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jonpurdy

1,633 karma · joined May 28, 2019

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jonpurdy··on LG UltraFine Evo 6K 32-inch Monitor Review
I was forced to do this as my eyes have aged and I can't focus at 5K 27" at a reasonable distance, and can't read the text when I sit far enough back to focus. Hence why 4K 27" (~160 ppi) has become perfect for me.

Would be nice if Apple supported non-integer scaling so I could just dynamically resize everything (without the current technique and performance hit/blurriness of upscaling then downsizing).

jonpurdy··on Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%
I bought my first car in SF, a 2016 Spark EV. Tiny subcompact, 135 km range, perfect for our family of 4 (including dog + daughter).

I literally can't buy any subcompact car these days in USA or Canada, since Spark (petrol) was discontinued in 2022, Prius C (subcompact hybrid) discontinued, and Bolt EV (bigger but still small) discontinued and will be replaced with something even bigger.

Looking forward to inexpensive BYD Seagulls flooding Canada and hopefully encouraging dealers to bring in existing subcompacts that they sell everywhere else in the world.

jonpurdy··on America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws
The best videos on this (in my opinion) which compliment urbankchoze's post:

‣ Not Just Bikes: https://youtu.be/jlwQ2Y4By0U

‣ Life Where I'm from: https://youtu.be/wfm2xCKOCNk

jonpurdy··on Apple Creator Studio
I find it useful as a massive canvas for keeping a bunch of stuff in context, visually. And accessible via Mac and iPhone. But it is sorely lacking a major feature: highlight text to add a hyperlink. I end up with full URLs instead of hyperlinked words and it's pretty messy.
jonpurdy··on Postal Arbitrage
In Canada, you can place a red dot (or write no unsolicited mail) on your mailbox and they will withhold delivering anything not directly addressed to you.

I was shocked when I moved to SF and found out there was no way to opt out of unaddressed mail (or "current resident").

jonpurdy··on If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)
> I would love to know what folks with my background ended up doing later in their careers/age mid 40s and above?

I'm 41 now, started working in education but pivoted back to tech quickly (DevOps specifically) since tech is a better match for me.

After a few years, fell upwards into management then pivoted into Technical Program Management roles where I've remained since. Love this since I get to interact with teams of people working in my program(s) but don't have the responsibilities of a people manager.

Personally, my roles focus on infrastructure and things at least loosely related to my DevOps background. Worked at two blockchain companies (I've been into blockchain tech since 2012) but considering moving into green energy somehow.

I think in most cases including yours: choose roles based both on interest and total compensation. And it's a lot easier to get roles (especially TPM roles) if you're already technically competent in that particular field (in your case FinTech and crypto).

jonpurdy··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
Hi Peter, thanks as always. It seems that i-131 Reentry Permit processing times are greater than 12 months these days.

If an i-131 is pending, would you advise that person to return briefly to USA before their 1 year date of exit (ensuring that they are never out of USA for greater than 1 year prior to approved i-131)?

Or does a reentry permit allow them to remain out of country for longer than that even if pending (presuming it gets approved)?

jonpurdy··on Python 3.14 is here. How fast is it?
I was going to post the same thing; glad I searched for 'chili' and found your comment.
jonpurdy··on The RSS feed reader landscape
Correction, Google announced shutting down Reader in 2013. IIRC Feedbin was created at the same time in response to that. So we were both likely among the first users.
jonpurdy··on The RSS feed reader landscape
Going to shill for Feedbin (https://feedbin.com). I switched to this in 2012 when Reader blew up and it has remained a consistently excellent product since then.

I use the web client, and on iOS I use Reeder app to access Feedbin. Ben even published the a Feedbin API¹, which I wrote a Feedbin client for vintage computers (I called Mosaicbin)². I even use it for YouTube subs as of this year and it ingests them perfectly (and can filter Shorts).

I'm still on the original pricing but would happily pay $5/mo current price if it came to that. It's a product that would leave a huge void in my life if it ever disappeared.

¹ - https://github.com/feedbin/feedbin-api

² - https://github.com/jonpurdy/mosaicbin

jonpurdy··on Indefinite Backpack Travel
I will add another data point to this: Unbound Merino tshirts※¹.

As other replies have mentioned, merino is definitely fragile (both of mine had holes within a few months). But the caveat being that I literally wear them every 2nd day (I own two day-use tshirts (2 more for night/spare) and rotate them daily, so they probably got 5 years of use in the year that I've owned them.

They are even more amazing for anti-smelling than synthetics with silver woven into them (like Lululemon Silverescent). They can go for weeks without washing (I've tested with other people's noses). Caveat being if you spill something on them or absorb a ton of barbecue smoke, they will need a wash (or at least spot cleaning).

I think merino tshirts (2 pair), lightweight synthetic everything else, powerful phones or ultralight laptops + USB-C has enabled folks like me to travel indefinitely (except in winter) with a 20-25L bag or less ※².

※¹ - https://unboundmerino.com

※² - That is if I didn't have a family incl. toddler, in my case I'll still LARP onebagging for our 1-4 week trips.

jonpurdy··on U.S. Army confirms Tesla Cybertruck can't be imported in Europe
Not knowing how testing works or the criteria in USA/Canada, I'm surprised it's even allowed here. I'd rather be hit as a pedestrian by almost any other truck since at least F-150s and RAMs don't have sharp edges like the Cybertruck...
jonpurdy··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2025)
It definitely would. Trying it out and not able to use it yet due to the main blocker: need custom categories.
jonpurdy··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2025)
This might be what I've been looking for. On the first of every month I have Hazel put everything in ~/Downloads/yyyy-mm (previous month), with the intent to move each file to the correct project/area folder in my actual file structure. But I'm about 1.5 years behind on that...

Have you looked at competitors? If so, what are they? I haven't found anything that does this as elegantly as Fallinorg.

jonpurdy··on Microsoft has urged its employees on H-1B and H-4 visas to return immediately
Reading a thread on r/immigration involving multiple immigration lawyers and corporate lawyers※, the Executive Order wording is apparently unclear and leaves CBP agents with discretion (which can obviously cause confusion and not apply the same rules to everyone).

Much easier for the companies to recommend/insist on folks fly back before the deadline to avoid issues.

※ - https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/1nlo8jd/h1b_pr...

jonpurdy··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
To clarify, we applied while in USA (you MUST be there when submitting application and can only leave after biometrics are done (or you get a receipt notice saying you don't need them if they were done recently enough). So definitely don't go anywhere until you apply! (Otherwise you'll need to come back). And I recommend having an immigration attorney fill out the paperwork since the risk of a mistake could cause problems later on.

More info: The 6-month thing is only used for naturalization; if she's out of USA for longer than that it can reset the 5-year clock. And 1 year thing (without reentry permit) means she'd need to come in on a returning resident visa (which technically can be granted upon arrival). If you don't have one already, any immigration attorney would be able to clarify these details. Much easier for your situation as you're a US citizen!

jonpurdy··on I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
That is useful to know. We were expecting a 5-month wait (as of January 2025) and recently learned it could take over a year. Since we've been out of country since applying (no biometrics required) we were concerned about being out of country for over a year with just a receipt notice and permit in pending state.
jonpurdy··on Backyard Coffee and Jazz in Kyoto
There are two great videos specifically on Japanese zoning and narrow streets:

Life Where I'm From, on zoning: https://youtu.be/wfm2xCKOCNk

Not Just Bikes, narrow streets: https://youtu.be/jlwQ2Y4By0U

jonpurdy··on WhatsApp introduces ads in its app
For $1 per contact, I'd be happy to pay for anyone I know, or ever meet in the future to keep a messaging platform ad-free/user-centric.
jonpurdy··on My Cord-Cutting Adventure (2020)
Yes, since I got my first TV (in 2013) I've had Mac Minis connected via HDMI, and the Minis also being the file server and BitTorrent downloading machine. Prior to that, downloaded to my MacBook or watched on YouTube.

There was never a cord for me to cut (and I refused to pay for cable when in uni since I downloaded everything anyway).

Now just have the Mini in the closet and serving files via SMB to an AppleTV connected to the TV HDMI.

jonpurdy··on Show HN: Undetectag, track stolen items with AirTag
I was thinking that the price must be high if folks are worried about it not working and getting a refund.

For 10EUR, not only would I not worry about a refund but now I’m buying one or two to use myself on my bicycle and car.

jonpurdy··on The Difference Between Municipal Fire Trucks and Airport Fire Trucks
It's absolutely nuts to me that US cities (like in Sunset in SF with 50 foot wide roads) accommodate giant fire trucks in addition to both sides having street parking (and driveways and garages!) instead of having narrower roads with smaller trucks (like in Netherlands and Japan, which were discussed in that video).

NJB also has a video※ about Japan's tiny streets (relative to USA) that elaborates on how a single factory (street width) can improve so much about a place.

※ - https://youtu.be/jlwQ2Y4By0U

jonpurdy··on The F-35 as a Subscription Service
For reference, this is called 'battleshort'. Overriding normal/safe operating limits in order to escape a situation that would destroy the vehicle anyway.
jonpurdy··on Strongbox Joins Applause
This is the same Applause that bought Bartender last year. Use the search for 'Bartender 5' to see what a disaster that was.
jonpurdy··on Feds Link Cyberheist to 2022 LastPass Hacks
Highly recommend Strongbox. The underlying DBs are KeePass DBs and can be stored anywhere as well as opened with any KeePass client, with a UI even better than 1Password (you can have columns for every field) as well as passkey support + export/import (even before the official method came out because they believe in you owning your own data).

I love it because Strongbox also has its own cloud feature (optional) that is just a hosted KeePass DB which makes it easy to have a shared DB with my partner.

The only downside for me: there isn’t a universal search that searches all DBs for credentials. So if you are in a browser and trying to autofill, you need to select the DB you want it to populate from.

jonpurdy··on MacBook Air M4
In summer 2022 I picked up an M2 Air (24GB/1TB/10-core GPU) for 1939USD with edu discount. Today the M4 equivalent is 1479USD, and the M4 (aside from being faster) can go to 32GB RAM instead of 24GB, and has Wifi 6E instead of just 6 (why not 7?).

I said I'd buy the next Air as long as it had 6GHz wifi support (6E, eventually 7) but now that it's out it's just not enough of an upgrade for me (a lot of money for 25% more RAM, CPU performance, and 6GHz wifi).

jonpurdy··on GitHub introduces sub-issues, issue types and advanced search
It is less simple, but nowhere Jira-level, and yet still more useful (for my team and I).

We've been using GH Projects at my current org and program for two years. The one feature I wish it had was nested issues.

In Jira, you had Epic > Task > Sub-task and that's it. With GH, you can just have issue > issue > issue (insert "it's turtles/issues all the day down meme"). So it's more powerful, but can be ignored by folks who don't want to do this.

jonpurdy··on GitHub introduces sub-issues, issue types and advanced search
You jest, but I tested this and it turns out that it was JavaScript, not slow networking, that made Jira so slow for me. (I was trying to figure out how to locally cache assets to speed it up.)

The M-series single-core speeds were so much faster than Intel at the time that it was noticeably faster.

jonpurdy··on Making an intersection unsafe for pedestrians to save seconds for drivers
Speed is nearly everything and controlling (ie. reducing) speed should be the primary way to influence fatality rates.

Having lived in both Toronto and SF, both cities with 4-way stop and controlled lights intersections.

I'll take 4-way stop any day since speeds are lower. Much better to get hit by a car at near zero speed than a right or left turning car at higher speed. Which is probably why Toronto doesn't have a category for four way stop fatalities.

(The worst are SF's 2-way stops at intersections between equally-sized roads that show up randomly throughout Sunset. Worst of both worlds.)

jonpurdy··on Little Snitch: Network Monitor and Application Firewall for macOS
This is the absolute top of my wish list for software on iOS (impossible with Apple’s draconian restrictions though).
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