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bennyp101

1,736 karma · joined June 1, 2013

Email: HN@<first>.<last>.co.uk ---
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bennyp101··on So long Google, and thanks for all the nudes
Yea I’m on over a month now of an app sitting in review, a couple of years ago it was much quicker. Apple approved the same app within a week. I can only assume it’s because it’s easier to vibecode android apps so it’s being flooded?
bennyp101··on Being ambitious and being a dad
I think having kids has made me more ambitious than I was before, certainly recently. One has some extra needs, that have come to light over the last few years, so I've spent most evenings and the odd weekend over the last 2 years trying to build something that I'm hoping will help with that.

Always had ideas to build things before, and they kinda fizzled out, but recent developments have made me realise that I have to be ambitious right now, that doesn't mean taking time away from them, just time away from me.

So in a weird way, they have encouraged me to be ambitious by just being themselves.

bennyp101··on Mars Bar from 1991 found – and it's 20g bigger than today's
And then we have the Freddo comparison [0] over here as well, not in skinkflation terms, but in a how is that going up in price terms (Although I've seen them at 39p recently, so probably out of date)

[0] https://thefreddoindex.com/

bennyp101··on Minecraft: Java Edition now uses SDL3
I've been running this[0] for a few years now, moved it a couple of days ago to a portainer VM on proxmox with 6GB ram, its running perfectly fine for 3 of us, and works fine from tablets and PC.

Can also run on the nintendo switch if you setup a cname to redirect to your server IP, i.e: mco.lbsg.net x.x.x.x play.lbsg.net x.x.x.x

Then choose the "Lifeboat" server

[0] https://jamesachambers.com/minecraft-java-bedrock-server-tog...

bennyp101··on TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)
My first instinct was space to fire FWIW (Also its giving me Age of Empire feels here!)
bennyp101··on FIFA seeks explanation over VAR official's hand gesture
Interesting how times change, my first thought when I saw it was "Dammit!" - I had no idea it was now a "White Supremacy" angle :/
bennyp101··on UK Brings in Full Social Media Ban for Under-16s
To add a data point, my kids are not allowed on any social media and don't have phones. (They have iPads, but they are locked down and blocked at home anyway)

But that doesn't stop them seeing things on social media - when they are at the park, there are always peers there that have a phone and showing TikTok videos or Facebook reels etc, so even though I, as a parent, have blocked it at home, and chosen to not give them a smart phone, they are still exposed to it outside of that.

(And to be be fair, the same happens to me in a way. I don't have any social media logins, but I still get sent links for Instagram/FB/TikTok from friends, or my wife will show me something she's seen there, so it seems there really isn't much escape from it!)

bennyp101··on Vivaldi 8.0
Maybe I just don't surf the web as much anymore, but everything I use or click on works in Firefox on Linux, I can't remember the last time I found something that didn't work (other than some Show HN fancy graphics thing)
bennyp101··on Ghostmoon.app – A Swiss Army Knife for your macOS menu bar
"don't know about the secret shortcut way to do that, it is very annoying to get one"

Is that a US thing? Because in the UK you just get one for free - Companies House sends the info over to them, and a couple of days later it is available to search

bennyp101··on Why so many control rooms were seafoam green (2025)
I remember when I first started out in a job that I should have a green poster nearby to look at to "relax your eyes" every now and then.
bennyp101··on The Age Verification Trap: Verifying age undermines everyone's data protection
And then how does public wifi work? Stand outside a Weatherspoons, or just walk down a highstreet with free internet, back to square one
bennyp101··on That's not how email works
I noticed this a couple of years ago too, I just ignored the letters, continued to receive the emails, and they stopped sending me letters about it /shrug
bennyp101··on Show HN: LemonSlice – Upgrade your voice agents to real-time video
Nice one - thanks :)
bennyp101··on Show HN: LemonSlice – Upgrade your voice agents to real-time video
Heads up, your privacy policy[0] does not work in dark mode - I was going to comment saying it made no sense, then I highlighted the page and more text appeared :)

[0] https://lemonslice.com/privacy

bennyp101··on Snow Simulation Toy
I did something similar[0] in JS on a Christmas eve eve a while back - needs to run via a server now as Web Workers cannot be loaded from file:// anymore.

python3 -m http.server 8080

[0] https://github.com/benperiton/SnowCam

bennyp101··on Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
"then head off to MPs’ houses and Parliament" - that's the bit that probably set it in motion
bennyp101··on Why isn't online age verification just like showing your ID in person?
100% - They are only allowed on certain games, no chat, and I have a couple of private servers so they can do this steal a brain rot thing
bennyp101··on Why isn't online age verification just like showing your ID in person?
Whilst I do kinda agree, I was just replying to the parent about what the punishment would probably be :)

But the problem is that people are NOT managing their own kids' shit, and now we have to have things put in place to try and counter that - and end up overreaching.

I'm more than happy to educate mine on how to be safe online, and to come and talk to us about stuff, other aren't, or are not aware they need to.

Perhaps buying internet means you have to sign a waiver saying that if anything happens because of the internet then that is on the parent(s)...

bennyp101··on Why isn't online age verification just like showing your ID in person?
There's a giant difference between stopping kids having full reign on what is now essentially the whole world of information - and instant access to strangers, than there is making sure they eat healthy, help out, and don't have bad teeth .... but I'm sure you know that :)
bennyp101··on Why isn't online age verification just like showing your ID in person?
Yea, I think anyone who grew up at the start of the internet in homes realises just how different it is now, and that teaching your kids about how to be safe online etc is an important part of parenting. But we are at the point where we have some parents who always had access to what it is now, and don't see it as a bad place.

"Stranger Danger" is no longer don't get into a van with someone who promises you sweets kinda thing.

bennyp101··on Why isn't online age verification just like showing your ID in person?
Yep, I bought a separate all-in-one computer that is in the living room, in full view of everyone else, so we can keep an eye on what is going on when they are using it.

We also have pi-hole running that blocks a lot of things, and can turn on and off certain domains (so they can play roblox etc for a short while, then its blocked again) and their devices are pretty locked down

bennyp101··on Why isn't online age verification just like showing your ID in person?
They get blacklisted from being able to have internet
bennyp101··on Imgur geo-blocked the UK, so I geo-unblocked my network
A service shutting down, or being replaced is very different to one being blocked at a country level because of waves hands things
bennyp101··on Imgur geo-blocked the UK, so I geo-unblocked my network
"Is this overkill for viewing the occasional Imgur image? Probably."

From the last couple of weeks of researching some stuff, it makes perfect sense - I keep stumbling across blogs and documentation that uses Imgur, and it's really quite annoying that I can't see the screenshot or image that is being referenced. It hasn't /quite/ hit the point to put something in place, but this is super helpful for the final straw - when it comes!

bennyp101··on Red Alert 2 in web browser
How does OpenRA[0] do it? Is it just a X has expired thing?

Edit: Oh maybe you do have to have the assets now? I swear last time I used it, it was all online :/

[0] https://www.openra.net

bennyp101··on UK to announce plans for digital ID scheme
Ah so /that's/ why Trump was over...
bennyp101··on Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2024 – Show and tell
Sounds a /bit/ like the Agent Arthur[0] books that I loved as a kid!

Def interested in these! Thanks for posting!

[0] https://usborne.com/gb/agent-arthur-s-arctic-adventure-97818...

bennyp101··on Soft Deletes with Ecto and PostgreSQL
Not a fan of soft deleting, but as I sit here I wonder if using an RLS policy to limit to anything without a deleted field would make the whole “forgetting a where” a bit easier? I’m not sure the performance would be great though
bennyp101··on Show HN: I made an AI image enhancer that boosts images 10x to 12k pixels
Looks cool, but what do you do with the image once uploaded? The FAQ says "Yes, we take security very seriously and ensure that all images uploaded to our platform are protected. Enhancing image quality is safe and reliable." and the Privacy policy looks very generic and not specific to your service.

Are the images deleted after x days? Do you keep to train again? What rights (if any) are you claiming once I use it?

bennyp101··on Launch HN: Hatchet (YC W24) – Open-source task queue, now with a cloud version
I wonder if you could use LISTEN/NOTIFY so when a task name and payload are committed to a 'tasks' table, then it enqueues the job as if you had done so via gRPC?
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