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wrinklz

90 karma · joined July 9, 2008

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wrinklz··on U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech
I could get behind any law that results in more people seeking facts and less seeking (or reciting unrequested) opinion. This isn't it.
wrinklz··on U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech
Doesn't Wikipedia fall under the definition of a social media site with over 50M monthly users?
wrinklz··on Robertson vs. Torx screw drives (2021)
JIS drivers work extremely well to break frozen Phillips screws. I've also used JIS screwdrivers to fix partially stripped Phillips screws: Tap on the stripped screws with a JIS screwdriver and hammer to reform the head, then turn. Or even better, use an impact JIS driver. Saved my skin many times on my motorcycles. https://www.amazon.com/Vessel-125943-P3x150-Impacta-Screwdri...
wrinklz··on Robertson vs. Torx screw drives (2021)
After 40 years of cursing at stripped Phillips heads, I finally discovered the Japanese Industrial Standard. https://www.mcmaster.com/jis-(japanese-industrial-standard)-... They are designed NOT to cam, and grip Phillips screws like a champ. You can use JIS drivers on Phillips screws, even though they're technically a different standard. Apparently one of the best-kept secrets of my lifetime. I can't get those 40 years back, but your life just got better. You are welcome.
wrinklz··on When a cryptocurrency you never heard of drains your life savings
https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stablegains

"Stablegains makes earning with DeFi simple and safe for consumers and businesses alike."

Crypto is a cesspool. Ethical businesses shouldn't be promoting it, particularly as "simple and safe".

wrinklz··on I Love Coding on Linux
Love the choice of window managers and desktop environments in GNU/Linux. I love i3wm and XFCE. I fully utilize my screen(s) real estate (automatically), and everything I need is at my fingertips.
wrinklz··on mRNA's next challenge: Will it work as a drug?
I'd like to know more about the potential for lipid nanoparticles to cross the BBB [1], and therefore consideration of long-term effects of mRNA and resulting proteins in brain cells. Am I alone in this concern? [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29886842/
wrinklz··on Fresh Cambridge Analytica leak ‘shows global manipulation is out of control’
The problem with targeted advertising in free elections is that voters need to know what the candidates are saying everywhere. Transparency is not the enemy of free speech, at least with respect to elections. Either voters need access to all campaign ads (and to whom they are targeted), or targeted campaign messages need to be eliminated, or some combination.

Or maybe there's a better solution, but at least let's agree on the transparency problem.

wrinklz··on A mysterious crystal that melts at two different temperatures
The higher melting point is not the true thermodynamic melting point, which must be reversible. It's more akin to supersaturation, where a solvent temporarily holds more solid in the absence of a "seed" to induce crystallization. Really interesting though, and the historical connection even more so.
wrinklz··on San Diego’s Smart Streetlights Yield a Firehose of Data
I had nearly the same experience. Leaving later than usual from work, I had to exit through an entrance gate, which left my approach to the road at a different angle than usual. I looked left and right, then started into the road (doubt that I stopped completely). A car seemed to appear from nowhere. I had time to stop, but was embarrassed and agitated. The next day I recreated the scene and realized that the window frame on the right side had a slope that matched the slope of a section of the road, blocking my view. The speed and timing of our approaches and the angles of the road and window frame hid the approaching car from my sight. A full stop would have allowed for the approaching car to move through my blind spot.
wrinklz··on How can we resist the seduction of the mobile phone?
Buy a pager. Forward your mobile number to your pager. Set your phone to airlpane mode and place it in a Faraday cage evidence bag. Relax. :-)
wrinklz··on The Words "Facebook" And "Twitter" Are Banned From French Airwaves
TV and radio airwaves are a limited public resource, and so they are regulated in the USA similar to France. Arbitrary words are forbidden on US network television also. So it comes down to a matter of taste.
wrinklz··on The Walled Garden Has Won
POS wordpress blog covers the entire first page of text to tell me that I have JS turned off. I know that, dipshits, show me the damn blog...
wrinklz··on Ask HN: What's the best way to get started with Vi(m)
Use the Vimperator firefox plugin, so you can exercise your Vim muscles while you browse the internet.
wrinklz··on Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?
Perhaps HN should have a freshness date on all news.
wrinklz··on Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?
Then create a cost for not wearing a helmet. Raise the insurance rates to account for the extra costs. Or give appropriate insurance discounts for wearing a helmet. If you are caught without a helmet and don't have the "helmet-free" insurance, then you get fined, your insurer can drop your policy, and/or your insurance skyrockets.
wrinklz··on Goldman executives cheered housing market's decline, newly released e-mails show
Fact:

1) Your argument is baseless...

Because (Fact)

a) We (the taxpayers) were compelled to bail GS out to the tune of 12 billion dollars to prevent a catastrophic worldwide economic collapse.

b) GS has access to huge amounts of credit at zero percent interest from the Fed.

Conclusion

1) We the people don't require evidence of a "crime" to take further action to protect our interests going forward.

wrinklz··on Goldman executives cheered housing market's decline, newly released e-mails show
I liked Bill Black's comments on the Bill Moyer's Journal last week. He said (my paraphrase) that if corporations are to have the privileges of personhood, most notably free speech and rights to political contributions, then they also should have the same consequences: As in losing civil rights for felony convictions, and the "three strike" rule, meaning I guess they should be permanently dissolved upon the third felony conviction.
wrinklz··on Never hire job hoppers. Never. They make terrible employees.
My sentiments exactly. And what about the "temporary" employee that can't get hired permanent because the company can't find a budget.

This is the wrong economic (and political) climate for this kind of BS.

wrinklz··on Never hire job hoppers. Never. They make terrible employees.
Doesn't apply in the biotech field, where startup lifespans tend to be fairly short. Particularly since most of the employees are hired in about the middle of the company lifespan (unless they hit paydirt).
wrinklz··on Five rational arguments against Apple's 3.3.1 policy
Finally a rational analysis of the iPad developer agreement.
wrinklz··on Sorry, Adobe, you screwed yourself
Finally a balanced analysis of the iPad developer agreement. Screw you, Adobe!
wrinklz··on The CSS Sticky Footer
It's cool, but why not just stick a minimum height in your content div?
wrinklz··on Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
1) Create a new user on your macbook. 2) Enable Parental Controls. 3) Allow Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie. 4) ... 5) Profit!
wrinklz··on How Facebook can take over the Internet (part 1)
>You must have Javascript enabled to view this site.

My loss...

wrinklz··on Wil Shipley on Apple's Patent Enforcement
The patent system is broke. Patents are handed out willy-nilly and only later validated through expensive legal litigation. Somehow the work needs to be done up front, to provide transparency and reduce litigation.

Here's an idea. A tax on any product or service which is covered under a patent. The tax would be placed in government trust. If a patent is successfully invalidated by later litigation, then the court could award the successful litigant all or some portion of the collected taxes.

When the patent expires, the collected taxes is transferred to the Patent Office.

The intention is to increase funding for patent deliberation up front, and to create incentive for awarding enforceable patents.

wrinklz··on Tell HN: Best OS X Utility for programmers who use the command line
OnMyCommand is a UNIX shell script and AppleScript executor. You can build your own Contextual Menu Item or GUI application. Sweet. http://free.abracode.com/cmworkshop/on_my_command.html
wrinklz··on John Tierney: Salt Good or Bad? Nobody Knows (Yet)
Full disclosure, I was a chemist at a famous salt company many years back. The obsession with salt came following a study that showed a reduction in blood pressure in hypertensive patients who went on a incredibly strict reduced salt diet.

You can't infer from the study that non-hypertensive people have anything to gain from restricting their salt intake, or that hypertensive people would benefit from anything but a draconian salt reduction diet.

If you want to pay attention to salt in your diet, I would recommend getting more potassium, preferably from fresh vegetables.

wrinklz··on Why I’m Leaving the Senate
The argument that limitations to campaign finance are a free speech issue makes sense. What doesn't make sense is treating corporate and other organizations as persons with all or even most of the rights of air-breathing U.S. citizens. Corporations and unions and other such groups are legal entities which exist only for the public good. The state created them, and the state can regulate them in any way which benefits the public good.

Edit - And regarding enforcement, I would just encourage stiff penalties. An organization found guilty of multiple instances of finance fraud could be charged with RICO and it's leaders thrown in jail. So much for enforcement.

wrinklz··on On Stack and the IRS
I believe that our legislative branch is nearly broken. But for the most part, people are tolerant of their situation. But how long can we go on without a functioning (i.e. serving the people) legislative branch? That's like driving down a winding mountain road without brakes. If the grade gets too steep, and the road too twisty, we'll fly into a ravine.
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