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northwest65

508 karma · joined May 15, 2017

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northwest65··on Ask HN: How Do You Psychologically Manage Being Thrown Around as an IC?
> I just wasted a day investigating something for nothing

Nah not for nothing, they paid you. If they want to pay you for dumb shit, that's on them.

You'll have to find a way to let go of the frustration though, that's the real problem here. I just try not to get caught up in what the business is doing, it's just a job, and their goals will never ever ever align with my own, so no point sweating it.

I work at a small company now. When my boss does something stupid, I tell so and why. Sometimes I need to change tact because that's what the business demands, but sometimes he's like huh you're right (generally for technical reasons, although the cognitive cost of task switching is real) and we stay the course. Either way it's nice to have somebody listen at least.

northwest65··on Volkswagen to Invest $5.8B in Rivian Through Joint Venture
I've never met anybody that shuns even VW for VW's reputational issue!
northwest65··on 3600 MHz Raspberry Pi 5 with Liquid Nitrogen
I think it's because CPUs don't run faster just because they're colder, they run faster when you overclock them. Often to get them stable at higher clock speeds you need more voltage, which at some point demands more cooling to mitigate that.

AFAICT doing interesting but ultimately trivially complicated stuff as a youngster can still result in scholarships etc, Ahmed Mohamed comes to mind.

northwest65··on A road safety plan that will lead to cars communicating with each other
Only nerds are dumb enough to think that adding LIDAR to every crosswalk in the world isn't a completely ridiculous idea.
northwest65··on United States discloses nuclear warhead numbers; restores nuclear transparency
They don't actually have to. The 5th and 6th fleet coupled with the various large air bases in the vicinity would have little trouble it pancaking the entire site before the Turks managed to make off with anything if it really came down to it. It's tanks all the way down.
northwest65··on How Olympics officials try to catch “motor doping”
I feel sorry for the poor bastards that had to go to Tokyo. As I understand it, clapping the other super fit athletes is a great part of the experience of competing (father was an athletics coach).
northwest65··on How Olympics officials try to catch “motor doping”
Should hurdles be made in a range of sizes to be fair on short competitors?
northwest65··on Don't use 7-segment displays (2011) [pdf]
I'm not a professional, but I find an LCD or OLED is a lot easier to drive from a microcontroller than a 7 segment or 4. Like a hell of a lot easier.
northwest65··on How electronic ignition works and also how to make a spark plug play music
Indeed, I too chuckled at that. Do you remember those hobbyist kits from the 80s for building your own electronic ignition unit? (i.e. points replacement)
northwest65··on How electronic ignition works and also how to make a spark plug play music
At one of my first jobs, the workshop foreman would sidle up beside another mechanic who was working under the bonnet, casually put his arm on their shoulder or whatever, then touch a plug. It would make the other mechanic jump, but he himself seemed impervious (well steeled more like) to the effect.
northwest65··on Boeing Starliner launches first crewed mission
> contributing to huge risks to democratic systems all over the world

Perhaps it was the weird hyperbole about democracy his comment was targeting?

northwest65··on 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth
Think of it as a 3m tall bulldozer the width of the country with effectively unlimited pushing power. Watch some videos of the Japan tsunami, it's basically an unstoppable force that gobbles up everything in it's path. Very uncool.
northwest65··on 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth
As somebody who has been through more than 10 thousand quakes, it's as significant as the force itself.

7.4 @ 300km deep you just yawn and roll over. @10km deep you pray your concrete roof tiles don't come through the ceiling and kill you in your bed... you basically just lie on top of your wife, give thanks for the time you did have, and hope for the best.

northwest65··on Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)
No, I don't think they do paint a wrong picture, and it is helpful for people to say it so others realise they're not the only ones thinking it.
northwest65··on Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland closes after series of earthquakes
I think the implication is, that like the Maoris in New Zealand, they're only faux indigenous, as they arrived on boats. Probably doesn't matter much as there is no grift to be had.
northwest65··on Website hosted on ESP32
Then leave whatever tech backwater you live in and move to the first world.
northwest65··on You can use lightguns on LCDs sometimes
That's great! As another rank amateur I learn quite a few little tidbits from your thread... I'd never ever heard of a resistor array till now!
northwest65··on USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)
You can feel it with the pad of your thumb.
northwest65··on Earthquake strikes Southern California with preliminary magnitude of 5.1
Liquefaction was one of the more miserable results of the Christchurch earthquake.
northwest65··on Heat Pumps – The Well-Tempered Future of A/Cs
Sure they can, you can absolutely use heat pumps to brute force it, been there done that.
northwest65··on The Dumbest Excuse for Bad Cities [video]
> attempts to improve alternative public transit will come at the cost of their commute

It does, every 4 lane road we have changed to a 2 land road with cycle lanes has done that here.

> They see public transit as an inferior form of transportation

Well, it is. It doesn't go where people want to go any time they want to go there. Periodically people are assaulted using it, something you can avoid when using a car simply by locking your door.

> and cycling as a hobby to pursue exclusively on sunny days.

They're wrong about that however.

Public transport sucks, it is unsurprising that people won't give up their car-centric lifestyle for it.

northwest65··on Dingo, an open source robot dog
Why not?
northwest65··on Microsoft keyboard users are so devastated after discontinuation of accessories
Similar situation here. I have on occasions seen all sorts of crazy looking split keyboards around the internet. They've looked interesting, but pricey, I can't touch them, and the MS ergo keyboards have served me well so I've not taken it any further. This will be what makes me take it further, maybe some interesting keycaps (maybe black!)
northwest65··on A runner who leads every pack and then vanishes
I'm sure I saw on TV that they use what is basically a giant LED strip on the inside of the course, which as I understood was a 'pacer light'. Seems to strip the strategy out and reduce it to a purely physical contest, which doesn't seem an improvement.
northwest65··on Was the $5B that VCs plugged into escooters worth it?
Maybe because they're an eye sore?

Some people probably resent that if they were the ones leaving their product lying around all over common areas, such as footpaths, so they could make a buck, they would feel the weight of the local municipality. But they have to put up with it because a VC backed company can move faster than local government because DiSruPtive?

Yeah, fuck 'em, harvest them for 18650s I say.

northwest65··on Serial Reader: Reading Schedule Builder
I low key enjoyed COVID, it gave me a week of free time to read.
northwest65··on Female spies of MI6
Kiwi! But yes, polite way of saying my hearing is fucked. Odd phrase... if I were to use that in the context of actual fucking, I'd consider it a vulgar way to put it!
northwest65··on Audi is converting all factories to produce EVs as it phases out gas cars
In New Zealand, during the first quarter of next year, they're putting in 4 new petrol stations in my city alone, FWIW.
northwest65··on Female spies of MI6
As somebody with that attitude, it's because I find it quite zen just to relax and be groomed by a professional. I won't shut down conversation, but I won't initiate it either.

The other thing is that decades of motorcycling without ear plugs has rooted my hearing, so talking to people with thick accents (I'd say 50% of hairdressers here are immigrants) can't be tiring, which is the opposite of why I actually enjoy getting my hair cut. There's a nice Korean lady I sometimes see who chats away merrily, but I feel like an arsehole having to ask her to repeat herself the whole time.

northwest65··on New research shows Māori adapted quickly in the face of rapid climate change
That's a polite way of putting it.
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