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jerlam

4,148 karma · joined March 14, 2012

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jerlam··on For most US drivers, EVs offer emissions benefits and cost savings
Used EV prices are rising, especially at the low end:

https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/used-electric-vehicle...

People who want EVs to save money aren't interested in buying brand new, expensive luxury EVs but that's where the supply was.

jerlam··on For most US drivers, EVs offer emissions benefits and cost savings
I'm not sure this will be the case going forward, as much of the depreciation in the past was due to Tesla's $10K+ price drops, the cancelled EV rebate, and luxury manufacturers making bad but expensive EVs.
jerlam··on Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models
I'm not saying that MP3 and CDs and cassette tapes and vinyl don't work. But they are on the decline and no company would be wise to make a mass-market device specifically for them, when the mass market has moved on.
jerlam··on Saying Goodbye to My Office
43 years in the same office sounds extreme.

I've changed office buildings seven times, and in one of the buildings I changed desks every other year due to switching teams or reorganizations.

jerlam··on UK households free to install plug-in balcony solar panels from end of August
Rooftop is also not an option for condos or apartments.
jerlam··on Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models
MP3s have been on the way out for a long time, being replaced by music subscriptions. And "MP3 player" is a feature of other devices, not its own device. Both my Apple Watch and Garmin watch can store and play MP3s without a phone; both also support music subscriptions.

The only market is in the "enthusiast audiophile flac player thing that costs way too much", just like it is currently for vinyls and DVD players.

jerlam··on DARPA, U.S. Air Force fly AI-controlled F-16
Autonomous landing systems do exist on the civilian side, and have been successfully used at least once.

Autoland saves King Air, everyone reported safe https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346214

jerlam··on DARPA, U.S. Air Force fly AI-controlled F-16
This movie is back in theaters for a limited time, for its 35th anniversary!

Assuming that your movie theaters haven't all closed already.

jerlam··on Does creatine make you smarter?
"Creatine found to improve cognitive performance during sleep deprivation" (2024, 56 comments)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40170474

jerlam··on Does creatine make you smarter?
There are lots like Vitamin water, alkaline, and coconut water. And overpriced salt packets like Nuun and LMNT.

There's also no shortage of expensive water bottles being sold, and smart water bottles that track your drinking frequencies and flavor pods sold via subscription.

jerlam··on ScreenWall – Turn old phones into synced widgets for your space
I try to get rid of my old stuff ASAP, it reduces clutter both physically and mentally.

I know many people who had their old phones and computers lying around because they didn't invest the time to transfer the data. Not long after, the phone was unusable either due to hardware problems or forgotten passwords, and the data is lost forever.

jerlam··on Proposed bill could make New York the first U.S. state with universal healthcare
Also, NY has the highest GDP per capita (excluding DC, which I assume is influenced by lobbying and political money).

Massachusetts, which is the #2 state for GDP per capita, was where Romneycare was introduced, and served as a model for the national Affordable Care Act (ACA).

jerlam··on On the run for 20 years, most-wanted fugitive caught hiding as a biotech exec
Not one, but two companies hired the fugitive into high-level roles based on completely false credentials.
jerlam··on A BLE device hidden in cars across the US has a universal key enabling theft [video]
Non-video link: https://www.wired.com/story/a-device-hidden-in-cars-across-t...
jerlam··on VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
VTubers separate the actor and the on-screen character, which is good for both the actor and the audience.

Audiences tend to be young (because, in general, they have the free time), and some struggle to distinguish the two, leading to strange parasocial interactions where audiences believe there is an actual relationship between them and the streamer. Some streamers are good at leveraging this relationship for money and clout; at the extreme example, there is OnlyFans.

At the worst, this fake one-sided relationship can lead to stalking and murder, but even lessor forms such as constant rumors over relationship status or sexualized screenshots can take its toll. VTubers reduce or eliminate this from audiences, but their use also helps the streamer since the VTuber is obviously a character they play, it is not them as a person.

This is not different than how some people obsess over actors, musicians, sports players, or models.

jerlam··on The US grocery slowdown is real
Although we are right in the middle of a cyclospora outbreak.
jerlam··on Pebble Mega Update – July 2026
Oura Rings (I don't know about the Index) aren't just like other kinds of jewelry. There are protrusions inside the Ring, just like on other wearables like the Apple Watch, for optical sensors that change how it fits. And these smart rings cannot be stretched or modified in any way.
jerlam··on Three ways people respond to a problem (other than solving it)
Often, the homeless programs provide aid to the homeless with food and clothing and health care, not necessarily to make them not homeless.

It is much harder and expensive for homeless programs to create shelters or homes. It is also difficult if not illegal to force people into housing.

jerlam··on After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
Garmin and Pebble also are the watches with custom watch faces. You can change them to serious or silly or incomprehensible.

Whenever I look at my Apple Watch, it's a reminder that Apple owns it and requires it to look a certain way.

jerlam··on After wearing the Pebble Time 2 for two weeks, I'll never buy another smartwatch
I don't use it on my Garmin, because as you said it dramatically lowers battery life, and often shows up as life-threateningly low. It also doesn't do anything with the data, meaning I only see if it I go into the app and click on the Pulse Ox tile.

I leave it enabled on my Apple Watch though, the battery life is already bad and any irregularities would be shown on the vitals app.

jerlam··on Pebble Mega Update – July 2026
The Oura Ring costs $350 now and it has an optional $6/month subscription.

Also, rechargeable does not mean it is infinitely rechargeable. After around four years, the Oura's battery will not hold a charge long enough to be useful (record a night's sleep), so it is also disposable.

We are comparing apples and oranges though because the Index is not a smart ring.

jerlam··on Pebble Mega Update – July 2026
The EU just backtracked on user replaceable batteries for wearables.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/07/14/apple-watch-meta-...

jerlam··on Pebble Mega Update – July 2026
I don't know if I would count durability as one of Pebble's strengths. The Pebble 2's silicone buttons often failed, and the bezel of the Time scratched if you looked at it wrong. There's also the whole thing with the company failing and only being propped up by Rebble to restore functionality.
jerlam··on USDA lowers beef export sales by 90% amid growing doubts over data
There seem to be a lot of these "reporting irregularities" in the past year or so.
jerlam··on My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded
I think the Dodge Charger EV has a lot of the fake engine noises, both inside and out. Sounds like it was a very important feature.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63141971/dodge-charger-da...

jerlam··on My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded
Riding on a wheel you have built from parts is a joyous thing.
jerlam··on Is This the Fastest Opinion Shift in American Politics?
I'd want to know how that 71% compares to other things; like housing, parks, prisons, or factories; to get a general floor of NIMBY-ness.

But data centers are easy to hate on. They don't provide a lot of jobs, other than initial construction. And being close to a data center has no benefit compared to being far away from a data center.

jerlam··on Starlink unlimited aviation plan to rise from $10k/month to $20k
SpaceX stock has also dropped below their IPO price. It doesn't change their current financials but it may make it more difficult to raise money in the future.
jerlam··on My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded
Many of the mods make the car worse in everyday environments, outside of a pristine track.

After I got into my friend's modded-out car, we had to slow to walking speeds to exit the parking lot because it would bottom out on the curb cut. The same happens with speed bumps. Large rims get damaged on potholes that a normal tire and rim combo would just shrug off.

Add a few years to your life and you don't want to crawl and duck into a low car anymore. Stiff suspensions are hard on the back and joints.

jerlam··on Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)
I don't know if they can have controls for "specific activity that changes their sleep schedule".

In the past few years I went from having relaxed 11AM daily meetings to rigid 8AM meetings, and my sleep has suffered immensely. But nothing else in my life has changed, so it wouldn't show up in my socioeconomic data.

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