Hacker News: seibelj

New comment by seibelj in "What California is learning from solar panels built over irrigation canals"

seibelj — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:51:36 +0000

In a just society the penalties for that behavior would be commiserate with the societal costs. Even if the single act is relatively low cost, the societal-wide implication means no one can reasonably do this at a small scale without losing their investment. Therefore the penalties should be harsh, widely publicized, and extreme

New comment by seibelj in "The EU has begun enforcing the AI Act: first RFIs to model providers"

seibelj — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 05:26:45 +0000

It’s the mentality of the electorate. Without serious, horrible pain, which I truly believe will be felt over the coming 25 years, politicians won’t be elected who really embrace it. The welfare state can’t continue its current form without new innovative companies operating at a global scale. You can point to a few successes but without a grand, EU-wide mentality-shift I will continue to visit Europe exactly as I see it: a sclerotic, decaying old-world system that’s best use is a museum for my tourist dollars

New comment by seibelj in "The EU has begun enforcing the AI Act: first RFIs to model providers"

seibelj — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:42:50 +0000

You’ll get downvoted to oblivion but it’s true in endless ways even before AI. The EUs obsession with green energy and destroying nuclear in Germany, the wealth taxes, the bureaucracy, how it’s 10x easier to get disability than it is to start a corporation. Death by a thousand cuts. I don’t see this improving until real, visible pain is felt. They are so poor economically but the consequences are not being felt yet

New comment by seibelj in "Field measurements of neighborhood-scale air temperature impacts of data centers"

seibelj — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:41:59 +0000

Remember when people spent hours on the weekend protesting Tesla dealerships. I guess they protected us from whatever it was. Can’t remember anymore

New comment by seibelj in "Long-Run Effects of H-1B Immigration on the U.S. Economy (July 2026)"

seibelj — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:49:42 +0000

Like anything there is a positive and a negative. It’s certain many incredibly talented people immigrated to America with OPT and H1B. However I have observed abuse with my own eyes of H1B labor outside of the FAANG and similar all stars who don’t have leverage to switch firms within the law and have the money or corporate backing to pay lawyers to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts.

Middle market firms love H1B because you get docile labor who don’t ask for raises. It’s market-warping and needs serious reform

New comment by seibelj in "Job application asked for my SAT scores"

seibelj — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 23:20:31 +0000

It’s an approximation for an IQ test

New comment by seibelj in "Federal judge blocks H1B visa $100K fee"

seibelj — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:38:08 +0000

They post the jobs in physical newspaper classifieds in the middle of nowhere, and do not post the job on their normal website, because if they posted a real job they would get hundreds of applicants immediately. It’s a fraud but it was tolerated until recently

New comment by seibelj in "San Francisco, AI capital of the world, is an economic laggard"

seibelj — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 06:06:59 +0000

I live in Boston and software is dead here. It’s a biotech city but we used to be a player in software. AI missed us, remote work hollowed it out. I would love some AI dollars flowing here but it’s pretty sad. My hope is some defense tech drone stuff blows up but your problems would be welcome on the east coast!

New comment by seibelj in "Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'"

seibelj — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:05:24 +0000

> Michael: My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.

> Kay Adams: Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed.

>Michael: Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?

- The Godfather

New comment by seibelj in "I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job"

seibelj — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 02:17:47 +0000

My neighbor is the best wallpaper guy in the city, which you’d think is extremely niche but wallpaper has come back in a big way. All sorts of businesses out there for those who identify needs and service wants. And the best way to know about a business is to work for an established one first

New comment by seibelj in "Hundreds of millions of dollars are now flowing out of FTX wallets"

seibelj — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 04:29:56 +0000

FTX general counsel confirms not intentional. Likely a rug pull

https://twitter.com/_ryne_miller/status/1591281729125613570?...

New comment by seibelj in "Sam Bankman-Fried Has a Savior Complex"

seibelj — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 17:10:16 +0000

> This interview has morphed into my own personal economics seminar, and Professor Bankman-Fried is my tutor. He’s as good at explaining the principles of macroeconomics as anyone out there in the world today—and I know this for a fact because I’ve subsequently watched YouTube’s best on the same subject. But SBF teaches me Macro while simultaneously playing round after round of Storybook Brawl.

> Still, I’ve got my answer. And it turns out that I’ve aimed too low. A trillion isn’t enough money to fix the world’s problems, so SBF won’t stop at merely a trillion. It’s an answer that begs the next question, which SBF, ever helpful, has already anticipated: “So, is five trillion all you could ever use to help the world?”

> SBF is now interviewing himself. He slows down for a moment, and I assume that’s because of the cognitive load of doing three things at once. He’s asking good questions (my job); he’s formulating answers (his job); and he’s playing Storybook Brawl (no one’s job). But then I hear the tap-tap-tapping from his fingers start to accelerate, and I realize he’s not slowing down under the load at all. Just the opposite, in fact: This guy is in the Storybook Brawl equivalent of a gank!

This entire profile is incredible. SBF is one of the greatest conmen of all time, the absolute gall to testify in Congress, pal around with celebs, buy the naming rights to the Miami Heat stadium, claim he is "the most transparent", all built on a total scam of stealing billions.

If this guy doesn't go to jail why do we even have jails?

New comment by seibelj in "India lifted 415M out of poverty in 15 years, says UN"

seibelj — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 18:26:15 +0000

Capitalism wins again! Better than trillions in government and UN dollars. Only productive enterprise and real business activity can lift hundreds of millions out of poverty - there is no substitute.

New comment by seibelj in "Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment"

seibelj — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 01:24:12 +0000

Catholicism has no issue with science as any scientific fact was established by god and therefore is fine. You may be thinking about Baptists or similar groups with literal interpretations of the bible. The church really doesn't have any mandates other than the Nicene Creed and no one has to agree with everything the Vatican mandates, our priest and deacon both disagree with certain elements of the official doctrine. God gave humans free will and therefore the capacity to sin. You are allowed to think anything you want, there is no mandate.

New comment by seibelj in "Meta Is Preparing to Notify Employees of Large-Scale Layoffs This Week"

seibelj — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 21:16:31 +0000

Probably they will be absorbed at lower salaries / equity. But SF real estate, holy shit. Dump it now if you have any

New comment by seibelj in "Meta Is Preparing to Notify Employees of Large-Scale Layoffs This Week"

seibelj — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 21:00:37 +0000

I have it from a trusted friend that a big Google layoff is coming soon as well. Stay safe out there

New comment by seibelj in "Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment"

seibelj — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 15:43:56 +0000

We are social creatures and I absolutely believe in community and helping each other. My issue is that other people want to use the state to solve all of their favored issues, and fund this by stealing from citizens such as myself. It’s especially bad because the recent vintage of politicians exclusively attack the rich and pretend that purely by stealing from them all the money can be found, when instead they should be advocating for shared sacrifice by all to achieve their aims. It’s class warfare mixed with naivety and it’s lies because the rich are far more nimble and able to avoid such taxes than the demagogues believe. They don’t advocate for broad tax increases because then their “something for nothing” mantra falls apart and suddenly their solutions are far less popular.

In terms of Catholicism I’m not sure there is a lot of writing specifically about how the tech industry and it intertwine. I believe that if you are a healthy individual and have nothing preventing you from working then it is your duty to be a productive member of society to help your family, friends, and those around you. The whole point of the teaching and faith is that it’s universal and timeless - doesn’t matter if we are peasants 1000 years ago or on a space ship 1000 years into the future. Just because I’m in technology doesn’t change anything or make me different from a janitor, doctor, or craftsmen.

In terms of technology for myself I see writing software as not dissimilar to constructing buildings or bridges - it’s an act of creativity that creates something out of nothing and I find beauty in the systems produced. If you are curious about Catholicism or something inside of you is seeking answers it may be worth reaching out to your local parish, they are always happy to chat.

New comment by seibelj in "Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment"

seibelj — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 10:48:01 +0000

Developed countries were created over centuries. They have a giant amount of legacy cruft and baggage that may have made sense in an older world but no longer does. They have no reason nor incentive to reform themselves and its workers are mindless drones that never think if their work has any value because the institution lacks the market test.

China is an authoritarian godless dictatorship that will put a bullet in your head if you disagree with the dictator. This is the antithesis of freedom and the free will given to each of us.

New comment by seibelj in "Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment"

seibelj — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 10:40:52 +0000

[flagged]

New comment by seibelj in "Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment"

seibelj — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 10:38:13 +0000

Statist is a term for someone who thinks the state can solve society’s problems. There is never a solution that doesn’t involve the government and never a situation where giving more taxes (and it’s always the rich who must pay - never the masses!) is the wrong answer.

In my view an increasing number of people are agreeing with me. You won’t see it in the mainstream media because they are also statists whose worldview is wrong and intolerant. You are witnessing them scream and cry and whine that democracy is failing, the climate is failing and the world is ending, basically the apocalypse is upon us and you need to be scared and afraid 24/7. Whereas the people I know don’t give a shit and don’t believe those lies. It’s like an alternate planet where hyper-online people actually think the world is ending and all the normal people stopped believing those lies.