Hacker News: noefingway

New comment by noefingway in "GPS and the Lost Art of Getting Lost"

noefingway — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 16:06:47 +0000

Pre-gps, my wife and I used to head to a destination (local trips to pick up something, often a good distance from home) and on the return home pick random right and left turns. Eventually we would wind up headed back home, but not after exploring the countryside. It was always a nice way to spend an afternoon.

New comment by noefingway in "Sam Neill has died"

noefingway — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:20:07 +0000

First time I saw him was in Riley Ace of Spies. A great series that was on PBS. Last series I watched was Untamed. He was one of my favorite actors and a credit to his profession. Sad to learn of his passing.

New comment by noefingway in "Combustion engine web-based simulator"

noefingway — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:51:00 +0000

So i'll throw this out there. When I was a growing up back in the 50's (yeah, way back then) I was given a model of a v-8 engine to build. It was clear plastic, had pistons, crankshaft, valves, and little red lights for the spark plugs. Small battery powered motor (I think in the starter motor) made everything go round and rounds. One of the coolest models I ever built as a kid.

New comment by noefingway in "Magical Realism: “Northern Exposure” 25 Years Later (2015)"

noefingway — Mon, 18 May 2026 14:07:36 +0000

"There are four words you need to know to adequately prepare yourself for childbirth. Take notes here, ladies: I...want...my...epidural."

New comment by noefingway in "Nearly 50 Years Later, WKRP in Cincinnati Becomes a Real Radio Station"

noefingway — Sat, 16 May 2026 13:47:11 +0000

Will Les Nessman be in his "office"?

New comment by noefingway in "I verified my LinkedIn identity. Here's what I handed over"

noefingway — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 16:22:30 +0000

well said. You are the product not the consumer. "Soylent green is people!"

New comment by noefingway in "Programming Patterns: The Story of the Jacquard Loom (2019)"

noefingway — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:36:35 +0000

As a teen I first learned to program on a pdp-8 with a teletype terminal. Then moved on to mainframes - we wrote out the code on paper (lined in 80 columns), then punched the cards out and submitted the deck to be run. punch card machines were available all over the university campus. BTW, I had a colleague programmed by plugging wires in a plug board. So, yeah, punch cards are definitely computing.

New comment by noefingway in "A small collection of text-only websites"

noefingway — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 16:17:50 +0000

I read these two all the time. I wish nytimes.com came in a text version, I hate the move to video. I was raised on newspapers not mtv...

New comment by noefingway in "Making tiny 0.1cc two stroke engine from scratch"

noefingway — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 16:47:15 +0000

Brings back memories from childhood. I used to build and fly model airplanes (by wire not rc). Starting those engines was also a challenge. I still have a scar on one finger from an engine kicking back when trying to flip the propeller.

New comment by noefingway in "How Charles M Schulz created Charlie Brown and Snoopy (2024)"

noefingway — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 15:18:49 +0000

Here, here! I was born in 1951 - read Peanuts everyday as a kid, still read Peanuts everyday as an adult. It has great humor and insight into relationships.

New comment by noefingway in "The mysterious black fungus from Chernobyl that may eat radiation"

noefingway — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 15:15:31 +0000

The Blob: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051418/?ref_=fn_t_2

New comment by noefingway in "Downloadable movie posters from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s"

noefingway — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 17:12:54 +0000

Very cool stuff. Brings back a lot of memories from my youth spent in movie theaters on Saturday afternoons watching the sci-fi/horror double features. I have several posters printed by the S2 Art Group (they used to have their lithograph machine in the Paris hotel in Las Vegas), one of my favorites: https://www.cinemasterpieces.com/62014/s2frankteaser.jpg the eyes follow you everywhere.

New comment by noefingway in "Tinnitus Neuromodulator"

noefingway — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 18:17:54 +0000

I'm 73, had tinnitus all my life, I am used to it. Some days it seems louder than others. When I was 17-18 I worked as a stock boy at a JC Penney store. I used to hear this high pitched squeal near the front entrance. I mentioned it to my compatriots who responded "What squeal?" I always found a way to avoid the front entrance on my rounds. So yeah, I get the alarms

New comment by noefingway in "Lost Jack Kerouac story found among assassinated mafia boss' belongings"

noefingway — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 15:11:28 +0000

I've been re-reading Kerouac lately (LOA has a nice collection of novels in a single volume). His prose is jumps from bebop riffs (On the Road) to elegiac praise of hiking in the woods/mountains (Dharma Bums). The characters (like them or not) are well drawn and always interesting. My hitchhiking days are long gone and I don't suppose this mode of transportation obtains much in the US anymore, which I think is unfortunate as it is (or was) a great way to see the country and meet a lot of people.

New comment by noefingway in "Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music"

noefingway — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 15:29:26 +0000

Interesting website. I thought for sure I'd find mention of Silver Apples of the Moon. May have missed it though...

New comment by noefingway in "Monitor your security cameras with locally processed AI"

noefingway — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:07:25 +0000

yeah - i've been using it for several years. it's got some issues: fails to detect cars and trucks at night (apparently it doesn't know what to do with the moving headlights); also frequently fails to detect me walking past the camera with my 4 small dogs on our morning walk; confuses farm equipment for cars and continues to record even when the object is stationary. still it's better than most of the other software i've tried.

New comment by noefingway in "Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient"

noefingway — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 15:10:58 +0000

Item 3 is important in more ways than most people realize. Last year many farmers in my area that planted soybeans early had a problem with slugs eating the sprouting beans and were forced to replant multiple times. This spring I went to a growers conference and heard a presentation by a Prof. Tooker from Penn State Ag about the slug problem, which he has been researching for several years. Turns out that the slug infestation can be directly traced to the use of insecticides used in seed treatments. The insecticides kill beetles (and other beneficial insects) that eat the slugs but don't kill slugs because they aren't insects (they are mollusks). No beetles more slugs. Take away is don't use treated seed. However, standard practice at seed companies is to treat seed with fungicides and insecticides, thus creating a problem rather than solving it.

New comment by noefingway in "Potatoes in the Mail"

noefingway — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 22:48:33 +0000

True fact! My wife sent one to a friend of hers. Got delivered promptly, undamaged.

New comment by noefingway in "Milwaukee M18 Battery Reverse Engineering"

noefingway — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 22:46:15 +0000

I have a substantial investment in both Dewalt and Milwaukee tools that I use regularly in my farming operation. I definitely prefer the Milwaukee tools to the Dewalt. I recently bought a 6" Milwaukee chain saw for light duty cutting. I get a lot of cuts before I have to change batteries. Also the torque in the Milwaukee 3/4" impact gun is truly amazing and the battery lasts through a lot of bolt removals.

New comment by noefingway in "Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water"

noefingway — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 14:47:06 +0000

What I find fascinating about this debate is that only municipalities/cities add fluoride to water. If you are on well water, no fluoride. So any studies comparing the incidence of tooth decay between populations that are on well water and those that are on fluoridated city water?

I get that this was a great public health benefit before fluoride in toothpaste became widely available but is this still the case? Couldn't it be argued that most of the benefit comes from brushing your teeth?