Hacker News: b800h

New comment by b800h in "If AI writes your code, why use Python?"

b800h — Tue, 12 May 2026 07:10:14 +0000

If you're working with an agent to write code, you want it in the most quickly-readable format possible. That's generally Python, although YMMV. I want to be able to skim and zoom in on parts of code that might need attention. This makes it easy.

If the code were written in Java, I'd have more to read. If it were in JavaScript, I'd be slower following the calls (although the type system might catch issues more quickly - not a problem in my experience). I think Python is a good choice.

New comment by b800h in "Flipdiscs"

b800h — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:31:42 +0000

Popular in UK train stations until very recently. I suspect that there are still a few out there!

New comment by b800h in "We're pausing Asimov Press"

b800h — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:16:25 +0000

Ah, I found this particularly offensive when I heard about the naming of the parent company. Randomly nicking a famous person's name for your company is pretty rubbish behaviour IMO. The odiousness decreases as a function of time since a person's death.

New comment by b800h in "Full network of clitoral nerves mapped out for first time"

b800h — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 18:55:40 +0000

Bias towards women would be understood by most readers as favouring them. I would have written bias against women here.

New comment by b800h in "Personal Encyclopedias"

b800h — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:10:44 +0000

I've been looking for a solution for this problem for a long time, and this is a particularly innovative approach.

I'll look into this more: Most appreciated, thank you.

ClearanceKit – Protect your Mac from compromised packages (OSS)

b800h — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:12:21 +0000

Article URL: https://github.com/craigjbass/clearancekit

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47422989

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by b800h in "Lawmakers Want DoD Investigated for Biblical 'Armageddon' Claims"

b800h — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:42:35 +0000

I thought it was supposed to be called the Department of War?

New comment by b800h in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

b800h — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:27:47 +0000

But there's no reason to expect that work to be graded. It should be a learning exercise which trains skills later tested under exam conditions.

New comment by b800h in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

b800h — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:26:44 +0000

Came here to say the same thing. The AI problem is functionally no different to the paid essay writers. Grade everything at face value, and then have people write essays under exam conditions for grading.

New comment by b800h in "Show HN: ANSI-Saver – A macOS Screensaver"

b800h — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:05:34 +0000

This is brilliant - thanks!

There are so many packs on that site to choose from, it would be great to get some pointers on which ones to install.

New comment by b800h in "Major airline bans 'barebeaters' across all 24 daily flights from UK airports"

b800h — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:05:05 +0000

I will always politely ask people who are doing this to stop it, and 99% of the time they do. (This is in the UK).

New comment by b800h in "Major airline bans 'barebeaters' across all 24 daily flights from UK airports"

b800h — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:04:00 +0000

I believe that is happening on some public transport in the UK.

New comment by b800h in "Show HN: Decided to play god this morning, so I built an agent civilisation"

b800h — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 15:01:41 +0000

I take that back, I was falling asleep and then suddently had a population spike. Very good!

New comment by b800h in "Show HN: Decided to play god this morning, so I built an agent civilisation"

b800h — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 14:54:34 +0000

This seems to start with 2 agents, and then all of their offspring die immediately. Any hints?

New comment by b800h in "US orders diplomats to fight data sovereignty initiatives"

b800h — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:00:34 +0000

The UK used to have a cloud provider (UK Cloud) but it got aggressively outcompeted by the US Hyperscalers, despite primarily targeting government departments. It's interesting that at the time the UK didn't consider data sovereignty enough of an issue to support a local cloud company. Shocking really.

New comment by b800h in "AIs can't stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations"

b800h — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:41:46 +0000

Is this science? Perhaps I should submit some of the random roleplay scenarios that I've run with LLMs to New Scientist.

New comment by b800h in "Pope tells priests to use their brains, not AI, to write homilies"

b800h — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:29:12 +0000

Tom Tugendhat had to stand up in the House of Commons and tell MPs not the use AI to write their speeches.

“I rise to speak. I rise to speak. I rise to speak. ChatGPT knows you’re there, but that is an Americanism that we don’t use, but still, keep using it, because it makes it clear that this place has become absurd.”

New comment by b800h in "Astrological CPU Scheduler"

b800h — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:05:53 +0000

AI is truly the mother of monsters.

New comment by b800h in "Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants"

b800h — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:06:42 +0000

My advice was along the lines of saying, in the 1950s, "give up all cigarettes, not just 'low tar'". Potential straw man here, but surely you wouldn't call that "wildly bad advice".

My comment was predicated on the belief that we wildly underestimate the negative effects of caffeine, as well as its activities at lower doses.

New comment by b800h in "Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants"

b800h — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:48:28 +0000

Some stimulants are a treatment for ADHD. Caffeine is not one of them, and whilst there are suggestions it can act as a short-term treatment for some people, it's not recommended.