Hacker News: tocs3

New comment by tocs3 in "The One Meaningless Word That We All Say Too Much (2016)"

tocs3 — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 16:40:13 +0000

“interesting”

New comment by tocs3 in "NOAA Satellite Captures Rare Imagery of "Interstate-Induced" Clouds"

tocs3 — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:20:13 +0000

I spend time every day looking at GOES images and animations. This is something I have not seen before but I am going to start watching closer. I never really appreciated just how interesting and dynamic the atmosphere was until I started looking loser. To just watch the clouds go by is nice but I really enjoy seeing the recurring patterns and trying to find a reason (mostly landscape but a few man made things as well).

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/index.php?src=nav

New comment by tocs3 in "US Online Banking Security Fail"

tocs3 — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 03:27:19 +0000

consumers-victims get like a $10 rebate coupon

This is unfair. I have gotten settlement checks for as much as $15 US Dollars. I have never gotten a coupon.

New comment by tocs3 in "Ask HN: Are multifocal lenses important for older people who don't drive?"

tocs3 — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:49:16 +0000

As a slightly older person (mid 50s) who just started wearing glasses I will say that multi focal lenses have not been very important driving. I am mostly looking outside the car and can read the dash fine (with my prescription). I actually have more trouble using a laptop and referring to something written or closer than the laptop screen.

My eye doctor asked, during my last visit, if I wanted a prescription for reading glasses and then asked if I wanted them to read close up (book, phone, etc) or for a laptop.

So, to make a guess at an answer to your question: Maybe different people have different needs.

New comment by tocs3 in "I found a seashell in the middle of the desert"

tocs3 — Sun, 31 May 2026 19:02:16 +0000

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48318402

New comment by tocs3 in "America Has a Pangram Problem"

tocs3 — Sun, 31 May 2026 03:24:59 +0000

ZeroGPT, declared the U.S. Constitution to be AI-written;

I had no idea. This was before Babbage and Lovelace even. To work all that out on paper must have been a tremendous undertaking and it still turned out pretty good.

New comment by tocs3 in "What do you get with Meta and Instagram's new $3.99 subscription plan?"

tocs3 — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:04:25 +0000

A bill.

New comment by tocs3 in "Can these dumbphone evangelists convince you to dump smartphones?"

tocs3 — Thu, 28 May 2026 23:35:40 +0000

Yes, I would like to see a phone that is almost nothing but a phone and the ability to lock unused feature from easy access. My mother cannot use a smart phone (the all screen and no buttons is too much). The dumb phone she has is almost too much. She keeps pushing the wrong buttons and ending up with an unusable web browser, camera mode, or some other state that keeps her from making the phone call she would like to make.

New comment by tocs3 in "The FBI Wants 'Near Real-Time' Access to US License Plate Readers"

tocs3 — Sat, 23 May 2026 22:49:29 +0000

The houses came first. The infrastructure is starting to catch up. The closest stores were still about twenty miles (nearest town).

In any case, if you don't like it in the suburbs, move.

Sure, but I am being asked to make (and pay for) changes that I did not ask for (and am not fond of). I know it is all just part of "the way things are" and I am not expecting anything to change back.

New comment by tocs3 in "The FBI Wants 'Near Real-Time' Access to US License Plate Readers"

tocs3 — Sat, 23 May 2026 22:39:44 +0000

Your municipality

Not going to disagree with your post. A little foresight would have been nice. Most of the development though is in the county outside any municipality and the counties do not have much authority for zoning or really anything like that.

New comment by tocs3 in "Is Trump trying to turn Texas blue?"

tocs3 — Sat, 23 May 2026 18:38:36 +0000

Trump may add another notch to his belt on Tuesday in Texas, when Republicans will go to the polls in the runoff of the U.S. Senate primary between incumbent John Cornyn and state attorney general Ken Paxton, whom Trump just endorsed.

The Democrats only need to rerun the opposing ads for who ever wins the primary and say "this is what his own party says about him". Cornyn and Patxton are not being very nice to each other right now.

New comment by tocs3 in "The FBI Wants 'Near Real-Time' Access to US License Plate Readers"

tocs3 — Sat, 23 May 2026 16:11:06 +0000

First I would question why anyone has to drive 20 miles to reach basic needs like grocery stores and employers. Isn’t that already a failure of urban and suburban planning?

I live in central TX and until recently it has been fairly rural. It is now very suburban and it is very common to have to drive 20 miles or so for groceries. There are also lots of traffic lights. For most there is almost no practical way to get to any consumer business on foot and no public transport. Twenty years ago it was "living in the country" and travailing for anything was just part of the deal to live here. It is about the same but with the added joys of traffic, less privacy, and higher taxes.

New comment by tocs3 in "SpaceX Set to Launch Upgraded Starship on Pre-IPO Test Flight"

tocs3 — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:46:47 +0000

I have mixed feelings about this. I would really like to see health active space activity. On the other hand I have been less and less impressed with Musk. There are other players in the sector but they have little further to go and if this launch fails it might dampen the enthusiasm for the industry.

New comment by tocs3 in "Empty Waymos invade Atlanta neighborhood, circle culdesac for hours"

tocs3 — Fri, 15 May 2026 12:48:47 +0000

Of course we need a link to:

Robotaxi Depot Shenanigans: When the plane lands and everybody gets up at once: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi4KXpA9hS0

AP News: Dirtnado Sweeps Through Minnesota Farm

tocs3 — Fri, 15 May 2026 12:44:47 +0000

Article URL: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/qYpG77xU

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48147913

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

New comment by tocs3 in "Free Energy from the Vacuum? Warp Drive Pioneer Unveils Battery-Free MicroSparc"

tocs3 — Wed, 13 May 2026 13:38:51 +0000

“Imagine five years from today, when you upgrade your favorite smartphone, there is a radio button option labeled “immortal phone upgrade — $500,” White hypothesized to The Debrief. “You might take advantage of that.”

Except you will have to upgrade the phone in a couple years on the "immortal phone upgrade' battery will not fit in the next model.

New comment by tocs3 in "US Army goes green-ish, wants soldiers munching on plant proteins"

tocs3 — Wed, 13 May 2026 03:51:46 +0000

I am sure there are great arguments for the plant based food but I suspect there will be some contracts handed out to friends. It is not likely to be complained about at high levels.

New comment by tocs3 in "Rectangle Shopping (Almost Anything)"

tocs3 — Wed, 13 May 2026 03:44:08 +0000

I am so tired of this. I do not need any more rectangles.

New comment by tocs3 in "First tunnel element of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel immersed"

tocs3 — Mon, 11 May 2026 13:19:32 +0000

I worked for a company on a job in New York harbor surveying a 9ft diameter sewage tunnel that runs from Newark under Bayonne to New York Harbor (there is a vent near the little lighthouse you pass on the Staten Island Ferry). There was concern that some of the dredging would lighten the load over the tunnel and the tunnel would pop out of the ground.

New comment by tocs3 in "The greatest shot in television: James Burke had one chance to nail this scene (2024)"

tocs3 — Mon, 11 May 2026 03:50:48 +0000

I also feel most of the documentaries are awful these days. There are a feww that are pretty good but I miss the older stuff.