_djo_

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121.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Exactly. Using electric drives for reconnaissance is a highly sensible thing and only just becoming truly feasible. There’s also a gain for using hybrids and their batteries to charge electronics in the field rather than using generators. T
122.
by _djo_ 2y ago
It's a reference to the trumpeting sound an elephant/mastodon makes, meant as the equivalent to the 'tweet' a bird such as the one in the old Twitter logo makes. There's nothing more to it than that: A quirky name b
123.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Such people are idiots, to be blunt.
124.
by _djo_ 2y ago
After. They're responding to the public and media uproar, and have to be seen as taking action in response to it, but they're clearly not massively concerned. I don't doubt that there was some drone activity, but most likely
125.
by _djo_ 2y ago
The judge ruled out holding a new auction.
126.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Same. This is a ridiculous mass hysteria driven by media sensationalism and ignorant members of the public.
127.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Thank you, I missed that and it’s important context. I’ve upvoted your comment for more visibility.
128.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Another poster had a nice summary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42379288
129.
by _djo_ 2y ago
It took place during the administration. Another poster had a good summary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42379288
130.
by _djo_ 2y ago
The change was introduced in Trump's tax cuts, so I doubt he will reverse it.
131.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Anything that increases the time and effort required for both detection and tracking is worth it, and all else being equal a LO aircraft will always be more survivable in a dense A2/AD environment than one without LO features. It'
132.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Stealth doesn’t stand still. The latest low-observable US aircraft have lower radar and visual signatures than the previous generation. It’s not an indefinite ‘lead’, of course, but having decades of experience with LO shaping and materials
133.
by _djo_ 2y ago
With regard to historical pricing, I agree. I suspect that's more an admin oversight than the lack of a system though. But in terms of the equivalent product price comparison database, would that really normally be in place? I would th
134.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Pretty much, yes. Broadly speaking, the US federal government's financial controls are good and prevent a ton of corruption and waste. At this scale no system can be perfect though, and there will always be some. However, there are dim
135.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Sure, and there are useful points in the rest of this conversation about whether you need something that special for a soap dispenser and what might be driving up costs, and whether a commercial off the shelf alternative really was an optio
136.
by _djo_ 2y ago
There are watchdog groups. The DoD Inspector General mentioned in this story is one of them, but the main one in government is the Government Accountability Office ( https://www.gao.gov/ ). Famously, the GAO saves the federal
137.
by _djo_ 2y ago
MIL-SPEC is a very broad category. It just means it conforms to a military specification, which can be very simple and easy to meet in some cases. But when the MIL-SEC refers to safety-critical and flight-critical specifications it's a
138.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Indeed. The best way to understand Russia's approach to foreign policy is that it's an extension of its mafia state-derived domestic policy, where there are no true allies and anyone brought into the circle is tainted through comp
139.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Nearly all dictators do some beneficial civil works and other actions though. After all how else can they keep the population just happy enough to avoid rising up? You're also assuming that the GMMR would not have been commissioned by
140.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Which analysts were those? The ones I was reading emphasised the need for a strong sanctions regime with penalties for third party workarounds, with the reasoning given that Russia had prepared its economy for war and already isolated it to
141.
by _djo_ 2y ago
I have bad news for you.
142.
by _djo_ 2y ago
That straw man you’re arguing against might be convenient, but it does not represent the argument I made. I merely said that Musk didn’t start from ‘nothing’ and complete poverty, as the OP’s post was claiming.
143.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Musk himself has said that he started Zip2 using money from himself, his brother Kimbal, Greg Nouri, and Silicon Valley angel investors. Errol invested a bit later. I didn’t say that $28 000 was a stratospheric amount, I said it’s something
144.
by _djo_ 2y ago
I’m referring to the original x.com, the bank that merged with PayPal.
145.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Errol Musk was one of several investors, and in any case the vast majority of people aren’t in a position to have their parents invest $28 000 (nearly $60 000 today) in an uncertain business venture. > Musk was the richest man in the wor
146.
by _djo_ 2y ago
Without denigrating his achievements, which I can recognise and respect despite my distaste for his recent politics, that's not quite true. Musk came from a fairly wealthy and very well-connected family and was able to draw on those co
147.
by _djo_ 2y ago
This booster is much, much larger than the Falcon 9 first stages that land on barges. It's ~70 metres high, versus ~40 metres for the Falcon 9 first stage, and weighs about 275 000 kg compared to the ~20 000 kg of the Falcon 9 first st
148.
by _djo_ 2y ago
I didn’t say they were managed by ATC, I said the airport has slots. ATC’s role is to help manage the reshuffling when slots are missed, because there’s still finite landing and take off capacity at very busy airports. In both cases it’s ce
149.
by _djo_ 2y ago
That’s not the case globally. Heathrow for instance has strict slot time ranges. As does Schiphol. Neither the UK nor the Netherlands choose to not enforce slot misuse. We’re not talking only about the US and the FAA as examples here. Wheth
150.
by _djo_ 2y ago
That’s actually not true for airlines, which are the better analogy here. For airline traffic airports have slots, which are basically appointments, attached to fixed flight schedules. At the most congested airports slots are highly valuabl

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