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frickinLaserson Please commit more blatant academic fraud

It is difficult to distinguish genuine romantic feelings between two people, from the case of a superior using their position to get their genitals wet and a subordinate capitulating for fear of losing their job.

Since feelings are only a biological impulse, and we humans frequently suppress our impulses in the form of self control, it's much easier to look for that oxytocin fix in a more appropriate arena.

The military has been doing this for ages, forbidding officers from fraternizing with enlisted. And plenty of civilians abusing positions of power have proven the wisdom of such a policy.

frickinLaserson Ask HN: My dentist prescribed me a toothbrush that wants to track me forever

1. You're liable to strip the enamel from your teeth and encourage your gums to recede, exposing the roots.

2. With a sonicating toothbrush, I reduced my cleaning visits to once a year because there's usually nothing there for the hygienist to remove. Perhaps you tried the wrong kind of toothbrush?

https://www.deltadentalins.com/oral_health/overbrushing.html

frickinLaserson PfSense – WireGuard Returns as Experimental Package

Ars Technica wrote a report on the debacle[1], and I've since stopped using pfsense. I was already on the fence following their move away from open-source with "pfSense Plus"[2].

[1] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/03/buffer-overruns-lice...

[2] https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Netgate-...

frickinLaserson Spy agency ducks questions about 'back doors' in tech products

> - Your Intel system runs a special version of Minix on its Management Engine. A version of Minix customized for Intel by its original developer.

I hear a lot about Intel's ME, but not much about AMD's PSP. I assume it's just as bad. At least we know how to hobble the ME.

frickinLaserson 4000° Plasma Lightsaber Build (Retractable Blade) [video]

Even intense visible light (for instance from burning thermite, or perhaps a propane torch) can cause eye damage.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/article-a...

frickinLaserson United States Obtains Final Judgement and Permanent Injunction Against Snowden

It's all the same incestuous group of agencies and contractors to me. He was employed by the NSA or CIA (Dell, 2009 or 2011) when he found the report and made his decision. Yeah, he changed positions (and contracting agencies) to collect additional data. He had already long since sworn his oath and received his clearance.

Sure, he likely signed a new contract with BAH. If that's where the line between ethical and unethical behavior is located, I guess my worldview needs calibration.

I see you've been downvoted. I upvoted your comment, since you posted a factual link and contributed to the discussion.

frickinLaserson United States Obtains Final Judgement and Permanent Injunction Against Snowden

The oath is to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. A lot of people seem to be confused about who the real enemies of the Constitution (particularly the Fourth Amendment) are.

Put another way: Hopefully you were taught that it is your duty not to obey an unlawful order from a superior.

I don't know where you got the idea that he began his career with an intent to leak details of the government's illegal actions. According to him, he came across the report that finally led to the decision purely by accident.

frickinLaserson Death Valley soars to 130 degrees, Earth’s highest temperature since 1931

Room temperature is 72-74 degrees F (22-23 C). 68 is comfortable for me, and most people I know get cranky when the temperature dips below 65.

This doesn't change the fact that 130 is hot, but for many people 50 F is "freezing."

frickinLaserson Welders set off Beirut blast while securing explosives

I think OP was referring to "fireworks stored next to ammonium nitrate." Fireworks are stupidly hazardous and should never be stored around high explosives. If the sparks had hit only the ammonium nitrate (because the fireworks had been properly disposed of or at least stored in a reasonable configuration), there's a good chance the fire would not have started.

frickinLaserson USGS Data on the Lebanon Blast

I've seen estimates from 200 tons to 1 kT, still quite powerful. See:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24053732

Nuclear weapons span a huge range of yields. The W54 yield was as low as 10 tons, about as energetic as a daisy cutter conventional bomb.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W54

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLU-82

frickinLaserson Blizzard workers share salaries in revolt over wage disparities

As someone who is a strong worker but a bit of a pushover, and whose job description has nothing to do with haggling, I strongly disagree with this. The company benefits if all of their best workers can afford rent, and they gain little by paying effective bargainers a larger slice of the pie.

frickinLaserson Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

Apparently we're not reading the same comment. In this example, the rich person pays cash for the 20-pack and probably earns interest on the savings. They have no need to pay interest on a loan. The poor person pays cash for the 2-pack and then pays again next month, and maybe takes out a payday loan to afford the rent after they have to call in sick, and there's your high APR. This is not a benefit. What am I misunderstanding?

frickinLaserson Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

The OP implies no such thing.

frickinLaserson New iOS privacy feature may end an era of personalized ads

A subscription to Foreign Affairs Magazine

A device on which to read articles about wars in the middle east

An donation to Red Cross/Doctors without Borders/relevant charity

frickinLaserson You can bypass YouTube ads by adding a dot after the domain

Even if they have validation built in when you are signing up! How is it possible that they have taken steps to ensure passwords meet their stringent criteria, but the user still ends up unable to log in? Most recently, I've experienced this problem with two of the big three credit bureaus.

frickinLaserson If Andromeda Were Brighter, This is What You’d See (2014)

Yeah, I don't know where I got whatever number I was using for sun-alpha centauri distance (I was converting from Milky Ways, I think). Today I calculate 1600 - 7300 solar systems, using wikipedia AUs. Maybe my calculator is broken, though...

frickinLaserson If Andromeda Were Brighter, This is What You’d See (2014)

I think a more apt comparison would be how many solar systems away we are. I calculate we are only 143-4550 solar systems away, depending on how you define the solar system (using the orbit of Sedna or Neptune as the radius).

frickinLaserson The Next Leap in Self-Driving: Prediction

I'm not sure if I'm reading your comment correctly, but in case I am...the "yield to the right" rule is only to break a tie if two people arrive at the intersection at the same time. Otherwise, the first to stop is the first to go. I haven't run across many people who don't play by these rules (or maybe my assertive driving style just means everyone else follows my rules anyway).

frickinLaserson How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades

Welp, I'm a doomsday prepper now.

frickinLaserson Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained

I think I would have once considered this acceptable, that it agrees with the spirit of the law, except that warrants have lost their meaning thanks to FISA rubber stamps.

Edit: Also, it's compelled speech though.

frickinLaserson U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

> Withdrawal from cigarettes or junk food don’t send you into a 72 hour coma.

I don't see how this is relevant to the question, unless you want to get into whether their burden on the medical system outweighs their right to do what they want with their bodies (but lung cancer/emphezema, diabetes/heart disease, and traumatic injuries from extreme sports would fall into that category as well).

> Smoking and junk food don’t have the huge impacts to how you treat those around you that being drunk all the time does.

We don't lock up sober assholes for being assholes either.

The question is: where does someone's right to do what their brain makes them want to do end? Individual autonomy is a big deal in a free society, as it should be. When you take away a person's freedom to act, I think you take away part of what makes them human.

frickinLaserson U.S. alcohol-related deaths have doubled, study says

I believe they're similar questions in that they each address an addiction (junk food, nicotine, adrenaline, adrenaline), and for the most part, the only person at risk of death is the addict.

frickinLaserson The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits

1. For instance, he mentions a FISA court order referring to the NSA's interpretation of section 215 of the PATRIOT act--FISA documents are rarely unclassified (it's a secret court, after all), and secret interpretations by the NSA are just as likely to be highly classified.

2. Sorry, I'm not well versed in this area. I imagine Patraeus followed the rule when publishing his memoirs. Here are some links that might lead to what you're looking for:

https://www.al.com/news/2016/08/navy_seal_will_pay_68_millio...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-10/12/078r-...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/02/these-forme...

frickinLaserson The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits

There is definitely some sensitive information in there. The government doesn't distinguish between classified information that is public knowledge, and still-secret classified information.

Regardless, their point is that Snowden did not send the book in for approval/redaction before publishing, as would be required of any former employee of a three-letter agency writing about such things.

frickinLaserson We Just Got a Rare Look at US National Security Surveillance

> a federal institution that directed genocide

What are you referring to?

frickinLaserson Grad School and Public Health

I'd take a post-doc simply to avoid either of those careers.

frickinLaserson Toshiba device tests cancer types from a drop of blood

Medical tests are always going to be messy, because biology is messy. It's ultimately up to the physician to order tests and interpret the results. Here's a list of tests for diagnosing breast cancer, none of which approach the numbers you are hoping for (a needle biopsy is only performed once a mass is found)

http://www.getthediagnosis.org/diagnosis/Breast_Cancer.htm

I just stumbled across this site, but you can browse by diagnosis for more numbers.

http://www.getthediagnosis.org/browse.php?mode=dx

frickinLaserson The End of the Computer Age

Isn't this the guy who founded Palantir?

frickinLaserson What it feels like to swim in sub-zero waters

If fresh water were -9 degrees F, I suspect it would be solid ice (it could be super-cooled if it were absolutely still, but lakes and rivers are not that, and splashing in super-cooled water would turn you into a popsicle). The air temperature isn't even that cold in any of these pictures.

frickinLaserson Scientist Behind Navy's “UFO Patents” Filed One for a Compact Fusion Reactor

The whole account was deleted, with all the author's replies in the thread gone too.