Hacker News Reader

blondie9xon Spiders and ants inspire metal that won't sink

Would be awesome to see this done on a model boat to prove out the concept.

blondie9xon Uber Sinks to New Record Low as IPO Share Lockup Expires

I think Lyft and Uber hurt public transit. There has gotta be a better way to make American cities more livable and accessible without adding additional car traffic.

Buses, denser house, better urban planning, metro rail and subway additions are the way we need to go like Asia and Europe. Uber and Lyft are not doing well in Europe and Asia because leaders realize they make traffic worse and are trying to focus on zoning and transit instead.

blondie9xon World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency

I think the issue is that people feel hopeless. A lot of people probably wonder what’s the point of anything or programming in general if the planet itself is currently under siege.

I think it’s hard to know what to do as a software engineer which is what most of hacker news readers are.

The most we can really do right now is live as sustainable as possible and lead sustainable lives.

What is kind of sad is many of us are chasing higher comp all the time and workin at companies whose missions we really don't align with, when sustainable lifestyles probably require much less than we think we need.

blondie9xon The Global Fertility Crash

I think less people sooner will help us lower greenhouse gas emissions. We need to support efforts to educate people and help with family planning. We should also encourage people to have less kids in an effort to stabilize our ecosystem.

Less population could lead to a lower GDP or it might not. If worker productivity and automation rise as population falls the GDP decline could be offset. This is something we need to consider especially when considering the initial statements of this article.

blondie9xon PG&E turning off power to protect against fire has created a new disaster

Battery backup with solar generator would more than be enough for most homes and residences in California.

blondie9xon PG&E turning off power to protect against fire has created a new disaster

Climate change is worsening the droughts that cause fires as well as the winds that spread them. Turning off the electricity is one of the only ways until are the transmission lines are buried. But it might be safe to say every residence and apartment building etc should have a battery back up anyway and renewable energy installed. If this were so grid electricity would be a moot point and technically we would not be dependent on grid electricity.

blondie9xon Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

This becomes a bigger topic but if those people never had worked together they probably wouldn't have met and more over is that a initiated out of convenience or pressure of having to date or hang out with a co-corker because they are always around and you have to see them frequently or daily?

What happened to meeting people naturally outside of a forced setting?

blondie9xon Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace

Well said. Very well said.

blondie9xon CME Group Statement on Vanity Fair Article

Literally one sentence response. Why so little? If it’s patently false prove it.

blondie9xon ‘This Did Not Go Well’: Inside PG&E’s Blackout Control Room

Confirmation that fire in south of California is electrical related. Electricity was not turned off in south. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-13/saddleri...

blondie9xon ‘This Did Not Go Well’: Inside PG&E’s Blackout Control Room

Wildfires were prevented in the North of California where this occurred. The South of California was not spared and the Saddleridge wildfire still rages. I think yes more backup power and staffers are needed at community centers but these black outs are an important way to save lives.

blondie9xon The NBA Feels a Backlash in China After a Tweet Supporting Hong Kong

Why can't Hong Kong just vote then we can end these protests? The people could vote for a leader who wants closer ties and one who wants more autonomy but let them vote and have a say in the matter. I do not think voting will lead to secession but maybe to a sense of freedom and the ability to influence direction of country.

blondie9xon Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions

The biggest challenge is short flights. Those under 3 hours. These are terrible for the environment on a per mile basis. The problem is that short flights being cheap is often an excuse for not building trains that could compete and exceed efficiency of air travel. Look at SF to LA project and the amount of flights along that route.

blondie9xon Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions

Carbon offsets are completely useless. https://features.propublica.org/brazil-carbon-offsets/inconv... there are better ways to protect the environment.

blondie9xon Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions

I work remote and can pretty much be anywhere anytime working. But I try to be content and focus on where I chose to live. To build relationships and deeper connections to the local community. I try to do one trip a year max by plane and when I go its usually for longer periods of time. We should travel less and focus more on the place we call home.

When people tell me they love to travel. I reply why? It's usually I want to get away or I'm sick of where I am now in my life. Try to understand this feeling deeper and think about how you can better structure your life to appreciate the moment and where you choose to build yourself and your community. People also sometimes describe travel as a sort of escape. It's important to try and understand that feeling deeper. Why do you need to escape from your life as it is now?

blondie9xon Genetically modified mosquitoes breed in Brazil

This is the biggest problem with gene modification. In regards to food and animals. If the experiment or area the modification is used is not very very carefully controlled the risk of spread globally in a closed planetary ecosystem is very high. You therefore have insane risk of introducing the modification to the entire population.

blondie9xon Estimates that mineral levels in vegetables have dropped by up to 90% since 1914

Almost impossible to eat healthy these days. Even if you think you’re eating healthy you might not be. We aren’t getting as many probiotics, minerals, and vitamins from fruits and vegetables. This is terribly unfortunate. We need to find a way to use land more effectively and give our soil and plants enough time to establish themselves so the nutrition content is sufficient and normalized.

A solution might be less land for herding cattle and more land for planting vegetables and fruits that might take more time to cultivate.

blondie9xon China sows disinformation on Hong Kong using porn accounts on Twitter

Come on China. Let Hong Kong be free. Let them vote and let them choose their government. 讓他們選他們自己的政府。

blondie9xon Fires Globally Have Declined 25% Since 2003

Exactly. One of the reason fires decline is because there is less to burn. Most of the major forests have already been wiped out at spots more susceptible.

blondie9xon YouTube blocks recording of public domain Schubert/Liszt composition

Where do you get that piano visualizer? Looks helpful for learning and playing.

blondie9xon Yes, I’m Feeling Bad About Climate Change. Let’s Discuss

"The news is bad. That’s not negativity or pessimism; that’s a cold, hard reading of the situation, much like an honest cancer diagnosis from a doctor." This is how I feel. Sometimes I am down about and feel like all could be for naught, that existence is pointless if we do not sustain the planet.

blondie9xon The most frequent 777 characters give 90% coverage of Kanji in the wild

This is kind of common knowledge. JLPT 4 then 3 then 2 then 1. Done

blondie9xon The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

What’s most scary is this. If the food can still be produced in a climate we have injured, will it even be nutritious? The answer is unfortunately no in most cases. Over farming leads to soil being turned over too much and plants that do not produce fruits and vegetables with vitamins. Another bad finding is high atmospheric carbon levels drive rice malnutrition. If rice then what else? And now a worsening climate is leading to plant extinction also. This is double bad news.

blondie9xon Dow plunges more than 950 points after China devalues its currency

Just wish China government would agree to the demands on intellectual property and tech patents transfer. Getting to a deal could be really easy if China stops the intellectual property and transfer requirements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–United_States_trade_war

blondie9xon Empress trees absorb about 103 tons of carbon a year per acre

Company information for those interested - https://worldtree.info

blondie9xon Seattle Faces Backlash After Easing on Crimes Involving Mental Illness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw

blondie9xon France to tax flights from its airports, airline shares fall

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/climate/airplane-pollutio...

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/1/11/1817711... emissions-travel

blondie9xon California Earthquakes Disrupted HF Propagation on West Coast

I'm not following does this mean the Earthquakes are connected in Vancouver and Los Angeles?

blondie9xon France to tax flights from its airports, airline shares fall

About time. Traveling is killing the planet. One of major causes of climate change. We need to take it seriously. I'm glad France is willing to take a bold and brave step to support the environment.

blondie9xon Germany records hottest June temperature

Too much traveling. Too much consumption. Not enough minimalism. Not enough contentment. Government promises, minimal actions. I'm not bitter, I'm being realistic. 2018 3rd highest annual mean growth rate in CO2 of all time. https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/gr.html

We need to urgently implement solutions now. They are controversial but necessary to protect humanity and keep the planet culpable for future generations. We know we need less people and birth control, less consumption, and a goal of carbon neutrality. How do we get there?