Hacker News: havblue

New comment by havblue in "Britain’s output per person is now only just above that of Mississippi"

havblue — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:13:46 +0000

I doubt there are many people at the Atlantic who voted for Trump and the author has worked for the Economist before. So I'm not sure what you're asking for, unless you're saying he should move back to London if he's to write about the UK.

New comment by havblue in "Britain’s output per person is now only just above that of Mississippi"

havblue — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:06:37 +0000

The article never said poverty is only a function of gdp, so I'm not sure who your comment is directed to. The article discusses gdp per capita, the devaluation of the pound, declining wages and the decline of health care all in the free paragraphs. If those things go in the wrong direction you can indeed be as poor as Mississippi.

New comment by havblue in "The placeholder name for the Windows 8 experience was "modern""

havblue — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:32:03 +0000

I was one of the few people that thought people would like it. That is, why shouldn't it be better to have a bunch of tiles on your desktop that have the most important information and then you choose the one you really want to concentrate on full screen? Well, of course the problem is you aren't using a tablet. It's trying to fix something that never needed to be fixed.

But yes, Linux is great now and most people on the site can easily debug potential problems they run into on it and not look back.

New comment by havblue in "It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12"

havblue — Fri, 29 May 2026 23:52:09 +0000

So with the Framework you're paying a premium for maintainability. When the specs fall behind you can upgrade easily. With Apple you have a good laptop that will last awhile assuming you take very good care of it. And, of course, you can't upgrade or maintain it easily.

I can't say I agree with the thesis at all. With unstable hardware prices and leveling performance improvements, flexibility is becoming a far more important goal.

New comment by havblue in "EV Stupidity Checklist"

havblue — Fri, 29 May 2026 22:58:18 +0000

Yes, this is a great list and I hate getting in and out of electric vehicles, not to mention figuring the climate controls out of touchscreen-based vehicles. I think the question isn't so much why companies like Tesla deliberately make their cars inconvenient, it's why consumers allow themselves to think streamlined features are somehow better.

New comment by havblue in "Nitpicking the shell history scene in 'Tron: Legacy'"

havblue — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:31:13 +0000

There are a lot of movies explain their themes outright. You don't have to try that hard to remember what they're fighting for in the Incredibles for example. But what is the theme of Tron Legacy? I had to get Google to explain that the movie is about perfectionism. That's an interesting theme but I didn't realize that in the theater.

New comment by havblue in "On Labubu and the Hyperreal"

havblue — Wed, 27 May 2026 21:22:04 +0000

Discussing the nature of hyperreal consumer products is similar to art criticism. You think about the intent of the item and how it affects the recipient. It isn't just being a jerk about it that is, since you can gain insight into societal trends by asking, "why the heck are people taking weird pictures of Donnie Darko stuffed animals and posting them online." Discussions of buying new mechanical keyboards when you have plenty that work fine are a bridge too far though. Because I buy too many of them.

New comment by havblue in "The real cost of owning a home"

havblue — Tue, 26 May 2026 20:26:35 +0000

For my twenties, the biggest cost would have been opportunity. I was able to switch jobs multiple times in different states before meeting my fiancee. Renting allowed me to be far more adventurous than I would have been.

Fortune: Baby Boomers are strangling the economy

havblue — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:17:39 +0000

Article URL: https://fortune.com/2026/05/25/boomers-generational-inequality-housing-market-no-starter-homes/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48284575

Points: 9

# Comments: 3

New comment by havblue in "Magic the Gathering format: Fun 40"

havblue — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:25:58 +0000

That looks really fun, the problem being deck assembly. My issue with modern magic is the complexity of the ever-changing rules and playing against people who have put time into it, that laugh maniacally as they combo you. The asymmetrical play makes board games more appealing.

I especially love the art and simplicity of revised and third editions.

New comment by havblue in "Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements"

havblue — Tue, 19 May 2026 18:23:36 +0000

When I was in high school, the guidance counselors never really talked about job headwinds. Those were things that would presumably happen to other kids. The recipient of a motivational speech has infinite potential.

It's the same logic with discussing AI. The audience is the cream of the crop and will adapt to the future and benefit from technology. It's those other kids who didn't get your advice that might have to change careers.

New comment by havblue in "They Live (1988) inspired Adblocker"

havblue — Tue, 12 May 2026 13:10:12 +0000

I thought the billboard was more ironic: lots of people thought we were facing a population bomb at the time and now we're on the other side of the spectrum seeing a population collapse. For me just seeing something that I don't agree with doesn't automatically ruin my enjoyment.

New comment by havblue in "I want to live like Costco people"

havblue — Thu, 07 May 2026 19:08:18 +0000

I wanna live like Costco people I wanna do whatever Costco people do Wanna sleep with Costco people I wanna sleep with Costco people like you. Well, what else could I do? I said, "I'll... I'll see what I can do.

New comment by havblue in "The Upper Middle Class Trap"

havblue — Thu, 07 May 2026 15:02:31 +0000

Like anything it depends. How expensive is the private school, what are your hours, what is your spouse willing to accept. While expensive, I will say that a lot of private schools appear to understand the path past high school and into college. I think you'll get better advice about what to do after and I think it will make your kids a more viable candidate for the selective colleges they might be interested in. This again raises the question of whether the degree they move onto will be worth it, and it's a problem that you'll have to make a spreadsheet for. You're paying to keep your kids' options open.

New comment by havblue in "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education (2008)"

havblue — Wed, 06 May 2026 17:19:06 +0000

I think we're in a different world from twenty years ago. The upper-middle class kids I know understand that you can get your hands dirty and that a degree isn't a meal ticket to class security anymore. If you want to be a manager you have to understand the jobs of people you manage.

New comment by havblue in "America Lost the Mandate of Heaven"

havblue — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:36:19 +0000

A problem with politics now is it becomes a debate on Trump and sidesteps existential problems that we're facing and in favor of dunking on the other party. Stocks are going up when manufacturing isn't and the clumsy tarrif system we slapped on top of our economy isn't going to right the ship. I think the article is on the right track as we probably need more jobs related to building physical goods and not inflating the price of financial products. I'm just not sure if it goes far enough into a positive vision on what we should do to correct that.

New comment by havblue in "Street Fighter 2026 Trailer"

havblue — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 22:13:40 +0000

"Street Fighter is an upcoming American martial arts comedy film directed by Kitao Sakurai from a screenplay he wrote with T. J. Fixman, based on a story by Dalan Musson and Gary Dauberman. It is the third live-action feature-length adaptation of the Street Fighter game franchise and a reboot of the film series. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Eric André, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Jason Momoa."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_(2026_film)

Street Fighter 2026 Trailer

havblue — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 22:13:40 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX0Btbbddxk

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47800209

Points: 3

# Comments: 1

New comment by havblue in "The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces"

havblue — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:46:27 +0000

The settings are a lot more intricate than they used to be, especially video settings. So I'm guessing a lot of the intent is to present the information as clearly as possible and call it a day. Direct users towards big pictures for the games and for the store and hopefully have a wizard for the user to get on the internet.

New comment by havblue in "The Case Against Gameplay Loops"

havblue — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:11:35 +0000

I suppose I've reached a similar points with a decent number of games recently such as Claire Obscur or the Oblivion remake. The game isn't doing anything wrong but I just conclude that it's work and move on to something else. Still, there are a ton of very good movies on Tubi I could be watching, books I could be reading and a dog I could be walking. These are typically guilt-free loops unless the book is monotonous, so the advice is to read something harder.

As far as a game that didn't become a repetitive loop I'll praise UFO 50 for having a ton of challenging variety at least and you'll quickly discover a different challenge every time you switch to a different title. Overall I think what you need to recognize is not whether you complete a game, it's whether you feel rewarded for your time spent. If not, just plant a victory flag in whatever achievement you just obtained and move on, nobody will judge.