Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit | untech's commentslogin

I am confused about the situation. Can someone with more context please explain? Is HomeDepot forcing their own workers off the parking lot? Or are there some other workers there? What do they do on a parking lot? Are they in cars or on foot? Why do they stay on the parking lot the whole day, if they are not HomeDepot employees?

The operative word is "day laborers". These are people who work on a day-to-day basis. In America at least, there is a large contingent of people who are informal day laborers, especially Hispanic immigrants apparently, although I'm not sure if that's really true or just a stereotype, and a lot of them hang out or around at home improvement stores, waiting to be hired for various handyman-type jobs.

It is frequently referenced in American media, like South Park (in "D-Yikes") and Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead (in "The Day Butt-Head Went Too Far"). And well, probably some other media that isn't adult cartoons, but for some reason that was what first immediately came to mind.

I was aware of the stereotype of Hispanic day laborers hanging out in Home Depot parking lots for a long time, but it was interesting to see the degree to which it seems to be true in California, where I often saw fairly large groups of people that I believed to be day laborers in the parking lot. I'm sure there are also day laborers at home improvement stores in the Midwest too, but I don't really pay that much attention, so I haven't noticed it much.

edit: I see I took too long to reply and now am the sixth or so person to point this out, sorry. Race condition.


Japan too has a lot of day laborers too -single men usually without a family support structure or they left their families for reasons. In Japan the day laborers are almost exclusively Japanese as they don't tolerate illegal immigration much.

> as they don't tolerate illegal immigration much

They don't really tolerate legal immigration, or legal immigrants, either.


> I'm not sure if that's really true or just a stereotype

Stereotype Accuracy is One of the Largest and Most Replicable Effects in All of Social Psychology - https://spsp.org/news-center/character-context-blog/stereoty...

In fact, quite shockingly to many, that prevailing twofold sentiment, which sees stereotypical thinking as faulty cognition and stereotypes themselves as patently inaccurate, is itself wrong on both counts. - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/2018...

Most stereotypes that have been studied have been shown to be approximately correct. Usually, stereotype accuracy correlations exceed .50, making them some of the largest relationships ever found in social psychology. - https://www.cspicenter.com/p/the-accuracy-of-stereotypes-dat...


It's not that I don't believe it is likely, it's more like I don't like spreading an unqualified stereotype that I haven't actually validated in any way other than personal anecdotes. It's not like it's a terribly harmful stereotype (at least, I don't have anything against day laborers at all) but just as a matter of good hygiene I believe it's good to hedge a bit when you're spreading information that is essentially folklore. (In this case the point was to spread the folklore part, so I didn't feel it necessary to go and try to validate it with data myself.)

There is a far cry between "Stereotypes are generally accurate" and "being able to make a specific measured claim on the basis of a stereotype."

You also don't actively prove this claim, which means that we may know that it's "more likely to be true than not" based on your shared information, but could still absolutely be false.

Which leads me to my question, "Why would you make a comment about the correctness of stereotypes, rather than just finding actual data about the stereotype in question?"


Because the phrasing "true OR a stereotype" implied the concepts are opposed, when they are anything but.

You have not disproved that the concepts are opposed in this instance. Which matters much more than whether or not "stereotypes might generally be true." Like, at best stereotypes are a distraction for the actual data we'd like to have discussions about.

> You have not disproved that the concepts are opposed in this instance.

Nor did I aim to. I only wanted to dispel the mistaken belief that stereotypes are mostly false in general. That you think I should have instead addressed some other point that in your opinion matter more is irrelevant - you are free to address it yourself.


The wider claim doesn't actually change anything about the discourse. You have not contributed to the discussion, because you've provided no additional information about whether or not the underlying claim is true. We are no closer to truth because of your comment. So you have not "dispelled the mistaken belief that stereotypes are mostly false in general" because we can't make an active assumption about this stereotype without directly proving it.

So... Their original point stands without direct evidence against it. As you have not provided direct evidence, your point is moot.


Very interesting papers. However, the last link:

> Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology

> some stereotypes are malevolent and destructive:

> ...

> Jews as grasping hook-nosed Nazis perpetrating genocide on innocent Palestinian babies.

Very underhanded way to paint the widely held accusations of genocide in Gaza as antisemitic...

Looking into it further: the CSPI is a right wing think-tank headed by Richard Hanania (from the website's bio, a thinker on the Right interested in culture wars, who has published vile stuff on Palestine, and has the infantile authoritarian viewpoints on politics that have unfortunately become synonymous with the "new right"). So take some salt with you if you're visiting that website...


See season 7, episode 4 (“Sex Ed”) of The Office for a non-cartoon media reference :)

The workers do not work for HomeDepot. They come to the Home Deport parking lot ready to offer their services. People unrelated to HomeDepot will come to the parking lot and offer temporary work, landscaping, construction, etc.

They are "day laborers." People who hang around there hoping to find work helping with your home repairs, painting, appliance installation, landscaping, or other projects etc.

Huh, and that works? Sounds a bit… old-fashioned? I’d think people are looking for these services online or in some gig work app. Interesting. Sounds unpleasant both for workers that have to hang around on the street, and customers that are approached (at least that’s how I imagine it) by people offering services even when they don’t need it. (Or do customers approach workers themselves?) From the outside, sounds weird. I wonder what in the US caused it.

At least at the Home Depot near me, the day laborers sit near the parking lot exits on the boulevard.

I go to Home Depot more than is reasonable, and I’ve never been approached by them. You typically would need to solicit them yourself. In general I find them to be respectful and pleasant - I imagine otherwise they would get customer complaints and Home Depot would have them trespassed immediately.

From others experiences I’ve talked to, they usually form “crews” with one main “crew chief” guy who speaks English you negotiate a rate and number of workers you need, and any specific skills like concrete, framing, etc. beyond simple labor. You generally are expected to provide any tools needed to complete the job beyond what fits in a standard tool belt.


> Huh, and that works? Sounds a bit… old-fashioned? I’d think people are looking for these services online or in some gig work app.

You need to go to the home improvement store to get materials for your job anyway, you can also pick up some people to help, too.

Why fuss on an app trying to figure out who to hire, when you can head over, say 'hey, who knows how to dig a foundation' or 'who can help me hang a door' or whatever your job is. Maybe find the worker first and they can help you shop for the stuff you need.

Drive them back to the lot at the end of the job.


>I’d think people are looking for these services online or in some gig work app.

Then you'd need to prove your identity and pay taxes on what you earn. This is for illegal immigrants working under the table.


It's also only in some areas. None of the big home improvement centers where I live have anyone hanging around looking for work.

I've seen it in Atlanta, GA, Phoenix, AZ, Kansas City, MO, Anchorage, AK, and Chicago, IL.

They are mostly hired by the contractors who advertise their services online and through aps, who go to HD several times a day anyways. The final customer deals with the contractors, not with the day laborers.

Small concrete / roofing company / construction company might need some more hands for a day or two for a project.

They go in to grab materials, leave with materials and some potentially new workers. If it works out (and it often does) they may use them for other projects, too.

Source: My father in law was a carpenter for about 40 years


It's very old-fashioned. Like Grapes of Wrath old-fashioned.

> wonder what in the US caused it

Lots of illegal immigrants desperate for work


Day laborers are an independent labor force who do construction, landscaping, and other manual work for a negotiated cash rate. In Los Angeles they hang out in public spaces in groups, often near hardware stores, to make themselves easy to find and hire.

Day laborers at Home Depot are generally undocumented immigrants who hang around in the parking lot hoping to get hired for quick handyman type jobs. This is why they've been a target for ICE raids

It’s good, I like it. I think that it might become easier to use if:

- The whole item is clickable for the pick

- Picked state is indicated clearly, possibly by hovering the item

- You click on the item itself to place, or possibly anywhere on the screen


Came to say that it badly needs better state communication.

What I’d do is to add a drop shadow and increase scale by 1-3%, with a clean, snappy animation between placed and picked up. I might also add a “gripping hand” graphic with a cursor-like appearance to picked up items and show a “scroll to move” instruction next to the hand graphic if the user hasn’t done anything for a couple of seconds.


SEEKING WORK

Remote, located in Armenia

ML Engineer

I worked at largest European tech companies and YC startups. I have ML education from a top uni. I have 8+ years of ML experience.

Working in large companies, I've trained large language models myself, which helps me to understand what makes an LLM tick. I worked on a web-scale RAG system at a major search engine company before this term was popular.

I am a generalist, proficient with Python, but also capable with Rust, C++, Javascript. I can serve as a fractional CTO, capable both as a leader and as a highly efficient individual contributor.

nkruglikov at icloud dot com https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolai-kruglikov https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01c8f478cd3c93ab65


It takes some sifting to find some really good “making” channels on YT. I’ve watched this video and while I applaud author’s efforts, I don’t consider this type of content “good enough” to be subscribing. It felt overproduced and with too epic tone, while giving too little detail on the process, the experimentation, the actual solution (he said ratios are important, but what ratios did he use) and no thorough explanation of what is happening.

The golden standard is Applied Science channel, of course, but there are some smaller channels with similar vibe.


Please share the smaller channels if you have them handy! I’m very interested.


A few I like:

https://www.youtube.com/@Blondihacks - A (primarily) model engineering channel with a focus on hobby / home precision machining

https://www.youtube.com/@daliborfarny - A guy working to keep the art of nixie tube manufacturing alive

https://www.youtube.com/@StuffMadeHere - Silly / improbable projects mostly for fun (e.g. basketball hoop that you can't miss a shot)


I'm not sure how similar these are to what you're looking for, but:

- https://www.youtube.com/@primitivetechnology9550 - Primitive Technology, with John Plant. Non-narrated, but subtitled, videos of him building houses & other useful things with just clay, wood & stone. It's not a recreation of how people lived, but of what people might have done - he does research and tries to apply what he's learned to the materials available.

- https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections - Technology Connections. Less making, and more explaining, this has deep dives into (usually) older technology. There's something like six hours explaining how a particular pinball machine works, and I think his most recent video about VHS-C has already made it to the top of HN earlier this week.


Second Primitive Technology (don't forget to turn on the captions). Don't recommend Technology Connections to be honest (a lot of talk to the camera, I prefer videos that show things that can't be conveyed via text).

Here's the channels I like, in no particular order:

- https://www.youtube.com/@TechIngredients Thumbnails and titles are clickbaity, but don't let that fool you. One of the most thorough channels. Polymath like Applied Science.

- https://www.youtube.com/@HuygensOptics Optical Systems and connected topics from a veteran of the field

- https://www.youtube.com/@Borgedesigns Designing 3d-printed tools

- https://www.youtube.com/@Nighthawkinlight Like Applied Science, but trying to do stuff with easily acquirable materials

- https://www.youtube.com/@AdvancedTinkering Chemistry and vacuum tech

- https://www.youtube.com/@ExcessiveOverkill Hardware projects, one of the biggest is controlling an industrial robot arm, but others are cool too

- https://www.youtube.com/@SamZeloof Reached home-made semiconductors

- https://www.youtube.com/@projectsinflight Trying to reach home-made semiconductors

- https://www.youtube.com/@christopherhelmke Building industrial 3d-printed parts sorting system

- https://www.youtube.com/@MariusHornberger Most thorough woodworker

- https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingTaps Like Applied Science, but with more free time

- https://www.youtube.com/@benmakeseverything Cool hardware projects

- https://www.youtube.com/@ancientjames Holograms

- https://www.youtube.com/@NileRed More entertaining than educational, but a prominent chemistry channel

- https://www.youtube.com/@BenEater Classic: made computer on a breadboard

- https://www.youtube.com/@theCodyReeder Like Applied Science, but more outdoors type; builds a Martian-like base

- https://www.youtube.com/@colinfurze A welding guy with extremely high energy, builds underground garage

- https://www.youtube.com/tomstantonengineering Hardware projects mostly about flying stuff

- https://www.youtube.com/@mymechanics Machining guy restoring things; currently restores a car by individually handling every nut and bolt (yes)

- https://www.youtube.com/@HyperspacePirate Hardware / Chemistry projects, made liquid nitrogen with disassembled AC units in a long-running series of attempts


Chris from Clickspring, the canonical YouTube machinist who has been slowly but accurately reconstructing the Antikythera mechanism for about one decade now.

- https://www.youtube.com/@Clickspring


Not small but he's a regular amateur: RestoreIt [0]. I love this guys channel.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/c/RestoreIt


When I think about problems with Customary Units, I think not about decimality, but that the units are too disconnected. For example, there are BTUs and HPs that mean the same thing (power), but are wildly non-connected both to each other and to other units. While in SI, a Watt is Joule per second, a Joule is Newton times meter, a Newton is kilogram times meters per second squared, and voila, you have arrived at basic units. Your AC, your PC and your electric car have power consumption in the same units, and the same units are on your bill. This is what valuable, and not Greek prefixes.


Don’t see it mentioned in the comments, but the names liblupa and libpupa are based on a penis joke.

The joke is this:

Lupa and Pupa received their paycheques, but the accountant messed up, so Lupa received payment belonging to Pupa, and Pupa — belonging to Lupa.

“To Lupa” sounds like “dick head” when translated to Russian. The ending reads as if Pupa received a dick head, which means that he didn’t receive anything.

I am not sure, but it could that the entire post intent is to get English-speaking folks to discuss “libpupa” and “liblupa”.


See also ArchiveBox, which supports YT saving as well, but can save other content too

https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox



That's interesting. If I'm not mistaken, it feels more like some old VGA text modes than it does like the old xterm fixed font though.

It's kind of pleasing shapes at 12 point for me, but too small on my screens... incrementally scaling up to 13,14,15 seems to degrade the quality.


Very cool! Your page could do with some screenshots, but even now, I hope I’ll remember about your project next time I break out my Quest 2.


I’ve come to hate Notion with passion because of its abysmal performance, but I still pay for it for my small business. My non-technical employees use it as a database for clients, tasks, payments etc. I tried to research replacements several times, and still haven’t found anything good. Sometimes I wonder if I should build my own.



Do you use Anytype productively?

I have it installed but I find it kind of daunting compared to Notion for organizing my notes, it seems to want to be a more abstract kind of 'knowledge management system'.

I just opened it again and it popped up a 'What's New' with phrases like 'Relations are now properties' and something about 'types', 'templates', 'sets' and 'queries', I really just want to take notes and organize them in a straightforward hierarchy.


Anytype recently made a significant change to the way certain types of information are categorized and related-- which resulted in the "What's New" note you saw. That's just unfortunate timing on your part and was a one-off change that's long been in the works. Not a regular occurrence.

I will say Anytype (and the like) can come off daunting at first, depending on your specific use case. Especially if you're just using it for notes/info/etc, I would recommend not getting too lost in examples and templates. Just make something simple for your purposes using the built-in types. (The "notes" type should suffice for you.)

Then as it evolves over time, you can expand and elaborate as needed. But trying to dive straight into the deep end and create some overarching master system right off the bat will definitely leave you feeling overwhelmed and questioning whether it's worth it.


I just gave it a try again, unfortunately I couldn't really figure it out, my issues were these:

The Notion import didn't work correctly, I've got tons of links to 'missing pages' and messed up formatting – fine, this I can live with.

I want to see my hierarchy of pages and jump through them intuitively like I would in Notion, instead on the left sidebar there is something called 'widgets', one of them is called 'Pages'. This does not show all my top level pages, instead it seems to show all pages, regardless of how 'deep down' they are, and it also only shows a maximum of 14, so it's kind of useless for me.

Same with navigating through pages, I want to be able to click through to

  /Projects/Some Project/foo/bar
And then quickly go back to 'Some Project' or 'Projects' again through a breadcrumbs style navigation at the top.

That's how the file system and Notion and most things on my computer work and I like that I don't have to think about it or learn some system to use it, it seems to me that Anytype just fundamentally doesn't work that way, it appears to treat pages (or objects) as nodes in a graph, with links and backlinks, which doesn't really fit with my way of thinking.

Not the software's fault, I'm sure some people like this style of knowledge organization but it's not for me I think.


These concepts have been copied directly from Notion.

I’ve found Anytype to be more streamlined. I’m highly familiar with Notion though, so adapted easily.


Fair enough, maybe it's the way they are surfaced that makes them hard to parse to me – I may just have to give it another shot


Most intriguing thing in that vein I've seen: https://thymer.com (haven't used it, am not affiliated, just looked promising in a demo video esp. on performance grounds)


Hey thanks for mentioning us!

With Thymer we really care about performance, but Thymer is also end-to-end encrypted because we don't want to compromise on privacy. And it's real-time collaborative and offline first.

Thymer has optional self-hosting. Then you can upgrade (or not) at your own leisure, or intentionally stick to an older version you like better. Enshittification is a big problem in our industry. We've all been burned by it -- we certainly have -- and being able to opt out of a "new and improved!" version is a real feature.

Thymer will also be very extensible. Today we launched our plugin SDK: https://thymer.com/plugins and https://github.com/thymerapp/thymer-plugin-sdk/ with a bunch of examples. With Thymer you will be able to "vibe code" the very simple plugins and with VSCode/Cursor you can make more complex plugins with hot-reload.


Looks like org mode for the masses


I really like Notion’s information architecture (in particular the top index pages) and its multi-user capability.

I tried some other tools like Confluence and Obsidian but like you say, there seems to be no match from a UX perspective.

Do I love Notion? Definitely not. Would I change to another tool with the same feature set? Instantly.


If you like Obsidian and want it to be multiplayer you might be interested in Relay [0] (shameless plug).

There are also plugins like make.md [1] that are focused more on making the UX feel more like notion.

[0] https://relay.md

[1] https://github.com/make-md/makemd


Interesting product. What do you use for the backend sync? I see CRDT so I assume Y.js?

I’m building a Y.js sync server: https://github.com/nperez0111/teleportal


Yeah, we use yjs and a fork of y-sweet [0]. We have a custom-built control plane that allows us to support many different types of relay server configurations (including self hosting, multi-tenant, per-relay, per-document) and optimize for cost.

Your project looks cool -- especially sub-document support -- thanks for sharing

[0] https://github.com/no-instructions/y-sweet


I'm in the same boat. Since they decided to bundle in their AI features with their core product (at only a 30% price increase!), I've been looking for an exist route. But finding a single collaborative text editor + database designer replacement has been difficult.


> I wonder if I should build my own.

Please consider improving one of the existing open source solutions before doing this: XWiki, Nextcloud, wiki.js...

There's advanced stuff that already exists and we could use some cooperation to get better instead of another competitor in a crowded space.

(I work for XWiki SAS - you can also pay them to build what's missing for you)


NocoDB perhaps? It's not a document-focused system, but you said they use it more as a database.

https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb


There are many suggestions already let me through in one more: Affine : https://affine.pro/

You can self host too if you like. Not all features as Notion but comes very close. Seems more private too compared to Notion.

I am also looking for more private and secure Notion alternatives. My company doesn’t allow using Notion.

I like templates, tasks, scrum etc. which I use for personal use. But I am reluctant on saving any personal information in it.


Bummer performance is a problem for ya. We've worked on it a ton over the past year or two and generally performance should be much better across the board. Feel free to email me (username @ makenotion.com) if you have example pages that are slow you're willing to share. thanks!


I used a lot for organizing my personal projects, endup changing to Microsoft Loop for client stuff. And Obsidian for personal stuff.


The performance really is abysmal. I started using it years ago and the change from the early days has been drastic.


outline - https://getoutline.com is pretty good and you can import all your notion spaces too.


Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: