moped's comments

On: Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (January 2...

[moped]

SEEKING WORK - Remote | USA

DevOps | Cloud Architecture | Infra | SRE. Electrical engineering grad with 10+ yrs exp, comfortable as equally with code as with people. US Citizen.

My strength is empowering code to run at scale, helping scaling products from 1 to 10, incident management, building a DevOps/SRE practice, and driving improvements in your existing infrastructure. Cloud architecture in AWS and Azure.

I've supported clients in the Fortune 500 (healthcare and finance), US Federal Government, and several startups scaling after achieving PMF.

Former startup founder - I am now focused on contract engagements as a sole practitioner. You can contact me directly at mjmoped+hn@gmail.com

On: SpaceX Dragon Ship Falls Back to Earth

[moped]

Though, if the angle of re-entry is too shallow, it would skip off the atmosphere (like a rock would across water).

[drbawb → moped]

And if Earth is this basketball, and the Odyssey CM is this baseball, they have to hit a re-entry interface no thicker than this piece of computer paper.

(At least that's what Apollo 13 [the movie] said.)

On: Stop Looking For A Technical Co-founder

[moped]

Plus, with a vesting schedule (~4 years), a potential co-founder would have motivation to stick around long-term, or cut his losses and move on.

On: "I Won The Windows Phone Challenge, But Lost 'Just...

[moped]

Apparently, Microsoft has apologized, and offered the guy a laptop+phone

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/26/2903250/microsoft-smoked-b...

On: How Writing a Book Is Like Starting a Company

[moped]

As someone who's working on a non-fiction travel memoir (and tried my hand at a startup), I'd agree with the author.

Another comparison not mentioned-- many writers who attempt to write a book fail.. whether it's actually completing the 1st draft, finding a publisher, or gaining traction once launched. Kinda reminds me of a pg talk, where he argues that startups fail by default, and it's our goal is to avoid dying at each milestone.

[jasonlbaptiste → moped]

Great point! Even once published, odds of success are low. You're funded aka have an advance, but the odds you deliver a return are low, just like startups+VCs.

[boopsie → jasonlbaptiste]

After I wrote my first book, I was told, "Live on the advance. Go to Hawaii on the royalties." By which the speaker meant, "Don't count on success."

I dare say there is a complement in startups.

On: Killing Your Startup By Listening to Customers

[moped]

This reminds me of the Simpsons ep. where they had an Itch & Scratchy (and Poochie) focus panel--

Man: How many of you kids would like Itchy & Scratchy to deal with real-life problems, like the ones you face every day?

Kids: [clamoring] Oh, yeah! I would! Great idea! Yeah, that's it!

Man: And who would like to see them do just the opposite -- getting into far-out situations involving robots and magic powers?

Kids: [clamoring] Me! Yeah! Oh, cool! Yeah, that's what I want!

Man: So, you want a realistic, down-to-earth show... that's completely off-the-wall and swarming with magic robots?

Kids: [all agreeing, quieter this time] That's right. Oh yeah,good.

On: Afraid of Your Child's Math Textbook? You Should B...

[moped]

WolframAlpha is a good visual tool also, and I often use it when I tutor math.

On: Getting Real About Design Inspiration

[moped]

tl;dr: Good artists copy; great artists steal

On: Why I Hire People, Not Skills

[moped]

Page is down.. here's a cached version:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oLv6n49...

On: How to travel around the world for a year.

[moped]

Also, CouchSurfing is a great way to find free places to stay and meet intersting folks. I've been on the site ~5 years, and the experiences have been nothing short of amazing..dare I say, a lifechanger

www.couchsurfing.org