always win.

halfnibble | 7 years ago | on: Is WSL actually ready for developers?

Not just Silicon Valley–it's a West Coast thing. Go into any hip coffee shop in CA, OR, or WA, and you'll find a sea of MacBooks covered in stickers running brightly colored IDE's (and at least a few running vim).

The stickers are usually souvenirs from tech conferences, employers, cool startups, and hackathons.

halfnibble | 7 years ago | on: Getting too absorbed in side projects

My parents retired early too, and it looked like we were about to be in a similar situation, but then my mom caught a rare and aggressive form of cancer. It happened so fast. We are all still in shock. Don't take any moment for granted, and call your mom—even if you're busy.
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