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portlander52232

148 karma · joined August 31, 2012

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portlander52232··on Operation Epsilon
They recorded only selectively (perhaps a cost savings to be fair) and destroyed the recordings after transcribing the relevant parts. So much respect for privacy compared to what we might expect today!
portlander52232··on Norton's Dome
From the article: “ To see that all these equations of motion are physically possible solutions, it's helpful to use the time reversibility of Newtonian mechanics. It is possible to roll a ball up the dome in such a way that it reaches the apex in finite time and with zero energy, and stops there. By time-reversal, it is a valid solution for the ball to rest at the top for a while and then roll down in any one direction. However, the same argument applied to the usual kinds of domes (e.g., a hemisphere) fails, because a ball launched with just the right energy to reach the top and stay there would actually take infinite time to do so.”
portlander52232··on Womp 3D – The New Way to 3D
Love a lower barrier to entry for 3D. “A new way to 3D” gets the point across. Just evaluating the homepage, I like the fun aesthetic a lot. However, a large proportion of the examples on the homepage have a slight horror/gross-out element to them. E.g., does the cowboy dude have to have his torso swelling and undulating? I think this comes from trying to demo the SDF model overtly, whereas some demos should just be of cool stuff you can make that doesn’t look like it’s made of gooey balls.
portlander52232··on 'Big Short' investor says white-collar jobs bubble is 'bursting'
How are earnings artificially inflated?
portlander52232··on Can Lego play the drums? [video]
Once upon a time somebody made a Lego mindstorms robot that walked up to objects and then drummed on them. It was very cute. Can’t find the video now though.
portlander52232··on I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard
I love everything about it. I’d buy today except I’ll committed to split keyboards. They let me keep my shoulders back. If you ever make a versions that’s fully split (two halves that can be well-separated) and still non-ortho, even better if you can figure out how to wirelessly split…

My only other feature request would be a USB port for a yubikey.

portlander52232··on Airbnb May 2022 Release
I’ve lived in Airbnbs full-time for the last two years. While the existence of the service has enabled a fun lifestyle for me, my opinion of the company has fallen and fallen over that time:

* I’ve paid them tens of thousands of dollars in service fees. Yet the customer service experience is on par with an airline or cable company. Getting bounced from person to person every hour, having to explain the situation a dozen times (really, a dozen), and in the end they rarely help me.

* Easily 90% of listings contain some kind of misrepresentation. Probably half it’s something egregious. Airbnb doesn’t seem to care.

Hopefully they’re trying to turn the ship here. We’ll see.

portlander52232··on FAA, do your damn job
Just for one example, Seattle has a lake right in the middle of town in a bowl with tens of thousands of people working and living right around it, and that lake is used as a seaplane airfield with aircraft landing and taking off every few minutes throughout the day.
portlander52232··on Ask HN: Are there “regular” SWE jobs that pay $200k+?
If you haven’t tried FAANG, it might be worth considering. I took a FAANG job on a lark, intending to stay a short time just to have it on my resume, and ended up liking the job way more than I expected and stuck around much longer than planned. In particular, my expectations about the job were completely inaccurate. The office politics, corporate bureaucracy, interpersonal dynamics, and overall stress level are all way better than I ever experienced at small companies. You cite a lack of small teams as your reason for avoiding FAANG (and I know there are probably others), but I’m generally working with 1–4 people at a time.
portlander52232··on Soviet Military Maps of North America and UK
Man, it’s creepy to find your house on a Soviet map.
portlander52232··on Hooks are the best thing to happen to React
It isn’t perfect but this is probably the best explanation that I know of https://overreacted.io/a-complete-guide-to-useeffect/
portlander52232··on Hooks are the best thing to happen to React
They basically invented a new programming paradigm. You’re not familiar with it so it doesn’t make sense. But it actually more closely matches what’s really going on, so it’s more straightforward to someone familiar with how React works. The class-based API did not closely match how React actually works and so led to various common bugs which don’t occur anymore with the hooks API. You do have to learn the paradigm, but having done that you understand a lot more what you’re doing. This would probably be clearer if it were just a new programming language instead of being shoehorned into Javascript—then it wouldn’t seem so weird to be learning a new paradigm.
portlander52232··on All-new iMac features the M1 chip
It'd be cool if they made a single-key Touch ID accessory for people who use other keyboards. Since they probably won't, I wonder if it's feasible to take the keyboard and chop it down to a smaller size.
portlander52232··on George R.R. Martin Writes Everything in WordStar 4.0 on a DOS Machine (2014)
Last I heard David Brin is running a G4 Mac to run OS 9 to run Word Perfect.
portlander52232··on Scram Switch
I don’t know why the downvotes but I’m scratching my head trying to figure out what words in the OP would be forbidden. But I guess you wouldn’t be able to answer that question.
portlander52232··on United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
Once had a flight delayed for maybe an hour because an overhead bin wouldn’t close. Mechanic had to tape it shut with special FAA duct tape, then sign the tape, then do an impressive amount of paperwork right there and then.
portlander52232··on Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike
Haven’t gotten a flat since I went tubeless, you might want to give it a try. Changing and setting up the tire is more involved but once done you’re much less likely to have to do it again.
portlander52232··on Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike
Light weight and stiffness change how a bike feels, far more significantly than it improves objective performance. A light, stiff bike with a fast-engagement hub feels sporty and fun, it’s that simple. It makes you want to go harder and makes you smile as you do it.
portlander52232··on Greg LeMond’s New 26 LB. Carbon Fiber Ebike
You can buy a carbon bike at any mainstream bike shop, they aren’t just for pros anymore. I ride one because it feels amazingly sporty. I’m an enthusiast but not very athletic. The super light, stiff bike is just fun to ride.

The aero features like integrate stem and bars is mostly found on time-trial and triathlon bikes. In contrast you can get conventional road bikes, gravel bikes, and mountain bikes in carbon at any nice bike shop.

portlander52232··on Cellmate: Male chastity gadget hack could lock users in
... pen pensive plaint about it
portlander52232··on On Apple Announcing the ARM Mac Transition at WWDC This Month
They were also ARM.
portlander52232··on How to Sell Excellence
Michael, big fan of your work here. Can you talk a bit more about how to avoid subordinating or dominating?
portlander52232··on Ask HN: Tell me your biggest pain and I will try to solve it
The economic system as it now stands makes it impossible for me to sustain my life through work that is meaningful and helpful to others.
portlander52232··on The Human Toll of Flashbangs
Propublica is actually even nicer than Medium, if you ask me.

The similarity you're noticing is partly fashion, but largely just that the technology and market conditions finally exist to use magazine-style type on web pages.

portlander52232··on A Generation Lost in the Bazaar (2012)
You pretty much just reiterated his point for him.
portlander52232··on Ask HN: "Math is hard!" - The limits of individiual mathematical ability
You have latent mathematical abilities that only hard, long, difficult labor will unlock. You will revisit topics that used to be impossibly hard, and without your noticing the change, they will be trivial; you'll know them effortlessly, fluently. Meanwhile, the next ridge will beckon.
portlander52232··on Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
"Hit and run bike accident". No, a hit and run automobile homicide.
portlander52232··on Google Maps for iOS
I generally agree, but there is one respect in which Apple Maps is scads better than Google Maps. It's not exactly important, but it is really nice: Typography.
portlander52232··on The Quiet Ones
The other day I was awakened by the... most... annoying... sound... in the universe: a leaf blower outside my window.

Worse! They blew everything directly into the bicycle parking row! Years' worth of dirt on my bike in one minute. Debris and filth in all the works. Earthworms. Had to completely detail the whole bike.

Meanwhile, leaves are some of the best compost available. Why do we blow them noisomely to rot on the "unused" areas of the pavement (i.e., bike parking, bike lanes)?

portlander52232··on The Quiet Ones
For around $50 you can have an audiologist make earplugs that are molded specifically to your ear. These are much more comfortable and give better attenuation than standard earplugs.
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