Recent submissions

Comment · 5 days ago
256x speedup on FAT32 just earlier today; I expect we'll have a nice bump in performance from domain cross-pollination for a good while now.
Comment · 5 days ago
barely acceptable for all use cases? like a speed issue?

Regardless, looking back even a year at SOTA local models that fit on a non-absurd system creates a crazy trendline toward the future. And I think model routing is the gap filler that can make/break now vs. Oct 2027

I suspect Anthropic is of this general thinking as well; they've clearly switched from a thoughtful progression toward a natural IPO to "omg sprint for it". Along with the regulatory capture attempts, it's hard to imagine what is breathing down their neck so hard outside of this.

Totally agree local inference of any major scale is a nerd's wet dream short of many stacked improvements in efficiency. But again, auto-routing smooths over the rough edges if you are ok with a little bit of API spend when needed.

Comment · 5 days ago
I believe ChatGPT or Anthropic are both trying to be the "everything store" - whatever that may look like - of this brave new world. Call it a "business OS" and/or "life OS", they're clearly aware that research alone won't win dominance, and signs have been cropping up for the last year: Cowork, Research to Artifact pipelines, Dots/Instinct/Muse-esque personal assistant alternatives.

But the counterpoint still translates here: Amazon did not start with 1000 warehouses (i.e. Anthropic's debt obligations) and _then_ race to build a marketplace that would fill them with everything under the sun. It started lean and mean, and I suspect the Anthropic-killer will do the same.

Comment · 3 years ago
As usual on HN, I find the pragmatic response about 3 pages down in the replies to an extremely hyperbolic top-level comment.

I also don't want to diminish the concerns around Github or similar orgs losing control of a private key, but the far more realistic concern for the vast majority of threat models is often put to the wayside in favor of what amounts to a scary story. Rather than the straightforward key removal and replacement that this should be, I (and surely many others) have spent all morning combatting this specific FUD that cropped up on HN with leadership and many engineers. It's actually quite detrimental to quickly remediating the actual concerns introduced by this leak.

I understand that security inspires people to be as pedantic as possible - that's where some big exploits come from on occasion - but I really hope the average HN narrative changes toward "what is your actual, real-world threat model" vs. "here is a highly theoretical edge-case scenario, applicable to very few, that I'll state as a general fact so everyone will now wonder if they should spend months auditing their codebase and secrets". Put simply: this is why people just start ignoring security measures in the real world. Surely someone has already coined the term "security fatigue".

It's all just a bit unbalanced, and definitely becomes frustrating when those suggesting these "world is burning" scenarios didn't even take the available precautions that apparently would satisfy their threat model (i.e. commit sigs, as you suggested)

Ok, end rant :)

Comment · 4 years ago
Most services I use integrate Plaid. I believe Plaid is just a federated authentication glue that accesses your bank's systems and is granted access to account balances and ACH details (routing/bank account numbers).

It always struck me as an odd product, since I can just plug my ACH info in directly, but it does provide some level of convenience by allowing, say, a roboadviser app to show the embedded balances of my other accounts.

Comment · 4 years ago
I feel like the branding really shot it in the foot. If they'd named it something less "startup-y" sounding, and marketed it as secure, instant transfers backed by the banks themselves, they might be in a better position.

I still use it all the time since it's a superior to any other offering for instantaneous high-dollar transfers, but it always feels like a "Venmo got embedded in my banking app" type of interface vs. "my bank is offering a direct payment service to it's other networked banks".

Hard to define, but I do think the marketing/branding/rollout were more to blame than the merits of the service itself (IMHO, Zelle is great).

Comment · 4 years ago
So, the current situation if you get scammed via Venmo/PayPal or other electronic payment methods is for the FBI / local law enforcement to subpoena the provider for records about the incident.

Now, imagine all that data is sitting on Federal servers by default. No subpoena required, and fraud systems would be integrated directly with investigative services at the Federal level. This integration should strike fear in the heart of anyone who currently scams via 3rd-party payment providers.

I am bothered that fraud isn't directly addressed in this page, but it's only an FAQ and it'd be silly to think the Fed wouldn't build industry standard (or better) fraud protections into a system they're building from scratch.

Comment · 4 years ago
Comment · 4 years ago
Unrelated, but just curious: Why did you get rid of a car because of a bad battery and a $100 part?
Comment · 5 years ago
I didn’t know about Walmart’s innovation labs til recently. Might not be as innovative as I think, but it certainly changed the way I view them.
Comment · 5 years ago
Agreed. And a big part of this is a person’s definition of perfect weather.

I’m in SoCal just coastal enough to not get very high highs, but lows rarely pass 55. But, if SF was exactly the same price, I’d prefer that weather by quite a bit (even though anywhere SF to TJ is leagues “better” - by my definition - than the weather of the state I moved from).

I just love that cozy but not-too-chilly climate of SF, ah. Perfect thinking/studying/hiking/reading weather for my tastes.

Comment · 5 years ago
Back at ya! I also don’t agree with all the laws either, btw, but overall I found them far less onerous than they were hyped to be by my IDPA (sport shooting club) friends asserted.

And yeah, I think being a transplant really helps; it’s easier to realize just how unique the climate and culture truly are. And that applies to any other state where one is a transplant to: I think a big part of this conversation that’s missing is the whole “grass is greener” effect. CA has more population than anywhere else, so we have the most natives by definition (or at least close enough that my point stands - I know the birth rate is below the national median here, but I’d suspect the population outweighs that effect). It’s only in leaving the Midwest that I appreciated some things I overlooked there, but none of those were in the areas of personal freedom (e.g. my city had an amazing food scene and I didn’t know how much I’d miss the unique spirit of that scene).

I do think people make it into this “competition” almost, which is a really odd reflex to me, considering this country has freedom of movement and you can just hit up any of 100s of sites to find a place with the right balance of laws for your lifestyle, costs, diversity, etc.

It’s the furthest from a zero-sum game, in other words, and that argumentative spirit seems like it could be easily replaced with a cooperative one.

Makes me want to start a national real estate/moving consulting company where it’s all focused on finding the perfect place for your specific interests and price point, but I digress

Comment · 5 years ago
As were most laws that are now criticized. We actually have a huge amount of Conservatives in CA. It’s far from the leftist whatever-the-heck you probably hear.

Make sure you can afford the few % more you’ll pay in taxes and you’ll be just fine! It was negligible compared to my Midwest home state’s taxes; I was genuinely surprised by that after hearing so much negativity about the place and it’s laws.

Come visit sometime, there’s a place for everyone here and housing will snap back after our pandemic precautions phase out.

Comment · 5 years ago
Also a gun owner in CA. Came from a state with open carry/no license needed.

I found CA’s laws to be quite reasonable; I was told all variety of stories about guns being taken from my home when I told people I was moving out. Weird stuff.

I think CA is highly demonized and I don’t really get it, even as someone originally from a very conservative (and also evangelical Christian) background/area.

I actually live in a very ethnically diverse area that’s about 50/50 red and blue, and right near the ocean in SoCal. Love the diversity in this state!

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