Hacker News: Ostrogoth

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Supply chain concerns increase risks for US power grid"

Ostrogoth — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:36:21 +0000

https://archive.is/dlq1V

Supply chain concerns increase risks for US power grid

Ostrogoth — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:34:36 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/magazine/national-blackout-power-electricity-outage.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344732

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Sun Clock"

Ostrogoth — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:16:44 +0000

I picture day cycle in a single 24 hr counterclockwise loop. I’m always interested to learn about other people’s internal mental image frameworks! So fascinating.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Sun Clock"

Ostrogoth — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:12:22 +0000

I picture annual calendar the almost the same way (counterclockwise), although its an asymmetrical oval, and months have associated colors (i.e. December navy blue, January maroon/brown, February ice blue, March true maroon…August golden or wheat yellow). I don’t know why, but that’s been my mental image since childhood.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Civilian plane crash in New Mexico tied to military GPS blocking"

Ostrogoth — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 20:58:27 +0000

I tend to agree. After reading the events that lead to the crash, there does seem to be a lack of experience and critical thinking. Crash location is 33.60682, -105.35674, approximately 10 miles approach from northeast to runway 33.466583, -105.521560. They allegedly had visual on runway lights before jamming resumed. Seems like they were likely unfamiliar with the terrain, and descended too low on approach, crashing into the mountain ridge line. Obviously that’s compounded by the gps jamming, but shouldn’t they have known the relative location of the aircraft based on speed and altitude?

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Civilian plane crash in New Mexico tied to military GPS blocking"

Ostrogoth — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 20:46:56 +0000

I’ve spent a lot of time exploring that area of NM, and it’s incredibly rugged or desolate terrain, with low population levels that are very dispersed. Mostly ranches and wilderness.

There is a reason why the military does exercises there.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "America Is Now a Rogue Superpower"

Ostrogoth — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:30:14 +0000

China buys Russian oil via pipeline and tanker, so they’re not entirely dependent on Gulf crude. They also have more levers to pull at the state level to reduce civilian demand on petroleum. Along with current electrification/alternative energy efforts, that could be a significant reduction in demand. Finally, China has operated nuclear subs for decades, and is actually building a nuclear aircraft carrier. China likely does not think it can compete head-to-head with the US in a conventional naval confrontation, and has invested heavily in missile and drone technology, along with other asymmetric capabilities. It would certainly be painful if the US took over the Persian Gulf, but likely not debilitating.

I did find it interesting that in both Venezuela and Iran, Chinese radar and air defense did not hold up so well, but they’re at least getting a lot of real world test data from it.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "How Iran is making a mint from the current war"

Ostrogoth — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:43:41 +0000

The problem is European countries have been on a path towards reducing local refineries, and replaced with imports from Gulf States. ~50% of jet fuel, and up to ~25% of diesel was sourced from the Gulf States, which is now blockaded by the war or offline.

Agree with you that refined products shortage will have the most economic impacts. Gulf States were also the global swing supplier of refined products, with ~20% of waterborne cargos. With Asian refineries (China/Japan/South Korea) also dependent on heavy/medium crude feedstock stuck in the Gulf, fuel production is getting hammered right now from both sides. Countries with local refining capacity will temporarily weather the storm a bit better, but with how interconnected global trade is, short fuel supply will impact everyone, even if its indirectly through higher costs of shipping/transportation/manufacturing/fertilizer, etc.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Student beauty and grades under in-person and remote teaching"

Ostrogoth — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 18:10:43 +0000

Spec ops tend to be more averaged sized, with denser builds (as opposed to bulkier muscle mass)(1). Although, quick caveat, take a look at old photos of Vietnam War era special forces vs modern late GWOT; the difference in average muscle mass is rather stark.

Historically, military selection emphasized calisthenics and load carrying capacity (body armor/weapons/rucks) + endurance. Although modern assessments have somewhat shifted towards weightlifting components, calisthenics/rucking are still a major focus. There is generally a disadvantage with height, where longer limb length creates more leverage to overcome, which is a disadvantage in both calisthenics and moving external weight around.

Average size is ~5’10” @ 180lbs at selection

(1) https://sofprepcoach.com/special-forces-selection-body-compo...

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Oracle may slash up to 30k jobs to fund AI data-centers as US banks retreat"

Ostrogoth — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 18:52:43 +0000

One potential knock-on impact of the strait being effectively closed, is that at some point the gulf states will be forced to shut-in production as local storage fills up and production can’t be exported. That combined with war damage to critical transport/export infrastructure will cause a lag where production can’t meet global demand even when the strait re-opens. Turning oil wells back on is not like flipping on a light switch.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "US asked Ukraine for help fighting Iranian drones, Zelensky says"

Ostrogoth — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:14:39 +0000

To add to your comment, ~20%-25% of global oil production passes through the AG (Iran is only ~4% of current global production) @ ~21mbpd. The longer that oil can’t get out (Saudi’s have a 5mbpd pipeline to red sea, but only 2mbpd loading capacity), the quicker it will erase the current oil glut and eat into inventories. Most of the discounted oil China has been buying from Iran/Russia has actually been going into inventory. The strait itself is a narrow channel, and the main risk is mines and underwater drones. Sinking a few tankers in the strait would cause a lot of headaches.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "US asked Ukraine for help fighting Iranian drones, Zelensky says"

Ostrogoth — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:01:33 +0000

Ukraine has been using cheap interceptor drones (models Sting/Bagnet/etc) combined with sensor networks to intercept slower prop driven Geran-2. Then Russia upgraded to jet engine on Geran-3, with higher speeds that are more difficult for prop interceptors to catch. Ukraine switched back to using machine gunners from aircraft to help take those out until they develop faster intercept drones.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for "Armageddon,""

Ostrogoth — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 05:05:50 +0000

Having grown up in churches that began to embrace NAR tenets in the 90s-00s, this particular eschatology gained a foothold across a wide swath of denominations from non-denom/charismatic/baptist all the way to methodist/CoC. In my experience it’s less a retreat from society, and more of a particular strain of religious fundamentalism that seeks to draw a line in the sand against “secular” culture. Most NAR organizations are lead by a “prophet” or leader who followers believe directly hears from God (aka a new apostle). A predominant theme among NAR churches is increasing christian influence in government (i.e. “7 Mountain Mandate” for example). I also recently learned about catholic integralism, which shares similar dominionist goals with NAR, and has gained momentum in the US.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Georgian wine culture dates back, uninterrupted, approximately 8k years"

Ostrogoth — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 07:34:06 +0000

You can also find orange (or skin contact) wine in the US at smaller boutique natural wine shops, which are becoming more common. Orange wines are cultivated in Sonoma and other wine regions in the US as well.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales"

Ostrogoth — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:32:28 +0000

>If you really need something bigger renting a trailer or truck is dirt cheap

It’s neither convenient nor cheap to rent a trailer in much of the US. Major cities have options, rural areas less so. Full disclosure I have a mid-sized pickup, but I recently looked into renting a trailer for a landscaping project that was above the weight limit for my truck. First issue I ran into was that there were not any trailers available for rent anywhere near my location. Second issue was that after factoring in driving distance + rental cost + dump fees, it was ~ the same price just to pay a junk company to haul the materials…and it was not cheap. Anecdotally, my pickup was cheaper than most other vehicle options at the time I bought it, my commute is short (so fuel economy is less an issue), and as a homeowner I use the bed to haul something at least once/month (Unfortunately kei trucks weren’t available at the time). So the cost/benefit/convenience factor of owning a truck over renting a trailer works for me. YMMV.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression"

Ostrogoth — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 09:36:39 +0000

> I find routine and habits over schedule and calendaring

I find the same. To keep myself honest, I built a simple habit tracking sheet (grid paper; 1 page/month; x axis list items; y axis list days). Keep it simple to reduce friction, no more than a handful of items, and try to stack habits and routines. Focus on anchor points of the day like sleep/work/exercise/nutrition/meal prep/tidy house. I’ll also track non-action items like coffee/alcohol/anxiety/video games/book reading, etc. Include the process as part of end of day wind down and reflection.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression"

Ostrogoth — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 08:30:31 +0000

I’m on this journey myself; learning to become more emotionally well-regulated, and kinder to myself. For years I had depression, and I used self-flagellation and self-loathing as drivers to motivate myself to do better. In work, hobbies, fitness, relationships…everything. I would unfairly criticize, disdain, and lash out in anger at myself, in ways I would never treat another person. My baseline emotional state skewed negative, and I’ve realized I was suppressing or dissociating from emotions entirely. It took a while to realize I wasn’t coping well. I made improvements over many years time, but sometimes still fall back into old default patterns. I finally hired a therapist to work through stuff and develop better emotional health and cognitive strategies. Started with just checking-in and recognizing emotions, and being more fair and kind to myself, which in turn helps to respond to everyday circumstances more objectively. It has helped immensely, and I don’t think I could have made the same progress without a neutral third party. I highly encourage anyone in a similar place to hire a therapist; it can be hard to find someone you meld with, but it’s worth it.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem"

Ostrogoth — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 04:14:36 +0000

I’ve experiencing this same issue on every flight now using APP3, and considering returning. Tried multiple different ear tip sizes. Reset and re-paired. It’s not just pressure changes, as it occurs at steady altitude in addition to ascending and descending. I’m very surprised Apple didn’t catch this issue by testing the ANC on aircraft more extensively during product testing, since that is an extremely common use case for ANC headphones. They also generate weird popping/thumping noises while running, or tinny echoes sometimes while scratching my head. Hopefully there is a software fix. AP1 ANC worked just fine (until case failed to charge left earbud).

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Why haven't local-first apps become popular?"

Ostrogoth — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:31:16 +0000

Thanks for recommending. I was not aware that a fork of Organic Maps had been created, or that longtime contributors to OM had concerns about the project.

New comment by Ostrogoth in "Why haven't local-first apps become popular?"

Ostrogoth — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:15:45 +0000

Another vote for Organic Maps. I use it as a lightweight maps app for backcountry or traveling in foreign countries where I don’t have a sim card. You can also record tracks in the app, or import .gpx files. In airplane mode it has low impact on battery consumption.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out iOS Star Chart app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/star-chart/id345542655) functions entirely offline. Recently used it while camping, and it just needed a GPS coordinates fix to adjust sky map to location.