Hacker News: hcrisp

New comment by hcrisp in "Anthropic's model naming, extrapolated"

hcrisp — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 20:28:44 +0000

I asked an AI bot to do this just this morning and it also suggested:

    - Epic
    - Tale
    - Saga
    - Chronicle
    - Legend
    - Logos

New comment by hcrisp in "C++: The Documentary"

hcrisp — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:45:21 +0000

I read it recently. I liked a few of the chapters especially how policy classes fix some issues with OO design. I do recommend asking an AI chatbot to summarize each chapter and say what the modern equivalent is since some of the idioms have improved. I think one whole section was obsoleted through the use of std::variant and std::visit.

New comment by hcrisp in "Ti-84 Evo"

hcrisp — Sat, 02 May 2026 12:59:35 +0000

My TI-85 story involves the fact that it only had 2D plotting (though I think newer models such as the TI-89 had 3D).

I had a 3D calculus class so I wrote a program in it to plot a 3D isometric mesh of a surface using the 2D rendering library. It was slow but got the job done. I used it to help pass a test or two.

I also experimented with drawing random surfaces and objects like a tire. They looked pretty cool for a calculator screen.

The math lab at the college had a cable which you could use to take data off or put it on so you could in theory have exchanged programs with others but this was before the internet so I didn't.

I still have mine and enjoy the sliding the cover off - a trip down memory lane.

Later I rewrote the program in QBasic on a PC for fun and it was lightning fast!

New comment by hcrisp in "Show HN: Craftplan – I built my wife a production management tool for her bakery"

hcrisp — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:37:44 +0000

You built your wife?! This robotics stuff has gone too far. Next you will be telling me that you threw your cow over the fence some hay!

New comment by hcrisp in "Robert Redford has died"

hcrisp — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:09:53 +0000

Not as long but similarly lost at sea, crossing the Atlantic in a life raft: "Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea" by Steven Callahan.

New comment by hcrisp in "The McPhee method for writing deeply reported nonfiction"

hcrisp — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:49:53 +0000

McPhee was recommended as someone whose writing "makes boring things interesting". I did enjoy The Curve of Binding Energy (nuclear science) and to some extent Coming out of the Country (Alaska). Both of those featured interesting vignettes and colorful characters which propelled along the narrative.

However, I then turned to his magnum opus on geology, Annals of the Former World. That was a long slog which, although I enjoyed moments of it, now I wonder if my time wouldn't have been better spent reading something more interesting.

New comment by hcrisp in "Type "-AI" in Google to avoid AI Overview and its climate cost"

hcrisp — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:40:52 +0000

Also: "Roughly 85% [of a data center's energy use] is data collection from sites like TikTok and Instagram, and cryptocurrency." What a waste!

Type "-AI" in Google to avoid AI Overview and its climate cost

hcrisp — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:38:04 +0000

Article URL: https://apnews.com/article/ai-data-center-climate-impact-environment-c6218681ffdbad5bf427b47347fddcb9

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44985892

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

Digital Archaeology, Part II

hcrisp — Sun, 04 May 2025 19:28:45 +0000

Article URL: https://blondihacks.com/digital-archeology-part-ii/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43888882

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by hcrisp in "Athena spacecraft declared dead after toppling over on moon"

hcrisp — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:30:09 +0000

As I recall, Apollo 11 was off by 4 miles downrange, which was considered good but not precise. More work on the guidance / navigation system allowed for a precision landing in Apollo 12 (to touch down near a Surveyor probe).

New comment by hcrisp in "DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data"

hcrisp — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:01:47 +0000

The government itself self-reports $149B in "improper payments"

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/doge-musk-government-was...

Apple Plans Thinner, Foldable iPhones to Revive Growth

hcrisp — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 14:19:20 +0000

Article URL: https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-thin-iphone-foldable-computer-plans-dbb4286c

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42423508

Points: 4

# Comments: 3

New comment by hcrisp in "New images show state of preservation of Ernest Shackleton's ship"

hcrisp — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:04:56 +0000

Remarkably preserved for having had the keel crushed by ice. Seems the icy waters kept the wood from decaying. Looks pristine.

Jimmy Chin is the director. He just discovered some remains of Andrew Irvine from the 1924 Everest expedition. Seems he's been having a good year.

New comment by hcrisp in "Routine dental X-rays are not backed by evidence"

hcrisp — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 22:08:00 +0000

I asked mine, and he said the wisdom teeth can crowd teeth if the jaw size is too small causing buckling (a cosmetic issue). More seriously, it can interfere with nerves in your jaw (again because of size constraints) causing numbness / paralysis, etc. Likely the decision to remove them comes down to your genetic / jaw structure and whether they have fully come in yet or not.

https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/wisdom-teeth-removal-neces...

New comment by hcrisp in "Show HN: Visual A* pathfinding and maze generation in Python"

hcrisp — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 23:47:57 +0000

I prefer this video of A* pathfinding on a real map (Chicago and Rome):

https://youtu.be/CgW0HPHqFE8?si=9aw_eHy3IedXY1Ro

New comment by hcrisp in "A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee"

hcrisp — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 21:02:31 +0000

I couldn't find any citations that mention molybdenum as a way to increase metabolism of caffeine. However, I found one reference [0] that mentions, "Consumption of broccoli and brassica vegetables in general and absorption of large quantities of vitamin C increase caffeine clearance".

EDIT: It would seem that the vitamin C paper [1] concludes the opposite of what [0] states. "These results indicate that the elimination of caffeine in the elderly is not affected significantly by the concentrations of vitamin C achieved during this study."

    [0] https://www.coffeeandscience.org/health/coffee-and-caffeine/caffeine-and-metabolism
    [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7064899/

New comment by hcrisp in "Should the Hawthorn Be Saved?"

hcrisp — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 23:31:58 +0000

I have a Hawthorn. My brother-in-law, who is a landscaper, came over to show me how to prune what we thought was a flowering crab. However, on closer inspection, he exclaimed, "Wait, this a Hawthorn bush!"

It has gotten larger over time, and harder to mow around due to the thorns (spine-like protrusions which resemble small branch growths more than true thorns).

It does have one redeeming quality. Every year in early spring, for a brief but dazzling moment, it appears covered in thousands of small, white, lace-like flowers.

I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

hcrisp — Sat, 18 May 2024 14:12:20 +0000

Article URL: https://www.wsj.com/style/eat-poison-ivy-oak-immunity-3207ec3c

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40399224

Points: 136

# Comments: 195

What I Got Wrong in a Decade of Predicting the Future of Tech

hcrisp — Fri, 17 May 2024 12:02:06 +0000

Article URL: https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/what-i-got-wrong-in-a-decade-of-predicting-the-future-of-tech-06420bba

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40388948

Points: 5

# Comments: 0

New comment by hcrisp in "Tornadoes Are Coming in Bunches. Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why"

hcrisp — Thu, 09 May 2024 13:19:59 +0000

Cause storms do?