robocat

5 saat öncediscuss

Great link. Sounded suss to me. Could easily have been a bullshit taxi driver, or a social outrage story. I should have tried to validate before repeating, sorry.

robocat

9 saat öncediscuss

> they indeed plan to base it on the wet bulb temperature

WBGT != wet bulb : There's some nasty confusing terms here - and the Grauniad has also got the link wrong - their reporting has not just gotten more biased it has gotten much worse.

WetBulbGlobeTemp = 0.7WetBulbTemp + 0.2DryTemp + 0.1*BlackPaintTemp

In the shade with still air the WBGT approaches the actual temperature as humidity rises.

If sunny and humid it can be above the actual temperature.

For low-humidity moving air the WBGT might be noticeably cooler on a hot day.

At least that's the best summary I can give from the quick skim I looked at.

It's a crappy confusing 50s model supposed to approximate how warm it feels - needs a local meter to test - see image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_globe_temperature

I find dry bulb temperature along with humidity are better when I travel, because they are more predictable based on historical data and you get to know what matters and make choices according to context. And more helpful in cool climates where damp cool days are nasty.

robocat

9 saat öncediscuss

> Electricity Bill Surcharge

"Fuel surcharge" on flights. Which should be illegal: the cost of hedging fuel cost risk should be included in any ticket price.

A friend said that Uber was charging a fuel surcharge here in New Zealand, but that it wasn't passed on to the driver (who pays for the fuel). If true I would find that interesting.

robocat

12 saat öncediscuss

I've learnt to be paranoid: marriage can be a scam.

robocat

15 saat öncediscuss

[dead]

robocat

20 saat öncediscuss

Aside: Carbon-13 has one more neutron than Carbon-12, so the unpaired neutron gives it a magnetic moment which is what is used for C13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-13_nuclear_magnetic_res...

robocat

dündiscuss

The classic PE monetization strategy is to take an intangible asset and mine it: The one we all see is buying a quality brandname and mining it into oblivion. Plus various accountancy tricks to move the gold into the PE coffers.

In your example "very strongly loyal subscription base" is the asset.

Fabulous article (I think evergreen through regular edits/updates): https://www.worseonpurpose.com/p/the-mechanisms-of-enshittif...

Long on business keywords; a more soulless perspective than the above article: https://ahapartners.co/thinking/goodwill-isnt-a-rounding-err...

robocat

dündiscuss

Your comment led me to the Insta360 device that makes it easy to take selfies with the main camera:

https://www.theverge.com/tech/907670/insta360-snap-usb-c-mag...

Second screen: provided by USB-C screencast and accessibility settings for to support touch. Image of device: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/202...

robocat

4 gün öncediscuss

Latin and Greek were taught at grammar schools: part of upper class status signalling. But also deeply foundational to many languages, literature and history, if you think those topics are useful.

I'm a Dilbert, yet today I asked AI why т (\tau) was being used by Huawei for their latest chip design and I specifically asked about the meaning in Mandarin.

  The choice of the character “韬” (tāo) [1] has a deliberate second meaning: In classical Chinese, it means to conceal, or to sheathe a weapon. It implies keeping one's sharpest edges hidden while quietly building up inner strength. The naming directly references the famous Chinese idiom “韬光养晦” (tāo guāng yǎng huì), which means "to hide one's light and bide one's time."

Yet the publications in English (mainly state sources?) don't mention that. I enjoy cross-language jokes but my language skills are undeveloped. I enjoy asking AI to find crazy connections, but I'm not sure if programming myself that way is healthy. I also worry what other good questions I haven't thought to ask professor AI to teach me.

[1] AFAIK tāo has nothing to do with the philosophical "tao" commonly referenced in English like Tao of Pooh. Different characters and completely different meanings. See https://technode.com/2026/07/06/huawei-mate-90-series-report...

robocat

4 gün öncediscuss

Love that disposal - lucky the lake has no fish. Here's the link without the tracking (ShareInsights &si)

"The Disposal of Sodium, 1947 Washington" 20000 lbs of Sodium

https://youtu.be/HY7mTCMvpEM

robocat

4 gün öncediscuss

And the awesome video (better than article) finishes with the github: https://github.com/0x23/MicroManipulatorStepper

robocat

4 gün öncediscuss

Aha: I saw the YouTube video first:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MgQbPdiuUTw

Only a couple of comments made: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=MgQbPdiuUTw &type=story

robocat

4 gün öncediscuss

Which stands out because it is now uncommon. I'd expect warehouse tragedies to be more common in the past?

robocat

4 gün öncediscuss

The commenter mentioned the same idea 2 years ago: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Castner%20by%3Arzwitserloot&ty...

The AI answer seems reasonable at a glance (similar to HN comments for things I'm ignorant about). Unfortunately using AI has become contentious and we don't yet have a polite way to check whether someone has taken the first step of validating their comment against the basic issues brought up by AI replies (similar to how some people prefer to ask than to Google it first).

Edit: How should we apply AI to individual comments and moderation for a site (programmatically or UI before submit)?

robocat

6 gün öncediscuss

> That’s what 99% of people buy anyway

Until there's one less common thing you want. If you don't care much about flavour or have no taste in products then you can sub in any crap food or product.

I go to a particular supermarket because it has the tomatoes I like: they just can't be substituted. It also has an uncommon milk that is the only one I really like. The issue gets harder once you desire specific Deli foods.

How much of SKU selection is driven by individual consumer tastes? Some brand selection is driven by other causes.

robocat

8 gün öncediscuss

> problem [is] centralisation

Yet every major successful company is centralised. If centralisation works for capitalist organisations, why can't it work for geographical units?

robocat

8 gün öncediscuss

I think you're talking about something different.

My context is discriminatory urban zoning (à la exclusionary zoning or redlining in the US).

I am not sure there are any examples of that for urban zoning in New Zealand. Please enlighten me if you know better.

I agree there is plenty of history of terrible treatment of maori and their land in NZ, but that is a different topic and not relevant. I admit I am ignorant about the history of urban planning in NZ.

robocat

8 gün öncediscuss

Last century geriatric pregnancy was one term used for over 35s. It is no longer used, and 25 seems like it is social media bullshit. Apparently the term was created ~1960 for international usage because medical complications after that age were far more risky in the 50s.

Now ~20% of all pregnancies in the US are 35+.

robocat

8 gün öncediscuss

It is usually silly to compare any country with the whole US.

Instead search for the most similar state to compare with: for example Colorado has similarities with Switzerland.

Does Colorado have similarly affordable 25 Gbit fiber?

> much easier, and cheaper, to wire up a small country than the massive one

If your theory makes any sense at all, then Vermont with 60% of the size and 7% of the population should have amazing internet... does it?

I'm in New Zealand: Our internet isn't like Switzerlands (~1/2 the population in 6x the size). I use Oregon for our benchmark state.

robocat

8 gün öncediscuss

Do you take fights with massive corporations personally?

Especially given that Google has been targeted by the US government too (although the shots have mostly missed - like the EU antitrust against Microsoft).

Submissions

3D-Printed Micro Manipulator Can Achieve Accurate Sub-Micron Movement

The Appreciation Constituency: Land, Credit and the Politics of Protected Assets

Two Loops: How China's Open AI Strategy Reinforces Its Industrial Dominance [pdf]

Cybercrime isn't just a cover for Iran's government goons

Will all our drugs come from China? (2024)

'A's will soon be most common university grade (New Zealand)

The Honesty Tax

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