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Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

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Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#481

Post by rz2k »

vector_spaces wrote: post #264
bitexploder wrote: post #35

I will share one that has served me well for over 20 years: learn RDBMS and SQL. Learn normal forms, good schema design, and how to write complex queries. NoSQL adopters often avoided schemas like the plague and ended up with unmaintainable messes after a few years. I have seen more than a few NoSQL -> SQL conversions by now. Data is the most important thing in your app. Give it a great design. Plus databases like Po…

Any references in particular you recommend to learn schema design, particularly with an orientation towards performance (e.g. for high-volume sites)? A couple years ago I got dinged on a take-home project that involved building a db schema, but didn't get any specific feedback on my work, and it's sort of haunted me to this day (especially since SQL is one of my primary languages)

Take a look at the "Relational Design Theory"[1] mini-course on Stanford/Lagunitas. Though I had used SQL for years, I took it as part of the early MOOC on databases that was offered in 2011. It is likely to match up with the intuition you already have about what works well in practice, but it can still be a challenge and rewarding to formalize your intuition and understanding.

The way the course is broken up now, you may need some of the other sections [2] like Intro to Relational Databases or Relational Algebra as prerequisites, since I do not remember if it used SQL syntax.

[1] https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses/DB/RD/SelfPaced/about

[2] https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses/DB/2014/SelfPaced/abou...

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#482

Post by Spellman »

komali2 wrote: post #390
Spellman wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because not everyone can get the timing right and heat consistent enough to properly cook from start to finish in a pan. Especially as you get to thicker cuts. Sous vide takes out the guesswork for getting the insides to the right temp. Then just get the pan as hot as possible for quick sear in a pan for the outside.

> Because not everyone can get the timing right and heat consistent enough to properly cook from start to finish in a pan. I understand this point, the point of sous vide is consistency, but I disagree that not everyone can get the timing right. With practice, anybody absolutely can get it right. And if they have hundreds of dollars plus the counterspace to throw at a sous vide machine, they have the resources to coo…

Not disagreeing, and honestly it's much faster to do in a pan.

Still, I also understand the appeal. More precise, less issues if something interrupts you, and perhaps the best benefit is batch cooking steaks. Especially when starting, using sous vide can help you focus on getting the sear right and not ruining your steak.

Plus, with thicker steaks, you often need better pan temp control or the use of an oven to help get it to cook evenly. And that's just an extra layer of hassle that takes time to master as well.

But I concede it can also be a crutch for a relatively easy cooking skill.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#483

Post by gumby »

In parallel to chrissnell’s suggestion on classical music: read some classical literature. I mean the Greek and Roman greats. As with “classical” music, theres’s a valuable survivorship bias — nobody bothered to preserve the crap.

As with the music, there’s a lot to choose from (I put “classical” in quotes because in both cases the term spans centuries of work and innumerable styles and themes). And don’t worry about what other people like: enjoy what you do. Personally I don’t really listen to Mozart as he mostly wrote pop music and spectacle (were he alive today he’d be onstage with lady Gaga). Some fun to listen to but for me doesn’t “stick to the ribs”. Other’s think he’s fantastic — and we’re both right! (Do love his Requiem, though as my then 17yo said, “should come with a warning label”). In the case of the greats I love Plutarch, don’t care for Thucydides, think Plato is a jerk but do read him, Aristotle was kinda a jerk too, but so was Cicero. Sophocles: fantastic!

Speaking of survivorship bias I read little fiction by living authors. If it’s still in print, or discussed, after a gap it’s more likely to be interesting. As with music, open a book and if you don’t like it read something else! It’s not a duty. But there’s also a lot of meta commentary on the older work and that can change your view and taste for what you read.

Have fun!

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#484

Post by ryanmercer »

colecut wrote: post #455
ryanmercer wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instant pot (best kitchen purchase I've ever made) and meal prep. There's entire subreddits dedicated to meal prep with a lot of good ideas.

Sorry you're being downvoted. I guess the instant pot isn't hacker trendy enough

It was probably the mention of reddit. I've found most of the time I mention a subreddit that is relevant to a topic I get downvoted.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#485

Post by alexpw »

komali2 wrote: post #393
kbutler wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quick sanity check - are they not finishing the sous vide steaks in the pan/grill?

It takes 2 - 3 minutes in the pan for me from raw... How could they possibly sear the steak without putting it in Well Done territory?

1. You quickly chill the meat in the freezer (or ice bath) after taking it out of the sous vide. This will help prevent further cooking when searing it, because we only want the sear.

2. You heat the pan as hot as possible, way hotter than normal, so that you can sear with only 10-20 seconds per side. Some use a torch instead.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#486

Post by brodouevencode »

JamesBarney wrote: post #432
brodouevencode wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost certainly mobility issues. Im almost 40 and still squat at least once a week.

This or bad form is what everyone says after the fact, this is exactly what they said until they threw out their back.

The good thing is that once you recognize it, it's fairly easily remediated. Get that ROM back and you're back in business. Rarely is surgery necessary.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#487

Post by throw-666666 »

the_gastropod wrote: post #386
astura wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have friends who eat out every single meal of every single day. I have friends who do too but it's not because they don't know how to cook, it's because they don't like to and don't wanna bother and can afford the luxury of having someone else to do it for them.

I have a suspicion this kind of living, in part, explains why so many people are miserable. I feel like removing every inconvenient thing from your life, and "having someone else do it for you" must make your ability to handle discomfort atrophy to the point where the tiniest unpleasantness feels like a catastrophe. Like muscles, your brain, your immune system, etc., we need a little discomfort / struggle once in a w…

I agree. Before my burnout I used to order food every day of the week, eating while coding, etc. Taking the time to cook a simple meal is a piece of mindfulness. It helped a lot in my burnout recovery. I can highly recommend the YouTube videos of Gennaro Contaldo. Quick, easy and healthy meals. Few but high-quality ingredients is key. Parmigiano Reggiano saved my life.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#488

Post by codyb »

clSTophEjUdRanu wrote: post #430
tnel77 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What blows my mind is how much I took my ability to cook for granted. So many people my age (millennial) can barely cook anything. I have friends who eat out every single meal of every single day. People give me weird looks when every single workday I have the same answer to “you wanna go out and get some lunch?” “Nope. I have leftovers!”

Same. Started cooking out of frugality and anything I can order or comes packaged is unhealthy. Cooking feels like the default, what normal people do. I was so wrong. None of my friends can cook even a simple meal without step by step instructions. Some can grill, and that's it. They just order food or eat something from a box every single day.

It’s gotten to the point for me where I look at Seamless (hundreds of options here in NYC) and generally go to the kitchen and make something instead.

So much less packaging.

I spend less on more food and what I eat is largely organic, pasture raised, grass fed and often from local farms.

And I really enjoy cooking, so that probably helps. I love using my hands, and I usually don’t have any music on so I have a lot of nice time to think while I’m cooking.

Plus the people around me love eating delicious morsels I produce and I occasionally get a rain of compliments.

Sometimes I follow recipes, sometimes I do my own thing, and sometimes it’s a mix.

Keeps me on my feet, and dextrous, even going to the store is a bit of exercise since I walk there.

All in all, a wonderful part of my average day and week usually.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#489

Post by astura »

Invictus0 wrote: post #399
the_gastropod wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a suspicion this kind of living, in part, explains why so many people are miserable. I feel like removing every inconvenient thing from your life, and "having someone else do it for you" must make your ability to handle discomfort atrophy to the point where the tiniest unpleasantness feels like a catastrophe. Like muscles, your brain, your immune system, etc., we need a little discomfort / struggle once in a w…

Sounds like you're projecting the habits of your personal circle onto the masses: most people are nowhere remotely near the point of removing every inconvenience from their lives. I don't know a lot of miserable rich people either.

Yeah, seems very weird to judge someone so harshly for simply not wanting to cook and then go on to accuse them of being miserable. I mean, does someone who's spouse does the shopping and cooking get the same judgement? Absolutely not! Neither do people who hire a landscaper instead of doing their own yardwork. Nor do people who drive a mile to the store instead of walking or biking there. Nor do couples who have multiple cars when one of them doesn't work (or they both work in the same direction)

Anyways, these people I'm talking about upthread still go to work everyday, do their own laundry, clean their houses, scrub their toilets, do their yardwork, do their taxes, work out regularly, run errands, and probably hundreds of other things that cause minor inconvenience. It's not like they are doing nothing but sitting on the couch poking at their phones.

It's not my kinda thing, personally. Mostly because food in general just isn't at all important to me.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#490

Post by Spellman »

msluyter wrote: post #377
neuroticfish wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been trying to learn to cook off and on for years now and I get so discouraged all the time because I'm still either overcooking or undercooking something, still not getting the flavors right, not using the right amount of oil despite the recipe's prescription. I can't be alone in feeling that way.

I've learned the most and gotten the most bang for the buck from using Cook's Illustrated special edition magazines. For example, Skillet Dinners1[1], my copy of which is well worn. The writeups that go with the recipes really help train one's intuition about cooking. Over time, I've gotten much better at knowing when to adjust ingredients or cooking times for a given recipe. https://shop.americastestkitchen.com/spec…

The best part of ATK and related Cook's country is they also helpfully go in-depth about the why. This helps you understand why the steps are laid out how they are. Plus it helps they test the crap out of their recipes so even with minor variation you can get a stellar end result.

My only complaint is sometimes they are way more steps and more exspensive sets of ingredients than other recipes. But often it's worth it for vastly superior results.

That's why I liked Serious Eat's Food Lab where Kenji also breaks stuff down but in an accessible set of recipes. Similar to Alton Brown's Good Eats, also a great resource if you like understanding the chemistry going on in your cooking!

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