Hacker News Reader

sb618on What were the worst jobs for poor Romans in Ancient Rome?

One thing they don't mention is that the pay for being a legionnaire was (as far as I know) quite a bit better than average.

sb618on How To Get Started In Soldering

Aaah, this is really not a good beginner's guide to soldering! Cranking up to max temperature might work a lot of the time but runs the risk of frying ICs and causing PCB traces to come off. Also using a wet sponge can cause the tips to rust. It's much better to clean them with a brass "sponge" leaving the tip tinned to protect it. Finally the real key to easy soldering is solder flux (and leaded solder if you're allowed).

sb618on UK Treasury trying to find a Head of Cyber Security for £55k

A bit of a detraction from the link but can anyone who's lived for a significant amount of time in both the UK and the US confirm that £100k is equivalent to $200k?

It seems fairly unlikely to me as UK tax and NI would be around 50% plus everything you purchase has 20% VAT. Sure medical insurance in the US is insane but surely that doesn't quite cover it.

sb618on America and China are preparing for a war over Taiwan

I definitely appreciate that inflammatory articles might push us closer to war but it also seems rather dangerous to cover up anything that suggests war. That feels a bit reminiscent of Neville Chamberlain before WWII.