ArlenBales (u/ArlenBales)

ArlenBales commented on Show HN: LLM plays Pokémon (open sourced) github.com/adenta/fire_re... · Posted by u/adenta

ArlenBales · 6 months ago

> To me, this is the future of TV.

The future of television is watching bots play video games? What a sad future.

ArlenBales commented on Do you want to be doing this when you're 50? (2012) prog21.dadgum.com/154.htm... · Posted by u/debesyla

FrustratedMonky · 6 months ago

"I got hired into a FAANG in my 50s"

That is unique isn't it? I'm kind of curious.

I'm programmer in 50's and want to switch industries to try something different. Any advice on the journey.

ArlenBales · 6 months ago

I imagine they had some very good referrals, probably a friend in the company.

ArlenBales commented on Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks scientificamerican.com/ar... · Posted by u/sohkamyung

yoyohello13 · 6 months ago

My main take away from this thread is to never take up mountain biking.

ArlenBales · 6 months ago

Mountain bikers becoming injured isn't a question of IF, but WHEN.

If you have a coworker in their 30s or 40s who is just starting to get into mountain biking (a common midlife crisis hobby), expect them to have a MTB related injury within the next year.

ArlenBales commented on Programming with chronic pain thomasvogelaar.me/posts/p... · Posted by u/thomasvogelaar

marcinreal · 6 months ago

I'm curious, have you lived in the same place this whole time? If the pain came back when you returned home, maybe there is some environmental cause for it, possibly something poorly-understood. I hesitate to even mention any examples because this can be controversial (and murky) territory, but I'm thinking of things like EMF exposure. Maybe you are really sensitive to something like that. Not sure, but could be worth experimenting with different environments and collecting data.

ArlenBales · 6 months ago

I may have emphasized the pain going away on the PCT too much. It was still there, but subdued. Backpacking a thru-hike like the PCT is quite a physical and mental ordeal, hiking for 12+ hours a day after day for months, camping every night, acclimating to a range temperatures and high elevations, interacting with other hikers from all over the world. I think it was a new wave of sensations that overloaded my nervous system and distracted me from my usual chronic pains, which are more apparent when I'm sitting at a desk all day.

ArlenBales commented on Programming with chronic pain thomasvogelaar.me/posts/p... · Posted by u/thomasvogelaar

ArlenBales · 6 months ago

I've lived with chronic pain for the last 10 years. Hip, shoulders, lumbar. Have tried just about everything, including minimally invasive surgery. 100s of appointments, over 6 MRIs.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that chronic pain isn't curable. It's our nerves rewiring themselves to constantly send pain, even when no problem exists.

This also gave me peace though. Until I tried everything, I thought my body was breaking down. I'm a very physically active person, who has tried to be proactively healthy their whole life.

Knowing the pain isn't organ or muscle related, but is just fucked up nerves, is consolation. It's not preventing me from doing anything. I still have full range of motion and mobility, it just hurts, but it can't stop me from doing the things I want to do.

So I continue to be active. I have a very high pain tolerance as a result, but I can cope with the pain better than years ago. Last year I hiked the whole 2,600+ miles Pacific Crest Trail despite the pain. Strangely enough, my pain actually mostly disappeared on the trail, but returned after I got home. I think the sudden change of daily habits and sleep conditions may have thrown my nervous system in for a loop.

ArlenBales commented on 50 Years of Travel Tips kk.org/thetechnium/50-yea... · Posted by u/thm

astura · 7 months ago

I can't even imagine having this sort of attitude where you think that your presence is like a "celebrity guest" for strangers and and will be "making their day." You. Complete strangers.

Like, how does one have such an inflated sense of importance? And feel absolutely no shame in writing it out for the world to see.

Delusions of grandeur.

ArlenBales · 7 months ago

This guy is Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired magazine. I guess he thinks people will recognize him?

ArlenBales commented on A Year of Telepathy neuralink.com/blog/a-year... · Posted by u/julianh65

fliglr · 7 months ago

Who cares. Do you want them to test on humans?

ArlenBales · 7 months ago

Give it time. Under President Musk it'll only be a matter of time until they invent a drug like the one used by Dr Cortazar's group in The Vital Abyss, eschewing ethics for scientific progression. I wouldn't be surprised if half the scientists under Musk's companies jump at the chance to use it, considering they still work for him while he dismantles American democracy (so their ethics are already questionable).

ArlenBales commented on America desperately needs more air traffic controllers cnn.com/2025/02/04/busine... · Posted by u/mooreds

ArlenBales · 7 months ago

I fear this will lead to Trump pushing OpenAI to use AI for air traffic controllers, which is going to result in a lot of deaths. Could AI eventually do the job? Maybe, but it will be a bloody road to get there.

ArlenBales commented on Hacker News for Gamedev gamedev.city/... · Posted by u/ahub

arduinomancer · 7 months ago

The problem I find with the gamedev subreddit is it seems like it’s 90% beginners

And the focus is like all on 1-person indie projects with very little content from professional/AAA devs

ArlenBales · 7 months ago

This is less a problem with the subreddit and forums, and more that AAA game devs seems to be very reserved about discussing their industry or keep discussion internal to private channels (possibly for IP reasons). Whenever I see a AAA developer pop up on Reddit they're always vague and mysterious; "I work for an unnamed AAA developer.." You don't see people doing that on HN very often, they usually announce unabashedly they work at a well known company, like Google.

ArlenBales commented on FDA Approves drug to treat pain without opioid effects nytimes.com/2025/01/30/he... · Posted by u/remh

luafox · 7 months ago

Super exciting development in the world of medicine, but the price tag is really steep. Starting at US$15.50 per pill, and you're supposed to take two pills at a time. Many will opt for cheaper options.

Disclaimer: I'm Canadian with extended insurance, so I have little perspective on drug prices.

ArlenBales · 7 months ago

This is to treat acute pain, probably mostly post-op as alternative to opioids. At most you'll probably get a week's worth of pills from your doc post-op, and I would say the cost is worth it if it works better than NSAIDs and it's not addictive.