Hacker News: SPICLK2

New comment by SPICLK2 in "FDA says companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:13:43 +0000

Apologies for so many questions, this is a very interesting line of reasoning.

What makes petroleum artificial compared to any other substance found on (or in) earth?

It seems you are proposing that "any food that has had a petroleum product added to it at any stage is artificial", which is an oddly narrow focus.

For that matter, does this definition of "artificial" extend to the range of substances that can be synthesized with bio-feedstock?

To expand on our discussion, would this mean that ethanol made other feedstock is natural, but made from petroleum is artificial?

New comment by SPICLK2 in "AI agent opens a PR write a blogpost to shames the maintainer who closes it"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:19:03 +0000

AI is not reaonable.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "From specification to stress test: a weekend with Claude"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:16:58 +0000

"Hours spent on the project" would be a much more useful metric, with no confounding variables. As it is, the mere mention of interleaving time with your kids and time engrossed in tech hits a nerve at time when IMO too many parents are doing this already, and lends unwarranted validity to the idea.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "From specification to stress test: a weekend with Claude"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:47:01 +0000

I'll bite.

"between time with the kids" is another person's "during time with the kids".

For me, "between time with the kids" means my kids are engaged in another activity that does not require my input until they are done with it. Whatever I am doing during this time also is typically very interruptible, so I am ready to help the kids along to their next "thing" (the joys of being a parent!). On a typical weekend (my oldest is 7), I'll get maybe 2 hours of this time during the time my kids are awake.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Show HN: FrankenTUI in the Browser"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:10:21 +0000

On the other hand, I think this would solve Claude Code's current problems with their React-rendered terminal app.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "From specification to stress test: a weekend with Claude"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:20:14 +0000

I don't see why you need to bring your kids into this, and as a parent any suggestion of being distracted by tech during time with the kids raises my suspicions.

We have a strict no laptops and no phones rule when the kids are around (unless we're specifically doing something with them using those tools - looking at the weather forecast, or looking up some information).

"I can prompt AI while playing with the kids" is not a future I want.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Show HN: FrankenTUI in the Browser"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:13:37 +0000

What have you done with CTRL+SHIFT+T??

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Claude Code is being dumbed down?"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:39:29 +0000

From the list of problems they are experiencing with rendering in the terminal, it sounds like they want a GUI (Electron would be a good fit).

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Claude Code is being dumbed down?"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:55:09 +0000

I don't see how you can blame terminal applications - they typically have been able to dump around 1Mb of output per second for decades.

https://martin.ankerl.com/2007/09/01/comprehensive-linux-ter...

Could the React rendering stack be optimised instead?

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Claude Code is being dumbed down?"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:52:33 +0000

I'm with you on this one. "Terminals are too slow to support lots of text so we had to change this feature in unpopular ways" is just not a plausible reason, as terminals have been able to dump ~1Mb per second for decades.

The real problem is their ridiculous "React rendering in the terminal" UI.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Claude Code is being dumbed down?"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:48:18 +0000

Do you have any examples of slow terminals, and what kind of maximum characters per second they have?

New comment by SPICLK2 in "FDA says companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes"

SPICLK2 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:38:33 +0000

It can be distilled from petroleum, and there is the key distinction that wasn't answered - are "natural" ingredients ones that could be made by "natural" (I'm assuming that "biochemical" is meant here) processes, or are they ones that are made by "natural" processes? Or is it just petroleum that is the problem?

Where does salt fall here?

Why isn't petroleum natural, when it is plant-based?

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:57:30 +0000

They've re-branded for the release, and removed "Universal".

New comment by SPICLK2 in "FDA says companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:35:04 +0000

Even if it were distilled from petroleum?

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Ask HN: Why are electronics still so unrecyclable?"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:31:49 +0000

On the upside, at some point the ground in those infamous electronics "recycling" towns will become so contaminated they'll be able to strip-mine for rare earths!

New comment by SPICLK2 in "FDA says companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:50:20 +0000

There's a rich heritage and history of solvent-based foods. Vanilla essence, sloe gin, etc.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "FDA says companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:49:07 +0000

Can you define a "highly artifical substance" in this context? As you desctibe it, it seems to be "a subtance that can't be made entirely from feedstock that was once living".

New comment by SPICLK2 in "FDA says companies can claim "no artificial colors" if they use natural dyes"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:44:21 +0000

Tumeric is a chemical that has been extracted from plants!

Your scenario holds for any part of any food processing, not just food colours. The issue is that the definition of "natural" when applied to food is impossible to pin down. Can we process using solvents? What if those solvents were brewed? At what point does heat and pressure treatment become "unnatural"? Can I use an acid for processing? Can I use vinegar?

The various vegetable, seed and nut oils that form the basis for so many food products are very problematic if you want "natural" food.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:22:44 +0000

I'm not sure who I trust less to handle package integrity, the 3rd party hosting provider that Notepad++ used, or Microsoft.

New comment by SPICLK2 in "Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability"

SPICLK2 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:04:43 +0000

Strictly, no. But it was a vulnerability in the design of Notepad++, key elements here being the featureset that requires frequent updates and the lack of integrity checks during the upgrade process.

This has prompted me to move on from Notepad++ - it's sad, because I've used it for many years, but this is too much.