Hacker News: swinnipeg

New comment by swinnipeg in "What if everything we know about recycling is wrong?"

swinnipeg — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:35:56 +0000

I would wager the median number of uses per cotton bag is way below 173 store visits.

New comment by swinnipeg in "The engineer who invented the Mars rover suspension in his garage [video]"

swinnipeg — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:43:20 +0000

This is really Youtube at its best.

Deep dive into a niche topic, expert led, compelling storytelling, and professional production.

Not sure how/if something this could have been created / shared 20+ years ago.

Bird, once valued at $2.5B, just filed for bankruptcy

swinnipeg — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 18:19:33 +0000

Article URL: https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-silicon-valley-electric-scooter-startup-files-for-bankruptcy-2023-12

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38711808

Points: 55

# Comments: 72

If Everyone Gets an A, No One Gets an A

swinnipeg — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 17:01:56 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/23/opinion/grade-inflation-high-school.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37988437

Points: 7

# Comments: 1

Compare the Graph with the Headline

swinnipeg — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:26:55 +0000

Article URL: https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/1637848260982259712

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35246643

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by swinnipeg in "Mickey’s Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Toon Is Set to Be Public Property"

swinnipeg — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 17:25:18 +0000

https://archive.ph/vAnFb

Mickey’s Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Toon Is Set to Be Public Property

swinnipeg — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 16:56:37 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/mickey-mouse-disney-public-domain.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34150530

Points: 98

# Comments: 56

New comment by swinnipeg in "New York City hiring top rat killer"

swinnipeg — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 18:14:59 +0000

Unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes

New comment by swinnipeg in "Nobody wants to teach anymore"

swinnipeg — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 13:13:28 +0000

In Canada each province has a fairly strong teacher union. In Manitoba for example a teacher with 10 years experience will earn approximately $95K CAD (more than most software developers here). This with strong pension benefits that can be collected at 55. I know teachers that retired in their late 50s, and will continuing making 70% of their inflation adjust salaries until they die.

Relatively speaking this salary/benefits has higher expected lifetime earnings than a software developer.

One negative is that the unions are also strong enough that teachers can't be fired/replaced for performance (this is similar to Police...etc). As with any profession the worst of the bunch is very bad, and unfortunately they keep doing it until their fifties at the cost of the children.

New comment by swinnipeg in "Why aren't smart people happier?"

swinnipeg — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 18:04:52 +0000

I consistently find that people who are unhappy/unsuccessful and also identify as "smart" are generally very good at rationalizing why things don't work out for them in a manner that protects their ego.

New comment by swinnipeg in "Yep: Google alternative that shares revenue with creators – by Ahrefs"

swinnipeg — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 02:07:23 +0000

Been using ahrefs for years, not sure what is sleazy about it.

It audits your site for issues, shows Google rankings for keywords, estimated volume for keywords, backlinks to specific sites, backlinks to specific pages...etc.

It doesn't do anything for SEO (no content, no links...etc), it simply reports on the state of affairs.

New comment by swinnipeg in "Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious"

swinnipeg — Tue, 17 May 2022 14:15:12 +0000

This is often the only choice when there is so much noise.

In the midst of an election a weekly (bi-weekly? monthly?) summary article of what happened, and what is important is more than sufficient for me.

New comment by swinnipeg in "Plain Text Sports"

swinnipeg — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:15:06 +0000

I like it!

Sites like NHL.com or ESPN.com are borderline hostile navigating this info.

It is reminiscent of the morning sports pages in the newspaper I would read each morning as a kid.

The one improvement would be if there was page that summarized the league. i.e. Click on NHL and it lists scores, games that day, standings, and possibly scoring leaders. That would be capture all of the important points on one clean page, as the newspaper used to.

New comment by swinnipeg in "Mechanics Ask Walmart, Bike Manufacturers to Stop Selling “Built-to-Fail” Bikes"

swinnipeg — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:59:37 +0000

Many of these bikes are not a great compromise at all, they are just all together bad.

A "dual suspension bikes" for $200, will be both bad on a trail, and on a road. It will have terrible rims, terrible tires, terrible everything, and will be designed to break near-immediately. All sizzle, no steak.

Walmart could have a bike for the same price with simpler, less flashy features, that was better in everyway. Except it wouldn't pretend to be a capable full squish bike.

IF walmart was to put their heft behind a rock solid single speed it would be be an exceptional win for consumers.

That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer (2013)

swinnipeg — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 20:14:45 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/science/jared-diamonds-guide-to-reducing-lifes-risks.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29434760

Points: 5

# Comments: 0

New comment by swinnipeg in "Simone Biles condemns U.S. Olympic Committee, FBI for sex-abuse crisis"

swinnipeg — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:13:11 +0000

To place blame more accurately Sandusky was Penn State (not Notre Dame).

New comment by swinnipeg in "Why do the children pretend play? [pdf]"

swinnipeg — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 02:24:36 +0000

The 80s!

New comment by swinnipeg in "Employers bow to tech workers in hottest job market since the dot-com era"

swinnipeg — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:03:20 +0000

These offers show signs of life for Canadian salaries. I am presuming you are in Toronto, and these were IC roles.

What types of companies were the 2 best offers?

New comment by swinnipeg in "The Prosperous Software Consultant (2018)"

swinnipeg — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 22:17:51 +0000

Not all do.

For example a defense Attorney defending a DUI charge will likely be a flat fee. They will also charge according to what it is worth to you.

e.g. If you were Palo Alto's most successful real estate agent, and were at risk of losing your drivers license, you will be charged accordingly when you show up at the doorstep of a prominent defense Attorney.

New comment by swinnipeg in "Life as a public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2021"

swinnipeg — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 02:55:22 +0000

Nope. Teachers salaries would be similar to that across Canada. Software dev salaries would be very close, with some exceptions. Winnipeg/Calgary/Edmonton are all very similar to Saskatoon.

There would be some higher paying opportunities in Van/Tor/Mtl. But an $200K individual contributor software dev is a truly a Unicorn in Canada.

Lots of reasons, but the biggest is that simply don't have the ultra profitable FAANGs that drive up salaries.