The Oregon legislature passes laws to address the affordable housing shortage, apparently thinking that it's going to solve homelessness. The West Coast doesn't really have an affordable housing shortage so much as it has an illegal camping out on the streets problem. These are different. Many of the illegal campers aren't interested in a house. They just want to be left alone to do drugs and be supported by the government, with free money and drug supplies (which is only too easily being supplied). This is why things aren't getting better. This is a UK-based report but I predict we'll see more of it here in the blue cities.
Very sad. The Cochrane UK lost its NIH funding, and so only has enough to operate until March 2024. The Cochrane Database has been a great way to evaluate science progress. This ronin has used it now and then. They will try to find alternate funding in the meantime, but if they aren't successful, they'll have to shut down. Everyone's having to tighten their belts. (Except Zelensky, maybe.)
alleges the company systematically rejects claims in a matter of seconds, thanks to an algorithmic system put in place to help automate the process....While medical doctors signed off on the denials, the system didn’t require them to open patient medical records for the review.
Yup, Worldcoin is worse than it looks. Exploitation of the poor, on top of that. The techies will do anything to get rich. And they like it when most of the public are too ignorant to know the dangers.
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ChatGPT broke the Turing test. It was time to develop a better test anyway. Alan Turing probably didn't think a machine could get close to doing what it's doing today, without being really human. Machines need to initial conversation and human interaction, it has to have a memory that lasts more than several days, and it needs to have a working world model, where it can convey understanding of how physics determines how objects in the world interact and behave. And it has to react to external events with emotional context.
Here's the rub about climate change. John Kerry is so arrogant telling other countries that they must cut back their CO2 emissions, essentially stalling their economic growth, just so he can look good back in the U.S. Meanwhile, Kerry flies private planes and lives large.
Some geeks are upset that the major tech companies will impose attestation token requirements on hardware in order to provide zero-knowledge proof that a legitimate entity is making an http request. Because there are bots and fraud, and CAPTCHA is getting in people's way. The Web Environment Integrity initiative was started by Google (of course) and they have their best interest at heart, right? Bad players making life difficult for everyone. Why does this remind me of Portland?
Another scam? Or investment opportunity?Sam Altman launched WorldCoin in October 2021, which is part cryptocurrency (based on Etherium 2) but also a worldwide ID system, to identify you as a unique human, based on retinal scan. I read their FAQ, and am still not convinced that it will take off. It appears that this isn't available in the U.S. anyway. And then I read that Sam Bankman-Fried is a founding investor, and yeah, I think I'm going to hold off (why isn't that guy in jail anyway?).
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How to navigate medical privacy in today's landscape. I came looking for tips, but just got discouraged. You may try to maintain privacy, but once you release any confidential information, it's passed on everywhere, and it's no longer in your control. I think what we need to have is a system of tokens, where you control what information is accessible. A company needs to be created that issues tokens to healthcare systems that is in control by the patient. This token can be revoked. Sure, it's a new inconvenience for doctors, but things are different now. No longer are your medical secrets just between you and your physician. That information is networked, and all healthcare systems linked to the doctor's office can access that information now. No more secrets, despite whatever HIPAA says.
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Bruce Lee and me. A nice excerpt from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's biography. Can't believe it's been that long.
Cannabis can alter gene expression. Well this is new. It may not alter your DNA, but by making epigenetic changes, like changing methylation on histones, it can alter gene expression, which can cause changes just as significant. Worth it, guys?
Many vital drugs are in short supply. How to fix this? Do we want to have the government take over the pharmaceutical industry? Hell no, the disadvantages quickly outweigh any short-term benefits. But the author has a point – the problem may be in the long length of time that drugs are kept from becoming generic. Shortening that interval increases the likelihood that generic drugs that are valuable and drive demand will be manufactured by others. Sounds like a win-win.
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Portland City Council should take note. This is what happens when a committee tries to solve a problem. Nothing gets done. The VA needed a new medical record system (EHR) to replace the old one. Committees were formed, led by political appointees with little relevant experience (boy, have I seen that). The result - confusion and patient deaths. The problem is that the selection of commercially available EHRs isn't great. Cerner's Powerchart UI needs an overhaul, and is clunky to use. Epic is popular with hospitals but is very, very expensive and has a cluttered busy interface with a steep learning curve. There is no competition for excellence in the commercial EHR world as there is in consumer software. EHR vendors sell to hospitals, touting their auditing and tracking capabilities. Ease of use? Improving physician or nursing efficiency? Nah.
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What Most People Still Get Wrong About COVID Management. Well, naturally with a title like that, I had to click. The author rests his arguments on the trope "Hey, we just didn't know back then what we know now. So cut us some slack with the criticisms, will ya?". No, no, no. Just because YOU didn't know, doesn't mean some of the rest of us didn't. Just because YOU didn't look at what was happening and say to yourself "Boy, that doesn't make sense – we should be doing something else instead." And remember, the Dems in Congress were strongly against Trump. Fauci was against Trump (apparently that weasel Pence was the person that recommended both Fauci and Birx). So there was no hope of any unified response. We were told to social distance 6 feet, when it was clear that the virus doesn't linger around your head like a cloud. We were told to mask up, but never what kind of mask to use, or how to dispose of them when done. No one cared that masks went into the wastebasket. Gloves were worn for prolonged periods and not exchanged between each human contact as they should. The science was selective. This is one of many clues that this whole thing might just be a huge charade. So much credibility has been lost. So Tomas, when we say you should have known, we aren't talking about "how could we have known" knowledge. We're just saying that we were right all along, and that you (and the media) should have given more credence to the skeptics. We saw the clues, which were everywhere. If only you had just looked for them.
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Wow, this a great space science video. Very well done. Had to include this here.
StackOverflowed. The techies have their own mental health support system. Or is it just a place to vent? (Color me paranoid, but the Internet is not the place to let it all hang out, you know?)
Seattle's going up in flames, and Mayor Harrell is silent. Another example of how diversity is Seattle's strength. When will Seattlites have had enough?
