Hacker News: psunavy03

New comment by psunavy03 in "The hidden engineering of runways"

psunavy03 — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:36:58 +0000

I wouldn't call it a "long time." MAGIC CARPET per se, especially as a default mode of operation, did not become mainstream until the last 10 years, and that's only for the aircraft that have it.

New comment by psunavy03 in "The hidden engineering of runways"

psunavy03 — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:21:11 +0000

Citation is my professional network as a former Naval Flight Officer who flew off aircraft carriers, and it's not the deckplates, it's the nonskid coating that goes on top of them. It's expected to wear and be replaced every so often, but when you have to do it more often than that, it becomes a pain logistically and operationally.

And the entire point of the system is to counter the dispersion the ocean provides, much like a Naval Aviator is already required to in order to trap successfully. You are literally flying through a very narrow window that is moving in three dimensions.

New comment by psunavy03 in "The hidden engineering of runways"

psunavy03 — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:00:25 +0000

I'm sure Google Maps has had to put their thumb on the scale in numerous instances. I recall reading articles about it "discovering" more optimal routes between Point A and Point B only to find things like the new "optimal" route being down a neighborhood street, and then the locals started squawking.

New comment by psunavy03 in "U.S. government has lost more than 10k STEM PhDs since Trump took office"

psunavy03 — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 18:58:36 +0000

It already is.

New comment by psunavy03 in "FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE"

psunavy03 — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 18:02:23 +0000

The DOD is not using "flagrantly using Signal." The Secretary of Defense, whatever his preferred pronouns are, is breaking the law.

New comment by psunavy03 in "The hidden engineering of runways"

psunavy03 — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 22:31:04 +0000

IIRC, there was a similar problem on aircraft carrier flight decks, where they had to induce some randomized amount of dispersion to keep the tailhook from hitting the same spot over and over again.

New comment by psunavy03 in "The Adolescence of Technology"

psunavy03 — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:15:50 +0000

People can't even have a conversation about any kind of societal issues these days without pointing at the other political tribe and casting aspersions about "what they really meant" instead of engaging with what's actually being said.

Forgetting that if you really can hear a dogwhistle, you're also a dog.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager"

psunavy03 — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:29:36 +0000

As a former Naval Flight Officer, it's somewhat ironic how the private sector is more "sir, yes sir" command and control than the military ever was, and they're the ones who stereotype servicemembers for being drones who can only follow orders.

The other thing I've seen incredibly less of in software than in uniform is a bias for action at all levels. Combined with understanding the mission, a mentality that "in the absence of being told what to do, I will act." Better to ask forgiveness than permission, etc. etc. So many people in the private sector just wait for the boss to push them around like chess pieces, and I can't understand how they're OK living like that.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Scientists identify brain waves that define the limits of 'you'"

psunavy03 — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:45:17 +0000

This is how these kinds of articles always go.

New comment by psunavy03 in "House vote keeps federal "kill switch" vehicle mandate"

psunavy03 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 19:21:38 +0000

Tell that to the Mujahedeen, the Taliban, the Viet Cong, Mao, and George Washington.

Just because the government has tanks does not mean "we have tanks and nukes, therefore we'll win" has proven true across military history.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Is liberal democracy in terminal decline?"

psunavy03 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:21:53 +0000

Yes. That's what the impeachment clause is for.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Is liberal democracy in terminal decline?"

psunavy03 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:21:08 +0000

The President made a nomination. The Senate refused it. It's the Senate's prerogative to deny confirmation to the nominee.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Is liberal democracy in terminal decline?"

psunavy03 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:07:23 +0000

The Supreme Court has told Trump to pound sand as often as it's upheld his policies. As dangerous as many of the things the Trump administration is doing are, there are other dangerous narratives out there, and the caricaturing of the Supreme Court is one of those.

There's a huge difference between "I disagree with this legal rationale" and "this court is illegitimate." Like it or not, every Justice on the Court is there legitimately. One of them via bare-knuckle hardball politics, to be sure. But according to the rules.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Tesla fined for repeatedly failing to help UK police over driving offences"

psunavy03 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:01:17 +0000

There's a great generalization that conveniently excuses you not having to engage with viewpoints you disagree with.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944) [pdf]"

psunavy03 — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:51:24 +0000

I frankly can't see how someone can look around at the world in 2026 and come to the conclusion that "military" == "automatically bad." There are bad actors in this world who would be more than happy to kill you and take your stuff because they feel like it, and these days some of them run countries.

New comment by psunavy03 in "25 Years of Wikipedia"

psunavy03 — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:47:41 +0000

"Bothsidesism" is a lie that is used to avoid criticizing one side when the other side is also bad. Just because one side is awful does not grant the other side a free pass to be immune from criticism or to get their way on everything. The idea of "bothsidesism" forces a false dichotomy and then forces you to pick a side, when there are almost always more than two choices. It's what partisans use to beat down people who say "I pick 'None Of The Above,' because you both suck."

New comment by psunavy03 in "25 Years of Wikipedia"

psunavy03 — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:58:28 +0000

"Bothsidesism" is a tired argument. Somehow if you don't think that one side of a debate is utter evil and the other side is as pure as the driven snow, you're engaging in "bothsidesism" if you acknowledge there are any shades of gray in the world. Which is a childish argument for anyone older than a high school sophomore.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales"

psunavy03 — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:15:04 +0000

> IMO the sort of person who wants a vehicle like Elon's dumpster has a strong overlap with Elon's politics. Basically everything about its design and marketing was aimed at the sort of person who is focused on presenting a masculine image, who thinks they're going to be in a war zone on their daily commute, who wishes they could drive through a crowd of protesters, etc.

Elon is an ass, but this is still the most crudely and childishly stereotyped thing I've read on the internet today. Congrats.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales"

psunavy03 — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:12:54 +0000

Until someone who hates Elon (not saying that's wrong per se) throws a brick through the window (which IS wrong per se) and you're on the hook for paying for it.

New comment by psunavy03 in "Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales"

psunavy03 — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:11:50 +0000

They may not have put it there because they were "self-conscious" about their "statement car." They may have put it there in an honest attempt to avoid having their car vandalized for something they had nothing to do with.