All of malderi's Comments + Replies

malderi110

Eliezer,

It might be useful to put a notice at the bottom of the chapter about new entries taking a while. All previous chapters have a similar note about the next update, and the lack of one on this chapter may imply the ending of the fic to some (especially those that don't read the discussions).

malderi50

Clarification: the weekend/weeklong distinction was NOT clear from the dates listed, I saw dates and skimmed for more information. It wasn't until I got to the costs section that I realized it and went back up to the dates.

malderi40

Yes, it was clear to me.

I would prefer the weeklong one but am considering the weekends. The cost of airfare is the same.

Another question: Is there any particular reason why you are including the hotel costs into the fee? I can see the marketing value from "single number", but for those already in the Bay Area (or with friends/family there), reducing that cost by a bit and staying elsewhere would be helpful.

If activities/teambuilding are going late, that makes sense, but that was not clear on a single read through (I could read through again to find out, but figure the feedback on this not being clear might be helpful).

5malderi
Clarification: the weekend/weeklong distinction was NOT clear from the dates listed, I saw dates and skimmed for more information. It wasn't until I got to the costs section that I realized it and went back up to the dates.
malderi20

I was mostly kidding (but I can't deny that it would be an awesome perk).

malderi100

Thanks. I doubt I will go this year for the reasons I listed above. Next year when I have more vacation time built up I'd consider doing it.

Although if you'd like to include "read advance chapters of HPMOR" into the benefits, I'm in.

8Eliezer Yudkowsky
...I don't know if I'll have the next chapter by May 13, and if there are other advance chapters after that they'll probably be horrible cliffhangers, but I'll consider it.
malderi120

Feedback: I'm interested in this but will not attend.

Why: I'm a professional in another city with limited vacation time. I could potentially go to the Bay Area for this, but it'd be expensive in money, time, and vacation not spent elsewhere. I believe it might still be worth doing it, but am not convinced.

However, I AM convinced that if one were held in my city (in this case, Seattle) for a similar price, I would be very interested. The cost could be offset because lodging/travel by the instructors would be paid instead of the attendees. If the workshops w... (read more)

3Eliezer Yudkowsky
Actually, quick check - was it clear from the text that there are two 3-day weekend camps and one 1-week camp? Hopefully a 3-day camp wouldn't be that expensive in terms of vacation time not spent elsewhere. Go ahead and ignore this comment if it was already clear, but if it wasn't clear from the text let me know and I can try to emphasize it more strongly.
8Eliezer Yudkowsky
This may happen in the future, depending on how this year goes; we're pretty sure it's not happening this year, so it's not a good thing to wait on.
malderi40

By the end of chapter 80, I think I would have stood up, looked Lucius in the eye, and destroyed the dementor in full view of everyone.

2AspiringKnitter
That seems implausible. Most people probably think they wouldn't shock someone to death if ordered to. At least if it isn't Azkaban, and it isn't death outright, it's probably not as bad as either, though. So if he can discredit Azkaban as a place to put criminals, that would improve things. Minimally.
0Vaniver
Using what positivity? Harry's dark side isn't able to destroy Dementors.
malderi00

Comment on 79, which was just posted 45 minutes ago, so go read it.

Well, 79 certainly funneled the story a bit. Answered lots of questions and a clear path forward. I was kind of hoping for it to end like, "At the end of a hallway, the Defense Professor walked out of the newly empty room." That part could still be told in the next chapter, of course...

1NihilCredo
Speaking of funnelling, am I remembering correctly that Eliezer recently said that the story was past the halfway point, or is my memory misattributing that statement?
malderi110

Well, I don't think it'll come completely out of the blue either, but I don't think predictions are possible at this time. (Should've clarified). I'm sure it'll all make total and perfect sense... In a few chapters.

By the way, EY, if you're reading this: for whatever it's worth, your writing is amazing, and stuff like the theory of potion making and then using acorns to make bright light is one of the best things I've read. Thanks for being awesome

0Yuu
I look forward to description of general rules of magic in HPMOR, and maybe Harry can find some of that rules later in the book. This may be even better part than the episode with acorns. And I agree, that is great book, mostly because it promotes scientific ideas.

Oh, he's reading this all right. The only question is in what manner he is laughing at us.

malderi90

I suppose it is for attempted murder, but I can't imagine it being normal procedure for three Aurors and the Headmaster to arrest a student.

My prediction: The sequence of events leading up to Hermione's arrest will not be predicted, because we don't have enough information currently to do so.

0Dentin
Perhaps I'm just overly simple here, but it seems to me that Draco decided to do the murder setup when he was writing the letter. I understand that it could be a lot more complex than that - but not everything -has- to be complex. My prediction: Draco dueled with intent to frame Hermione for attempted murder. Hermione sat next to HP because she knows she's screwed and there's nothing she can do about it, and she wanted to be near him when the inevitable caught up to her. This prediction creates what I'd consider an extremely messy political problem for HP, one that quite frankly I don't see an easy magical or non-magical solution to. That may be the point.
3Mass_Driver
Prediction: Dumbledore is pretending to lose, probably to Lucius. The Auror trio is personally loyal to Dumbledore, and Amelia Bones either doesn't know this or can plausibly deny knowing this. Confidence for conjunction of all events above: 15%.
3Joshua Hobbes
I don't think it'll come completely out of the blue. Come to think of it, perhaps the reason they need so many aurors is that they suspect Hermione of being more than she appears? Accusing a muggleborn of beating up your son is shameful, accusing a secret evil double-witch isn't. Maybe they'll accuse her of being an adult in disguise or something.
malderi00

The ICSE conference has attendance figures listed here: http://www.cs.uoregon.edu/events/icse2009/ExhibitProspectus.pdf. In 2008, they had 827 attendees.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in 2008 there were 1.3 million software engineers employed in the United States alone. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos303.htm

There are plenty of conferences, even non-academic ones, relating to computer science and software engineering, such as GDC, the Game Development Conference. However, very few focus on the methodology of software engineering, un... (read more)

malderi30

I think that's a relevant question, because it might help prove my point, but it's not strictly necessary for it - and I'm also not a mechanical engineer, so I don't have any. I can try asking some of my friends who are about it, though.

Let me rephrase. You're judging software engineering as a discipline because it has some tribal wisdom that may not be correct. It hasn't been retracted, or refuted, and merely perpetuates itself. I agree with you that this is bad.

My point is that you're judging it as an academic discipline, and it's not. Academic disciplin... (read more)

1Morendil
Wait, what are the ACM, the IEEE, the SEI and their journals; or the ICSE conference (International Conference on Software Engineering) that has been running since 1975? And some major corporations have been publishing in these venues about their successes and (maybe some) failures. I was agreeing with you (or at least not sure enough to disagree) when you said "most software engineers don't go to conferences", but "there are no conferences" is definitely inaccurate.
malderi70

You're ascribing diseases to an entity that does not exist.

Software engineering is not a discipline, at least not like physics or even computer science. Most software engineers, out there writing software, do not attend conferences. They do not write papers. They do not read journal articles. Their information comes from management practices, consulting, and the occasional architect, and a whole heapin' helpin' of tribal wisdom - like the statistic you show. At NASA on the Shuttle software, we were told this statistic regularly, to justify all the process ... (read more)

5Morendil
Can you suggest examples, in mechanical engineering, of "tribal wisdom" claims that persist as a result of poor academic practice? (Or perhaps I am misunderstanding your analogy.)
malderi00

How late do these usually go? I'd like to come, but I was already making plans that day. I can shorten them slightly and come mid-afternoon if this is going to go into the evening.

0SarahNibs
No usually yet. This is the first board game meetup we've done. :) Also, the meetup says it starts at 1 PM but I believe a strong contingent are arriving at 4 PM. I don't actually remembering specifying a start time on the "Add new meetup" page..... Here's what I said on the mailing list: "Let's play board games! At my place on Sunday Jan 8th. Official start time for coordination is 4 PM I guess, though come as early as 1 PM and I'll be hosty and game. I'm on the east side, so car pools might be good, e.g. John Salvatier can drive some folks. I have lots of board games - if you have your own favorites, bring them too. No ending time specified but come and leave whenever you'd like, board games work fine like that. I have plenty of space and chairs unless we get to like a dozen people"