Link. Hopeless.
Author Archives: jgordon
“waging a war against the filibuster would play into the hands of Republicans seeking to hold up his agenda”
Link. The fight McConnell wants.
“Apple managers threatened security companies to shut up because otherwise their apps in the @AppStore might get extra reviewed”
Link. Apple “security” is faked.
Protein Folding Progress – What’s It Mean?
Link. Means we work on the next set of unsolved problems limiting real world impact.
“you aren’t getting a fix for the flaw that makes your iPhones easy prey for Pegasus spyware”
Link. We will need to update phones every year.
Scientists Finish the Human Genome at Last.
Link. “Dr. Phillippy admitted that part of his motivation for such an audacious project was that the missing gaps annoyed him.”
Why Is Biking A 4-Minute Mile So Much Easier Than Running One?
Link. No up and down bounce.
“Dayton, Ohio, the police cleared only 21 percent of their murders, 94 percent of which were done with a firearm.”
Link. Solutions require a lot of investigators. Prevention is maybe a better idea.
Blanket party.
Link. Useful to know about if one treats veterans. Often inflicted upon the vulnerable and the weak, it usually contributes to their long term mental health needs.
“AlphaFold passed the test, correctly predicting both shapes.”
Link. So much harder than we thought in 90s.
“McConnell wants to see spending cuts to bring down the deficit.”
Link. Hahahahahahahaha. I’ve been waiting for that.
“By pulling out, McCarthy has boosted the committee’s legitimacy and credibility immeasurably.”
Link. Hysterically funny to think GOP could add integrity.
“Where else in America, besides NBA basketball maybe, are you going to find an elite field so dominated by one minority race?”
Link. Elite tech is Chinese and Asian-American.
“they could even trash the Biden administration for taking credit for their hero’s unbelievable wisdom and execution.”
Link. This won’t work — we libs can’t fake offense. What works is intense pressure on Lachlan Murdoch.
“One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”
Link. “And now all you really see is their fear and their regret. And even though I may walk into the room thinking, ‘Okay, this is your fault, you did this to yourself,’ when I leave the room, I just see a person that’s really suffering, and that is so regretful for the choice that they made.”
“his systematic review showing the mannitol halved death from head injury was based on trials that had never happened”
Link. “Many of the trials came from the same countries (Egypt, China, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey”
The Title app. macOS.
Link. “As you move from browser to brower and web page to web page, TheTitle shows you the full page title – unobscured.
“These noise and blur reduction strategies are critical components of the recent Google Photos editor updates, which includes “Denoise” and “Sharpen” tools that enable users to enhance images that may have been captured under less than ideal condi
Link.
“the sort of calendaring and scheduling interoperability I advocated for in decades past is no closer to happening”
Link. The things that don’t happen are revealing.
“We’re not going to be able to secure the Internet until we deal with the companies that engage in the international cyber-arms trade.”
Link. By “deal with” we mean send executives to an American prison.
“Funk was also an accomplished outdoorswoman, spending time riding her bike or her horse, skiing, hunting, and fishing.’
Link. Hope her wikipedia profile gets expanded now she’s oldest ever astronaut.
“The Mechanisms of Cult Production” compares the behavior of political elites across a wide range of dictatorial regimes, from Caligula’s Rome to the Kim family’s North Korea, and finds striking similarities.”
Link. GOP too of course.
J&J vaccine recipients will likely need mRNA booster.
Link. Our two guys in their 20s will need mRNA. Wonder if we can just go get it.
Apple’s security marketing is bullshit.
Link. Apple may not want phones to be too secure.
Haiti vs. the Dominican Republic: economic divergence.
Link. Corrupt government and aversion to trade as a legacy of French enslavement.
“Beta has accounted for just 5.6 percent of virus samples sequenced in South Africa”
Link. Delta displaced it!
“the American Neurological Association’s executive committee told the doctors who are its members that “based on the clinical evidence, Aduhelm should not have been approved at this time.”
Link. Needs OIG investigation.
“when you set up a new M1 Mac, or set one up after restoring it in DFU mode, the primary admin account created is special: it’s the Owner account of that Mac”
Link. Damn.
How to connect the Apple Watch to any NordicTrack or iFIT bike, tread, rower, or vault.
Link. Crazy this is not part of iOS.
“On this site we’ve emulated the Apple II and The Print Shop software, so that visitors can easily use The Print Shop to create their own cards, posters and banners”
Link. I think I used a DOS version of this?
Eight ways to save time with proxy icons.
Link. To create a file in a specific folder, open the target folder. Create the file and save it anywhere. Then use proxy icon that appears to move it to the target folder.
“He could commit to a lie in the frame of his body and in the timbre of his voice so fully, despite all statistical and even video evidence to the contrary.”
Link. OJ Simpson and Lance Armstrong were also like that. It is a kind of super power.
“despite their ordeals, none of them changed their minds about getting vaccinated”
Link. We don’t understand the human mind.
“A neutron star has a fluid core, and elastic crust and on top of that a thin fluid ocean.”
Link. I did not realize neutron star geophysics was a thing.
NYT: “Pegasus can allow spies to gain access to an infected phone’s hard drive…”
Link. Hard drive. NYT, that’s embarrassing.
“NSO Group, a private Israeli firm that is a worldwide leader in the field of private surveillance. NSO is the developer of Pegasus, a powerful spyware tool”
Link. The US can restrain NSO.
Wartime Paris and the serial killer.
Link. These are bettter days.
Damn Interesting – “Facebook stopped showing our posts to approximately 94% of our followers, demanding a fee to “boost” each post into an ad, which would make it visible to more of our audience.”
Link. I admire the slow sneaky way Facebook monetized Pages.
“the White House has tried for weeks to get Facebook to explain how it is combating disinformation about the vaccine but has not received answers.”
Link.
The Economist on the GOP’s anti-vaxx ideology.
Link. Leave GOP states.
The Economist on the GOP’s anti-vaxx ideology.
Link. Leave GOP states.
“IBM discontinued Watson for Genomics, which grew out of the joint research with the University of North Carolina. It also shelved another cancer offering, Watson for Oncology”
Link. There’s a 60y tradition of computer execs thinking healthcare is easy and losing their shirts.
“In January I got a hundred of the seven-speed freewheels. They lasted about a month.”
Link. I’m impressed they’re available anywhere! 1980s bikes are on the road again.
Biden plan: “we should levy tariffs on imports from countries that don’t take sufficient steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions”
Link. I independently reinvented carbon tariffs years ago, well before I read about the idea. It’s the only way.
“older White men and women who lived paycheck to paycheck with plenty of time on their hands — retired or close to it, estranged from their families or otherwise without children.”
Link. For a brief moment they were important. Meaningful. Trump cared about them.
“We need to get the ladies away from the aisle. Let me help you.’ I smacked his hand away and told him, ‘Get away from me. You f–king did this.’”
Link. The gallant Jim Jordan vs Liz “no-fucks-to-give” Cheney.
The Thunder Road lyric wars will never end.
Link. I heard it first from Bruce in SF Winterland. Maybe 1978 or 79? Memory fuzzy for some reason.
“Russia’s three spy agencies were ordered to find practical ways to support Trump, in a decree appearing to bear Putin’s signature.”
Link. GOP being very quiet. Russia’s brilliantly executed attack on America was among most successful in history.
“Fitch Ratings, a credit rating company, is considering downgrading the AAA rating of the United States government bonds.”
Link. Because American Fascism is scaring them.
Is it safe yet to upgrade to Big Sur?
Link. From Catalina, yes he says. I like upgrading just before next release but my old Air will stay on Mojave until it expires.