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stasomatic

240 karma · joined March 22, 2020

stan.newdel@gmail.com
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stasomatic··on Behind the scenes at the NeXT Computer office
I can't answer the ethical question, but I don't think it's binary B/W. We are not talking Oppenheimer here who's been elevated and his sins "pardoned".

I've listened to the most recent books, e.g. "Apple in China", "Steve Jobs in Exile", "Apple the first 50 years". By all accounts, he was a very difficult persona, but somehow folks gravitated to him or he changed gravity. Not trying to idolize the guy but failing, but I'll tell you I cried and my heart sank when I heard the news of his passing.

Who can you name now at the helm of any tech company today that has anywhere same gravitas? The charlatans at the 2 top AI firms? Certainly not MSFT, Google, Amazon and FB ether, imo. Nobody cares about their CEOs.

The stakes are not nearly the same when we're talking about luxury consumer tech gadgets. How much do workers need to be abused just to produce those?

But on this, vote with your wallet. This is not luxury though, this is - https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/prod293940005

Neiman Marcus The 2026 Fantasy Gifts Star Wars Legacy Experience $182,500

iPhones are just phones at a different price point at a different quality point with different levels of support. Some like Hondas, others - Lexus'. I can't say about abuse, I haven't been to China or India, but do you think any people on Android assembly lines fare better off? Not arguing, just spitballing.

stasomatic··on iPhone Duo Teardown
And yet mine won't ship until the end of January. We don't know how many they've made.

I would argue that this is an attractive selling point for tech enthusiasts, but most people aren't going to care.

But people camped out at my Aventura Apple Store in Miami at 8PM the previous day. Not a nerd hub really.

stasomatic··on Behind the scenes at the NeXT Computer office
But would we have what we have now without SJ? I read (listened) the book. I've worked with phony CEO talking heads with zero "vision". Apple has gone through many like that and still ended up on Steve, that says something, no?
stasomatic··on Jailbreaking the Switch 2
TOTK requires too many button gymnastics, it won't be playable on an iPhone without a gamepad shell and the iPhone screen is too small. I've played through both BOTW and TOTK to the end.
stasomatic··on Learning to live with Waymos
Understood. Other people bother me little, but If it happens, I’ll sit elsewhere, no big deal. It is certainly cultural but my 35 years in the US, I’ve seen most everything … I’m pretty immune.
stasomatic··on Where Wealth Is Moving in America (2023)
Hmm, I live here (Miami-ish) and sometimes you need a canoe or a Tacoma with a snorkel to get up to the surface. Or, just stay at home. 2 years ago my wife was stuck at intersection for 8 hours 1 mile away from home, I had to relieve her on foot. It's not just about the wind, the infra here is outdated (drainage). I've seen it, I've been there got the tee, it's not hypothetical.
stasomatic··on British Airways: Filming Crew W Meta Glasses Could Get Your Tickets Cancelled
And this way of thinking, believing it is the service employee's fault seems to be the American way of thinking, you don't see it anywhere else in the world.

What's this got to do with American whatever? I paid for the ticket and will use the bathroom as often as my body requires. Should I relieve myself in the seat?

The problem is never caused by the employee.

You can even report the company itself but never the employee because they are just robots.

Calling flight attendants robots is low. Nicest people in the world, especially given their grueling schedules.

stasomatic··on British Airways: Filming Crew W Meta Glasses Could Get Your Tickets Cancelled
In my building, people walk into the elevator with their speaker on full blast without paying any attention to the rest of the riders. Same in stores or gyms, just blissfully yada-yading. I blame the Kardashians.
stasomatic··on Maybe There Was an Egg Cartel After All
In many places, farmer markets aren't a thing. I live in South Florida and there is just one farmer's market near me that's open on weekends. I tried the organic eggs at $3 each, or geese eggs at $5, meh, stinky and gamey. So I get my eggs through Publix or Winn Dixie and they charge what they want to. It's pure price gouging, a dozen of eggs was under a $1 6 years ago, now it's $4. I wonder how the things compare in Europe, eggs there taste on another level better.
stasomatic··on 'I've applied for 300 jobs. My 25 years' experience is worthless'
I sympathize with the OP as I have roots in the former USSR, but this is unfortunately true. My previous workplace in the US straight out rejected any resumes that smelled Russian.
stasomatic··on The Future of CSS
No, I've been using frameworks to abstract all this gibberish ugliness away. CSS and HTML are not artisanal, means to an end, not art.
stasomatic··on Learning to live with Waymos
Hey, of course I read your comment. You prefer robots, that was my takeaway, and I prefer people.
stasomatic··on Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc
Because with Apple refunds are easy and scammy subscriptions are easily terminated. Do other non first party stores provide that piece of mind?
stasomatic··on Getting Banned from r/java
Tangent re:Java, but I got recently banned from r/archery for suggesting that a bow string shouldn't cost more than $20. The problem with Reddit is mod super powers, they love their fiefdoms.
stasomatic··on The Other Epidemic: Trying to get off benzodiazepines
6: DON'T EVER TAKE A BENZO, EVER. Maybe 1 before eye surgery where they can't anesthetize you and you leave without any more pills.... Something like that. Otherwise, avoid.

I bit of a harsh take. I started having out of nowhere physical panic attacks (GAD) in my early thirties and they worked wonders. 0.25mg did it. Taken when needed, not daily or as a party drug. I don't use them anymore, for a long time, but they were a crutch that I needed at the time. Breathing into a brown bag wasn't it.

stasomatic··on Learning to live with Waymos
Are you too young to have never been in a yellow cab? A strange take... engage, don't, the driver is just making a living, they'd rather be left alone ... put your AirPods on.
stasomatic··on Learning to live with Waymos
That's cool, I bike too, but that robos test on public roads will never sit right with me.
stasomatic··on The Future of CSS
But it's just too complex, more and more stuff. What is this even (from another comment):

<div class="container"></div> .container { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-template-rows: 1fr 1fr 1fr; gap: 0px 0px; grid-auto-flow: row; grid-template-areas: ". . ." ". . ." ". . ."; }

I've been away from CSS for a few years and this looks alien to me. I don't know any of this syntax except for the div declaration, and I used to think I was good at CSS with less and sass. I don't want to deal with molecules, or atoms, this is just too much.

stasomatic··on Rabbits were a medieval royal luxury in England until the Black Death
Really. Didn’t think that still stood, re: kings’s deer, a shame. Bows miss more than rifles.
stasomatic··on Rabbits were a medieval royal luxury in England until the Black Death
You can also use blunted arrows to knock them out. Don't know about the humane aspect.
stasomatic··on Rabbits were a medieval royal luxury in England until the Black Death
They were a common protein source when I was growing up in Ukraine, I'd venture to say similar in neighboring countries.

I remember the taste to be nothing spectacular, it's not venison, if anything I prefer poultry. Anything can taste well enough with butter and garlic. Rabbit is commonly available in my local LatAm and Eastern European stores in Miami, but I don't crave it. Lamb on the other hand...

Most winter hats were made from their fur - Ушанка - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushanka

These were disposable items, the fur wore out very quickly. One per winter if memory serves.

stasomatic··on I built a programming language that LLMs can't use
Aren't you making them even smarter once they crack your PL?
stasomatic··on US threatens Europe over Starlink restrictions
I am not talking about ageism, I am familiar with that myself. Once you hit 60+ or so, there is cognitive decline and retardation, you are less flexible and too set in your ways.

Calvin Coolidge 1923–1929 51

Herbert Hoover 1929–1933 54

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933–1945 51

Harry S. Truman 1945–1953 60

Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961 62

John F. Kennedy 1961–1963 43

Lyndon B. Johnson 1963–1969 55

Richard Nixon 1969–1974 56

Gerald Ford 1974–1977 61

Jimmy Carter 1977–1981 52

Ronald Reagan 1981–1989 69

George H. W. Bush 1989–1993 64

Bill Clinton 1993–2001 46

George W. Bush 2001–2009 54

Barack Obama 2009–2017 47

Donald Trump 2017–2021 70

Joe Biden 2021–2025 78

Donald Trump 2025–present 78

We need younger blood at the wheel. The geezers can golf.

stasomatic··on Show HN: The Zelda timeline to catch up before the Ocarina of Time remake
For me it was sharing lore in parallel timelines. Both BOTW and TOTK are amazing games and twice better on the Switch 2. The more timelines, the better, bring it.
stasomatic··on Florida's HOAs and condo associations are making the housing crisis worse
I am conflating HOA with condo maintenance, but to add an anecdote re: Florida - my dad's condo was reassessed twice over the last 3 years. The first time, the balcony was cordoned off for about 5 months. This time, his balcony has been inaccessible for 4 months and ongoing. His maintenance fees jumped 80% to almost $2K for over this period. This is on top of mortgage. He paid for the view which he gets no access to. Somebody on that management board is laughing hard on their way to the bank.
stasomatic··on US threatens Europe over Starlink restrictions
That's brave, friend. I, living here, am annoyed of geriatrics in the wheelhouse.
stasomatic··on HOA's are making the home crisis worse
Hi, previous neigbor! I’m in Broward too. It’s insane here but also in Miami-Dade. My condo maintenance cost went x2 over the last few years and the pool where the water isn’t yellow with you know has been shut down for at least 3 years. Meanwhile the “board” argues about the carpet patterns for about as long as.
stasomatic··on Israeli settlers attack olive framers & Washington Post journalist in West Bank
Have you been there? I have, 3 times, Tel Aviv/Petah Tikva for work. It's a strange place, I don't mean strange in a bad way, but somewhat alien compared to the US. The daily dynamic was amazing, food, shopping, the city, the sea, but then getting on a commuter train involved going through a metal detector. My coworker carried a sidearm because he commuted from Jerusalem and back, and things in Jerusalem were a bit shaky at the time, circa 2020. Ladies in camo with rifles in the shopping malls. It was really something else, like a different timeline. I'd love to go back, but being interrogated by El Al and then again at Ben Gurion is an acquired taste.
stasomatic··on Waymo in Toronto
Hey, I liked FSD quite a bit, but it was just 3 times. I am eyeing a Juniper Tesla Y after my Ioniq lease runs out and I'll happily pay the $100/m extra for FSD, but I am the fallback.

Waymo, I don't care how advanced it is, I am not getting into a 2K kg robot on public roads. Ironically, they are switching their fleet to the Ioniq 5 but what's under the hood must be completely different.

Burgers, not my thing, can't relate.

stasomatic··on The Fatal Flaw of 911
I thought it was because of the rear engine :)
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