Hacker News: zafka

New comment by zafka in "Men Who Stare at Walls"

zafka — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:56:32 +0000

I have to say that the reworded title is what made me read the article. It is almost poetic. I could see it being a title of a campy movie.

New comment by zafka in "An Introduction to the Codex Seraphinianus, the Strangest Book Ever Published"

zafka — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 02:36:26 +0000

Hmmm, Now I need to find out where my copy is hiding. I really need to reorganize the books again. I savored this for a while, but have not gone through the entire book yet. Sort of like War & Peace - books that everyone must read before they die, and I am saving them for insurance.

New comment by zafka in "Ask HN: What do I do now that software engineering is dead?"

zafka — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:10:14 +0000

Hi, I sort of wandered into my career. I started in telecom due to a co-op, and then jumped to a cool job making computers for blind people that was both closer to my home, but also offered the opportunity to see many parts of the business. I ended up working on electronics and software in the medical device field. If one has the aptitude for it, I think jobs that are closer to the hardware will have a much longer shelf life. Get a copy of "Horowitz and hill", if you find that book entertaining, you should be fine.

New comment by zafka in "Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day tied to lower dementia risk"

zafka — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 19:25:06 +0000

I am curious(because I get stuffed up a lot also) Do you know what is causing your stuffiness?

New comment by zafka in "A brief history of barbed wire fence telephone networks (2024)"

zafka — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 18:30:13 +0000

When I was a kid, I scavenged a hunk of cable "Ma Bell" had left behind. I spliced together a quarter mile pair of wires to connect the neighbors house to mine and hooked up a battery and microphone on one side, and a speaker on the other. No luck. Then we connected the "speaker side" to the input of my friends stereo, and it was possible to be heard. I was about 10 at that time ( ~1970) and was not very aware of voltage drop. The taps and recording system I put in our basement worked much better!

New comment by zafka in "Simply Scheme: Introducing Computer Science (1999)"

zafka — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:39:40 +0000

I know I am biased both by my education and my chosen path. My first computer class was pascal based,my second course was intel based assembler. These were both in community college. When I started my degree in Computer Engineering, the microprocessor course was essentially an assembly course using the Motorola 6800 chip. I was lucky that the main CS courses were taught using C, course work was compiled on Vax mainframes running some unix variant. I used Borland C/C++ 3.0 to do my homework, then would have to figure out what changed when I used the Vax compiler to turn in my work. I really think it is worthwhile to get an understanding of the low level workings of computing. Every now and then I see a nice article comparing different access times for disk, ROM, DRAM, cache which is also important to know for critical code. Embedded for Telecom, Medical,etc.

New comment by zafka in "Coffee as a staining agent substitute in electron microscopy"

zafka — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:02:33 +0000

I was turned on to Chock full o' Nuts years ago, and have never turned back. I will drink any coffee in a pinch, but for great mild coffee I stick to Chock full o' nuts in my french press.

New comment by zafka in "IBM Mainframe Business Jumps 67%"

zafka — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 22:34:27 +0000

What jumps out at me is the use of the "constant currency" term. I do not think I have seen that before - Admittedly, I do not study a lot of financials. Is this something that we are going to see a lot of now, due to devaluation of the dollar?

New comment by zafka in "Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids"

zafka — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:14:56 +0000

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things This book - or its later editions, should be required reading for ALL engineers and designers. Actually for their managers as well.

Humans Near top of list of monogamous mammals

zafka — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 17:37:52 +0000

Article URL: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/10/humans-rank-among-leading-monogamous-mammals-study-finds

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46234449

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by zafka in "Coffee linked to slower biological ageing among those with severe mental illness"

zafka — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 22:37:43 +0000

I wonder if what seems like much higher margins in coffee allow for more articles like this. While I want what they are saying to be true, I wish I did not have to pay $15.00 for a 26 ounce can of coffee.

New comment by zafka in "Scientists find ways to boost memory in aging brains"

zafka — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 20:43:30 +0000

Thanks for your data points. They are quite encouraging. I was blessed with the ability to remember way more information that most of my peers. Now that I have lost some of that ability, I still retain quite a bit, with slower retrieval times usually. Over all, I really have no room to complain. ( although I still do). The skill I value the most though is finding those connections you speak of. I currently don't have a feel for how that has changed, but I think I am still good to go in that department.

New comment by zafka in "Rock Tumbler Instructions"

zafka — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 17:57:28 +0000

You can pick up Silicon Carbide grit pretty cheap online ( impure moissanite ). I have several tumblers, but have yet to finish the process of making polished gems- but it is still on my bucket list :). I have made lots of "sea glass: though. I have taken quite a bit to the local beach ( about 40 miles north of Palm Beach Fl. ) I toss it into the surf, figuring it will make some beachcombers happy. My logic is that once it has been in the ocean a few days, it will actually be sea glass. I would not make that claim for any of the glass that comes straight out of the tumbler though. Next time you visit a craft show and see folks with "Sea glass" Jewelry, note if they have separate displays for "real" sea glass, and man made.

New comment by zafka in "CRISPR-like tools that finally can edit mitochondria DNA"

zafka — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 19:20:04 +0000

> If you look at what happened to experiments with feeding house cats an altered diet in just a few generations.

Can you point to a reference?

New comment by zafka in "Out of curiosity: what kind of people use this "forum" (I mean Hacker News)?"

zafka — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:26:41 +0000

I will second that. While I do have a computer Engineering degree, I am really more drawn to the stuff posted here outside my areas of expertise. I also like to hear what highly proficient folks have to say about current events and trends - when they are permitted by the ground rules of the site.

New comment by zafka in "Psilocybin treatment extends cellular lifespan, improves survival of aged mice"

zafka — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 03:21:52 +0000

I love the idea of 15 years in my 60s, I guess you are do the calculations in Hexadecimal.

New comment by zafka in "What the Internet Was Like in 1998"

zafka — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 22:36:22 +0000

If you want to see a website from that era see: http://zafka.com While a few changes have been made, the "style" remains unchanged.

New comment by zafka in "Helium 3"

zafka — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 20:19:30 +0000

Anyone know much about current state of the art for using this for fusion? Sounds like China is planning to mine it from the moon.

Helium 3

zafka — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 20:17:50 +0000

Article URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44586366

Points: 4

# Comments: 3

New comment by zafka in "They tried Made in the USA – it was too expensive for their customers"

zafka — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 03:33:57 +0000

I worked a summer job at a factory that made box cars. 10x10 or larger sheets of 1/4 inch plate steel lifted on stacks with chain hoists, box cars tacked together, then put on a large rotisserie, so it could be turned as all the seams were welded. Anyhow, At lunch we all went out for shots and beers, and perhaps a doobie or two. While I did not see it, people did get squished. I survived my summer, but I did pickup a nicotine habit that lasted 20 years.