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Is OpenAI's 4o Snake Oil?

https://gametorch.app/blog/snake-oil
1•gametorch•1m ago•0 comments

It's Time Hospitals Communicated as Clearly as Domino's

https://reviews.ofb.biz/safari/article/1321.html
1•trbutler•2m ago•0 comments

Debugging Azure Networking for Elastic Cloud Serverless

https://www.elastic.co/observability-labs/blog/debugging-aks-packet-loss
1•bumblehean•2m ago•0 comments

Series C and Scale (Cursor)

https://www.cursor.com/en/blog/series-c
1•fidotron•2m ago•0 comments

Agent Runtimes > Agent Libraries: Modus v1

https://hypermode.com/blog/modus-v1-agent-runtime-production
1•iamtherhino•4m ago•0 comments

AI and User Privacy: Here's What You Need to Know

https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/blog/ai-privacy-data-chatgpt/
1•miles•5m ago•0 comments

Trump preparing large-scale cancellation of grants and funding for California

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/politics/trump-california-federal-funding
3•ar813•5m ago•0 comments

Smithy API models for all AWS services

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/introducing-aws-api-models-and-publicly-available-resources-for-aws-api-definitions/
1•stich0602•11m ago•0 comments

Show HN: I built a tool called BitCache that backs up Entra BL keys locally

https://github.com/pawellakomski/bitcache
1•pawellakomski•11m ago•1 comments

Show HN: Lightweight Durable Workflows Built on Postgres

https://github.com/dbos-inc/dbos-transact-python
1•qianli_cs•11m ago•0 comments

Medroid: AI Doctor, Always on Call

https://app.medroid.ai/join-founders
1•raja159•13m ago•1 comments

Country Meal

https://kivuhub.net/job/street-child-country-meal-manager-kinshasa/
1•aganzeeliud•13m ago•0 comments

How do you wash your clothes in space?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/57751277
1•thunderbong•15m ago•0 comments

Blood clotting discovery opens "whole new chapter in vascular biology"

https://newatlas.com/disease/new-blood-clotting-mechanism-hemolysis-necroptosis/
3•Brajeshwar•23m ago•0 comments

America tried to ban fake photos in 1912

https://www.freethink.com/the-digital-frontier/fake-photo-ban-1912
3•Brajeshwar•23m ago•0 comments

Some thoughts on human-AI relationships

https://reservoirsamples.substack.com/p/some-thoughts-on-human-ai-relationships
1•tosh•24m ago•0 comments

The Chicxulub Asteroid Impact and Mass Extinction

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1177265
3•simonebrunozzi•29m ago•0 comments

Wise goes to the US. Will its founder's supercharged voting rights follow?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2025/jun/05/wise-goes-to-the-us-will-its-founders-supercharged-voting-rights-follow
2•colinprince•31m ago•0 comments

First Map Made of a Solid's Quantum Geometry

https://www.quantamagazine.org/first-map-made-of-a-solids-secret-quantum-geometry-20250606/
1•rbanffy•31m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Poseidon, an Oncall AI agent (open source alt to resolve.ai)

https://github.com/harshadmanglani/poseidon
1•harshadmanglani•32m ago•0 comments

Big Mouth Billy Bass now talks back with AI

https://boingboing.net/2025/06/06/big-mouth-billy-bass-now-talks-back-with-ai.html
2•cmsefton•34m ago•0 comments

Ask HN: Will something replace transformers and GPUs in the next 10 years?

2•melenaboija•36m ago•1 comments

Breakthrough in search for HIV cure leaves researchers 'overwhelmed'

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jun/05/breakthrough-in-search-for-hiv-cure-leaves-researchers-overwhelmed
13•colinprince•36m ago•0 comments

Indirect strengthening through reactivation of contextually bound memories

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-025-00250-5
1•PaulHoule•37m ago•0 comments

Defence Tech: Collective Property, Private Control

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n10/laleh-khalili/collective-property-private-control
1•mitchbob•37m ago•1 comments

Odd Couple: Gas Giants and Red Dwarfs

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/06/06/odd-couple-gas-giants-and-red-dwarfs/
3•JPLeRouzic•39m ago•1 comments

Fresh strain of pro-Russian wiper flushes Ukrainian critical infrastructure

https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/06/pro_russia_wiper_ukraine/
3•rntn•39m ago•0 comments

Show HN: A minimal analytics tool, using Redis and Node.js

https://github.com/orangecoloured/analog
1•rckt•41m ago•0 comments

JPMorgan has had enough of grads accepting future-dated roles elsewhere

https://fortune.com/2025/06/06/jamie-dimon-jpmorgan-fire-talent-who-accept-roles-within-18-months/
2•thehoff•42m ago•1 comments

Show HN: Lovable/Bolt Security Scanner

https://vibe-eval.com/
1•alex_mia•43m ago•0 comments
Open in hackernews

Open Source Distilling

https://opensourcedistilling.com/
72•nativeit•15h ago

Comments

ghushn3•12h ago
Definitely be careful before embarking on home distilling. In many parts of the world (and many parts of the US) it's pretty strictly illegal.
landl0rd•12h ago
A lot of my family has lived in a West Virginia valley since before the Revolutionary War. For most of that time, we have held a generalized contempt for the law and those who would tell others how to live their lives.

I think for other people, it's similar, and we either don't care or appreciate the fact that it's a way to rebel.

fc417fc802•12h ago
Any such law displays a gross disrespect for basic freedoms. The more people that ignore it the better. You'd do as well to outlaw sewing your own clothes.
dpacmittal•12h ago
I mean it's illegal to grow marijuana or synthesize LSD at your home in most of the world.
fc417fc802•12h ago
Note that I don't take issue with the UAE banning home distillation.

If marijuana is fully legalized in a given jurisdiction yet it remains illegal to grow small quantities of it I would feel similarly. Still, I don't think it's quite as culturally ubiquitous throughout history as alcohol is, at least in the west.

LSD is an entirely different ballpark. I don't personally think US drug law makes much sense but I will acknowledge that something like LSD lacks the broad historical acceptance that alcohol enjoys in the west. Mushrooms would be a much better example if you want to take the discussion in that direction.

ocimbote•11h ago
Distillation, when done improperly, can result in very toxic substances. It requires care and craft and since alcohol is not only a drug but a transformed product (like LSD or meth), it is perfectly fine that some state-level supervision apply: anything ranging from plain interdiction to controlled production. Note that the level of control usually depends on potential health issues and culture, it is not usually strictly bound to the product itself, since we can observe variations from region to region.
jajko•10h ago
People frequently get blind or just die from home made booze when distilling and not checking for methyl alcohol. Quite common on poor parts of the world but also ie eastern Europe and russia.
fc417fc802•9h ago
Misinformation. Unless you happen to own a GCMS you don't check for methanol. Rather you discard the heads and the tails from a fractioning still because that's where stuff that isn't ethanol comes out. In the modern era you'd use a digital thermometer for this task.

Someone suffering methanol poisoning from DIY distillation is equivalent to someone landing in the hospital after failing to cook his chicken all the way through. It's simple incompetence, likely due either to blatant disregard for safety or else to attempting to wing something based on only the most topical of knowledge.

genewitch•7h ago
Isn't the remedy for methanol ingestion... Ethanol? Just keep drinking?

I have two distillers and I've never distilled alcohol. I do distill water in my eletric one. I turn it on and leave the condenser part off until bubbles form, I blow the steam off to ensure it steams again, place the top on, set the timer for 3 hours and shut it off then. The pre-boil ostensibly let's the petroleum and the like escape, and the stopping before dry prevents anything with a higher phase temp than water from distilling.

I use it for coffee machine, kettle, and ice machine, just to cut down on maintenance.

Ten years ago I bought 3 copper five gallon distillers, and gave two to my in-laws and kept one for myself. I tried to distill water in it but it was not coming out clean, so I packed it away till I had time to use it outside on a propane burner after purging it with alcohol or some non-copper eating acid.

btreecat•6h ago
> Rather you discard the heads and the tails from a fractioning still because that's where stuff that isn't ethanol comes out.

This is also incorrect. It comes out throughout the distillation process, with a higher % concentration in the tails, but an over all reduced volume due to lower % distillate.

> Someone suffering methanol poisoning from DIY distillation is equivalent to someone landing in the hospital after failing to cook his chicken all the way through.

It's more like taking raw packs of chicken and rubbing your eyes. That has to be intentional.

fc417fc802•9h ago
By that logic it would be acceptable for the state to regulate all sorts of common culinary techniques. Note that those are regulated in a commercial setting. I'd have no objection to similar regulations pertaining to restaurants that wanted to serve alcohol that was distilled, brewed, or otherwise prepared on site. In that context it's equivalent to the regulations pertaining to the handling of raw meat.

Similarly, perhaps the state ought to regulate the use of refrigerators in a residential setting since various failure modes there can easily land you in the hospital.

Enough people have contracted botulism poisoning by storing chopped garlic under oil in their fridge that the FDA has a warning about it on their website. So I suppose that would also be acceptable to regulate? Or perhaps just cooking oil in general? After all, it's quite flammable and people commonly start house fires when frying things.

While we're at it, perhaps canning things at home ought to require a permit?

The standard that "thing could pose a hazard therefore regulation is acceptable" is far too broad a criteria as it applies to approximately everything that exists and entirely disregards individual freedoms.

> It requires care and craft

A fine whiskey? Sure. The equivalent of vodka? Don't be ridiculous.

> alcohol is not only a drug but a transformed product

It most certainly is not. Distillation concentrates something that is already there.

Alternatively, fried eggs are a transformed product but at that point the term as used is so absurdly broad as to be rendered entirely useless.

kopadudl•9h ago
The pure process of Distillation does the concentration of something that is already there. But is it always pure when amateurs do it? Can you guarrantee that nothing goes wrong, that the product is tested for contaminations every time?
fc417fc802•9h ago
Do you swab your pan fried chicken and culture to test for salmonella after cooking it? Or do you just follow the recipe and basic food safety guidelines? Perhaps you judge doneness by a combination of fillet thickness and cook time? Or perhaps you go to the trouble of using a digital thermometer just to be safe?
denkmoon•9h ago
Why does that matter if it is not for commercial distribution?
btreecat•6h ago
> But is it always pure when amateurs do it?

Yes. Arguably, because amateurs are not cost bound, they tend to make a less "containinated" product due to the way the collection and blending works.

You discard the foul flavors and harse volatiles that commercial folks keep for cost.

>Can you guarrantee that nothing goes wrong, that the product is tested for contaminations every time?

Life isn't about that kind of guarantee. You don't practice the same level of food safety at home as you're required to maintain in a professional environment.

Life, is about risk acceptance.

lo_zamoyski•1h ago
> A fine whiskey? Sure. The equivalent of vodka? Don't be ridiculous.

Given the variability of quality and flavor among vodkas, this is not quite true. Water mineralization, number of distillations, type of filtration, terroir and remaining "impurities" from the specific mash used. All of these affect the character of the vodka just as they do any spirit. That's why no one takes vodka distilled a million times seriously, if you can even call it vodka.

(And that excludes things like barrel-aged vodkas, like the venerable starka, or a well-made bimber which cannot be accused of lacking character.)

btreecat•6h ago
> Distillation, when done improperly, can result in very toxic substances.

You're talking methanol right? That's a byproduct of fermentation of fruit.

>It requires care and craft

It really doesn't, it's a very basic process.

>and since alcohol is not only a drug but a transformed product (like LSD or meth),

Not sure what that means, could you clarify?

>it is perfectly fine that some state-level supervision apply: anything ranging from plain interdiction to controlled production.

It's really no different than brewing beer or wine, then discarding the water. For personal consumption it shouldn't be an issue.

drob518•3h ago
Let’s be honest, what the government really cares about are the excise taxes on whiskey.
yial•10h ago
I don't agree with "strictly" illegal.

1 - it depends on what you're distilling.

https://www.distillate.org/laws/list

2 - while federally illegal to just get a still and start churning out spirits, ... https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/d... a free permit and some paperwork (okay a lot of paperwork) lets you.

Disclaimer: I don't hold any licenses or permits related to alcohol, but as a holder of a half dozen other ones, I believe it would be surmountable to do this legally if you really want to.

drob518•3h ago
You can do it legally, but I think the point is that many people think that home distillation is like home brewing of beer (legal and fairly easy as long as you don’t sell it). It isn’t. The Feds control distillation much more strictly, and as the site you referenced pointed out, even possessing an unlicensed still in some states is illegal.
schwartzworld•6h ago
I think you’d struggle to find much evidence of home distillers getting busted. If you’re not selling the stuff, you’re probably not the TTBs concern.
diggan•4h ago
> find much evidence of home distillers getting busted

Again, depends heavily on the country. Some countries don't care about the theoretical/actual impact of committing a crime, and will chase and charge you regardless if it's for private use or not (which, kind of also makes sense). In my personal experience, Sweden is one of those countries, I'm sure there are more out there.

drob518•3h ago
This falls into the “how would they know about it?” category, but that doesn’t mean it’s not illegal or that you wouldn’t get prosecuted if they happened to find it. Sort of like growing your own personal stash of marijuana.
Carrok•3h ago
We know it’s illegal. We don’t care.
01100011•9h ago
> For example, I think a lot of us don’t want to sit in front of a still for 30 minutes waiting for it to come up to temperature at the beginning of a distilling day.

Idk, I find driving a still to be pleasurable. To each their own.

Hot ethanol seems to have the refractive index to make it sparkle like a diamond. I recommend trying distilling if you like to brew things. It's a fun hobby.

Loughla•5h ago
I have always wanted to set up an old timey whisky still in my woods on the creek. I have no idea how to make a still.

Any way you could point me toward a reliable source for how to build and operate one? I don't trust the results from blind googling anymore.

hidingfearful•2h ago
looking for the snarky link between "blind googling" and blindness caused by drinking improperly distilled alcohol.
dylan604•2h ago
I'm really at a loss as to the why distilling needs anything requiring OSS. It's worse than my washer/dryer/dishwasher wanting/requiring WiFi access. You put your mash in a vat to ferment. You bring that mash to boil in the still. You collect the output.
dmos62•16m ago
iSpindel is cheaper than a manual hydrometer and it's automatic (and thus safer for the cultures). If you don't want to track/collect data about the fermentation or whatever, then don't, but many find it practical and pleasurable.

https://opensourcedistilling.com/ispindel/