MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by ceronman | 2026-01-15 15:00:13+00:00
A switch or pattern matching approach is useful, but not practical for some cases. For example, there are cases where you are interested in only a single kind of node in the three, for those cases the Visitor pattern is very helpful, while doing pattern matching is cumbersome because you have to match and check almost every node kind. That's why, for example, the Rust compiler still uses the visitor pattern for certain things, and pattern matching for others.
by Der_Einzige | 2026-01-15 15:00:21+00:00
This is true in general with LLMs. LLMs can be told that their RAG tool is using BM25+N-grams, and will search accordingly.

BM25/tf-idf and N grams have always been extremely difficult to beat baselines in information retrieval. This is why embeddings still have not led to a "ChatGPT" moment in information retrieval.
by helloaltalt | 2026-01-15 15:00:33+00:00
But in the context of softwares, the landfill argument doesn't fit exactly well (well, sure someone can argue that storage on say, github might take more drives but the scale would be very cheaper than say landfill filled with physical things as well

> Rather than think in terms of making things cheaper for people to afford we should think how to produce wealthier people who could afford better than the cheapest of cheapest crap.

This problem actually runs deep and is systemic. I am genuinely not sure how one can do it when the basis of wealth derives from what exactly? The growth of stock markets which people call bubbles or the US debt crisis which is fueling up in recent years to basically fuel the consumerism spree itself. I am not sure.

If you were to make people wealthy, they might still buy cheapest of cheapest crap just at a 10x more magnitude in many cases (or atleast that's what I observed US to do with how many people buy and sell usually very simple saas tools at times)
by observationist | 2026-01-15 15:00:34+00:00
If the compute is the unit of value under consideration, maybe. But there's more - you have access, freedom from supervision, the capability to modify, upgrade, tweak, adjust anything you want, resell compute under p2p cloud services when idle, etc. And then if the market for these gets hot, you can sell and recoup your initial costs and then some. The freedom and opportunity benefit - as opposed to the dependence and opportunity cost of renting - is where I personally think you come out on top.
by ptorrone | 2026-01-15 15:00:42+00:00
i’m catching up here. we have two kids. i dropped one off at pre-k this morning.

i replied to an email from a person whose full name was already in the email and is publicly listed on all of their sites. i said we should talk together about the pile-on. at the time, they believed we had done nfts. we never did.

i can and will apologize. i am not a double-downer. i like changing my mind. if this is the worst thing that happened to this person in their life, and a sincere apology would help, i am fully on board with that. i would mean it. why let something like this linger and turn into prolonged suffering.

there are no other examples anyone has pointed to of doxxing or misgendering. i believe i said “he.” that’s it. i am available, and they know how to reach me.

at the same time, there are people creating alt accounts, including ones using my handle. i see that pattern clearly. still, i understand what you are saying: that i should always take the higher road and be the bigger person, regardless.

my email is pt at braincraft d0t com, open to talk
by tanelpoder | 2026-01-15 15:01:10+00:00
Author here. I had a vague idea of what would be needed for building such QR codes, but not all stages. As I mentioned in my blog, I worked with codex, so I did this:

1) ask codex to list what are the stages/components needed for QR code generation in general
2) told codex to build a QR code generator based on these stages in SQL.
- It went off the rails and started addding "plsql" stuff for some matrix operations, etc.
- I added guidance saying that you can just use string_agg(), array_agg() and either nested loop driven (or recursive) iteration through the space
3) Then it generated QR-code looking codes, but they were not readable
4) I then installed the "qr" utility to my machine and instructed codex to iterate through its fixes and compare the SQL output to "qr" output, that got it working for some QRs
5) I then created a test suite that was just a 5 line shell script that ran 1000 QR code generations with random text inputs both with SQL and "qr" and diffed the outputs (and bailed out immediately once it found the first mismatch)

I then instructed codex to always run the full "test suite" when iterating changes and that got me to the final result - all work took just an hour.
by password1 | 2026-01-15 15:01:40+00:00
It's interesting that the the author created three saas over the weekend as some sort of proof that execution is useless now. But would any company ever buy one of these? No, because for a company to buy your saas you need salespeople or some marketing channel, compliance and regulatory checkmarks, SSO integrations, ability to take and implement special feature requests, SLAs, maintenance and support capacity, etc.

That's the execution part of creating a successful business and it's still entirely missing.
by nathan_compton | 2026-01-15 15:01:41+00:00
I think this is a misunderstanding:
> This is democratic erosion and why United States founding documents are singular in their importance.

Founding documents don't do shit. What one needs is a culture which is perpetually hostile towards power. All problems of power are social problems. No law, founding document, principle is going to prevent people from doing stuff if they want to do it.
by throw10920 | 2026-01-15 15:02:58+00:00
> Is "talking points" just a roundabout way to summarily dismiss the opposition's arguments and imply they're dumb/misguided?

It is. I've read dozens of comments like this on HN, and repeatedly see the "it's incredible that...", "talking points"/"propaganda", and "wow look at how much bad stuff there is in this thread"/"I'm so disappointed in HN" memes, and every single time it's because the author is trying to dismiss the opposition's arguments without responding to them individually and actually addressing their points.

This kind of thing clearly fits into the "sneering" category of things that aren't allowed on HN and so is valid for flagging. I do it and I highly encourage anyone else to do it who wants to preserve the culture of HN.
by einsteinx2 | 2026-01-15 15:03:08+00:00
> I'm sorry but as a Free Software Web Developer I can't spend 2K€ on a Mac to just fix a CSS issue

More like $200-300 for a used M1 mini or Air…

Or free to just run macOS in a VM if you don’t care about breaking an EULA you never signed in the first place…
by avaer | 2026-01-15 15:03:15+00:00
Seems cool, but is there more to this than just some outlines in a graph? That's all I was able to try without paying.

You mention there is "fountain exports" so I was expecting something more akin to a live-morphing screenplay kind of thing (and I would be the ideal customer for that, I work on procedural roleplaying video games).
by sowbug | 2026-01-15 15:03:25+00:00
On a recent trip to Costa Rica, I discovered "Rice and Beans," which is not Gallo Pinto, but a Caribbean-influenced dish made principally of white rice, red kidney beans, coconut milk, and thyme. The dish name is in quotes because it's really the English words "Rice and Beans."

Anyway, it's marvelous, and I couldn't wait to try making it myself at home. Unfortunately, so far, it's been a mushy flavorless mess. I'll try a third go tomorrow. What I have so far:

- soften diced yellow onion and green bell pepper in 1 tbsp coconut oil

- toss in 3 minced garlic cloves

- toast 1.5 cups dry rinsed white rice in the mix

- pour in 1 can coconut milk

- add 1 can black beans (still looking for red beans)

- add lots of fresh thyme

- put in 1 whole habanero (still looking for Panamanian pepper)

- add 1 tsp salt

- add 1 can chicken broth

- if you have it, add a tbsp of Linzo sauce

Then simmer until the rice is cooked.

Next time I'm going to try with fresh coconut milk straight from a real coconut. That's what I explored today: how to make coconut milk.

Would appreciate advice on improving the recipe.
by short_sells_poo | 2026-01-15 15:03:28+00:00
It's a soft version of money printing basically. These firms are clearly inflating each other's valuations by making huge promises of future business to each other. Naively, one would look at the headlines and draw the conclusion that much more money is going to flow into AI in the near future.

Of course, a rational investor looks at this and discounts the fact that most of those promises are predicated on insane growth that has no grounding in reality.

However, there are plenty of greedy or irrational investors, whose recklessness will affect everyone, not just them.
by DetroitThrow | 2026-01-15 15:03:37+00:00
It would be nice if people came out and explained exactly what the harassment, COC violations, etc were so we could make accurate judgements ourselves about all of this. And no, posting literally what happened or what was sent or said will not get you in trouble for libel unless you don't have proof of it happening.

This dancing around what was actually said or sent all reminds me of that meme, Dipshit289: dude you don't wanna know... Oh the horror...

Fwiw, there's this thread that seemingly explains what employee was doing the harassment - and shows Phil overreacting and exaggerating the 'harassment' itself, as well as misattributing blame: https://chaos.social/@North/115605819126197877

That makes me think much less of both Adafruit and SparkFun. I really, really wish all sides would simply put everything out for us to evaluate. Having to trust various unreliable narrators is not respectful to the time of all of us potential customers.
by jfengel | 2026-01-15 15:03:54+00:00
Well, yeah. Strategic tariffs can serve a positive function. Spraying them randomly does not.

I'm not even convinced that lowering our trade deficit with China is necessarily beneficial. But we have lowered our overall trade deficit, and that is probably good news. Except I'm a bit suspicious of that as well -- how much of it was just deciding not to import anything at all due to tariff uncertainty?

Which, as the article points out, is actually kinda perplexing. Inflation is still too high, but somehow it hasn't increased all that much despite policies designed to increase consumer prices. The article suggests it's being absorbed by the importers and exporters rather than passed on to consumers, which doesn't sound stable to me.

Something isn't adding up. And we'll see, though it's impossible to predict when. The economy can take years to show effects. It's actually kinda remarkable that the tariffs have had such an immediate effect on trade deficits.
by andsoitis | 2026-01-15 15:04:00+00:00
> the consciousness still feels alive to itself

Consciousness is the state of having experiences.

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize yourself as the subject of your experiences. In other words, consciousness is a dependency for self-awareness.

It is interesting to ponder what experiences a simulation could have and whether the simulator (human) needs to anticipate what kinds of experiences they want the simulation to be able to experience and build for that.

In organisms, we think that consciousness has arisen due to evolution by natural selection because it aids in the ability for the genetic code to reproduce (survive + multiply).

It isn't obvious why consciousness would spontaneously emerge in a simulation (what's the point?) as a simulation is digital and can spread without the need for consciousness.
by keepamovin | 2026-01-15 15:04:03+00:00
I wouldn't want to code from phone. Ugly to type code on a tiny screen. But this feels different. Voice typing emails to an agent, from a space removed, taking a step back? It gives perspective. It's a good way to work, I find.

You can be in your day. You don't have to be 'head in the code'. Let the agent take care of it. That's what I made it for. To get you out of that!
by hagbard_c | 2026-01-15 15:04:05+00:00
>> Combine this with the practice of calling out any criticism of these facts as 'racist' and tensions quickly arise.

> You might as well just say "I'm going to say some racist nonsense, but don't you dare call me a racist!" Preemption by gaslighting?

Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

Instead of hyperventilating the usual 'racist, racist, racist' mantra and shooting messengers - '...Project 2025! ...Fact Check!' - it would be enlightening to hear your reaction on the facts presented by those maligned sources.

Are they wrong? Not so much according to you but according to the cited sources - the Census bureau et al, see the end notes in the article. Show where they are wrong, don't just act like so many others who join in the chorus when prompted by their leaders.

If you can not show they are wrong you should really retract the above diatribe. Facts, after all, don't care about anyone's feelings?
by RIMR | 2026-01-15 15:04:59+00:00
Okay, but then what? Host your sites on something other than 'www' or '*', exclude them from search engines, and never link to them? Then, the few people who do resolve these subdomains, you just gotta hope they don't do it using a DNS server owned by a company with an AI product (like Google, Microsoft, or Amazon)?

I really don't know how you're supposed to shield your content from AI without also shielding it from humanity.
by coronapl | 2026-01-15 15:05:09+00:00
- https://github.com/zakirullin/cognitive-load

- https://github.com/binhnguyennus/awesome-scalability

- https://github.com/git-tips/tips

- https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer

- https://github.com/ZachGoldberg/Startup-CTO-Handbook

- https://github.com/pilcrowonpaper/copenhagen

- https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x
by alexfoo | 2026-01-15 15:05:09+00:00
One person's junk is another person's fuel for heating.

Throughout the year a friend of mine would collect any junk mail, but mostly many copies of the free daily newspapers (Metro, Evening Standard, etc) that litter the trains/underground in the evenings, soak them with water than use a briquette maker to press the paper into blocks. Once dried they provide an ample supply of fuel to heat his home for the 6-10 months of the year (depending on how poorly your home is insulated) that heating is required in the UK.

He definitely didn't have a "No junk mail" sticker on his letterbox.
by throwawaypath | 2026-01-15 15:05:11+00:00
>Always measure exact length of buried fibre cabling as they aren’t meant to be stored in loops.

This is awful advice I would discard immediately. It's poor practice and against code.

When pulling cable, especially fiber, the ends of the cable should be able to reach the fathest corner of the room. Excess cable should be in a service loop, properly secured to a wall, and terminated on a patch panel. Both ends of he cable should follow this rule. That means you're typically pulling cable that's 15m longer or more, depending on the room and configuration.

NEVER buy and pull cable that is the exact size. The cable literally comes from the factory looped up, it's designed to be looped (watch bend radius).
by kcplate | 2026-01-15 15:05:42+00:00
We will see. I think the argument of “it’s not ours to give but we will fight to not give it up” is a little odd. NATO troops in Greenland as a “cost deterrent” is odd too. A NATO civil war where its all against the US, immediately your NATO defense budget decreases by two thirds. That is far more costly to Europe and NATO than to the US.

My guess is a deal of some sort gets done.
by alephnerd | 2026-01-15 15:05:53+00:00
Czechia also doesn't have a major entertainment revenue the same way France does. Ligue 1 generates around $3B a year in revenue, while Chance Liga is in the $10M-50M, and most Czech language media remains owned and distributed by state-owned CT, so rights have already been paid. And private sector CME/Nova (formerly owned by Ronald Lauder of "let's invade Greenland" fame and now owned by Petr Kellner's family) and Prima (owned by oligarch Ivan Zach) are used by their owners as political tools.
by nicbou | 2026-01-15 15:05:57+00:00
> Why shouldn't AI be able to sufficiently model all of this

I call it the banana bread problem.

To curate a list of the best cafés in your city, someone must eventually go out and try a few of them. A human being with taste honed by years of sensory experiences will have to order a coffee, sit down, appreciate the vibe, and taste the banana bread.

At some point, you need someone to go out in the world and feel things. A machine that cannot feel will never be a good curator of human experiences.
by xp84 | 2026-01-15 15:06:07+00:00
If shipping something that must run on sh, check your life choices and use [ - otherwise [[ is better.

Honestly though I’ve been much happier since I stopped writing anything complex enough to have conditionals in Shell. Using a real scripting language like Ruby, Python, even PHP or Perl if you know them, is better.

In the Ruby case I just use `%x( … )` when I need to run shell commands (there are some things shell does great like passing pipelines of text through 5 programs) and let the logic part be in Ruby.
by potato3732842 | 2026-01-15 15:06:10+00:00
>If I lived in the mountains of Colorado and servicing ranches or something of course I'd be buying for those conditions. But a standard city in the northern US or Canada? Meh. Total waste of money for a fleet vehicle. These sorts of locations are where something like 99% of all vehicle miles are put on.

I'm not talking about places that can be written off because "the boonies are a rounding error".

I'm talking about some guy who owns a plumbing business in Boston and wants to reduce the number of days per year that conditions make things sketchy. $3k per truck or $4k per van is absolutely chump change compared to the PITA of having to add more buffer to winter scheduling to account for delays and inconvenience.

>for personal use now that I can afford it? AWD is on all my vehicles. It's a magical technology since it allows turning your brain off, and making some situations comically easy to navigate. But I'm not optimizing for cost efficiency or practicality there - I'm optimizing for luxury and convenience.

Baffling that someone who readily admits that "you can turn your brain off" doesn't see why people who either have to drive their own work vehicle every day, or put a vehicle in the hands of an employee wouldn't value that even higher.
by philangist | 2026-01-15 15:06:15+00:00
One of my major goals for 2026 was zero LLM use for writing, however I've found it a bit hard at times because LLMs are exceptional for research. Oftentimes I find that in reading an explanation or report that ChatGPT gives me about a topic there will be small turns of phrase or even whole sentences that capture a concept way better than I can. I then feel obstinate not using a clearly superior option, so I'm curious if you've run into that tension and if so how you navigate it.
by nirav72 | 2026-01-15 15:06:49+00:00
>the NUC segment has a gaping hole post 2023

There are dozens and dozens of NUC style / form factor machines available these days. Especially cheap ones from China. Not sure what you mean by gaping hole post 2023. I'm running 3 of them with N97 and N150 Cpus. All bought within the last 18 months.
by catlifeonmars | 2026-01-15 15:07:24+00:00
Or just holding the tool the way it’s meant to be held :)

I’ll stop torturing the analogy now, but what I mean by that is that you can use the tools productively and safely. The insistence on running everything as the same user seems unnecessary. It’s like an X-Y problem.

Really this is on the tool makers (looking at you Anthropic) not prioritizing security by default so the users can just use the tools without getting burned and without losing velocity.
by abustamam | 2026-01-15 15:07:36+00:00
I actually forgot that this had been done before until you mentioned it.

Giving the author the benefit of the doubt, they may have not seen it before, or was bored and just wanted to make a toy.

And it seems like many in HN are in enough a similar boat to me to have up voted it to trending, so at least some people found it entertaining, so it fulfilled its purpose I suppose.

It's a good question though, and I don't think anyone really knows the answer.
by volkk | 2026-01-15 15:07:41+00:00
i find it extremely ironic that he said he built 3 of these things in a weekend, and expects me to pay 100$/mo for one of them. You've just basically stated how dead simple it is to build it, I'm certainly not paying you that and instead going to build my own (although I didn't need an article to tell me this).
Matter of fact, the broader point of this entire article and my experience with AI so far as a veteran in the industry, I lean towards quickly building things now rather than paying for SaaS products, unless it's far too complex and not worth it.

A lot of cost of mature SaaS products come from security, scaling, expensive sales teams, etc. For me, if I have something sandboxed, not available to the public, and only powerful enough to serve only _me_ as a customer, then I don't need to pay those extra costs and I can build something a lot simpler, while still maintaining the core feature that I need.
by dangus | 2026-01-15 15:08:19+00:00
I don’t see any froth around my mouth. I just think the guy sucked, and I think he was racist. Free country, I’m allowed to do that.

Give him a generous read on his opinions if that’s what you want to do. To me, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

Modern white supremacists don’t just come out and say things directly because of how it’s obviously reprehensible, they surround themselves with plausible deniability and murky language like the kind you are citing.

Let’s not forget: Scott Adams was a cartoonist. He was not some kind of sociologist or researcher on race relations. He went out of his way to go on a podcast and speak these opinions with no first hand experience or knowledge in any way.

He lived in Pleasanton, California where less than 2% of residents are black.

He has no experience or qualifications to know a damn thing about the subject. He didn’t even live near any black people - how would he know that they hate him?

No, he just wanted to say racist shit. That’s my read. If you read it different, that’s up to you.
Turning weeks of medical device documentation into minutes
by feargalosull | 2026-01-15 15:08:26+00:00
After several years building medical device software at ResMed, one thing consistently blocked engineering velocity: documentation.

Not design. Not testing.
SOUP assessments, test reports.

For dev teams, this usually means:

Weeks of context switching away from code

Manually rewriting information that already exists in repos, tests, and tickets

Waiting on documentation before releases can move forward (monthly or yearly releases).

We’re launching Qualtate, an AI-powered platform that automates medical device software documentation, starting with:

SOUP documentation

Test reports and evidence generation

In practice, this turns weeks of manual doc work into minutes, using AI to extract, structure, and generate compliant documentation from existing engineering artifacts.

The goal isn’t to “AI-away” quality or compliance. It’s to let developers stay focused on shipping software, while still producing documentation that passes audits.

Regulatory requirements increase every year. AI adoption here feels inevitable. We’re trying to make it useful for engineers—not another tool that slows them down.

We’re opening early access to teams who want to influence what gets automated next.

Happy to answer technical questions, concerns, or skepticism.

Demo on website. https://qualtate.com/