<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: spiralcoaster</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=spiralcoaster</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 21:14:12 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=spiralcoaster" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "Citing 'severe' math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Now imagine a significant portion of your students are missing the prerequisites.<p>Do you really think these professors are up in arms about a few students who don't have the prereqs? It obviously must be a large enough proportion to worry about.<p>It's no longer "if a student somehow makes it into my class", it's "many students are currently making it into my class"</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 16:19:35 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48311132</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48311132</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48311132</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "Coding on Paper"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>What difference does it make if they heard of it, or how rare displays are vs pen/paper coding? I imagine most everyone at this point has heard of e-paper and e-ink displays, but the author clearly dropped the "e" to make it sound more intriguing.<p>Would you be asking the same question for a post titled "Drawing with Ink", but it linked you to a page about drawing with an e-ink display? Of course not. It's misleading.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2026 03:51:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48188969</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48188969</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48188969</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "Googlebook"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>What's funny is that these days if I see a Google product that I'm even remotely interested in, I just immediately write it off because I know it's something they will kill in a very short time frame.<p>It's just never worth the hassle of buying/using a Google product. Never.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 12 May 2026 19:35:20 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48113295</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48113295</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48113295</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "I let AI build a tool to help me figure out what was waking me up at night"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>This is the most HN thing ever. Someone works to create an ultimately useless tool because no matter what you find the answer to be, the solution is the same:<p>-- Attenuate loud noises --<p>Which is exactly what they ended up doing<p>> With actual data, I could finally act with some confidence instead of guessing:<p>> I added proper acoustic panels (the IKEA ones for offices to create meeting areas work surprisingly well)<p>> I added extra insulation around the bedroom door and the window (silicone, rubber, ...)</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 12 May 2026 17:30:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48111440</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48111440</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48111440</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "OpenAI’s o1 correctly diagnosed 67% of ER patients vs. 50-55% by triage doctors"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Maybe you had trouble re-reading your own comment but I can tell by how you responded here (a cascade of links/references) and a snarky comment ("I can keep going if you'd like") that I'm sure the doctor was glad to be rid of you.<p>You didn't say the doctor disputed you had a fever. You said the doctor told you the fever wasn't concern until 100.4. Which I'm guessing is your fault for misinterpreting. If you google around, it's very easy to see the fever thresholds.<p>Here, I'll even paste a summary for you, and I can keep going if you like:<p>Key Temperature Thresholds<p>- 100.4°F : The standard definition of a fever.<p>- 103°F : Contact a healthcare provider<p>- 104°F : Seek medical attention, particularly if it does not come down with - treatment.<p>- 105°F : Emergency; seek immediate care.<p>In one of your own links (clevelandclinic.org), here's an excerpt for you:<p>When should a fever be treated by a healthcare provider?
In adults, fevers less than 103 degrees F (39.4 degrees C) typically aren’t dangerous and aren’t a cause for concern. If your fever rises above that level, make a call to your healthcare provider for treatment.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 04:00:40 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48004483</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48004483</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48004483</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "I bought Friendster for $30k – Here's what I'm doing with it"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I love that you're looking to "spawn some special relationships" but are unwilling to ask for a name/number. There's no app in the world that will stop you from "wishing" you took action in getting some girls number.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 03:59:32 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917568</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917568</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917568</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "I bought Friendster for $30k – Here's what I'm doing with it"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>You're right. I don't think I could continue living if one of my friends died and a I could no longer view their social media profile on a site designed to foster in person connections. I really can't think many things worse than this.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 03:55:18 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917557</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917557</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917557</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I guess "I poured some concrete into a mold and put a power outlet in it" wouldn't be as eye catching of a title.<p>This is one of those things where someone does something incredibly simple, but dresses it up in pretty language and even some totally irrelevant chemistry equations (because they r so smrt) to make it look like more than it is. Which LLM did you paste the equation from?<p>And of course those who also have no idea how anything is made are unbelievably impressed. You can tell by the amount of exclamation points in all of the toxically positive reactions. Good work in that respect!<p>But hey, I guess it's not another vibe coded project with an LLM writeup. Progress.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:48:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678105</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678105</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678105</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "Artemis II is not safe to fly"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Right, so let's add more risk by flying side by side with some nutjob with no regard for their own life. Sounds reasonable.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:00:35 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47589371</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47589371</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47589371</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "LLMs predict my coffee"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It absolutely does. The model that came closest simply used that model twice in the same equation. One for the cup and one for the air.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:47:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484557</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484557</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484557</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "LLMs predict my coffee"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Is this for real?<p>This is like someone with no background in physics or engineering wondering "can a LLM predict the trajectory of my golf ball". They then pontificate about how absolutely complex all of the interacting phenomenon must be! What if there was wind? I didn't tell it what elevation I was at! How could it know the air density!? What if the golf ball wasn't a perfect sphere!!? O M G<p>And then being amazed when it gets the generic shape of a ballistic curve subject to air resistance.<p>This speaks far more to the ignorance of the author than something mind boggling about the LLM.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:45:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484539</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484539</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47484539</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "I love my dumb watches"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>> I also find the reasoning in "Why track your sleep at all? If you’ve had a crap night, you’ll wake up tired." weird. That's the equivalent of saying "Why track your blood pressure at all? If you've had a problem with high blood pressure, you'll wake up with a stroke." Not that the sleep tracking on smartwatches seems to be worth much but I just don't agree with the logic.<p>Equating tracking sleep to tracking a diagnosed and dangerous medical condition seems ridiculous. Not even remotely equivalent. There are lots of things in life that aren't worth the effort of tracking. There was a recent post here about a guy who spent years meticulously tracking every aspect of his life so he could crunch all the data and learn something interesting about himself. He learned in the end that he learned nothing new worth knowing.<p>"Why track your tumor at all? If the tumor becomes malignant, you'll wake up dead". That must be equivalent too right?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2026 23:20:30 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47462156</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47462156</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47462156</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "ArXiv declares independence from Cornell"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>You're right. The name is just classic gatekeeping and elitist, clearly. I am 100% certain that's why they chose it. If they really cared about inclusion, they would have called it research.io</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:36:03 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460260</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460260</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460260</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "ArXiv declares independence from Cornell"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I hope they ramp up their blocking of AI access. The last thing we need is providers like this getting hammered by AI</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:31:23 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460212</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460212</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460212</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "GPT-5.4"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>This is the low quality reddit-style garbage that gets upvoted on HN these days?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 20:46:14 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47267050</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47267050</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47267050</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "How to talk to anyone and why you should"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>What kind of violence have you experienced from striking up friendly conversations with strangers in otherwise normal circumstances? What are you talking about?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 19:18:10 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47222708</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47222708</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47222708</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "Setting up OpenClaw on a cloud VM"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Guys, remember, when you set up your AI-controlled automatic machine gun in your front lawn, be sure to do it safely and pour a solid concrete foundation for it to sit atop of. We wouldn't want it to cause harm or injury by tipping over.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 19:43:09 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47184658</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47184658</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47184658</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "What does " 2>&1 " mean?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Who do you imagine the users were back when it was being developed?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 01:02:20 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174863</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174863</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174863</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "What does " 2>&1 " mean?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Yeah but now they're using npm to install a million packages to do things like tell if a number is greater than 10000. The chances of the programmer wanting to understand the underlying system they are using is essentially nil.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 01:01:04 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174853</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174853</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174853</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by spiralcoaster in "I don't know how you get here from “predict the next word”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Two very big revelations here that I would love to know more about:<p>1. Can you reveal "what's actually happening behind the scenes" beyond the hint you gave? I can't figure it out.<p>2. Can you explain how an ants sense of smell leads to anthills?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 06:23:38 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47162557</link><dc:creator>spiralcoaster</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47162557</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47162557</guid></item></channel></rss>