Hacker News Reader

> Unless you live in a neighborhood or building where packages get stolen, who cares? You'll find it when you get home.

Some packages will fit in my mail slot. Some packages won't fit and will sit outside. If I bought something that could be damaged by water, and it is sitting outside in the rain, I might drop by the house to move it inside. If it is safely out of the weather, I can save time by not doing that.

> Who cares? My office window overlooks the mailboxes, and it comes at a different time every day. As long as it comes.

I have used the data from my cameras to find out that my mail comes on a fairly consistent schedule. If I am expecting an important letter (especially something that might be a prereq for other errands I have to run), this can be helpful information to plan my schedule in a way that saves time.

> Who cares? Even when I had an HMO, we had eight hours to get the trash cans off the curb.

I live on a hill, so it's nice to put my cans away promptly so I don't have to chase them down the street or retrieve them from the middle of the road. When they're empty it's easy for them to blow away.

> Nice to know, if it's a tornado. But again, there's nothing you can do, so why do you need to know?

I disagree with this more than anything. Plain ol' thunderstorms or winter storms can do significant damage, and if the damage is to the roof, a window, or a pipe, the resulting water damage could be exponentially more extensive if it isn't remediated quickly. I have some family who were on vacation when a pipe burst -- if they would have caught it quickly, it could have been mopped up and shut off. Instead they had to stay in a hotel while their interior was gutted and replaced.

"He's fine. And if he's not, you'll find out when you get home."

Or alternatively, if you have a camera, you can find out immediately and come home.

I use mine to find things I've misplaced. Saved my ass the other month when I was running late for a flight but couldn't find my keys.

I just keep my keys in the same place. Never misplaced them.

I try to but sometimes I don't. say I was carrying a bunch of stuff in and couldn't get to the normal place I keep them, or I had taken them back to my desk to get to the yubikey or I needed the key to open my bicycles battery compartment, etc.

Or sometimes I just forget to take them out of my pocket.

Also, it’s good for checking up on your toddler. You can never be too safe, even if you leave him with a knife to defend himself with.

I'm not doubting you, but I'm seriously trying to picture this.

You were running late for the flight. Couldn't find your keys. Presumably pretty panicked. And you sat down and watched multiple streams of cameras to see if you might see yourself putting the keys down somewhere?

It might not be that bad, watching the 30 seconds after you last unlocked your house would probably do it.

Well checking things on my camera is second nature now. Any time I don't know where something is, or want to know why something is on the floor or whatever, I check the camera. Usually one of my animals is responsible.

Also, being late for a flight doesn't make me panic.

> Who cares? Even when I had an HMO, we had eight hours to get the trash cans off the curb.

What does your health care plan have to with getting talked to by the home owners association?

They might've meant "HOA". Lol