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Stripe can make automatic LLCs but a wire transfer from Citi nearly ended me
Big banks lack the DNA to build self-serve
Top posts
Every blog post that took off on Hacker News, ranked by the votes of its best submission. 4,747 posts.
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NIH is cheaper than the wrong dependency
Frivilous dependencies are the enemy of maintainability.
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Lessons learned as a React contractor
I didn’t know I was looking for it, but when I found it something clicked.
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If you want to start a startup, go work for someone else
When you look online for advice about entrepreneurship, you will see a lot of "just do it": The best way to get experience... is to start ...
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The silent majority of experts (2012)
It's not about technology for its own sake. It's about being able to implement your ideas.
1210
They don't even know the fundamentals
Ah yes, the fundamentals or endless list of things that everybody working in the field ought to know. Atomicity, something, something, Durability? To avoid any future embarrassments I made sure to dust off my Wild Hog book 1 and re-read the section on ACID. Here’s an excerpt directly from the book:
1211
Job Hunting in 2022
My experience hunting for a job in late 2022, and advice for other job seekers
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Contracts you should never sign
There are types of contracts that you should be wary of signing, particularly in the software engineering and IT industry. There are potential pitfalls of non-compete clauses, confidentiality agreements, exclusive distribution agreements, and vague project-based agreements. It's important to understand the…
1215
The Tough Decision to Leave the Classroom
Why do teachers quit? As I make the tough decision to leave the classroom, I highlight some of the issues that force quality teachers to leave public education.
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The care and feeding of software engineers, or why engineers are grumpy (2012)
The Official Web Site of Nicholas C. Zakas
1217
All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen Let me tell you something that will happen after you become a manager: you’re going to mess u…
1218
How to Get Tenure
Even before I got tenure, folks have told me they’re “looking forward to an academic advice post on tenure.”
1219
The two questions I ask every interviewer
Applying the engineering process to software interviews
1220
Being “rockstars”: when software was a talents/creatives industry
I offer a high-level model for why software work feels like it sucks now: we don't treat software like creative output.
1221
Career Advice in 2025
Yesterday, the tj-actions repository, a popular tool used with Github Actions was compromised (for more background read one of these two articles). Watching the infrastructure and security engineering teams at Carta respond, it highlighted to me just how much LLMs can’t meaningfully replace many essential roles of…
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Ask a Repair Shop
This is the story of how you’re buying your enterprise software the wrong way. Probably your appliances, too. This is an excerpt from my guide, “Enterprise Software Confidential.” This post is also available in Chinese thanks to Xu Zhi. Some years ago, I had a broken GE washer. Pretty sure I knew the culprit, but if…
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Tabs, spaces and your salary – how is it really?
Tabs and spaces are not what they seem.
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You can't unit test for taste
I’m building In the Long Run where runners do virtual runs on famous routes around the world. The app tallies up your Strava mileage and plots your total distance as progress against country- or continent-spanning routes. The intention is to provide long-term inspiration and motivation; life is a marathon, not a…
1229
Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”
"We have study hall at the beginning of our meetings." says Jeff Bezos. Staff meetings at Amazon begin with 30 minutes of silent reading. Powerpoint is easy for presenter, hard for audience "The traditional kind of corporate meeting starts with a presentation. Somebody gets up in front of the room and presents with a…
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Commenting vs. Making
issue no. 0011