Hacker News: jerlam

New comment by jerlam in "Cities Are Covering Flock Cameras with Trash Bags"

jerlam — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:42:34 +0000

Citizens have a very different opinion on speed cameras than Flock. Despite them being very similar in terms of technology.

New comment by jerlam in "Citing 'severe' math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM"

jerlam — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:40:36 +0000

I am agreeing with you - the funding gap is one of the causes for under-performance.

New comment by jerlam in "Valve Takes Crazy Pills and Jacks Up Steam Deck Pricing"

jerlam — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:13:37 +0000

Both models of the Steam Deck are sold out at the new price, so Valve isn't the only one taking the crazy pills.

Edit: looks like the 1TB model went back in stock

New comment by jerlam in "Citing 'severe' math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM"

jerlam — Thu, 28 May 2026 16:24:29 +0000

California had below average (for US states) school funding per student until recently: https://edsource.org/2026/california-education-funding-rise/...

At times, it was ranked second-worst.

I would argue that with California's high cost of living, "average" funding in California is still low relatively speaking.

New comment by jerlam in "Balcony solar could help fight rising US utility costs"

jerlam — Thu, 28 May 2026 01:22:37 +0000

Something seems wrong with the numbers in this article.

> “I did some rough math and this might save me like $30 to $50 a month,” Curtis said.

This is the $400 (now $500) balcony solar kit from Bright Saver - it's only 180W: https://www.brightsaver.org/product-page/flex180

From https://www.thegreenwatt.com/peak-sun-hours-calculator/, peak sun hours in California is roughly 6.

If we multiply these numbers together we get about 1080Wh, which is about 1kWh. Electricity rates vary depending on plan, time of day, and baseline usage, but let's assume it's $0.50 per kWH which is on the very high end.

This is only $15/month. But it's balcony solar, which means that the panel is cannot be mounted on the roof, and it's going to be blocked by the very building that it's mounted to, as well as trees and other buildings. So probably a lot less than $15.

New comment by jerlam in "Warm up your MacBook (2019)"

jerlam — Thu, 28 May 2026 00:36:03 +0000

I think my last Macbook was Wisconsin-locale instead of California. Closing the lid and putting it to sleep actually caused it to heat up (until the battery died).

New comment by jerlam in "Canada to order military plane fleet from Sweden in shift from US suppliers"

jerlam — Wed, 27 May 2026 18:03:24 +0000

The US doesn't even use the Wedgetail, and has cancelled and then un-cancelled it:

https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/pentagon-e-7-wedgetail-...

New comment by jerlam in "'Major chemical explosion' kills, injures multiple people"

jerlam — Wed, 27 May 2026 02:17:22 +0000

How much of the decrease is due to those dangerous jobs being outsourced to other countries, and the US becoming a service economy with office jobs?

How much of the decrease is due to safety organizations like OSHA that are currently being dismantled under the guise that safety is uneconomic?

New comment by jerlam in "Ferrari shares fall after launch of first EV as Jony Ive design proves divisive"

jerlam — Wed, 27 May 2026 01:10:25 +0000

For the same reason, the Toyota Prius was uniquely styled and ugly - until all the early adopters moved to EVs and sales fell. The most recent model is intended for a mainstream audience and is conventionally styled like a hot hatch.

New comment by jerlam in "Ferrari shares fall after launch of first EV as Jony Ive design proves divisive"

jerlam — Wed, 27 May 2026 01:03:31 +0000

$30k (new in 2019) for an EV with a 125 mile range and 134 hp doesn't sound remotely competitive.

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

jerlam — Tue, 26 May 2026 18:32:23 +0000

Other than "mismanagement of the property", most of these exposures apply to non-condos as well.

New comment by jerlam in "Taking a walk may lead to more creativity than sitting, study finds (2014)"

jerlam — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:35:20 +0000

Counterpoint: Silicon Valley is a wasteland of industrial parks

New comment by jerlam in "Ukraine now launches more long range strikes than it absorbs"

jerlam — Mon, 25 May 2026 18:12:02 +0000

How much of this is just due to geography? Ukraine is much smaller than Russia; 800 km, one of the distances cited, seems longer than the entire length of Ukraine; Russia can put its manufacturing facilities much farther from the border and Ukraine cannot. Depending on how you define "long range strikes", Russia has less need for them because its targets within Ukraine are within "close range" striking distance.

Interesting from a capabilities standpoint but cannot be used to infer anything about the war itself.

New comment by jerlam in "Oura, Maker of Popular Smart Rings, Files Confidentially for IPO"

jerlam — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:21:35 +0000

The ring swelling is pretty rare. More likely the user's finger swelled up and it got stuck. I had one and had to regularly switch what finger it was worn on due to normal body changes.

New comment by jerlam in "Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars [video]"

jerlam — Thu, 21 May 2026 01:38:31 +0000

Many states also tack on an EV specific registration fee that applies regardless of miles driven, over $200 in some places.

New comment by jerlam in "SpaceX S-1"

jerlam — Thu, 21 May 2026 01:29:37 +0000

Raising the market cap of Tesla is one of the requirements for Musk's nearly $1 trillion pay package. Merging companies is a lot easier than trying to sell more cars or non-existent robots.

New comment by jerlam in "560-610 minutes of exercise a week needed for substantial heart benefits"

jerlam — Wed, 20 May 2026 22:05:17 +0000

I've got multiple wearables and they all seem to agree that normal walking does nothing for me. Barely increases my heart rate, not even Z1. Nor does "doing chores" which seems even more nebulous. But that's just a data point of one.

New comment by jerlam in "560-610 minutes of exercise a week needed for substantial heart benefits"

jerlam — Wed, 20 May 2026 17:56:39 +0000

It would depend on how high your heart rate goes and stays during lifting weights, because everyone lifts weights differently. I would say that it's not likely based on my own personal experience, and seeing others' time ratios for lifting vs resting.

New comment by jerlam in "560-610 minutes of exercise a week needed for substantial heart benefits"

jerlam — Wed, 20 May 2026 15:15:37 +0000

The imprecise language in these studies often means people can interpret them in whatever way they want.

This study defines moderate as "brisk" walking, suggesting that it's not just walking.

Athletes live in their own bubble where "vigorous" means "maximal".

New comment by jerlam in "Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars [video]"

jerlam — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:42:39 +0000

I checked my Toyota's manual and it does explicitly warn about neutral for long periods of time for this reason. However, when not in neutral, the car will not allow the traction battery to be below 40% or so, so it is difficult to enter a car wash with an empty battery.

However, the car may have a very small, old, or weak battery; there may be significant drain on the battery (air conditioning?) while in neutral; and you may be in a very long car wash.