Hacker News: mhb

Explanation for why we don't see two-foot-long dragonflies anymore fails

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:16:57 +0000

Article URL: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/leading-explanation-for-ancient-giant-flying-insects-gets-squashed/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47706386

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by mhb in "Help Keep Thunderbird Alive"

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:30:56 +0000

Yes. But this is not clever stuff. I'd expect the most simple-minded Bayesian filter to identify it.

Making Mail Armour

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:30:19 +0000

Article URL: https://www.lloydianaspects.co.uk/armourMaking/mailMaking.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47703490

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by mhb in "US and Iran agree to provisional ceasefire"

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:23:04 +0000

Surely you can steel man this yourself. Iran wants nukes. Iran has stated it would like to destroy the US and Israel. Israel is an outpost of Western democracy and our ally. Iran has missiles that can reach Europe. Iran is an ally of Russia and China. Iran wants to control the passageway for a big chunk of the world's oil. Cooperation between Israel and its neighbors would be a great asset to the world economy.

This is not comprehensive and maybe you can quibble with some of it, but it is not mysterious why we might care.

New comment by mhb in "Help Keep Thunderbird Alive"

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:17:07 +0000

Long shot, but I'll ask. For a while Thunderbird spam filter will work fine. Then, spontaneously, it stops working and starts showing me many which are obvious, identical junk. And after flagging them as junk, it doesn't seem to learn anything.

For when this happens, it would be nice to have an explicit (and easy) way to blacklist items. Creating new filters for each of them is too involved.

Helium Is Hard to Replace

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:54:46 +0000

Article URL: https://www.construction-physics.com/p/helium-is-hard-to-replace

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47703098

Points: 7

# Comments: 0

New comment by mhb in "Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? My quest to unmask Bitcoin's creator"

mhb — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:43:05 +0000

And it's always been a business.

New comment by mhb in "IDF admits Iran can keep firing missiles as long as war continues"

mhb — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:59:37 +0000

Huh? Iran has been shooting rockets at Israel for years. Oh, wait, Israel provoked Iran by being a successful non-Arab country.

New comment by mhb in "IDF admits Iran can keep firing missiles as long as war continues"

mhb — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:09:46 +0000

Israel never wanted to keep getting rocketed by Iran and its proxies. That didn't stop them.

Baidu Silent About Failure of 100 Robotaxis in Wuhan

mhb — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:49:53 +0000

Article URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2026/04/05/baidu-silent-about-failure-of-100-robotaxis-in-wuhan/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47660258

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

US commandos rescue downed F-15 airman in daring raid deep inside Iran

mhb — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:10:56 +0000

Article URL: https://www.timesofisrael.com/we-got-him-us-commandos-rescue-downed-f-15-airman-in-daring-raid-deep-inside-iran/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47648550

Points: 8

# Comments: 0

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:04:44 +0000

And on which sound stage were the moon landings staged?

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 03:29:52 +0000

Those Zionists are everywhere.

New comment by mhb in "Artemis II crew take “spectacular” image of Earth"

mhb — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 03:19:25 +0000

f/8 and be there?

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 02:54:59 +0000

The Myth of the All-Powerful Israel Lobby

https://www.thefp.com/p/coleman-hughes-the-myth-of-the-all-p...

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:53:24 +0000

Yes, puzzling. What might the difference be? Oh, Pakistan isn't devoted to "Death to America" and they're not actually firing rockets at Israel and killing Israelis.

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:26:35 +0000

> Their government saying "Death to America" is like Trump saying "We're going to bomb them back to the stone age!"

The only way these things are alike is not useful. It's true that they both said things. But everyone understands that, even though Trump is a reckless idiot, he is saying bellicose things during a military offensive; not that he plans to annihilate Iran with nuclear weapons.

The people in charge of Iran who are acquiring nuclear weapons actually intend to use them. Besides the nuclear weapons, the quantity of conventional weapons they are stockpiling is an existential threat to Israel.

I'm going to give the Iranians credit for understanding that the intention of the US is to mitigate the threat that its autocracy poses to other countries. But it doesn't really matter. They can't be allowed to develop nuclear weapons or pose an existential threat to Israel. Neither of those aims was going to be accomplished waiting for some sort of sea change effected by an unarmed citizenry oppressed by a ruthless regime.

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:32:49 +0000

So when you ask the IRGC and the ayatollahs why they hate the US, Israel, and the West, they say it's because of history from 1957? I'm thinking it has more to do with their interpretation of their religion.

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:25:43 +0000

This talk of the "rally-round-the-flag" effect is uninformed speculation since very little is exiting the country. Would they also have rallied around the flag if these same actions were taken when the initial protests occurred? It's not at all clear that the Iranians would ever be able to throw off their tyrannical government without outside help.

There is no rapprochement with people whose goal is to kill you and who don't mind so much if they die while trying.

New comment by mhb in "F-15E jet shot down over Iran"

mhb — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:09:31 +0000

They were violating the agreement. That is why it was torn up.

Why is the burden on us to disprove what they tell us they want to do and are taking actions to accomplish? When someone says they're trying to kill you and is actively working to make that happen, it is prudent to believe them.