Hacker News: 83

New comment by 83 in "What Is a Direct Attach Copper (DAC) Cable"

83 — Wed, 27 May 2026 14:18:26 +0000

This should be higher up for anyone considering DACs for homelab use. I had a lot of issues due to this when mixing Aruba switches with Intel nics in my rack. Ended up going to fiber and SFPs.

New comment by 83 in "Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center"

83 — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:22:58 +0000

I'll bite. What's the downside of a flat tax for a category like datacenters? If Meta want's to negotiate a lower tax rate for datacenters that's great, just allow every datacenter to apply for that same rate then.

New comment by 83 in "Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center"

83 — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:18:11 +0000

I find it bothersome because the system incentivizes giant megacorp monopolies. If you are small you'll have to pay taxes like everyone else, but once you hit some threshold of huge enough, we'll let taxes slide so you can get another leg up. A datacenter this size isn't going to provide more economic benefit than 50 datacenters 1/50 the size, but only one of them gets special treatment.

Combine that with the fact that large corporations constantly find ways to avoid paying taxes and its hard to be positive about this kind of thing.

New comment by 83 in "I hate soldering"

83 — Tue, 12 May 2026 13:45:02 +0000

If you get a quality tig welder aluminum isn't too bad. It's definitely more difficult than steel but I taught myself to weld AL without too much trouble. Practice on some scrap for sure before your bike - it'll be easy to blow a hole in thin bike tube.

The biggest challenge I've had in welding aluminum as a hobbyist is that I rarely know what aluminum alloy I'm working with. Most things don't say what type so we're left guessing what filler is appropriate. If you use the wrong filler it could be prone to cracking again in the future.

Also for thicker aluminum preheating is very important. The aluminum transfers heat away very quickly so you get cold lumpy welds if you don't have both parts pretty hot at the start.

New comment by 83 in "Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)"

83 — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:57:21 +0000

I don't know Bolt touchscreen specifics, but a lot of electronics in newer cars are paired to the id in the cars BCM or security module and installing replacement parts requires activation/re-registering using proprietary dealership tools.

New comment by 83 in "Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI"

83 — Thu, 07 May 2026 19:16:24 +0000

Is there an industry newsletter or source where one can read up on this? All I can find is a single article from Reuters.

New comment by 83 in "Chevrolet Performance eCrate package (400v/200hp)"

83 — Thu, 07 May 2026 15:09:40 +0000

>> You ever wonder why Indiana has such a huge number of drag racing cars in the Prostock and Superstock classes?

I can honestly say I've never wondered that. It's so oddly specific lol.

New comment by 83 in "I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search"

83 — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:48:59 +0000

You're probably kidding but I wouldn't put it past someone. Unscrupulous people bring antifreeze in gatorade bottles to the car auction and dump it under cars they want. Be careful out there.

New comment by 83 in "I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search"

83 — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:42:15 +0000

That is quite the highlight, now you have access to a lathe :) I also bought a large lathe from a government surplus site, it's by far my favorite tool.

New comment by 83 in "I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search"

83 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:33:09 +0000

Your site is awesome. I too am tired of checking five different government auction websites every day, each with a terrible interface from 2005.

New comment by 83 in "I aggregated 28 US Government auction sites into one search"

83 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:30:48 +0000

Or when you've been wanting to one up your neighbor's boat by buying a drug running speedboat with bullet holes.

New comment by 83 in "An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests"

83 — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:57:36 +0000

Modern farming is much closer to science and engineering than most realize. Rowcropping in particular is heavily reliant on gps, soil chemistry, and genetics to put the right seed, in the right soil, with the right nutrients to maximize output.

New comment by 83 in "Better to Skip a Year for Hardware Upgrades?"

83 — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:48:47 +0000

That could easily be part of their prompt. I just did a quick test telling Copilot to "add a few spelling and grammar mistakes to look like a human wrote it" and it does a reasonably convincing job.

New comment by 83 in "Tractor"

83 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:41:28 +0000

You might want to look up the max thickness and other common issues hobbyist level laser welders have before purchasing, or at a minimum wait for the laser welders to mature a bit more. You'll spend less than half and be far better served with a cheap tig welder at this point in time.

New comment by 83 in "New York’s budget bill would require “blocking technology” on all 3D printers"

83 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:22:14 +0000

There are some Youtube videos about homemade weapons in African countries and it seems you'd have to remove peoples hands in addition to their tools. Some of the functional guns out there are mostly hand whittled wood with a piece of pipe and some bailing wire.

New comment by 83 in "New York’s budget bill would require “blocking technology” on all 3D printers"

83 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:14:50 +0000

I don't think its unreasonable to ask politicians to be familiar with how the machinery they are regulating functions and is used.

To use your heroin example, this is akin to banning spoons or needles because they heard those are tools of the heroin addict. It shows a lack of understanding on the part of the regulator and has a far reaching effect on people legally using the items.

New comment by 83 in "Antirender: remove the glossy shine on architectural renderings"

83 — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 21:24:03 +0000

The rust stains in realistic locations on the bridge is very well done.

New comment by 83 in "The chess bot on Delta Air Lines will destroy you (2024) [video]"

83 — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:57:52 +0000

My legs are long enough there isn't room for them to press against the back of the seat. I'm either manspreading into the crevases between seats or in foetal position with my knees halfway up the seat in front of me. A person reclining is excruciating in the former, but in the latter position at least the person in front can't recline as there's no physical space for my body to become more compact. Flying is hell.

New comment by 83 in "Basalt Woven Textile"

83 — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:30:27 +0000

Each material has its own issues. Kevlar is very difficult to work with (need special scissors to cut and you can't sand the finished product), Dyneema is sensitive to UV degradation. Carbon is $$$. Basalt sounds like the sweet spot for some of my applications but afaict it can't be purchased by the yard like most materials so is essentially unobtainium to a hobbyist who can't afford a $1k or so roll of material.

New comment by 83 in "Basalt Woven Textile"

83 — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:25:20 +0000

Exactly this. I make kayaks and basalt would be the perfect middle ground between FG and carbon where the boat will get dinged up in rivers. Unfortunately its nearly impossible to obtain in small quantities for a hobbyist.