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jochakovsky's comments

jochakovsky | 5 years ago | on: No more natural gas in new San Francisco buildings starting next year

Cooking with natural gas is detrimental to indoor air quality (https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602...), and improving indoor air quality is specifically called out as a motivation for the new restrictions in the article. And as far as natural gas usage patterns, I believe most natural gas is used for heat and hot water, with the amount used for cooking being relatively small.

About 51% of California electricity consumption is from hydro, nuclear, and renewable sources (https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/califo...). On top of that, many new electric heating systems would probably use heat pumps, which bring in 2-4 times as much heat into the house relative the the amount of electric energy consumed. In combination, that means that even accounting for transmission and generation losses, using electric instead of gas heat in new construction should result in significant savings in carbon emissions.

jochakovsky | 8 years ago | on: Ask HN: Apple maps vs. Google maps today?

I use Apple Maps pretty regularly since I have a car with CarPlay. Most of the time, it works fine. But for trips in heavy traffic, I always turn to Google Maps to find the best route. I'm considering getting an Android phone as my next phone just to have Android Auto. Is Google Maps missing in CarPlay because Apple doesn't want to allow it or because Google doesn't want to provide it?

jochakovsky | 8 years ago | on: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

Tried an Impossible Burger for the first time the other day. In a burger with lots of condiments and toppings, it was OK, but not something I'd order again. When I took a bite of it by itself, it tasted like cat food.

Since there are so many positive reviews, I wonder if it just wasn't prepared correctly? The restaurant had only started serving it a few days earlier.

jochakovsky | 9 years ago | on: Ask HN: How startups cover health insurance

This seems really inefficient - group plans are cheaper than individual plans, and the premiums are tax-deductible, unlike individual plans. I suspect you're also driving away older workers, since the ACA allows insurance companies to charge older customers up to 3 times as much as younger ones. Maybe it would be ideal for everyone to be on the individual market and for group plans not to exist, but that's not the world we live in.

jochakovsky | 9 years ago | on: T-Mobile will pay a $48M fine for throttling ‘unlimited data’ plans

There's nothing illegal about data caps as long as they are made clear. T-Mobile got in trouble here because they marked the plan as 'unlimited'. From the article: "'Consumers should not have to guess whether so-called ‘unlimited’ data plans contain key restrictions, like speed constraints, data caps, and other material limitations,' said FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc in a statement."
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