skybrian's recent activity
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Comment on In Australia, a home battery boom has helped cut wholesale power prices in half in ~enviro
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
skybrian Link ParentI think they're part of the system too. They exist because there isn't unlimited money and somebody has to say "no" sometimes, or health insurance premiums are just going to keep going up. The...I think they're part of the system too. They exist because there isn't unlimited money and somebody has to say "no" sometimes, or health insurance premiums are just going to keep going up. The Obamacare system is already in danger of denying service to more and more people due to higher premiums.
It's easy to find cases where they could do a better job, but that's always going to be unpopular.
From reading books about the old days, doctors were paid directly and had to make their own decisions about what to charge, when to deny care, and when to give free service. Many have effectively outsourced being the bad guy. There are some doctors who don't take insurance, but they only serve rich people. They, too, in their way, are denying care sometimes.
Any doctor could also work sometimes in a free clinic or something like that. They probably have limited time for this.
Maybe one part of the problem is that there aren't enough doctors?
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Comment on "Heartbreak mode" versus "Cosy mode" in ~tildes
skybrian LinkI thought I'd share this since it suggests a way to put the current situation on Tildes in a positive light. What would "Cosy mode" be like for Tildes? Or perhaps we're already in it, but don't...I thought I'd share this since it suggests a way to put the current situation on Tildes in a positive light. What would "Cosy mode" be like for Tildes? Or perhaps we're already in it, but don't know it? Not knowing it seems more like "Heartbreak mode."
From @ifixcoinops' very long thread about Internet communities:
Moar thoughts on online community management: every online community goes through a cycle of inception, establishment, maturity and decline, and this is natural and fine.
There are a finite number of people in the world. Of those finite number of people, a finite number are interested in your site's topic. Of those finite number of people, some will die, some will get distracted and go look at something else, whatever, nobody stays on one website 5eva.
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The "decline" phase can be the tragic Heartbreak Phase, with a bunch of people arguing about The Future Of The Site and about why people left (an irresolvable question that can suck in a community until it collapses on itself like a black hole) and frantically trying to renew and change itself until even the old guard are scared off, or it can be the Cosiness Phase.
In Cosy Mode, everyone who wasn't right for the site has moved on, and the folks left are the ones who love it.
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During Cosy Mode, you scale back advertising until you're no longer trying to grow the site, but just keep it in general maintenance. You fix long-standing UI annoyances and make small quality-of-life improvements. Avoid making big interface changes.
After a few years, say for a big anniversary, you might send out an email to the old guard saying hey here's what's changed, but be careful as a lot of the old guard might have moved on because they no longer fit the culture of the site.
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Cosy Mode is the longest phase, and it's pretty lovely. There are no more existential crises and the community has pretty much met its equilibrium.
Heartbreak Mode can also drag on for years, becoming more and more tragic every day as members run around with their hair on fire trying to answer why people left (for 99% of former members, they left because it's a website - but one or two will come back to say This Is Why I Left and they'll be taken as representative samples).
The big difference between Cosy Mode and Heartbreak Mode is that the people in Cosy Mode like being in Cosy Mode, and the people in Heartbreak Mode hate being in Heartbreak Mode but do it anyway.
People go into Heartbreak Mode because they think that a website has to grow forever, and this is madness. If a website carried on growing forever, then eventually everyone on the planet would be on that website all the time.
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"Heartbreak mode" versus "Cosy mode"
26 votes -
Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
skybrian Link ParentI edited a post but you might have missed it: I think that finding scapegoats is a bad way to solve systemic problems, so I'm against it. I don't really know how to fix it, but I think that's not...I edited a post but you might have missed it: I think that finding scapegoats is a bad way to solve systemic problems, so I'm against it. I don't really know how to fix it, but I think that's not it.
The comparison to blaming doctors is just a way of getting at why it's problematic.
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Comment on In Australia, a home battery boom has helped cut wholesale power prices in half in ~enviro
skybrian Link ParentA big thing they have going for them is that they're perfectly willing to import solar panels from China at cheap prices. Who knows if it will last, but they might as well take advantage of the...A big thing they have going for them is that they're perfectly willing to import solar panels from China at cheap prices. Who knows if it will last, but they might as well take advantage of the opportunity while it's available.
Similarly for electric vehicles.
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
skybrian Link ParentThere are also things like doctors not taking insurance at all, or not taking Medicare, or only working with certain kinds of insurance. These are business decisions, not medical decisions. I...There are also things like doctors not taking insurance at all, or not taking Medicare, or only working with certain kinds of insurance. These are business decisions, not medical decisions.
I think it's less problematic because it happens up front, but it's technically denying care.
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Comment on Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant in ~enviro
skybrian Link ParentLithium iron phosphate batteries are supposed to be cheaper and safer, but heavier. It seems like home use might be a good application for them?Lithium iron phosphate batteries are supposed to be cheaper and safer, but heavier. It seems like home use might be a good application for them?
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
skybrian (edited )Link ParentSince doctors make medical decisions, I'm doubtful about the idea that they don't sometimes deny care? Edit: but actually, I'm not into finding people to blame. I think this would be better...Since doctors make medical decisions, I'm doubtful about the idea that they don't sometimes deny care?
Edit: but actually, I'm not into finding people to blame. I think this would be better thought of as a systemic problem. Finding scapegoats doesn't fix systems.
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
skybrian Link ParentWhy not charge the doctors and nurses too while you're at it? Not providing good enough healthcare is not the same thing.Why not charge the doctors and nurses too while you're at it?
Not providing good enough healthcare is not the same thing.
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Comment on Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant in ~enviro
skybrian Link ParentI don't know; that's a quote from the author of the article.I don't know; that's a quote from the author of the article.
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Comment on Taiwan targeted in AI-driven hacking campaign in ~tech
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...] [...]From the article:
According to the Financial Times report, published on Wednesday, researchers at Israeli AI start-up Dream were the first to detect the intrusion, which allegedly used open-source AI agents to build an autonomous hacking tool.
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The tool compromised at least 85 government user accounts and extracted more than 2,500 personnel records before the attackers expanded their operations to Taiwan’s nuclear safety agency and at least seven energy companies, the UK-based news outlet reported.
Dream did not attribute the attack to a specific group, but researchers said that internal communications linked to the operation were in simplified Chinese, suggesting the operators were likely connected to China.
Meanwhile, the agency said the attacks showed clear signs of originating overseas and involved a hybrid approach combining conventional hacking with AI agents such as OpenClaw.
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Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan’s key infrastructure from hospitals to banks rose 6 percent last year from the previous year to an average of 2.63 million attacks a day, the National Security Bureau said in January, adding that some of the hacks were synchronized with military drills in “hybrid threats.”
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Taiwan targeted in AI-driven hacking campaign
13 votes -
Comment on In Australia, a home battery boom has helped cut wholesale power prices in half in ~enviro
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...]From the article:
A little more than one year ago, Australia rolled out a program to heavily subsidize home batteries, part of a larger effort to make use of the huge volumes of solar energy that were going to waste. On Friday, officials announced that more than 500,000 batteries had been installed under the plan, helping to slash wholesale power prices roughly in half.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said that Australia now has more home batteries than the United States, which has a population 12 times larger. “This is a story of global significance that Australian households have achieved,” Bowen said in a press conference.
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With its home battery subsidy program, launched in July 2025, the government is aiming to help households use more solar energy by providing a 30 percent discount on residential battery systems connected to solar arrays.
The subsidy program has spurred a boom in installations. Australia is on track to more than double its home battery capacity this year, Bloomberg reports. The program has also been a boon to the grid. By relying on batteries in the early evening, when demand peaks, homeowners are reducing the need for utilities to fire up additional power plants during those hours, which is helping to lower costs for other ratepayers, officials say.
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In Australia, a home battery boom has helped cut wholesale power prices in half
20 votes -
Comment on Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant in ~enviro
skybrian LinkFrom the article: [...] [...] [...]From the article:
As temperatures climbed into the high 80s and low 90s and air conditioners pushed electricity demand higher, Green Mountain Power (GMP) dispatched 90 megawatts (MW) from its VPP. The network combines residential batteries, utility-scale storage, and other clean energy sources.
GMP says the 90 MW dispatch was roughly equivalent to taking 50,000 homes off the grid during the peak. Avoiding electricity purchases when wholesale prices are at their highest reduces the costs that ultimately get passed on to all GMP customers – not just those with residential battery storage.
The estimated $6 million saving follows the $11 million that GMP says its VPP saved customers last year.
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GMP’s virtual power plant now has 110 MW of capacity, making it Vermont’s largest single power resource by capacity, according to the utility.
More than half of that capacity – 53 MW – comes from residential battery systems. The rest includes utility-scale batteries, EV chargers, hydroelectric plants, and commercial buildings that can temporarily adjust their electricity use.
More than 5,000 GMP customers now have over 10,000 batteries enrolled in the VPP. During a grid peak, GMP can draw on some of that stored electricity as one coordinated power source while leaving participating homes with backup power for outages.
The batteries can now supply nearly 10% of Vermont’s summer peak electricity demand. GMP says that’s the highest storage-to-state-peak ratio in New England.
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GMP was the first US utility to offer a state-approved, tariffed home battery lease program. Customers can currently lease two Powerwall batteries for $55 per month or pay $5,500 upfront for a 10-year lease. In return, GMP gets access to some of the stored electricity during peak demand. (I participated in this program when I was a Vermont resident, and it was fantastic. Having two Tesla Powerwalls in our cellar kept our electric bill reasonable, and the lights on and water running when the power went out.)
Customers can also buy their own compatible battery through GMP’s Bring Your Own Device program in exchange for an upfront incentive.
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The growing VPP has already allowed GMP to permanently close peaker plants in the towns of Vergennes and Rutland following an ISO-New England retirement process. Peaker plants operate when electricity demand surges, but they’re often expensive and carbon-intensive. GMP says it plans to retire more peaker plants as its battery network grows.
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Vermont's largest energy source is now a virtual power plant
15 votes -
Comment on Clothing, how did they make it? Part I: high fiber. in ~life.style
skybrian Link ParentOh, I read too fast and didn't see that at all :-)Oh, I read too fast and didn't see that at all :-)
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Comment on US tax law is funding the AI infrastructure boom, not creating it in ~tech
skybrian Link ParentYou could consider it equivalent as long as everything else remains equal, but I think that ignores where the revenue comes from, and that conditions can change. If the business does well then...You could consider it equivalent as long as everything else remains equal, but I think that ignores where the revenue comes from, and that conditions can change. If the business does well then they may pay more taxes (depending on a lot of accounting details), and if they stop doing well then they'll go down.
As you point out, businesses take estimated expenses into account when deciding what to do. We often rely on this effect. The whole point of a carbon tax is change profitability calculations so that businesses will change what they do.
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Comment on BoredOS: A from scratch OS in ~comp
skybrian Link ParentAre you using day-to-day? What machine do you run it on and what do you do with it?Are you using day-to-day? What machine do you run it on and what do you do with it?
I haven't looked, but aren't they getting cheaper?