Hacker News: miki_tyler

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)"

miki_tyler — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 11:47:54 +0000

lol, yes, it was.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)"

miki_tyler — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 01:21:10 +0000

Their universes disconnect the moment they make contact, but Marcus knows Pompeii well and escapes the eruption just before it happens. So he can point Ulyses to places where things will be buried or hidden.

I also needed the relationship to go both ways, not just Marcus getting ideas from the future. That makes the plot more interesting.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)"

miki_tyler — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 01:10:07 +0000

I know and love the Acoup Blog, and the premise of the story does not contradict what Acoup says. In fact, if you look carefully, there is an Easter egg hidden somewhere in the story about the Acoup Blog.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)"

miki_tyler — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:42:52 +0000

You're only as good as the tools you use. They are improving fast though, you can already see a noticeable difference between the artwork in Volume 1 and Volume 2, and they were made about six months apart.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)"

miki_tyler — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:40:25 +0000

I actually disagree a bit. The whole premise of the story is that there are shortcuts indeed, when someone has the entire tech tree available at the push of a button.

The Romans were very capable engineers. If you give them a few key ideas and steer them away from dead ends, progress can compress a lot.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)"

miki_tyler — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 23:55:07 +0000

I know Lest Darkness Fall. It’s great. Someone recommended it in the Hacker News thread when I posted the first volume, so I read it after that.

Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)

miki_tyler — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 23:17:19 +0000

A few months ago I shared the first issue of The Lydian Stone Series here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44253083

It's an alternate-history comic about an archaeology student in modern Pompeii who discovers a slate that lets him exchange short messages with a Roman slave a week before the eruption of Vesuvius.

The premise is simple: what happens if someone in the Roman world suddenly gains access to modern scientific knowledge, but still has to build everything using the materials and tools available in 79 AD?

Volume 2 (The Engine of Empire) explores the second-order effects of that idea.

About the process: I write the story, research, structure, and dialogue. The narrative is planned first (acts → scenes → pages → panels). Once a panel is defined, I write a detailed visual description (camera angle, posture, lighting, environment, etc.).

LLMs help turn those descriptions into prompts, and image models generate sketches. I usually generate many variations and manually select or combine the ones that best match the panel.

The bulk of the work is in the narrative design, historical research, and building a plausible technological path the Romans could realistically follow. The AI mostly acts as a sketching assistant.

I'd love feedback on the story direction, pacing, and whether the industrial shift feels believable.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47282390

Points: 43

# Comments: 35

New comment by miki_tyler in "[dead]"

miki_tyler — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 02:03:44 +0000

A few months ago, I shared the first issue of The Lydian Stone Series here [0].

It was a raw "proof-of-concept" about an archaeology student in Pompeii who can text across time to a Roman slave. The feedback was better than I ever expected, so I kept writing.

A few weeks ago I released Volume 2, and today I’m releasing Volume 3: The Boats.

As with Volume 1 and 2, Diffusion models generate and refine the visual layer. The narrative, research, and script are by the author.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story's direction, the pacing, and the overall plausibility of the industrial shift.

Any and all feedback is welcome!

[0] Vol 1 thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44253083

The Zero-Inventory Hardware Company

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 04:28:53 +0000

Article URL: https://miguelarmengol.com/blog/the-zero-inventory-hardware-company-i/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46984909

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by miki_tyler in "Ask HN: Is it possible to 2D-print a radio?"

miki_tyler — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:58:46 +0000

I count on external power. Solid state components are definitely a challenge.

Ask HN: Is it possible to 2D-print a radio?

miki_tyler — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 18:50:20 +0000

I'm exploring the idea of fabricating a simple radio receiver using only printed elements:

- Conductive tracks: silver nanoparticle ink - Resistors: carbon-based ink - Inductors: printed spirals - Capacitors: interdigitated fingers or stacked layers

I'm aware of printers like the Dimatix DMP-2850 and Optomec Aerosol Jet, but I'm more interested in hacking a standard inkjet printer for this.

Has anyone here experimented with something similar? I'd love to hear about setup, materials, challenges, or any resources you’d recommend.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44426583

Points: 2

# Comments: 2

Ask HN: Stock Android tablet free of bloatware?

miki_tyler — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 18:02:17 +0000

I asked this question before about cellphones, now I'm in the market for a tablet.

Is there an Android device that comes without pre-installed bloatware, gets long-term support, and stays up to date with the latest Android versions?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44426157

Points: 12

# Comments: 6

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 14:36:20 +0000

Just finished the spinning and weaving post on the ACOUP blog, absolutely brilliant. So much depth packed into it, and every bit of it feels valuable. One of the best breakdowns I’ve ever read on how labor shaped everyday life. Thanks for this.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:39:08 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to dig in, this is exactly the kind of feedback I'm after.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:05:38 +0000

Agreed, this is a work of fiction, after all. But what if I put a few traders or patricians on the brink of bankruptcy? That would create the right incentives. Then I give them just enough tools to dig themselves out. Things might start to shift from there.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:57:19 +0000

Absolutely, I get that. But the whole idea behind the story is to introduce outside knowledge into the Roman world. If someone managed to bring steam power to ancient Rome, it would trigger a complex chain of events, a kind of technological revolution. It probably wouldn't resemble our own Industrial Revolution. For example, I don't see railroads becoming a priority. Rome's geography is centered around the Mediterranean, and most trade happens by sea. So steamboats it is.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:44:30 +0000

I see your point, however, the idea is to introduce engineering knowledge from the outside. Think of the duct tape scene in Apollo 13: a group of engineers gathered around a table, someone dumps a pile of random items, and says, "We have to find a way to make this thing using nothing but that." What's the minimum set of tools and knowledge that, dropped into the Roman world, could solve a specific technological problem.

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 03:44:26 +0000

故事讲的是未来的人将达芬奇的设计图送给罗马人

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 03:25:25 +0000

It’s not so much about using only Roman technology to build a steam engine directly. The more interesting question is: what’s the smallest set of tools the Romans could have made that would let them build a basic working steam engine?

New comment by miki_tyler in "Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been"

miki_tyler — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 03:21:17 +0000

One of the fun things about writing fiction is that I don’t have to stick to the natural flow of events the way history actually unfolded.

Kind of like how some countries in Africa skipped landlines and went straight to mobile phones, I can let the Romans stumble onto just the right ink recipe a bit early.