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kvmet

123 karma · joined June 18, 2023

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kvmet··on The history of cataract surgery
I did some of the controls software for an automated IOL manufacturing line roughly 8 or 9 years ago. It's very cool technology, I was proud to work on it.

One problem at the time (at least from my understanding) was actually that some people needed a second round of surgery since people are living longer and cataracts are getting corrected earlier. Last I heard, the rate of complications for a repeat surgery is significantly higher, but I assume it is improving all the time.

A fun fact: UV protection can be put directly into the lens to protect your retinas even without sunglasses (I assume this depends on the polymer type though). Also the lenses are usually tinted a slightly yellow color since our natural lenses shift color as we age. Patients tend to find it jarring if the lens is perfectly clear.

kvmet··on Precision Clock Mk IV
I assume they are referring to the channel timing? Cellular frequencies are segmented into time segments where each channel is allowed to be used by only some devices when it is their "turn" to transmit (this allows multiple phones to share the same frequency at the same time).
kvmet··on The Hierarchy of Hazard Controls
Elimination is not the same as separating someone from the hazard. Edit: elimination is (re)moving the hazard and a control is adding a barrier or moving the person

Elimination is completely getting rid of the hazard. (In the case of x-ray it would be just not doing an x-ray at all)

kvmet··on Used Meta AI, now Instagram is using my face on ads targeted at me
Phased array speakers can focus sound in a specific direction. The visuals I don't have a good answer for but the sound part could definitely be done with existing technology
kvmet··on Why is it so hard to buy things that work well? (2022)
Another big benefit of these older devices is customizability and repairability. I am working to refurbish an MPC1000 right now (drum machine) and the fact that it is repairable at all was a big factor in choosing to sell a newer, nicer device in favor of an older one that wasn't fully working.

Not everything can be treated that way, like a phone or a laptop I would prefer to be no more than 5 years old. But so many things don't need to be terribly modern in order to work well.

kvmet··on U.S. math scores drop on major international test
Phonics certainly doesn't _feel_ like the best way to teach English, but hopefully we now have enough data to show that it is at least acceptable. A big factor too is "can it be taught at scale". You don't only have to teach the students, you have to teach the teachers how to teach the new methods. Much like NCLB, these changes are well-meaning but we really need to stop rolling things out nationally only to find out they harm outcomes.
kvmet··on Contradictions in photography advice
Totally right. I shoot almost exclusively with a 50mm prime and make heavy use of cropping. I get to carry a very light, small, and FAST lens that works in many different situations without needing a flash. Modern cameras have such high resolution that the output still has good quality even after significant cropping.

There are some situations where "zooming with your feet" is the right answer and others where it is impossible. Try everything.

kvmet··on Working from home is powering productivity
Is this actually happening? I have seen this idea thrown out a lot online but it always feels like a conspiracy theory to me (akin to "fine art is a tax write-off")
kvmet··on Preventing app removal on iOS
I have an alarm clock like this and still use it almost daily. The one that I use has an alternate dismissal method for anything fixed to a certain location. (Barcodes, etc.)

My sleep has gotten consistent enough over the years that I could probably get by without it, but it did help significantly with building the habits in the first place.

kvmet··on I have 2000 old VHS tapes in my garage and don't know what to do with them
Did you misspeak? Animals are generally living things
kvmet··on Tesla Transport Protocol over Ethernet (TTPoE)
Licensing probably?

CAN (or one of its more modern variants) are historically more common in automotive. However with 2-wire Ethernet connections becoming more commonplace I do think you're right that more and more cars will be moving to ethernet fieldbus.

EtherNet/IP is not as robust for many applications as its competitors (PROFINET, EtherCAT) since it is not fully deterministic. EtherCAT is my personal favorite.

kvmet··on Meta cancels high-end mixed reality headset after Apple Vision Pro struggles
I think porn prefers open tooling so that it is less likely to be banned. Going inside Apple's walled garden is probably more risky in that regard and also there's only a small consumer base.

There are plenty of VR apps in this category available for PC-connected headsets. You can find tons of them on Steam or Patreon.

kvmet··on Zero regrets: Firefox power user kept 7,500 tabs open for two years
If you close it normally, restart it, and then do "reopen last closed tab" (cmd/ctrl+shift+t) it will open the entire last window you had open. Press multiple times to open all previous windows.
kvmet··on Empathy for the user having sex with your software
It really helps to test these kinds of products internally.
kvmet··on Zettlr: One-Stop Publication Workbench
I use Zettlr somewhat often. Honestly my favorite features are just:

- inline markdown preview

- VIM Keybinds (with some issues, as many implementations have)

- mermaid and LaTeX math support built in

(Notice that 2/3 of these are easily done on many other editors via plugins/extensions)

It has some other nice things too but I find it to be kind of slow and clunky. Still I come back for the way markdown works there because it feels like WYSIWYG but without so much mouse clicking. I have minimally used the pandoc and other publishing features but wasn't blown away by them vs just using pandoc

kvmet··on The Mythical Non-Roboticist: Wouldn't it be great if everyone could do robotics?
Yeah and industrial robots are generally pretty easy compared to other parts of automation. They are pretty much turnkey and have a bunch of options for integration. That's not to say that they don't take any skill, but if you're doing material handling or welding or something you can often just buy the entire package from <robot company> and apply power and it works. It does all of the advanced kinematics math for you; you will be better at robots if you understand the math but it isn't a requirement and the vast majority of people programming, maintaining, and working alongside them don't know the math behind it.

It always bums me out when people just want to look at a pretty robot drawing a line or picking up a heavy thing and ignore much more complex and difficult parts of factory automation.

kvmet··on UI elements with a hand-drawn, sketchy look
I don't think they were saying you were unappreciative. They were just adding on that finishing a project is worth celebrating.
kvmet··on Rents are rising faster than wages across the country
That graph is awful. What is it showing aside from "bigger arrow more bad"? Does color mean anything? What variable does arrow size actually represent?
kvmet··on I discovered a critical exploit in ZeroMQ with mostly pure luck
This is why teams need both. Relentless, obsessive people are great for the things that need it. Most stuff is usually fine to just do the lazy way though and move on.
kvmet··on Mistral AI Launches New 8x22B MOE Model
It's gotta be either perceived value or training data/licensing restrictions.
kvmet··on Google ordered to identify who watched certain YouTube videos
Why does allowing them to store your watch history mean that they MUST also share it with 3rd parties?

Why isn't "I want _you_ to know but I don't want you to use it against me." an option?

kvmet··on 6.2 GHz Intel Core I9-14900KS Review
I'd be really worried about condensation with peltier.
kvmet··on 6.2 GHz Intel Core I9-14900KS Review
I have a 12900k and was transcoding video on it yesterday. It stays stable at ~4.5gHz indefinitely when working on all cores.
kvmet··on Breaking down tasks
This kind of thing destroys freelance devs who don't have context.

Customer: "Hi we need this small change." Dev: "No problem! Here's a quote for 4 hours"

Ignoring that 4 hours is probably less than the effort to consult, estimate, generate and process contracts, bill, do taxes... Then the customer comes back and asks for a revision which will at least require a Change-Order or a separate PO.

To some extent the overhead should be covered under labor burden but the reality is that in a sole proprietorship YOU are also the person doing the labor that is within the definition of "labor burden". It adds up extremely fast.

A million dollars would be a windfall if it landed in my checking account. On a development project with hardware and more than one dev it might as well be dust in the wind.

kvmet··on MacPad: I created the hybrid Mac-iPad laptop and tablet that Apple won't make
Exactly my feelings. I have an IPad Pro M2. Why shouldn't I be able to run software that works on my M2 MBP?

I would even accept having to hook up KB/mouse for input. But carrying around a MacBook AND an iPad is a lot of weight.

kvmet··on Delicious Foods Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
Title feels misleading since the study specifically calls out "processed" foods and meats.

> MFA revealed trends in the data and a strong correlation (Lg = 0.92, RV = 0.65) between the daily consumption of processed food and meat items in AD patients.

kvmet··on 2024 IEEE Medal of Honor Goes to Bob Kahn
I feel like the Wikipedia article understates the reach of IEEE:

- Produces 30 percent of the world’s published literature in electrical engineering, computers and control technology.

- Holds annually more than 300 major conferences.

- Has nearly 900 active standards with 700 under development.

https://umaine.edu/ieee/what-is-ieee/

kvmet··on The case for single-stair multifamily
100% agree. Somerville (city outside of Boston) is 19th on this list of densest cities in the US and I attribute it mostly to 2 and 3-family homes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_b...

kvmet··on Google AI has better bedside manner than doctors – and makes better diagnoses
Wasn't medical diagnosis also a goal of IBM Watson? I was honestly hoping to see real applications for that system but in the end it seems all we got was a robot that was pretty good at Jeopardy.
kvmet··on Disney, Warner, Comcast, and Paramount are contemplating cuts, possible mergers
Might be regional because I went to cancel and it offered a refund for like $100 or whatever is left on my annual sub.
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