Hacker News: jmccaf

New comment by jmccaf in "The future of everything is lies, I guess: Where do we go from here?"

jmccaf — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:48:31 +0000

If you push a change, or you approve, you're responsible for the change and its effects later. Regardless of size. If change is too big, tell your teammates its too big to review and to refactor to bite-size with their great coding agents. Use AI models also for review of large changes, consider a checklist . Setup CI and integration tests (also can be AI assisted)

New comment by jmccaf in "U.S. to suspend the Jones Act in a bid to curb oil prices"

jmccaf — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:55:48 +0000

I think this is bad strategic precedent for the USA, to save few bucks now. I believe in the Jones Acts original purpose, to protect the US Merchant Marine , for that industry's necessity during wartime

New comment by jmccaf in "Ada 2022"

jmccaf — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 21:44:29 +0000

My workplace uses Ada SPARK for high-integrity automotive software, ported from C or C++. IIUC, the contracts and static proofs can replace some activities like isolated unit tests for C++ .

https://www.wevolver.com/article/nvidia-adoption-of-spark-us...

New comment by jmccaf in "AGI fantasy is a blocker to actual engineering"

jmccaf — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 19:20:48 +0000

I think the water use arguments are relevant, particularly in regions of the world and US (CA) where potable water is scarce, but land and electricity are available .

NYT article gift link where people reported wells ran dry after data centers moved in. : 'From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy' https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/technology/ai-data-center...

From https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-co... , I understand there are two types of cooling with water in DCs, open-loop that's simple but water-intensive, and closed-loop that's expensive but efficient.

>> This can be achieved through air cooling using water evaporation, which is an open-loop and more water-intensive method, or through server liquid cooling.

New comment by jmccaf in "Sam Altman is still trying to return as OpenAI CEO"

jmccaf — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 23:17:05 +0000

That went quickly to Godwin's law .

New comment by jmccaf in "Colorado Law Would Charge Owners for Driving Giant Trucks and SUVs"

jmccaf — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 00:11:41 +0000

'proposed law' is more accurately called a 'bill' .

New comment by jmccaf in "Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market"

jmccaf — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 04:29:42 +0000

For traceability, cut diamonds are laser enscribed with serial number or makers mark visible by inspection with jewelers magnifying loupe.

New comment by jmccaf in "Origins of the Sicilian Mafia: The Market for Lemons (2017)"

jmccaf — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 15:14:08 +0000

Article mentions the climate and growing conditions for citrus are specific so there were few locations where citrus was produced that were integrated to world trade; mild temperatures above freezing, irrigation, and rich soil. The article mentions large lemon exports from Sicily all the way to New York; and California wasn't a united state or developed market producer of fruit at this time.

New comment by jmccaf in "‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to attract big spenders"

jmccaf — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 01:49:25 +0000

The pachinko parlor "special prize" token, with a separate business next door to buy the token for cash, is the analog example of this conversion.

New comment by jmccaf in "Tesla directors agree to return $735M following claims they were overpaid"

jmccaf — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 02:06:52 +0000

Yes, 'director' is job title in engineering management. Generally Ranks above 'manager' and below vice-president

New comment by jmccaf in "Goodbye, San Francisco"

jmccaf — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 16:19:34 +0000

Also, in my learning 'street smarts' as an adult , one lesson tougher people including my wife have taught me , is to trust your gut instincts if you are in a neighborhood or situation and you feel unsafe.

New comment by jmccaf in "Westfield Pulling Out of Downtown SF"

jmccaf — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 03:50:22 +0000

Valley Fair did complete a major renovation about by December 2022, and I agree that is a glaring omission in Westfield's PR statement.

It doesn't refute that Westfield Valley Fair is booming and bustling, since the renovation. I live in Santa Clara like 1 mile from Valley Fair, and visit frequently to shop for gifts. Subtly, completing the renovation improved the pedestrian circulation in the mall, there aren't dead-end wings now.

Valley Fair is very busy, like many people there on any weekend and most evenings, but not inconveniently so. Busier than any other commercial venue I've seen post-pandemic. On weekends some restaurants there have long lines that I don't understand to wait in, I'll go eat later at a neighborhood restaurant.

The slow driving traffic that I've encountered is when I leave at 9pm when the mall closes and there is mass exit. I could the 1 mile too, or bike or scooter, but I often drive.

New comment by jmccaf in "When markets melt down, these traders cash in"

jmccaf — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 16:22:14 +0000

I'm less familiar with put and call options , compared to common shares and selling short; But one of the challenges to sell short, compared to buying long, is that your upside is limited and liability unlimited. Whereas the inverse for common stock, upside is unlimited and liability is limited. If you place 176 bets and win big 8, I think will be more successful buying long , like the venture capital model.

New comment by jmccaf in "I wish Asciidoc was more popular"

jmccaf — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 23:03:30 +0000

My work adopted ReStructured Text and Sphinx for large volume of technical documentation, similar system to AsciiDoc .

New comment by jmccaf in "Is wine fake?"

jmccaf — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:31:48 +0000

As a Finger Lakes, NY alumnus, I appreciate the respectful comparison to our regional vintage. Reportedly the moderated microclimate of the region due to lakes, and the glacial soil terroir are good combination. Cornells agricultural school also researches experimental varietals.

My NY family puts as much pride in the local apples and the summer sweet corn as the regional wine.

New comment by jmccaf in "Inflation causing higher prices at the local bakery"

jmccaf — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 00:37:22 +0000

What you described sounds much better than one of the default alternatives, which is : the business would be closed with 0 locations.

New comment by jmccaf in "Elon’s Out"

jmccaf — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 01:07:46 +0000

Most of the middle class in America has a salary, or at least a paycheck, but distressing little cash saved. But they do pay the taxes that pay the bills.

New comment by jmccaf in "Notice of termination of Twitter merger agreement"

jmccaf — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 02:25:27 +0000

I've started to see Rivian trucks are on the road in South Bay Area and in Berkeley.

New comment by jmccaf in "America’s Javelin missile is second to none (2021)"

jmccaf — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 00:52:04 +0000

The ATGM is much cheaper than a current tank.

New comment by jmccaf in "Adding unusable RAM for tax reasons"

jmccaf — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 00:21:22 +0000

PT cruiser is an example of the opposite, which sought truck classification: https://www.brakeandfrontend.com/tech-spec-retro-work-servic...

Chrysler specifically designed the PT Cruiser to fit the NHTSA criteria for a light truck in order to bring the average fuel efficiency of the company’s light truck fleet into compliance with CAFE standards.