Hacker News: paul_f

New comment by paul_f in "Supreme Court takes up $8B phone and internet subsidy for rural areas"

paul_f — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 17:53:34 +0000

The issue is not if the fund is needed or not, it is that congress never specified how much the Universal Service Fund tax would be. The FCC keeps raising the tax rate. 10% of your mobile phone bill now goes to this fund that seems was decided by bureaucrats at the FCC and not by Congress. If the court strikes it down, then Congress will have to step in, which seems appropriate.

New comment by paul_f in "How many artists' careers did the Beatles kill?"

paul_f — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 14:37:07 +0000

Maybe in the US, but Britpop reached it's peak in the 90s. Oasis, Stone Roses, Blur, Happy Mondays and many others

New comment by paul_f in "Oxford study proves heat pumps triumph over fossil fuels in the cold"

paul_f — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 18:42:05 +0000

The COP for a heat pump drops as the temperature decreases. The climate should have a large impact on the choice of technology. Here in Florida it is a no brainer, everyone has a heat pump for the cool winter days. In Minnesota, it is a non starter.

New comment by paul_f in "Maker's schedule, Manager's schedule (2009)"

paul_f — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 13:05:29 +0000

We have no meetings at all, other than one weekly a 30-minute standing meeting. Email or slack and no expectation on response time. Been doing that for 5 years with no problems.

New comment by paul_f in "Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer"

paul_f — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:03:57 +0000

I don't think it was virtual. Looked like a real keyboard on the table

New comment by paul_f in "Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer"

paul_f — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:51:42 +0000

The running time of the CD-ROM was designed to play Beethoven's 9th symphony in its entirety. You would have thought Apple would plan the battery life to allow you to watch all of Avengers: Endgame, or maybe Oppenheimer, without pausing to swap the battery.

New comment by paul_f in "Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer"

paul_f — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:28:40 +0000

I have to wonder about a device that won't allow you to watch a 2-hour movie without running out of battery and having to plug it in. I guess Oppenheimer is a no-go.

New comment by paul_f in "Remembering GitHub's Office, a Monument to Tech Culture"

paul_f — Wed, 31 May 2023 12:09:46 +0000

OMG, those barstools with the flat bottoms. Painful after 10 minutes. Who does this? I see this in co-working spaces all the time. Whoever designed them does not actually do any deep work. I just want a great chair and 3 monitors.

New comment by paul_f in "A man sued Avianca Airline – his lawyer used ChatGPT"

paul_f — Sat, 27 May 2023 17:38:15 +0000

The lawyer should lose his license. Imagine they had turned in this brief and follow up and ChatGPT had not been involved. Instant disbarment. ChatGPT is not an excuse for a professional to produce nonsense in front of the court. Bye bye.

New comment by paul_f in "Americans have never been so unwilling to relocate for a new job"

paul_f — Wed, 17 May 2023 12:55:57 +0000

Good idea, but mortgages are bundled together. You cannot split one off.

New comment by paul_f in "In 1981, Intel released the iAPX 432"

paul_f — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 09:42:31 +0000

The Fairchild Clipper, released in 1986, was also a 3-chip solution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_architecture

New comment by paul_f in "A college student made an app to detect AI-written text"

paul_f — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 03:35:30 +0000

AI-generated content can still be traced back to its source. Even though the content may be original, AI-generated works can be identified by their algorithmic patterns, which can be used to determine the source of the work.

ChatGPT wrote that, not me. How do we know we aren't simply reading ChatGPT arguing with itself?

New comment by paul_f in "Internal SW Airlines messaging offers in-depth look at mass flight cancellations"

paul_f — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 13:21:39 +0000

Turning it off and then back on again seems to solve so many problems.

New comment by paul_f in "“Blue Light” creating capacity for nothing (2007)"

paul_f — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 11:14:38 +0000

The story might not be a accurate, but the concept is certainly valid. I see this sort of thing all the time. This terrific story helps people to understand the core point, that busy does not equal productive.

New comment by paul_f in "Brooklyn Bar Menu Generator (2015)"

paul_f — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 01:38:35 +0000

I got: Free Range Salt :-)

New comment by paul_f in "China state CCTV avoids crowd close ups at the World Cup"

paul_f — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 12:37:04 +0000

This is nonsense. Omicron is quite mild compared to the original strain. Death rates from COVID in western countries is now minimal. Time to move on

New comment by paul_f in "Effect of Colonoscopy Screening on Risks of Colorectal Cancer and Related Death"

paul_f — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 09:38:22 +0000

Seems the only way to prove the test itself reduces deaths is to force unhealthy/irrresponsible people to get colonoscopies. Is there another approach?

New comment by paul_f in "Stripe has decided to nuke my entire business"

paul_f — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 03:05:46 +0000

Run a real card for a real amount and write a check to the person whose card you used. Do this multiple times with different types of cards.

New comment by paul_f in "Royal Caribbean to use SpaceX's Starlink to provide internet onboard their fleet"

paul_f — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 11:55:05 +0000

I think this greatly helps Royal Caribbean with younger customers who simply cannot be 100% disconnected. I have customers I need to be available for if something goes wrong. I won't even consider a 7-day cruise. But now I can. Looking forward to this new service.

New comment by paul_f in "We are all nerds: The literary works of Neal Stephenson"

paul_f — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 23:59:48 +0000

Seveneves did not have a third part. I have no idea what you are referring to :-)