winphone1974 (u/winphone1974)

winphone1974 commented on Third Places and Neighborhood Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Starbucks Cafés nber.org/papers/w32604... · Posted by u/bikenaga

kbos87 · a year ago

This is an aside, but my how far has Starbucks fallen at the hands of profit optimization. A Starbucks used to be a great place to spend time. Today the interior of almost every Starbucks is cold, beat up, and (intentionally?) uncomfortable. (In the stores where they even still have seating, which another commenter pointed out.) The quality of the product is barely a step above a gas station.

On the other hand, my area has a few excellent locally owned options that are so important to me. When I think about Starbucks vs. one of those locally owned shops, it reminds me just how much a rich tapestry of small businesses in a neighborhood can transform it for the better. Starbucks had that going for a it for a short while.

winphone1974 · a year ago

What seems weird is that with the massive number of Starbucks closures I've seen smaller indies and local chains open up in the exact same locations and somehow make a go of it- how does that work?

winphone1974 commented on U.S.-Saudi petrodollar pact ends after 50 years nasdaq.com/articles/us-sa... · Posted by u/_ddzr

jonathankoren · a year ago

You’re going to have to eliminate first past the post for that to work. Both parties are essentially coallitions. Christian nationalists and big business, and their apologists on one side, and everyone else on the other.

winphone1974 · a year ago

This obviously isn't true unless you think half the population is "evil". It doesn't help anyone's cause when you try and position it as "us vs. Them, and they're wrong"

winphone1974 commented on Yet another project management SaaS plan-b.today/... · Posted by u/kristis

PhilKunz · a year ago

the logo is already taken by https://pocketbase.io

winphone1974 · a year ago

probably on which this app is built!

winphone1974 commented on Show HN: We open sourced our entire text-to-SQL product github.com/Dataherald/dat... · Posted by u/aazo11

winphone1974 · a year ago

SQL is really close to a natural language that's unambiguous, there's a few rough edges but it's not bad. Anything more natural requires a lot of context and needs to solve ambiguity.

winphone1974 commented on Ronda Rousey: "I never wanted to talk about concussion" theguardian.com/sport/202... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

criddell · a year ago

Would you have a problem with modern gladiator games where combatants fight to the death?

If so, then you agree with the person you responded to, you just want to draw the line in a different place.

winphone1974 · a year ago

I don't think I have a problem with the concept, but do with someone who feels this is their only option, organizers making money off of this and viewers who would demand this and pay for it. Individuals taking extreme personal risks? No problem with that.

winphone1974 commented on Ronda Rousey: "I never wanted to talk about concussion" theguardian.com/sport/202... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

NegativeK · a year ago

> Fight fans _like_ seeing heads get punched, and they like seeing knock outs.

I think that's a huge symptom of my point. You can strip out tackles from football and make MMA way safer, but the large MMA competitions are popular because they're closer to two people doing whatever they can to win a fight than something more restrictive, like karate or wrestling. As you mention, the fans will be pissed at safening the sport, and I'd almost bet money that the vast majority of the fighters would be pissed as well -- just like I've seen plenty of coworkers and workers in other industries get angry at OSHA regulations, even the ones that are as ridiculously straightforward as labeling the bottle of formaldehyde so someone doesn't spritz it around a clinic.

winphone1974 · a year ago

It doesn't have to be this way though. Women's basketball doesn't have as much violent contact as the men's game but is a better spectator sport IMO. women's hockey is also great without the crushing blows and no fights. Flag football is fun to watch as it's all about the offense and big defensive plays, not the crippling Hits. Aussie rules football has hitting but nothing like rugby or American football and it's a superior experience for the fans. I like the NFL and UFC but there are options if you don't.

winphone1974 commented on Bruno: Fast and Git-friendly open-source API client (Postman alternative) usebruno.com/... · Posted by u/ulrischa

leosanchez · 2 years ago

Have you tried hurl ?

winphone1974 · 2 years ago

Hurl is great, especially for testing but I fear it's not acceptable by a huge segment of developers because of the lack of a UI

winphone1974 commented on Bruno: Fast and Git-friendly open-source API client (Postman alternative) usebruno.com/... · Posted by u/ulrischa

Alifatisk · 2 years ago

You should try insomnia

winphone1974 · 2 years ago

Insomnia and postman are pretty similar these days. I like the REST extension for VS Code and hurl

winphone1974 commented on Toyota's hybrid-first strategy is delivering big profits nytimes.com/2024/03/09/bu... · Posted by u/rawgabbit

stavros · 2 years ago

Better at what? They're much better at not emitting CO2, for example.

Also, why do you need a throwaway to say that you prefer ICE to EV?

winphone1974 · 2 years ago

Better for non-commuters I Believe, especially in North America.

And aren't they all throw aways?

winphone1974 commented on Toyota's hybrid-first strategy is delivering big profits nytimes.com/2024/03/09/bu... · Posted by u/rawgabbit

vsskanth · 2 years ago

It's due to their reputation for rock-solid reliability, better torque and MPG with hybrids and making sure a hybrid option is available across all vehicle sizes.

Typically Honda would compete with Toyota with similar offerings but their hybrids aren't matching up to Toyota yet in MPG and you can't get it in large SUVs.

So now you have a situation where nobody is competing with Toyota because everyone's busy making EVs.

True or not, it's now assumed you can drive a Toyota for 150k miles without breaking a sweat.

Toyota Sienna and Toyota Grand Highlander are three row vehicles rated at 36 MPG. These cars are selling out before they even hit the dealer lot.

winphone1974 · 2 years ago

Everything you say is true, but where the financial success comes from is leveraging this (well earned) reputation to support high, no negotiation, take it or leave it prices, and often mandatory financing. We'll see if the market continues to support fixed pricing and turning away cash buyers.