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bkraz

1,428 karma · joined November 14, 2011

I host the Applied Science channel on youtube (electronics, mechanics, chemistry, etc): https://www.youtube.com/user/bkraz333 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-krasnow-6796a94
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bkraz··on Atomic Force Microscope [video]
I'm always happy to see one of my videos on HN! I'm really glad to be getting back into the habit of making new videos. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. See you at Open Sauce!
bkraz··on The myth of reflected power (2017)
Hugged to death already? https://archive.ph/AP7qY
bkraz··on High speed X-ray video: jumping beans, wind-up toys and more
I may have the opportunity to use a much higher framerate camera in the future. Please leave suggestions for things that are fairly transparent to x-rays (no metal, or very thin small internal parts), and demonstrates the utility of high speed capture (typically things breaking, bouncing, shattering). The last requirement is that the object be very small, just 1 to 2 cm long. Since learning about ptycography, I may try that as well since x-ray ptycography is one of the real world uses for these sensors.
bkraz··on Windows 11 25H2 October Update Bug Renders Recovery Environment Unusable
In Win11 as admin, take ownership of the following files, and remove all permissions for the system user. This prevents any updates and can be easily undone at any time. I turned off updates, and life is much better. I no longer feel guilty about having my system "at risk". It's no longer worth the pain of updates.

C:\Windows\System32\WaaSMedicSvc.dll C:\Windows\System32\usosvc.dll C:\Windows\System32\wuaueng.dll

bkraz··on Assessing Public Reach of the 2023 National Test of the Wireless Emergency Alert [pdf]
WSJ reported that many folks received "routine flood warnings" hours before the disaster but may have ignored them because they were... routine. I think "alert fatigue" is a real problem, and today WSJ highlighted this report which has some data on who opted out of wireless alerts, appartently five times more likely to opt out in Texas compared to Vermont.
bkraz··on Iron nitride permanent magnets made with DIY ball mill [video]
I measured the pure iron powder as well. It shows no measurable area inside the BH curve, which at first seems incorrect since the textbook retentivity value for pure iron is fairly high. The textbook may be referring to a single iron magnetic domain. In a practical sample (even a solid piece of iron, let alone powder in epoxy), there are likely many magnetic domains that cancel each other out, and "soft iron" is used commercially for the very reason that is has extremely low retentivity in bulk.
bkraz··on Iron nitride permanent magnets made with DIY ball mill [video]
You should definitely contact Kron Tech (makers of the system -- let me know if you want an introduction). I have some interesting image processing videos coming up -- nothing to do with color reconstruction, but that also sounds good. My project pipeline is pretty full, but I will let you know when I am adding new ideas.
bkraz··on Iron nitride permanent magnets made with DIY ball mill [video]
I always enjoy seeing one of my videos on HN! Let me know if you have questions.
bkraz··on Patreon reinstates its original billing practices after Apple court case ruling
I am a Patreon creator that is very happy per-creation billing will remain an option.
bkraz··on Researchers design wearable tech that can sense glucose levels more accurately
For anyone interested in noninvasive glucose sensing, I'd highly recommend https://www.nivglucose.com/The%20Pursuit%20of%20Noninvasive%...

RF-based approaches have the problem that they are not specific to glucose. A molecule of glucose absorbs infrared light at specific wavelengths due to its size and types of bonds. It does not have specific absorption of radio frequencies. In this paper, researchers measured glucose in pure water at concentrations 100X physiological levels. I'd like to see this work with whole blood or a tissue phantom, or measure glucose independently from any other solute.

bkraz··on Apple's requirements are about to hit creators and fans on Patreon
Yes, it's a reasonable workaround. I believe Patreon also allows creators to "pause" their account, suspending payments for an indefinite amount of time. So, I could just keep the account paused, then unpause for a month when I make a video. Although, I believe that Patreon doesn't want the per-creation model themselves, since charging the same amount each month is simpler, and easier to project revenue, etc, so they are probably just bundling this unpopular change with the Apple announcement.
bkraz··on Apple's requirements are about to hit creators and fans on Patreon
That's a great question! How far does Apple's control extend into markets that are unrelated to their core business? I always prefer using mobile websites on my own android phone instead of downloading apps because of security concerns and general notification spamming, ads, and annoyances, and it seems to me this would be a great solution ie just replacing "apps" with bookmarks. For the current situation, I may look into services like Nebula, doing PayPal directly, YouTube subscriptions and donations, or setting up an online store. Or even.... sponsored videos!! (just kidding)
bkraz··on Apple's requirements are about to hit creators and fans on Patreon
As a longtime YouTube creator who uses Patreon for financial support, the news is terrible: Patreon informed me that all creators must switch to a monthly subscription schedule instead of the per-creation schedule that I and many other currently use. The whole point of per-creation is that it allows me to take time off, and only charge people when I release something, thus incentivizing me, and being fair to my supporters. I'm really annoyed by this change, and will start pushing back, but if it happens as planned, I may be forced to switch to another platform, or come up with some other solution.
bkraz··on Apple to take 30% of all Patreon donations
As a longtime YouTube creator who uses Patreon for financial support, the news is even worse: Patreon informed me that all creators must switch to a monthly subscription schedule instead of the per-creation schedule that I and many other currently use. The whole point of per-creation is that it allows me to take time off, and only charge people when I release something, thus incentivizing me, and being fair to my supporters. I'm really annoyed by this change, and will start pushing back, but if it happens as planned, I may be forced to switch to another platform, or come up with some other solution.
bkraz··on Night-vision lenses so thin and light that we can all see in the dark
You can have light boosting binoculars with 1x zoom. Similarly, looking through the viewfinder of an SLR camera will show the light- gathering capability of the lens. The very best light gathering camera lenses (and binoculars) only collect 2 to 4 times more light for a given focal length compared to the human eye. Since our vision is so nonlinear in sensitivity, the 2-4x boost doesn't seem like much. The brightness theorem only says you can't "perceive an object to be brighter than it is at its surface" (my interpretation)
bkraz··on Ask HN: Pay via Square/ACH. Why does Plaid need access to transaction history?
The class action lawsuit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28200076
bkraz··on Cybertruck owners say they're already rusting
I've owned a DeLorean since 1999. It's body panels do not rust or discolor at all, and the car has been stored outdoors under a cover for most of its life. The panels are "plain" 304 stainless steel, the same grade that is used in kitchens and food preparation machinery. As far as I know the only more corrosion-resistant grade is 316, which is used in medical equipment and smaller items where cost is less of an issue. The panels on the cybertruck are some "secret" alloy called 30X. It's probably very similar to 304, but the work hardening process that Tesla says gives the panels more strength may also lower is corrosion resistance.
bkraz··on Temperature-sensing stirbar with RFID
I'm always happy to see one of my own projects on Hacker News. Let me know if you have any questions.
bkraz··on Tech layoffs exceed 240k so far in 2023, 50% more than 2022
Somewhat misleading headline. The only reason 2023 is higher is that companies didn't want to do layoffs in Nov/Dec and held until Jan. Better to just look at the graph: https://layoffs.fyi/ The trend is definitely down.
bkraz··on Sao Paulo: A city with no outdoor advertisements (2013)
I recently learned Kyoto has rules about signage and specifically color saturation. Some of the rules seem too detailed, but the end result looks very nice. https://youtu.be/KuX3nu4jdo0
bkraz··on Ask HN: How do you manage your passwords in 2023?
I've been using Bitwarden for a few years, and am very happy with it. I'm glad to pay their reasonable price.
bkraz··on Ask HN: What are examples of common beliefs conclusively invalidated by data?
There are many metrics. I was mainly interested to know which ones would be selected. The whole thread is about using data instead of widely held beliefs...
bkraz··on Ask HN: What are examples of common beliefs conclusively invalidated by data?
Not necessarily disagreeing, but do you have some metrics to show the scale and speed of the problem?
bkraz··on Ask HN: What are examples of common beliefs conclusively invalidated by data?
"The world is getting worse" is a belief perpetuated by the media and repeated by many people to explain their own unhappiness. However, many important indicators show things are getting better globally https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health...
bkraz··on Drawing on a plasma display with a laser pointer
It's a good point. If YouTube were my day job, I'm not sure that I would turn down the significant money from sponsorships. If I didn't personally dislike ads so much, I'd probably have already done it. Patreon may not require a huge shift in viewer relationship: Only 1-2% of my viewers support me on Patreon, but even this provides more revenue than basic YouTube ads. The vast majority of viewers benefit from the generosity of the 1-2%, and everyone seems OK with this setup.
bkraz··on Drawing on a plasma display with a laser pointer
For my channel, Patreon provides about 2-3 times as much financial support as YouTube ads. If I started doing 30-60 second sponsorships in my videos, that would provide about 5-10 times as much as YouTube ads. I really like Patreon because it's just a basic and honest transaction. I only charge money for each video that I create, and people can give me feedback directly, and increase or decrease their pledge accordingly. Everyone gets what they are expecting.
bkraz··on How a film camera superimposes the date onto photos [video]
Thanks! It's nice comments like yours that keep me making new videos.
bkraz··on How a film camera superimposes the date onto photos [video]
Haven't used them. Looks good. Costs a lot more than the Amazon one, so could be different class with different expectations.
bkraz··on How a film camera superimposes the date onto photos [video]
I really liked owning my own business (MRI-compatible computer peripherals 2006-2011), and I'll very likely start another unrelated small business in the future. I also like to do YouTube videos as a hobby or at least Patreon-supported hobby, and not depend on them for main income, because I think it changes the character of the videos. If I depended on videos, I'd probably also start thumbnail optimization, A/B testing, YouTube face, sensationalistic titles, growth hacking, and all the stuff that I don't like as a viewer, but genuinely works to make more money. Patreon support has been a huge help in this regard.
bkraz··on How a film camera superimposes the date onto photos [video]
I agree! I've had the best luck with this one, which is far better than the average pH pen from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Accuracy-Suitable-Testing-...
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