Hacker News: CalRobert

New comment by CalRobert in "Amazon’s “digital pacifier” for toddlers"

CalRobert — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 20:01:24 +0000

My wife and I are working parents. This is nightmarish. We know screen kids and they are not good around other people.

Our kids use tech - Nintendo Switch, tv, raspberry pis, and yes, even a tablet for things like train or plane rides. But they absolutely did not get this as a toddler. Yes we were tired. Yes it was hard. Parenting isn't easy.

New comment by CalRobert in "Why is AI generated language so hard to understand?"

CalRobert — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 07:23:41 +0000

In the UK it's common to refer to companies in the plural. "Nike have announced..." etc. . I like it. It's a reminder that they are in fact companies of people, not abstract entities.

New comment by CalRobert in "Woman charged with computer fraud due to scam CashApp account being in her name"

CalRobert — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 21:53:19 +0000

I was being sarcastic, to be clear. Though it's funny that people clearly cherish parking over most other things in this world, but are willing to pay nothing for it.

You're right about fares being a useful tool to filter for antisocial behaviour. After becoming a parent I became a lot less tolerant of horrible behaviour on trains and buses. Luckily I rarely encounter it here in the Netherlands (Ireland was worse, but still not atrocious, depending on the area)

New comment by CalRobert in "The same AI request emits 8.5 times more CO2 in Texas than in Sweden"

CalRobert — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 07:51:23 +0000

True, but with autonomous agents hitting 2,000 requests is a lot easier.

New comment by CalRobert in "Woman charged with computer fraud due to scam CashApp account being in her name"

CalRobert — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 06:01:30 +0000

Very true. This is why they don’t appreciate roads or parking.

New comment by CalRobert in "Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits"

CalRobert — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 05:28:48 +0000

Please elaborate on how having more housing increases housing scarcity

New comment by CalRobert in ""I'm on a war footing": Terry Tao and the crisis in math"

CalRobert — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 01:48:50 +0000

this isn't a guy who built the railroads here

New comment by CalRobert in "eBay Restricts Listings of Radio Equipment, but Exempts Ham-Band-Only Gear"

CalRobert — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 07:04:18 +0000

Seems like FCC enforcement occurred because traffic enforcement was lacking, leaving everyone less safe as a result.

New comment by CalRobert in "Jev meets the Trolley Problem"

CalRobert — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 09:52:39 +0000

So far, in Europe, I find a snail-mailed nastygram referencing the gdpr to be the best way to get actual service. It’s slow, though.

New comment by CalRobert in "OpenAI engineer arrested in bugging of executive conference room"

CalRobert — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 06:38:42 +0000

Was this provable? If you were the dad would you risk it?

New comment by CalRobert in "CFTC Staff Were Told to Retract Analysis of Suspicious Oil Trades"

CalRobert — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:00:51 +0000

Well, it gets you seated. Elected is a different question.

New comment by CalRobert in "Hiking the world in search of rare cheeses"

CalRobert — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:00:16 +0000

Yeah there’s a few other ones (and don’t get me wrong, I like the cheese here, just perplexed there’s not much variety)

Sure would love a good Monterey jack or cotija though.

New comment by CalRobert in "Hiking the world in search of rare cheeses"

CalRobert — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:32:47 +0000

Hah, then there’s the Netherlands where I was excited for the cheese until I realised it’s basically just Gouda. It’s good! But almost all the cheese is Gouda. Kinda strange there isn’t much variety (except for putting different stuff in Gouda)

New comment by CalRobert in "OpenAI engineer arrested in bugging of executive conference room"

CalRobert — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:16:41 +0000

He might have been afraid of what she’d do to the kids if he divorced her.

New comment by CalRobert in "AOSP Source Releases Are So Late Developers Disassemble Libraries to Report Bugs"

CalRobert — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:44:17 +0000

Once upon a time WhatsApp had a j2me client…

Though I see signal usage creeping upwards. Maybe just my circle

New comment by CalRobert in "CFTC Staff Were Told to Retract Analysis of Suspicious Oil Trades"

CalRobert — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 14:19:20 +0000

Tbf trump has lost the popular vote more than he has won it. Voters picked Al Gore too… (and it seems likely that Florida was stolen)

New comment by CalRobert in "AI coding agents generate more code, but not more software"

CalRobert — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:11:34 +0000

I don't think balloon framing is used anymore? It's a bad fire risk.

New comment by CalRobert in "How to Build Wealth as a Career Person"

CalRobert — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:33:21 +0000

Fwiw I have an automatic transfer of 25% of my take home in to IBKR every month… I actually mostly regret being too financially conservative in the past. Should never have sold off bitcoin to pay student loans…

New comment by CalRobert in "A city-building game in which the city would prefer you didn't"

CalRobert — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 04:54:27 +0000

Anyone who has tried to build apartments without an ocean of parking, or even sought to convert a suburban home into a 4 unit building, knows housing growth is severely checked

New comment by CalRobert in "How to Build Wealth as a Career Person"

CalRobert — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 04:50:58 +0000

Claiming they simply don’t exist is a bit bold is it not?