Hacker News: jkestner

New comment by jkestner in "SpaceX, Other Mega IPOs Denied Fast Index Entry by S&P"

jkestner — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:08:33 +0000

The valuation is actually mostly about AI. Satellites, like electric cars, don’t have quite the growth story (and I do mean “story”).

https://bsky.app/profile/patigallardo.bsky.social/post/3mnhc...

New comment by jkestner in "My Students Can't Read"

jkestner — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 02:44:01 +0000

Something something about metrics ceasing to be a good measure. Texas has draconian measures for districts containing a failing school, even as they redistribute the majority of funding from cities to rural districts. No surprise the schools want to pass by any means.

SpaceX IPO: Nice Try Though [video]

jkestner — Sun, 31 May 2026 14:52:07 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHD8BDFYyGI

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48346133

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by jkestner in "I'm Tired of Talking to AI"

jkestner — Wed, 27 May 2026 13:51:55 +0000

I'm ramming my head against a wall in sympathy.

Interesting that the boss immediately asked the same question. So they're aware that AI gives nondeterministic answers and yet still use it.

New comment by jkestner in "Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?"

jkestner — Tue, 26 May 2026 18:30:36 +0000

I had to start getting colonoscopies ahead of schedule because my dad never did, until it was too late. He was scared of doctors after he associated them with family members' unpleasant deaths.

Read the safety statistics and let it override the anecdotes. Colon cancer is easy to prevent and a horrible way to die.

New comment by jkestner in "Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?"

jkestner — Tue, 26 May 2026 18:26:32 +0000

Might try that this time. OTOH, I get the greatest nap of my life shaking off the sedative (get the lighter, cheaper option like Versed instead of anesthesiologist-administered propofol) and my spouse makes me a milkshake.

New comment by jkestner in "CBP Directive 3340-049B: Border Search of Electronic Devices"

jkestner — Mon, 25 May 2026 00:14:07 +0000

And Lake Michigan, as it’s connected to international water. Suppose next they’ll claim all rivers as borders.

New comment by jkestner in "Texas woman arrested for Facebook post about town water quality"

jkestner — Sat, 23 May 2026 19:56:32 +0000

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/17/politics/retired-cop-jailed-o...

Luddite Lab Resource Hub

jkestner — Sat, 23 May 2026 14:29:51 +0000

Article URL: https://labor.dair-institute.org/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48248055

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

A frightening weekend doesn't settle the license plate reader debate

jkestner — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:18:34 +0000

Article URL: https://www.statesman.com/opinion/editorials/article/license-plate-reader-debate-opinion-22264336.php

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48199791

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by jkestner in "The FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers"

jkestner — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:17:57 +0000

If Shot Spotter is bad at merely identifying the source of a gunshot, I'm not going to trust our security tech bros to cut through all the environmental noise and provide trustworthy identification among 10,000 different Teslas.

New comment by jkestner in "The FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers"

jkestner — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:13:14 +0000

I'm guessing license plate takes precedence over all those things. On the other hand, Flock hasn't shown any particular competence, and is happy to flag a bunch of false positives (look at all those criminals!).

New comment by jkestner in "The FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers"

jkestner — Mon, 18 May 2026 21:48:06 +0000

Note that Flock says it can identify a car by physical characteristics from dents to bumper stickers.

New comment by jkestner in "At least 25 Flock cameras have been destroyed in five states since April 2025"

jkestner — Sun, 17 May 2026 18:01:18 +0000

> Violence is not the answer.

Okay, but what about destruction of property?

On voting harder, see the lead incident mentioned: "This happened weeks after the city council voted to keep the cameras despite overwhelming public opposition." I also advocate patiently working through the process, but people are not blind to the trends: the democratic process is failing as government increasingly sidelines voters and the richest have the levers of power.

New comment by jkestner in "Americans Are Smashing Flock Cameras"

jkestner — Sun, 17 May 2026 17:49:13 +0000

AirTag but for dashcams would be cool. The trick is to make a popular product without being a company that's going to gatekeep that data.

New comment by jkestner in "Killed by Apple"

jkestner — Mon, 11 May 2026 15:01:55 +0000

And Michael Spindler’s mental health. https://lowendmac.com/2013/michael-spindler-peter-principle-...

New comment by jkestner in "Killed by Apple"

jkestner — Mon, 11 May 2026 14:56:19 +0000

I dunno, I hated how the Apple ][ forced a case on you. Had more choice before.

New comment by jkestner in "Louis Rossmann offers to pay legal fees for a threatened OrcaSlicer developer"

jkestner — Sun, 10 May 2026 20:55:01 +0000

The hackers did the work for free upfront. In return they only expect that everyone could share the fruit.

New comment by jkestner in "Poland is now among the 20 largest economies"

jkestner — Sun, 10 May 2026 19:11:27 +0000

Chicken and egg. How did those voters get that way? Some governments and rich people fund sock puppets to influence our national discourse, to muddy the truth if not outright spread lies. They wouldn't do it if it didn't work.

But sure, sock puppets also follow the crowd. Good money in it: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj38m11218xo

New comment by jkestner in "Casio S100X Japanese Lacquer Edition (JP Page Only)"

jkestner — Sun, 10 May 2026 18:15:33 +0000

Tools and Toys, or Uncrate, might have started out like this but seem to be more platforms for “brand stories” and just fresh new luxury gadgets. If you start a blog like this to fill in the gap, I’ll follow!