DanBC's recent activity

  1. Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    That was an amazing film! For a film about life in communist Romania there's Tales from the Golden Age which features a collection of short stories. I found it funny. For an absolutely not funny...

    That was an amazing film!

    For a film about life in communist Romania there's Tales from the Golden Age which features a collection of short stories. I found it funny.

    For an absolutely not funny film about life in Romania there's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days which is not a horror but is horrific and moving, and excellent.

    1 vote
  2. Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    Corner Gas is an odd show because I started watching it and thought "well, this is a bit corny and just run of the mill, why's it so special?" but then I got totally sucked in and really enjoyed...

    Corner Gas is an odd show because I started watching it and thought "well, this is a bit corny and just run of the mill, why's it so special?" but then I got totally sucked in and really enjoyed the cosiness of it.

    I really struggled to get into Schitt's Creek because I couldn't get past the first two episodes, but then I did, and I'm glad I did because it's just so lovely and funny.

    1 vote
  3. Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    There's a surprising bleakness to a lot of British comedy. Sean Lock's 15 stories high, or At Home with the Snails are good examples of similar bleakness. And there are lots more!! 15 Stories went...

    There's a surprising bleakness to a lot of British comedy. Sean Lock's 15 stories high, or At Home with the Snails are good examples of similar bleakness. And there are lots more!!

    15 Stories went on to be a tv show, and it's good, but I linked the radio series because it's earlier and you get to hear some of the ideas being worked out. At Home with the Snails features Miranda Hart before she became more famous, and Geoffrey Palmer plus Angela Thorne is fantastic casting.

  4. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    DanBC
    Link
    Tiny portions of very bland food because chemotherapy and immunotherapy fucking suck. I'm focussing on lower fat because that seems to help. There's something called "BRAT diet". That's Bananas,...

    Tiny portions of very bland food because chemotherapy and immunotherapy fucking suck. I'm focussing on lower fat because that seems to help. There's something called "BRAT diet". That's Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. I'm mostly eating bananas on toast (no butter, but a bit of flaky sea salt on top) and rice with tiny frozen veg cooked in.

    And then for a treat there's an Italian deli just down the road and they do great coffee. I'm trying alternative milks and I'm getting used to oat milk lattes. (Oat milk may be the wrong choice for coffee.) They also do amazing pastel de natas and cannoli - these are both tiny (for coffee shop cakes) but that's great because it's a delicious sweet treat and it's just the right size for me at the moment.

    6 votes
  5. Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    I'm not finished, I think you'd enjoy the Taxi series which are fun action movies with some amazing driving sequences. There are like 5 of these and I'm not going to say they're all great, but the...

    I'm not finished, I think you'd enjoy the Taxi series which are fun action movies with some amazing driving sequences.

    There are like 5 of these and I'm not going to say they're all great, but the first two are worth watching.

    Here's the trailer for Taxi (1998) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYBNjVnbtFg

    Here's the trailer for Taxi 2 (2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUExdpxhDCo

    1 vote
  6. Comment on Best foreign films and TV shows? in ~tv

    DanBC
    (edited )
    Link
    Memories of Murder is a Korean police drama. Not art house, but a solidly made police procedural where the police are sloppy and the detectives are violent. People have mentioned City of God (and...

    Memories of Murder is a Korean police drama. Not art house, but a solidly made police procedural where the police are sloppy and the detectives are violent.

    People have mentioned City of God (and it's a great film) so I'm going to mention City of Men which is set in Brazil. It's great.

    I'll finish with Elite Squad which is a fun action movie, again set in Brazil.

    Here's a trailer for Memories of Murder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YvWR3Bds0A

    The trailer for City of Men features all the stuff that isn't really the main focus, it's a little bit deceptive. It's much more about the relationship and regular life in a high crime environment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8uHSUsfIBU

    Here's the trailer for Elite Squad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb-rUfBTQ1g

    2 votes
  7. Comment on Canadian pet DNA company sends back dog breed results from human sample a second time in ~life.pets

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    Doesn't it mean if you have a thousand dogs you can say "this group of a thousand dogs is more likely to do X", but also that it tells you nothing useful about your individual dog?

    I mean the article you linked basically says that breed is a pretty reliable indicator of potential behavior?

    Doesn't it mean if you have a thousand dogs you can say "this group of a thousand dogs is more likely to do X", but also that it tells you nothing useful about your individual dog?

    8 votes
  8. Comment on Canadian pet DNA company sends back dog breed results from human sample a second time in ~life.pets

  9. Comment on Teaching coding to an eight year old with Scratch? in ~tech

    DanBC
    Link
    Scratch is great. If you have a bit of money the BBC:MicroBit stuff might be interesting because it's tinkering with hardware, and you can move between a Scratch-like environment that uses blocks...

    Scratch is great.

    If you have a bit of money the BBC:MicroBit stuff might be interesting because it's tinkering with hardware, and you can move between a Scratch-like environment that uses blocks (which they call MakeCode) or Python. They feature an emulator so you don't need to buy the board.

    There's a reasonably developed ecosystem of teachers who've been using the Micro:Bit and who are sharing tips and tricks.

    https://microbit.org/

    https://makecode.microbit.org/

    https://python.microbit.org/v/3

    5 votes
  10. Comment on Children to no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, NHS England confirms in ~lgbt

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    Not for healthcare in England. In England as soon as you're 16 you are presumed to have capacity to consent to any medical treatment, and you can decline almost any medical treatment apart from...

    Not for healthcare in England.

    In England as soon as you're 16 you are presumed to have capacity to consent to any medical treatment, and you can decline almost any medical treatment apart from immediately life-saving treatment (such as blood transfusions).

    For people under the age of 16 capacity isn't relevant and we talk about competence, and we use tests such as Gillick or Fraser to see if the child can retain and weigh up information. It's possible for a 14 year old to make their own medical choices - independent of their parents - if they're competent.

    This change is an attempt to change the law, and it's unlikely to survive legal challenge by people aged 16 or 17.

    13 votes
  11. Comment on Children to no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, NHS England confirms in ~lgbt

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    The difficulty is that many paediatric medications are not licensed for use in children because they haven't been tested in children. Most paediatric prescribing is done "off label". But puberty...

    On the one hand, taking at face value the need to perform more studies to a higher standard to strengthen the standards of care, I can see the government directing new studies and some intermediary treatment guidelines.

    The difficulty is that many paediatric medications are not licensed for use in children because they haven't been tested in children. Most paediatric prescribing is done "off label". But puberty blockers were tested on children, and they're licensed for use in children, and they're licensed to halt puberty in children. The only complication is that they're licensed for precocious puberty, not for gender incongruence.

    8 votes
  12. Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv

    DanBC
    Link
    I've been watching old episodes of Crown Court on YouTube. Here's a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYvtz2fIIZI&list=PLIIQ0FV1o-JWYOPw2BFSsqo59OKZ7HCi7&index=22 Wikipedia has an article...

    I've been watching old episodes of Crown Court on YouTube. Here's a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYvtz2fIIZI&list=PLIIQ0FV1o-JWYOPw2BFSsqo59OKZ7HCi7&index=22

    Wikipedia has an article about it here.

    It's a remarkable programme. Each case takes three episodes. The programme is entirely in the courtroom - there's no pre-case dramatisation, no flashbacks. One unusual feature is that the programme features a jury picked from the local electoral register, and they say whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. The programme wrote two endings to cover both rulings.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Colorado Bureau of Investigation finds DNA scientist manipulated data in hundreds of cases over decades in ~science

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    Yes, and this... ...is a big deal. One incidence of this in a healthcare setting would be pretty serious internal disciplinary discussion and maybe even regulatory referral. I can't imagine that...

    Yes, and this...

    Deleted and altered data that concealed Woods’ tampering with controls

    ...is a big deal. One incidence of this in a healthcare setting would be pretty serious internal disciplinary discussion and maybe even regulatory referral. I can't imagine that criminal forensics are more tolerant of dishonesty.

    12 votes
  14. Comment on Beyond the water flow rate: Water pressure and smart timers impact shower efficiency in ~enviro

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    But in the UK we do not have water scarcity, we just have a combination of old infrastructure that cannot cope with climate change patterns of rainfall, and terrible infrastructure that combines...

    In regards to water scarcity

    But in the UK we do not have water scarcity, we just have a combination of old infrastructure that cannot cope with climate change patterns of rainfall, and terrible infrastructure that combines storm-overflow with sewage and dumps raw sewage into rivers and seas.

    Steve Mold has some nice explanation of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGJLKhsLx18

    We could fix our infrastructure so it copes better with fewer but heavier rainfall events, but we have privatised water companies who don't show much interest in this, and we currently have a government that does not believe in using taxes to build public infrastructure.

    We could force all new build housing to include soak aways and rain gardens and water-butts, but we don't. We could provide subsidised water-butts to anyone who wants one, but we don't. We could force any home-owner who wants to pave over their garden to include slow drainage, but we don't. We could force new industrial and commercial building to include similar features that slow the release of heavy rainfall into the sewers, but we don't.

    7 votes
  15. Comment on What are your values? in ~life

    DanBC
    Link
    Professionally, the Nolan Principles of Public Life and not just because I have to, but because they're mostly good. I'm in a weird situation where I'm not leading anyone, and I'm not really in...

    Professionally, the Nolan Principles of Public Life and not just because I have to, but because they're mostly good. I'm in a weird situation where I'm not leading anyone, and I'm not really in public office, but multiple organisations I work with want me to follow these and say that I'm following them which is fine because mostly it's stuff that should be blindingly obvious. Really weird that we needed to tell eg politicians that dishonesty is bad please stop doing it.

    • Selflessness
    • Integrity
    • Objectivity
    • Accountability
    • Openness
    • Honesty
    • Leadership
    10 votes
  16. Comment on What are some cheaper alternatives to Grammarly that are equally as good? in ~tech

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    I honestly think your current level of written English is very good, and I don't think you need Grammarly. There are tools called "readability checkers" that test how easy it would be to read a...

    I honestly think your current level of written English is very good, and I don't think you need Grammarly.

    There are tools called "readability checkers" that test how easy it would be to read a passage of writing. Older versions were not sophisticated.

    Wikipedia has some information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests

    5 votes
  17. Comment on What are some cheaper alternatives to Grammarly that are equally as good? in ~tech

    DanBC
    Link
    Did you use Grammarly to create your post? Your written English is better than mine, and I have English as a first language. EDIT: If you're happy with dictionaries and reference books there are...

    Did you use Grammarly to create your post? Your written English is better than mine, and I have English as a first language.

    EDIT: If you're happy with dictionaries and reference books there are collections available for the software "Golden Dict". There's a big torrent that has a lot of English dictionaries, but also English Usage guides too.

    6 votes
  18. Comment on New York midwife fined for giving 1,500 children homeopathic pellets instead of vaccines in ~health

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    In general, there's a high evidentiary threshold for criminal conviction ("beyond all reasonable doubt") and so if a person is convicted in a criminal court it makes it easier for the regulator to...

    In general, there's a high evidentiary threshold for criminal conviction ("beyond all reasonable doubt") and so if a person is convicted in a criminal court it makes it easier for the regulator to take action - they can say "you were convicted, we accept that conviction, so we don't need to run our own findings of fact" and they can move directly onto what action they're going to take.

    The regulators tend to work to different (civil, not criminal) evidentiary threshold (preponderance of evidence / balance of probabilities) so it's possible for a person to be found not guilty at criminal trial, and then go to the regulatory hearing where they run their own finding of fact and decide it happened, and then take their action. This is why they wait until after the criminal conviction has happened.

    It's a weirdly tricky balance of giving the health care professional the right to justice (which is upheld in international human rights law) while protecting patients and the public from on-going harms.

    9 votes
  19. Comment on New York midwife fined for giving 1,500 children homeopathic pellets instead of vaccines in ~health

    DanBC
    Link
    It's important to remember that while the principle of homeopathy means there's no active ingredients in the pellets the manufacturing controls are so lax they can be chock full of dangerous...

    It's important to remember that while the principle of homeopathy means there's no active ingredients in the pellets the manufacturing controls are so lax they can be chock full of dangerous levels of active ingredient.

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hundreds-of-babies-harmed-by-homeopathic-remedies-families-say/

    In 2010, however, FDA inspectors who examined Hyland’s facilities criticized the company for substandard manufacturing practices and found inconsistent levels of atropa belladonna in its products.

    The agency issued a public warning, noting “reports of serious adverse events in children taking this product that are consistent with belladonna toxicity.”

    The company reformulated the products, and took existing product off the shelf. But problems kept happening and so

    Several weeks ago, on Jan. 27 [2017], the FDA issued another warning, saying that laboratory analysis of Hyland’s teething tablets found levels of belladonna “sometimes far exceeding the amount claimed on the label.” The agency warned consumers not to use the products and to seek medical care immediately if their child has seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, muscle weakness, or other problems after using homeopathic teething products.

    The best outcome is that she gave them nothing but sugar pills and they can be vaccinated correctly.

    23 votes
  20. Comment on For some Helldivers 2 players, the fascist role-play has gone too far in ~games

    DanBC
    Link Parent
    This feels like the "Alf Garnett defence". In the 1960s the uk BBC had a comedy sitcom featuring a character called Alf. He was remarkably racist, but it was okay said the BBC because he was also...

    "not realizing they’re the ones being parodied"

    This feels like the "Alf Garnett defence". In the 1960s the uk BBC had a comedy sitcom featuring a character called Alf. He was remarkably racist, but it was okay said the BBC because he was also a fool and he was the butt of the joke.

    But then people started liking him. He became an anti-hero.

    The BBC did a bit of research and they found that the depiction of Alf's working class life was so good that audiences strongly identified with him, and they accepted his racism and sexism. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01439685.2013.847647

    tl;dr ironic racism is simply racism.

    21 votes