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b3b0p

667 karma · joined April 13, 2009

Email: chris.kaukis@gmail.com

Hi,

My name is Christopher (mom named me after Christopher Robin). You can call me Chris though.

I am a developer, programmer, coder, software engineer. Whatever title is in style and politically correct on this day. They say I'm a senior, but I feel like such a baby.

I like to build, code, learn and teach.

I live in Minneapolis, downtown proper.

I like to play Mario and Zelda.

I like to watch movies.

I like to read Foxtrot by Bill Amend.

I like to watched dubbed anime.

My favorite anime is Cowboy Bebop.

I like to play pick up ice hockey.

If I was a Muppet I would be Kermit.

If I was a Peanut I would be Charlie Brown.

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b3b0p··on Top Scores: Video Game Music
I found this article nigh impossible to get through with it's weird scrolling and transitions. I had to give up.

I listen to Video Game music while I work. Mostly via rainwave.cc [0] or OCRemix Albums [1]. It's pretty much the only non-vocal music I can tolerate for longer periods of time that don't bore me, but help me maintain focus and block out externalities.

The Final Fantasy soundtracks and their similar epic AAA games from most notably Square Enix (Xenogears, Chrono Cross/Trigger, Kingdom Hearts) as well as Nintendo (Zelda, Mario) are often heralded as some of the best. But, I find the 3 Donkey Kong Country and earlier Sonic music (the 3 Sonic Genesis titles up through Sonic Adventure and the anniversary collection) to be my absolute favorites.

There are also tons of excellent albums and chip tune on Band Camp. Way too many to list.

[0] https://rainwave.cc

[1] http://ocremix.org/albums/

b3b0p··on Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
My dentist told me the reason I never needed braces, but all my friends did was from wearing a mouth guard from all the ice hockey we played growing up. They aren't perfectly straight, but except for 2 teeth, very close to it. Every dentist I ever had was like, "Did you ever have braces?"
b3b0p··on Thinkpad X210
This is what I have on my MacBook Pro now, since the millisecond I took it out of the box. It's just not as pleasurable to type on, especially comparing to say, a Thinkpad keyboard. I was thinking how much peace of mind I would have using a bare Thinkpad P52 keyboard with a spare in the closet and knowing I can just go to Lenovo's parts site and order up a new one for a reasonable cost.
b3b0p··on Thinkpad X210
I have a MacBook Pro (2017, 15" top model). I came from a Thinkpad running Red Hat and FreeBSD later.

I have been for the last couple years putting a Thinkpad (P52 or X1 Carbon/Extreme or P1) I'm lusting over in my cart, but not hitting the buy button.

After owning this MacBook Pro, my first question is how replaceable are the keyboards? I want to have a spare in the case of spills, crumbs, dirt, etc and so forth. It's piece of mind at this point.

From my quick and dirty research, they aren't as replaceable as they used to be, but still able to be done by the user. The P52/72 seem to be the only easy option like the, "good old days." While the X1/P1/X series require the entire top palm rest replaced, which is costlier, but it's an option none the less.

I'm eyeing either an X1 Extreme, P52, or maybe getting something slightly more portable like the X390. I feel this is the year I'm finally going to hit that buy button and at least test the waters if I can get myself out of the Apple Ecosystem and survive without regrets using Linux, even so, it will be a fun experiment.

b3b0p··on Graying Out
I completely forgot about Adium. If I remember, there was an iOS app too at one point? Or there was a way to have it push messages to you phone when you weren't at your computer?

Slack, Discord, Messenger, ... should have made Adium clients as alternative to a full blown Electron App. That would have been pretty rad.

I clicked on the source link and development tab only to be greeted by an expired security certificate error and broken Trac. I take that as it's not maintained any more. Sigh, so sad.

b3b0p··on Ask HN: What podcasts do you listen to regularly?
I'm down to two a week and often will re-listen to them throughout the week and pick out different topics.

[0] The Giant Bombcast

[1] The Giant Beastcast

I use to listen to more, but I feel like their quality dropped and many have since they jumped the Patreon Shark. I already subscribe to Giant Bomb, so I'm not looking to pay for yet another service either. Especially when the quality is less.

[0] https://www.giantbomb.com/shows/giant-bombcast/

[1] https://www.giantbomb.com/shows/beastcast/

b3b0p··on Austin Is Building a Mini Silicon Valley
This is what I noticed and reasons I left after living their for 3 years.

I lived downtown proper and had no interest in moving out in the suburb areas where these bigger tech opportunities were. The appeal of Austin is downtown to me. The areas in which these larger companies and opportunities are in Austin (or Round Rock actually?) is a rather time consuming commute. I also didn't want to have a car and the transit system is... there isn't one. There are some smaller well established and known startups closer in downtown. I applied to a few, but I guess I'm just not what they were looking for because I didn't get offers. I guess I'm not the super rockstar they want.

b3b0p··on Hacker News Meetups
What do people do at these meetups?

Nothing for Downtown Minneapolis where I'm at. I might have figure a way to change that.

b3b0p··on FTC Brings First Case Challenging Fake Paid Reviews on an Indie Retail Website
Amazon went from my go to reliable source of basically everything that wasn't perishable to not. I used to have packages from Amazon coming weekly and daily and took full advantage of my Prime membership. Now, I can't even remember the last time I bought anything from Amazon. I'm simply afraid I'll get a fake, even if it says ship and sold by Amazon.

I hope Amazon sees this and many similar complaints. I feel the greater population will catch on to this in due time and they could very well fall from their throne. In fact, if they don't, I hope they do.

In the meantime, I'm more than willing to pay more get products directly from the manufactures and stores in person (e.g. Apple, Apple Store, Best Buy, Target, Nike, etc...).

Not sure how this affects their other holdings such as Zappos.

b3b0p··on Exercise, fasting shown to help cells shed defective proteins
Sleeping extra and skipping breakfast before I go to work/school is fasting. Which my dad, friends, and myself have been doing throughout our entire life since maybe grade school.

I'm trying to figure out why calling it intermittent fasting versus skipping breakfast all of sudden makes it almost controversial and a hot topic.

b3b0p··on Sam Altman: Bay Area is no longer the obvious place for startups
Just left Austin for this exact reason. All the companies, except a few startups and exceptions are not in downtown. They are out in the boonies. Live downtown and you are looking at 2-3 hours of commute every day and traffic is gloriously terrible. The transportation system in Austin is none to speak of. The other thing that bugs me is none of these companies are actually in Austin. It's more like Round Rock. So, when people say Austin is a tech hub, it seems like play on marketing.

This is why I left for Minneapolis, I actually bought a condo in central downtown. I can walk and bike everywhere. I can take a train or bus at any given moment to everything I would ever need and there is something to be said when you are easily and casually attend any of the major 6 sporting leagues at a drop.

As for the tech and pay. I find it pays the same or actually more in my experience. Finding a job is easy. Most companies don't play that Leetcode game, some do, but most don't it seems. Tons of huge fortune companies that use modern tech and have interesting problems, including places like Target, big banks and tons of healthcare. There are hidden startups, if you look, hard, but many haven't even take VC are only 2-5 people right now and are bootstrapped and highly profitable.

If I ever decide to take that job at a big tech in SF I'll rent out my condo in central downtown, pack up my backup and take the light rail to the airport with my one way ticket.

b3b0p··on We're Entering a Golden Age of Podcasts
I feel, at least for me, the golden age of podcasts is over already.

There was the early [0] Retronauts the new Patreon/Kickstarter version is only same in name.

Then there was the [1] 1up Yours. All the hosts, co-hosts, and popular regular guests have moved on.

Then there was the epic [2] A Life Well Wasted by Robert Ashley. This is absolutely superb.

The only podcasts of similar I listen to now are Giant Bombcast and 8-4 Play. I miss the good old days.

I've tried to branch out to other topics and areas, but podcasts are my way of escaping and thinking and listening to something else outside work and study.

I have actually started to go back through these and re-listen to them. They are timeless. I have a friend who does the same.

[0] https://archive.org/details/Retronauts1-100

[1] https://www.resetera.com/threads/1up-podcast-preservation.90...

[2] http://alifewellwasted.com/

b3b0p··on None of my projects want to be SPAs
Infinite scroll, showing the details, clicking back sometimes doesn't bring me back to where I left off. Same when scrolling horizontally for example on the New releases I'll have to start scrolling right again after click on the details.

Honestly, your website is probably the best implementation of a SPA website with multiple pages I have ever seen I can recollect. It still has quirks though. I just don't see why you would want to make a website like this a SPA.

Does that help a little? I wrote this quick, off the top of my head. I can try and provide more details maybe in an email or some other communication means too.

b3b0p··on None of my projects want to be SPAs
I feel as if many sites that used to be fine and work well have regressed in usability and features and introduced unexpected behaviors and bugs since the SPA paradigm seems to have taken over. This seems especially true for many corporate, bank, shopping brand sites, etc. An example is the Capital One 360, Chase, and AMEX sites and even Reddit.

Even JustWatch.com seems like it's fairly polished, still has it's quirks. So, I just end up using InstantWatcher.com instead. Hacker News works well as is too, except the search on the bottom can act up it seems once in a while.

Edit: How could I forget, Netflix. The UI, getting to the details of a show/movie. Browsing, discovery, searching, it all feels broken and unintuitive. The DVD site last I checked was still decent. Netflix seems like the poster child for usability and regression issues moving to a SPA.

b3b0p··on Slack Says It's Filed to Go Public
From what I see and experience, Slack has a negative impact on productivity the way most companies and employees end up using it. People get easily distracted, context switch, create random non-work related chats (music, video games, movies, etc.), and constantly check it like a bad habit.

I guess I'm old, moldy and miss the productivity and work ethic before the popularity of Twitter, Facebook, text messaging, and Slack were excessively popular and overly accessible.

b3b0p··on Ask HN: How much time to devote to learning algorithms vs. creating software?
I've read some of and done exercises in The Algorithm Design Manual instead of CLRS as I was always told and read CLRS is more a reference. I found The Algorithm Design Manual interesting and nicely paced, not slow at all. I actually very much enjoy it and will often re-read chapters or sections and pick out things I might have just slightly glossed over.

I can't say anything about CLRS as I haven't read it or any parts of it.

b3b0p··on Ask HN: How is Ubuntu as a daily driver?
I started with Slackware 4 as my first. Moved to Red Hate 5.1 from there. Tried Gentoo. Tried Debian and Ubuntu many times. I still can't get used to Ubuntu/Debian to this day. Fedora is my go to next to Slackware and Gentoo now.

Side, my best friend from university installed Gentoo on his server back around I think it was 2002 or so. He is still running that exact same install to this day.

b3b0p··on New Dell XPS 13 developer edition now available
It's a good comparison, but I feel the best comparison is not to a MacBook Pro or Air, but to the Thinkpad X1 Carbon or X280. I haven't used either the Dell, Thinkpad, or the MacBook Air, but I do have the MacBook Pro. I'm mostly concerned about build quality. My experience with Dell is they feel cheap while my last Thinkpad was a tank and I miss it (I ran FreeBSD on it) and loved the nub and keyboard and overall feel.
b3b0p··on Amazon Ruined Online Shopping
It's gotten to the point that it feels like a version or intermediary for Aliexpress.
b3b0p··on My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag
Because we don't know the circumstances of their living situation available services.
b3b0p··on My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag
Maybe he loves his dog such that he is willing to go out of his way and even pay someone to walk the dog when life outside of home happens.
b3b0p··on De-Suckafying Apple’s Butterfly Keyboard
Lurk would be what I actually mean. I cause no harm and never post, only envy in entertaining myself of maybe someday buying one.
b3b0p··on De-Suckafying Apple’s Butterfly Keyboard
I can't stand the keyboard, but do like the Touch Bar. Out of FUD, I have keyboard cover on my 2017 MacBook Pro.

Similarly thinking, I have been trolling the Thinkpad Subreddit and constantly check the Lenovo Corporate Perks prices with a fully loaded P52 sitting in my cart. Can't pull the trigger. I'm too entrenched and spoiled by the Apple conveniences and ecosystem.

b3b0p··on Netflix to raise prices by 13% to 18%
It has.

I've contemplated canceling only because the Apple TV interface and the auto play is frustrating. The web interface isn't any better and is worse then it was 5 or more years ago even. Not even their content is making up for it.

But then I remember, I'm not paying for it since another person in the household is paying for it. I only turn it on to either have something on in the background when I'm home alone or for background noise anyway.

b3b0p··on Ask HN: How do you organize everything you want to do?
iCloud with a txt file in/on my Desktop and/or Notes.app. Everything is seamlessly, effortlessly, nearly instantly synced. You can even share notes using Notes.app easily.

It's simple enough and easy enough to access that it's the only way I can stick with this setup unlike every other setup and app I have tried.

My only negative is that it is yet another variable that has me entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. So, despite not exactly the most impressed with the current MacBook Pro (2017) I own the time and convenience it provides I feel has made up for it.

b3b0p··on Input: Fonts for Code
I'm a font-aholic and reading Hacker News, I get the impression I'm not the only one.

My first adventure down the font hole started with Bit Stream Vera Sans Mono followed by Source Code Pro. Stuck with Source Code Pro for many years and even today, not sure any other aliased font looks and works as well as Source Code Pro at almost every size, from the smallest onward. It just looks clean to me.

After reading on here how great it was, switched to Fira Code for a while. It was nice, but never blew me away. The ligatures were a nice change I guess.

Then I tried out Iosevka and was happy. Kept using it for a while.

Then it was Input Mono, again happy and used it for a while.

I was later introduced to Operator Mono and thought I had found code font bliss (pay).

Ended up going back to SF Mono (I'm on macOS) and feel content. Finally. Again. I don't think I'm switching anymore. I might try for a day or a few minutes something else, but I can't see myself sticking with it like SF Mono. It will have to blow my mind.

As an aside, I love no antialias Monaco at about 10 pt on hi dpi/retina displays (MacBook Pro 2017 and LG 5k with non-decimal scale, e.g. 2x). Something about it seems perfect to me. It usually seems to require special configuration and sometimes is difficult or not supported at all in many tools and editors, so I have stuck with SF Mono, typically 11 pt or 13 pt depending on the display and time of day and how much sleep I got.

b3b0p··on Sears has another chance to avoid closing down
I did not know about Sears owning part of Prodigy. I bought Blades of Steel on NES through Sears on Prodigy. Back then delivery was weeks and not days.
b3b0p··on Algorithms, by Jeff Erickson
My GPA 12 years ago when I finished was 3.5 I think. There about anyway. I figured you were referring more to the length of time you were out of school, not your GPA.

My mortgage is far north of $390, haha. I don't have or need a car though. I lease out my parking spot for $150/month or more. If I go and get accepted I'll have either work pay or try and see about scholarship or something. My brother and best friend got free rides through their master and Phd.

b3b0p··on Algorithms, by Jeff Erickson
> I graduated with a Comp.Sci bachelor with a similar GPA. Spent around 10 years as a programmer in the industry and came back to get into the masters program. I was almost laughed off (a good thing) stating I would have to do another bachelor.

Can you expand on this? I'm similar right now. Want to go back and get my masters. Graduated in CS about 12 years ago. Mid 30's. What do you mean about having to do another bachelor? I have not heard this before.

> Sold my house, got rid of all my stuff and enrolled in pure math bachelor's. Best decision of my life.

I recently just bought a condo downtown. One because I never plan to move again and rent goes up at least 3-5%/year and two because I can easily rent it out if I do end up leaving. The University of Minnesota is only a mile away from me at the moment. Mortgage is probably a little high for a grad student/TA salary considering I'm making well in to the 6 digits right now. This is my only debt and all my stuff is not much. Mostly things I can't really sell for much now or are required to work and live (computer, desk, monitor, clothes, eat, sleep). I have a couch and a TV to relax outside of work.

b3b0p··on The old guard of Mac indy apps has thrived for more than 25 years
Another I fondly remember is Red Sweater: https://red-sweater.com
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