Hacker News Reader

stasomaticon Tennessee inmate still alive after being administered two lethal injections

To be clear, I'm perfectly fine throwing her in prison for the rest of her life without parole, like she would be had she committed the crime in a state without capital punishment like NY. I'm just particularly turned off by the death penalty. I can sit here and wax philosophical as to why but I'm sure you've heard the arguments and it would be a tangent.

I don't want my taxes going to private prison companies for the rest of her life.

I also don't want to see or hear about executions with whatever methods, it's revolting, but then again, public executions in Europe stopped like what, less than 200 years ago? And the public craved it.

Fun fact, France practiced guillotining through 1977.

There is no middle ground.

stasomaticon The last time my family was replaced by technology

Because that's how they are built in the US. I didn't need the extra space, but for the money, there wasn't much choice, really. I would have loved to rent a house half smaller at half price, but none were on the market. I barely went upstairs. My dog occupied it, at least.

I could have rented a townhouse for $300-400 less, but then there are different constraints. Small or no yard, tiny kitchens, no garage etc.

I was perfectly content with a 2200 sq ft ranch in Henderson Nevada.

stasomaticon Suits Are Better Tech Than Modern Clothes

Suits, neckties etc are decorations to project status, they are not functional, IMO. Same with shoes.

They'll fade away as wigs, top hats and bowler hats have. I don't recall seeing anyone in a suit in any of WWDC or Google etc events. I do like me a loose "sports jacket" once in while, but mainly for pockets.

OTOH, my wife likes to see me in a suit... "you're so handsome".

stasomaticon The last time my family was replaced by technology

The Charlotte house was (2022ish) $2.3K/month through a PE that bought out a lot of single-home houses to rent out. 2 story, 4bdr, 3 baths, a yard and a lawn, a huge deck. The area was very nice and so were the neighbors. My dog loved the deer.

It wasn't urban enough for me, for someone working remote at the time, and few growth opportunities for my wife, but I regret moving to FL. Miami has become the least affordable city in the US relative to income.

stasomaticon The last time my family was replaced by technology

I keep telling my 22y who graduated from a university last year to go to a trade school (HVAC/ electric, plumbing). Too late for me as these require apprenticeships in the US.

My HVAC contact in FL needs a $100 just to sniff the AC/boiler closet. That is, if I can get him to show up. I don't even know if he's licensed here, but he's definitely very experienced.

stasomaticon The last time my family was replaced by technology

Only $2.5K rent? That's like free these days. For what though. I rented a 4K sq ft house in Charlotte three years ago and now paying $3.5K for not a modern 2bdr in Miami proper.

stasomaticon GPT 6.1 Sol: Near-Astra intelligence for a fifth of the price

I cancelled Claude because of its thoughtful prose. I prefer one liner responses from OAI models.

stasomaticon Banks and Credit Unions to Team Up Against Apple Pay Fees

I am out of my depth here. $2.7 is not nothing, but $9B is still on the books, no? No ifs and buts about it, unless our government does the right thing. Just eat the cost and prop them up, treat your federal employees right. It's really bizarre that the government expects them to turn a profit.

Tangent, having lived in 5 states, the USPS workers have always been nice and courteous, even when there are lines out the door during the tax season. And in general, like DMV or other licensing agencies.

stasomaticon US sanctions force The Netherlands off Microsoft and toward alternative NixOS

I am confused, help.

Linux Foundation is HQ'd in SF. Linus lives in the US.

NixOS needs Linux. There are many US devs and corps that contribute. How can this be a clear-cut divorce? Is NL going to fork, ala Red Flag Linux?

What about WhatsApp? IG? (I don't use them, but everyone else around me does).

Man, this is all bonkers, the damage is done even if the next election goes a saner way.

stasomaticon California farmers are struggling to sell grapes as demand for wine drops

So how come there are so many rowdy drunks inside and outside pubs in London? Perhaps they are just drinking more of that 3.4%.

I like the taste of Heineken 0:0. Not the same but pleasant regardless.

Meanwhile, in the States I see more and more 8/9/10% IPAs from major brewers.

stasomaticon MongoDB CEO resigns to join Meta

"Effective immediately" is harsh even though perfectly legal. Does this mean nobody knew and it was a "Surprise!!!"? Extremely callous if that's the case, there is got to be more to the story.

Is a CEO really worth 20% of market cap? Nuts.

stasomaticon There are no "rogue" AI agents

my guess is that she did indeed write malware or hacking tools, and there were vague signs it wasn't purely academic, hence why they threw the book at her.

The parent mentioned that what his GF did was not illegal at the time.

A little over two decades ago, my then girlfriend was arrested for "writing malware" (which was not against the law at the time, and which was never released into the wild and never caused any damage)

stasomaticon The Mars Delusion

Why not fix Earth first? We've got plenty of room.

How will Mars be populated? Adam and Eve?

stasomaticon Banks and Credit Unions to Team Up Against Apple Pay Fees

The USPS lost $9B last year. If our government considered The USPS a real public good, they would pick up the bill and give them more budget. Instead, The USPS had to get in bed with Amazon to keep the lights on and start delivering on Sundays.

stasomaticon What About Rails?

*"talented engineer plus AI" is the winning combination and will remain that way for at least the near future.

Talented programmers will retire and Father Time takes care of the rest. Where will the new wave of talented programmers come from? I use AI, but I am a hobbyist.

stasomaticon Amiga Screens: A Primer

Was all this engineered and then implemented, or did they play it by ear? Seems very complex for the time. Now with Pis and ESP32s one can just cobble up together whatever Frankenstein with off the shelf parts, but this seems very elegant with bespoke chips, sans 68000. This is way way way over my head, but intellectually intriguing.

stasomaticon U.S. appeals court upholds designation of Anthropic as supply chain risk

No, it was in jest, the whole thing is laughable so all this stuff with him is an accidental SNL skit.

stasomaticon U.S. appeals court upholds designation of Anthropic as supply chain risk

I am baffled the DoD/W needs to rely on a third (commercial party) for something strategic as this if they deem SI strategic. Pistols and rifles aren't the same thing.

Hire people and pay them well and develop whatever yourself without this charade, they have unlimited budgets.

I am not taking a moral ground, but I can't see how "an Anthropic" fits in. You might say Boing or Lockheed, Sig Sauer and Colt and FN do, but it feels somehow different as they've "bent the knee" for decades.

stasomaticon The darker side of being a doctor

Here's how scheduling a GP visit works in the US, wonder if this resonates with other countries.

You go to your insurance portal and find a doctor. Then you call the office to schedule an appointment, but you are told that this doctor no longer accepts your insurance. Lather, rinse, repeat until you find one. Sometimes I get better luck with ZocDoc as it's in their interest to have updated information.

You show up on time, but they are overbooked. I've easily sat for over an hour just to get weight and blood pressure taken. The nurse leaves, and the doctor may show up 30 mins later if you are lucky. And then, we are done in 5 mins.

We are stuck on this conveyor belt, and it's not fair to blame the doctors or the insurance companies, but the system. I definitely feel as a victim and unfortunately, the ire is towards the doctor's office as they are on the front line.

It's different for other specialties though, like dentists or dermatologists, things there work as they should in terms of client services.

stasomaticon Toyota is taking the Corolla electric

I don't say we don't need those, but the Corolla never seems to have targeted that market, at least here in Europe. There always were plenty similar-sized cheaper and more basic cars from domestic manufacturers. Is it different in the US?

It's a very basic car in the US in terms of its price bracket, not quality. There is just very few new cars under $30K in the States, the manufacturers are milking the SUV / truck market.

stasomaticon Disney+ and Hulu raise prices by up to 13 percent after doubling profits

It was a bear to set up the first time, but smooth sailing after that

FWIW, I didn't want to spend hours or days on the setup, but Claude set the whole *arr stack for me in an hour on an older NUC, under Proxmox.

stasomaticon People hooked on vapes try a new way to quit: cigarettes

tabex

Not available in the US. I quit smoking 8 years ago but can't wean myself off of vaping. Not that I really tried though and I can easily do a transatlantic flight. The problem with vapes is that they become 24x7 pacifiers, my nicotine intake must be a lot higher.

stasomaticon Transit rewards

It's depressing what cluster eff we have in the US regarding public transport (NYC and the like don't count :)) Each time I return from Europe, I want to go straight back.

stasomaticon Samsung accidentally freezes its smart fridges with a software update

Any product from almost any manufacturer has built-in obsolescence - unless you go mid-high end, like Bosch etc.

Sammy/LG/GE business models aren't built on services but volume. If you buy a third party warranty service, that solves the issue somewhat, but they churn out so many models that parts become scarce.

You just got lucky or your models are from a different era. I don't want to drop money on Bosch, so I buy the cheapest ones and just replace them when needed.

stasomaticon I am done with this shit

I am wondering how many devs are putting time bombs in code with AI's help. If I was at the top of the corp pyramid, I'd tell the devs to fix up all bugs and let go everyone except for a skeleton crew. Boom, profit. I mean, what is there left to build? A better Jira? /s

stasomaticon Seattle Bans Rental Junk Fees

Mine did, in North Hollywood, owned a 2 story building, I think 8 units with varying floor plans. Does that qualify as an apartment building? He did all the work himself unless it was something like HVAC or required permitting. He was an IT dude who got laid off by Century Link and diversified. Didn't seem to enjoy the maintenance part though, but was perfectly capable.

stasomaticon The senior engineer death spiral

I left Ukraine in ‘89, so familiar with the concept. Different trade-offs, my point.

stasomaticon The senior engineer death spiral

Bruv! Surf's up.

stasomaticon The senior engineer death spiral

But in communism, you are less likely to need to find a bridge to live under.

stasomaticon Don't Be Nice

It shouldn't even be a term, it sounds fake politically correct, as does "First Nations". It's "indigenous". They were here, someone else came ashore and the Comanche got horses and Winchesters.

Not like the Comanche and the Apache were besties, nor the Iroquois and Mohican. What about the Inuit? They are like Siberian expats, but still indigenous, but somehow not on the list? Just musing here.

What's a native Brit? Robyn Hood? A Viking? :)