Hacker News: burntwater

New comment by burntwater in "Two pilots dead after plane and ground vehicle collide at LaGuardia"

burntwater — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:55:40 +0000

My understanding that this scenario is exactly what happened here.

New comment by burntwater in "AOL to discontinue dial-up internet"

burntwater — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 21:28:40 +0000

The sound effects were way better back then. "You've got mail!". The doors opening/closing.

Though maybe it's different because back then, then meant someone I wanted to interact with was now available.

Today, a chat sound means someone I probably don't want to, but am required to, interact with is now available.

New comment by burntwater in "NSF faces shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions"

burntwater — Fri, 09 May 2025 17:02:50 +0000

Who forced this? Was it actually the Biden administration, or was it university policies?

New comment by burntwater in "Touchscreens are out, and tactile controls are back"

burntwater — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 19:20:06 +0000

And what if you're deaf?

New comment by burntwater in "The anatomy of a 2AM mental breakdown"

burntwater — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 20:22:02 +0000

>> At my previous job if something went down on our site, it was a four alarm fire, war room, and all hands on deck to get it resolved or heads would roll. It was so dysfunctional to work somewhere when something broke or stopped working, nobody was in any hurry to fix it. Several times I just thought, "Is this what they mean when they say "the inmates are running the asylum""?

That's funny, because reading your first sentence I was thinking that was the dysfunctional place. I had a boss that would take problems from 0 to 10 in a flash, when the problem was really a 4 or 5, and it really was not a great environment.

New comment by burntwater in "The 1986 Oldsmobile Incas Dashboard (2020)"

burntwater — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 01:58:53 +0000

"The dash display is almost completely digital—strangely, they left an extra analog speedometer and tachometer"

This is common even today, even on 100% digital screen dashboards, they'll have fake analog speedometer and tachometer displays. My 2023 Mazda CX5 is 50/50, half the dashboard is analog and half is digital. And I like it that way.

New comment by burntwater in "Dumb website only lets one user in at a time"

burntwater — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:51:56 +0000

B&H (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/) is somewhat like this. Super popular business, but you can't order online on Saturdays. You can browse the website, just not place an order. Their physical store is also closed on Saturdays, and closes early on Fridays. They also close for days/weeks at a time for Jewish holidays.

New comment by burntwater in "Kino: Pro Video Camera"

burntwater — Thu, 30 May 2024 01:05:51 +0000

Yeah, what qingcharles says. I personally can't say I've seen what's special about 24fps artistically, but it doesn't bother me from a technical perspective (as much).

New comment by burntwater in "AI headphones let wearer listen to a single person in a crowd by looking at them"

burntwater — Wed, 29 May 2024 22:10:45 +0000

For decades now, when I enter a bar or restaurant I turn down the volume of my hearing aid. Not because everything is too loud, but because it allows me to hear spoken speech much better. It doesn't work quite as well on modern digital hearing aids as it did on older analog, and I don't fully understand the mechanics of it, but it's what I do.

New comment by burntwater in "Kino: Pro Video Camera"

burntwater — Wed, 29 May 2024 21:20:39 +0000

I for one would love to see us drop the fractional frame rates (29.97, etc). They're an archaic technical relic that cause trouble when working with timecode. At Sphere we debated standardizing on 30/60/120fps but ultimately decided it was a battle we didn't want to fight in an already complicated building.

New comment by burntwater in "Apple announces new accessibility features, including eye tracking"

burntwater — Thu, 16 May 2024 20:41:55 +0000

That doesn't surprise me too much. I never really used Spotify or any music app much in the past. This discovery was a convergence of things - switching from Android to iPhone, a renewed exercise routine, and most importantly a new iPhone and hearing aid combo that allowed the iPhone to stream directly to my hearing aid, removing the need for bulky headphones. Phone calls are also streamed directly to hearing aid. Game changing!

New comment by burntwater in "Apple announces new accessibility features, including eye tracking"

burntwater — Wed, 15 May 2024 22:08:47 +0000

I'm severely hearing impaired and enjoy going to dance classes - swing, salsa, etc. If I'm standing still, I can easily tune into the beat. But once I start moving, I quickly lose it on many songs; dance studios aren't known for having large sound systems with substantial bass. I don't know that this specific setup would fix anything -- it would need some way of syncing to the instructor's iPhone that is connected via bluetooth to the studio's little portable speaker. But it's a step in the right direction.

While on the topic, I can hear music but almost never understand lyrics; at best I might catch the key chorus phrase (example: the words "born in the USA" are literally the only words I understand in that song).

A few months ago I discovered the "karaoke" feature on Apple Music, in which it displays the lyrics in time with the music. This have been game changing for me. I'm catching up on decades worth of music where I never had any idea what the lyrics are (filthy, that's what they are. So many songs about sex!). It has made exercising on the treadmill, elliptical, etc actually enjoyable.

New comment by burntwater in "Apple announces new accessibility features, including eye tracking"

burntwater — Wed, 15 May 2024 21:52:46 +0000

Guaranteed that marketers are salivating at the idea of eye tracking on apps and website. It's an amazing feature that absolutely needs to be gatekept.

New comment by burntwater in "Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong"

burntwater — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 20:10:32 +0000

Boy the bots are thirsty today... But anyho, most of this is actually news to me. One bit that doesn't make sense to me is how caves or rock overhangings don't provide protection. I'm not following that, if it saying that the electricity will still make it's way back into the cave floor? Does it matter if you're 3 feet from the opening or 30 feet?

New comment by burntwater in "Equinox.space"

burntwater — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 19:55:17 +0000

At least for me, I've always associated preferring mouse inversion with growing up handling BB guns. When you're lifting a rifle up, you are pulling back/contracting on the right arm. When aiming, to go up you nudge the right hand down, or nudge up to point down.

New comment by burntwater in "Daily-Driving a Blackberry in 2023"

burntwater — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 00:57:21 +0000

I disagree, I find the total keyboard experience much better on Android.

To each their own, obviously. But... yeah, IMO it's pretty bad on Apple.

New comment by burntwater in "Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images"

burntwater — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 19:02:42 +0000

They're ALL raising rates. You might be able to change to a cheaper one this year, but next year your cheaper company will have implemented a 20%+ increase.

New comment by burntwater in "The Great American Rail-Trail"

burntwater — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 23:35:21 +0000

I loved thinking about people 500 years ago walking on the same stones I was walking on, and thinking about what the exact spot I was currently standing on was like back then. What did it smell like? What did you see? Were the fields this open or were their more trees? Did you run into a lot of people?

Lots you can think about on the trail.

New comment by burntwater in "The Great American Rail-Trail"

burntwater — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 21:51:36 +0000

Then you did a tiny piece of it and have chosen to extrapolate from that tiny piece.

If it's not for you, that's totally OK. It IS something for many other people.

New comment by burntwater in "The Great American Rail-Trail"

burntwater — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 21:35:34 +0000

The Camino is vastly superior, just in a very different way.

ETA: I shouldn't say it's vastly superior, rather the Camino is a very, very different experience from the trails alluded to here, and is superior in relation to that experience.