Hacker News: habnds

New comment by habnds in "Waymo in Portland"

habnds — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:34:09 +0000

People in and around the acela corridor drive significantly less than the national average.

New comment by habnds in "Waymo in Portland"

habnds — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:32:13 +0000

the actual cost of a trip between times square and the national mall is about $200 all things considered based on the ~0.80 federal mileage reimbursement rate for 250 miles. that train corridor is overwhelmingly successful as well so the idea that amtrak isn't a good deal is at odds with reality.

New comment by habnds in "The $25k car is going extinct?"

habnds — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 22:41:47 +0000

$1 in Jan 2005 is only 1.69 today, not $4 because the velocity of money has decreased dramatically as it has pooled towards the top of the income/wealth spectrum where it doesn't get spent or productively invested.

New comment by habnds in "The $25k car is going extinct?"

habnds — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 11:39:33 +0000

Inflation is completely possible with no change in money supply. This is handled in economics with the idea of the "velocity of money" which conceptually captures the large range of factors by which prices can increase due to factors beyond money supply, for example an energy price shock or changing consumer and business expectations that result in changes in spending and investment patterns.

New comment by habnds in "Human coders are still better than LLMs"

habnds — Thu, 29 May 2025 17:24:27 +0000

seems comparable to chess where it's well established that a human + a computer is much more skilled than either one individually

New comment by habnds in "Astronauts reveal failures on the Boeing Starliner were far dire than reported"

habnds — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 18:00:17 +0000

The ars article the post links too is much more informative

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/04/the-harrowing-story-of...

New comment by habnds in "Study captures hard truth: Walking home at night is not the same for women"

habnds — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 13:43:16 +0000

It would be really interesting if they had used a control for gender by also comparing results to something like 1, people of all genders who had experienced some sort of violent encounter while walking at night or 2, people who grew up in relatively violent places.

I historically have lived in relatively more dangerous places, attended a pretty violent high school and, while male and physically fit, am not an intimidating presence. I wonder what my results would look like compared to someone from the suburbs or an nfl linebacker.

The other thing they don't mention at all is that especially with walking and biking, the reality of safety is important, but so is the _perception_ of safety. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's very important in this type of work to handle that distinction explicitly. The quote "Why can’t we live in a world where women don’t have to think about these things?" doesn't really acknowledge that. Random sexual violence on the street is pretty rare compared to in someone's home, dorm room, etc. How much of this fear is driven by Law and Order SVU's cultural impact? A genuine question, not a criticism.

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:19:43 +0000

if you haven't destroyed your mtb after 10 years of riding you might not need a mountain bike at all.

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:18:10 +0000

I would be very suspicious that some combination of different tires and different geometry between the bikes your comparing is much more responsible for that perceived difference than the different metals. Wearing cushioned running shoes instead of indoor soccer shoes would have a bigger effect i would guess.

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:12:22 +0000

they can also be stiffer in some directions and more flexible in others, which is a huge underestimated advantage compared to metal bikes.

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:10:29 +0000

yeah this isn't a real concern

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:10:09 +0000

my 25 year old aluminum hard tail begs me to share that while this is factually correct, the lifetime for an alloy bike frame isn't a real practical limitation, just a talking point.

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:06:13 +0000

I'm curious what you think the vibration dampening properties of steel are. It's very notable to me that high quality steel bikes almost always come with a carbon fork if not suspension and that tuning forks are made of steel according to wikipedia. To me steel is in the "resonator" category, not something that dampens vibration particularly well.

I also wonder if people like the ride quality of steel because, like very thin high pressure tires, it carries high frequency vibrations that _feel_ fast but science tells us clearly are not good for going fast.

New comment by habnds in "There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike"

habnds — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 20:36:24 +0000

they dampen vibrations better than steel and titanium too tbh. I've never understood the "ride feel" thing about metal frames. Metal tubes are very resonant. that ride feel is just the same vibrations that make on 23m tires _feel_ faster compared to 30m but the science is clear that high frequency vibrations are bad.

New comment by habnds in "You are never taught how to build quality software"

habnds — Sat, 09 Dec 2023 01:18:50 +0000

I don't believe this personally, but I bet that many people with MBA's would tell you that this was what their MBA was about.

New comment by habnds in "FedEx Accused of Largest Odometer Rollback Fraud in History with Used Vans"

habnds — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 13:29:18 +0000

not very much room... the companies weren't all that separate and fedex profited off the alleged fraud

>>> FedEx started auctioning old vans off through its fleet company, Holman Fleet Leasing (also a defendant in the lawsuit). The lawsuit alleges that both FedEx and Holman intentionally replaced the odometers to artificially inflate the values of the vans, so they'd sell for higher prices at various auctions throughout the United States. Then, according to the accusations, both companies would split the profits.

New comment by habnds in "FedEx Accused of Largest Odometer Rollback Fraud in History with Used Vans"

habnds — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 13:28:05 +0000

wholesale auctions operate with a surprising amount of trust, often buyers never actually see the car, they buy based on the specs and description. The vehicle is then shipped to the buyer, and in some cases. the buyer, when finally seeing the vehicle, will get in touch with the seller and say "this isn't "great" condition, this is "good", for _reasons_" and negotiate an adjustment of the price to reflect that. The plaintiff is in the comments of that article and mentions most auctions don't allow computer diagnostics on a car.

New comment by habnds in "Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again?"

habnds — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 13:51:15 +0000

what?

New comment by habnds in "Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again?"

habnds — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 13:50:53 +0000

I guess to me I'm (1) surprised that you think the social status affirmation dynamic is more at play for people buying new bikes than people riding 40 year "steel is real" bikes. (it occurs to me to ask, "what is the dif in carbon footprint between buying a complete bike and buying each cool little vintage component individually?")

and (2) that we aren't interested in _encouraging_ conspicuous consumption in bicycles. This is certainly a big factor in cars. To encourage more riding, it seems like a very positive thing for people to be splurging on bikes and proud of what they're riding. This would draw more people in compared to if they only see the Sheldon Brown types out, who they don't identify with or aspire to. it's a good thing for people to envy the secure healthy life of the average wealthy urban elite on a fancy ebike or whatever.

New comment by habnds in "Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again?"

habnds — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 14:16:12 +0000

an embarrassing article for the author.

could have left it as

>> the bicycle itself has managed to elude environmental critique ... "because" >> Cycling is one of the most sustainable modes of transportation.

hard for me to avoid wondering whether this is astro-turfing from the auto industry.