the-chitmonger

That man may not have the respect of any academic community but damn it if he isn't entertaining to watch.

On a more on-topic note, our growing understanding of animal intelligence has definitely made it harder for me to justify eating certain kinds of meat. My day-to-day is a bit too stressful to make the switch entirely to vegetarianism, but once my financial and personal situations have settled I'm looking forward to a less guilty lived experience. (This is of course not to say that you should feel guilty for eating meat - just my personal take)

If you're interested in creative writing or reading critically, I highly recommend the Writing Excuses podcast [0]. The podcast was started by Brandon Sanderson (he wrote the Mistborn series as well as The Stormlight Archive), Howard Tayler (he made the webcomic Schlock Mercenary), and Dan Wells (he wrote I Am Not a Serial Killer). The episodes are on the short side (15 minutes), but I find that it strikes a nice balance between feeding you information and giving you something to ruminate over.

There are 5 hosts in the current season (I am admittedly a bit bummed that Sanderson isn't participating right now as a main host), with a comprehensive range of perspectives across media. For example, DongWon Song[1] is a literary agent and former editor, while Mary Robinette [2] is a puppeteer, short story writer, and a voice actress.

As a little bonus (with longer-form content), Brandon Sanderson has a series of recorded lectures from his 2020 college creative writing course [3]. He does a nice deep-dive into the minutiae of constructing a story from start to finish, with additional considerations for publishing near the end. I have to admit I'm a little biased as I'm trying to write more in my free time, but the lectures offer a lot even for those who don't write or plan to write. Just getting a closer look inside the mind of an author has greatly impacted the way I read and scrutinize books.

[0]: https://writingexcuses.com/

[1]: https://www.dongwonsong.com/about

[2]: https://maryrobinettekowal.com/about/press-kit/

[3]: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj...

Fair point, I guess shame(?) on him for not being smarter with the proceeds

Yep - plus it also helps that we have the Atlantic and a lot of Europe between us and a potential invasion.

I never thought about pentesting my service providers - sounds fun and useful! I'll try this the next time I have a moment.

Very informative - thanks for the explanation! I also forget that these attacks are usually very targeted (I guess I just imagine criminals swimming in money despite the old adage). I'll just have to do my best to be an unremarkable person.

That makes sense - maybe something closer to a passphrase-protected SIM could work?

I'm not saying it's ideal, it was just an example of something that I thought could address the issue. I agree that we should limit PII being given to companies, but I'm conflicted on how the average Joe can maintain some semblance of security as hackers get better at finding holes. If the software can identify you based on something that only you have, then that's a tall barrier to cross for hackers that also doesn't require a steep learning curve for most.

Just to reiterate, I am personally a fan of maintaining anonymity, particularly online. I'm just concerned that our increasingly aging population won't be able to keep up with security best practices and we may need some braindead solutions to keep them safe.

Just asked the same question, haha - it looks like some carriers allow you to lock your SIM from being ported to another number until you authorize it (either in person or through your accounts online). That being said, I guess if someone working at, say, Verizon was handling your switch, they might be able to switch it to a bad actor's phone before switching it to your legitimate one? Not entirely sure though -would love to hear a more informed answer.

Man... on top of the obvious moral issue with enabling this hack, I'm astounded that someone would do this for $1k per person. Putting my freedom on the line would be so much more expensive than that.

On a more technical note, is there any safeguard against SIM swaps? Something like a fingerprint scan that's tied to your SIM. I'm not familiar with phone hardware at all but I'd love to hear if someone's working on this type of thing

I wonder if anyone has had experience importing a BYD to the US - it looks like you need to get independent certifications to prove that the car is safe if it doesn't conform to US automotive standards. I might need a new car in the next 6 months, so I hope it's cheaper than paying for an EV sold at a dealership here.

Absolutely, I don't really engage at all with it as I know I have addictive tendencies

Quick google search brings up a subset of Spanish Jewish population. Not sure if this was a typo or if it's a very specific regional slur?

Embarrassed to admit it, but I was a bit tunnel-visioned on what I could accomplish on my own to minimize the risk of neurodegenerative disease. I did a cursory search and found some articles [1][2] highlighting a similar benefit to continued learning/brain exercises (increased cognitive reserve, which may not necessarily reduce the risk of developing dementia but should slow its onset considerably).

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-023-00387-0

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038528/

Edited for clarity

Hard agree - this book inspired a fear in me that led me to seek every possible preventative method to combat dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases. In case anyone wants to see my (admittedly amateur) research, I've listed some things I've found below.

- Exercise regularly and mitigate conditions like diabetes, hypertension*, high cholesterol [1] (aerobic exercise seems to be the best for this, likely because it increases cerebral blood flow)

- Avoid night shift work/disrupting the circadian rhythm [2] (seems to be linked to poor sleep's impact on cardiovascular health, which has in turn seen a strong link to dementia developing)

- Increase your cognitive reserve (math is very commonly mentioned as a way to boost this but I don't think it's the only way) seems to insulate you from the impacts of dementia [3] (this citation isn't a formal paper per se but this statement has been echoed across other articles[4][5])

- Read something regularly [6][7] (I have also seen articles mentioning reciting mantras, but I can't find them at the moment)

- Small doses of nicotine [8][9][10] (I am at work right now so I cannot verify whether or not these studies were funded by tobacco companies - maybe take this one with a grain of salt. Additionally, smoking cigarettes have been linked to an increased risk of dementia. It may be better to try patches or lozenges?)

* There are studies[11][12][13] that suggest high blood pressure in seniors can lead to an increased risk of dementia or worsened cognitive function for those with dementia. One common guess is that the reduced blood flow to the brain in old age is the primary issue, but it could be another covariate that leads to . Not a concern for most of us on this site (I think)

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258000/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164904/

[3] https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-is-cogniti...

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3507991/

[5] https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/building-cognitive...

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8482376/

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2911991/

[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7912116/

[9] https://actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s4...

[10] https://www.alzheimers.gov/clinical-trials/memory-improvemen...

[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8608286/

[12] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullar...

[13] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14694027/

Edited for markdown

With my (admittedly anecdotal) data point of having been hit by a small car while crossing at a crosswalk, this is definitely true. Car drove around 35 mph upon impact. Bounced my posterior right off the front of the car and landed on the windshield - not even a concussion.

I like your breakdown of events, but Dominique was Sharma's daughter, not Shamji's. It does seem very likely that he was caught one way or another and took a dive to try and make it out alive

Since receiving an ADHD diagnosis and being medicated, your latter point was something that constantly had me putting away my meds for weeks/months at a time. My heart rate has been permanently elevated and I'm watching my diet with a microscope so my blood pressure doesn't skyrocket.

It honestly feels sick that I take this drug not to necessarily feel better (though I will concede that I can handle more of my passion projects on Adderall) but in order to best fit a standard established by business magnates like Henry Ford.

Probably "But then again I don't know if I would have recognized it if I saw it."

Agreed - I'm a state-level government employee with 2 YOE and I'm making $100k, projected to make $120k over the next three years and project managers top out at ~$240k. While that's nowhere near a senior-level FAANG engineer, the job security is nice and there's a guaranteed pension if I'm patient enough.

It is implied in most contexts, but not in one where the person is responding to a person who has expressed that they have an atypical condition. It can also come off as invalidating a person's lived condition/experience which is a bit rude.