Hacker News Reader

FlyMoreRocketson Playpulse ONE – The gaming bike that unlocks your fitness motivation

Prop Cycle hit the arcades in 1996 and mastered hardware/software integration for this concept.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prop_Cycle

I never understood why it didn't have other software releases for the platform.

FlyMoreRocketson Submarine Sleepovers

YSK about Tiger Cruises, where family can come aboard the ship to see what day to day life is like.

https://www.defense.gov/observe/photo-gallery/igphoto/200118...

FlyMoreRocketson Open-EZ: plans built DIY tandem 2-place canard aircraft

https://ftp.sunet.se/mirror/archive/ftp.sunet.se/pub/simteln...

https://exodos.the-eye.us/

FlyMoreRocketson KrabzCAM

From the HaD post: "It’s a nice simple tool, and is the perfect fit for 2D CAM jobs. It’s got some other nice features, and it handles laser engraving nicely as well."

https://hackaday.com/2021/04/03/when-the-right-tool-is-wrong...

FlyMoreRocketson Microsoft wins $21.9B contract with U.S. Army to supply AR headsets

> But the world population is already going steeply up - with people starving.

True, but the growth rate is on a steady decline and looks like it will be negative soon. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/#growthrate

FlyMoreRocketson Ford's Turbine-Powered Semi-Truck, Lost for Decades, Found

A Turbine Powered Fire Truck? Seattle FD's Turbo Chief https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26085661

FlyMoreRocketson Religious fervour is migrating into politics

> In my shoestring travels around the U.S., I'd say most of the help I received was from people who identified as Christian.

Most people in the U.S. identify as Christian.

FlyMoreRocketson Ask HN: Is Minix dead? No commits since 2018

With no commits since 2018, it seems the public/FOSS version has effectively died.

FlyMoreRocketson The F-35 may be unsalvageable

It gets worse. From the article: "Total acquisition costs now exceed $428 billion, nearly double the initial estimate of $233 billion, with projected lifetime operations and maintenance costs of $1.727 trillion."

Much like the SLS, it seems that it is more a jobs program to dump money into select congressional districts than a project actually focused on deliverables.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System#Funding_hi...

FlyMoreRocketson Scientists uncover process standing in the way of making quantum dots brighter

The article makes a big deal on brighter displays, but the real win is for thermodynamic materials. Imagine recovering usable energy from all the waste heat dumped into the environment by present thermodynamic cycles! Suddenly, a process that is only 40% efficient at best can potentially double in efficiency.

FTA: "To create photonic thermodynamic cycles, you need to precisely control how light, heat, atoms, and electrons interact in materials," Dionne said. "This work is exciting because it provides an unprecedented lens on the electronic and thermal processes that limit the light emission efficiency."

FlyMoreRocketson An ancient method that keeps Afghanistan's grapes fresh all winter

The article mentions it works best with thick skinned grapes. Muscadine grapes may be well suited for this technique.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/26/551835327/mu...

FlyMoreRocketson Fairphone – The phone that cares for people and planet

I just bought a new phone a couple weeks ago. If I had known it existed, I would have gotten a Fairphone instead.

FlyMoreRocketson A Simple but Effective High-Flow Oxygen Concentrator from Hardware Store Parts

From the HaD Comments: What zeolite to use?

13X zeolite 0.4 mm – 0.8 mm or JLOX 101 are both commonly used in o2 concentrators the second one is the most expensive. I used the 13X when rebuilding my craigslist o2 concentrator.

13x (10 angstrom pore size)

https://catalysts.basf.com/files/literature-library/BASF_13X...

5A (5 angstrom pore) molecular sieve can also be used. I think it’s a bit less selective for nitrogen but still usable.

FlyMoreRocketson Peelings II, the Magazine of Apple Software and Hardware Evaluation. (1982-1983)

I just obtained a complete archive of this magazine. If you are a scanner that can help me get these up on the Internet Archive, please get in touch.

FlyMoreRocketson Prototyping a Turbojet Engine in the Home Shop

Prior Art:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X_ctwt8PT4

FlyMoreRocketson Ask HN: Some people claim they can learn from failure, can anybody explain how?

How Failure Taught Edison to Repeatedly Innovate https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanfurr/2011/06/09/how-failu...

FlyMoreRocketson Ask HN: Is Minix dead? No commits since 2018

This begs the question, has Intel taken now over project ownership?

FlyMoreRocketson Robert Heinlein on Happiness

Note to self: still need to learn to write a sonnet.

FlyMoreRocketson Robert Heinlein on Happiness

Agreed. Sometimes, it is exceedingly difficult to step outside your immediate emotional state to make rational decisions.

As a retired EMT, I have spent a lot of time helping people in extreme situations to elevate their consciousness above the immediate flood of input. I was not always successful, but the capability of the human brain to filter input is rather astounding.

FlyMoreRocketson Robert Heinlein on Happiness

This philosophy has some merit.

I would add this, attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."

FlyMoreRocketson Experts recreate a mechanical Cosmos for the world’s first computer

There are several excellent links to further information near the bottom of the page

A paper was published in Nature: "A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism in Scientific Reports"

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w

FlyMoreRocketson Elon Musk Mars plan branded delusional by astrophysicist: like living on Everest

And yet Antartica has been continuously inhabbited for decades. There has also been a continuous human presence in low Earth orbit for decades. I have little doubt that Musk can eventually make this happen.

FlyMoreRocketson E-Ink Laptop, First Steps

HaD article, primarily links to : Building an E-Ink Laptop https://alexsoto.dev/building-an-e-ink-laptop.html

Link to HaD for additional links and discussion.

FlyMoreRocketson Ex-Activision Pioneers Form Audacity Games, Will Develop New Atari 2600 Titles

As far as I know, only the Flashback 2 could be hacked for 2600 carts.

http://www.atarimuseum.com/fb2hacks/

FlyMoreRocketson Don Lancaster's Guru's Lair Home Page

I was a big fan of his flutterwumpers. His site tought me how to make a high torque, low precision stepper motor from a car alternator.

https://www.tinaja.com/fwsamp1.shtml

FlyMoreRocketson Kiri: Moto – open-source CAM SOFTWARE IN THE BROWSER

Linked to the HaD article rather than a direct link for the often helpful comments section.

FlyMoreRocketson Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp

Finally, a free to file tax form. The IRS should do this by default.