Hacker News: linksnapzz

New comment by linksnapzz in "The dangers of California's legislation to censor 3D printing"

linksnapzz — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:41:56 +0000

Sigh. None of the ammunition used in modern (i.e. made in the past 125 years) uses black powder propellant.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The dangers of California's legislation to censor 3D printing"

linksnapzz — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:33:20 +0000

I'm fascinated by the concept of "proof of sanity". I suppose that when dealing with the Swiss, this might be an easier task than in the US.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The dangers of California's legislation to censor 3D printing"

linksnapzz — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:31:38 +0000

AFAIK, nobody uses fulminate of mercury in primers anymore.

New comment by linksnapzz in "US carmakers say proposed EU rules could block large pickup trucks from Europe"

linksnapzz — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:15:15 +0000

Ah, I see.

Yes, there's too much ambiguity in the adjective 'commercial' used in multiple contexts in legislation.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The rational conclusion of doomerism is violence"

linksnapzz — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:32:41 +0000

I'm not surprised that the sort of individual prone to taking Yud too seriously is also likely to be a comically-inept assassin.

Had he tried to blow up the diesel genset at a datacenter, he'd have burnt his lips on the exhaust pipe.

New comment by linksnapzz in "Apple signs meaningless deal to make some less-important parts in America"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:24:32 +0000

UK Reg commenters are sore b/c they have to deal with the prospects of mass-manufacture in the UK. Which will soon experience the sort of renaissance one would expect from trying to run industry on windmills & solar panels.

New comment by linksnapzz in "Apple signs meaningless deal to make some less-important parts in America"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:21:40 +0000

There's no such thing as low-value-added manufacturing; just low value-add comments, like the above.

New comment by linksnapzz in "Under oath, Frank Lloyd Wright introduced himself as "world greatest architect""

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:19:12 +0000

"Your first husband...disappeared!"

"That was his job; he was an illusionist."

"But he never reappeared!"

"Well, he wasn't a very good illusionist..."

New comment by linksnapzz in "US carmakers say proposed EU rules could block large pickup trucks from Europe"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:40:24 +0000

>The loophole is to classify them as “light” commercial vehicles.

Not a loophole. There are (broadly) eight different FMCSA classifications; and a CDL is usually required only when the GVWR is at or over ...26,000lbs. Everything below that is medium or light duty. Heavy-duty is the upper end of class 6 (think school busses), class 7 ( garbage trucks & cement mixers ) and class 8 (18-wheel semis).

New comment by linksnapzz in "US carmakers say proposed EU rules could block large pickup trucks from Europe"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 02:47:56 +0000

Not only the engine, but also the transmissions and suspensions on commercial vans in the US aren't rated for duty past a certain gross weight.

New comment by linksnapzz in "US carmakers say proposed EU rules could block large pickup trucks from Europe"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 02:46:07 +0000

Ever try to hose out the back of a van after you've carried a 1/2 ton of manure in it? Or, say, a carcass or two from a feedlot?

In the US, a sizeable % of pickups are equipped w/ dump &&|| stake beds for precisely this type of work.

New comment by linksnapzz in "US carmakers say proposed EU rules could block large pickup trucks from Europe"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 02:37:27 +0000

The trucks are fully conformant w/ EPA & FMVSS regs.

That you don't like how those have been implemented isn't the fault of a manufacturer.

New comment by linksnapzz in "US carmakers say proposed EU rules could block large pickup trucks from Europe"

linksnapzz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 02:34:32 +0000

You first.

HN fulminating against US pickups is as predictable as it is tedious.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The house is a work of art: Frank Lloyd Wright"

linksnapzz — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:33:58 +0000

I love the bathtubs in the Kalil house; one of the things I guess you can do w/ a slab foundation (that I've never seen in a more modern slab house) is to sink the bathtub so that the rim of the tub is even with the floor. I guess it made the last owner of the house (Dr. Kalil's brother) able to live in it until he was 101.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The house is a work of art: Frank Lloyd Wright"

linksnapzz — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 02:07:23 +0000

Lindal has larger models, for those so inclined.

That said, the kit pictured will, if constructed, will have amenities & physical qualities that the similarly sized original Jacobs house has had to have retrofitted at great cost.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The house is a work of art: Frank Lloyd Wright"

linksnapzz — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 02:02:03 +0000

It'd be in litigation forever; which is why nobody with the means would try to build something like that today. Even if they could afford the construction, they can't afford the time in court.

Larry Ellison owns a replica Japanese daimyo mansion in Woodside, two mansions on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, and 98% of the island of Lanai...but none of those structures there are (AFAIK) atop a permanent watercourse.

New comment by linksnapzz in "The house is a work of art: Frank Lloyd Wright"

linksnapzz — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:37:16 +0000

If you'd like, you can still speak to the last living client (as of last year) of FLW; still living in the house the architect designed for him:

https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/reisley-wright-last-c...

New comment by linksnapzz in "The house is a work of art: Frank Lloyd Wright"

linksnapzz — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:25:37 +0000

The newest homes that FLW had a hand in building date from 1959.

By the standards of the time, they were comfortable (if a bit lacking in closet space).

If you'd like, you can buy a modernized kit Usonian (inspired by the Jacobs I house) from Lindal here:

https://lindal.com/home-designs/madison/

New comment by linksnapzz in "‘Energy independence feels practical’: Europeans building mini solar farms"

linksnapzz — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:48:45 +0000

Once upon a time, Brits could build gensets and reduction gears. In Britain, even.

New comment by linksnapzz in "Mazda may have found the apex in ICE design with the Skyactiv-Z"

linksnapzz — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:42:33 +0000

At operating temperatures, a modern ICE w/ a 3-way catalytic converter driving at highway speeds through the right environment (L.A. on a bad smog day) could easily have NOx and VOC levels at the tailpipe that are lower than what's going into the intake manifold.