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rmcpherson

397 karma · joined August 9, 2012

Randall McPherson

firstname at lastname.io

https://github.com/rlmcpherson

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/rlm; my proof: https://keybase.io/rlm/sigs/_ynWtv7q572RNOSGIiMxm5nHpuvRjoKQRt_6DI6lyP8 ]

submissionscomments
rmcpherson··on Finnish sauna heat exposure induces stronger immune cell than cytokine responses
I think you intended to link a different article. That one’s not about cooking with your dishwasher.
rmcpherson··on Ask HN: Share your personal website
randallmcpherson.com
rmcpherson··on What a year of solar and batteries saved us in 2025
I would appreciate this write up as well. Looking to do a DIY setup.
rmcpherson··on Husband and wife outed as GRU spies aiding bombings and poisonings across Europe
If you enjoy Slow Horses, I highly recommend the book series it’s based on. I’m not sure if Mick Herron wrote the books with Gary Oldman in mind, but it’s the perfect Oldman character nonetheless. The show is quite a faithful adaptation of the books, even down to some lines. Excellent review of Oldman in the 3rd season: https://defector.com/gary-oldman-is-gross-and-loving-it?gift...
rmcpherson··on Monitoring my weather at home
I would love this for my David VP2 station. It looks like it’s not available in the United States but they say it’s resold by ambient weather. Does anyone know of an alternative source? If this is it that’s more than twice the EU price. https://ambientweather.com/amweatherbridgepro.html
rmcpherson··on French startup unveils new residential thermo-acoustic heat pump
I’m surprised you needed AC at 10k ft. I have a cabin south of FairPlay at 9200 ft and the high temperature for the year has never exceeded 81 F.

Good to hear on the heat pumps though. I’m planning to eventually replace the propane boiler with them.

rmcpherson··on Starlink Global (?) Outage
Went out in Colorado for about 15 minutes. Back online for now.
rmcpherson··on NOAA Weather Radio Outages
Davis Instruments makes some of the best and most accurate devices. I have the Vantage Pro2 sensor suite and recommend it. More expensive than some but worth it. There are various ways to upload data to the internet.
rmcpherson··on Biodiversity decline will require millions of years to recover
It is definitely typical Kim Stanley Robinson in that it explores large ideas and delves into details that don't pertain directly to the plot. As a rumination on a possible non-dystopian future, it is excellent and I highly recommend it. The wandering plot and digressions into hikes in the Swiss Alps is also quintessentially Robinsonian. I loved it but you have to know what to expect.
rmcpherson··on The real reason to end the death penalty
“We hold these truths to be self evident...” is from the Declaration of Independence. It does not appear in the Constitution.
rmcpherson··on Psilocybin 'promising' for depression
This is one of the travesties of drug enforcement and has compounded inequality in America. The imprisonment of the poor for nonviolent drug offenses continues today. That a wealthy drug user would laud this as a good outcome of drug policy is honestly flabbergasting, but perhaps shouldn’t be.
rmcpherson··on The Wire in HD (2014)
This is the inspiration for that scene in the wire, I suppose. It also was A Prairie Home Companion. https://youtu.be/P8y3jbuuzDg
rmcpherson··on Things You're Allowed to Do
The negative externalities of beef are not priced in, as with most environmental costs.
rmcpherson··on Amazon Has Too Much Power
Unionization, as argued for in the op-ed, is something that’s legal right now. We just need government to enforce the laws already in place. Laws paid for with the blood of the labor movement in the early 20th century. Unfortunately regulatory capture has eviscerated the agencies and government bodies tasked with upholding those laws.
rmcpherson··on Surveillance plane starts flying over Baltimore
Which rights have been given up, specifically? Clearly not gun rights.
rmcpherson··on Vegetables get freakish in the land of the midnight sun (2014)
According to Wikipedia it’s a nickname for Alaska but also can refer to any region above the Arctic circle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_Midnight_Sun
rmcpherson··on Ask HN: What skills will be useful during an upcoming recession/depression?
All true although it’s a great hobby for being stuck in the house and likely safer than buying beer currently.
rmcpherson··on How do we stop people from blinding other drivers with aftermarket LEDs?
Which headlights did you buy? Asking as a fellow Impreza owner. They really are inadequate.
rmcpherson··on Ask HN: How are you preparing yourself for a recession?
Learning rust is great (I am too) but I'm skeptical that it is in any way a recession-proof skill. If anything, recessions cause corporations to become more conservative, including technically, favoring the older "boring" languages with a long track record.
rmcpherson··on Johns Hopkins CSSE Covid-19 Global Case Dashboard
Thanks! From the blog post linked there posted on January 23: "Our primary data source is DXY, an online platform run by members of the Chinese medical community, which aggregates local media and government reports to provide COVID-19 cumulative case totals in near real-time at the province level in China and country level otherwise."

I'd surmise that it was the primary source since, at the time, the spread of the virus was still contained within China for the most part.

rmcpherson··on Johns Hopkins CSSE Covid-19 Global Case Dashboard
Yes, the non-mobile version has a great layout and much more density of information on a single page (unsurprisingly).

Does anyone know what the sources are for the data shown here?

rmcpherson··on The human body’s remarkable ability to adapt to the cold
The article mentions that plastic bags work better than emergency "space" blankets since they block moisture and thus evaporative cooling. A large industrial trash bag is part of my emergency supplies on cold backpacking trips. It's cheap, weighs almost nothing, and provides protection from both radiative and convective cooling.
rmcpherson··on How Allstate’s auto insurance algorithm squeezes big spenders
When I had a bicycle accident, they fully covered my new bike and related damaged equipment under my renters insurance policy. Service has been uniformly excellent for car claims as well.
rmcpherson··on Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1834)
Why do you wish that?
rmcpherson··on NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019
It’s really not always connected in the way of internet or satellite two way communication. The beacon’s are only there if you need them for emergencies and do not allow people to contact you. There are some like the Spot devices that allow 2 way text via iridium satellites, however.
rmcpherson··on The MLM Epidemic in 13 Maps
Atlanta is a big dot though. With the growth of the Atlanta metro it may eventually make Georgia a blue state in national elections, similar to how the Twin Cities with ~60% of Minnesota population make it vote democratic.
rmcpherson··on Pair Locking Your iPhone
The linked article does not show it extending 100 miles from international airports. Nor does the text say that.
rmcpherson··on Hams must remove repeaters from CA mountaintops or pay huge fees [pdf]
I’ve never heard this happen on US ham bands. I’m sure it has but the FCC takes violations seriously and will track down offenders.
rmcpherson··on Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
This is true although you can turn off location sharing with apple for all these services, under Location Services->System Services. This includes Maps, Analytics, traffic, and Apple Maps improvement.
rmcpherson··on Childhood Adversity Linked to Earlier Puberty, Premature Brain Development
Agriculture is also more intensive than hunting / gathering, supporting more humans per area. When the two conflicted, the agriculturalists won by strength of numbers.

Generally, more intensive civilizations outcompete less intensive ones, even though the average individual may be worse off in that society.

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