Hacker News: thinkcontext

New comment by thinkcontext in "Israeli firm BlackCore suspected of meddling in New York and Scotland votes"

thinkcontext — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 11:11:22 +0000

I confused BlackCore with Black Cube, a different Israeli private oppo research and dirty tricks group of former intelligence agents. They gained attention for their dirty campaigns against Harvey Weinstein's accusers, NSOs critics and Hungarian opposition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cube

New comment by thinkcontext in "Morningstar values SpaceX at $780B, half its IPO target"

thinkcontext — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 21:14:02 +0000

I'm extremely unlikely to click on a YT links without some decent context of what I can expect.

Driver, 87, dies after Tesla on Autopilot mode crashes into pond

thinkcontext — Sat, 30 May 2026 17:59:59 +0000

Article URL: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/05/29/tesla-on-autopilot-mode-crashes-into-pond-87-year-old-driver-dies/90319482007/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48338988

Points: 18

# Comments: 9

New comment by thinkcontext in "Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says"

thinkcontext — Sat, 23 May 2026 12:27:03 +0000

Another immigration policy that would have negatively effected Trump's own wife. Oh well, she got hers.

This could be a big deal for Big Tech. I wonder how personal experience of Musk and Huang will play into how they react.

New comment by thinkcontext in "Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says"

thinkcontext — Sat, 23 May 2026 12:22:37 +0000

Curious how the tech lobby will react. You would hope Musk and Huang might take their own personal experience into account.

Trump admin to force foreigners in the U.S. to apply for a green card abroad

thinkcontext — Sat, 23 May 2026 12:11:53 +0000

Article URL: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/23/nx-s1-5832399/trump-administration-green-card-abroad

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48247007

Points: 5

# Comments: 1

New comment by thinkcontext in "Elon Musk has lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI"

thinkcontext — Mon, 18 May 2026 23:38:58 +0000

I mean, I really dislike what Musk has become but SpaceX has brought about a huge leap in access to space. Last year they launched more than the rest of the world combined, including the rest of the US. They now own more operating satellites than the rest of the world combined. When the rest of the Western world's launchers have had problems over the last few years (Ariane, Vulcan, EU Soyuz, New Glenn, Antares) SpaceX has been able to absorb their payloads with relative ease rather than waiting many years for other arrangements. They've saved the US many $Bs in launch costs by undercutting the incumbent monopoly. Cheaply and easily reusing a rocket was thought impossible, now it's routine and every rocket maker on earth is attempting to copy them.

New comment by thinkcontext in "WHO declares Ebola outbreak a global health emergency"

thinkcontext — Sun, 17 May 2026 13:59:54 +0000

I read elsewhere that this strain is less deadly than previous strains. I'm no epidemiologist but being less deadly could allow it to spread further, which is obviously concerning.

Also, the article says surveillance picked up the spread late. I wonder if the US's pulling back from the WHO and other international functions had anything to do with this, it used to make up a big chunk of its resources and staff.

Fungus-powered farming delivers higher yields and better-tasting crops

thinkcontext — Fri, 15 May 2026 13:13:44 +0000

Article URL: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fungus-powered-farming-higher-yields.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48148174

Points: 3

# Comments: 1

New comment by thinkcontext in "UCLA discovers first stroke rehabilitation drug to repair brain damage (2025)"

thinkcontext — Tue, 12 May 2026 10:09:46 +0000

Not to take away from your point about psilocybin but the mushroom brought up, lions mane, is not hallucinogenic.

New comment by thinkcontext in "Driver accused of DUI tracks missing laptop to Illinois State trooper's house"

thinkcontext — Mon, 11 May 2026 14:55:56 +0000

> It’s an interesting aside in the story but if you’re under investigation for a DUI you can just refuse the field sobriety tests and it appears they don’t follow up so you’ll be declared innocent even if you were arrested for felony DUI.

I assume it varies but for most places if you refuse roadside field sobriety tests and they feel you have given indicators of impairment they will take you into custody. Then they'll take you to the station and give you the option of taking a breathalyzer and if you refuse again your license is automatically suspended for a year.

New comment by thinkcontext in "Heat pump sales rise across Europe"

thinkcontext — Mon, 04 May 2026 21:04:24 +0000

It might be difficult to separate that out from the effect of US tariffs.

New comment by thinkcontext in "Heat pump sales rise across Europe"

thinkcontext — Mon, 04 May 2026 20:54:56 +0000

Do the places you are referring to not require heat? If so I don't see why having a separate heating and cooling system would be cheaper to maintain than a single system. Come to think of it I don't see why a heatpump would be more expensive to maintain than split AC. I guess there is some extra circuitry to make sure it doesn't ice up in the winter and maybe backup resistance heating builtin.

New comment by thinkcontext in "Belgium stops decommissioning nuclear power plants"

thinkcontext — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:00:49 +0000

> Look at how much pushback, red tape, and cost there is to building a solar farm, road, datacenter or yes, nuclear plant compared to China

That's quite a comparison given China's governance and environmental record. China will take your land, poison you, imprison you if you protest and suppress any mention of it on social media or in the press. Of course a business can get a lot done in that environment, is that really something to aspire to?

Some level of permitting reform is warranted but I would think hard about whether you want to adopt China's policies.

New comment by thinkcontext in "UAE to leave OPEC"

thinkcontext — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:51:37 +0000

Uh, from the UAE's perspective it is much worse. They sold many $Bs worth of oil and had become a global tourist hub, now they can't do those things. They are being patient for the time being but there's a limit. We don't know what that limit is but if 6 months go by and the Strait's not open can we really expect them to not pay Iran a toll and price their oil in yuan?

New comment by thinkcontext in "America's Geothermal Breakthrough"

thinkcontext — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 04:04:30 +0000

No. Current geothermal projects need very specific geology to work, its very rare which is why geothermal is such a small blip in the overall energy picture. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), the technique Fervo is using, can create the conditions to be able to generate electricity. The hope is this will greatly expand the number of projects that can be developed.

Doesn't that sound useful to you?

New comment by thinkcontext in "America's Geothermal Breakthrough"

thinkcontext — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:49:05 +0000

> Its just drilling a hole and making electricity from the heat

District heating does not involve making electricity.

New comment by thinkcontext in "America's Geothermal Breakthrough"

thinkcontext — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:47:07 +0000

That's still a science project, they are piloting zapping a small hole to 100m. Very uncertain whether it will amount to anything.

New comment by thinkcontext in "America's Geothermal Breakthrough"

thinkcontext — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:43:59 +0000

You brought the conversation in a circle, since the point of this new technology is the geology you speak of is rare.

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

thinkcontext — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:43:26 +0000

After the bombardment by Israel last year Russia sent a ton of Manpads, so they are certainly available. We've seen a very close call by an fa18 from a manpads. It's likely that Iran has passive sensor networks that they can use to spot patterns and provide forewarning to manpads teams.

I think you're right about stealth not being quite the game changer that it was. The Houthis were able to give f35s some close calls over Yemen last year. They're of course armed and trained by Iran, so we would expect to see some hits.