Hacker News Reader

lost_soulon Vestas unveils solution to end landfill disposal for wind turbine blades

If anyone out there is feeling a bit down about the general state of the tech industry, I highly encourage you to look into jobs in the green energy field.

There are so many things this world needs smart people doing. A slowdown in the tech sector might just be the catalyst.

lost_soulon Southwest Airlines: a case study in brittleness

Southwest executives understood that they were running on borrowed time with their crew scheduling software. At the very least an alternate or secondary process should have been in place.

The US air traffic control network is a good example. In case of a primary failure, there exist secondary procedures adopted from before air traffic control radar was common.

lost_soulon Ask HN: What makes you optimistic about the future?

Excellent question and thanks for asking. I've spent some time with a fair number of millennials and I'm impressed with their kindness and consideration for others.

lost_soulon Facebook internal memo on Jan 6, with comments from employees

Lauren Bobert tweeted Nancy Pelosi's location when she was relocated for security reasons. The leaders of both the Oathkeepers and The Proud Boys are under arrest for their involvement that day. The FBI is still investigating who placed the pipe bombs near the capital.

It is a big deal.

lost_soulon Ask HN: Why is Hacker News so much more successful than Slashdot?

Oh you!

lost_soulon Ask HN: Why is Hacker News so much more successful than Slashdot?

I've seen the term "pedantic" frequently used.

lost_soulon As climate fears mount, some are relocating within the US

I thought I wanted to live in the Sierra foothills. After the Paradise fire I've decided against it.

lost_soulon Sunken Moskva Could Be the Biggest Naval Combat Loss in 40 Years

As I understand it, the Russian aircraft carrier gets towed all the time. So that might not be so far fetched.

lost_soulon Sunken Moskva Could Be the Biggest Naval Combat Loss in 40 Years

Will this be reported on Russian media?

lost_soulon Europe is investing heavily in trains

If I had to apply an "aggravation factor", air travel is worse. The train just doesn't seem to bug me as much. One difference is that when the train arrives I'm in the city center. When the plane arrives I'm at the airport.

lost_soulon What if Sun Microsystems acquired Apple in 1996?

You're not wrong but there is a cachet with Macs that is undeniable. It's not unusual for the executives or creatives to use Macs in an otherwise fully Windows based organization.

lost_soulon Parking kills businesses, not bikes or buses

Take a look a the I15 corridor north of Escondido in San Diego county. There are neighborhoods there farther than 5 miles from services.

lost_soulon Parking kills businesses, not bikes or buses

In American suburbs it's typical for there to be nothing but houses within a 3 to 5 mile area. Any supplies or groceries must be transported a significant distance in a pedestrian hostile environment.

lost_soulon Electronics Flea Market

There was Halted and that place in San Carlos that sold things like surplus metal subassemblies.

lost_soulon I thought I’d have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35 (2020)

Being a COBOL programmer is starting to look pretty good.

lost_soulon Fox News only news net to show YOY growth, leads in prime

Old people have cable. And they tend to be the most reliable voters.

lost_soulon Fox News only news net to show YOY growth, leads in prime

Contrast this with the fact that cable subscriptions are in steep decline:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/17/cable-and-s...

lost_soulon Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Officially Launches Starting at $1,999

Can someone smarter than me explain why GPU's are so good at Cryptomining?

lost_soulon Lumber rally cools with transport snarls easing, buyers balking

Just anecdotally, we went out to eat at a place we hadn't been to since before the pandemic. Their prices have doubled. We spent $50 on lunch.

lost_soulon Investors bought a record share of U.S. homes in 2021

3 things I don't hear much about:

* Plenty of places in the Midwest (Arkansas and Kansas, for example) are depopulating. Affordable real estate exists there - https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/oct/08/populations-...

* Mobile homes seem a not-great-but-doable alternative. Still money to be made, particularly if they have a "tiny home" vibe.

* Multi-generational mortgages. Again not great, but not everyone has access to $1-2MM.

lost_soulon Scotland's train services nationalised from 1 April

Do the UK bus companies provide an effective alternative to rail? I can't imagine paying these prices on a regular basis.

lost_soulon Ask HN: What problem do you wish someone would solve?

Reading the piece the other day about Kansas giving away free property got me to wondering what it takes to make "affordable housing" worth "unpopular location".

lost_soulon Ask HN: What problem do you wish someone would solve?

I always wonder who benefits from the extremism.

lost_soulon Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

Lastpass has had too many issues to ignore. Time to move on for me.

lost_soulon Zen and the Art of Talking to Conspiracy Theorists

>> one charismatic leader away from being a fascist voting bloc.

Umm...

lost_soulon Reducing inequality can reverse political polarisation: study

A good place to start is "who does polarization benefit?".

lost_soulon Would you take free land in rural America?

There's a good reason it's free.

lost_soulon A “Sideways” supply response in California winegrapes

Paul Giamatti goes into Virginia Madsen's apartment at the end of the movie and we don't know what happens next. How is it implied that he kills himself?

lost_soulon High medical bill in the ER leaves family reeling

You have to know that you can dispute the charge. Many people would not know that.