Hacker News: jmann99999

New comment by jmann99999 in "New iMac with M6"

jmann99999 — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 23:21:58 +0000

Your point about them being overbuilt and built to last forever is spot on. Another way to repurpose these machines is to install Linux. I think people will find they are still snappy and supported.

I like Omarchy because it is so different from what I am used to but still useful. Opinions on its creator (DHH) vary, but from an O/S perspective, I enjoy it. I am sure other distros are great too.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1"

jmann99999 — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:48:18 +0000

This. It seems to light my usage of my max plan on fire. I’ve gone back to opus because I run out of usage in my five hour window so much more quickly.

New comment by jmann99999 in "We spoke to the man making viral Lego-style AI videos for Iran"

jmann99999 — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:54:27 +0000

I'll give ComfyUi a try. I love that idea. Thanks!

New comment by jmann99999 in "We spoke to the man making viral Lego-style AI videos for Iran"

jmann99999 — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 03:30:06 +0000

Has anyone figured out what AI tool the "Mr. Explosive" team is using to make these? I find the quality of the LEGO animation to be really good. I have made stop-motion LEGO videos in the past, and this is impressive.

Thanks for any insight.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Why Walmart still doesn't support Apple Pay"

jmann99999 — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:43:20 +0000

That’s really interesting. I always thought grocers probably tied loyalty cards and credit card hashes but it’s interesting that it’s been in home improvement that long.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Why Walmart still doesn't support Apple Pay"

jmann99999 — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 01:19:06 +0000

I’ve noticed a recent change in Walmart Scan & Go (Walmart Pay) that really illustrates how far their purchase tracking goes. If you’ve set up Walmart Pay with a credit card, and you later use that same physical card in-store, Walmart now appears to associate those transactions with your account as well.

I’m fairly confident of this because the app has started showing me in-store purchases that were not made using Walmart Pay. It suggests they’re linking transactions at the card-number level, not just through the app.

I suspect they may also be tying in-store purchases to your profile if you’ve ever placed an online order, though that part is speculation.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Toolkit to help you get started with Spec-Driven Development"

jmann99999 — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 18:43:11 +0000

My issue with it has always been that I just don't think the way TDD requires.

I think in terms of building features. TDD generally requires thinking in terms of proving behavior. I still can't wrap my head around first writing a test that fails and then writing minimal code to make it pass (I know I am simplifying it).

Different strokes for different folks. I'm sure it works great for some people but not for me.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Jeep wrangler owners waiting for answers week after an update bricked their cars"

jmann99999 — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 14:02:22 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I have it on top and under the paint. I'll take a look at these for the uncovered portions.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Jeep wrangler owners waiting for answers week after an update bricked their cars"

jmann99999 — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 04:38:50 +0000

I bought my 2018 Wrangler with the same idea... keep it for life. That was also the last year they offered the "lifetime" warranty. Glad I went for that.

So far, the Jeep has been fairly reliable, with my issues being:

- Electric door locks and mirrors stopped working

- Radiator leaked

- CV Joints

The Lifetime Warranty has now broken even (~$2500).

Unfortunately, now my issue is rust, and the warranty doesn't cover that.

New comment by jmann99999 in "The tech that the US Post Office gave us"

jmann99999 — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 23:10:20 +0000

Actually, now it's now $6. :-)

That seems unbelievablly cheap and it appears to last for 10 years. Thanks for the link.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Brian Wilson has died"

jmann99999 — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:00:06 +0000

What sticks with me about Pet Sounds, aside from its unique sound, is that Brian Wilson put sand in his house around the piano to make a more physical and emotional atmosphere in which to help his creation. Here is the only photo I have seen of that. [0]

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/thebeachboys/comments/137tx33/the_o...

New comment by jmann99999 in "In the 1980s we also downloaded software from TV"

jmann99999 — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 03:57:24 +0000

This is so great. Thanks for the context.

What a wonderful time.

New comment by jmann99999 in "In the 1980s we also downloaded software from TV"

jmann99999 — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:57:17 +0000

OMG, I just watched that. Amazing. I get it now, and it is supremely simple but jaw-droppingly so.

When would a show like this be on? I don't remember anything like in the States in 1985 (I was rural though).

This video is like today's YouTube.

New comment by jmann99999 in "In the 1980s we also downloaded software from TV"

jmann99999 — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:42:13 +0000

Thanks for that! That makes sense and is very cool. In the US in the 80s we did something similar from the radio (the UK probably did too). So, I assume it was a similar principle.

Love it.

New comment by jmann99999 in "In the 1980s we also downloaded software from TV"

jmann99999 — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:26:11 +0000

For those in the UK at the time, how was the code consumed? It sounds like the BBC Micro was somehow hooked up to the same "cable" as a TV. Is that right?

Did it decode the data automatically, or did programmers at home have to build something on top of it?

It just sounds incredibly ingenious on both ends. First, to invent the process and second, to use the data. I'd appreciate any knowledge that can help with the latter.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Apple introduces iPad Air with powerful M3 chip and new Magic Keyboard"

jmann99999 — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:32:34 +0000

I have always heard of different conclusions from too many choices. It was from a study known as the "Jam Experiment." [0] They found that in a grocery store that if customers had six choices, they bought more jam than if there were 14 choices.

They termed it decision paralysis.

[0] https://scottfenstermaker.com/too-much-choice-the-jam-experi...

New comment by jmann99999 in "Show HN: Printercow – Turn any thermal printer into an API endpoint"

jmann99999 — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 19:23:50 +0000

I completely agree with this.

It would be nice to try it with SAAS and then buy a local license.

It is similar to the Tydbit device [0] where you can program the device but it runs on their cloud. That is fine unless Tydbit goes out of business. That fear of loss stopped me from doing too much programming with it.

I think the same may be true here.

[0] https://tidbyt.com

New comment by jmann99999 in "Metacognitive laziness: Effects of generative AI on learning motivation"

jmann99999 — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 14:19:07 +0000

I drew a similar conclusion from the abstract as you. The only negative I could think out of that is with higher essay scores, one might expect higher knowledge gain, and that wasn’t present.

However, I agree that that doesn’t really seem to be a negative over other methods.

New comment by jmann99999 in "Starlark Programming Language"

jmann99999 — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 23:36:56 +0000

Yeah, perhaps my "advantage" is that I am a Ruby guy. So, I had little real Python knowledge to trip me up. :-)

New comment by jmann99999 in "Starlark Programming Language"

jmann99999 — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 23:06:21 +0000

I ran into the language very differently than many posts here. The Tidbyt [0], a retro-style smart display designed to provide at-a-glance information on the weather, sports scores, transit schedules, etc., uses it to enable people to create their own custom displays.

For those purposes, it is simple. The simplicity reminds me of Lua. It is a perfect choice for the device.

[0] https://tidbyt.dev/docs/build/build-for-tidbyt