Hacker News: ortusdux

New comment by ortusdux in "Finland investigate Google over destruction of 250k trees"

ortusdux — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:08:32 +0000

A friend worked in the US tree cutting permit process. There were two main goals behind the permits (as I understand it):

1) To double check the harvest was not going to affect things outside their property (neighbors, land slides, erosion, etc), or special govt. interests on their property (endangered species)

2) To maintain their significant tax break. The break was for owning forest land, and you needed a plan to replant successfully.

Keep in mind that these are mostly 'working forests' that are more akin to wheat fields than wild forests.

It sounds like the issue was insufficient analysis of #1, resulting in excessive water run-off to neighboring privately owned property.

That being said, it could also be #2. The same friend worked on 'conversion' permits, wherein the owner asked to turn forest land into a residential or business property, and special considerations had to be addressed.

New comment by ortusdux in "DoorDash to acquire Instacart"

ortusdux — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 15:09:20 +0000

The DoorDash subreddit is an interesting read. Lately, users are reporting being sent to retail stores to work for 30 minute stints. One anecdote: a person described taking a $25 gig that amounted to going to a Target and stocking one specific brand of shampoo. The stockers there had already filled the shelf, so he took a bottle down and then took a picture of himself putting it back.

New comment by ortusdux in "Rising rates of colorectal cancer found in nearly all age groups"

ortusdux — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:49:29 +0000

How are screening methods these days? As I understand it, colonoscopies care a small risk, which tends to cause doctors to not recommend them for fully asymptomatic individuals.

New comment by ortusdux in "Tesla Semi catches fire on I-880"

ortusdux — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 15:40:27 +0000

Are battery fires like this more damaging to the road surface vs a diesel fire?

New comment by ortusdux in "Radio-tagged Monarch butterflies"

ortusdux — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 23:41:51 +0000

I release ladybugs every year and that seems to help. You can buy them online if they are hard to find locally.

New comment by ortusdux in "Moderna and Merck say their mRNA cancer vaccine cut death, recurrence by 42%"

ortusdux — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 22:16:06 +0000

This has everything to do with mRNA vaccines effects on cancer reoccurrence. The COVID vaccine just happens to be the most common and therefore most studied.

New comment by ortusdux in "Moderna and Merck say their mRNA cancer vaccine cut death, recurrence by 42%"

ortusdux — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 21:40:22 +0000

I'm way out of my depth on this topic, but my understanding is that studies have shown that several currently approved mRNA vaccines cause a similar reduction in these cancers. Moderna's goal with this trial was to show their tailored vaccine outperformed a COVID vaccine (for example), and my assumption from the stock dip is that smarter people than I were not convinced.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09655-y

New comment by ortusdux in "America has lost 200k of jobs in media, film and the arts. How much is AI?"

ortusdux — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 01:41:16 +0000

It's purely anecdotal, but the word I've heard from the industry is that the number of sfx and animation jobs had stayed the same, but the bids are coming in much much lower. The example was $500k jobs were now coming in around $50k.

New comment by ortusdux in "Hand-bent after 3D printing, Oberdoerfer and Krebs' Bend chair"

ortusdux — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:22:49 +0000

There are some fun thermoforming techniques that use molds to reshape quick-printing flat designs. I've been meaning to try combining the technique with the method where you print onto tissue paper, cloth, or the like. It would make for a great demonstration for kids as you could print and form a flyable plane in a few minutes.

https://makerworld.com/en/models/3258748-thermoformed-pumpki...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4X6KYlQ7YQ&t=61s

New comment by ortusdux in "The engineering that allows articulated buses to bend"

ortusdux — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 20:08:14 +0000

My college years did not include all that many hangovers, but I distinctly remember not enjoying this effect one morning.

New comment by ortusdux in "Wayland desktop for Linux with skeuomorphic design"

ortusdux — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:25:30 +0000

Please tell me it has coffee ring stains and spiral lined notebooks.

Epic Games is bragging about their new store being vibe-coded

ortusdux — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:40:37 +0000

Article URL: https://www.destructoid.com/epic-games-store-ai-vibe-coded/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50093849

Points: 4

# Comments: 1

New comment by ortusdux in "Submarine cable resilience"

ortusdux — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:38:32 +0000

Reminds me of the Tom Scott video on the cable singe that leverages the moiré effect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d99_h30swtM

Netflix Lays Off 6%, About 1k Jobs, in Biggest Cutbacks to Date

ortusdux — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:32:12 +0000

Article URL: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/netflix-layoffs-1000-employees-1236911239/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50088332

Points: 20

# Comments: 2

Ukrainian drones hit Russia's top data centre in attack on AI ambitions

ortusdux — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:26:37 +0000

Article URL: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ukrainian-drones-hit-russias-biggest-data-centre-2026-10-14/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50088261

Points: 7

# Comments: 0

Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for AI Assisted Music Streaming Fraud

ortusdux — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:36:00 +0000

Article URL: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/north-carolina-man-sentenced-18-months-prison-super-intelligence-assisted-music

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50059868

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by ortusdux in "Solar panels that plug into your wall"

ortusdux — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 15:29:24 +0000

It's also important for the male plug prongs to not be live when unplugged.

New comment by ortusdux in "Yandex Takes a Second Data Center Hit in 48 Hours"

ortusdux — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:39:54 +0000

Snowball's chance in hell of getting a project off the ground that involves breaking ground on hundreds of data centers spread out across the country.

New comment by ortusdux in "Yandex Takes a Second Data Center Hit in 48 Hours"

ortusdux — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:30:24 +0000

From reddit - "Right now, Yandex's biggest services are down: taxis, delivery, and Alisa. Moscow is paralyzed; it's impossible to order a taxi. Orders aren't going through."

https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1x1q...

New comment by ortusdux in "US imposes sanctions on ICC hours after former judge wins Nobel Peace Prize"

ortusdux — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:00:36 +0000

I opened the news and almost threw my phone after reading just the first two headlines - ICC sanctions and televised executions.