Hacker News: sanmarzano

New comment by sanmarzano in "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs Video Lectures (1986)"

sanmarzano — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:10:35 +0000

Every programmer should learn LISP. or at least give an earnest attempt to study it. The vast majority of applied programmers only know how to think like C programmers (procedural). LISP is a “beautiful” language in that it is about concepts, not hardware. Totally changed my brain when I worked on a graduate project for a few years at my Alma mater in 1990.

New comment by sanmarzano in "It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history"

sanmarzano — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:38:19 +0000

Possibly. The only people I know that gamble are sports bets, and they consume sports at a near constant rate.

New comment by sanmarzano in "It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history"

sanmarzano — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:07:52 +0000

It does. People who bet on sports sink hundreds of hours into forums and consuming visual content. Placing a bet takes 30 seconds, deciding what to bet on takes people a very long time. As long as reading a book.

New comment by sanmarzano in "Windows Drops Under 60% in Global Desktop OS Share for the First Time in Years"

sanmarzano — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:59:14 +0000

Maybe windows users who weren’t smart enough to correctly answer the survey question?

Nevermind. These stats are computed by website visits:

https://gs.statcounter.com/faq#methodology

So I guess web browsers that obfuscate?

New comment by sanmarzano in "How did Windows 95 decide that a setup program ran?"

sanmarzano — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:58:16 +0000

Windows 95, for all its UX niceties, was a hack job under the hood. Reading this is just another example. When people make comparisons to clunky Model T cars in the 20’s and Win95, they aren’t far off.

New comment by sanmarzano in "Decoding the obfuscated bash script on a Uniqlo t-shirt"

sanmarzano — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:46:03 +0000

It’s encoded not obfuscated. It’s even commented, which is the opposite of obfuscated. Plus it’s not really an Easter egg that was found: it is literally printed in a shirt. Easter eggs are supposed to be hidden and either only found by insider knowledge or deep investigation. This was neither.

New comment by sanmarzano in "Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera"

sanmarzano — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 23:43:08 +0000

Thank you! I often feel like I’m in the minority on this site, it is nice to hear someone else articulate my feelings. Driving is a privilege not a right. But since America decided to decimate public transit in the early 20th century (and stick with it) we’re stuck with cars. So I’m in favor of anything that makes it safer. Hopefully this crosses the pond.