nnnnnn

I asked the question here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11431878 and there were some good responses.

Posting this for two reasons --

First of all, these organizations don't pop up or maintain themselves magically, it takes a leader to get this started and a smart team to keep it going. They deserve to be recognized for truly great work.

Second, I think having open government data in a truly ACCESSIBLE format is extremely important. If you've ever tried to look up data on the FEC site, you'll know what I mean. Not to take away from the FEC data site -- it's an incredible data resource, but tech companies certainly do a better job productizing these large amounts of data from the government.

Without whatsapp being open source, how do we know for sure that Facebook is not somehow storing or reading our messages?

As good as this sounds on paper, I hesitate to trust Facebook to transmit my data without wanting to peek a bit. I currently use both Whatsapp and Signal and will probably continue to do the same unless there is a way for users to verify Facebook doesn't keep a copy.

After leaving the YC startup I co-founded, then doing consulting in SF for about 6 months after, I decided to leave the valley at the end of 2015.

Where did I move to? Medellin, Colombia. While I'm not sure I'll stay here forever and may move back to SF at some point, I'm definitely enjoying living down here for the moment. I'm doing remote software consulting, so I am geographically agnostic.

I definitely miss friends, the hustle, and being surrounded by smart people in SF. However, there are a lot of things I do not miss about SF. For example:

Prices: SF <> Medellin

Rent: $2000 (mediocre) <> $300 (nice, best part of town)

Nice restaurant dinner: $30-40 <> $10-15

Uber (20 mins): $25 <> $3

Interesting take on consulting. I agree, the traditional consulting model is fundamentally flawed, but after reading some of his other blog posts, I'm not as sold on his approach to hiring and "orchestrating." For example:

"In our projects we discourage any horizontal communications between programmers, and you won't be able to get any help from anyone. You will be on your own and you will fail, because you are used to patronizing someone senior, in your office."

This is so ludicrous that it almost sounds sarcastic. While I agree there is value in searching out your own solution, talking through problems and asking advice from team members is very valuable. It doesn't have to be a junior asking a senior. There's clear value in talking problems out with an equal and even a senior talking through a problem with a junior.

As a former student of CS5 (the class), I must say it was spectacularly well-run, fun, and educational. Zach Dodds, one of the authors of this book, was a particularly brilliant and inspiring professor.

While I'm an advocate for practical eduction, I'm equally an advocate for understanding the principles of your field. This book will much less vocational than your typical code-school/academy/etc and instead focus on building a foundation with which you can build upon.

I highly recommend this as a great primer to computer science.

I was using https://usetorpedo.com (similar service) before it shut down. Probably some lessons to be learned from them.

While I didn't use it super often, when I did want to use it, it was very valuable. Thanks for building this!

Congrats Daniel & Jonathan!! :)

Hey, I worked as a consultant for a while and would be happy to share my contract with you. I had it drafted by a good lawyer that I trust. Contact me through my site mailer: http://nealke.mp I am very glad to see you are being proactive about getting a good contract form to start. I did not do the same and was burnt.

I also highly recommend getting a lawyer you trust so you can go to him/her with questions. I also have some more advice contained in a conf talk I did back in January https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUCl0PPAT9U

Hope that helps, consulting is a fantastic job when done properly! Feel free to reach out with more questions

SEEKING WORK - Remote (based in LA)

http://nealke.mp

Where I've worked/studied: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, full stack dev, design (I have a partner who designs), code auditing, TDD

My usual stack includes:

* Ruby, Ruby on Rails

* HTML, HAML

* CSS, SASS

* Heroku, AWS

* Javascript, Angular.js, jQuery

* Postgres, Redis, MySQL

* Photoshop, git, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

Sometimes: Backbone.js, PHP

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me( at )nealke( . )mp

SEEKING WORK - Remote (based in LA)

Where I've worked/studied: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, full stack dev, design (I have a partner who designs), code auditing, TDD, long term or short term projects

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me( at )nealke( . )mp

SEEKING WORK - Remote (based in LA)

Where I've worked/studied: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, full stack dev, design (I have a partner who designs), code auditing, TDD, long term or short term projects

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me( at )nealke( . )mp

I posted this before.. but here are some things I do to stay on task (or at least try!)

Lifestyle:

* Sleep ... 7.5 to 8 hrs, no more no less

* Wake up at 8/9 to maximize hours of sunlight

* Lift weights 4+ times per week... the four hrs you spend in the gym will be made up for with 10 hrs of productivity throughout the week

* Healthy diet (high protein, low carbs, low sugar, fresh food)

Computer:

* VIM

* Avoid HN

* Start working right when you get up

* Answer emails / do other menial tasks when tired

* Get rid of all notifications: phone silent/vibrate, no Gmail/fb/twitter notifications outside of the platform itself

Lifestyle:

* Sleep ... 7.5 to 8 hrs, no more no less

* Wake up at 8/9 to maximize hours of sunlight

* Lift weights 4+ times per week... the four hrs you spend in the gym will be made up for with 10 hrs of productivity throughout the week

* Healthy diet (high protein, low carbs, low sugar, fresh food)

Computer:

* VIM

* Avoid HN

* Start working right when you get up

* Answer emails / do other menial tasks when tired

* Get rid of all notifications: phone silent/vibrate, no Gmail/fb/twitter notifications outside of the platform itself

I know there is short-form literature, but this "article" may have taken that form too far.

SEEKING WORK - Remote (based in LA)

Where I've worked/studied: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, full stack dev, design (I have a partner who designs), Packaged rails security audits, long term or short term projects

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me( at )nealke( . )mp

Aside from development, I also offer packaged Rails security audits.

Not sure if I'm excited that the first time I've seen an alum from my college (Claremont McKenna) at the top of Hacker News it is Randy Kraft...

SEEKING WORK - Remote (based in LA)

Where I've worked/studied: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, full stack dev, design (I have a partner who designs), Packaged rails security audits, long term or short term projects

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me( at )nealke( . )mp

Aside from development, I also offer packaged Rails security audits.

SEEKING WORK - Remote (based in San Francisco)

Where I've worked/studied: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, full stack dev, design (I have a partner who designs), Packaged rails security audits

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me( at )nealke( . )mp

Aside from development, I also offer packaged Rails app/gem security audits.

Interesting index. One funny note: http://www.hackermeter.com/ and https://onemonthrails.com/ use the same photo. Found that kind of funny

Seeking Work - Remote (based in San Francisco)

Background: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, Full stack dev, Design (I have a partner who designs)

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am always on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me(at)nealke(.)mp

Seeking Work - San Francisco / Remote

Background: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, Full stack dev, Design (I have a partner who designs)

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, HAML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, Wordpress, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am always on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me(at)nealke(.)mp

Seeking Work - San Francisco / Remote

Background: thoughtbot, ZURB, Coveo, Atlassian, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College

Things I do: Back end dev, front end dev, Full stack dev, Design (I have a partner who designs)

My usual stack includes: Ruby on Rails, HTML, CSS, SASS, Heroku, Angular.js, Javascript, jQuery, Postgres, Photoshop, git, Ruby, ZURB Foundation, Responsive design

I can also do: Backbone.js, PSD to HTML, Bootstrap, Wordpress, PHP, MySQL

I've worked with over 25 clients in 4 countries and am always on the look out for interesting new projects. I won't belabor an explanation of my philosophy and experience on this thread, but please visit http://nealke.mp or email me if you are interested in learning more. You can contact me at me(at)nealke(.)mp