Hacker News: istjohn

New comment by istjohn in "uBlock Origin is giving up the fight to keep ads off Facebook"

istjohn — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:52:42 +0000

I recently perused Marketplace, and it appears to be so thoroughly infested with barely disguised scams, bogus prices and other garbage as to be usable by only the most intrepid and determined shoppers.

New comment by istjohn in "Tiny black holes may be exploding stars across the Milky Way"

istjohn — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:51:15 +0000

According to physicist Sean Carroll, "hypothesis" and "theory" are interchangeable as the words are used by practicing scientists.

New comment by istjohn in "AI companies spend record sums on Washington lobbying"

istjohn — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:21:40 +0000

First, the inability to coordinate with the candidate on marketing doesn't strike me as much of an obstacle to SuperPAC effectiveness. Second, the Supreme Court ruled this summer that political parties cannot be prevented from coordinating campaign spending with candidates in NRSC vs FEC.

New comment by istjohn in "US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during airport search"

istjohn — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:57:44 +0000

Perhaps a way to avoid this would be to have the duress pin trigger not a device wipe, but a device encryption with a long, pre-set key that you would store in a safe place when setting up the duress pin. Then you haven't destroyed the evidence, but the data is irretrievable without your cooperation. Also, if you don't actually have the key saved, it would in fact be destroyed, but the prosecutor would have to prove that you don't have the key saved somewhere.

New comment by istjohn in "A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]"

istjohn — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 16:27:53 +0000

Bowline isn't great for safety-critical applications, especially when not under constant load.

New comment by istjohn in "Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV"

istjohn — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:22:36 +0000

"The car is designed for urban settings and has a top speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour."

New comment by istjohn in "I Stored a Website in a Favicon"

istjohn — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:44:54 +0000

I found the writing engaging and enjoyable to read.

New comment by istjohn in "EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices"

istjohn — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:07:24 +0000

It's the saying, "It's easier to ask forgiveness than get permission."

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/06/19/forgive/

New comment by istjohn in "Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M"

istjohn — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 02:02:30 +0000

Fringy parts like the POTUS?

New comment by istjohn in "Pre-Modern Armies for Worldbuilders, Part I: Why They Fight"

istjohn — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:29:25 +0000

Edit: The prominently displayed title of the blog is "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry." It's precisely what it says on the tin.

He's a military historian writing for a popular audience who naturally get much of their intuitions from pop culture. Of course he's going to find unrealistic elements in creative works. I've never seen him dismiss the overall value of a work due to these unrealistic elements. I enjoy having my misapprehensions acquired from pop culture corrected by an expert. I imagine many of his loyal readers first discovered him through one of his critiques of military depictions in The Lord of the Rings like I did. If you don't enjoy that, he's just not for you. No need to yuck my yum.

New comment by istjohn in "Plants can sense the sound of rain, a new study finds"

istjohn — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:37:09 +0000

They did better drinking a placebo than swishing and spitting a beverage with real sugar, so no.

New comment by istjohn in "Edit store price tags using Flipper Zero"

istjohn — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:17:21 +0000

I'm absent minded enough to accidentally do this on a bad day. I haven't yet, to my knowledge.

New comment by istjohn in "Unfolder for Mac – A 3D model unfolding tool for creating papercraft"

istjohn — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:16:55 +0000

From another comment: https://pepakura.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura_designer/

New comment by istjohn in "NHS staff refusing to use FDP over Palantir ethical concerns"

istjohn — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:28:04 +0000

...in the air

New comment by istjohn in "NHS staff refusing to use FDP over Palantir ethical concerns"

istjohn — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:27:21 +0000

I notice you are using the phrase "constitutional law" now, where as the original question was whether the UK can be said to have "a constitution."

The oddities of this "duck" go far beyond its lack of entrenchment. It also lacks form and definition in the way that a puff of smoke lacks form and definition. It includes such nebulous elements as common law, unwritten convention, and even legal commentary of various law scholars. It's also said to be in constant flux as it evolves over time.

It may be a useful abstraction within the context of UK law to refer to this amorphous blob as the "constitution," but for anyone unfamiliar with the UK's system of government, to say the UK has a constitution is grossly misleading in as much as all of the conclusions the listener will draw from that assertion will be false. It's like characterizing a chicken eating grain out of your hand as being "attacked by a dinosaur." The chicken may belong to the clade "Dinosauria" and may have inadvertently pecked your palm in its feeding frenzy, but in as much as it communicates information contrary to fact, it is a confabulation. At best, it's a lawyer's lie, to coin a phrase.

New comment by istjohn in "NHS staff refusing to use FDP over Palantir ethical concerns"

istjohn — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:45:48 +0000

From your link: "This enables the constitution to be easily changed as no provisions are formally entrenched."

It doesn't look like a duck, it doesn't quack like a duck, yet you insist that this goose-shaped creature is a duck.

New comment by istjohn in "FTC action against Match and OkCupid for deceiving users, sharing personal data"

istjohn — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:19:58 +0000

What exactly will improve if men are more blunt and non-apologetic?

New comment by istjohn in "AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is more worrying"

istjohn — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 23:50:33 +0000

It would be journalistic malpractice to avoid reporting on anything that the government does that the government isn't willing to admit publically to doing. It's possible to ascertain facts, even of the actions of the US government, to a level of certainty sufficient to report them as facts, even when the government disputes the facts.

New comment by istjohn in "Miscellanea: The War in Iran"

istjohn — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:41:55 +0000

The Dem leadership is almost as pro-Israel as the Republicans. Schumer will go through the motions of condemning the war, but inside, he's tickled pink. Remember, it was a Dem president who supplied bombs for the Israel genocide in Gaza for two full years.

New comment by istjohn in "Miscellanea: The War in Iran"

istjohn — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:29:40 +0000

If Trump truly cared about nukes, he wouldn't have torn up the treaty in his first term. This war's about catering to Israel and distracting from the Epstein files.