Hacker News: projektfu

New comment by projektfu in "Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk"

projektfu — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 21:08:29 +0000

I never knew Kaiser Permanente was so "anti-establishment" but I get pages of recommendations for healthy eating and exercise every time I go and also randomly as part of my "Personal Action Plan".

New comment by projektfu in "388 years ago, Galileo worked out why human giants can't exist"

projektfu — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:46:54 +0000

One theory about large sauropods is that they were aquatic animals that propelled themselves like hippopotamuses, using their feet against the bed of the lake/river. Just as whales can get very large, so could buoyant sauropods.

New comment by projektfu in "388 years ago, Galileo worked out why human giants can't exist"

projektfu — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:43:32 +0000

Actual bone does incorporate some things we would consider "architectural" or "engineering" techniques to do more with less, not least of which they are composite materials and not mere rocks. They remodel the structure dynamically to respond to stresses as well.

New comment by projektfu in "The other Sean Byrne doesn't exist"

projektfu — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:35:48 +0000

In Ireland you can use the Gaelic spelling and probably get away with it. Poof, no matches for Seán Ó Beirn.

New comment by projektfu in "The other Sean Byrne doesn't exist"

projektfu — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:29:37 +0000

TBF, the company of Wozniak would have a way around the App Store restrictions, so it's obviously not that anymore. Probably hasn't been since Sculley.

New comment by projektfu in "The other Sean Byrne doesn't exist"

projektfu — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:28:07 +0000

I failed a background check once because they even ignore middle name/initial. The record in the system had a different MI and I provided mine. Also, birthdate, location, race, etc., were all mismatched. Thankfully, in that case, I was able to provide documentation that I was not a match, but it is incredibly frustrating to have false positives and no "this is positive but it is obviously a partially incorrect match. In the OP's hypothetical about a pre-screening background check, you might never get the opportunity to clear your name.

New comment by projektfu in "US hires over 2k video gamers as air traffic controllers"

projektfu — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 01:16:31 +0000

The medical certificate weeds out many of them. Many video gamers are proud of their ADHD, and that is a no-no. If they've been depressed, have sleep disorders, etc. They would have to go through a difficult process to be issued a certificate if they eventually are able to. I doubt a casual, "sure, I could try it", applicant would spend the $6000+ to get the medical in that situation.

New comment by projektfu in "The brain may be about to have its Ozempic moment"

projektfu — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:47:13 +0000

Coffee isn't a Schedule IV controlled substance in the US. I'm using a pretty strict definition of abuse, which is just using medication outside of its indications, or when it isn't prescribed to you.

New comment by projektfu in "The brain may be about to have its Ozempic moment"

projektfu — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:17:37 +0000

https://old.reddit.com/r/ExtraFabulousComics/comments/1iqsqd...

New comment by projektfu in "The brain may be about to have its Ozempic moment"

projektfu — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:06:29 +0000

It gets abused by people who just want to stay awake, but not in the sense of being a party drug. For example, by students, drivers, security officers, and politicians.

New comment by projektfu in "The brain may be about to have its Ozempic moment"

projektfu — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:00:46 +0000

"Hunger and sleep, argues Dan Skovronsky, the firm’s chief scientific officer, are both 'master homeostasis mechanisms'—systems that keep the body in balance. When they misbehave, illness follows. That, he says, helps explain why incretins, the hormone family behind GLP-1, proved so broadly useful. Hence why orexins could be just as important."

Also, orexins are peptides, like semaglutide (Ozempic), although in a different family.

New comment by projektfu in "Mars Bar from 1991 found – and it's 20g bigger than today's"

projektfu — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:47:57 +0000

This is what they discovered through the equivalent of A/B testing. People are disappointed in a 5% increase in price, especially if it crosses a magical threshold, but they will accept a smaller product. They will favor the smaller product over the larger one if it is given in the right container, such as a rounded carton of ice cream over a larger brick. They see the rounded container as evidence of higher quality. And on and on.

Needing a app to turn on a light, though, that's just weird.

New comment by projektfu in "Mars Bar from 1991 found – and it's 20g bigger than today's"

projektfu — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:40:18 +0000

I just can't buy impulse candy anymore. It seems outrageously expensive to me, and I got my start in the 50¢ era of the 80s-90s.

New comment by projektfu in "The title cards in Blade Runner are amazing"

projektfu — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:37:36 +0000

On the flip side, a lot of amazing pop artists had incredible musicality as well as the ability to write scores. Mel Torme, for example.

New comment by projektfu in "That time when I failed the Microsoft interview"

projektfu — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:26:11 +0000

I agree with pjmlp, it's become a substitute for actually interviewing/evaluating the candidate. Especially if they are trying to hire for something they don't already have, it's a form of bikeshedding. For example, if they need a database expert because the team has been faking it until this point, they can either learn how to hire one, or they can focus on brain teasers and "culture fit", and feel good that whether or not the person is expert, they passed the test.

New comment by projektfu in "The Valley of Webhooks"

projektfu — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 02:53:10 +0000

cf. vanilla

New comment by projektfu in "What happens if you put work into the second dimension?"

projektfu — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:55:17 +0000

I have used a browser on iOS, but I haven't seen a real ZUI there. Maybe one level like Mission Control. Maps is a different thing, there is just the map. There aren't a lot of things you are trying to organize in space, they have already been organized for you. You aren't going to be able to move your city closer to another, because it's more convenient. There's a difference between an object that is too big to see all at once, and a zooming UI for organization. Nor is it really revolutionary.

New comment by projektfu in "What happens if you put work into the second dimension?"

projektfu — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:36:39 +0000

I am too lazy to do the work but in that time frame I considered that a zooming/hierarchical view would be a nice way to browse the web, with followed links appearing as new pages next to the current page. The web became too dynamic for that anyway.

New comment by projektfu in "What happens if you put work into the second dimension?"

projektfu — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:05:14 +0000

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zooming_user_interface

They mostly do not gain a lot of users. Good luck!

New comment by projektfu in "How Hollywood stopped making movies in Hollywood"

projektfu — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:51:50 +0000

I was at a Brazilian restaurant in the US that had TVs showing a well-known Brazilian singer/guitarist performing, and the middle-school-aged kids at the table next to me were discussing whether it was AI. It was clearly not, to me, but it seems to be getting hard for the next generation to tell it apart. I think they will be craving authentic experiences, but also willing to accept inauthentic ones when they do not have the money for the real thing.