jmkb (u/jmkb) - Readit News

jmkb commented on OpenAI – How to delete your account help.openai.com/en/articl... · Posted by u/carlosrg

i just built a map precisely to highlight restaurants in my area who choose _not_ to pay Google/Yelp :)

https://eat.dash.nyc

https://github.com/jareklupinski/dash-nyc

jmkb · 14 days ago

Thanks, this is a really fun way to view the data. I don't think the no-google/no-yelp filters will really accomplish this goal though. Most of the ones I examined were either variations in the restaurant name or not really restaurants (gas station convenience store, hotel with breakfast, catering LLC with no storefront, etc.) The google and yelp datasets in NYC are really quite good.

jmkb commented on Why do people leave comments on OpenBenches? shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/12/... · Posted by u/sedboyz

edent · 3 months ago

Built it and they will come.

OK, it was a mixture of things. I told my friends about it and they were sufficiently nerdy to try it out.

I responded to early feedback - specifically about creating a leaderboard. Originally it was all anonymous but people wanted to see how well they'd done.

My wife and I gave an interview to a local BBC radio station which gave it a little bump. Similarly, when it is mentioned on reddit and other sites we pop up and talk about it.

It was also picked up by a couple of academic papers, which gave it a bit of credibility. As did our recent integration with OpenStreetMap.

There's a far amount of schema.org metadata which probably helps with SEO.

But, other than that, who knows? I've had plenty of projects which didn't do as well. Sometimes the Web rewards nice things.

jmkb · 3 months ago

Thanks for building and maintaining this lovely project.

I'm an OSM mapper & enjoy linking mapped benches to their profiles on OpenBenches. It gets hairy, though, when a single bench features multiple memorial plaques. Wonder if you'd consider revising your data model to permit multiple inscriptions per bench?

jmkb commented on Streets GL – 3D OpenStreetMap streets.gl/#47.35245,8.50... · Posted by u/faebi

jmkb · a year ago

This is a beautiful project but unfortunately the OSM data's out of date -- over a year old at this point. Based on https://github.com/StrandedKitty/streets-gl/issues/182 it seems like this might be abandonware.

jmkb commented on PySkyWiFi: Free stupid wi-fi on long-haul flights robertheaton.com/pyskywif... · Posted by u/oumua_don17

xyzzy_plugh · 2 years ago

The AT&T bill (IIRC it was all under a single account) for the 3G Kindles was eye-watering. I recall a few byte-shavings yielding something like a million dollars of savings.

jmkb · 2 years ago

Worth it, I reckon. You can't buy this kind of advertising:

https://xkcd.com/548/

jmkb commented on PySkyWiFi: Free stupid wi-fi on long-haul flights robertheaton.com/pyskywif... · Posted by u/oumua_don17

jmkb · 2 years ago

Decades ago, my partner used Google Voice for texting -- really handy, texts just showed up in the gmail inbox, and could be replied to from there. She didn't like cellphones, but usually carried one of the old "Kindle Keyboard" models with unlimited 3G data. The Kindle had simple web browser that could load the low-spec gmail interface, so in essence she had a fully functional SMS device, with no monthly charges.

Notification of incoming texts was the only problem. I jailbroke the thing and started trying to schedule network requests, thinking I'd add some kind of new message counter on the home screen. This proved hard. But it occurred to me that the best place for the counter would be right next to the Kindle's device name, at the top of the screen. And the device name could be updated from her Amazon account.

So I automated a web browser on the home server to log into Amazon and update the device name to "My Kindle (x)" where x was the number of unread Google Voice texts. The Kindle would update the name on the home screen in less than a minute. This worked for years!

(Eventually that Kindle was stolen. I wanted to update its name to something foul but the device disappeared from her account too quickly.)

jmkb commented on Using a 1965 Dutch rotary phone via VoIP raymii.org/s/blog/Using_a... · Posted by u/jandeboevrie

jmkb · 2 years ago

I grew up with rotary phones, and dialing (on a physical dial) really was fun.

Disassembling my first junk phone and playing with the rotary relay was even more fun.

But the best was learning to dial numbers by manually pulsing the switch on the handset cradle. Timing was tricky but luckily there was some leeway. (And it helped that phone numbers were shorter then.)

jmkb commented on Firefox search update blog.mozilla.org/en/produ... · Posted by u/murillians

lordofgibbons · 2 years ago

This has nothing to do with what search engine you're using. It collects data about what you type in the search/URL bar.

jmkb · 2 years ago

I guess it's time to stop searching from the url bar (sorry, "awesomebar") and create a local html file as the startup and new tab page, with search boxes for all your fav engines. Just like the good old days.

jmkb commented on Phreaking en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phr... · Posted by u/kaycebasques

sonicanatidae · 2 years ago

Cool amongst peers, sure, but chicks still never paid any attention to me, even after I started carrying around a DTMF tone generator and the knowledge of how to use it... ;)

jmkb · 2 years ago

I found that upgrading mine with a full keypad -- including the ABCD column on the right -- did wonders for my rep. And of course a switch to toggle oscillators, so I could send red box tones.

jmkb commented on NYC Lost 100K Homes in Apartment-to-House Conversions thecity.nyc/housing/2023/... · Posted by u/robg

jmkb · 3 years ago

Just to be clear, I find conversion of viable multifamily buildings into mansions generally repugnant.

The opposite process also happens, though... not just a 3- and 4-story residential buildings demolished for large residential towers (plenty of that in NYC) but single-family brownstones carved up into smaller dwelling units.

The map caption "Conversions Have Erased Some Gains in NYC's Housing Stock" would make a less deceptive headline. The map shows data from a defined timespan ("between 2010 and 2021") and shows that there's not a single community district that hasn't added housing units. The headline, meanwhile, refers to a vague "70-plus years" timeframe. That's long enough that you could probably find hundreds of buildings that have bounced between single- and multi-family several times.

And in fact the underlying research characterizes any building that was ever recorded as multifamily and currently isn't as a "loss." I fear it risks romanticizing the 20th century's cramped tenements.

(And again, just to be clear, I find conversion of viable multifamily buildings into mansions generally repugnant.)

jmkb commented on Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May to release 3D atlas of asteroid theguardian.com/science/2... · Posted by u/pseudolus

midasuni · 3 years ago

Is he doing it in conjunction with d-Ream drummer and astrophysicist Brian Cox?

Are there any other famous scientist/musicians called Brian?

jmkb · 3 years ago

Brian Eno developed tape-delay audio tech, released a few mobile apps, is a founder of the Long Now Foundation... not a scientist but definitely a bit science-y.