<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: powerbroker</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=powerbroker</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 21:05:39 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=powerbroker" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "The day my ping took countermeasures"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I recall Ping being late to board his sailing vessel, and took a countermeasure to his backside.<p>To Wit:<p>*Excellent, heart-warming tale of exploration and discovery. Using deft allegory, the authors have provided an insightful and intuitive explanation of one of Unix’s most venerable networking utilities. Even more stunning is that they were clearly working with a very early beta of the program, as their book first appeared in 1933, years (decades!) before the operating system and network infrastructure were finalized.*<p><a href="https://diffendoofers.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/the-story-about-ping-describes-networking-in-terms-even-a-child-could-understand/" rel="nofollow">https://diffendoofers.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/the-story-abo...</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 03:16:46 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48254004</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48254004</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48254004</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Happy Tax Day, New York. We're Taxing the Rich [video]"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>How long before Wall Street moves to Dallas? The traders. The advisors. The lawyers. The TV finance shows.<p>This seems the beginnings of a 'New Detroit'.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:15:24 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47788592</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47788592</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47788592</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Dumbsmart"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>clankstar</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:28:04 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47760151</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47760151</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47760151</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "The odd disappearance of the business cycle"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The people on the bottom half of the 'K-shaped recovery' outnumber the people on the top half. This bias likely skews the Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey [1], and accordingly leads to record low optimism about the future, despite historically low unemployment.<p>Add to that, the rapid expansion of automation -- both in white collar and blue collar settings -- and it isn't hard to see why few can take solace in an extended recovery and expansion.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/files/chicsh.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/files/chicsh.pdf</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:03:16 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47743166</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47743166</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47743166</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Hang gliding. It's good if you are in an area with some hills and consistent winds. There are maybe a dozen well-established launch sites around the U.S.  Sadly, I broke down my glider around 2001 -- and did a post-mortem on it to discover it had a minor dent in it.<p>Recommendation -- don't stall the glider at heights between 10 and 25 feet from the ground. Also, avoid barbed wire fences.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 03:05:02 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47656513</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47656513</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47656513</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Ask HN: Sell me your product in 10 words"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Oh wait, I meant also "... over considerably longer timescales". (Minor technicality).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 17 Aug 2025 01:25:31 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44928188</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44928188</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44928188</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Ask HN: Sell me your product in 10 words"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>That movie with "I know Kung Fu" -- we do that too.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 17 Aug 2025 01:24:40 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44928186</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44928186</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44928186</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Tesla remotely deactivates rapper's vehicle for singing about the Cybertruck?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I Robot?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:16:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44859901</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44859901</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44859901</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Tesla remotely deactivates rapper's vehicle for singing about the Cybertruck?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The vehicle, so evil, that it cannot be named. Life imitates art, and not in a good way.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:15:52 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44859893</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44859893</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44859893</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Ask HN: Programmers and lawyers should be so similar, why aren't we?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>As both a lawyer and a programmer, I tend to agree with the above. However, I've noticed among other lawyer/programmers, some further traits: easily bored, and extraordinarily focussed.<p>A quirky features of lawyers: can be unusually petty.<p>Quirky features of programmers: can be remarkably correct and still be very opaque.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2025 02:26:42 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44832773</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44832773</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44832773</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Even Tesla's Insurance Arm Is Getting Wrecked"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I was driving the Model X a few years ago and ended up T-boning a minivan at ~45 MPH.  Minivan rolled over. Our airbags deployed. 
Post accident, I discovered my glasses remained on my face and it seemed that the airbag did not even reach my body -- with the webbing taking the bulk of the impact.
Car took months to repair and ~$30,000.<p>Not bad when you consider we were driving to the hospital at the time, and the accident prevented us from reaching the hospital as well as preventing us from calling on an ambulance.<p>3 'assists' that the car gave us:<p>1. Crumple zone is bigger;<p>2. Battery made our vehicle heavier;<p>3. (speculatively), the 'crumple parts', crumpled more and costed more -- leading to less (none) bodily injury.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2025 19:31:24 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43948212</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43948212</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43948212</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Is it OK to choose 'no tip' at the counter? Some customers think so"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>ditto.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2025 02:15:22 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43768095</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43768095</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43768095</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "PG&E asks to raise rates for California customers so it can pay investors more"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>1. I've paid electric bills in four different cities. Rates haven't been increased at more than 1x annually in any of them.<p>2. California is getting what seems to be two overhauls: a) replacing/upgrading lines and vegetation practices to harden them against sparking fires; b) massive electrification of cars, data centers, appliances. The capex has to be paid somehow... and interest rates are a drag to that.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2025 04:58:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43431975</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43431975</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43431975</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Trump to shut down all 8k EV charging ports at federal govt buildings"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>This would improve efficiency if the number of electric vehicles on the U.S. roads was on a downward trajectory as they were in the early 1900s.  But now the technology is quite different than the lead-acid used back then, and broadly accepted standards are in place. Moreover, the proportion of EVs to ICE vehicles has been growing, albeit more slowly, of late, but growing nevertheless.<p>That said, removing infrastructure for a growing portion of the fleet seems an odd choice.<p>Taking a more utilitarian approach, however, where the highest priority is to reduce federal spending, then this can make sense.<p><pre><code>  1. Must reduce spending;
  2. Must reduce perks and credit cards among the U.S. employed workers;
  3. Parking is a necessity if we are to avoid WFH... and improve productivity;
  4. Giving free 'perk' to one group, without giving it to another, is a) unfair; b) costly.
  5. Therefore, remove the discriminatory perk, and satisfy goal #1.</code></pre></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 22 Feb 2025 23:04:35 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43144208</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43144208</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43144208</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "In a cold day of late winter a new search experience came out"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>A signal that an AI is better than a 5 year old is being able to respond to the following query: "What are your terms and conditions?".<p>For now, it is failing.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2025 01:57:40 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42670574</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42670574</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42670574</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Can exercise make you happy, not as an end result, but while doing it?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I have broken a collarbone; gotten a bruise 18 inches long; destroyed (one at a time) almost every part on my bicycle; hit an armadillo and ridden to 90 miles with a 20 mile head-wind in the final 10 miles. I've been happy pretty much every time even through some of these incidents, often because I had other riders with me.<p>I don't intend to live forever.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 14 Dec 2024 22:44:27 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42420010</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42420010</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42420010</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Tesla AI Delivered. FSD 13 Is Mind Blowing"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>These hyperventilating videos are so cherry-picked that I've long given up hope that a not-fatal FSD will appear in my lifetime.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 05 Dec 2024 04:36:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42325018</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42325018</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42325018</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Electric vehicles now represent 19% of the passenger vehicle sales worldwide"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The constant explosions in four different compartments might have something to do with it feeling wrong. I wonder if anyone can tell us how many mounts support the engine and give it some opportunity to dampen the explosions -- and through what apparatus.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 04 Nov 2024 02:41:11 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42037927</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42037927</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42037927</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "Ask HN: What would you do if you didn't have to work for a living?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I bounce back and forth between hang gliding and kiteboarding.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 10 Oct 2024 01:36:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41794666</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41794666</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41794666</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by powerbroker in "An idea to make EV charging like refueling"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Typically, the battery cells that are formed into packs are rigidly arranged. So far as I know, they are arranged to have a common positive cathode by being connected as a single node with a conductor. In other words, they are wired in parallel.<p>I'm not a chemistry major, but everything I've seen suggests that the parallel arrangement allows them to drain concurrently and maintain a near-identical charge.  Now, I'm oversimplifying, because there must be some modest isolation cell-to-cell, that lets these batteries be balanced to get to a near-identical charge level at charge completion.<p>That said, depleting some batteries, while others remain freshly charged (or adding freshly charged cells) can cause some problems, which I'm sure someone smarter than me will explain.  But, for so long as these batteries need to hold a near identical volatage, it is going to be rather challenging to have a partial swap of some of the batteries.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 01 Oct 2024 04:09:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41704547</link><dc:creator>powerbroker</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41704547</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41704547</guid></item></channel></rss>