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burkemw3

266 karma · joined November 16, 2011

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/burkemw3; my proof: https://keybase.io/burkemw3/sigs/2eOzS0ZHJz2LBUGoh9dgJmCucD90zyYGs2eljhuP62Q ]
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burkemw3··on Ask HN: How do you prevent eyestrain with daily computer use?
I got glasses that were focused at approximately the distance my monitor is from my face (~1 arm length).

I'm near sighted and the monitor starts getting blurry at just the right distance. I have glasses for nearsightedness that are focused very far out (the common case). Wearing them for constant work at arms length really tired my eyes out. So, I'd frequently work without my glasses, but hunch forward a little to make seeing things easier.

With glasses dedicated for computer work, I can read everything I need to, my body can stay in the position it should be, and my eyes don't get nearly as tired.

As a side benefit, the glasses help me focus in other areas of my life. I frequently wear them while cooking, and it helps me do one thing at time, as other stuff is blurry.

burkemw3··on Ask HN: What's your catch-all note taker?
Standard Notes: https://standardnotes.org/

Mostly text, Web/iPhone/Android, private, freemium+self hosted

burkemw3··on Commuting by Bicycle is down?
Articles [0][1] cite a study [2] that people driving cars and bicycles admit to breaking the law at the same rate. I've just now found the study itself, so will be reading it's additional findings.

[0]: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-18/survey-finds-bicyclis... [1]: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/03/16/busting-the-myth-of-t... [2]: https://jtlu.org/index.php/jtlu/article/view/871/875

burkemw3··on Google is discontinuing Inbox
Looks like this was meant to be in reply to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17971740
burkemw3··on Show HN: Zero – Local file system transparently swapping to the cloud
I built syncthingfuse to do partial syncs. Currently unmaintained, though.

https://github.com/burkemw3/syncthingfuse

burkemw3··on A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to Surviving on the Roads
I am a US transportation cyclist. I mostly dislike vehicle (including bicycle) horns.

If it's a close enough call with another vehicle, my voice has been enough of a 'horn' to alert drives. If there's a less close conflict, then there's probably positioning/visibility change that should have happened upstream.

For me, horns are a too frequent, rude disruption in the world.

burkemw3··on Starting your own bank is laborious but profitable (2009)
- Login with (username/email, password, U2F)

- mobile app check deposit

I like many of rgersten's features too: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17752320

burkemw3··on Chemists discover how blue light speeds blindness
You can wear glasses that filter blue light.

The article mentions wearing them outside, but they work inside as well.

I wear them, and they provide other benefits for me as well (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16529054#16531413)

burkemw3··on The Secret API of Banks
How does web connect actually work? I've never found any description of the method
burkemw3··on Internet Archive, decentralized
In addition, optimize for dealing with those situations: secret rotation plans
burkemw3··on Credit-Card Backlash Mounts as Kroger Weighs Expanding Visa Ban
Many retailers have their own cards: https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/store/
burkemw3··on Bail reform could give justice to poor, minorities
In addition to reform, there are non-profits assisting people within the current system. The Bronx Freedom Fund [0] and their Dollar Bail Brigade [1] are particularly interesting to me.

[0]: http://www.thebronxfreedomfund.org/our-work/ [1]: http://www.thebronxfreedomfund.org/dollarbailbrigade/

burkemw3··on Ask HN: What are the things that you have automated in your personal life?
MythTV has commercial skip: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Commercial_detection
burkemw3··on Bernanke Says U.S. Economy Faces a ‘Wile E. Coyote’ Moment in 2020
The fed rate commonly publicized isn't a bond rate. It's like the rate on a personal checking account. It can vary at the fed's desire. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_funds_rate.

Changing that rate does cause impacts on the rest of interest rates (e.g. bonds), though.

burkemw3··on Spend analysis of 6 years, 686 rides, and $12k spent on Uber (2017)
Please don't disengage mentally from driving. If you think you need to do that, take a break instead.
burkemw3··on A mistake about manufacturing costing Americans millions of jobs
I didn't expect there was much electronics manufacturing in the US at all, let alone it has been driving manufacturing "growth". I honestly expected a solid chunk of design happened in the US, then the fab happened elsewhere. This article got me to do a bit more reading (yay!). So, I'm sharing a bit of that, as a starting point for anyone else that wants to dig in more.

This commerce.gov report [0] taught me a few pieces of the puzzle. I especially like the graphics on pages 5 and 7, showing major semiconductor manufacturing and lots of output from Cali, Oregon, and Texas.

This wiki page [1] shows lists semiconductor fab plants. The ones I recognize (as my own proxy for size) are Intel, TI, Broadcom, Seagate, former Fairchild, and NXP/Freescale.

[0]: https://www.commerce.gov/sites/commerce.gov/files/migrated/r... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabricat...

burkemw3··on Pyroelectricity could extract energy from heat sources below 100°C
YT link without a time point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saCdvAp5cow
burkemw3··on Using GnuCash as a Freelancer to Track Finances and Prepare Taxes
https://github.com/egh/ledger-autosync has been real handy for me with transactions.

My "entry" work is modifying some categories that it gets wrong.

I don't fully understand your situation, so I'm not expecting it necessarily solve your entry problems. I'm only raising awareness.

burkemw3··on Using GnuCash as a Freelancer to Track Finances and Prepare Taxes
Quicken has the Web Connect bank connection option. I have a theory that this is similar to a selenium script where you can download a QFX file, but don't need 2FA to do it. Unfortunately, I haven't found any documentation on how this actually works, though.

I also use the referenced ofxclient which is analogous to Quicken's Direct Connect. BofA is inconsistent with applying fees for using Direct Connect.

If anyone can share, I am very interested!

burkemw3··on To Change Habits, Try Replacement Instead
_The Power of Habit_ helped me understand it isn't just catching yourself, but catching yourself in the right place. The book calls discusses keystone habits. ([0] has some digital overview a the beginning)

I think finding those keystone habits is difficult. GP figured it out, great!

If you haven't figured yours out, I recommend continuing to observe and try different reactions to triggers, thoughts, feelings, etc.

[0]: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rl-adams/6-keystone-habits-to...

burkemw3··on Waymo shows off what it’s like to ride in a truly driverless self-driving car
I have read about the sensor suite on Teslas on the road being different from the suite on the Waymo cars, for example. So, the sensor data from Tesla may be more or less valuable, regardless of the amount of it. Wait and see is certainly the game.
burkemw3··on Navy Medics Get Prepared for Combat with Tour of Duty in Chicago
Variants of this have been happening for a while. Here's 2008 article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/intense-training-for-military-s...
burkemw3··on Navy Medics Get Prepared for Combat with Tour of Duty in Chicago
One doctor from the November Las Vegas shooting wrote a review of the incident for his ER that got attention on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15688900
burkemw3··on Ask HN: How do you keep a good posture when you spend most of your type sitting?
I got glasses there were focused at approximately the distance my monitor is from my face (~1 arm length), in addition to many of the other things mentioned (chair/desk adjustment, walks, etc)

I'm near sighted and the monitor starts getting blurry at just the right distance. I have glasses for nearsightedness that are focused very far out (the common case). Wearing them for constant work at arms length really tired my eyes out. So, I'd frequently work without my glasses, but hunch forward a little to make seeing things easier.

With glasses dedicated for computer work, I can read everything I need to, my body can stay in the position it should be, and my eyes don't get nearly as tired.

As a side benefit, the glasses help me focus in other areas of my life. I frequently wear them while cooking, and it helps me do one thing at time, as other stuff is blurry.

burkemw3··on MIT study shows how much driving for Uber or Lyft sucks
Additional discussion of same report: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16501017
burkemw3··on Ask HN: What do you think of performance appraisal at your workplace?
I would not ignore stock grants and bonuses, which are not very well quantified on sites like glassdoor.
burkemw3··on The Dropbox Comp
In the usage metrics section
burkemw3··on The Dropbox Comp
Syncthing might be an option for you. Someone is rocking 17 million files in a sync'd folder (https://data.syncthing.net/).
burkemw3··on Tech takes over: New York is the sector's second city
I was worried about this when I first moved to NYC. I got in touch with a placement company, had an intro chat, and told them I'd be in NYC for a certain week. They lined up 4 interviews for me.

I very much enjoyed forcing a timetable on possible employers, as I got choices all at the same time.

I don't always enjoy recruiters. In this case, mine was very valuable!

burkemw3··on Bitmain, the largest mining hardware company, made around $4B last year
Another possibility is selling data, primarily to advertisers
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