Hacker News: softbuilder

New comment by softbuilder in "An idiot’s guide to lead optimisation for proteins"

softbuilder — Thu, 14 May 2026 00:29:56 +0000

My first impression was that it was something about sales.

New comment by softbuilder in "Is my blue your blue?"

softbuilder — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:20:31 +0000

I want this but for blue vs. purple.

New comment by softbuilder in "A brief history of instant coffee"

softbuilder — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 23:12:20 +0000

Twice the voltage == half the amperage for the same wattage. Are UK kettles higher wattage?

New comment by softbuilder in "Running Tesla Model 3's computer on my desk using parts from crashed cars"

softbuilder — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:17:53 +0000

Great project. This begs for real-world feedback though. A go kart would be fantastic.

New comment by softbuilder in "Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability"

softbuilder — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 18:07:22 +0000

My son has Down Syndrome and is non-verbal. He's clever though and has found ways to wander off from his school and caregivers. As a parent this is terrifying. Eventually we tried AirTags on his shoes. It's an imperfect technology but it works.

New comment by softbuilder in "Bugs Apple loves"

softbuilder — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 07:58:05 +0000

Now do Google. A few that immediately come to mind:

* Accounts: Can't use a GSuite address for Youtube, Nest, or any other Alphabet offering. Never explained. 15 years of this.

* Sheets: Hide the sum option in the menu bar. After digging, you find the Summa character and click on it. Oh, it's a menu of functions, not sum.

* Search.

New comment by softbuilder in "JavaScript Demos in 140 Characters"

softbuilder — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 22:12:40 +0000

Same on Mac FF

New comment by softbuilder in "Someone keeps stealing, flying, fixing and returning this man's 1958 Cessna"

softbuilder — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 19:48:35 +0000

This is actually a plot line in Landman, where the cartel occasionally steals the oil company's jet and then returns it.

New comment by softbuilder in "Consider Knitting"

softbuilder — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 00:21:21 +0000

This is great. I picked up weaving right before the pandemic and it carried me through. I've fallen off the past few years but hope to get back to it. Like any hobby it has the "I could do X if only I had a Y!" feature/curse that can potentially eat your bank account.

New comment by softbuilder in "I tried making artificial sunlight at home"

softbuilder — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 20:38:17 +0000

This is a great build and report. Even though you don't have great photo gear, you should try capturing a picture of steam in the light (as DIY Perks did).

New comment by softbuilder in "A Supersolid Made Using Photons"

softbuilder — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:45:39 +0000

As a layperson I go into this thinking that it sounds like "scientists make matter from light" but after reading it seems more like "scientists make fancy electric field with a laser".

I guess "solid" has a technical definition that allows for this sort of interesting interpretation.

New comment by softbuilder in "Researchers launch "moonshot" to cure blindness through eye transplants"

softbuilder — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 02:13:03 +0000

I'm immediately reminded of John Mulaney's "Jerry Orbach's eyes" bit.

New comment by softbuilder in "Did pizza exist in the Soviet Union?"

softbuilder — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 19:48:47 +0000

The screwed-in bowls and chained spoons, great stuff. :)

New comment by softbuilder in "Did pizza exist in the Soviet Union?"

softbuilder — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 16:58:35 +0000

This raises many questions for me, having only a superficial understanding of the Soviet Union. A restaurant seems inherently entrepreneurial. Were they created by individual initiative or committee? Who did they serve? How did they weather shortages? Etc..

New comment by softbuilder in "Fossil of Neanderthal child with Down's syndrome hints early humans' compassion"

softbuilder — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 22:26:44 +0000

Something the article doesn't discuss is that many children born with Down Syndrome have heart defects, such AV canal[1] or Tetralogy of Fallot[2]. The prognosis without surgical intervention is poor. We were told our son with DS and ToF would likely have not made it to 6 without his surgery.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrioventricular_septal_defect

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetralogy_of_Fallot

New comment by softbuilder in "Nine US states are teaming up to accelerate the adoption of heat pumps"

softbuilder — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 22:59:24 +0000

IIRC there's also a legacy superfund cleanup charge that PGE customers have the privilege of paying.

New comment by softbuilder in "Project Euler on a Microcontroller"

softbuilder — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 20:08:06 +0000

I am reminded of Txtzyme: https://github.com/WardCunningham/Txtzyme

New comment by softbuilder in "A deep dive on a Facebook reseller of bikes stolen in Colorado"

softbuilder — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 19:56:51 +0000

> it seems to be generally the same idea as 529 garage which is much more commonly used in BC/WA/OR/CA.

This read (to me) as "sure, but the REAL thing is over here", stated as authoritative fact, not a one person sample size anecdote.

New comment by softbuilder in "A deep dive on a Facebook reseller of bikes stolen in Colorado"

softbuilder — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 19:43:28 +0000

Bike Index is very well known at least in OR/WA (I'm in PDX) and has been around a long time. I appreciate you're supportive of another effort but you don't need to push one effort down to lift another up.

New comment by softbuilder in "Ask HN: 30 years old with no career"

softbuilder — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 02:29:21 +0000

Yeah, but it rhymes.