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throwaway456321

12 karma · joined November 22, 2017

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throwaway456321··on Everyone should read support emails
This is a great idea. Read a few customer emails and you will never again have a dispute over whether a GUI is simple enough to understand. Whatever you do, it won't be.
throwaway456321··on U.S. Hospitals Are Asking Their Own Patients to Donate Money
We already donate a shit ton, like $5000 for a 8 minute ambulance ride or $1300 for an 5 minute assessment in an ER
throwaway456321··on US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages
I was just at LGA Terminal B and can't believe how awful it is. You're stuck at those cramped gates with CNN blaring at max volume - when it's not playing stupid ads it's just non stop Trump bashing - I was there 2.5 hours and boarded my flight with a throbbing headache.

Also could not believe there's no public transport at LGA. After 60 years they have not managed to get a rail line out there. WTF?

So I really feel for people stuck there due to this shutdown nonsense.

throwaway456321··on Microsoft Is Worth as Much as Apple. How Did That Happen?
What amazes me is apple is that valuable. What do they have that you can't get much better for much cheaper elsewhere?
throwaway456321··on Things you should never do part I (2000)
I enjoyed that post when it first came out - now it has left high school !
throwaway456321··on Sears Hires Advisers to Prepare Bankruptcy Filing
why is this comment grayed out?

"shenanigans and financial engineering, to the benefit of the few in power, where executives are replaced when they fall out of favor, rather than their obvious incompetence"

Right on the money!

throwaway456321··on Why Public Transportation Works Better Outside the U.S
Does public transportation always work better outside the US? Metra in Chicago is a heck of a lot more reliable than the likes of South West Trains and Govia in the UK.

Metra even works in the snow! And in the 15 years I've been using it has not had one strike. Whereas London suffers rail and tube strikes every few weeks.

Add to that commuting from the Chicago Burbs costs about 1/3rd of what commuting from the London suburbs does.

throwaway456321··on Ask HN: My debit card is printing money
You will most likely turn up at the airport to discover your tickets have been canceled. You must check with the airline.
throwaway456321··on Don't shoot, I'm disabled
this is what I can't believe. Three people thought violently taking down a man with Down's syndrome was a reasonable thing to do.

Not one went to the manager and said: "he's not hurting anyone - leave him be"

throwaway456321··on French intelligence officer caught selling confidential data on the dark web
Bouillabaisse recipe?
throwaway456321··on Why Are Enterprises So Slow?
yes, have you ?
throwaway456321··on Why Are Enterprises So Slow?
Why are enterprises so slow?

Simple. People in Enterprises with any decision making authority at all have comfortable lifestyles and earn a lot of money. Job #1 for these people is keep the cash and perks flowing. What's the benefit to them in changing anything, compared to the risk ? So do nothing !

Add to that in many cases, the only people with authority to take decisions are close to retirement. Something they don't want to jeopardize !

throwaway456321··on Khosla Rebuffed as Supreme Court Rejects Beach-Access Appeal
you're right: Fuck Off Davros !
throwaway456321··on CEO’s Plan to Save Sears Would Hand His Hedge Fund $1B
I live in an affluent area and the Sears by us closed. If Sears can't survive there, it's done. I feel bad for the people who worked there. Whenever I went in, they were always helpful. Now they are looking for something else.
throwaway456321··on CEO’s Plan to Save Sears Would Hand His Hedge Fund $1B
No conflict of interest there!
throwaway456321··on The printer that wouldn't print: Fixing an IBM 1401 mainframe from the 1960s
I wonder how long it would have taken to debug this back in 1960
throwaway456321··on Next Windows 10 update triggers outrage by continuing to promote Edge
who the heck at Microsoft when reviewing that feature thought "no problems! Green light!"??
throwaway456321··on The MOnSter 6502: transistor-scale replica of classic MOS 6502 microprocessor
beautiful, looks like a work of art !
throwaway456321··on Beej's Quick Guide to GDB (2009)
Excellent guide, hope this brings it to more people
throwaway456321··on How did you learn to code?
Got introduced to the school computer in 1980 - a Texas 990/10 mini. Immediately went out and bought a bunch of books on BASIC (the only language we were allowed to use). Bought a UK101 for home use (8k 6502), bought Rodnay Zaks' book on 6502. Also Leo Brodie's book on Forth. So self taught from books - the only way to learn back then !
throwaway456321··on Are we alone? Tiny spacecraft will head to Alpha Centauri to find out
They're dreaming !
throwaway456321··on What Made the SR-71 Blackbird Such a Badass Plane (2015)
I read the Ben Rich book "Skunk Works" about 15 years ago. I've never forgotten the ending.

Towards the end of his life Kelly Johnson suffered from dementia.

They wheeled him out on a runway and there was a fly-past of SR-71s.

Ben asks Kelly "Did you see that? They were saluting you!" I was bawling when I read first that and I am tearing up now. Talk about Epic Men.

throwaway456321··on What Made the SR-71 Blackbird Such a Badass Plane (2015)
Consider that not much more than a decade before the SR-71 project started the state of the art in plane design was canvas over a wooden frame with a V12 engine that went at 300mph.

How much technology did they have to invent from first principles to build a plane which flew at Mach 3 at the edge of space? Using slide rules and chalk boards?