Hacker News: _xerces_

New comment by _xerces_ in "Ford reveals breakthrough process for lower priced EVs"

_xerces_ — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:52:36 +0000

Unfortunately, the trend seems to be that as manufacturability of a product increases, repairability decreases. A simple example is the heavy use of fragile, easily broken clips to hold on parts that used to be held on with bolts and screws.

New comment by _xerces_ in "A CT scanner reveals surprises inside the 386 processor's ceramic package"

_xerces_ — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 15:27:41 +0000

How do they attach those bond wires? Seems difficult and fiddly!

New comment by _xerces_ in "Remote hosting for your telescope"

_xerces_ — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 14:33:33 +0000

I don't understand this service. I feel it takes away from the experience. One of the few hobbies that gets you outside and under the stars and learning to navigate the sky and its motions was already being reduced to pressing a few buttons on a laptop connected to the scope. Now, you don't even leave your house?

New comment by _xerces_ in "Taurine and aging: Is there anything to it?"

_xerces_ — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 14:31:58 +0000

I was taking taurine 1000 mg per day but stopped when I heard a plausible link to colon cancer. Having a strong family history, it wasn't worth the risk.

Eagerly awaiting the results of this trial: https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.TPS363...

Uncertain though how they will separate the effects of the taurine from all the other stuff including sugar that is contained in energy drinks.

I think this is a hard theory to pin down as it might depend on how much taurine producing bacteria an individual has in their gut B. wadsworthia, so two people could have very different outcomes while taking the same amount of taurine.

New comment by _xerces_ in "Energy Drinks Linked to Rise in Colorectal Cancer"

_xerces_ — Sun, 18 May 2025 18:42:13 +0000

Apologies for the double post. I got a "link expired" error when submitting so assumed the original post had not succeeded.

New comment by _xerces_ in "Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer"

_xerces_ — Sat, 17 May 2025 15:06:24 +0000

It appears that the trial is still ongoing: https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-...

The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.

Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

_xerces_ — Sat, 17 May 2025 15:06:24 +0000

Article URL: https://thenightly.com.au/society/health/doctors-issue-urgent-warning-over-cancer-causing-energy-drink-ingredient-taurine-c-18699404

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44014862

Points: 38

# Comments: 30

New comment by _xerces_ in "Energy Drinks Linked to Rise in Colorectal Cancer"

_xerces_ — Sat, 17 May 2025 15:04:26 +0000

It appears that the trial is still ongoing: https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-...

The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.

Energy Drinks Linked to Rise in Colorectal Cancer

_xerces_ — Sat, 17 May 2025 15:04:26 +0000

Article URL: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/deadly-diet-combo-theory-behind-colon-cancer-rise-in-young-people/ar-BB1nz29n

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44014851

Points: 4

# Comments: 3

New comment by _xerces_ in "Even Tesla's Insurance Arm Is Getting Wrecked"

_xerces_ — Sat, 10 May 2025 19:34:49 +0000

If Tesla Insurance is paying out for parts to fix damaged Teslas aren't Tesla effectively paying themselves and so recouping some of the paid out monies? Sure, it goes on a different balance sheet, but it's all Tesla in the end.

On second thought maybe this loss ratio is based on buying parts at cost from the auto division and so there is still a loss there to Tesla who has to supply them from China or whereever.

New comment by _xerces_ in "Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week"

_xerces_ — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:21:07 +0000

Two interesting things I took away from that were first that the uncertainty and constant changes of mind by the President on the actual rates and lack of reliable communications were almost as harmful as the tariffs. Second, that there is a "snowball effect" in that you often have to pre-pay, so you take out more loans at a worse interest rate to make your order and then if because costs went up, you order fewer items as well as being hit with a higher per-item cost.

The whole thing is a mess and shows how incompetent the current implementation is.

New comment by _xerces_ in "45-year mystery behind eerie photo from The Shining is believed to be solved"

_xerces_ — Sat, 12 Apr 2025 17:40:41 +0000

Non lite version: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/the-shining-photo-ident...

New comment by _xerces_ in "Older editions of which books were better than the new ones? (2010)"

_xerces_ — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 17:05:29 +0000

In the realm of fiction, they released edited versions of Roald Dahl books that were more politically correct and designed to be less frightening to the fragile children of today.

New comment by _xerces_ in "A map of every recorded battle based on Wikipedia"

_xerces_ — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 17:20:34 +0000

I like it! I spent an enjoyable 10 minutes clicking around and checking out what battles took place at various places I have lived in the US and Europe. Is there any way of adding country/US State boundaries for the more geographically-challenged among us? I can usually find my way around using the coastline and following rivers, but I get lost in the middle of large continents occasionally.

New comment by _xerces_ in "Alexa+"

_xerces_ — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:22:02 +0000

Prime customers tend to buy more stuff from Amazon, so they get you that way maybe.

New comment by _xerces_ in "Interview with Jeff Atwood, Co-Founder of Stack Overflow"

_xerces_ — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 15:30:00 +0000

I had mixed feelings about those that demonstrated their knowledge by answering the question extremely thoroughly with a lengthy treatise. On the one hand, their answer was a great resource for deeper understanding, on the other I just wanted a one-liner to solve my problem and go on with my day!

New comment by _xerces_ in "I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA"

_xerces_ — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 17:52:24 +0000

Do you feel the H1B system denies jobs to Americans or suppresses wages for those with jobs?

New comment by _xerces_ in "Walgreens says locking up products to prevent shoplifting hurts sales"

_xerces_ — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 15:56:36 +0000

Many cities have an organized theft problem and are doing very little about it. Even when the police catch the perpetrators, they get little to no punishment. There doesn't seem to be much of an effort to go after the fencing networks either. Things seem to be getting worse in a lot of urban areas too, where I live I have noticed the decline over the last 5 years which has led stores to not only lock things up, but a lot of them hire security guards or off-duty cops to man the entrance/exit and they also have closed entrances to make everyone enter and leave through a single set of doors.

As well as the organized crime, I think there is a culture problem in some areas where it is "OK to steal from the man", well it is until the store in your area closes and now you live in a food/retail desert and have to take a bus to buy anything.

New comment by _xerces_ in "Ships must practice celestial navigation"

_xerces_ — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:21:39 +0000

Curious how navigation at night was not possible without expensive equipment, sounds like they were relying only on starts in the morning and evening? Are the measuring something like angle of those morning/evening stars or their set/rise times with respect to the sun?

New comment by _xerces_ in "In my life, I've witnessed three elite salespeople at work"

_xerces_ — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 15:43:26 +0000

Those stories about people (the internet generation) not being able to read anymore are true!