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lurkingllama

69 karma · joined February 16, 2024

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lurkingllama··on McDonald's push to have AI price your Big Mac
Experienced this first-hand the other day when visiting a newly opened McDonalds in my small town (my first time dining there in ages). A Big Mac meal was $10.80! And what I got in exchange for that price was a poorly assembled burger with almost no sauce.

A couple weeks later, my wife convinced me to try another Big Mac from a different McDonalds. This time, the burger was priced at $8 (not important, but burger tasted a lot better too).

I understand price reflects demand but I can't help but feel a bit scammed.

lurkingllama··on Can the stockmarket swallow Anthropic, SpaceX and OpenAI?
But also to follow the existing rules set in place to protect passive investors, no?
lurkingllama··on Norway set to become latest country to ban social media for under 16s
It's funny to me that we still call it "social media", when it bears no similarities to its original form. Back when your feed was sourced from your real-life friends and colleagues, and the only "algorithms" that existed were to show your latest friend's post at the top.

It's a bummer, because I think a platform that follows Facebook's original intent has just as much value in today's world, if not more.

lurkingllama··on Ask HN: Any interesting niche hobbies?
You have an app for this? Been wanting to do something similar
lurkingllama··on Ads Are Popping Up on the Fridge and It Isn't Goong Well
I'm assuming the screen is just running an Android build. I'd be curious if anyone has written their own application to be displayed there. Might be useful to have a calendar / to-do list / home manager there.
lurkingllama··on Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?
In the (relatively) rural area that I live in, the only ISP options available were something like $75/mo for 10mbsp speeds. Starlink was an incredible blessing when it became available. Legitimately feels like magic in comparison to the existing options we had.
lurkingllama··on AirPods Max 2
Same experience. Everyone raved about the Sonys and so when my Bose died, I tried them out. I can't stand them! They're way less comfortable and have worse noise cancellation. The lack of buttons drives me crazy. And worst of all - when on flights, the noise cancellation will randomly stop working. Despite flights being one of the main reasons I purchase noise cancelling headphones.
lurkingllama··on Nano Banana 2: Google's latest AI image generation model
I actually built an app to accomplish this exact thing as I was finishing building my home and was clueless when it came to interior design. I'm genuinely astonished by the capabilities of these models with regards to this, and it feels vastly underutilized by the general populace. Being able to try out multiple paint colors in seconds, or add real furniture or wall decor from Ikea, or move objects around instantly - it still blows my mind.
lurkingllama··on Death rates rose in hospital ERs after private equity firms took over
Ah I see your point
lurkingllama··on Death rates rose in hospital ERs after private equity firms took over
Surely a component of late stage capitalism is the accumulation of wealth leading to anti-competitive practices, in this case resulting in degradation of quality of service. Health care in the US isn’t a competitive business therefore it’s rife for anti-consumer, profit-maximizing change.
lurkingllama··on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (June 2025)
It's built to be plug-and-play with a few different image generation models. gpt-image-1 (OpenAI's API-only image gen model) performs extremely well for certain tasks, but it's not perfect.
lurkingllama··on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (June 2025)
An iOS app that lets you change the paint color of your rooms and try out new interior design styles (ex: Rustic, Coastal, etc).

I built it because I was blown away with what the latest image generation models can do and found that interior design is one area where it could already provide significant value for people. I’ve already used it in just about every room in my house to help me decide on:

- which paint color I should use

- how I should arrange my furniture

- what color theme I should be using to match the design I’ve gone with

- general inspiration on decor

It’s free to download to try with sample imagery. Unfortunately due to the cost of image generation, you won't be able to upload your own photos in the free version (yet). But I’m constantly improving the app and would really love some feedback.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/roomai-restyle-your-home/id674...

lurkingllama··on Photo calorie app Cal AI was built by two teenagers
Anyone who has participated in calorie-tracking for an extended period of time can tell you that the visual appearance of food can be highly misleading to the number of calories in it.

I'm all for making it easier for people to lose weight but this app may honestly have the reverse effect. If the app estimates calories too low (and therefore the individual eats more), many people will get frustrated with the lack of progress and give up. If the app estimates too high, the individual will lose weight, but diet fatigue and other negative side effects of being at a >500 calorie deficit may make the diet too difficult to maintain.

lurkingllama··on Ask HN: High Focus Activities
I highly recommend long-distance running and lifting. Not only do both activities require complete focus (at a high enough intensity) but they also lead to lower overall levels of anxiety throughout the rest of the day. After increasing my physical health, I've been shocked to see how much it's also improved my mental state.
lurkingllama··on Sora: Creating video from text
Who's going to pay for you to start living?