jackcarter's comments

jackcarter | 1 month ago | on: Running Claude Code dangerously (safely)

"At some point I realized that rather than do something else until it finishes, I would constantly check on it to see if it was asking for yet another permission, which felt like it was missing the point of having an agent do stuff"

Why don't Claude Code & other AI agents offer an option to make a sound or trigger a system notification whenever they prompt for approval? I've looked into setting this up, and it seems like I'd have to wire up a script that scrapes terminal output for an approval request. Codex has had a feature request open for a while: https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/3052

jackcarter | 1 year ago | on: My washing machine refreshed my thinking on software estimation

> wants it moved over to the others side of the utility closet so that when you open the door it is easier to put clothes from there into the dryer

That's when you swap the hinges so the door opens the other way, and you thank the manufacturer for providing such an easy solution to a common problem. It's good to keep things flexible and user-configurable.

Now quick, someone reply with a counterexample of how user configuration complicates the product and increases cost. It's design tradeoffs all the way down...

jackcarter | 3 years ago | on: Cameras abandoned 85 years ago by photography pioneer found on glacier

I don't know the answer, but there's a famous lost camera owned by a team that perished on Everest before Hillary/Norgay successfully climbed it. It's possible that the camera contains proof of an earlier first ascent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mallory#Reaching_the_su...

Kodak has published instructions for how to protect the camera and develop the film, if it's ever found: https://web.archive.org/web/20130303001517/http://www.veloci...

jackcarter | 3 years ago | on: 13 Months: The Kodak Calendar Experiment

“A hotel that did a business of $10,000 per week in room sales found that its receipts from room sales were less in May than those in April. It looked as if the business was dropping off. May was one day longer than April and yet its room sales were less. The figures, however, proved to be very misleading. As a matter of fact business was actually better in May than in April – ten dollars a day better – but the monthly comparison seemed to show that it was worse.”

So revenue/day was up in May, and there are more days in May, but total revenue was down in May? What's the explanation?

jackcarter | 3 years ago | on: Airbnb May 2022 Release

Does anyone know if there's a secret advanced option to search by keyword?

Some Airbnbs have free bicycles available, but there's no "bicycle" filter (possibly for liability reasons). There's also no way to search for homes that mention "bicycle". Instead, I have to comb through every listing.

I think this used to be an option, but they took it away. This is the only feature I've ever wanted from Airbnb search.

jackcarter | 6 years ago | on: Roads with protected bike lanes make both cycling and driving safer: study

I built one myself with some spare parts. I love it, to the point that I wear my helmet for short trips when I otherwise wouldn't bother.

It's modeled after this one: https://www.efficientvelo.com/home/safezone

The key component is the flexible, stays-where-you-put-it arm. Safezone is repurposing an industrial product called "coolant hose" - a 1-ft length costs less than $5. Epoxy a small mirror to the end, and attach it to your helmet with zip ties or velcro straps.

Here's mine: https://imgur.com/a/a9H7bXq

jackcarter | 7 years ago | on: Loud and expensive renovations shattering a formerly quiet block in Manhattan

From a comment on the article: "The normal way to excavate bedrock is dynamite. This would probably not be feasible on this site. But at this rate, from the photo, they are going to be jackhammering for another three years to reach thirty seven and a half feet. I’ve read that in London the Uber rich do these basement pool - theatre complexes all the time under their town houses, but probably digging out dirt. The neighbors should get their council persons involved to pressure DOB to put a blanket prohibition on what is clearly an untenable method of excavation. A Bedrock Amendment: if the site isn’t big or isolated enough for blasting, bedrock is the limit."[0]

In London, lavish basements have become trendy[1], but they don't have to deal with bedrock so close to the surface. The Guardian article only mentions the noise once.

[0]https://nyti.ms/2D2qPOp#permid=31403929

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/may/07/pool-basement-...

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