Hacker News: andrew_lettuce

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "US diesel prices hit a record high of $5.85 on average"

andrew_lettuce — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:52:53 +0000

You are not wrong in theory, but this reads like an econ 100 short answer. It ignores all the political and social aspects of a very complex system.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "US diesel prices hit a record high of $5.85 on average"

andrew_lettuce — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:50:32 +0000

This is basically the definition of something that should be subsidized. Same story for public education, health care, clean drinking water, etc

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "US diesel prices hit a record high of $5.85 on average"

andrew_lettuce — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:48:22 +0000

... Usually on the best land they were gifted for building the railway line on the first place, so heavily subsidized as well

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Hang on to Your Firefox"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:15:33 +0000

I like this, and I also think it will help this Canadian deal with the current position of the USA

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Hang on to Your Firefox"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:14:35 +0000

Occasionally see someone go to yt without ad blocking and I'm blown away, feels like I'm from the 1800's sitting with someone in rush hour traffic - what is going on?

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Hang on to Your Firefox"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:12:32 +0000

I switched my family off Google after almost 20 years on our own domain. In hindsight it was ridiculously easy, although there are still some weird Google account required links that ultimately have me just moving on. Yt does run worse on FF but that's because of unlock (I believe) they tend to stall out intentionally instead of showing you ads and attempt to get you to switch.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:06:22 +0000

I agree with you, coaster brakes suck. And losing your brakes if the chains drops is really serious, especially because it tends to happen when you need brakes the most.

Cable disc brakes have come a very long way and there are some decent models that require very little maintenance and work great.

Also for every skid you get on a coaster brake I'll raise you a nose Endo with the front disc brake!

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:01:44 +0000

Hand strength is an issue with cheap, adult sized cable hand brakes but not an issue with smaller levers or even the cheapest hydraulic brakes.

The kids bikes that require them ate also made of mild steel and with more than my Enduro bike.

Don't buy a cheap, department store kids bike. You can get multiple kids through a quality bike and still sell it for like $100 less than you paid.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 22:58:47 +0000

Worse, I've worn out a rim when the sidewall basically delaminated after a few thousand kms and gritty conditions. After the UCI allowed disc brakes on gravel racers and manufacturers switched it made a great style of bike just about perfect

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "The UK's war on anonymity has come to America"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:17:31 +0000

If they use blatant, binary positions and you try to be subtle and nuanced you've already lost.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "The UK's war on anonymity has come to America"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:16:45 +0000

Kids can't gamble so yes we should enforce laws and ignore that one too. We can then debate if sports gambling itself should be legal or advertised at all.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "LLMs reward expertise"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:18:46 +0000

How would an absolute newbie know what a harness is? What an IDE is? That code is represented in a set of files? That some of those files are actually metadata? What metadata is? What GOTO means? That you're suggesting a modified SDLC?

None of this is related to intelligence, desire or potential. It's about context and experience. The vast majority of people use their computers as consumption devices, like a TV. If I asked you to "make a movie" where would you start?

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "LLMs reward expertise"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:11:04 +0000

This comment - and many others - misses the OP's original point: what are tools? Do you mean my laptop, and a pen and paper? What's an agent? I.D.E.? none of this is part of the vocabulary or context of someone who has never built things with a computer, let alone AI. Years ago I had a neighbor who was trying to learn how to use their computer; they complained that the book they were using was only telling them all the DOS and none of the DON'TS. This is were most people start.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Launch HN: Traceforce (YC S26) – Company-wide security monitoring for AI apps"

andrew_lettuce — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 03:35:43 +0000

How many times can you drop your company's name is a supposed comment? Maybe reach out directly and spare us the fake commentary?

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "CD sales growth outpaced vinyl in the first half of 2026"

andrew_lettuce — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 02:49:53 +0000

This is what I do with my 18 minivan that has a 6 disc player. That's a lot of mp3s and it's fun to guess what's next (my rando mp3 discs tend to always be in alphabetical order

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping"

andrew_lettuce — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:35:14 +0000

The outrage is over the apparent collusion between a platform that argues it only facilitates a fan-to-fan marketplace, and a hedge fund run by the platform's CEO that sells a massive volume of resale tickets. This is definitely not on the spirit of competition regardless of it's illegal or not

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Why American ambulance rides are so expensive"

andrew_lettuce — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:29:31 +0000

Come on, across the world we prepay for the use of things regardless if we do or not. As described in the article it's an option, not a political system.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Meta data center water discharges suspended for contaminating water supply"

andrew_lettuce — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 19:27:03 +0000

This closed loop system needs to be filled and flushed, which is the operation discussed in the article. The bacterium was described as a possible airborne hazard if used for irrigation, it's not a regulated substance though so dump and dilute might be perfectly safe.

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Maybe you should learn something"

andrew_lettuce — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:43:49 +0000

It's great to be an amateur learner, but if you want to get better (or just make learning more effective) I really liked the (very easy read) Little Book of Talent. It focuses on how to get good, but that's really about how we learn and practice. Highly motivational and some interesting counterintuitive ideas:

https://danielcoyle.com/the-little-book-of-talent/

New comment by andrew_lettuce in "Maybe you should learn something"

andrew_lettuce — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:40:02 +0000

The fact that you need to fight an incredibly strong biological motivator to do this suggests you're wrong. If you have a builder mentality and want to leave the world better than you found it, having kids is the best path. They're also my retirement plan.