Hacker News: tabbytown

New comment by tabbytown in "Butterflies are in decline across North America, a look at the Western Monarch"

tabbytown — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 21:48:03 +0000

I planted narrow leaf milkweed in my yard for the first time this spring. This is the first time I've planted something with the intention of it being eaten.

Robots are heading into the kitchen. Should we welcome them?

tabbytown — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:13:58 +0000

Article URL: https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2026-02-23/robot-cooking-machinery-woks-future-los-angeles-restaurants-dining

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47124321

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by tabbytown in "Newsom signs historic housing bill to bring density to transit hubs"

tabbytown — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:09:58 +0000

As a suburban California homeowner living 2 blocks away from a heavy rail transit terminus (the zone allowing maximum development, as I understand the law), I cannot wait for it to kick in and to see the changes it brings forth.

CEQA made sense at the time, and probably still is a good thing to control certain kinds of development, but blocking infill density-increasing multi-family housing does not really compute for me.

Most of my neighborhood, a non-city city of 100,000 people or more, has over the years decided to ignore the zoning, and build out makeshift garage conversions and single story housing structures. This indicates how hungry the market is for housing.

New comment by tabbytown in "Google's requirement for developers to be verified threatens app store F-Droid"

tabbytown — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:17:44 +0000

Pixel 9 owner and F-Droid user. I voiced my opposition by filling out this form (thanks azalemeth, from the earlier discussion):

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3UQeNspQsZCO2ITk...

Hopefully some reasonable people are listening at Google and just need to know that > 5 people use F-Droid.

> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45409794#45411497

New comment by tabbytown in "Louise Vincent, 49, Drug User Who Led Harm Reduction Movement, Dies"

tabbytown — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:14:49 +0000

> 'Hi, my name is Louise. I can’t stop using drugs, so I need your program,’” she told The Greensboro News & Record in 2021. “‘Oh, you’re going to kick me out because I can’t stop using drugs? Funny. I just told you that was my problem.’”

Something about perfect being the enemy of the good... :)

What a kick-ass and beautiful human being. Here's another more resonant obituary:

https://filtermag.org/remembering-louise-vincent/

New comment by tabbytown in "Ex-WhatsApp cybersecurity head says Meta endangered billions of users"

tabbytown — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 23:32:35 +0000

> had such a small security team of just 6 engineers

≥ Company refused to allocate more than around 10 engineers to the Security team at any point

If true, this tells the story here with security culture at WhatsApp. Assuming a backlog of known weaknesses (as any established code base will have), and the velocity that 100 PMs and 1200 SWEs implies, how would you do anything as a security team besides stick your fingers in the figurative holes in the dike? The ensuing conflict between Baig and his superiors about not fixing stuff is surely going to result in an assessment of "poor performance" but is likely just Baig giving a f** about user data.

New comment by tabbytown in "Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)"

tabbytown — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 05:18:43 +0000

> which I can't imagine tastes the same

Fairlife tastes excellent. I switched for the extra protein as I'm a bodybuilder. I bought the 3.25% fat version at first because I love the silky mouthfeel of a whole milk cappuccino. Then I found the 2% Fairlife satisfies in the same way as 3.25%, with less fat calories, and froths up beautifully in the pitcher.

> They also appear to expire 9-14 days after opening which doesn't seem all that different from other milk with practice?

Anecdotally I think it's better. I've never had to toss one (but they are half gallons) while I find myself tossing sour regular milk frequently.

New comment by tabbytown in "Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill"

tabbytown — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:55:25 +0000

> (Possibly controversial belief: riding a motorcycle makes you a better car driver. Motorcycling has made me pick up habits like always looking over my shoulder and not solely trusting my mirrors when changing lanes)

Completely agree:

1. Finding the gaps in traffic, and hanging out there and chilling. Cars always cluster together. If I crash when I'm in a gap, it's my own fault. But I'm not going to crash because someone veers into my lane while watching Youtube.

(Benefit of motorcycling where lane splitting is allowed: the gap may be ahead, as well as behind. Plus it feels really good to get in front of everyone else when they're all jockeying together to get ahead.)

2. Following distance. Why does everyone follow one car length behind? This is basic driver's ed. If I'm further back I've got time to dodge obstacles, account for slowdowns and react to crashes ahead. This is closely related to #1.

3. Using my turn signals, religiously. I turn them on well before a lane change or turn.

4. Memorizing my route, to avoid distractions. When motorcycling, I don't want my phone out. I need to be caffeinated, laser focused, and geared up for battle.

5. Being comfortable going slow. If I wanted to be fast, I should have put on my helmet :)

New comment by tabbytown in "Nearly all of the Google images results for "baby peacock" are AI generated"

tabbytown — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 15:45:29 +0000

Owner/builder here, of a 1939 home. I invested in a home reference library part way through my own improvements; I should have done it before even lifting a screwdriver. Renovations (https://www.bookfinder.com/search_s/?title=Renovation%205th%...), from Taunton Press, is the first source I consult when starting a home improvement project. Chapter 18 is all about painting. Many of the other titles from Taunton are excellent, but Renovations is unmatched in it's coverage.

All of the flat white MDF trim you buy is primed and ready for painting, too.