Hacker News: IAmBroom

New comment by IAmBroom in "DIY Soft Drinks"

IAmBroom — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:12:08 +0000

Water-soluble taste compounds all dissolve with similar time profiles (all other things being equal), which are exponential curves that asymptote at zero and saturation. The time constant and the saturation level are the true variables, and saturation is "chosen" by the molecule itself, but when you superimpose exponential curves, a slower-dissolving "bad" taste can be minimized by finding the right balance point between "enough" of the good solutes before the unwanted solute rises much.

"All things being equal" = that time constant is itself a function of temperature, so lower temperatures slow down (spread out) the process, allowing a broader "balance point" at which to stop the process.

IOW, if you're brewing a hot cup of tea, leaving the bag in an extra few minutes can really increase the bitterness without making it much "darker", but even a few extra hours in the fridge-brewed tea is no big deal.

New comment by IAmBroom in "All elementary functions from a single binary operator"

IAmBroom — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:22:34 +0000

50 years ago.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Helium Is Hard to Replace"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:16:14 +0000

A round-trip lasting centuries is not a practical solution. Star Trek is fiction.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Helium is hard to replace"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:09:09 +0000

God's angels typically don't bomb your little girl's school.

All I'm saying is, I could see how someone who believes Satan influences the world would come to that idea.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Women are getting most of the new jobs. What's going on with men?"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:54:02 +0000

It apparently also has the highest injury rate of any major employment category in the US.

From experiences of friends in the profession, the male nurses are "automatically" assigned all the "lift the patient" sorts of jobs, leading to their injury rates. You really can't put a weight limit on lifting a human being in an emergency situation, OSHA be damned.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Women are getting most of the new jobs. What's going on with men?"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:51:30 +0000

"The job itself caters to my personal ideation of women much more than men."

New comment by IAmBroom in "OpenAI backs Illinois bill that would limit when AI labs can be held liable"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:36:01 +0000

No, but there were VERY active anarchists.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Netflix Prices Went Up Again – I Bought a DVD Player Instead"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:52:18 +0000

And to the extent that those are two different things, your argument completely falls apart.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Netflix Prices Went Up Again – I Bought a DVD Player Instead"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:42:17 +0000

Eerily like paying someone for sex... while filming it "for a movie".

Suddenly, not prostitution!

New comment by IAmBroom in "Netflix Prices Went Up Again – I Bought a DVD Player Instead"

IAmBroom — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:36:19 +0000

Long prior to that, I played my Jesus Christ Superstar album so many times that the tic-sound where a scratch appeared is now embedded in my memory as part of the song.

I sometimes "sing" the tick, even in other versions.

New comment by IAmBroom in "They're made out of meat (1991)"

IAmBroom — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:28:06 +0000

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-most-reprinted...

New comment by IAmBroom in "The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador with the Avignon Papacy"

IAmBroom — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:13:37 +0000

To complement the next Dalai Lama to be chosen by Xi Jinping.

Putin already owns one, and King Charles III is one. C'mon, everybody is doing it!

New comment by IAmBroom in "The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador with the Avignon Papacy"

IAmBroom — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:06:27 +0000

A Brit once told me (jokingly) that they celebrate Thanksgiving, too - it was when they got rid of the Puritans.

New comment by IAmBroom in "The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador with the Avignon Papacy"

IAmBroom — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:05:18 +0000

You literally started: "Any middle schooler...", and now you claim you aren't discussing education?

New comment by IAmBroom in "US cities are axing Flock Safety surveillance technology"

IAmBroom — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:55:26 +0000

Not as often; it creates friction and requires cooperation from others (or an officer with unusual skill and access, presumably).

It will absolutely happen in corrupt departments, or those involving an officer with those skills and access. But data that is uploaded is infinitely harder to erase than simply turning off the camera in the first place.

New comment by IAmBroom in "US cities are axing Flock Safety surveillance technology"

IAmBroom — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:50:39 +0000

It's not that they'll be able to call on one another - you can't guarantee who else will be around after The Bad Event (whatever it is).

It's that they don't have the basic strength of building alliances in the first place - something every kid is supposed to learn through the joys and pains of playing together. Bullies are not generally the popular ones, but neither are the loners.

To put it another way: castles can't survive siege forever. They are a delaying tactic until outside help can arrive.

"The Dauphin, whom of succors we entreated, Returns us that his powers are yet not ready To raise so great a siege. Therefore, great king, We yield our town and lives to thy soft mercy." -- Henry V, Act 3, scene 3

New comment by IAmBroom in "Got kicked out of uni and had the cops called for a social media website I made"

IAmBroom — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:21:24 +0000

1whizkid, you forgot to switch back from one of your alt accounts to your main one here.

Also, your posts stand out like, well, an angry little teenager trying to swing at a bunch of adults for treating him like an angry little teenager.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Got kicked out of uni and had the cops called for a social media website I made"

IAmBroom — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:18:49 +0000

Hello, 180-minute-old account by 1whizkid to pretend there is popular support for yourself.

New comment by IAmBroom in "Got kicked out of uni and had the cops called for a social media website I made"

IAmBroom — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:18:12 +0000

You don't have a God-given right to negotiate with authorities. Sometimes you just have to take the ticket; being an a-hole back to the cop - even if the cop was an a-hole first - wins you nothing in life.

You'll eventually learn this, kid. Or become the Unibomber. Or just a sad, angry online troll.

New comment by IAmBroom in "AI singer now occupies eleven spots on iTunes singles chart"

IAmBroom — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:17:54 +0000

> Any group that would do so I would permanently disregard for any further consumption or attention from me.

Much like saying "I will no longer buy from Brand X on Amazon." I guarantee you that ten "other" companies sell the exact same thing, and they all come from China (or AI, in this case).

Brand reputation is fairly meaningless in a market like that. I mean, sure, Levi's still protects their brand, and Bruce Springsteen won't be putting out any AI musical slop, but if it's ShurFit pants or music by Jest Happening... who knows?