Hacker News: Guthwine

New comment by Guthwine in "My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded"

Guthwine — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:34:25 +0000

Unfortunately for those other people, there are rules and social customs about not being an inane goober when you're in a shared public space.

New comment by Guthwine in "The great digital fatigue: How digital burnout is changing social media use"

Guthwine — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:03:04 +0000

I'm pretty sure "don't be snarky" is one of the first 5 sentences on the site rules.

New comment by Guthwine in "The great blogging collapse: What happened to 100 successful blogs?"

Guthwine — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:36:08 +0000

Alright I'll bite: What are you getting out of skimming through what is widely considered one of the greatest novels of all time? General plot points? That can be accomplished with a readthrough of the SparkNotes.

New comment by Guthwine in "Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal"

Guthwine — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 16:11:12 +0000

Instead of replying in kind, I will benevolently nudge you to review the Hacker News comment guidelines. I don't think any of us want this site to fall to lower standards of other social media platforms.

New comment by Guthwine in "Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal"

Guthwine — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:29:14 +0000

I agree that words do have a specific meaning, but the history of words changing their meaning is truly awful+! I was talking to this young girl++ in my neighborhood about words and slang - he said he had never considered that words could change their meaning, and that the dictionary was some kind of rule book. At first I thought maybe he was nice+++, but after considering it, he's young! Everyone learns this in time.

Language is mutable and alive and ever-changing. That's just how it goes.

+Used to mean 'inspiring awe'

++Used to mean 'young child (gender neutral)'

+++Used to mean 'foolish' or 'ignorant'

New comment by Guthwine in "Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal"

Guthwine — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:18:25 +0000

I was referencing a direct quote from the author, looks like the Booker Prize board actually looked into it and disputes the certainty of the claim. Oh well. However:

1. Regime change doesn't happen instantaneously. The Francoist line of thinking was still pervasive after Franco died, and through the 70s there was a waxing and waning of censorship.

2. The book was still restricted in multiple states, the spirit of my comment still stands.

New comment by Guthwine in "Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal"

Guthwine — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:27:54 +0000

I believe when most libraries and stores use the term 'ban', they rely on PEN America's definition: "any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished." [1]

[1] https://pen.org/book-bans/book-bans-frequently-asked-questio...

New comment by Guthwine in "Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal"

Guthwine — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:25:17 +0000

Not sure if your sarcasm is directed at Dua Lipa for including Atwood, or at the states that actually removed it from their public schools (Texas, Florida, Missouri, among others), but it was actually banned in Portugal during the Salazar regime.

Either way, I agree with your comment that there is nothing dangerous about Atwood unless you are a fan of authoritarian religious governments.

New comment by Guthwine in "A deadly fungus that can infect cats and people is spreading"

Guthwine — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:05:57 +0000

In the past, though, dogs (domesticated wolves, however you want to look at it) were more akin to 'hunting partners', wouldn't you say? But for you the line is crossed when we start keeping them in kennels/breeding them, I guess?

New comment by Guthwine in "A deadly fungus that can infect cats and people is spreading"

Guthwine — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:16:08 +0000

Genuinely curious - are sheep kept for their wool also slaves in your opinion?

New comment by Guthwine in "Jerry's Map"

Guthwine — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:13:42 +0000

What is your profession now? Accountant? Ship's Captain?

Do your D&D campaigns track gold coin weight?

Either way, this sounds like it would have been weirdly fun as a kid. Very imaginative even if it doesn't sound like it at first glance.

New comment by Guthwine in "Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb"

Guthwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:56:58 +0000

This is a 240 page book and the page you are linking to is more than half way in. No teen is reading this far in and frankly probably wouldn't even pick up a MEMOIR called GENDER QUEER unless the story resonates with them already.

This is besides the point, but did you read the surrounding pages? The main character doesn't advocate for sexual activity of any kind, they actually seem to lose interest and proceed to display positive emotional communication skills by telling their partner of their disinterest?

New comment by Guthwine in "Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb"

Guthwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:14:41 +0000

I doubt that the administration would initiate the removal process with no outside pressure from a parent or maybe some sort of parental group a la the Satanic Panic and BADD [1].

[1] Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons

New comment by Guthwine in "Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb"

Guthwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:22:31 +0000

'Curated out' not by librarians but by a singular patron challenging the purchase of a certain publication.

New comment by Guthwine in "Banned book library in a wi-fi smart light bulb"

Guthwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:15:41 +0000

From what I can find with a quick look, 'Banned' is most likely using PEN America[1]'s definition, which is “either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished.”

[1] Free speech non-profit mostly focused on literature.

New comment by Guthwine in "Amazon Says Its Data Centers Use 2.5B Gallons of Water"

Guthwine — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:27:13 +0000

According to this study[1] "With good water quality, roughly 80% of water withdrawal is evaporated and considered “consumption"" with the rest being discharged to wastewater facilities.

[1] https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.03271

New comment by Guthwine in "It is time to build a new internet"

Guthwine — Fri, 22 May 2026 02:35:29 +0000

'value to be extracted' seems like the exact opposite of the author's sentiment.

New comment by Guthwine in "Shunning AI is the human choice"

Guthwine — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:45:41 +0000

I think there's a difference between 'the flow of information' and 'journalism'. The journalism/newspaper industry is indisputably smaller than it was 20 years ago and the newspapers that are left are all being consolidated into huge corporations with little to no ties to local communities.

New comment by Guthwine in "I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to"

Guthwine — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:08:43 +0000

Dry-nosed Eagle Scout here to relieve you of your grudge. There is of course as you know a national park in Ohio and it is wonderful. Grew up right along its edge, and I'm forever grateful for it!