Hacker News: goldfishgold

New comment by goldfishgold in "Show HN: I am building a map of people who lived in the Roman Empire"

goldfishgold — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 03:52:58 +0000

On the Greek side this has been done, the Greek Lexicon of Personal Names is an effort to find all Greek names down to 600 CE. https://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/. You might want to try using that as the basis of your map.

In general the word 'prosopography' might be helpful for you. There's been lots of work over the centuries on analyzing large groups of people in antiquity.

New comment by goldfishgold in "No-One Is Going to Buy Your Videogame"

goldfishgold — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 04:29:45 +0000

100% disagree.

I mean, probably not wrong that nobody will buy your video game. And if you want to make a video game that’s just for you, go for it.

But there’s also nothing wrong with trying to make games that other people will enjoy and want to play.

New comment by goldfishgold in "A dumpster arrived behind my university's library"

goldfishgold — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 04:14:30 +0000

Utah Valley University?

New comment by goldfishgold in "A dumpster arrived behind my university's library"

goldfishgold — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 04:10:34 +0000

Do you keep track of what was deaccessioned and compare that against ILL requests? Otherwise how would you know, unless you happen to remember all the books that have been disposed of?

New comment by goldfishgold in "Judge bars Kars4Kids from broadcasting 'misleading' ads in California"

goldfishgold — Sat, 16 May 2026 04:32:50 +0000

I disagree that even on their website they’re forthright about what they do with the money. Look at it.

https://www.kars4kidsprograms.org/

=== We empower kids to be great. Kars4Kids provides the foundation kids need for successful, happy and meaningful lives.

…

We’re a national Jewish nonprofit providing mentorship, educational support and nurturing year-round environments together with our sister charity Oorah. Whether it’s tailored care from staff in summer camp, the safe haven of afterschool groups, or a mentor's listening ear, we provide the support youth need to thrive. ===

Sure, they use the word Jewish, but they carefully chose language that suggests a) the money goes to a wide range of underprivileged children, not just Jewish children and b) that their programs are traditional support programs, not trips to Israel.

New comment by goldfishgold in "The Real Story of Troy"

goldfishgold — Wed, 13 May 2026 03:38:48 +0000

I agree in broad strokes, but who is Aurora and what about the athletic games among the Phaeacians?

Taxpayers May Be Eligible for Significant Tax Refunds – If They Act by July 10

goldfishgold — Sun, 10 May 2026 14:37:16 +0000

Article URL: https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/news/nta-blog/tens-of-millions-of-taxpayers-may-be-eligible-for-significant-tax-refunds/2026/04/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48084350

Points: 62

# Comments: 38

New comment by goldfishgold in "Scores decline again for 13-year-old students in reading and mathematics"

goldfishgold — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 01:52:05 +0000

The standards in New York for first grade are adding and subtracting within 20. Which state are you thinking of with higher standards?

https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/curriculu...

New comment by goldfishgold in "John Ternus to become Apple CEO"

goldfishgold — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 03:03:48 +0000

I just opened maps and took a look. Kinda shocking to me that there doesn’t appear to be an obvious or easy way to add POI data. Google Maps is huge on promoting users to supply UGC.

New comment by goldfishgold in "Israel escalates attacks on medics in Lebanon with deadly 'quadruple tap'"

goldfishgold — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:14:36 +0000

I don't know Arabic, but I read the English differently. I see "fight against those who X, and those who B, and those who C" as different groups, all of whom one is supposed to fight against.

I find it quite hard to read this passage like you do and see this as evidence of equality of treatment between Muslims and non-Muslims. Even the translator interprets 'religion of truth' to mean Islam.

Plus I think in general you're ignoring the pretty hostile tone of this passage. The jizyah is explicitly intended to be a humiliation ("humbling"). I was skeptical, but I think this passages is strong evidence that the jizyah was intended to "discriminate and oppress" non-Muslims.

New comment by goldfishgold in "Israel escalates attacks on medics in Lebanon with deadly 'quadruple tap'"

goldfishgold — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 03:35:31 +0000

“Fight against those who do not believe in Allāh or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allāh and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth [i.e., Islām] from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.“

https://quran.com/9/29?translations=131%2C20

New comment by goldfishgold in "NASA Shuts Off Instrument on Voyager 1 to Keep Spacecraft Operating"

goldfishgold — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 01:34:21 +0000

yeah the sparse data being returned from Voyager are the only direct observations ever made of the outer solar system / beyond. Even if the data is humdrum and exactly as expected, that in itself is worth something.

New comment by goldfishgold in "Understanding Clojure's Persistent Vectors, pt. 1 (2013)"

goldfishgold — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:33:30 +0000

Scala has a similar data structure https://www.scala-lang.org/api/2.13.6/scala/collection/immut.... Something was in the air in 2013.

Negative views of Israel continue to rise among Americans

goldfishgold — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:10:44 +0000

Article URL: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/07/negative-views-of-israel-netanyahu-continue-to-rise-among-americans-especially-young-people/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47713537

Points: 14

# Comments: 3

New comment by goldfishgold in "Defeating a 40-year-old copy protection dongle"

goldfishgold — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:22:34 +0000

Love the Ebay link. Where has that been sitting for the last 30 years?

New comment by goldfishgold in "She Got a Permit for Her Chickens. Now the City Is Fining Her $80k"

goldfishgold — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 02:02:25 +0000

I have no problem with backyard chickens but I do dislike this issue being used by libertarians as a wedge. Property rights shouldn’t be sacrosanct over and above reasonable restrictions by the broader community.

New comment by goldfishgold in "Solving `Passport Application` with Haskell"

goldfishgold — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:18:47 +0000

Probably you’re referring to those woman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoda_Muthana

New comment by goldfishgold in "IDF officers ordered to fire at unarmed crowds near Gaza food distribution sites"

goldfishgold — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 12:38:56 +0000

Clearly there is disagreement in Israel to some limited degree about the reality and appeal of a two state solution, but it’s hard to see that as a realistic or desired outcome when Netanyahu keeps saying things like “everyone knows that I am the one who for decades blocked the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger our existence.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-boasts-of-thwarting-...

Certainly it’s the stated position and goal of the current government, which is what the initial post said.

New comment by goldfishgold in "IDF officers ordered to fire at unarmed crowds near Gaza food distribution sites"

goldfishgold — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 03:09:31 +0000

How does this post misrepresent Israel’s options and its apparent decision?

New comment by goldfishgold in "IDF officers ordered to fire at unarmed crowds near Gaza food distribution sites"

goldfishgold — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 02:45:51 +0000

“Desperate and traumatised Jewish survivors refused to return to neighbours who had denounced or deported them; when some were returned to Poland anyway and met with pogroms and hatred, all prospect of Jewish repatriation evaporated. Following sharp criticism from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which was caring for Jewish survivors, in December 1945 Truman opened up visas in excess of the usual quotas for some 23,000 DPs in the American zone, two-thirds of them Jewish, and from January 1946 UNRRA too recognised Jews as a national group, to be housed apart from other refugees. In this case (and no other), the Soviets and Americans were on the same page, agreeing that refuge outside Europe must be found, ideally in Palestine. The British, having learned how strongly Palestine’s Arab population would resist this project, objected until, in 1948, they surrendered their mandate, leaving – as one departing official put it – the key under the mat. Of some 230,000 registered Jewish DPs, just over 130,000 would settle in the new state of Israel and about 65,000 in the United States.”

From a recent review in the LRB of a book (Lost Souls) about those camps and their inhabitants. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n10/susan-pedersen/owner...

Europeans were eager to see Jews gone, one way or another. “Pogroms and hatred” sounds pretty violent.