patience_limited's recent activity
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Comment on Fecal microbiota transplant: Inside the black market for human poop in ~health
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Comment on The Slack controversy has opened a whole new can of worms in ~tech
patience_limited Link ParentDitto what /u/vord said, and I would personally hate to have a Slack discussion potentially exposed where there's proprietary technical data, or we couldn't expurgate a customer's HIPAA-sensitive...Ditto what /u/vord said, and I would personally hate to have a Slack discussion potentially exposed where there's proprietary technical data, or we couldn't expurgate a customer's HIPAA-sensitive data because it was needed for troubleshooting and software engineering.
It's worth protesting because of the deceitful abuse of policy gaps.
Reading the article, it's clear the data intake was initiated with actively deceptive intent, in the hope that Slack AI's training on customer data would be accepted as a fait accompli. The article notes that the way it was done is illegal under the GDPR. You can bet that Slack's lawyers knew that, and green-lighted the data taking anyway.
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Comment on Cyber security: A pre-war reality check in ~tech
patience_limited (edited )LinkThis is Bert Hubert's lightly edited transcript of his ACCSS/NCSC/Surf seminar, ‘Cyber Security and Society. It's difficult to excerpt because he gently and humorously builds a compelling case...This is Bert Hubert's lightly edited transcript of his ACCSS/NCSC/Surf seminar, ‘Cyber Security and Society.
It's difficult to excerpt because he gently and humorously builds a compelling case that Europe's digital infrastructure is fragile, devastatingly vulnerable to attack, and dependent on potential enemies.
Unlike most cyber security talks, Hubert avoids technical jargon and pitches to a more general audience. It's a great summary, and I encourage anyone with even a passing interest in security to read it.
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Cyber security: A pre-war reality check
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Comment on What’s your method for archiving bookmarked/liked social media posts? in ~comp
patience_limited (edited )LinkA new beta just came to my attention, sublime.app. Web and IOS only for now. It's not free for practical purposes, looks like a lighter weight Evernote, and there's no information about data...A new beta just came to my attention, sublime.app. Web and IOS only for now.
It's not free for practical purposes, looks like a lighter weight Evernote, and there's no information about data portability. But if you want a usable Internet scrapbook where you can save the interesting bits independent of whether a site stays live, this might be it. File size limit of 4 MB (for the free version, at least).
There's a social aspect where you can share or follow other's collections, like Pinboard.
I've dropped my test account because it's too pricy and buggy in Android browsers, but it may develop into something interesting.
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Comment on Frozen human brain tissue was successfully revived for the first time in ~science
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentIt's become routine to do rapid hypothermia down to < 14 °C within 5 minutes for cardiac surgery. ECMO machines can achieve flow rates ~ 4 - 6 L/min, so it's reasonable to expect that you could...It's become routine to do rapid hypothermia down to < 14 °C within 5 minutes for cardiac surgery. ECMO machines can achieve flow rates ~ 4 - 6 L/min, so it's reasonable to expect that you could rapidly exchange blood for anti-freeze agents...
That being said, I agree and have doubts that you can perfuse all the human brain's microvasculature efficiently enough to preserve function in the absence of oxygen and prevent microcrystalline ice from forming. Brain ice cream?
Current state of the art, most cardiac patients on ECMO and deep hypothermia get "pump head" - transient or permanent neurological deficits after surgery, maybe due to microclots. Spouse could work after a month, but was still somewhat ditzy for 4 - 6 months.
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Comment on French post office releases scratch-and-sniff baguette stamp in ~design
patience_limited (edited )LinkWhat's funny is that I just finished re-reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, which features a cabbage-scented stamp [spoiler] as a minor plot point. Surprisingly, the history of...What's funny is that I just finished re-reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, which features a cabbage-scented stamp [spoiler] as a minor plot point.
Surprisingly, the history of officially-issued scented stamps only dates back to 1973.
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Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news
patience_limited LinkBetter late than never... "Salty Licorice" coat color mutation discovered in Finnish cats Original paperBetter late than never... "Salty Licorice" coat color mutation discovered in Finnish cats
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Comment on Privacy woes and autonomy, where do I go now? in ~tech
patience_limited LinkAt this point, as /u/krellor mentioned, you're probably going to need third-party paid removal of information from data brokers. I've been very careful about my online activity, managing my own...At this point, as /u/krellor mentioned, you're probably going to need third-party paid removal of information from data brokers.
I've been very careful about my online activity, managing my own cable modem/router, running everything through pihole and various blockers to avoid ads. On Android mobile, I'm running Blockada with various blocklists, NordVPN, Cloudflare DNS, Privacy Badger, uBlock, and Proton Mail. The smart TV is on a separate wireless VLAN with its own blocklists and filtering. This all comes at some cost in speed, functionality, money, and management time.
Nonetheless, I can't prevent data harvesting from my credit card activity, service calls, cellular provider, travel bookings, doctors' office portals, pharmacy benefit providers, grocery stores (I don't participate in store benefit tracking)... Even with regular scrubbing, I still get ads that are disturbingly personalized, including PHI that would get a health system penalized under HIPAA law in the U.S. There are already reports of horrifying abuses in relation to women's health.
We need to let our legislators know that data privacy matters, and we'll vote/donate based on this issue. I contribute to EFF and write my representatives (as well as FCC commentary) regularly about data privacy.
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Comment on Thoughts on the current state of discoverability and search in ~tech
patience_limited Link ParentAcademic paper search in Kagi is quite good, and one of the reasons I find that search engine worth paying for.Academic paper search in Kagi is quite good, and one of the reasons I find that search engine worth paying for.
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Comment on Raw milk easy to obtain despite bird flu warning, FDA interstate ban in ~food
patience_limited Link ParentIt may have been one thing to drink raw milk from your own personal family cow, when you could control all aspects of care and sanitation. Modern milk farms (including RAW FARMS mentioned above)...It may have been one thing to drink raw milk from your own personal family cow, when you could control all aspects of care and sanitation. Modern milk farms (including RAW FARMS mentioned above) pool the output from hundreds to thousands of cows. A single contamination event can affect far more people.
By itself, the introduction of milk pasteurization between 1875 and 1920 halved infant mortality in the U.S. It really makes me boil when I hear claims that "hardly anyone gets sick from raw milk".
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Comment on Indiana judge rules tacos, burritos are sandwiches in ~food
patience_limited Link ParentAnd I am a soup dumpling.And I am a soup dumpling.
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Comment on What’s your method for archiving bookmarked/liked social media posts? in ~comp
patience_limited LinkI don't know if anyone collects online recipes the way I do, but Paprika Recipe Manager does a brilliant job of extracting recipe content from webpages and saving it in usable, organized format....I don't know if anyone collects online recipes the way I do, but Paprika Recipe Manager does a brilliant job of extracting recipe content from webpages and saving it in usable, organized format. The data can be exported as plain HTML files, so you're not locked in if the vendor goes out of business.
I've tried scraping sites/pages to save content as /u/Akir mentioned, but I can't think of the last time I tried to find something I cared about that wasn't accessible via archive.org.
I'm playing around with Capacities as a combination mind-mapper and archive, but I'm not sure this solves either use case definitively.
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Comment on Thoughts on the current state of discoverability and search in ~tech
patience_limited Link ParentI pay for Kagi, but I often find degraded results after the top five or ten returned. In the earlier Google days, I'd usually get pages of worthwhile results on a well-tuned set of search terms....I pay for Kagi, but I often find degraded results after the top five or ten returned.
In the earlier Google days, I'd usually get pages of worthwhile results on a well-tuned set of search terms. And by worthwhile, I mean not just the exact information I was searching for, but closely related material that would expand my understanding of the topic. Those results were akin to wandering in the stacks of a graduate library and pulling volumes with Library of Congress IDs a digit or so on either side of the specific subject you were seeking.
I don't know if LLM-guided search will produce anything similar, but I'd gladly pay for that.
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
patience_limited Link ParentThis is a real thing. I can attest that the old broken elbow and the femoral joins of hip replacements ache on low barometric pressure days at all times, and the rheumatic joints are sensitive to...This is a real thing. I can attest that the old broken elbow and the femoral joins of hip replacements ache on low barometric pressure days at all times, and the rheumatic joints are sensitive to the kind of high heat and humidity that presage a warm-weather thunderstorm. [And yes, I was crazy enough to spreadsheet a couple of years of journal data to get to p < 0.01 conclusions. Sample size = 1, unblinded, recall bias, and other issues apply.]
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Comment on Raw milk easy to obtain despite bird flu warning, FDA interstate ban in ~food
patience_limited (edited )LinkFootnote: RAW FARM, mentioned in the article, has been responsible [archive link] for a recent toxigenic E. coli outbreak in raw milk cheddar produced in accordance with legal standards for aging....Footnote: RAW FARM, mentioned in the article, has been responsible [archive link] for a recent toxigenic E. coli outbreak in raw milk cheddar produced in accordance with legal standards for aging.
Friends don't let friends consume raw milk or its products.
And yes, I know other things besides raw milk cause listeriosis outbreaks, but it's a particularly dangerous disease. Worth avoiding unpasteurized milk and milk products even before considering the H5N1 risks.
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Comment on People without an inner voice have poorer verbal memory in ~humanities.languages
patience_limited Link ParentI have an inner voice, but horrible recall for spoken words. Maybe the inner voice is too loud to listen properly? I'll remember music and numbers near-perfectly, but like you, depend on extensive...I have an inner voice, but horrible recall for spoken words. Maybe the inner voice is too loud to listen properly?
I'll remember music and numbers near-perfectly, but like you, depend on extensive note-taking for conversational information. I'll remember people's IP addresses before committing their names to memory unless I dedicate mnemonic effort.
It would be a funny old world if we were all alike, but the variations on neurodivergence are just weird.
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Comment on I am a witch. Well, a well witcher... in ~talk
patience_limited (edited )Link ParentI hate to tell you this, but it's possible to develop proprioception through practice to the point where you can make very precise movements and judge weights accurately. When I did lab work,...I hate to tell you this, but it's possible to develop proprioception through practice to the point where you can make very precise movements and judge weights accurately. When I did lab work, people used to joke about my "calibrated elbow", because I could measure milliliters and milligrams freehand, without a scale or flask. Same thing in the pastry kitchen - exact cups, ounces, grams, etc., to within 1% error or less. And again, perfect 2 ounce pours in the winery tasting room.
Spouse worked as a bartender, and he can still freehand accurate liquid pours within the range of typical cocktail volumes.
The process is similar to a musician learning exactly where to put their fingers to produce specific sounds from a musical instrument. No magic required, just developed human skill. To be fair, proprioception is one of the least understood "senses". It's a complex set of neuromuscular activities that's tantamount to a biological AI module just for synthesizing sensory inputs comprised of forces and vectors, and outputting corresponding movements in space.
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Comment on E-bikes: Seeking advice on a commuter bike that meets disability needs in ~transport
patience_limited Link ParentEven with the fattest tires, winter cycling isn't going to be practical or safe for me. The kind of arthritis I've got can cause circulation problems in cold temperatures. Heated gloves help, but...Even with the fattest tires, winter cycling isn't going to be practical or safe for me. The kind of arthritis I've got can cause circulation problems in cold temperatures. Heated gloves help, but it's too risky if I can't warm up quickly when they quit. At 45 °N, it's pitch dark during commuting hours, with poor or non-existent street lighting.
Door-to-door public transit is $12 round trip, and completely worth it during the winter.
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Comment on E-bikes: Seeking advice on a commuter bike that meets disability needs in ~transport
patience_limited Link ParentI welcome your contribution of wisdom! It's been a long time since I've done regular road biking - Florida had dangerous roads and nowhere fun to go. TBH, I never flattened a road bike tire while...I welcome your contribution of wisdom! It's been a long time since I've done regular road biking - Florida had dangerous roads and nowhere fun to go. TBH, I never flattened a road bike tire while riding, and I'd gotten too complacent about it. A simple frame pump was all I ever needed to get home if things seemed squishy.
With more tire surface area and rougher trails and streets to worry about, you've given me useful information.
I got one of the early Clostridium difficile cases in 1996, before there was much recognition that the newer fluoroquinoline antibiotics like Cipro could cause it to flourish, and no specific tests were available. To say that it changed my life would be an understatement. I lost 40 lbs. in 30 days, becoming severely underweight and malnourished. I was too feverish and debilitated for school or work for three months, dropped out of medical school, and it took over a year for full recovery. It's amazing that it's now treatable with fecal transplants.
PSA: If you have persisent fever, painful abdominal cramps, and severe diarrhea during or after antibiotic treatment, see your doctor right away. C. diff has become increasingly common with use of more powerful antibiotics to overcome resistant bacteria. It's an endemic hospital and care facility infection because C. diff forms disinfectant-resistant spores.
I completely understand why people would try self-treatment for other bowel disorders. At the same time, using unprocessed feces really is very risky, even with good donor screening. As the article suggests, healthy people can carry dangerous pathogens that their immune systems easily control, but cause serious or fatal disease in people who already have compromised bowel integrity and immunity. This is in "kids, don't try this at home" territory.
We don't really understand what constitutes a "healthy" microbiome. It's not possible to culture many of the 3,000+ organisms whose DNA was identified by the Human Microbiome Project. Just transplanting a random selection from an apparently healthy person might work in theory, but each person has their own individual acquired immunities and tolerances. Again, as the article mentions, one of the people who ingested fecal material was sick for a few days before their new ecosystem got established. We've all heard stories about turismo, the gastrointestinal illness suffered by visitors to a new location from consuming water or food that's harmless to locals.