HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

JanezStupar

2,193 karma · joined June 30, 2009

www.janezstupar.com
submissionscomments
JanezStupar··on To Slow Global Warming, We Need Nuclear Power (Op-Ed)
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/germanys-gree...

When they have their surpluses - they are actually paying their neighbors to take power from them. I.e. they are selling it at a negative rate.

When the renewables are offline - they are paying a premium for electricity from fossil fuels.

While Germany does indeed _produce_ stellar amounts of renewable energy. They are completely dependent on their own and neighbors fossil power production.

Thus they can claim that they are "exporting" renewables. The turth is that their renewables infrastructure and the retarded system of incentives they have set up - result in one of the most expensive electricity prices in the world: https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/average-elect...

Notice how the more renewables a country has - more expensive the electricity is.

Why? Because renewables are really not all that ecological as the activists would like to claim.

Simply because renewables cause more problems than they solve. And the surplus resources spent (or rather wasted) on "green" energy are also a form of energy. Thus one can argue that "green" energy is actually a net contributor to pollution - due to the aforementioned externalities.

Until we get insane amounts of storage (which will also pose a significant potential for pollution) - green energy industry is actually contributing to problems.

And while you are sarcastic - current state of affairs is not due to common sense or economics. But due to politics.

JanezStupar··on To Slow Global Warming, We Need Nuclear Power (Op-Ed)
The point is that Germany is exporting energy when nobody needs it and is thus causing problems for the grid.

France exports energy when German solar cells and wind are in a dip.

My point is that German exports are peak surpluses that cause problems for the grid and French exports are on-demand because steel mills need to work when wind doesn't blow and sun doesn't shine.

But thank you for proving my point. Although you tried to obfuscate away the context.

Are you a renewables activist?

JanezStupar··on To Slow Global Warming, We Need Nuclear Power (Op-Ed)
Offcourse they are exporting - or more accurately, forcing the neighbours to deal with their green energy surpluses.

Context matters, a lot.

JanezStupar··on Hans Rosling doesn’t consider himself an optimist or pessimist but ‘possibilist’
And you concluding that insane incarceration rates are predominantly due to racism is called critical thinking?
JanezStupar··on Theranos and David Boies Cut Legal Ties
Have you considered the opposite? That perchance, Trump supporters may not be all the bad stuff some folks believe them to be.

And that you are being a sheep and taken advantage off, by smart Trump supporters?

Just asking.

JanezStupar··on Theranos and David Boies Cut Legal Ties
What do you mean?
JanezStupar··on We Tracked Down a Fake-News Creator in the Suburbs
How would government censorship and regulation help with the Rwandan genocide?

Or would the censorship actually help the perpetrators? I.e. by shutting down "fake news" reporting about the ongoing genocide?

JanezStupar··on We Tracked Down a Fake-News Creator in the Suburbs
Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments show us that "ordinary good people" are the ones who turn into monsters if you give them the right incentives/conditions.

What was one of major factors in bringing down the Soviet Union - was information campaign of which Radio Free Europe was a major part. While, indeed their policy was dissemination of truth. Undoubtedly it would have been seen as "fake news" by the Soviets.

While I have no idea what is the solution to this problem, I am pretty sure that censorship is the worst thing we can do.

Also consider - that the main stream media conglomerates have recently justified "fake news" sources by doing a horrendous job themselves.

JanezStupar··on No Evidence of Aloe Vera Found in the Aloe Vera at Wal-Mart, CVS
I have put forth an argument. It may be a bad argument, but it is the best argument I have.

In response - your first post was snark and condescension. Now you are doubling down with vague anecdotes and sending me to "go educate myself".

How about showing some good will and trying to present a honest critique or counter argument in 1-3 sentences.

I accept that you are morally and intellectually superior - no need to exert yourself asserting your dominance. Now put up, please.

JanezStupar··on No Evidence of Aloe Vera Found in the Aloe Vera at Wal-Mart, CVS
Yes, that is what dishonest, ax grinding anti-libertarians do constantly.
JanezStupar··on No Evidence of Aloe Vera Found in the Aloe Vera at Wal-Mart, CVS
I don't give a damn if Oracle is stupid, incompetent, malicious or all of the above. I decided to have no business with Oracle and they have no way of forcing me into a relationship with it.

If, however - Oracle were a government institution - then it could leverage its monopoly over violence to get me to do its bidding - regardless of what I thought of its services.

And as one goes through history, one notices that most if not all of the institutions that governments provide - have started outside of government, yet have been included into the scope of government. Either because the ruling party at the time saw it as a means of expanding their reach OR because people have observed that it would be cheaper/more effective to run these institutions "collectively" - where the state pops up immediately as an endeavor that is already done for the "good of all".

Unfortunately - no institution is ideal. And as we have seen time and again through history, all institutions succumb to corruption eventually. And being stuck with corrupt institutions is no fun at all.

I have no idea, how you maligned my argument into the garbage you presented. But I would argue, that you are actually presenting an excellent case for striving towards preventing dishonest people such as yourself from getting power over others. Thus while you undoubtedly think yourself an edgy cynic - you are merely solidifying my point.

JanezStupar··on No Evidence of Aloe Vera Found in the Aloe Vera at Wal-Mart, CVS
> This touches on one glaring problem with libertarian utopia. Their replacement for the evil gubmint is a host of other bureaucracies (giant consumer groups, a bunch of non-profits doing testing, insurance for everything, etc.) that presumably will have many of the same pathologies as the gubmint.

Which is kind of the point. Institutions can be functional or disfunctional. The only way to prevent disfunctional institutions bogging down the government is by not having the government run them in the first place.

The easiest way to deal with a dysfunctional institutions is by letting them die. Which is a lot easier when government is not involved.

Last but not least, there is also the element of freedom. One cannot opt-out of government and its institutions - without having to move or worse. While as proposed above - the possibility of opting out of institutions - is necessary for having any hope of not being stuck with corrupt institutions.

JanezStupar··on Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick
Indeed. But law is not a contract. Law is law. That is my only point.
JanezStupar··on Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick
If you are defining law of gravity in terms of "contract" then you are having some issues.
JanezStupar··on Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick
I am not against society or law. I am against as framing law in the manner GP did.
JanezStupar··on Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick
A contract you had no participation in drafting and never signed, yet you are compelled at gunpoint to uphold it.

Nice spin tho.

JanezStupar··on I Am Fully Capable of Entertaining Myself in Prison for Decades If Need Be
I would just like to note, that the gist of the problem with Hogan is that Gawker has been ordered to remove the said tape by a court and they refused to comply.

That is the real reason why they got obliterated in the end.

JanezStupar··on Researchers quantum teleport particle of light six kilometres
Particles are constantly randomly changing their state. Entangled particles change in tandem.

As the GP said - to find out whether a particular change of state was random or a signal, one would need to compare readings from both.

Readings cannot be sent faster than the speed of light. Thus preserving causality.

JanezStupar··on Gonorrhea Is Becoming Untreatable, U.N. Health Officials Warn
But you don't think it's possible that all the incentives are geared towards this kind of behavior?
JanezStupar··on Gonorrhea Is Becoming Untreatable, U.N. Health Officials Warn
Anecdotal observation. It is a public secret amongst farmers where I live.
JanezStupar··on Gonorrhea Is Becoming Untreatable, U.N. Health Officials Warn
Large agribusiness do other deplorable stuff - i.e. letting cows die and collecting insurance instead of treating them, etc...
JanezStupar··on Gonorrhea Is Becoming Untreatable, U.N. Health Officials Warn
Because all the incentives and subsidies are geared towards big agribusiness.

Small agribusinesses are hardly getting by.

JanezStupar··on A Generation Lost in the Bazaar (2012)
Except that the Brooks' chief architect is a person, who has the chops to build everything himself, but doesn't have enough time.

While the product manager in practice is usually a glorified secretary getting beaten by both management and engineering.

JanezStupar··on A Generation Lost in the Bazaar (2012)
This is so important. We all know beautifully "designed" API's or libraries.

The secret is that the "elegant" API design you see is usually the n-th iteration.

Growing code is much like growing trees. The tree grows itself, what it requires is that it is pruned and helped to reshape in a fashion that will allow it to stay alive for a long time and bear fruit.

But one needs to constantly prune the damn thing.

JanezStupar··on To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
And life of a landlord is all rainbows and unicorns?

Get real.

JanezStupar··on To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
Offering people a service of housing, without having them to deal with the complexities of property purchase, financing, transaction costs, maintenance and whatnot comes with it.

How dare they!

JanezStupar··on To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
Taxation at gunpoint is thievery, no amount of rhetoric can change that.

And don't get me wrong. I have no problems with participating in a community. I have a problem with government setting up barriers and maintaining a monopoly on community.

I have no apriori issue with government offering services, I have an issue with being forced to pay and consume those services, regardless of how (in)efficient they may be.

I am also very much aware that I am only at the end of a long line of people striving for a better future. And nearly all my personal efforts are directed towards fulfilling my obligation towards my forefathers as towards my descendants.

And resisting crazy talk about totalitarian governments as a savior for all our problems is a part of that.

Don't get me wrong - the manifesto above has hardly anything to do with your position, I am merely explaining my own position.

JanezStupar··on To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
And thus you are seeking rent from those with more property than yourself.

Fantastic.

JanezStupar··on To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
Your lack of self awareness is incredible.

How are you yourself different from the vilified "rent seeker"?

JanezStupar··on To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
You are simplifying to the level of dishonesty.
Page 1 of 29Next →