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robbick

324 karma · joined November 27, 2017

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/robpethick; my proof: https://keybase.io/robpethick/sigs/VFgbIqBn7iD3JRHjbCUB2EnnKGFYtPp5p4xdTkrGhh0 ]
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robbick··on Just 137 crypto miners use 2.3% of total U.S. power
Fixing this is not going to fix the energy crisis but as uses of fossil fuels go it is among the most egregious
robbick··on Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?
I have had some good experiences with 3rd party recruiters. You obviously need to keep the fact that they will say whatever to get you to take the job they find. But equally they will push the company to hire you.
robbick··on UN Human Rights Chief Urges UK to Reverse ‘Deeply Troubling’ Public Order Bill
But isn't that how they get you? By lumping in some common sense good stuff with some dystopian crap. If they really wanted to fix the issue at abortion clinics they could have done that in a small quick bill.

It is a smaller scale version of the cameron government that cut everything to the bone, but they legalised gay marriage (though needed labour votes to actually get it done) so they aren't the bad guys, right? (obviously that was separate bills but I think the point works on a larger scale too)

robbick··on Twitter to employees: all office buildings closed, badge access suspended
Up to now Twitter was a platform for watching other's carnage, now it is producing its own carnage
robbick··on Twitter to employees: all office buildings closed, badge access suspended
Guessing here but I think the implication is that courts in the US are unable/unwilling to enforce workers rights even when laid out in a contract. In a post-union US there is not enough organised support for workers unless they are very rich.

Obviously employees all (maybe almost all) have employment contracts

robbick··on PR that converts the TypeScript repo from namespaces to modules
I can see this is probably a calm point that will definitely not escalate, programmers don't really care about tabs and spaces that much, right???
robbick··on Cities should not pay for new stadiums
In the UK very few stadiums are publicly funded. This can be done. I'd prefer my city mismanage my money into nurses hands than into a stadium.
robbick··on Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack
Agreed - if Ukraine is part of NATO then there are Nato missiles there, there is mutually assured destruction in invading.
robbick··on No amount of alcohol is good for the heart, says World Heart Federation
Indeed, it is always good to know the science but we should balance that against the benefits. I like this quote from David Spiegelhalter[0]

"Given the pleasure presumably associated with moderate drinking, claiming there is no 'safe' level does not seem an argument for abstention," he said.

"There is no safe level of driving, but the government does not recommend that people avoid driving.

"Come to think of it, there is no safe level of living, but nobody would recommend abstention."

[0]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45283401

robbick··on Salesforce completes acquisition of Slack
Can't see this and not post this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI0w_pwZY3E - A message from Skype CEO
robbick··on Belarus 'diverts Ryanair flight to arrest journalist', opposition says
Indeed - I don't think the President is normally personally involved in safety protocols...
robbick··on CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google prepare their antitrust defense
I think it is that Apple abuses its control over the App Store market (e.g. Apple Music vs Spotify)
robbick··on CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google prepare their antitrust defense
Has there been evidence given why these 4 and not Microsoft are at these hearings? I understand each case is subtly different but it seems conspicuous in it's absence. In terms of Big Tech companies potentially violating anti-trust feels odd to include companies 1,3,4,5 but not 2? (Not actually sure what the current comparative values are)
robbick··on NeutralinoJS: Lightweight Electron alternative using native browser controls
It definitely is the 'correct' way of doing it, but it will mean you use IE when in windows, which is often/normally not the correct way
robbick··on Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019
_It's not a cultural thing, it's a human thing to be impatient._

True, but certain cultures see impatience as much worse flaw than other cultures leading to significant cultural differences in, say, crossing roads.

Seriously, if you ever visit Japan it will seem strange but people do almost always wait for the light.

robbick··on Mexico becomes the deadliest country for journalists in 2019
If you are purchasing illegal drugs (except something someone could grow in their basement i.e. marijuana) - then you are funding some sort of organised crime
robbick··on Mexico becomes the deadliest country for journalists in 2019
I think this is a bit of a false equivalence- at most I might pay $5 for the cobalt in my phone once a year. That is a very harmful $5 but I'd bet most drug users are on 100x that
robbick··on Why software projects take longer than you think – a statistical model
One take away is for sprint planning - if there is a reasonable amount of uncertainty on a task, take it out, either break it down or do some investigation, and bring it back next time. You don't want a σ=2 task messing up your sprint!
robbick··on Facebook are 'morally bankrupt liars' says New Zealand's privacy commissioner
*Or more likely, heavily fine
robbick··on Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon
And tbh - most people would still probably download google chrome, google maps, google docs etc - it would just level the playing field
robbick··on Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report published
That is really interesting, and not what I had been lead to believe, but could you provide me with any reliable sources to this affect?
robbick··on Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report published
I regularly quote said statistic - can you link me some reliable sources supporting your claim?
robbick··on Google and Facebook should be regulated for news content, UK government report
Can you elaborate - what is inaccurate in the CNBC report?
robbick··on 38% of bugs at Airbnb could have been prevented by using types
38% seems insanely high. Other estimates I've seen suggest more like 10%. If a code base has an unusually large amount of bugs caught by types it feels like it is missing basics like decent code review or unit tests.

* I am a huge TS fan I just don't think 38% of bugs a well written JS app should be type based

robbick··on VSCode January 2019 (version 1.31) released
As a Windows user VS Code is my favourite MS product
robbick··on US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages
AFAIK - no other western country has these budget limits, if a budget doesn't pass then you continue to work from the old budget, no lack of pay etc
robbick··on Former Google Design Ethicist: Big Tech in Schools Is Race to the Bottom (2018)
I can see how forcing kids onto FB is a major issue, but the article seemed to imply the same was true for other Big Tech EDU platforms (AFAIK the main ones being Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams for Education)

Do the same issues exist in these platforms?

robbick··on Ask HN: How do you manage UI/UX for your side projects?
You are right to be concerned - so many side projects don't gain traction due to simple UI issues putting users off.

1. As other comments have mentioned - if you are willing to pay, a good designer will go a long way.

2. Use a common component library with a custom theme so it is good code but not 100% the same as elsewhere

3. Keep lots of whitespace between everything

4. Keep it simple - good UX is about so much more than UI and feature creep is so often the enemy of good UX

robbick··on Microsoft Edge and open source collaboration
This is so important to consider, chromium is more than a browser these days
robbick··on Major sites running unauthenticated JavaScript on their payment pages
I'm disappointed by the response he got which said

"This appears to be more of a risk acceptance rather than a vulnerability."

I understand that some risk is acceptable but surely that is proportional to the cost of removing the risk and in this case that cost is so small.

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