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s0rce

3,579 karma · joined May 31, 2012

Materials characterization expert and problem solver at Covalent

covalent.com lylegordon.ca

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s0rce··on Ink droplets in motion snag top prize in Nikon Small World contest
I'm guessing the pollen grains on it also look neat.
s0rce··on Whatever became of holography? (2011)
I got to make one during a visit to the MIT museum maybe 25 years ago, was neat.
s0rce··on A nuclear clock synchronized to 229Th
What do you mean? The half-life is ~8000y so its not like you'll run out. Do you mean the isomeric state is different because the nucleus is unstable long-term, I'm not sure that this matters.
s0rce··on Scam American companies are using to manipulate ingredient lists
I guess if you just look at the first ingredient but its both obvious there are multiple sources of sugar/simple carbs and that jam is typically very heavily sweetened; this is how it has a long shelf life.
s0rce··on AI-assisted proof of optimal packing for 11 squares
heh, 105 is a mess
s0rce··on Show HN: I turned my iPhone and a $20 smart plug into an f-stop timer
The BOM, schematic and firmware is on Wayback machine if anyone wants to build one!
s0rce··on Show HN: I turned my iPhone and a $20 smart plug into an f-stop timer
25 years ago my dad built me a darkroom timer with a relay and a PIC 16F84A. It only had one button that you used a combination of short and long presses to adjust the time (read on a 7 segment LED display) and trigger the exposure.
s0rce··on All I wanted was a custom domain email
I use zoho mail, works well.
s0rce··on Owed a billion dollars in Nvidia stock
They don't own the stock as I understand it but never received options which they should have and would have been able to exercise. I assume they sold the remainder of the options long ago otherwise they have $3b in NVDA already and probably wouldn't have written this post.
s0rce··on The American Religion of Self-Storage Facilities
In your own car, sure, in a moving van, probably not.
s0rce··on New York thoracic surgeon: "For many patients 9/11 is not over"
People in California heat with wood in the winter and air quality is also bad in the winter, this isn't the same...
s0rce··on Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-friendly tariff controls
Flammable I guess
s0rce··on Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-friendly tariff controls
There are commonly sold flammable refrigerant things now in the USA, I see a bunch of small fridges using alkanes and cycloalkanes, not sure about HVAC.
s0rce··on Babylonian Lamb Stew with Beets (1750–1730 BCE)
if you have a good butcher they might be able to get you some that you can render, but its a hassle. I've done this for beef fat to make some british pie things.
s0rce··on Amazon, which started off selling books, is destroying rare texts to train AI
Its somewhat ironic.
s0rce··on Where did the old web go? We followed 657,607 links to find out
I think there are a few eras. Pre-graphics, then pre-Google search, then pre-social media/public facebook.
s0rce··on England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C
I was young (got the transfusion just after I was born) but I understand that my parents got notified of the possible/likely infection based on that batch of blood leading to other infected patients, then I got tested and was positive. There was a class action lawsuit that paid for the otherwise very expensive treatment (I was treated 10 years ago). My doctor given my lack of symptoms for many years discouraged the interferon treatment anticipating that better drugs would be coming. He was right and I was treated without side effects before I ever had symptoms.
s0rce··on England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C
You take antivirals orally. There is no vaccine that I'm aware of. I got Hep C from a blood transfusion in the 80s and waited decades without symptoms for modern antivirals before finally getting treated.
s0rce··on LLMs reward expertise
Overall, I agree, when I ask things I'm an expert in and do professionally every day. I get very good useful answers. When, for example, our marketing people, ask about the science, they often get confusing and wrong answers.
s0rce··on The Silicon Valley Founder Meat Grinder
As long as there is money people will come just for that. That's where we got tech bros, like finance bros, instead of just a bunch of nerds making cool stuff.
s0rce··on The iPhone Upgrade Program is being replaced by Apple Upgrade
Durable goods also seem much less durable. I go through way more fridges, dishwashers, etc then previously.
s0rce··on The iPhone Upgrade Program is being replaced by Apple Upgrade
I just bought a 1 year old iPhone 16 on Facebook marketplace for $400. You can find pretty good prices if you don't need the latest device.
s0rce··on Glue bonds to nonstick surfaces and wipes clean with ethanol
yes, DMF has a much higher boiling point. Its much more polar.
s0rce··on Glue bonds to nonstick surfaces and wipes clean with ethanol
I've always heard of using nitromethane to remove super glue...
s0rce··on How the Atmos clock functions
I wonder why Chloroethane / ethyl chloride was chosen. I don't think I've ever seen this for anything, other than a synthesis precursor to useful stuff.
s0rce··on Terrence Tao's ChatGPT Conversation about the Jacobian Conjecture Counterexample
Yes, the AI models are so useful in areas where you are an expert and can guide it in a useful way. I use multiple chats delay to help figure out client projects.
s0rce··on Mechanical light bulb from 1675 [video]
I suspect eutectic liquid InGa alloys would work, they stop wetting the glass when you are under vacuum. Although mercury is safe in the tube, just don't break the glass.
s0rce··on $100 AI Music Video: Claude Fable 5 vs. GPT-5.6 Sol
Robot characters keep you away from uncanny valley of creepy slightly off AI humans. Still fun though.
s0rce··on No leap second will be introduced at the end of December 2026
You could actually move very large quantities of water around and probably have a measurable impact. Like draining the California central valley aquifer.
s0rce··on Aluminum foil (2021)
At my previous job we made >1m wide 8um thick copper foil by electroplating it onto a giant titanium drum from blue copper sulfate solution. It was quite impressive.
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