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Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

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Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#71

Post by annnnd »

sraquo wrote: post #69
annnnd wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bit off-topic, but not much: I always wondered why paragliders don't have inflatable compartments like kitesurfing kites do... My theory is that it would help with wing stability. I have no experience with hang gliders, but as long as you have rigid skeleton you have problems with trasport and storage. Could this skeleton be replaced with an inflatable one?

I've actually researched this option. Using compressed air as a structural component is a valid construction technique and could be applied to hang gliders. It won't work on paragliders because as ram-air wings, they need to collapse when they get unloaded. Otherwise once unloaded the wing will fall over in front of the pilot and probably get entangled with the pilot. The only heavier-than-air inflatable aircraft cur…

Interesting, thanks for the write-up.

About the paragliders: you mean when they land? It is true that the landing becomes more challenging, especially in case of wind (kitesurfers often help each other when entering / exiting). But I guess this could be solved - if nothing else, only the central area could be "reinforced". Let's wait a few years, I'm sure someone will try it. :)

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#72

Post by lubos »

praxulus wrote: post #44
lubos wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This won't work. Tax authority will simply not accept tax deductible expenses which allow you to transfer profits to Ireland and will issue you new tax bill. Why big corporations can get away with this? It comes down to people. Little guy working at tax office doesn't have enough confidence to oppose Apple or Google but will have world of confidence to scrutinize unknown small businesses. I see companies like this po…

Do you have a specific example of something Apple does that is illegal, but for which the IRS isn't pursuing them?

I didn't say anything about illegal.

I specifically said, tax authority won't accept tax deductions they don't like. They will simply issue you new tax bill and couldn't care less whether what you are doing is legal or not.

It's up to you to challenge their interpretation of law through legal system if you think what you are doing is legal.

By the way, EU’s executive Commission is currently looking into Ireland and says what Apple is doing could be illegal under EU law. If confirmed, Apple will get a huge repayment bill.

source: http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/is-the-apple-tax-dod...

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#73

Post by sraquo »

joncalhoun wrote: post #65
sraquo wrote: post #27

I have three windsport-related ideas for you. 1) weather analysis I'm a hang glider pilot, but this applies to all wind sports – windsurfing, kiteboarding, paragliding, sailplanes, possibly even surfing and skydiving. These sports require weather analysis. Is the wind blowing from the right direction? Is the cloudbase high enough? Some weather analysis tools exist like http://www.xcskies.com/ for hang gliding and par…

I kiteboard, so I can relate to (1), but the problem I see is that there isn't much of a marketplace effect. eg - If I am in OBX, NC, I don't need a site that has weather data in CA or FL. There may be slight benefits to this, but I can't think of anything big enough that would make it easy to take over a site that is already popular with the locals of a region. Am I missing some benefits that come from being larger?

Well, basically, weather models are not region-specific, only the actual computations/forecasts are. So it wouldn't make sense to develop an incredibly complex weather model and then only use it in your local region – it would work anywhere, properly configured.

Example of a weather model I'm talking about – RASP http://www.drjack.info/DRJACK/RASP/index.html – many hang gliding clubs run this model on local weather data, e.g. http://www.canadarasp.com/RASPtable.html. That's the best forecasts we can have. Well, that and http://xcskies.com.

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#74

Post by premyslruzicka »

sraquo wrote: post #27

I have three windsport-related ideas for you. 1) weather analysis I'm a hang glider pilot, but this applies to all wind sports – windsurfing, kiteboarding, paragliding, sailplanes, possibly even surfing and skydiving. These sports require weather analysis. Is the wind blowing from the right direction? Is the cloudbase high enough? Some weather analysis tools exist like http://www.xcskies.com/ for hang gliding and par…

https://www.windyty.com/ could help a little

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#75

Post by sraquo »

annnnd wrote: post #71
sraquo wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've actually researched this option. Using compressed air as a structural component is a valid construction technique and could be applied to hang gliders. It won't work on paragliders because as ram-air wings, they need to collapse when they get unloaded. Otherwise once unloaded the wing will fall over in front of the pilot and probably get entangled with the pilot. The only heavier-than-air inflatable aircraft cur…

Interesting, thanks for the write-up. About the paragliders: you mean when they land? It is true that the landing becomes more challenging, especially in case of wind (kitesurfers often help each other when entering / exiting). But I guess this could be solved - if nothing else, only the central area could be "reinforced". Let's wait a few years, I'm sure someone will try it. :)

No, I mean when the angle of attack of the wing gets too low in flight. This can and does happen due to gusts and thermal activity in the air.

Normally a ram-air paraglider wing would collapse at low angle of attack due to lack of pressure inside the wing (it only works in a certain range of angles of attack), causing both the wing and the pilot to start falling, picking up speed and restoring angle of attack, and re-inflating again. It's kinda hard to explain concisely in more detail.

With a rigid inflated paraglider wing however, if the angle of attack becomes too low, the wing might get unloaded (falls faster than the pilot) and will pitch down even further because that's what a plank wing does in the absence of pendulum weight provided by the pilot. So the wing dives down and gets entangled with either the pilot, the lines or both.

I'm a bit rusty on the exact aerodynamics of paragliders because I only fly hang gliders, but this is roughly what happens.

If you want to know more about how ram-air paraglider wings stay inflated, check out this doc – http://downloads.flyozone.com/pdf/PG/ozone_shark_nose_en.pdf – it talks about a new ram-air intake technology and explains how ram air wings work.

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#76

Post by sraquo »

premyslruzicka wrote: post #74
sraquo wrote: post #27

I have three windsport-related ideas for you. 1) weather analysis I'm a hang glider pilot, but this applies to all wind sports – windsurfing, kiteboarding, paragliding, sailplanes, possibly even surfing and skydiving. These sports require weather analysis. Is the wind blowing from the right direction? Is the cloudbase high enough? Some weather analysis tools exist like http://www.xcskies.com/ for hang gliding and par…

https://www.windyty.com/ could help a little

Well, it's pretty, but its resolution is not very high. If you zoom in enough you'll see that it doesn't take into account particular mountains and valleys, such terrain features are too small for it. Compare it to http://www.canadarasp.com/RASPtable.html for example (Vancouver area).

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#77

Post by bash-j »

annnnd wrote: post #62
bash-j wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a company where I live that does some of these things regarding your bills and saving money. You go in for an interview and you show them all your expenses, incomes, etc. They will work out a budget for you, pay your bills, save money for your goals, send you a bit of spending money for groceries, etc. negotiate with your credit card companies, banks and what not if things are really bad. They set up a bank a…

They can even assign you a person who does all this for you and more. Usually she is called "wife" (or "husband", if it's a "he"). It is rumored that the costs are usually way higher in that case though (especially if you decide on a "wife" instead of "husband"). Sorry, couldn't resist. ;) More seriously though: do you have a link? I find this concept seriously intriguing / weird / ... on many levels.

mybudget.com.au

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#78

Post by OwlyCode »

joshfraser wrote: post #14

Tax evasion as a service. Target the same legal loopholes that big corporations use to avoid paying taxes like "transfer pricing". You set up the offices and shell corporations in Ireland and the Netherlands for a Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich. You then share those resources (offices, staff, lawyers, accountants, etc) between your clients & charge a percentage of the tax savings as your fee.

In fact, a french website published an app called "Defiscalisator" (http://www.finansemble.fr/defiscalisator). It aims to optimize things for you in order to pay less taxes.

Re: Ask HN: What do you need that you'd pay a lot for?

#79

Post by sideproject »

karmacondon wrote: post #21

Please make my brain work better. I need a way to organize information that I come across online, get control of my schedule and find a way to manage my general learning process. Maybe a mix of bookmarking, google calendar and anki, with some event discovery thrown in. Then add some Tinder style social functionality so I can get a date or meet new friends. I wouldn't be able to throw money at you fast enough.

In regards to "bookmarks", I know guys working on a new tool called "Marvelogs" http://marvelogs.com - They're keeping all your likes, favorites, follows etc from various web services (e.g. YouTube, Instagram, GitHub, BitBucket etc) and putting them in a single place. Really like the concept.
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