Hacker News Reader

solarengineeron Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

Ordinary citizens were bombed in Caracas. There are videos of such bombings. Please do consider that the loss of the lives of ordinary people is a risk.

solarengineeron 2026 will be my year of the Linux desktop

Which laptop was this? Could you share the exact model?

solarengineeron FreeBSD: Home NAS, part 1 – configuring ZFS mirror (RAID1)

It would appear that your comment is about ECC itself.

The way I explain ECC RAM and file systems is "Since data is present in RAM before it is given to a file system driver to store and after data is retrieved by the file system driver, the data is only as good as what the RAM can assure." ZFS handles everything once the data is in its purview. It provides various features to ensure redundancies and recoverability in case the underlying hardware fails for any reason.

solarengineeron FreeBSD: Home NAS, part 1 – configuring ZFS mirror (RAID1)

ZFS: The last word in File Systems:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRoUC9P1PmA

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwCXVp_u86o

ZFS In the trenches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGJ9cYecdCc

Some good stuff here: https://www.youtube.com/c/Deirdr%C3%A9Straughan/search?query...

solarengineeron Ask HN: Pivot from SWE to What?

Assume that your cash runs out. What will you then do?

Until you rebuild your cash base and have some cash flow, please hit the pause button on seeking your calling. One's calling can change over the years, and multiple times at that. Those who have found their calling are able to continue in it because they also make money to sustain living in a self-supported society (there are no benevolent sponsors like Kings and rich donors anymore who would support artists for the remainder of their lives)

Even with AI coming in, there is a lot of need for those who can make maintainable systems and systems that do not lose data. How good are you with your basics? Solving the SICP can help you pick up new programming languages. Solving the leetcode and clearing system design interviews can help you land a paying job. Being AI-savvy can help you get jobs at places that have budgets for AI tools (and therefore also have budgets for other things like salaries).

solarengineeron I can't upgrade to Windows 11, now leave me alone

FYI, malware researchers deliberately infect a VM and then analyze the malware. Here are some present-day examples of such investigations using the open source Garuda framework: https://cysinfo.com/introduction-to-threat-hunting-using-gar...

solarengineeron Go ahead, self-host Postgres

I mentioned Hibernate and knex as examples of DB schema version control tools.

Incidentally, you can rsync postgres dumps as well. That's what I do when testing and when sharing test data with team mates. At times, I decide to pgload the database dump into a different target system.

My reason for sharing: I accepted that I was being lethargic about using postgres, so I just automated certain things as I went along.

solarengineeron Go ahead, self-host Postgres

Have you given thought to why you prototype with SQLite?

I have switched to using postgres even for prototyping once I prepared some shell scripts for various setup. With hibernate (java) or knex (Javascript/NodeJS) and with unit tests (Test Driven Development approach) for code, I feel I have reduced the friction of using postgres from the beginning.

solarengineeron Pricing Changes for GitHub Actions

If Github runs the control plane, I presume there would be some costs to that. Consider the costs of hosting a control plane that assigns jobs to runners, receives and processes heart beat signals, receives log streams, exchanges file artifacts with the runner. Such actions would take up compute for the Control Plane.

Are Control Plane costs already separately charged?

solarengineeron AIsbom – open-source CLI to detect "Pickle Bombs" in PyTorch models

Could those who have downvoted this comment please explain your reasoning? Are the rationale in the comment not valid?

solarengineeron Analysis finds anytime electricity from solar available as battery costs plummet

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulat...

10 new plants at USD 2.7 Billion each. They take six years to build. USD 2/Watt. They have standardised designs, have invested in grownig their manpower and know-how.

solarengineeron AI is bringing old nuclear plants out of retirement

The old nuclear plants should definitely be inspected and safety issues should be remediated.

I have found this page on nuclear waste to be informative https://world-nuclear.org/nuclear-essentials/what-is-nuclear...

Some points: - The generation of electricity from a typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power station, which would supply the needs of more than a million people, produces only three cubic metres of vitrified high-level waste per year, if the used fuel is recycled. In comparison, a 1,000-megawatt coal-fired power station produces approximately 300,000 tonnes of ash and more than 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, every year.

Important condition being "if the used fuel is recycled".

To quote from the article on recycling:

"Although some countries, most notably the USA, treat used nuclear fuel as waste, most of the material in used fuel can be recycled. Approximately 97% – the vast majority (~94%) being uranium – of it could be used as fuel in certain types of reactor. Recycling has, to date, mostly been focused on the extraction of plutonium and uranium, as these elements can be reused in conventional reactors. This separated plutonium and uranium can subsequently be mixed with fresh uranium and made into new fuel rods.

Countries such as France, Japan, Germany, Belgium and Russia have all used plutonium recycling to generate electricity, whilst also reducing the radiological footprint of their waste. Some of the by-products (approximately 4%), mainly the fission products, will still require disposal in a repository and are immobilized by mixing them with glass, through a process called vitrification."

There are various informative videos on Youtube that cover vitrification, where the remaining waste is melted with glass-forming materials at a high temperature, and the resulting matter can be safely stored in steel vats. In comparison to carbon from coal, the volume is miniscule.

solarengineeron Nuclear energy key to decarbonising Europe, says EESC

Someone did the homework on the time that it takes (Japan does it in 5 years): https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/nuclear-constructi...

One observation is that Small Modular Reactors could take much less time: https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/i/111356564/modular-...

Edited to add: China estimates 10 new reactors at 27 billion in total: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulat...

solarengineeron Nuclear energy key to decarbonising Europe, says EESC

As I understand it, the technologies exist by which home owners who already have solar can draw only as much grid energy as they actually need. There are multiple uses of nuclear energy beyond home usage and there would be those who do not have access to adequate solar or wind energy. Apartment residences in large cities are one of the target segments.

solarengineeron Nuclear energy key to decarbonising Europe, says EESC

Per the International Energy Association: What is the role of nuclear power in clean energy transitions? Nuclear power accounts for about 10% of electricity generation globally, rising to almost 20% in advanced economies. It has historically been one of the largest global contributors of carbon-free electricity and while it faces challenges in some countries, it has significant potential to contribute to power sector decarbonisation.

Why does it matter to energy security? Nuclear power plants contribute to electricity security in multiple ways by keeping power grids stable and complementing decarbonisation strategies since, to a certain extent, they can adjust their output to accompany shifts in demand and supply. As the share of variable renewables like wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) rises, the need for such services will increase.

What are the challenges? Nuclear power faces a contrasted future despite its ability to produce emissions-free power. With large up-front costs, long lead times and an often-poor record of on-time delivery, nuclear power projects have trouble in some jurisdictions competing against faster-to-install alternatives, such as natural gas or modern renewables. It also faces public opposition in many countries. Its uncertain future could result in billions of tonnes of additional carbon emissions.

https://www.iea.org/energy-system/electricity/nuclear-power

Do note: There are countries other than the US and France who license nuclear technologies and build-outs. There are innovative technologies by US companies that work with modern regulations and are faster and less expensive to build. We must stop citing US nuclear build times that are largely due to outdated regulations and hostile review processes.

solarengineeron Nuclear energy key to decarbonising Europe, says EESC

I am a small-time investor in renewable energy businesses, but I am also a believer in nuclear energy.

Consider a city like Mumbai that needs about 3.8 GW per day. One would need lots of windmills and large solar farms that would need to be positioned in a different state having more sunlight throughout the year. Mumbai often experiences cloudy weather and intermittent wind. I cannot imagine only wind and solar supporting the needs of Mumbai.

There are countries other than the US who do not take 20 years to build a reactor. Out-dated regulations, punitive paperwork, and perhaps poor project management are the reasons for the oft-cited delays in the US. Other countries complete their builds in 6 to 7 years. https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/chinas-impressive-...

solarengineeron Nuclear energy key to decarbonising Europe, says EESC

I am a former nuclear opponent. I used to think that nuclear waste was glowing green like they show in the Simpsons and in the Doom 1 game. Once I had access to the Internet in this century, I learned better.

Here are some sources of information that helped me understand the two oft-cited nuclear disasters better.

The World Nuclear Energy write up on the Fukushima incident: https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-sec...

Some information on the Chernobyl incident: The infographics show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uJhjqBz5Tk

https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-sec...

A lecture in the MIT Courseware on the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijst4g5KFN0

This lecture is way more informative where the professor explains how the workers took the system beyond the rated capacity as part of a test.

There have been many lessons learned, and the World Nuclear article linked above shares some of these.

Here is a writeup of the Three Mile Island incident: https://world-nuclear.org/Information-Library/Safety-and-Sec...

One regular complaint is the costs of nuclear energy. This is likely true in the US due to regulations that have not been revised for newer technology, but such high costs are cited around the world.

Likewise, the amount of waste and the danger of the waste is not well understood either, and certainly lots of education is needed here. For e.g., most people do not know that the volume of waste is limited and that the same waste can be reused in reactors of other designs.

I do believe that national ego issues get in the way of fixes. I believe that such ego issues got in the way of honest repairs (Fukushima) and timely action (Chernobyl). Certainly, nuclear inspections are still treated with suspicion and hostility, but in fact full transparency and integrity should be the norm.

Corruption and profit-centric thinking are two other problems that plague the nuclear industry. South Korea has had lots of corruption and shortcuts (https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/04/22/136020/how-greed...). One of the accusations in India against France was that France licenses outdated nuclear reactor technology despite having newer technology. I am unable to locate a link supporting this accusation.

With thorium reactors and Small Module Reactors, there are many modern solutions to safety.

ThorCon's Thorium Converter Reactor - Lars Jorgensen in Bali https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB1IrzDDI9g

Here is the full training by Thorcon on their reactors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkvEXm-rMW4&list=PLuGiwaUJYE...

We need to stop citing and quoting US-based costs and problems that are linked to outdated US regulations. There are other countries that have more modern regulations and modern technologies.

solarengineeron Fire destroys S. Korean government's cloud storage system, no backups available

Did you happen to notice interesting phenomenon like “the role becomes a rank”?

solarengineeron Fire destroys S. Korean government's cloud storage system, no backups available

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-quantum_cryptography

It is my understanding that current encrypted content can someday be decrypted.

solarengineeron QNX: The Incredible 1.44M Demo

One of the things that wowed me with that demo was the shutdown. It was real-time. Instantaneous.

solarengineeron I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

I use Microsoft TODO as a reminder and to not lose thoughts, but I primarly use text files to organise work backlog.

solarengineeron Why Did the Novel-Reading Man Disappear?

https://archive.is/gieHb

solarengineeron Could floating solar panels on a reservoir help the Colorado River?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Solar_Power_Project

"The Canal Solar Power Project is a solar canal project launched in Gujarat, India, to use the 532 km (331 mi) long network of Narmada canals across the state for setting up solar panels to generate electricity. It was the first ever such project in India. This project has been commissioned by SunEdison India."

solarengineeron Texas measles outbreak rises to 146 cases spanning more than 9 counties

I’m still reading this article https://www.nfid.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Call-to-Acti...

Note: I am pro-vaccination and I’m vaccinated against measles as well.

solarengineeron Type 1 diabetes reversed by new cell transplantation technique

( I am neither a voter in the U.S. elections nor do I have direct economic interests there)

Could you point me to an articulation that explains why arbitrarily purging (mentioned by your parent post) has been necessary ( mentioned by you)?

solarengineeron It is no longer safe to move our governments and societies to US clouds

Your question can be answered without giving away control and access to unauthorised and inexperienced auditors.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance has been missing. Too many decades of nepotism, insider trading, corruption ( starting with lobbying ), have led to the lack of transparency. The movie “The Big Short” has explained some of these issues.

solarengineeron Spanish 'running of the bulls' festival reveals crowd movements can be predicted

There are many who have not yet read the Foundation series.

solarengineeron Show HN: My C compiler compiled itself

FWIW, I liked your suggestion, the author’s explanation, And your follow on written understanding.

If someone’s technical article is submitted and they are themselves participating in a discussion out feeling insulted, then accusations of unsolicited advice are unfounded.

solarengineeron A Brief Intro to Clean Architecture, Clean DDD, and CQRS

An enjoyable read. Thanks!

solarengineeron Varlink – IPC to replace D-Bus gradually in systemd

One can view the binary log files using journalctl.

Per https://systemd.io/JOURNAL_FILE_FORMAT/, the benefits of the binary format are:

The systemd journal stores log data in a binary format with several features:

Fully indexed by all fields

Can store binary data, up to 2^64-1 in size

Seekable

Primarily append-based, hence robust to corruption

Support for in-line compression

Support for in-line Forward Secure Sealing

As a user system-administrator, I see the cryptographic checksum as a benefit of being able to show tampering evidence of on-system log files.