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PeterSmit

130 karma · joined January 31, 2014

Visit my blog at: peterjacobsmit.com
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PeterSmit··on 1-Bit LLM in the Browser
Cool idea. Crashes on iOS though, after downloading the 1.7B model
PeterSmit··on Wire to Replace Signal as Standard in the Bundestag
Which makes total sense given the current political situation.
PeterSmit··on Accepting US car standards would risk European lives
With the huge hoods these things have the driver has a hard time seeing what is right in front of them, and when they hit a pedestrian (kid or adult) they are much more likely to die.

https://www.carscoops.com/2024/12/suvs-and-pickup-trucks-2-3...

PeterSmit··on Show HN: Personalized Duolingo (kind of) for vocabulary building
I’ve had this same idea, and it doesn’t work. Or at least: it works quote well, but the problem is that you get hallucinations. And it can be incredibly discouraging to find out the flashcards you’ve been cramming are completlh wrong.
PeterSmit··on Bollards: Why and What
I'm not sure if you're from the Netherlands, but I can assure you it's more nuanced that this. Mixing only works when cars are not dominant, so you need low car volumes and low speed in these areas. Residential areas in cities are an example of this: no through traffic, max 30kmh limit.

Most of (new) Dutch road design is designed to give pedestrians and cyclists multiple safe options, while cars have to take the long way round. You can in theory still get basically anywhere with a car if you need, but often (especially in cities) it easier to walk/cycle/take the train/tram/metro. The result is that things can be closer to each other (no parking moat everywhere) so in the end the trip is shorter and safer for everyone, including people choosing to take the car.

PeterSmit··on Bollards: Why and What
I would argue the point of the article isn’t “we need more bollards everywhere “, it’s “our regard for pedestrian safety is absurdly low, even cheap tools to increase pedestrian safety (like bollards) are uncommon / controversial"
PeterSmit··on Bollards: Why and What
If the harm to society is 1M$ per car, should we be driving them at all?
PeterSmit··on AMD unveils Ryzen Pro 8000-series processors
Not in the cloud.
PeterSmit··on EU's new tech laws are working – small browsers gain market share
It's all fun and games until the websites you need (bank, local government, etc) only support the pipes build by a tech corp in a faraway country. Diversity is good and healthy.
PeterSmit··on Just how complicated could it be to register a German company?
And also basic levels of German and French. Outside of tech I actually hear from multiple sources German is an important language for trade between medium-sided companies, to Germany of course but also a large portion of the other eastern EU members.
PeterSmit··on Bikes, not self driving cars, are the technological gateway to urban progress
This sounds like a very American answer. Have you been to such an event in any other place, like Europe?

Near me is the largest open air weekend market of the Netherlands. Do you know how everybody gets there? By bike, public transportation, walking, etc. And then some small percentage that arrives by car.

PeterSmit··on Is watching the 1984 Ghostbusters movie killing people?
Well, it can also be pure randomness
PeterSmit··on Every (US) cyclist who was killed by a driver in 2020
Dutch person here. I believe the driver is at fault, unless it can be proven that the cyclist had a serious part in the crash.

Having said that, there is significant effort made here to just reduce conflict points between modes of transport. No law can help you if you're dead.

PeterSmit··on The loneliness of the modern office team member
Non-paywall link?
PeterSmit··on Sharrows, the bicycle infrastructure that doesn’t work and nobody wants
Yes this is true, but because of the separated infrastructure there are much fewer collision point between motorized and non motorized traffic. Basically all streets where cars can drive 50kmph (30mph) and up cyclist have a separate cycle path.
PeterSmit··on Facebook’s Project Aria Is Google Maps – For Your Entire Life
Forced signup for Medium. Meh.
PeterSmit··on Important non-programming skills for programmers
If you saw many seniors with slow typing speed, wouldn't that be a sign that typing speeds doesn't mater that much?
PeterSmit··on The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising (2019)
The original Dutch article is a few months older even. This article is great journalism.
PeterSmit··on Comparing Urban Footprints (2014)
Interesting. The shape of Amsterdam is super weird though. I wonder how the outline was made.
PeterSmit··on A global reforestation project is how we fix climate change
Any good books or films on this topic?
PeterSmit··on Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
What is wrong with that?
PeterSmit··on One week of empathy training
In Holland, it seems like a lot of effort is put into wheelchair access. At least for newer buildings (Post WW2) and public transportation. But I'm not physically disabled, so haven't actually experienced it fully.

I was surprised that in NYC not all stations and platform have wheelchair access.

PeterSmit··on America’s packaged food supply is ultra-processed
Fibers. They are good for your digestive system, and make you feel full for longer. So less craving for snacking.
PeterSmit··on Longest-running oil spill in history releasing more than 4,500 gallons per day
Paywall
PeterSmit··on Netherlands ACM launches investigation into abuse by Apple in its App Store
How you drive your car is your responsibility. Navigation or not. If you kill someone or get them handicapped it's on you. Be considerate. Safety over everything else man.
PeterSmit··on Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms
Re-post. Earlier discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6669659
PeterSmit··on China smartphone market suffers hard-landing, shipments decline 21% in Q1 2018
Check out the Nokia 8
PeterSmit··on Youngsters keeping traditional trades alive
Awesome news to hear that the graduates are finding good jobs. Makes me wonder why there wasn't anyone in business with these skills present.
PeterSmit··on Deep neural networks more accurate than humans at detecting sexual orientation
Humans are known to be unreliable in explaining how they come to conclusions as well. Humans just like to pretend they can verbalise all knowledge ;)
PeterSmit··on Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
You're talking specifically about North American cities, where everything is designed around automobile usage. And that is the problem the article talks about. It has been designed with this goal in mind so much, that it results in lots of pedestrian and cyclist deaths. Cities that are not designed like this are much compacter, so distances become smaller.

Commuting 5km by bicycle is fine, takes roughly 20 mins if the roads are decent. Using a tram or bus that has a decent frequency it will take roughly the same time, even including a few minutes of walking.

See example: https://www.google.nl/maps/dir/52.1136289,5.0897208/52.08605...

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