typhonic

8 ms·

1.
by typhonic 11d ago
> History shows that people always choose convenience over autonomy. The mere fact that revolution exists disproves this statement.
2.
by typhonic 2mo ago
I am a recently retired control systems engineer in the US with 45 years experience. In every project we worked on we made sure the end user owned the custom programming, system configuration, and all the process data. I think it is a mista
3.
by typhonic 1y ago
In the 1960's, my brother and I would walk about three miles (over Red Mountain in Birmingham AL) to the closest Radio Shack. We would each get a free battery using our cards and usually we didn't buy anything. Eventually we becam
4.
Mr Element 118 (2017)(newscientist.com)
1 points by typhonic 2y ago|0 comments
5.
by typhonic 2y ago
I got my third MRI after having a titanium plate put in my neck, and wow was I more nervous that time than the earlier two times. I made the tech let me test the panic button to prove it worked. Of course there was no problem with the MRI.
6.
by typhonic 2y ago
I'm thinking I'm old too because I grew up with telephones that had crystal earphones connected with non-magnetic copper wire.
7.
by typhonic 2y ago
Twenty years is a mighty short time period for expecting a huge paradigm shift in industry. In 1973 I was touring industrial plants and got to see an automated retrieval and delivery system operating in a plant warehouse. (It might have bee
8.
by typhonic 3y ago
As if I'm not already spending too much time reading HN.
9.
by typhonic 3y ago
Pretty cool. I wish I could remove toll roads from the route options.
10.
by typhonic 3y ago
If I remember correctly, some have called it the "Zone" and it is described in the book "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W. Timothy Gallwey. It has been a long while since I read it.
11.
by typhonic 3y ago
Coming from the Controls Systems Industry, I have seen a few flavors of the SRS. Sometimes we call them Functional Requirements Specifications (FRS). The IEEE has a decent standard for how to put one together, although they call it Softwar
12.
by typhonic 3y ago
We have pet chickens that we close up every night. I built a door to let us open and close the chicken run from a web page. The door slides horizontally and is driven by a cheap electric drill motor with an all thread rod, which acts as a w
13.
by typhonic 3y ago
I learned this technique in the mid 70s, but I didn't attend MIT. I still remember a math class in 1973 that was sort of rowdy. One of the students was presenting. He wanted to draw a circle on the board, but there were actual, occasio
14.
by typhonic 4y ago
Thanks. I realized I had the term wrong when the answers came in. Probably one reason I was having trouble finding information.
15.
by typhonic 4y ago
Thanks. I have it on order.
16.
Ask HN: Learning Test Based Programming
7 points by typhonic 4y ago|6 comments
17.
by typhonic 4y ago
What came to my mind is "An Introduction to Microcomputers" by Adam Osborne. I don't think I can find my copy anymore. If I remember correctly, there were block diagrams showing the main functional components of a microcomput
18.
by typhonic 4y ago
There are plenty of technical comments here, but I have to say I got a great laugh from this post. I have dealt with many of the absurdities state side, so I can relate to your experience. By the time I got to the words Windows XP Screensav
19.
by typhonic 4y ago
>My guess is that the people who used slide rules in their professions and were willing to pay over $50 to re-experience the nostalgia of playing with one again are now all dead. With the exception of the part about willing to pay over $
20.
by typhonic 4y ago
A co-worker once told me he had two of three certifications for fireworks. I forget what they were exactly, maybe one for manufacturing, one for transportation, and one for operations.
21.
by typhonic 4y ago
In 1973 I visited the office of a chemistry professor. He and his research partner seemed to be on somewhat of a downhill slide. For years they had dreams of discovering a catalyst that would let water break into hydrogen and oxygen from ex
22.
by typhonic 4y ago
To break it down further, the 2D layers are laid down as a bunch of 1D structures when using the popular filament extruders.
23.
by typhonic 4y ago
I don’t think a really good title exists, but the closest might be “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Control Room” by Gregory McMillan. It is basically a comic book written by an engineer in the industrial controls field.
24.
by typhonic 4y ago
I am now 66 and continuing to work as an engineer in a field not too far removed from a programming career. I have had the same inclination as your father and I hope he is successful. Pre-pandemic I would attend meetups in town, specificall
25.
by typhonic 5y ago
In 1973, a high school student from another state told me that he became interested in astronomy because of a newsletter and activity he participated in. It seems there was a grad student somewhere trying to crowdsource astronomical observa
26.
by typhonic 5y ago
This is my favorite. It's hard to find, so I made a quick sketch. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hSCB8ZGGH7tlph-NuNRWa317HCV... I turn it so the flat side is horizontal. It expands when you put the screw in
27.
by typhonic 5y ago
I have added your response to my collection of wisdom; particularly for the statement "I am a different person in each place."
28.
by typhonic 5y ago
Once, while working at a large grocery store, we lost power. The emergency lights came on, but all the cash registers stopped working. One of the managers ran to the back of the store and returned with hand cranks that fit into the side of
29.
by typhonic 5y ago
I don't know that we have enough information to judge her. I mean, she was a socialite; how close was she to her children? And, after all, she left each of them with nine siblings. I wish I had nine lifelong friends.
30.
by typhonic 5y ago
I once listened to an audio version of this from librivox.org. It was read by someone with a German accent and it was hilarious.

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