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August 22, 2025

Hacker Newsletter #759

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. //Mark Twain

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Issue #759 // 2025-08-22 // View in your browser

# Sponsor


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# Favorites


Good system design
// seangoedecke comments →

Web apps in a single, portable, self-updating, vanilla HTML file
// hyperclay comments →

How to Draw a Space Invader
// muffinman comments →

Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale
// derwiki.medium comments →

The Enterprise Experience
// churchofturing.github comments →

Sunny days are warm: why LinkedIn rewards mediocrity
// elliotcsmith comments →

Dicing an Onion, the Mathematically Optimal Way
// pudding comments →

Candle Flame Oscillations as a Clock
// cpldcpu comments →

How to Build a Medieval Castle
// archaeology comments →

Journaling using Nix, Vim and coreutils
// tangled comments →

# Ask HN


Why does the US Visa application website do a port-scan of my network?

Do you still bookmark websites?

#Classifieds


Company updates made simple. Follow stocks, get AI summaries. //assetroom.net

Simulate your financial future and chart a course toward your best life //projectionlab.com

Airtable - Build with AI that means business //airtable.com

Real-World Kanban, Second Edition - Do Less, Accomplish More with Lean Thinking //pragprog.com

# Show HN


Obsidian Bases // help.obsidian.md comments →

I built an app to block Shorts and Reels // scrollguard.app comments →

Lazy-brush – smooth drawing with mouse or finger // lazybrush.dulnan.net comments →

OpenMower – An open source lawn mower // github.com comments →

Whispering – Open-source, local-first dictation you can trust // github.com comments →

Doxx – Terminal .docx viewer inspired by Glow // github.com comments →

# Code


AGENTS.md – Open format for guiding coding agents // agents.md comments →

The future of large files in Git is Git // tylercipriani.com comments →

Left to Right Programming // graic.net comments →

Code review can be better // tigerbeetle.com comments →

Vibe coding tips and tricks // github.com comments →

Eliminating JavaScript cold starts on AWS Lambda // goose.icu comments →

PlutoPrint – Generate PDFs and PNGs from HTML with Python // github.com comments →

# Data


Lessons learned from building a sync-engine and reactivity system with SQLite // finkelstein.fr comments →

I replaced vector databases with Git for AI memory (PoC) // github.com comments →

Why Semantic Layers Matter (and how to build one with DuckDB) // motherduck.com comments →

The lottery ticket hypothesis: why neural networks work // nearlyright.com comments →

ChartDB Cloud – Visualize and Share Database Diagrams // app.chartdb.io comments →

# Design


An interactive guide to SVG paths // joshwcomeau.com comments →

Epson MX-80 Fonts // mw.rat.bz comments →

Elegant mathematics bending the future of design // actu.epfl.ch comments →

The Pleasure of Patterns in Art // thereader.mitpress.mit.edu comments →

Grug Design // grug.design comments →

# Books


Occult books digitized and put online by Amsterdam’s Ritman Library // openculture.com comments →

How to Think About GPUs // jax-ml.github.io comments →

Ted Chiang: The Secret Third Thing // linch.substack.com comments →

We’re Not So Special: A new book challenges human exceptionalism // democracyjournal.org comments →

The Cutaway Illustrations of Fred Freeman // 5wgraphicsblog.com comments →

Mindless Machines, Mindless Myths // lareviewofbooks.org comments →

# Working


AWS CEO says using AI to replace junior staff is 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard' // theregister.com comments →

I forced every engineer to take sales calls and they rewrote our platform // old.reddit.com comments →

Fractional jobs – part-time roles for engineers // fractionaljobs.io comments →

How to stop feeling lost in tech: the wafflehouse method // yacinemahdid.com comments →

What sets great managers apart // hellmayr.com comments →

# Learn


Fairness is what the powerful 'can get away with' study shows // phys.org comments →

Simulating and Visualising the Central Limit Theorem // blog.foletta.net comments →

Tiny microbe challenges the definition of cellular life // nautil.us comments →

A Visual Exploration of Gaussian Processes // distill.pub comments →

An interactive guide to sensor fusion with quaternions // quaternion.cafe comments →

I did 98,000 Anki reviews. Anki is already dead // miguelconner.substack.com comments →

# Watching


GDPR meant nothing: chat control ends privacy for the EU // youtube.com comments →

We started building an AI dev tool but it turned into a Sims-style game // youtube.com comments →

Building a watch from scratch in a Brooklyn basement // kottke.org comments →

# Startup News


Sequoia backs Zed // zed.dev comments →

Pixel 10 Phones // blog.google comments →

Databricks is raising a Series K Investment at >$100B valuation // databricks.com comments →

# Fun


I was curious about spherical helix, ended up making this visualization // visualrambling.space comments →

Prime Number Grid // susam.net comments →

My Retro TVs // myretrotvs.com comments →

The joy of recursion, immutable data, & pure functions: Making mazes with JS // jrsinclair.com comments →

Citybound: City building game, microscopic models to vividly simulate organism // aeplay.org comments →

__END__

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