I couldn’t disagree with this more. And at least anecdotally I’ve seen the opposite. I have one friend who has built and launched an app for diagnosing skin disease from a photo. Do I think it’s a good idea? No, but he built it. I have another friend that has completely automated her job in accounts receivable. She literally doesn’t have to work anymore and her employer has no clue. And another friend of mine is cranking out a new consumer app every few days. None of these people are even remotely technical. This is just the beginning.
A start-up needs to have an exit to pay back investors. A company that isn’t hoping to exit is just a lifestyle business. Both are valid options, but very different tactically.
I prefer living in the South Bay, but almost all my friends prefer living in SF. I tried living in SF for one year and came running back to Palo Alto. I’d say, just try it.
I suddenly lost the hearing in my left ear at the age of 24. One moment I was fine, eating a slice of pizza, the next moment I suddenly could sense something was wrong. I tried to stand up and walk, but my balance was gone. My ear felt full and there was a strange metallic echo. I waited about 24 hours and it hadn't gone away, so I went to the urgent care. By that time, just standing up was enough to cause me to vomit. I've had a pretty healthy life, so everything that was happening was rather disconcerting to me!
The doctors at urgent care erroneously diagnosed the problem as dehydration as a result of my telling them I had played tennis earlier before the incident. They sent me home with instructions to drink lots of water. After waiting another 48 hours completely unable to hear or even stand up, I went back to the urgent care. This time, they diagnosed it as an ear infection and gave me antibiotics. Over the next two weeks, my balance slowly returned, but what little hearing I still had slowly deteriorated further. About a month after it started, I finally was referred to an audiologist that concluded that I was completely deaf in my left ear, possibly due to a viral infection, but there isn't any way to know for sure the cause. Had it been treated with steroids immediately, it might have saved my hearing.
I am now 40 years old and have lived with being single sided deaf for half my life. Initially I didn't think much of it. I've slowly realized it has had a profound impact on my personality and sense of identity. I am much less social due to the difficulty I have hearing in group settings. Conversations are frustrating because it takes so much effort to hear the other person properly. I am reluctant to tell people about my condition because I don't want to be seen as handicapped in any way. Usually by the time I do end up telling someone, they say they had already figured as much.
Tinnitus is a major daily issue as well. I can’t seem to understand how this website helps though.
This author is being disingenuous. All of those actions are indeed suspicious. I am not a fan of the Patriot Act, but these new guidelines actually seem pretty reasonable to me.