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jfrejon The humble brilliance of Italy's moka coffee pot (2018)

Based on your technique of pouring straight into the cup, I wonder if that's the reasoning behind the "coffee fountain" kind of moka pots [1] (apart from convenience).

This instagram account has a nice collection of different ones [2].

[1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Coffee_p...

[2] https://www.instagram.com/mymokahome/

jfrejon Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?

Since your son enjoys drawing, something like Pixicade[1] can help teach him basic concepts of game development without any programming.

[1] https://www.pixicade.com/

jfrejon He spent his life building a $1M stereo

Exactly. I used to plug in my earphones into the mic socket to use as a microphone when I didn't have one around.

jfrejon Black currants were banned in the USA (2017)

It's worth noting that Ribena also comes ready made. If I ever buy Ribena, that's what I go for. Especially the carbonated version.

There are alternative blackcurrant cordials for diluting which are much cheaper and taste good. I think every British supermarket has their own brand one.

jfrejon Black currants were banned in the USA (2017)

Oh, so there's no Ribena[1] in the US? Or is it imported?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena

jfrejon Jazz² Resurrection: Open-source Jazz Jackrabbit 2 reimplementation

Another one that fits the dark palette, conical lights and sort of trench coat wearing character[1] is Blues Brothers by Titus[2].

[1] https://www.lemon64.com/assets/images/games/screens/blues_br...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blues_Brothers:_Jukebox_Ad...

jfrejon A peek inside Japan's largest “Dagashi” store

Related to this I recommend the instagram account of Lee Chapman [1].

For example this series documenting old bars and their owners [2] or this one about old shops that don't seem to sell anything [3].

(Instagram links used to be publicly accessible but looks like that's no longer the case. You can also see Lee's photos on his blog [4].)

[1] https://www.instagram.com/tokyotimes_lee/ or https://twitter.com/tokyotimes

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CiuP00iPy4W/

[3] https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp7Y1S4yYfC/

[4] https://www.tokyotimes.org/

jfrejon Show HN: I made a retro game archive for Polish games

Available to play in the Internet Archive! [1][2]

[1]https://archive.org/details/msdos_Electro_Body_1992

[2]https://archive.org/details/msdos_Electro_Man_1992

jfrejon There's something off about LED bulbs

You can get it in a bottle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-93Ij5WIcok&t=28s

jfrejon Web Archive appears to be down

And it seems to be back now. Also visible in the charts.

jfrejon Web Archive appears to be down

You can see the loss of traffic in their charts [1] (from archive stats [2]). Looks like it started on the morning of the 26th Nov.

[1] https://analytics1.archive.org/stats/wb.php

[2] https://archive.org/stats/

jfrejon Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

https://iolla.com/ makes decent ones at £85 a pair. It's a Scottish company but seems to be shipping internationally. Good customer service from my experience.

jfrejon When Every Ketchup but One Went Extinct

Since you mentioned Pudliszki and Kotlin, here's the Polish Map of Ketchup [1]. The Polish ketchup market is quite varied. The map shows where different ketchup brands are produced.

And I've just learnt that Heinz owns Pudliszki.

[1]: https://i.wpimg.pl/1200x/d.wpimg.pl/2014472425--622848009/ke...

jfrejon Ask HN: What game do you wish existed?

This sounds cool if a bit overwhelming.

I always wanted to combine the Sims and Sim City. I imagined a multiplayer mode where you could live in the same city with your friends and your choice of career would allow you to use a different game mode at the SimCity level. E.g. your sim becomes a teacher, so now you decide where to place schools, etc. You have to work as a team to make sure all sims are happy in the city.

jfrejon Prince of Persia open-source port based on the DOS version disassembly

Also available in the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/msdos_Prince_of_Persia_1990

(as well as many many other games).

jfrejon Tell HN: I just made my first sale

That's a cool idea. And congratulations!

However, I get an error in my console when I navigate to an app:

> Uncaught DOMException: Failed to read the 'localStorage' property from 'Window': Access is denied for this document.

Chrome on macOS

jfrejon Pixelopolis, a self-driving car demo from Google I/O built with TensorFlow-Lite

You are right, GPS alone doesn't. But it's augmented with both specialised maps (from the private companies you mentioned) and sensor data. Some self-driving cars use detailed 3D maps containing information about e.g. traffic light positions and have technology to read road signs and lights. Just like human drivers do.

I used to work for TomTom and at the time they were just getting into the self-driving cars sector. I don't know where they are with it now, but four years ago they were already building high-definition 3D maps for autonomous cars. And they had road sign reading technology.

You can see their HD 3D map in a video [1] where they also explain how it's constructed using their mapping vehicles.

EDIT: To make my point clear, we don't really need to invest in smart roads - the cars and the supporting tech are already smart enough.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga5fW-QSXp0

jfrejon Tell HN: I used to be homeless and want to work as a software developer

I'm a software engineer based in Edinburgh and in my previous job I was responsible for hiring into my team. The city is becoming a strong tech hub and from my experience there are not enough engineers available on the market.

There are lots of software engineering jobs here, mostly JavaScript, other web dev, and machine learning (though, admittedly, fewer entry level positions).

You don't need a degree to get a job but you have to demonstrate skills and professionalism.

- Set up a GitHub profile and fill it with your coding exercises/pet projects. The more of your own code the better. Code style and commit messages matter. Show that you can push professional code. I always looked through GH profiles of potential candidates when available. - Set up a LinkedIn profile. This will allow headhunters to find (and spam) you. You may not have professional coding experience yet but you have a degree and have been learning programming for a while. This is an asset. Include information about programming languages - you need keywords. And link to your GitHub profile.

Edinburgh (and other cities) has lots of meetups. They are free and good for making new connections. And you may hear about open positions.

It's probably obvious, but so many people don't do it: when applying for a job, triple check your CV and all communication for typos. When reviewing job applications we looked for attention to detail and professional communication. A great communicator with a strong will to learn would often be a better fit than a more experienced person who couldn't communicate.

If there's a position/company you really want to work for, be persistent. Ask for feedback after unsuccessful applications. Some places won't send any, but it's always worth a try and it will help you improve.

It's ok to reapply to the same place.

Don't underestimate covering letters - they help you sell yourself and can be the difference between you and another candidate who didn't bother writing anything. Think about your strengths and point them out.

This is not an endorsement, but FYI, if you feel you need help improving your skills and making professional connections, there are coding schools available (e.g. in Scotland we have CodeClan).