Hacker News Reader

effingwewton The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

OP may not live alone- you are making a lot of assumptions.

Maybe their mother was a proud woman who didn't want to impose/intrude more than she already was.

Their mother may live in another state, in which she is more comfortable.

Rather than reprimanding OP, try having some empathy.

If not for OP then for their mother. No one should have to be homeless, it's a special kind of hell. I speak from personal experience.

effingwewton Amazon Prime Video content to start including ads next year

Those should have all been runaway hits. WoT and LOTR especially, all they had to do was stick to what made it successful in the first place.

Instead Rand was sidelined, they made me hate Galadriel, et al.

I can't imagine paying millions for a recipe and then throwing it out because I think I know better.

effingwewton FTC warns pharma companies about sham patent listings designed to delay generics

He specifically said it was in Brazil.

Saying 'not to be pedantic' doesn't make it any less so.

effingwewton Ask HN: How to do literal web searches after Google destroyed the “ ” feature?

At least those entertained people.

I couldn't get my fiancé's mother to stop re-installing bonzi buddy or whatever that toolbar was called because she 'loves the purple monkey, he's so cute!'

effingwewton Ask HN: How to do literal web searches after Google destroyed the “ ” feature?

Indeed. I'm tired of data brokers masquerading as other things (search, email, whatever).

Signed up for Kagi today and have been looking for a permanent gmail solution.

Had this bundle been available today I'd have jumped on it.

effingwewton Ask HN: How to do literal web searches after Google destroyed the “ ” feature?

I know it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but y'all just got another customer.

I'd been on the fence but after reading through these threads and seeing a real reply from a founder (its been a while since I've seen an honest, non-PR Speak answer) I am excited to try y'all out.

This area was ripe for disruption with how terrible searches have become, especially on mobile. I'd be happy to see you eat G's lunch here.

effingwewton Mark Cuban loses $870K in hot wallet hack

No, he didn't order them, he had to win them[1] via entering sweepstakes.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasubi

effingwewton NASA clears the air: No evidence that UFOs are aliens

Appreciate you, those were both new to me and worth the watch!

effingwewton NASA clears the air: No evidence that UFOs are aliens

There was a show with Betty White where she was feeding a whole watermelon to a hippo she'd been friends with for over 20 years.

It loved her and came right up to her.

Possibly the Pet Set but I couldn't find the video all I could find was her feeding an alligator in Lake Placid (which I don't remember ever having watched).

Maybe I'm remembering everything wrong, but if not maybe someone else has that video or show in their back pocket and can help out.

effingwewton Carrefour puts ‘shrinkflation’ price warnings on food to shame brands

I'll need some citations on those numbers.

In states like Texas minimum wage is still $7.25/hr and many places pay just that.

How do you reconcile your numbers with that?

Bills have outpaced wages to the point nearly a whole generation of young adults have given up on home ownership and have had to move back home.

Mortgages are increasing in years and rates, even new cars have.

Income inequality has never been higher and you're seriously saying it's gotten better since the greatest wealth transfer in history?!

effingwewton Carrefour puts ‘shrinkflation’ price warnings on food to shame brands

No, the reason why is price gouging.

Or as companies like to call it 'not leaving money on the table'.

Prices have outpaced inflation. Everything has, except worker pay and minimum wage.

Profits are record-breaking while laying off workers. CEO compensation and bonuses are insane. Housing prices are out of control. Gas is still $5/gallon where I'm at.

It all boils down to one word: GREED.

effingwewton The IRS plans to crack down on 1,600 Millionaires to collect back taxes

There being more of them doesn't make them any less millionaires.

Which is besides the point anyhow. They need to pay their fair share like everyone else.

effingwewton I rode with an ice road trucker to the Arctic Circle

I got you, I have tons of family who are truckers and the stories abound of shady company tactics. When GPS first started being used in trucks they would take a bucket or something and cover it, it simply 'lost service'.

None of this is new but it's definitely getting markedly worse.

Even still, I'd never heard of some of the evil things they are doing these days like closing the yard gates so they have to keep rolling.

effingwewton I rode with an ice road trucker to the Arctic Circle

Not in the US[1] . And truckers here have been cooking their books since they were actual paper and pen.

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/news/rigged-forc...

effingwewton Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam

Thank you for your service o7

effingwewton Simple fragrance method boosts cognitive capacity: study

And thus, the spice must flow.

When I was a child I looked forward to all the amazing medical breakthroughs that would come in my lifetime. Now all I can imagine are companies patenting them, stifling innovation and causing prices to skyrocket.

Glad this 'article' is BS.

effingwewton Illegal shooting along power lines a leading cause of death for bald eagles

Used to live by an area with a 'caution falling cows'[1] sign. Was never there longer than a few hours before being stolen again. Sure, you can buy them, but I guess it's not the same?

Never did see it more than a handful of times over many trips/years.

[1] https://www.roadtrafficsigns.com/caution-falling-cows-funny-...

effingwewton Sex Workers Took Refuge in Crypto. Now It’s Failing Them

I've had several sex worker friends who all chose to do it, save one. She was a real sweetheart but (and she knew this, and was candid about it), wasn't very bright.

The backpage/kijiji thing hurt her bad. She had to start going off referrals more. Which is a bad thing because, as I learned- forming close relationships with clients is bad in that line of business.

Soon she was getting passed around by friends, treated worse and worse. She got pregnant, engaged several times. Beat up several times, pregnant again.

I tried to convince her that anything would be better- fast food, whatever. But how to support now two kids by herself on minimum wage?

Even though I no longer personally know anyone (to my knowledge) effected by this- we need to protect sex workers. Legalize it, or at least decriminalize it to remove the stigma. Like the war on drugs it hurts the wrong people, and if there wasn't a market for it, it wouldn't be one of if not the oldest profession.

effingwewton ‘It’s Not My Responsibility’ to Save the Office Economy

No it isn't, in fact I'd say not believing it plausible is the epitome of naivety, if not outright burying your head in the sand.

I'll use the ongoing writer's strike as an example: The studios outright said[1] they wanted them poor and in apartments so they'd have to take a deal.

[1] https://www.theroot.com/studios-reveal-cruel-plan-to-push-wg...

effingwewton Significant slice of the U.S. workforce believes their jobs have no purpose

Parent understands that. They sare saying we shouldn't be considered a social good. The free time to enjoy the one life we all have should be the social good.

Why does everyone forget (for the US)- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Truly, we have lost our way.

effingwewton Ask HN: A check from PayPal to me was stolen and cashed. What can I do?

What a lot of companies (pp included) don't tell you is that when they use a phone as verification many only allow them from the Big 4. Tmobile Verizon ATT Sprint.

Verification will fail not only with VOIP numbers but prepaid plans including Metro.

effingwewton Paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States

When I read/hear things like OP's statement I try and remind myself I say/write things I look back on and regret all the time. Sometimes my face turns red from shame.

Every day a bit wiser or whatever.

I was in the army back then and Im 43 this year.

We had 2 guys in my basic training platoon who pretended to be gay to get kicked out. It backfired as they were held in reception for several months before finally being sent home (long after basic/AIT had ended).

Compare that to a woman (we were the first co-ed basic training barracks) wboy was caught staring at other women inappropriately in the shower who was on a bus home the next day.

If they thought it was real it was instant.

I truly feel for you, and things like this are what make me mad when I get told today that young gay people are oppressed, or harassed. Your generation truly was, and I'm also glad the worst today's generation can complain about is pronouns, because to me that really means we have come quite far.

I hope things turned out better for you

effingwewton CEOs’ pay climbed before layoffs at tech giants like Alphabet and Microsoft

JFC, stop putting them on a pedestal.

I've said this before but it bears repeating: CEO's aren't special. Bob Iger came back to Disney to finish it off. Shit, look at Elizabeth Holmes.

No one deserves that much of a multiple over the people actually creating products or value.

When CEO's fail they get golden parachutes. When they get lucky they are praised as some sort of rare superhuman.

The cult of CEO and HR needs to wither and die

effingwewton Netflix Removes “Basic” Ad-Free Plan in U.S. and U.K

Gotcha, and too true, least it is an option.

effingwewton Kevin Mitnick has died

Rest in Peace.

A hacker far before it was cool.

A pioneer in so many ways.

A hero as I was growing up.

effingwewton Netflix Removes “Basic” Ad-Free Plan in U.S. and U.K

Tubi isn't just some ads, they easily double the length of a show and damn near double movie lengths.

They literally doubled their ads overnight a while back and I uninstalled immediately as they had already been adding a good chunk of time to anything I watched.

Also was the same ads over and over.

effingwewton Every time you click this link, it will send you to a random Web 1.0 website

Once the question was posed I had to know!

This whole thread ia brilliant, I do miss the old web.

effingwewton People on TikTok are paying elderly women to sit in stagnant mud for hours, cry

It's the exact same thing and every bit as shitty.

As long as we- as a society, allow people to prey (read- profit) off other people it will remain this way.

I believe more and more of us are not OK with this, but it doesn't matter.

The problem is that the people with the money have the power to keep things as they are.

Voting doesn't work, they lobby and own our government.

We need a new way of doing things.

effingwewton Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Plan: Let Writers Go Broke, “Lose Apartments”

Then it's a hell of their own making.

For all those hours writers have demonstrably been worse and worse every decade.

If shows take forever to write now, it's because everything is written by committee.

Regular writers are not pulling the crazy hours that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are. And they put out episodes faster than any other show.

I think all of Hollywood is finally falling over. And it's far past time.

effingwewton Kelly Rowland couldn't have used the =HYPERLINK() function to message Nelly

Thanks so much, I hadn't seen that before- I'm one of today's 10,000!

The comments were better than I could have hoped for.