<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: msandford</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=msandford</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:08:05 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=msandford" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The energy density on super capacitors is pretty bad. If you imagine full power 200kW braking for 5 seconds that's 1 mega joule and at a best case 8 watt hours per liter you're going to need 35 liters minimum. Really you probably need to double that so you can float up and down and never fully saturate the capacitor as power inflow is going to drop as you get closer and closer to fully charged.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitor" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitor</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:40:23 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476148</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476148</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476148</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Closest I can think of is flywheel "battery" storage tech many of which do have magnetic bearings and also some way to get power in and out of the flywheel so basically a motor. It's not exactly what you're looking for but there's prior art out there.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:31:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476042</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476042</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476042</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "A Farmer Donated Land to Turn into a Park. The City Is Building a Data Center"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Aren't deed restrictions usually done at the state level?  If so, the city can't just magic them away. State law is going to trump city law unless the city's restrictions are tighter.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:49:51 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449695</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449695</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449695</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "A Farmer Donated Land to Turn into a Park. The City Is Building a Data Center"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Please tell me how I can just strip deed restrictions simply because I don't like them and/or they're inconvenient for me.<p>Deed restrictions are the mechanism that basically all HOAs are built upon so if you can just skirt around them because $reasons there are millions of people who would like to know.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:17:13 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48448135</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48448135</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48448135</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Giant Floating Victorian Drydock"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Looks pretty normal to me for ships of that era. Wooden masts and natural cordage means you need a lot of rigging to keep things standing.<p>Comparing these rigs to modern ones with aluminum masts and stainless wire or dyneema rope is very apples to oranges.<p>Even more so since 97% of modern boats have Bermudan rigs (triangle sails) where as these ships have square sails.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:26:51 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48445869</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48445869</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48445869</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Giant Floating Victorian Drydock"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>There was a time in the early steamship days where they carried both engines and sails. If that's what you object to it's very easy to verify this with historical records.<p>If something else, sure maybe.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:57:47 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48444225</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48444225</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48444225</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Volkswagen blocks Home Assistant by requiring client assertion"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Okay, well that's a start. Could you help me understand where I went wrong?  I'm not trying to be stupid here but just saying "wrong" is extremely unhelpful.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 16:27:31 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325426</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325426</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325426</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Volkswagen blocks Home Assistant by requiring client assertion"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>If the data is going through the air or a wire it can be sniffed, right?  Is every message signed or encrypted like ssl/tls, or is this just some kind of extra header(s)?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 11:27:16 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48321749</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48321749</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48321749</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "US's big bet on quantum computing may not be legal"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I think this kind of corruption has been going on for a long time. Look at this case and how a Supreme Court decision didn't really get respected despite it being pretty clear.  However bad you think any one thing Trump has done is, this is almost certainly as bad for the feeling of the rule of law. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia</a><p>Just to be clear I'm not trying to say what's happening is good or right. Just that it's not new. And I used something really old to try and "prove" it's not a recent phenomena and help people maybe see past the recency bias.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 23:08:25 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48316802</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48316802</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48316802</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "US's big bet on quantum computing may not be legal"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Are you new to the club?  I saw these problems you're talking about with Biden, Trump1, Obama and Bush Jr. Of course I'm not old enough to really know about what Clinton or Bush Sr or Reagan or anyone before that did.<p>I know it's super annoying to have someone rain on your "but THIS stuff is REALLY bad!" parade, but that the rulers are corrupt isn't new. It's just new to a lot of people.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 19:43:32 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48314367</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48314367</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48314367</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Minnesota becomes first state to ban prediction markets"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Yeah but there's a difference there. I can buy alcohol out of state and if I bring it back in, that's on me.<p>Does anyone think that Minnesotans who are out of MN at the time of their bet will be allowed to bet?  I don't think they'll be allowed, but they should be.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 03:08:20 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48202648</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48202648</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48202648</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Minnesota becomes first state to ban prediction markets"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Be careful, the market makers always win. If you go against them, you make yourself a target.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 02:59:25 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48202591</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48202591</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48202591</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "First tunnel element of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel immersed"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The tunnel will very likely be less disruptive to marine animals than ferry boats. During the construction yes it will be worse but 10 years after?  The ecosystem will have forgotten the disruption and will have gained additional peace from reduced/eliminated ferries.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 13:17:02 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48094616</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48094616</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48094616</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "I’ve banned query strings"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It has always amazed me how much trouble the SPA folks are willing to go to in order to slowly rebuild just normal boring URLs with querystrings because users demand deep linking and back buttons and the like.<p>Or you could accept that you're probably going to need a round trip to the server and use a normal URL and it's fine.<p>For all but the absolute biggest websites in the world, anyhow. At Facebook or Google scale yeah it's needed.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2026 01:10:57 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079981</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079981</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079981</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "America's Geothermal Breakthrough"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It's a closed loop on the geo side sure.<p>How do you cool the steam off enough to condense so it can go and be boiler feed water again?<p>Lots of power plants use cooling towers for this which are typically evaporative. Some are dry, sure, but most are wet.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:14:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47910063</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47910063</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47910063</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "‘Energy independence feels practical’: Europeans building mini solar farms"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Not to be rude, but that's definitionally NOT net metering. Net metering is where you only get changed for your net consumption. If they're looking at your gross consumption and gross production separately, it just can't be net metering. You might still decide to sell solar to the grid for the wholesale price and get a reduction in your bill, but it's not net metering.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 28 Mar 2026 20:33:21 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557927</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557927</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557927</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "‘Energy independence feels practical’: Europeans building mini solar farms"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Net metering is really, really smart when the installed base is small relative to the fossil fuel power plant capacity. But it doesn't scale forever. Once it gets up towards 20-40% of the fossil fuel capacity, it goes from an asset to a liability.<p>Suppose I have a 100MW gas turbine. And suppose there's 1MW of solar installed in my generation network. I don't really care if I sell 80MW at noon and 90MW around dinner time and 50MW through the night, or if instead it's 79MW at noon and 91MW at dinner and 51MW at night. The gas costs about the same irrespective of when I burn it so a bit of a fuel shift doesn't really matter.<p>But take that 1MW and turn it into 20MW and suddenly we go from 80MW at noon to 60MW at noon, 90MW at dinner to 110MW at dinner and uh oh. You see the problem?  Whatever losses I endured at noon I don't get to make up for at dinner because my plant only goes up to 100MW and now we're not just shifting when we burn how much fuel, we're literally having to shift the power generation to a different plant.<p>Is this example precisely accurate?  Absolutely not. But it helps you get a feel for the problem of net metering at scale. The grid can act as a battery for a few % of total generation, but by the time you hit some number, maybe 20% maybe 40% net metering turns from a cool math trick to a real cost on the grid.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 19:17:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47547042</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47547042</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47547042</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "GitHub is once again down"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Oooof that's rough.<p>One strategy to convince is to get someone less technical than you to sit by you while you try and trace everything from one error'd HTTP request from start to finish to diagnose the problem. If they see it takes half a day to check every call to every internal endpoint to 100% satisfy a particular request sometimes that can help.<p>Also sometimes they just think "this is a bunch of nerd stuff, why are you involving me?!" So it's not foolproof.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:29:52 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509651</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509651</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509651</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "GitHub is once again down"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I once worked at a place with more micro services than engineers. We joked about "we have as many 8s of uptime as you need!"</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:05:31 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509299</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509299</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509299</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by msandford in "Centuries of selective breeding turned wild cabbage into different vegetables"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Years ago I made harissa out of peppers for sauce for baked chicken wings. To my surprise it tasted tomato-ey.<p>After doing some Google searches I realized the plants were related and eventually it sort of made sense. Peppers are almost like a very dry, very firm tomato.<p>In hindsight it's obvious but at the time it was very surprising.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:07:48 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47388118</link><dc:creator>msandford</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47388118</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47388118</guid></item></channel></rss>