24 January 2025

Wow, this could be big news: a proof of P=NP.  This could have major implications in computing, and might decrease the enthusiasm for quantum computers. We'll have to see what comes out of the peer-review.

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Siri has not improved with Apple Intelligence. This is a really big disappointment for Apple. People have already lowered expectations with regard to security and privacy. Apple Maps was a big disappointment. Can't help but wonder what Steve Jobs would do to Tim Cook if he were able to come back to Apple.

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Sunburns don't damage DNA after all. It mostly damages RNA, and that process liberates inflammatory cytokines.  Still, UV rays still do cause thymine dimers, though, so there is some damage to DNA.

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Yeah, US healthcare is already socialist. And that's why it's so expensive.  It leads to silly decisions like Oregon hospitals voting for a tax on themselves.
Hospitals want the tax because it allows the state to qualify for more federal funding for the Oregon Health Plan.

It raises about a quarter of the total funding for Oregon’s Medicaid program, primarily by drawing down a federal match. The state gets roughly $2 dollars from the federal government for every dollar it puts into Medicaid.

The cost of the tax has previously been passed on to school districts and employers...
The house of cards is supported by federal funding. That's the only way socialism is able to be sustained. Money has to come from the government, because it can't support itself. And it's very expensive.

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Someone else has noticed that Big Tech is making AI on by default, and you have to turn it off. With Google, you have to upgrade to turn AI off.

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Trump has banned central bank digital currency.  Crypto is OK, and you can dabble in it if you want. But creating a CBDC allows the Fed to control your money digitally, and forcing you to accept another fiat currency that it has complete control over.  Trump has been de-banked, and knows that this can be turned against him, so has skin in the game.

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H.R. 238 seeks to allow AI to qualify as a practitioner, able to prescribe medications. No, this is not the way to go. This measure is what happens when congressmen don't understand technology.  It needs to fail.

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Projections show that enrollment in Portland Public Schools is on a downward trend. This comment says it best:
...young families don’t want to raise their children in a highly taxed, lawless city where 911 doesn’t answer the phone, police are too understaffed to respond and ambulances may or may not come. Combine that with a school district that cares much more about virtue signaling on racial “justice” than educating our children and it’s pretty obvious why the school population is falling.
Fully agree.

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Blood pressure readings must be taken in a supine position to be predictive of cardiac complications. How blood pressure is taken in the doctor's office is wrong.  Link to full study here.

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Facepalm. Portland's mayor wants to solve the homeless crisis by building new homes for them.  No word on fixing the underlying drug problems.
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