Hacker News: Simulacra

New comment by Simulacra in "Show HN: I simulated closing the Strait of Hormuz on real oil trade data"

Simulacra — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 01:22:45 +0000

This is very interesting, and it shows why the Strait is urgently in need of a back up. I don't know what that would be or what would be feasible, but I've seen a lot of people talk about an underground pipe.

New comment by Simulacra in "The Secret Origins of Amazon's Alexa"

Simulacra — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 20:52:01 +0000

https://archive.is/6p9Pn

New comment by Simulacra in "Microsoft deleted my account and OneDrive"

Simulacra — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:58:21 +0000

Someone who knows that there's absolutely nothing this guy can do about it. Maybe he could sue, but really if a major company like Microsoft, or Google, decides to delete all of your data, and doesn't want to give it back, there's really nothing you can do about it. We really do need a law protecting consumer's data from arbitrary deletion.

New comment by Simulacra in "Microsoft deleted my account and OneDrive"

Simulacra — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:57:14 +0000

Baby pictures.. That's really sad… Reminds me of when the executive editor of wired magazine, Matt Honan, trusted all of his baby pictures and movies to iCloud only for it to get hacked and have it all deleted. Always have that off-line back up.

New comment by Simulacra in "Leak of San Francisco Police Drone Footage Exposes Reality of Urban Surveillance"

Simulacra — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:52:58 +0000

I remember reading this excellent article on Bloomberg about a guy who started a company that uses Cessna's with high-quality cameras, and they fly over an area for hours, and then use that footage to rollback crimes.

They filmed everything. There's a video if you can find it where the man shows footage they took of a city in Mexico, where a murder occurred, and how they were able to roll back time and see the murder go down in real time.

It was really fascinating… In 2016.

At the time I imagined one day we would have blimps, or long range aircraft circling all major cities 24/7 doing the same thing.

Instead of planes, they are using drones…

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baltimore-secret-sur...

New comment by Simulacra in "Death of the Status Update: Why 55% of Americans Stopped Posting on Social Media"

Simulacra — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:03:44 +0000

It seems like so much of social media is just individuals shouting into the void.

New comment by Simulacra in "Auburn California Flock Surveillance Cameras Stolen and Dumped in a Canal"

Simulacra — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:29:19 +0000

Seriously: I'm actually surprised that more of these have not been attacked for their resources. As I understand it, 2 pounds of copper and 2 GB of RAM.

New comment by Simulacra in "Auburn California Flock Surveillance Cameras Stolen and Dumped in a Canal"

Simulacra — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:38:36 +0000

Don't think they were mate.

New comment by Simulacra in "Madison Sq Garden database tracks hundreds. Labels "LGBTQIA," & low/high "risk.""

Simulacra — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:51:44 +0000

When I worked in IT for the US congress (2012) the internal system that tracks constituents does the same thing. All offices uses it. "Black folks" was the most glaring odd label that I saw.

New comment by Simulacra in "Alibaba to ban Claude Code in workplace over alleged backdoor risks, source says"

Simulacra — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:38:28 +0000

He just lost another court case… I wonder if we're getting close to the government spending as much to prosecute the man than what Hollywood possibly lost..

New comment by Simulacra in "Alibaba to ban Claude Code in workplace over alleged backdoor risks, source says"

Simulacra — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:37:33 +0000

https://archive.is/bmyny

New comment by Simulacra in "Gun Mistakes in Fiction Writing: Handgun Edition"

Simulacra — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:34:32 +0000

I seem to recall reading that is basically what he did. He had good sources, he was an excellent writer, and a world class researcher.

New comment by Simulacra in "Gun Mistakes in Fiction Writing: Handgun Edition"

Simulacra — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:31:25 +0000

There's a rumor that Reagan very seriously asked his admirals repeatedly if it was true. I know he "couldn't put it down."

Tangentaly related observation, but Reagan may have been the only president to really pay attention to movies and entertainment for inspiration of future events, and possibilities. It was said that he had a similar reaction to War Games, and took it very seriously

New comment by Simulacra in "Gun Mistakes in Fiction Writing: Handgun Edition"

Simulacra — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:28:20 +0000

I'm sure it exists, but we need this for movies. Of all the things I wish the movie industry would do, removing the sound of racking a slide or pulling back a hammer...on an automatic.. is top of my list of things that need to absolutely go.

New comment by Simulacra in "The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online"

Simulacra — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:41:32 +0000

Government

New comment by Simulacra in "Is America becoming a gerontocracy?"

Simulacra — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 10:51:48 +0000

I'm not sure how I feel about this article, looking at the government, yes, it does resemble a gerontocracy given who the most powerful are. But I don't think that translates to the rest of society.

New comment by Simulacra in "World Cup fans frustrated by 'confusing and expensive' tipping culture in US"

Simulacra — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 10:37:34 +0000

Many Americans would agree. Tipping needs to go, it's proliferation has made dining out, among others, awkward, expensive, and ultimately dissuasive.

Frequent places that pay people responsibly and eschew tipping.

New comment by Simulacra in "A man was gifted his dream car by Kevin Mitnick, who he helped put in prison"

Simulacra — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 04:26:11 +0000

I also have Kevin Mitnick's business card and it is one of my most prized possessions. A great inspiration and influence on my life.

New comment by Simulacra in "Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)"

Simulacra — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 21:49:30 +0000

This would work only in a high trust, structured environment. I know at my job if we said this it would be met with a likely scolding not to assume anything and to ask for a YES.

New comment by Simulacra in "NSA chief says Mythos breached 'almost all' classified systems in hours"

Simulacra — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 21:44:58 +0000

I can find absolutely nothing in mainstream press to back up this claim. Does anyone have a reputable source?