cardinalfang's comments

On: DOS game “F-15 Strike Eagle II” reverse engineering/reconstruction war stories

[cardinalfang]

The gradient might have been created using copper palette switching, which would cost no CPU time but only work with horizontal lines.

On: E-Bikes Overtake Buggies for Some Amish (2021)

[cardinalfang]

An airbag helmet full of electronics would allow traditional dress, but I don't know enough theology to make the decision.

[usrusr → cardinalfang]

The only company that made them has gone bankrupt, so there's that.

They were successful in Copenhagen, where helmet-wearing is not quite as exotic as in the Netherlands, but apparently one city is not enough.

[ndsipa_pomu → usrusr]

I half-considered getting one of those (I'm in the UK), but the initial cost was expensive and they were single-use as in they needed to go back to the manufacturer to be reset after being triggered which was an additional cost.

https://www.hovding.com/

[usrusr → ndsipa_pomu]

I'd be dead scared of false positives riding in one. That might be harmless at a speed slightly above pedestrian, but my speed range does not end there.

[euroderf → ndsipa_pomu]

Could I, as a consumer of said helmet, have performed a non-destructive test ?

[ndsipa_pomu → euroderf]

I don't believe so - once they were triggered they'd need to be factory reset.

[euroderf → ndsipa_pomu]

And so my only alternative is to place my utmost and final faith in the product.

On: Why are so many young Americans adopting fake British accents?

[cardinalfang]

Statistics -> stats, calculus -> calc, logic -> null

On: Retiring a favourite C++ joke

[cardinalfang]

Sportier drivers may wish to brake and accelerate simultaneously (rev matching, weight transfer tricks). Normal cars just cut fuel when braking to avoid two-foot drivers burning their brakes.

[FpUser → cardinalfang]

The other use is for mere mortals to simulate differential lock when it is not there. I've used it couple of times.

On: Dropping support for old C++ standards

[cardinalfang]

We have used two boost versions built in different namespaces. Most of it works but there can be Fun if two now-independent versions of the same funtion use the same resource.

On: Ask HN: How is the job search coming along for people who got laid off?

[cardinalfang]

Must have been before rvalue references.

On: 1960s Bike Buses Used to Transport Cyclists Under the Thames

[cardinalfang]

They use the same drivers that are on standby to escort fuel tankers and hazardous goods through the tunnel.

On: Why there's no 'Dijon' in Dijon mustard

[cardinalfang]

Not too much, don't want to overpower the ammonium chloride.

On: Lenovo shipping new laptops that only boot Windows by default

[cardinalfang]

It's full of fructose, which is slightly less viscous than sucrose and therefore healthier for the laptop.

On: Mechanical Watch

[cardinalfang]

The end was the best bit. I have seen good explanations of the escapement and timing gears before, but not of the crown adjuster mechanisms.