<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: sodafountan</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sodafountan</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 09:59:13 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=sodafountan" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Getting arrested in Japan"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Breaking rules in US prisons leads to solitary confinement. I'm assuming there's something similar in Japanese prisons, although the conditions sound like they can't get much worse...<p>I can't logically think of any other lawfully worse punishment than what was described in the article. I don't know what they'd do for breaking rules in these situations, to be honest.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2026 23:39:36 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079420</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079420</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48079420</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Let's Buy Spirit Air"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>My friends used to joke that it was like flying in a tin can, or that the wheels would fall off mid-flight. The jokes were endless.<p>I liked Spirit, though, great cost savings, and I didn't mind the minor inconveniences that came with it.<p>Aside from being known for being a cheap airline, the brand itself was pretty solid... I think it had everything working to its advantage. The bright yellow exteriors of the planes, a catchy name. I think people knew exactly what Spirit was and what they offered, which is the sign of a good brand.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 04:01:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48004491</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48004491</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48004491</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Ask.com has closed"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The rise of LLM's had to have played a part in their demise, at least under whatever IOC is.<p>Could very well be that there's an AI startup aiming to use the brand to its benefit, but it's more likely the leadership teams saw massive declines in what I'm sure was an already dismal amount of traffic.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 21:10:48 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990573</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990573</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990573</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "MonoGame: A .NET framework for making cross-platform games"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I did the same. It was cool seeing some of the games I came up with back in the 360 days running on iPhone and Android devices.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 06:21:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295036</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295036</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295036</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "MonoGame: A .NET framework for making cross-platform games"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I used Monogame back when it was a proprietary framework called XNA developed at Microsoft.<p>You used to be able to use XNA to build Indie games for the Xbox 360, hard to believe, but this is going on 15 years ago at this point.<p>I built two indie games and made a couple of hundred bucks back when I was in High School. It's actually what got me into programming in the first place.<p>I'm happy to see that XNA became Monogame, it's one of the best frameworks I've ever used for gamedev.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 06:19:22 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295031</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295031</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295031</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Tech employment now significantly worse than the 2008 or 2020 recessions"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Thanks, I must just be going through a string of bad luck. I have a profile on Linkedin and my email is out there. Hoping things change for the better. I was laid off not long after Covid and have been having trouble finding something steady since.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 20:40:38 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47291261</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47291261</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47291261</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Tech employment now significantly worse than the 2008 or 2020 recessions"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>No, but it used to be.<p>What mediums are you using for recruiters to contact you? Do you have a linked-in or are you applying directly to recruiting companies? Are you active anywhere else?<p>Genuinely interested in how you're receiving so many recruitment emails. That used to be my go to way to hit the job market.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:54:03 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280224</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280224</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280224</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Tech employment now significantly worse than the 2008 or 2020 recessions"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Yes, this has been my experience. I'd consider myself average at best. I worked in the industry for almost 7 years before being laid off. I can't find anything at the moment and have resorted to moving back in with my parents.<p>It's pretty depressing. I'd take just about anything at the moment. I understand desperation going into a job interview isn't ideal either.<p>It feels like I'm in a hole.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:50:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280177</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280177</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280177</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Facebook is cooked"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I'm an adult male; my feed is littered with thirst-trap-like posts. I don't even know how or when it got so bad. Instagram is somewhat off, too.<p>I find myself doomscrolling quite often just out of bad habit.<p>Wish things were different.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 04:30:27 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47097510</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47097510</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47097510</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Well, I didn't even know how long 50 meters was when I first read the prompt. So I'd assume many would be in the same boat.<p>Aside from that little gotcha, I would assume most people would be able to understand that you'd need a car in order to get the car washed.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 17:54:57 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037997</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037997</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037997</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Television is 100 years old today"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>SpaceEx has made a ton of progress in space travel, granted it's not an ideal situation with it being a mega corp, but it moved a hell of a lot faster than NASA could have.<p>Perhaps someday we'll have individualized space flight like we have ownership over our cars and private planes.<p>Don't know what you're getting at by saying the galaxy will be ruled by mega-corps. Seems pretty democratic so far, and most of the things achieved couldn't have been without organization.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:15:45 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784881</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784881</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784881</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Amazon closing its Fresh and Go stores"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I stopped into the Amazon Fresh in Broomall, PA, to check it out not too long ago. It just looks bland and dystopian from the outside, and not much about it is impressive from the inside. I've worked with computers and technology my whole life, and the entrance to the store just confused me. If I remember correctly, I had to scan the Amazon app on my phone to enter the building. Once inside, it felt like a warehouse; the aisles were too small, and the food selection wasn't even really that great. (From memory, it was a few years ago that I went)<p>All in all, it's a cool concept on paper with absolutely terrible execution.<p>Only went once, bought some snacks, and left.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:07:22 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784727</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784727</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784727</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Television is 100 years old today"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It's certainly not routine, but I'd say the privatization of the space industry that's unfolded over the last few decades is significant progress.<p>When I get depressed and look out at the world, I'm actually amazed at what I'm living through—the internet, space travel, electric and autonomous cars, smartphones. It's really amazing.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:30:28 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46771070</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46771070</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46771070</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Our approach to age prediction"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>That doesn't make any sense.<p>I only asked ChatGPT to guess my age because I'm assuming OpenAI is going to have the LLM assume your age going forward, which is an interesting use of the technology. Rather than ask up front, it just guesses based on the utilization of the tool. I understand "dead-on" may have been the wrong use of the term, let's just say it was fairly accurate...<p>I probably would be impressed by a good parlour trick or an accurate horoscope. Lmao</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:25:12 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46725308</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46725308</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46725308</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Google co-founder reveals that "many" of the new hires do not have a degree"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I fit the same criteria. I think college is probably a wholesome experience, but I don't really know, as I only went for two years and didn't really get much out of it.<p>I had a few major issues with the experience:<p>One: It was force-fed to you in High School, it almost seemed like there was no other choice at the time, and it was far too easy to go into massive debt at such a young age.<p>Two: I was already self-taught in computer science, and the coursework didn't really expand upon my knowledge any.<p>Three: The bureaucracy was insane, having to deal with Student Aid, registration, and signing up for classes. It was nauseating.<p>Four: While there were some interesting classes in other domains of knowledge, the fact that there were so many required courses, like Writing and "English Composition." Kind of soured the experience. I didn't learn anything in the Comp Sci classes, and probably 60% of the other stuff I wasn't interested in. As an Adult who's paying tuition, you should be able to 100% pick and choose what courses you want to take, but because I was only 19 and fresh out of high school, that liberty didn't really dawn on me until after I had finally left.<p>I went to a community college. I assume a four-year school or something more academic by nature would be interesting, but not worthy of hiring one person over another strictly on credentials.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:27:11 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711805</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711805</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711805</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Google co-founder reveals that "many" of the new hires do not have a degree"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I actually have a good friend who was a car mechanic for a few years; we sort of grew up together. I became a developer, and he ended up driving for a towing company after he burned out in the shop.<p>I don't know who had it more difficult. Both are careers worthy of respect.<p>Mechanics need more spatial awareness and are hands-on; it's relatively easy to change the oil or swap out a tire. He taught me how to do brakes once, but I didn't internalize any of it. It's not so easy to replace an engine.<p>I did full-stack development for five or six years. He actually came over once, and I taught him a few things about the modern front-end stack. How to run Node.js, how to install dependencies via npm, and how to use GitHub. All things he was curious about.<p>I would assume it's pretty annoying to work at a local or small-scale shop and have a car come in with modern electrical issues that only the manufacturer knows how to deal with.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:18:15 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711693</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711693</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711693</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Our approach to age prediction"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I'm not familiar with Horoscopes.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:04:19 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711533</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711533</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711533</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Our approach to age prediction"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I would assume that it would be able to make those assumptions based on the questions you ask it, but OpenAI would never allow an LLM to answer those types of inquiries. That would obviously cross some boundaries.<p>I find it strange that having it assume your age isn't off limits - according to the article, it's about to become a major feature.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:03:03 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711521</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711521</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46711521</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Our approach to age prediction"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Yes, it listed a few of my past questions as reference points. I had asked some questions about Nintendo 64/Dreamcast and Gamecube games. It also used information I had asked it about programming languages and some work-related questions to guess my age.<p>I don't know how OpenAI plans to do this going forward, just quickly read the article and figured that might be a good question to ask ChatGPT.<p>Edit: I just followed that up with, "Based on everything I've asked, what gender am I?" It refused to answer, stating it wouldn't assume my gender and treats me as gender neutral.<p>So I guess it's ok for an AI agent to assume your age, but not your gender... ?<p>I don't really feel like diving into the ethics of OpenAI at the moment lol.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2026 20:26:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46697331</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46697331</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46697331</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by sodafountan in "Our approach to age prediction"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I just asked ChatGPT. "Based on everything I've asked, how old do you think I am?" It was dead-on with its answer. It guessed 30-35. I'm 32.<p>That was just a spur-of-the-moment question. I've been using ChatGPT for over six months now.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2026 20:13:34 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46697161</link><dc:creator>sodafountan</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46697161</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46697161</guid></item></channel></rss>