MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by sgarland | 2025-10-01 13:03:12+00:00
As a sibling comment said, what maintenance? The only problem I’ve ever had with any Mac was a bad keyboard on my M4 MBP, and that showed itself so quickly that even without AppleCare it would have been covered.

Between work and personal, I’ve had an Intel Air, 2x Intel Pros, M1 Air, 2x M3 Pros, and an M4 Pro. My wife has an M1 Air. My in-laws have an M3 iMac. My mom has… some version of an Apple Silicon laptop.

That is a decent amount of computers stretching over many years. The only maintenance required has been the aforementioned keyboard.
by GenerWork | 2025-10-01 13:03:25+00:00
As someone who lives in Pinellas County, Gulfport is kind of unique in the sense that it's at a very low elevation compared to the rest of Pinellas with the exception of Shore Acres. Any storm surge that hits here will have its effects magnified due to this lack of elevation. I live up near Dunedin, and the only homes affected by storm surge were the ones within 2 blocks of the Gulf. Homes across the street from those homes weren't affected at all.
by mapontosevenths | 2025-10-01 13:03:56+00:00
I checked wikipedia. It says there are more than 120 known cannabanoids in cannabis that interact with the bodies receptors. Many of those cannabanoids bind to more than one receptor and impact the body in multiple ways.

Imagine you went to a doctor with a headache and he handed you 120 pills then said "None of these are labelled, but 15 of these will help with your headache, 60 will do random things to other parts of your body, 20 will cause negative side effects, 3 will make your headache worse, and 13 will get you a little high."

Would you take the lot of them or ask him to do a bit more research and get back to you? To me, it depends how bad that headache is. Either way, I'd hope they start labeling those pills sooner rather than later.

In the case of the plant, selectivity breeding it to have a little more or a little less of each isn't really addressing the root problem that there are hundreds of drugs in there and I only really want the ones that meet my current needs.

> Synthetics also permeate and interact with the entire body, typically, btw.

I mean... Some do, sometimes, I guess? Most have pretty specific mechanisms of action that are understood before we prescribe them.
by josefresco | 2025-10-01 13:04:29+00:00
Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park?!?

Try Jeff Goldblum in The Fly! I just re-watched and the computer he uses is scarily close to our experiences now with AI. In fact, the entire "accident" (I won't spoil it) is a result of the "AI" deciding what to do and getting it wildly wrong.
by Aurornis | 2025-10-01 13:04:42+00:00
> It's an interesting idea. I presume that the there would be similar laws to selling guns. So there would need to be the national ID card and checks when selling any internet-enabled device.

12 year olds are not buying their own iPhones and monthly service plans contracts.

Creating a national ID system for this is a weird suggestion that would have no impact on kids whatsoever but would create another centralized database for adults and make basic purchases more difficult and prone to tracking. Why even suggest this?
by jesuslop | 2025-10-01 13:05:24+00:00
Its of course the theory behind monads that since Eugenio Moggi are used to model computational effects in pure functional languages. Effects such as state, optional return types (used in turn for error handling) (maybe monad), input/output (reader writer monad) and others. Beyond effects, Wadler used monads for parsers (monadic parsing).

The Curry-Howard "isomorphism" (slogan: propositions are types, proofs are programs/functions) map code to logic in a categorical way described first by certain book of Lambek-Scott with uses in formal software verification.

Categories provide abstraction. You first distill the behavior of how Haskell (or you other pet functional language) work with Hask, the category of Haskell types, and then you can apply your abstract distillate to other categories and obtain task-oriented, tailored computing concepts that enrich bare language capabilities, providing applications including 1) probabilistic programs 2) automatic differentiation. Conal Elliott has very concrete work along this lines. When he speaks of CCCs (following Lambek) he alludes to cartesian closed categories, the crucial property of having a type constructor for function spaces and higher order functions. See his "compiling to categories" for a very concrete, hands-on feel. Another application he shows is in hardware synthesis (baking your functional algorithm to a netlist of logical gates for automating the design of custom hw accelerators).

In short, why categories? computational effects, formal verification and the equivalence of simply-typed lambda-calculus with cartesian closed categories, with lambda-calculus being the backbone of functional programming language semantics.
by mapontosevenths | 2025-10-01 13:06:17+00:00
I once knew a man who was one of the "Frozen Chosin" of the Korean war. He couldn't feel anything in his feet due to the frostbite. It was a constant source of injury and infection for him.

I suspect that whatever a "cure for pain" looks like it will involve modulating those signals to be lower, rather than eliminating them.
by AdamN | 2025-10-01 13:06:47+00:00
Like most of these things it's advocacy and mission creep. It probably started off as a niche thing but as it expanded there are all sorts of groups that would lose if it disappeared: Realtors, title companies, local municipalities (police, teachers, etc...), mortgage companies, insurance companies (for all the other insurance). If they got rid of the subsidy people would move away and money would fly away from those locations.
by Aurornis | 2025-10-01 13:06:59+00:00
> Good luck "parenting" any child in this day and age, when any seemingly minor things you think you can do as a parent, lead to that sort of outcome.

You can tell who doesn’t have kids by the way they extrapolate from the most extreme anecdotes they’ve heard anywhere.

As a parent, I guarantee you that children calling CPS for having rules imposed is not a common occurrence. You can’t really believe that any household with children is getting visited by CPS whenever they ground their kids.
by cptaj | 2025-10-01 13:07:29+00:00
The thing is that literature, and art in general, should be more than just entertainment. It should edify the reader, communicate some concept, moral lesson or keen insight about the world.

Remember when you were taught to extract the "moral of the story" in school? That was the whole point. That form of communication is what makes art valuable and it definitely is what makes some art more valuable than others.
by tux3 | 2025-10-01 13:07:55+00:00
>Traditional SQL databases hold locks across the network; under Amdahl's Law, even modest contention caps write throughput at ≈100–1,000 TPS

In fact large real world systems are not limited to 100-1000 TPS, or even 10 kTPS as the calculator tries to suggest. That's not because Amdahl's law is wrong, the numbers you're plugging in are just wildly off, so the conclusions are equally nonsensical.

There might be some specific workloads where you saw those numbers, and your DB might be a good fit for this particular niche, but you shouldn't misrepresent general purpose workloads to try to prop up your DB. Claiming that SQL databases are limited to "100-1000 TPS" is unserious, it is not conductive to your cause.
by placardloop | 2025-10-01 13:08:12+00:00
Of the big three cloud providers, only GCP uses containers for customer isolation, and they do so with the supervision of gVisor. It’s certainly possible to do container isolation securely, but it takes extra steps and know-how, and I don’t think anyone is even considering using gVisor or similar for the type of developer workflows being discussed here.

AWS and Azure both use VM-level isolation. Cloudflare uses V8 isolates which are neither container nor VM. Fly uses firecracker, right?

This topic is kind of unnecessary for the type of developer workflows being discussed that the majority of readers of this article are doing, though. The primary concern here is “oops the agent tried to run ‘rm -rf /‘“, not the agent trying to exploit a container escape. And for anyone who is building something that requires a better security model, I’d hope they have better resources to guide them than the two sentences in this article about prompt injection.
by codethief | 2025-10-01 13:08:14+00:00
For sandboxing and parallelizing agents people at my day job recently started using container-use[0] and seem to be quite happy with it. I have yet to try it in depth but the approach it takes seems quite sensible to me: Have the agent execute all commands within a container via an MCP[1], propagate any changes the agent makes to git branches on the host, for easy review & merge.

[0]: https://github.com/dagger/container-use

[1]: I would like it better if the entire agent process were sandboxed but I suppose that would make it difficult to use with IDE/GUI-based agents.
by johnnyanmac | 2025-10-01 13:08:50+00:00
>The POC always was a hacked together solution with no real viability to be used as the final product.

well that's the different. It is the final product, now. In many cases, you're selling the prototype itself, becuse that's what investors like seeing. User engagement be damned.

And people still seem to doubt that we're in a massive bubble.
by kibwen | 2025-10-01 13:08:55+00:00
References are the purview of the borrow checker, naturally, but (assuming that you care about memory safety) you might be able to get away with a system that doesn't let you store arbitrary references, but conceivably you could have some kind of simple-ish scope-based analysis that might allow the compiler to transparently elide copies when passing owned values to functions deeper in the call stack. A mechanism to reify the notion of strictly-scoped values in the language (like Python's `with` statement) could probably go quite far here, allowing your compiler to know that a piece of data is anchored to a given scope which strictly outlives some child scopes, allowing a reference to that data to remain valid for those child scopes. You'd still have to have Rust's notion of aliasing XOR mutation, but if references are first-class values this might be tractable, because you get much of this for free from an ownership system (mutable references are owned, immutable references are copyable), although Rust has several other ways that it bends over backwards to make this work nicely (e.g. compiler-inserted reborrowing). If you wanted to avoid this complexity you could start by just sticking to only having immutable references that allow copying the inner data if you want to mutate it.
by floatrock | 2025-10-01 13:09:29+00:00
Much of Florida real-estate purchases and voting blocs are people with a life/time horizon of 1-3 decades. What you're describing is someone else's problem. Article is a bit less crass about this and wraps it in some good ol folksy humor:

> Ms. Poucher said she knew her old home was in a flood zone when she bought it. “I joked that we would probably be dead by the time the sea level would rise up to where our house was,” she said. Despite her sadness at losing it, she said she’s relieved to know she’s safer from floods.

Same reason schools are chronically underfunded in the state... the voters' retirement funds are better spent on golf courses than schools.
by sunscream89 | 2025-10-01 13:09:29+00:00
US really cocked things up when they started snubbing China early on (decade ago) over their International Space Station participation (all those apolitical science things).

Now, just to maintain their face (China’s distinct aspect of manifest destiny) they provoke them to shine their edge capabilities.

I see this as recurring psyop strategy to boost anti-china military spending (now that we know what to spend on Russia), though from a space technology one-upsmanship perspective this is a self inflicted wound.
by altrego99 | 2025-10-01 13:09:30+00:00
It's not that easy.

There's bureaucracy that makes this nearly impossible.

Wikipedia sources include liberal news media (e.g. CNN) but blacklist others (Fox News). So it is highly biased by the rules they set up.

To challenge the sources you need to become an admin, of which there are only 82. And they are anonymous, so you cannot call them out for misinformation or bias.

The edit history is present and you can see "tampering" or bias on many articles, in the form of reverted clarifications citing blacklisted sources or other reasons. There are many examples, one that I was following last year was about "Yasuke", which turned out to be based on very debatable source at best, or likely complete fabrication since it was propagated by one historian who was proven to be fraudulent.

It's been called out many times. Most recently by the 1 and half hour long interview of Wikipedia employee by Tucker Carlson.

But just because the history is there, it doesn't really matter. Some random person looking something up will not see the history.
by kakacik | 2025-10-01 13:09:44+00:00
That failure to do proper parenting happened 5-10 years prior to that event, while all dangers were already very well known and obvious.

I am a parent of 2 young kids. Its supremely easier for me to just fuck off, give them screens, any screens and do my own thing, rather than get up and just fucking spend time with them, no screens just physical fun and games. Add mental dimensions to the games as much as you want, but they need to be manual, analog, electricity can be max in form of some physical buttons.

There are 2 types of parents among my peers - those who at least try to be a good parent, most of the time. Literally everybody knows how screens or junk food are damaging, there is no escaping to ignorance of this simple fact. The other type, they are a failure themselves - often obese themselves, empty shallow life without proper healthy passions, glued to their own phones all the time, evenings spent mainly in front of TVs. The type, when they die (and have the time to reflect before) are full of regrets and hate.

Without major exception, kids reflect very well into which category their parents fall into. My best childhood friend falls firmly into second category - whole family is obese (while he was multiple times a wrestling national gold medalist in his late teens and ripped). He is a heavy smoker, both cigarettes and pot, quiet mild alcoholic by his own admission (his wife too given how she gulps whole bottles of wine), no hobbies apart from gardening, no passions, just displays everywhere. Unsurprisingly, their kids are the same, just glued to screens, overweight. They never stood the chance, its always a sad experience to visit them.

All this while he thinks how good their live is compared to many people around them. Subconsciousness desperately ironing reality so they feel better about their lives, despite seeing facts every day from all directions how that ain't true. It keeps breaking my heart every time.

The prime responsibility of a parent towards their child is to do their utmost to raise a happy, well balanced individual who knows what they want in their lives and once adult (or even before) will just get up and go for it, whatever it is. I would personally add a pinch of self-discipline to make it all more probable, also a rare sight these days. Now how many parents around you are like this.
by throw0101d | 2025-10-01 13:10:13+00:00
VMWare's desktop hypervisors were announced to be free to use a little while ago:

* https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/11/11/vmware-...

You need to register an account/e-mail address for a free account:

* https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article?articleNumbe...

After which you can download VMware Fusion Pro and/or VMware Workstation Pro:

* https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/368667/downl...

This seems to be a perpetual licence (?), so as long as it can run on the underlying OS you can continue to use it. Not sure if there's any 'phone home' functionality to track things (like has been seen with Oracle VirtualBox).
by bluGill | 2025-10-01 13:10:29+00:00
It helps to have success. I know someone who the bank called (before I was born - likely 1960s) to buy a nearly bankrupt plumbing business. He turned the company around and sold it for a lot of money a few years later. However the banks called he has a history of success running businesses. He did a similar story with a trash pickup service a different time.
by jgeada | 2025-10-01 13:10:33+00:00
I think this might be a misinterpretation of the word "responsible".

If a platform lies or spread malicious content, it seems people want the platform to have the liability and consequences for the malfeasance. That is what most people mean by "responsible".

Government sets the rules, and if someone fail to comply, there are consequences against those responsible. Government isn't responsible, it is holding them responsible.
by HankStallone | 2025-10-01 13:11:13+00:00
Indeed. We've been begging them to throw us in the briar patch of a government shutdown for decades. The first one I remember was about 1990 when Democrats threatened a government shutdown if Bush the Elder didn't break his no-tax-increase pledge. He caved, and they (rightly) hung the "liar" tag on him all through the election. All he had to do was pander to his base and give them exactly what they wanted, but he was more interested in working with the establishment. (Which we should have expected, but we didn't know the Bushes as well as we should have.) Finally, we win one.
by palmotea | 2025-10-01 13:11:13+00:00
> Strong anti fraud rules (even for massive banks) are a foundational part of a high functioning society.

Sometimes it seems we're missing most of the "foundational part[s] of a high functioning society" except the ones that serve elites (which then are so sacred *and must never be questioned).

Eventually people stop caring about the elite's protections, even if that breakdown is ultimately harmful. It's like the murder of that United Healthcare CEO. His company ground down the common man's benefits in a way that probably killed thousands (at least), but we're supposed to cry for him. Betray people long enough, and they're no longer interested in holding up their side of the bargain.

If they want a high functioning society, the elites need to work harder at holding up their end of the bargain.
by implicit | 2025-10-01 13:11:15+00:00
I agree. It's happening.

Lambdas are now a requirement for any modern programming language. Monadic promises are how asynchronous programming is done. Rust is basically OCaml except with typeclasses and without a GC.

Inch by inch, ideas from FP bubble up into mainstream programming.

I predict that algebraic effects (a la Koka) are next, but it'll be a while before the industry is ready for it.
by pessimizer | 2025-10-01 13:11:26+00:00
Middle class people can't distinguish their work from their identity. They seek a perfect harmony of purpose and output, in order to be the perfect servant. They need to sustain this for a lifetime, so their pleasure must come from the work (or they can supplement this with a hobby that is extremely job-shaped.)

If they fail at this, they will be ejected from the middle class, and their children will not be properly educated, therefore never beginning the middle class journey. If you're born poor, it's easy to stay poor all your life; if you're born rich, it's easy to stay rich all your life; the middle class is the class that has to reproduce itself every generation and sustain itself by constant service and sublimation of their desires and dreams. That's why they're simultaneously overpaid and overtaxed - just to keep them caged and desperate, a layoff away from a family annihilation. Loyal to death.

Fear of Falling by Barbara Ehrenreich is a good book about this.

This essay is pompous. Just say: I'm afraid my job is going to leave me, and it makes me feel insecure. Maybe sympathize a little when all of the storefronts on Main Street in some small town are empty after the dog food plant got obsoleted by Chinese imports, instead of telling them they should learn to code like you and to move to where the jobs are.
by crazygringo | 2025-10-01 13:11:33+00:00
I assume you're talking about the free consumer tier?

Nothing like that should happen if you're paying for even an individual Workspace plan. You get a phone number for customer support, and it works.

Google shuts down free accounts when it believes they're being used for fraud/spam. And because scammers and spammers create them at virtually zero cost, and will fake activity to build account credibility until using them for nefarious purposes, that does mean legitimate free accounts occasionally get caught.

Regular backups are important no matter what though. Obviously Takeout exists, but there are lots of third-party automated backup solutions as well that will automatically convert Sheets files to .xlsx as part of the backup process. I use one that backs up nightly to my NAS.
by corry | 2025-10-01 13:11:56+00:00
Always overlooked point in these pro/anti-spreadsheet discussions:

A spreadsheet gives you a DB, a quickly and easily customized UI, and iterative / easy-to-debug data processing all in a package that everyone in the working world already understands. AND with a freedom that allows the creator to do it however they want. AND it's fairly portable.

You can build incredible things in spreadsheets. I remain convinced that it's the most creative and powerful piece of software we have available, especially so for people who can't code.

With that power and freedom comes downsides, sure; and we can debate the merits of it being online, or whether this or that vendor is preferable; but my deep appreciation for spreadsheets remains undiminished by these mere trifles.

It's the best authoring tool we've ever devised.

EDIT TO ADD: the only other thing that seems to 'rhyme' with spreadsheets in the same way is: HyperCard. Flexible workbench that let you stitch together applications, data, UX, etc. RIP HyperCard, may you be never forgotten.
by mym1990 | 2025-10-01 13:12:35+00:00
Would be curious as to how you check and verify LLMs? And how you get guaranteed correct code?

Verifying code produced is a much simpler task for some code because I, as a human, can look at a generated snippet and reason about it and determine if it is what I want. I can also create tests to say “does this code have this effect on some variable” and then proceed to run the test.
by warthog | 2025-10-01 13:12:37+00:00
I built this using OpenAI GPT-5 agentic loops as well where the agent interacts with a spreadsheet: banker dot so

Some principles I learned: 1. You don't really wanna use any kind of framework that wraps around openai or claude sdks. You end up fighting them 2. Small number of tools with more functions are better than large number of tools with small number of functions inside 3. Function definitions you put inside the tools are actually very important and need to be very clear 4. Integrating another agent as a tool to the main agent can relieve your context window by 5x 5. RAG via only vector search is mostly unnecessary. Claude Code itself leverages iterative search which works way better with code repos as well as most documents