Reader Mail – 05/25/2014 To 05/31/2014


bilgehan commented on Only Idiots Use Java For High Frequency Trading.
I agree with this… I am starting to develop my HFT program. Do you recommend win8 & C++ as a HFT platform. Have you used quickfix library?

“Write your own HFT program?” Unless you already work at a big bank (in which case you have to use whatever they order you to use), you’re wasting your time and money.

The big banks have too many advantages, which makes it a waste for anyone else to write an HFT program.


Robert commented on Android KitKat Update – My SD Card No Longer Works! – It Broke All My Apps!.
Good to see another post FSK. Watching Silver Linings Playbook. Have you ever seen it? It made me think of you just now. I totally mean that in a good way. I know you’ve had some struggles but you’re a smart guy and a good guy. I sill haven’t forgotten about you buddy, you have contributed a lot on your blogs that have a lot of meaning. Have a good one man.

[/rawr]

Android KitKat Update – My SD Card No Longer Works! – It Broke All My Apps!

I made a mistake and updated my Anrdoid phone to 4.4.2 KitKat. I knew about this “enhancement”/bug but let it update anyway. That was a mistake. Now I have to root my phone if I want my apps to work correctly.

Google changed the way “write to external SD card” works in apps. The android specs actually said that the “write to external storage” permission lets apps write in THEIR SPECIFIC DIRECTORY on the external sd card. However, most phone manufacturers implemented it so that this permission lets an app write ANYWHERE on the external SD card.

Google cracked down on the phone manufacturers, and insisted that they change it so that apps are only allowed to write to their specific directory on the sd card.

However, this breaks almost all the apps I use. Apps like text editors and emulators were written to assume that it could write anywhere on the external SD card. Unless the app is specifically rewritten to conform with the new rules, the update breaks it.

I understand the twisted logic behind the change. If each app is only allowed to write in its specific directory, that makes it easier to clean things up when you uninstall an app. However, most people upgrade phones every 2 years, which means that they really aren’t polluting their phone with old apps.

There’s a more evil reason for the change. By breaking sd cards, Google can force people to store their data “in the cloud” instead of on their phone.

It would be nice if there was an option to allow users to switch to the old behavior. The only way I can fix everything is to root my phone. I was trying to avoid doing that, but Google forced me to do it.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can ditch Android and use a real open system. The Pyra (the Open Pandora successor) is looking more attractive. I do miss the keyboard on my Samsung Galaxy S4. Maybe I should just get a cheap phone with a wifi hotspot and get a Pyra? Or something else?

Reader Mail – 05/11/2014 To 05/17/2014

Another Voice commented on node.js Is VB6 - Does node.js Suck?.
If you really want to experience pure sh**, try GRAILS. that is the ultimate nightmare..

wrt node.js:

Advantage:

- one language for the whole stack: JavaScript. JSON for anything model-related (stored in mongo). Extensions like TypeScript oder Coffeescript make JS a bit more convenient.

- JavaScript developers are those that really can make a Website shine. Even though the language is shitty. Now JS developers can implement their UI concepts more quickly -> more feedback

- c++ Extensions are possible -> Speedup for certain situations

- btw, Paypal moved all of their frontend webapps to JavaScript

https://www.paypal-engineering.com/2013/11/22/node-js-at-paypal/

- From http://www.toptal.com/nodejs/why-the-hell-would-i-use-node-js

"In one sentence: Node.js shines in real-time web applications employing push Technology"

So These are my 2 Cents..

I've heard people mention Grails when I criticized Rails. I never understood the point of languages built on the JVM, languages that compile to Java bytecode but aren't Java.


paskos commented on FSK Benchmark Test - C/C++ vs. Javascript vs. PHP.
I modified the java code and did some minor optimization:

Fixed the bug

Re-use Random generator instead of creating a new one every time.

Wait till end of processing to output to console (I assume the goal is to measure processing time not measure the time to output to console).

I did not verify the validity of the code outside from the reported bug.

It's here

Running the main() method on a JDK 7 build 51 inside my eclipse on a core I7 quad core HT I got 0.255 secs.

paskos commented on FSK Benchmark Test - C/C++ vs. Javascript vs. PHP.

Ran it 10 times on command line using same machine and same JDK.

Results are here

Did you run the other versions on your PC for a valid comparison?

I.e., if the Java version is faster on your PC, I need to know if it's because you have a faster PC or if the code is optimized better.

Also, when I timed my versions, I included all the time (including writing to console). However, writing to console is only milliseconds.

Reader Mail – 04/27/2014 To 05/03/2014

MP commented on FSK Benchmark Test - C/C++ vs. Javascript vs. PHP.
"Atrocious" code? It was pretty much a direct copy of the C++ code. I did it because apparently no one else was willing to. The Java fanbois seem loathe to actually benchmark things in public, preferring to talk about theoretical gains from JIT, etc. My hope was that by providing the source for the languages, we could have language experts fix up any problems that I missed (like the looping error I made, when I was tired and really didn't care much about anything other than finishing the effort).

My conclusions about Java were that I'd forgotten how verbose and picky it is. My conclusions about the Java fanboi clique is that they're the kind of people I'd rather not spend time with.

I don't believe your numbers. Provide the code, the settings for your compiler, and then allow someone else to look it over like I did.

That was exactly my point. The guy insisted Java was faster than C++. He did not post his code. I have no idea if he used proper compiler optimization settings when he tested the C++ version.

This is a potentially interesting test, writing code to solve the exact same problem in multiple languages.

I did learn one thing from this exercise, which is that PHP is MUCH worse than I expected. I don't see why people ridicule me for not knowing that. The only way to be sure is to perform an experiment like I did. I thought that PHP compiled pretty efficiently to C.

That's another interesting point. The people who favor certain languages (Rails, node.js) have defective personality types. There's no point learning those languages, because then I'll be working with the scum who prefer those languages.

I worked on 2 Java projects, both were a mess. That isn't a sufficient sample size, but it didn't make me motivated to pursue Java further.


Chris Mackney commented on Reader Mail - 04/20/2014 To 04/26/2014.
Man driven to suicide by ex wife and divorce courts

Chris Mackney committed suicide on December 29, 2013 because his ex wife was using the divorce courts in America to torture him and kidnap his children from him. He wrote a 4 page suicide note before killing himself.

http://www.brainsyntax.com/Portal/Material/1/Lasttestamentofalovingfatherabusedbythefamilycourtsystem.pdf

LATEST UPDATE: The ex-wife is such a psychopath that is she trying to copyright her ex husband's suicide note, in order to prevent it from being circulated on the internet. She is using her lawyers to threaten legal action against websites that published Chris's suicide letter. She is trying to silence him, even in death.

The website "A Voice for Men" also got a letter from her lawyers and wrote an article about it yesterday:

http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/family-courts/here-come-the-lawyers-to-avfm-yet-again/

Here's a few more updates:

http://henrymakow.com/2014/04/Ex-Wife-Removes-Husbands-Suicide-Note-from-Internet.html

http://www.crimesagainstfathers.com/usa/Forums/tabid/362/forumid/261/threadid/9799/scope/posts/Default.aspx

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140425/11184127030/ex-wife-allegedly-using-copyright-to-take-down-husbands-suicide-note-where-he-blames-their-custody-battle.shtml

http://womenformen.org/2014/04/29/the-chris-mackney-story/

Reader Mail – 04/20/2014 To 04/26/2014

SP commented on Only Idiots Use Java For High Frequency Trading.
Someone has never heard of the Zing VM... Seriously, these companies use Java (actually, a restricted subset of Java, but since you're clueless, I won't bother with details) for a reason, and they keep using it because it delivers the results they need. In HFT you make money or fold: Java would have been abandoned if there were better alternatives. Despite all the challenges of making it work, Java is the best combination of agility and performance available for the job, and that's why HFT shops keep using it. (I'm not saying that HFT shops using Java use it exclusively, because they don't, but I don't feel the need to get overly nuanced in a simple comment.)

SP commented on FSK Benchmark Test - C/C++ vs. Javascript vs. PHP.
That you honestly expected PHP to be faster than JavaScript is... hilarious. At least you didn't write that atrocious Java code yourself. On my machine, the C++ code completes in around 2300ms, and the raw Java code about 3260 (~42% slower). However, after correcting the Java code based on your comments, it runs in 1585ms (on a Java 8 VM), meaning the C++ code is suddenly 45% slower than Java. Two minutes later, I'm still laughing.

Publish your code for a comparison like the others did. Otherwise, I donn't believe you.

Also, did you remember to compile the C++ with full optimization settings?

I meant to try the Java version on my PC as well, but I didn't really want to pollute my PC with the Java SDK.


Robert commented on New Job!.
Congratulations! Now get a new phone and start blogging again! Yours is a significant voice that needs to be heard in the freedom movement against State tyranny. You know a lot about finance as well so you are good at breaking down economic policy.

olde reb commented on New Job!.

is the following of interest ??

Reb

*********************

GOVERNMENT CAUSES INFLATION ??? NOT !!!

Mr. Hornberger recently chided the citizens of Argentina for succumbing to the government propaganda of businesses that are responsible for inflation because businesses raise the price of goods and services. He then decries their government controlled schools for not educating the people that their government causes inflation. Ref. http://fff.org/2014/03/18/the-governments-inflation-scam/ .

Perhaps Mr. Hornberger should review the economic chaos of the United States and Europe and question whether it is the government or financial institutes that cause---and profit from---inflation. “Bought off” and corrupted are terms that come to mind to distinguish the causation from the implementation. President Clinton was astonished to be informed that bankers would determine how much deficit spending would be allowed. QE loans---to select financiers to avoid their bankruptcy which, if defaulted---are expansions of money in circulation (inflation) that are not controlled by Congress. The benefit of QE loans is only to financiers.

All Ponzi schemes that inherently rely upon creating additional debt to pay current interest, such as the system imposed by the Federal Reserve, ultimately have the same catastrophic collapse. There is no other mathematical conclusion possible.

The Federal Reserve was established by and is owned (secretly thru the BOG) by the same Wall Street financiers who are devastating Europe with debt and who have already used the WB and IMF to exploit the third world. (Ownership of the BOG has never been publicly identified nor adjudicated or addressed by a court. The 12 Federal Reserve Banks are each privately owned stock held franchisees controlled by the BOG.) To believe the Wall Street owners are not going to do the same to the U.S. with the $17 trillion (fraudulent) debt would be naive.

The methodology by which the Federal Reserve Board of Governors conceals $4 billion daily from the auction accounts of Treasury securities that are exclusively handled by the FRBNY has been documented. Ref. FEDERAL RESERVE HEIST. Those accounts have never been audited or reported to Congress as required by law. All profit of the Fed legally belongs to the government. The lengthy mathematical analysis of the Fed's Ponzi scheme that dates from Rothschild's “loaning” non-existing money to rulers of centuries past to reveal the inherent national bankruptcy of their scheme is available. Ref. RIP OFF BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE.

The use of that money to fund the New World Order using the World Bank and International Monetary Fund has been theorized. Ref. FUNDING THE NEW WORLD ORDER. The embezzlement of the Treasury auction funds by the FRBNY and FRBOG has been brought to the attention of the United States government. Ref. AMENDED COMPLAINT—WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT. All articles available at www.scribd.com/oldereb.

The “end goal” of the cabal has been stated in internal memos to be the collection of the $17 trillion National Debt of the United States. Greece and Cyprus are but two available examples of financier's multitude of collection methods.

And still Mr. Hornberger appears unaware of the future tragedy and demise of the U.S. while he belittles the economic knowledge of the Argentina people. Academic centers in the U.S. almost universally assert government is responsible for inflation while concealing the bankers in the shadows. Academic centers must groom economists for future employment for the largest employer of economists--the Fed and c.,the banks---and academia also receive largess from banks, government, and inflation. They have done a great job in hiding the perfidy of the FeAd.

************** Footnote *************

Only two possible scenarios appear viable:

1. The status quo continues. The Wall Street financiers are able to collect on the U.S. national debt in the same manner as debts of Greece, Cyprus, Haiti, etc. The debts are being collected by troika, ECB, IMF, WB, etc. Austerity and martial law will be imposed. Confiscation of assets of U.S. citizens, including but not limited to banking accounts, pensions, savings, CD's, life insurance, stocks, etc., seizing of assets as IRS or SS obligations for make-believe debts, the selling of national assets to financiers at fire-sale prices, arbitrary seizures and control of real estate under pretended offenses, all to benefit the financiers will become standard practice.

2. The National Debt is evidenced as an act of fraud and theft by an audit of the Treasury security auction accounts maintained by the FRBNY. The implied contract with the owners of the BOG---based upon paying a debt that can never be culminated---is declared null and void from its inception as are all fraudulent contracts. The extension of legal tender status to debts of the (unknown) owners of the FRBOG is therefore nullified and the debts of the Fed belong only to the perpetrators of the fraud. (those green things in your billfold are Federal Reserve Notes with legal tender status. They are debts of the Fed.) Only Congress can do this.

Yeah, I should get more back into blogging.

The biggest factor is THE LOSS OF THE LOCAL TRAIN, due to Hurricane Sandy recovery. The express is only 5 minutes faster, but I don't get a seat. I used to work on my blog on the subway.

Also, my new phone doesn't have a physical keyboard, which makes it harder to type. I've been looking for a clip-on bluetooth keyboard, but found nothing good.

New Job!

I found a new job. It’s full-time instead of part-time, and more than a 30% hourly rate increase.

It’s an Internet multi-level marketing business. I know that’s kind of shady, but it is profitable unlike the doomed startup I was working at.

Reader Mail – 04/13/2014 To 04/19/2014

observer commented on node.js Is VB6 - Does node.js Suck?.
If you don't like the words evil/scum/psychopath, then how about parasite, e.g., a programmer who hypes angular and trashes jquery.

They're using angular.js at work. I have another draft for "angular.js sucks", but never got around to finishing it.

I started using jQuery for the first time in the past year. I like it. I hadn't done much Javascript front-end work before, so I never seriously looked at it.


Anonymous Coward commented on I Still Don't Sign NDAs For Job Interviews.
I studied computer science at the best university in the country I live in. The examiners commented on my good performance.

Most of my employers have commented on the high quality of my work.

I think I lost my second from last job, because the directors of my part of the company got moved and a sociopath took over. She fired lots of people before she got removed herself.

I have written a software product that has done well for itself. One of my amateur software products I wrote in a week for fun once featured on the home page of a major technology company some years ago.

Yet I gave up looking for a job years ago. It was a waste of my time. I agree with FSK. The job market for software developers is a double lemon one.

I even got 100% in a written interview test at a Swiss investment bank. The same bank even purchased several copies of my software product. Yet they turned my down for the job I applied for.

The job market is stupid.


Klas-Henrik Adergaard commented on Stephen Colbert Gets Craig Kilborned.
Couldn't agree more.

Also, as an aside, is it just me or is Fallon simply trying too hard?

I don't watch Jimmy Fallon. I DVR The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and watch it during the day, skipping the commercials. (Magnavox 515h DVR, much better than a Tivo, no monthly subscription)

arnold commented on Stephen Colbert Gets Craig Kilborned.

Can you come back on IRC we miss you and I have my own server now and it is TOR only! You can find me on the big network where we met. If you even remember me!

I almost never user IRC and the last time I used Tor was several years ago. Maybe someone else is using the name FSK?

Reader Mail – 04/06/2014 To 04/12/2014

victor commented on node.js Is VB6 - Does node.js Suck?.
Wow, you're a bad developer, in the phase of need to being hired, a good developer have her own company and don't need to find a job

Mark commented on node.js Is VB6 - Does node.js Suck?.

I am a developer of over 16 years experience, run my own company and have never been out of work. I have worked for large blue chips, public sector bodies and small companies. I have used VB6, C#, Asp.net, SqlServer, MongoDb, Javascript, NodeJs and Python and am currently learning Go.I can honestly say that we can all rubbish any programming language as I am not aware of any language on the planet that covers all the bases. We can all pick holes in any language. I prefer to use the right tool for the right job I am always open minded and have no need to profess how great I am or how bad other people are.

I have hired developers and I can say one thing that holds true and that is if ever I come across a developer who thinks they know it all, or rubbishes other peoples work so by proxy advancing their own I know that they really are very poor developers, very poor employees and bottom line very poor individuals, I suspect FSK falls into this category.

>if ever I come across a developer who thinks they know it all, or rubbishes other peoples work so by proxy advancing their own I know that they really are very poor developers

Aren't you doing the exact same thing, by posting here complaining about what a loser I am for not liking node.js.

I researched it a little. The overhead for a thread context switch is ~1000-2000 cpu cycles. The memory overhead for a thread is also negligible compared to the memory used by your application data. So, the main argument in favor of node.js is ridiculous, because the overhead of threads are negligible compared to the other stuff your application needs to do.

Mark commented on node.js Is VB6 - Does node.js Suck?.

Where in my comment above have I criticized you for not liking Node ? Where ? I criticise your hyperbolic, aggressive categorisation of mainly people. I make no comment on you technical skills and I also do not advance my own skills by rubbishing your technical abilities. What I am criticising is your aggressive, arrogant and over the top attitude. You throw terms like scum, evil and psychopath around far to liberally, evil is something I haven't come across and if I did common sense would suggest to me that it would not be in the form of a computer tech/person I didnt like. Also just to clarify I have not called you a loser so don't even try that emotional blackmail. I suspected you of being poor especially in attitude and anybody reading your comments would come to the same conclusion.

I am more polite in person than the way I write in my blog. Some people really are evil. It's a disturbing fact to realize. I have noticed that evil people prefer trash like node.js and Rails, because they evaluate hype and not merit. Node and Rails and Git have created great hype, but the product is garbage, so they attract people who evaluate hype but not technical merit.

There have been evil people at almost all of my jobs. They are everyone and dominate our society, due to the way laws are set up and that most intelligent people are conditioned to be victims. Either you are too clueless to notice them, or are one of them.


Richard commented on Is The Go Programming Language Worth Learning?.
You're using excuses to justify your failure. I had no degree, was entirely self taught and got in the industry in 6 months. It's about drive, determination and confidence. How about you stop blaming others for your issues and instead push forward?

There is no buzzword game, like any other industry getting a job is ~85% based on your personality and attitude as well as the people you know. Nobody is going to hire someone they don't like to be around. I bet you that you come off this way in your interviews.

I don't have any usable contacts. For most resume submissions, it's totally based on keyword matching.

I'm comfortable treating idiots like idiots. I don't want to work for idiots. If you can't handle a couple of questions about your business plan, then you aren't going to succeed.

It's much different for entry level and senior candidates. For senior candidates, employers seem to want a perfect purples squirrel keyword match. Age discrimination is a real problem, especially when you're older than the interviewer and all the other employees. I'm not that old! I'm still the oldest person there most of the time.


commented on I Still Don't Sign NDAs For Job Interviews.
I never sign an NDA either ; or only if I rewrite it in my own terms.

Larissa commented on I Still Don't Sign NDAs For Job Interviews.

Why do you think you're an unemployable loser?

I've been actively interviewing for 6 months now, and haven't gotten any offers. I only had one decent interview. I usually get eliminated at the keyword matching phase, because a lot of my experience considered "not hot".


Jeff commented on Reader Mail - 03/30/2014 To 04/05/2014.
I have to agree. I've learned so much from your blog posts - and look forward to more! More content posts please!

Stephen Colbert Gets Craig Kilborned

Does anyone here remember Craig Kilborn? That’s right, you don’t remember him.

He left The Daily Show to get a late night talk show on CBS. He was funny for a niche audience on basic cable, but his act didn’t appeal to the wider audience CBS required. He struggled for a couple years on CBS, his show was cancelled, and nobody ever heard from him again.

Colbert is probably going to have the same problem.

It’s a shame, I liked his show. The censors at CBS are probably going to require him to be less extreme and more mainstream, which means he won’t be funny anymore.

Reader Mail – 03/30/2014 To 04/05/2014

commented on I Still Don't Sign NDAs For Job Interviews.
Bro you gotta stop with the "reader mail" - it is cluttering up your blog big time. Also it's redundant, since anyone can read the comments to an article simply by clicking on the comment section. No offense - just offering a bit of constructive criticism. This is a good blog and the "reader mail" posts is starting to really drag it down in my opinion. Also, if you decide to stop doing those posts, you should go back and get rid of all the old ones. Let people read comments by clicking on the comment section if they want. Just one opinion!

The bigger problem is that I haven't been putting the time into creating new posts.

Some people don't go back to read the comments, which is why I started doing it. Sometimes, there are really interesting discussions in the comments, or I spend a lot of time writing a response.