Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A Fond Farewell

farmersalmanac.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 225 posts

Re: A Fond Farewell

#41

Post by icehawk »

9rx wrote: post #33
jacquesm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I like it, I will be formatting all my years to 5 digits from now on. Please don't, it's highly irritating and usually just serves as a way to get people to discuss the leading zero rather than the subject they were really interested in in the first place. Leading zeros aren't a thing for a reason. It's about as useful as expressing the temperature in Kelvin.

> Leading zeros aren't a thing for a reason. If they aren't a thing, why are we talking about them? Clearly they're a thing. And not even an obscure thing. If you've ever used commonly used representations like ZIP codes, bank account numbers, or serial numbers you'll no doubt have encountered it before. And that even goes for dates. ISO 8601, for example, requires leading zeros, including for the year component. "1"…

> If they aren't a thing, why are we talking about them?

Because someone decided to break convention and use one in a four-digit year.

Re: A Fond Farewell

#42

Post by bcherry »

shervinafshar wrote: post #2

Not to be confused with Old Farmer's Almanac (est. 1792) and yet sad to see a 200 years old periodical closing up shop.

wow thanks for leaving this comment - i now realize two things:

1. the farmer's almanac i thought of when i saw the title and even read the article is not going anywhere 2. i have never before heard of the farmer's almanac referred to in this notice

Re: A Fond Farewell

#43

Post by 9rx »

icehawk wrote: post #41
9rx wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Leading zeros aren't a thing for a reason. If they aren't a thing, why are we talking about them? Clearly they're a thing. And not even an obscure thing. If you've ever used commonly used representations like ZIP codes, bank account numbers, or serial numbers you'll no doubt have encountered it before. And that even goes for dates. ISO 8601, for example, requires leading zeros, including for the year component. "1"…

> If they aren't a thing, why are we talking about them? Because someone decided to break convention and use one in a four-digit year.

The question asks why we're talking about something that is purportedly not a thing, not a quest to find further confirmation of it being a thing. Swing and a miss.

Re: A Fond Farewell

#44

Post by m463 »

Waterluvian wrote: post #38

What exactly is the Farmer’s Almanac? I always thought it was basically a big set of historical data that helped provide a sort of statistical foundation for choices, even if the why isn’t explained. Which seems like I can completely understand it as a practical tool in the past but fairly obsolete in modern times. Or did it evolve, too, and was essentially modern science and maths, dressed in the trappings of a belo…

"The 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac" provides weather forecasts, astronomical data, and practical wisdom for those living close to the earth, continuing its tradition since 1792."

Re: A Fond Farewell

#46

Post by 9rx »

kragen wrote: post #7
yieldcrv wrote: post #4

Interesting, I appreciate how they gave no reasons, I’m also curious if there is more details beyond “we don’t want to anymore” Would be pretty cool if it was that simple, that reason needs more representation and is how I run my entrepreneurial endeavors

The original editor hasn't wanted to anymore since he died in 01852, 173 years ago, so that's not it. Surely what is happening is that people don't buy reference books much anymore, and the core market of farmers gets smaller every year.

> the core market of farmers gets smaller every year.

While the Farmer's Almanac doesn't go out of its way to prevent farmers from reading it or anything, it was really geared more towards suburbanites with an interest in things like gardening.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is more geared towards farmers, but there is no signs of it ending publication.

Re: A Fond Farewell

#47

Post by icehawk »

9rx wrote: post #43
icehawk wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If they aren't a thing, why are we talking about them? Because someone decided to break convention and use one in a four-digit year.

The question asks why we're talking about something that is purportedly not a thing, not a quest to find further confirmation of it being a thing. Swing and a miss.

I'm sorry about your miss there.

Re: A Fond Farewell

#48

Post by 9rx »

m463 wrote: post #44
Waterluvian wrote: post #38

What exactly is the Farmer’s Almanac? I always thought it was basically a big set of historical data that helped provide a sort of statistical foundation for choices, even if the why isn’t explained. Which seems like I can completely understand it as a practical tool in the past but fairly obsolete in modern times. Or did it evolve, too, and was essentially modern science and maths, dressed in the trappings of a belo…

"The 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac" provides weather forecasts, astronomical data, and practical wisdom for those living close to the earth, continuing its tradition since 1792."

The parent is asking about the Farmer's Almanac (the one bidding farewell), first published in 1818.

Re: A Fond Farewell

#49

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

avalys wrote: post #25
lisbbb wrote: post #18

I know it has a tradition behind it, but you can't just make shit up and just expect people in this technical age to be okay with it. I used to peruse my Grandmother's Reader's Digest as a kid and never really understood that one, either.

Readers Digest was just a general interest collection of articles, wasn’t it? I don’t remember it being particularly made-up. I mainly read it for the jokes, as I recall.

It reprinted articles from other popular magazines, often in an abridged format (shortened, glossing over the boring details). I think by the 1980s though, quite a few of the articles were original.

Re: A Fond Farewell

#50

Post by [deleted] »

Waterluvian wrote: post #38

What exactly is the Farmer’s Almanac? I always thought it was basically a big set of historical data that helped provide a sort of statistical foundation for choices, even if the why isn’t explained. Which seems like I can completely understand it as a practical tool in the past but fairly obsolete in modern times. Or did it evolve, too, and was essentially modern science and maths, dressed in the trappings of a belo…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN