<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: bena</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=bena</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:19:35 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=bena" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Why DNA damage from smoking and UV rays cause cancer in some but not others"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>If incidences of cancer of any type are 1 in 100,000 for the population at large, then generally any slice of that population will have similar odds. Which includes people with cancer.<p>So those who already have cancer, have a chance to develop a <i>second</i> cancer.<p>It is very not fair.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 21:34:48 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49116128</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49116128</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49116128</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "AI companies spend record sums on Washington lobbying"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Because lobbying is essentially just the process of petitioning the government. Mostly.<p>It's buying dinners so you can talk with a Representative or Senator one-on-one. It's traveling to D.C. or the Congressperson's home state. It's paying for studies and etc to support your points. It's financing campaigns of politicians who already agree with your viewpoints. It's not "here's money, make law".</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:39:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49071184</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49071184</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49071184</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Worse on Purpose – How Corporate Greed Killed Product Quality – Worse on Purpose"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Than what? It's 21oz compared to the 7oz regular size and 12.4oz "Pantry Size".<p>It's like $5-$6 for the box. That's been true at both the local grocery and WalMart.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:53:33 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49027148</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49027148</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49027148</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Worse on Purpose – How Corporate Greed Killed Product Quality"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I'll admit that I tend to implicitly trust that the larger boxes on the shelves contain more. I haven't checked the price-per-unit in a bit. Granted, my closest grocery is not a WalMart <i>and</i> I'm typically purchasing mass-produced sundries. Basically, the "Family Size" of Cheez-its is the same at any store.<p>One thing I have noticed is that 5lb bags of flour/sugar haven't been standard in a hot minute.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:13:21 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49021048</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49021048</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49021048</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Jaron Lanier: there is no AI (2023)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>And I don't disagree, but the posting of the article feels more like bait of a sort.<p>But I've noticed that if you mention anything that could be seen as slightly critical of LLMs, you'll get people out of the woodwork suggesting that the state of the art has made your criticism invalid.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:30:52 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48982906</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48982906</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48982906</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Mythologizing AI makes it more likely that we’ll fail to operate it well (2023)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I think the biggest pushback this article will get here is the date.<p>Although all he's saying is basically, "It's a tool, not a silver bullet". But the article <i>is</i> 3 years old and people will note that the models have been updated since then.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:08:30 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980808</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980808</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980808</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Do you know how often is the score keeping system replaced or requires repairs?<p>You could potentially have a decent side gig replacing scoring systems for a fraction of others</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 23:40:35 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972737</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972737</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972737</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "How Has Roman Concrete Lasted for Millennia? 1,900-Year-Old Latrine Offers Clues"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Not just the UK, labor is usually the dominant cost of anything.<p>Our house flooded about half a foot a year or two ago. I had to replace all the baseboards. The damage was assessed at $40k. I tried to contact contractors to do the work, but the job was so insignificant compared to other jobs in the area, and we were in the middle of getting our house raised, that it was taking forever.<p>Including tools I did not have prior, material costs ran about $5k - $7k. I did the work around my job and other obligations, so about one day a week for a couple of months. If I were to honestly guess, it probably took me about two weeks. And that's measuring, cutting, installing, caulking, and painting. And there were some inefficiencies in my process.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:39:15 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48949347</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48949347</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48949347</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "When A.I. is a member of the family"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Not just no, but fuck no.<p>Intimacy does not scale. No single entity can intimately care about even hundreds of people. So these chatbots are the property of an entity that does not care about you. This is different from people you would interact with in person. A therapist can form a bond with you. Can protect your privacy. These chatbots, by their nature, share with their owners. Who is not you.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:04:49 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48923897</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48923897</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48923897</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Punk, or why I don't stream anymore"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>He was looking for a sugar baby?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:29:19 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48866117</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48866117</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48866117</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Punk, or why I don't stream anymore"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Oh man, the past was fucking wild, because you <i>would</i> do this. You'd just show up to the theater and look at what was playing. Or, if you were close to a store, you'd go and buy a newspaper that had the movie listings for your local theaters.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:32:18 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48861347</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48861347</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48861347</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Punk, or why I don't stream anymore"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I think you're being accused of being a sockpuppet.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:30:32 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48861316</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48861316</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48861316</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Train sim created by just one person is being called the best ever made"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Proud 2.2%er<p>But I also have had it installed via Crossover at some points to check out a Windows-only game.<p>Which I just realize also skews the statistic because Crossover basically creates a Windows VM.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 01:11:05 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48854576</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48854576</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48854576</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "How Donkey Kong Toppled Atari"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>While the Famicom was decent, the NES had mechanical problems.<p>The Famicom was a top-loading console, like the SNES, but had hard-wired controllers that came out of the back of the console. There was a controller port on the front that was used for the light gun peripheral.<p>The NES had pluggable controllers, but the cartridge was front-loaded. The cartridge would plug into the bus in the back, then the whole thing was pushed down, which allowed the contacts on the bus to touch the contacts on the board.<p>Those contacts often became worn and lost their elasticity over many uses, basically becoming more curled over time. These would then not make full contact with the board, causing games to not load.<p>They eventually redesigned the system to be a top-loader like the original Famicom. They also introduced this design to Japan so they would gain swappable controllers.<p>Also, the Famicom cartridges were smaller, just large enough to contain the board. NES cartridges were much larger with a lot of empty space. Didn't cause any issues technially, but it was a choice.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:02:47 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847113</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847113</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847113</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Biohacker seeking immortality afflicted with incurable 'stomach eating' disease"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Hilariously, his self-scans did not catch this.<p>It's also not cancer. AIG makes him more susceptible to certain cancers, but he does not have cancer yet.<p>And looking at what he's done compared to the symptoms, it's possible he's been inadvertently self-medicating his condition for a bit.<p>He's currently blaming his lifestyle <i>before</i> his "biohacking" for his condition.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:43:14 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48834892</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48834892</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48834892</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Odin, Wikipedia and engagement farming"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>He’s not saying that’s why the article was deleted.<p>He’s saying that to say that’s why Bill is acting like he is. Saying he doesn’t care while making a lot of noise like he cares. Complaining about rules he hasn’t looked up. Then accusing the mods of bias simply due to their deletion of the article, despite the mod nominating being more ideologically aligned than not.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:09:30 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48785160</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48785160</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48785160</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Costco is the anti-Amazon"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>That tracks. I wouldn't trust e-gas either.<p>Seriously though, I was thinking on how I had to stop and get cat litter, milk, and cereal on my way home today when I read what you posted. While I get some consumables online; pet food, filters for my odd-sized vent, and until recently Hello Fresh; I mostly buy consumables in person.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 19:06:40 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778734</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778734</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778734</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Costco is the anti-Amazon"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I'm surprised e-commerce is still under 17 percent.<p>It makes me want to check <i>my</i> purchasing habits to see if I'm around that mark.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 18:50:31 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778538</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778538</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778538</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "I Wasn't Allowed Prompting ChatGPT During My Chalk Talk: This Is Discrimination (2025)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I think that's what the satire is trying to warn against.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 18:45:05 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778458</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778458</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48778458</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by bena in "Big Banana Car"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>However, the distraction car <i>is</i> breaking the law in Smokey and the Bandit. It’s not incorrect for them to try and pull it over.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 20:40:05 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48603004</link><dc:creator>bena</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48603004</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48603004</guid></item></channel></rss>