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stevespang

138 karma · joined November 28, 2016

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stevespang··on Ask HN: Why does Amazon not allow certain shower heads to be shipped to CA?
So have the shower head shipped to a friend anywhere else, who then privately ships it to you.
stevespang··on Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
Let's not forget that this neutron star is measured at 5.8 kiloparsec distance from earth which is 18,917.1 light years.

Even if observable electromagnetic radiation was traveling at the speed of light, which most is not, we are looking at ancient history, because once this EM reaches earth we are studying phenomena that occurred >189 centuries ago.

We don't have a way to know if this star is even still there.

Everything studied in astronomy at significant light years distance is ancient phenomena, we are just seeing it/sensing it/evaluating it now.

stevespang··on Amnesty International denied access to court in the Assange extradition hearing
"We've made 3 applications requesting recognition as expert fair trial monitors and all denied" . . .

Because it's not a fair trial, it's a sham trial which is being overshadowed by the US Gov't.

stevespang··on Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games
Oh my, now Fortnite's lawyers can add conspiracy and racketeering to their lawsuits, how juicy.
stevespang··on Some scientists are taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine
. . . ." To administer its vaccine, the Radvac group settled on mixing the peptides with chitosan, a substance from shrimp shells, which coats the peptides in a nanoparticle able to pass the mucous membrane "

The author is in error, chitin is derived from crustacean shells, but chitosan is an artificial compound created by treating chitin with highly alkaline chemistry. I have samples of pharma chitosan and I can tell you when mixed into aqueous solutions at low conc. and administered onto human mucous membranes it burns like fire . . .

stevespang··on Buy on Google is now open and commission-free
Commission free until Google get's traction and then all kinds of bullshit rules and games, and ZERO customer support . . . would you really trust the same people who just arbitrarily cut off peoples gmail accounts and such, and you have ZERO ability to contact them and sort it out ?

then, imagine them taking it to the next level holding on to your money and not responding . . .

I can certainly sympathesize with that YouTube lady last year who went to YouTube headquarters and starting slinging lead . . . bastards.

stevespang··on Surgical Assistant's Presence During Knee Repair Leads to a Costly Surprise Bill
It's getting where you need your lawyer involved with the hospital administration to negotiate terms before surgery, such as: no out of network procedures, no out of network diagnostics, no out of network pharmaceuticals, and no out of network staff, 3rd parties, or professionals of any kind involved . . .

I had ObamaCare 2 years ago, urologist diagnosed me with double hernias (old age, not injury).

I was referred to surgeon who was "in network", we set up hospital to be "in network".

A close friend explained in more detail the hazards:

You have to call and determine if EVERYONE who might be involved is in "in network".

Turned out the anesthesiologists had a mafia grip on that particular hospital and they were not in network.

I called and had everything shut down and rescheduled for another better hospital whom had an anesthesiologists group that also had a mafia grip on their hospital - - - but they were in network.

In the end I legally obtained ~$55,000 worth of hernia surgery for about $450 in copay.

stevespang··on Blackballed by PayPal, Sci-Hub switches to Bitcoin
Is it true that miners of Monero cannot censor it ?
stevespang··on Millions of Americans Can't Afford Water
22 yrs. experience as a Texas licensed Irrigator here. It's true that the bureaucrats are using a "tiered" system to discourage lawn irrigation. Lawn or landscape irrigation uses tens of thousands of gallons of water each night it comes on, the usage of a house for a whole month in one night.

Those who installed water pumps for the wealthiest living along the lakes in Austin were fantastically profitable before covid19. Water is the new tax in Austin. Water front customers regularly speak of $1000 a month water bills before converting over to lake water . . . which is completely legal, the LCRA charges about $150 a YEAR for over 325,000 gallons of raw lake water.

stevespang··on Zoloft has fallen into short supply as prescriptions soar during the pandemic
I had to take a defensive driving course few years back, the instructor was a middle aged lady, she asked the question:

"What is the #1 impairing substance discovered by police officers investigating traffic accidents with serious injuries or deaths ? . . And which sex leads the statistics ?"

(Blood draws are taken where serious injuries result).

  Lot's of students answered up: marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, you name it, but nobody got the correct answer.
She said women on prescription antidepressants. The labels clearly state do not drive or operate machinery, and because of that fact, now these women had criminal cases put on them for manslaughter or worse.
stevespang··on Five surfers drown in the Netherlands, getting into 'avalanche-like' sea foam
Man against Mother Nature - - - too often man looses.

Surfers, especially in that geography wear wetsuits which give some buoyancy, but not like a life jacket does, and I don't know any surfers who wear life jackets.

I was a WSI, a life guard trainer back in college, still swim 5,200 yds a week which really is nothing compared to swim team, and I scuba dive down to the bottoms of our nearby lakes to set submersible pumps for a living (diving 41 years), my dive gear has a BC vest that can act as a life jacket (if) it is not damaged and (if) my regulator is functioning and (if) I have still have air in my tank and (if) I have not blacked out by like a boat hitting me, too many ifs, but I absolutely will not venture out onto surface of bodies of water on watercraft without wearing a life jacket for a whole host of reasons (surfboards are some sort of watercraft).

I assume they were more or less "drowned" in the foam, unable to breathe, suffocated.

The most professional solution for fighting most fires is foam which puts out fires by sort of drowning them too.

stevespang··on Elon Musk reopening Tesla factory despite Alameda County order
Behind the scenes Musk's lawyers told him to do this - - an arrest is a significant action that may be necessary for his lawsuit to go forward. He is daring Alameda county to arrest him, and their lawyers know this game as well.
stevespang··on Google's top quantum scientist explains why he resigned
Non paywalled access:

https://outline.com/CnEsTN

stevespang··on I Spent $6M on Google Ads Last Year
Never trusting Google, I always used prepaid credit cards to fund my adwords purchasing. When Google finally caught wind of this, and could not just run wild with a "real" credit card like other horror stories I read - - they sent me a notice saying no more prepaid cards. So I said, see ya later Google Adwords, and guess what, even without any ads I have the same gross revenue, but without the expense of Adwords.
stevespang··on Nearly half of global coal plants will be unprofitable this year
But at such low prices unfortunately OIL and natural gas will be burning even more in Chinese factories and other uncaring nations who place profits over health everyday.
stevespang··on Palantir in Talks with Germany, France for Virus-Fighting Tool
Palantir sales pitch:

We can provide you a tracking solution, and after the pandemic is over, you can continue to use the product to track and spy on all your citizens. What a perfect way to incorporate our superior technology into your Gov't, all under the auspices of a public emergency !

stevespang··on More on chloroquine/azithromycin and on Dr. Raoult
Thanks for your posting. I am curious how many of the links you posted were chloroquinine (or HC) in vitro only, versus in vivo on mice - - versus in vivo on human subjects ?
stevespang··on About that Hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 trial
Here we go, another naysayer.

Unfortunately, all those waiting patiently for "confirmed results of double blind trials" will make up a significant percentage of those visiting the pearly gates by the time those trials are ever completed.

Look, the risk is fairly low for chloroquine, mild side effects in a very well done Danish study were only ~15%, serious side effects were ~1.5%.

Reported Side Effects to Chloroquine, Chloroquine plus ... academic.oup.com › jtm › article-pdf › jtm7-0079

Now, what's the risk of serious side effects/death from coronavirus for those over 70 years old ? Like >10%.

And a recent report out of Hong Kong is stating that lung scarring from coronavirus is being found in all ages (radiological imaging), like 20 to 30% loss of lung function, shortness of breath reported by recovered patients just from fast walking - - - is that going to be permanent in all ages ? Are you willing to take that risk ?

A glaring fact is that chloroquine / hydroxychloroquine have been on the WHO's list of essential medicines for decades . . . . why so, if they were too toxic to recommend ?

Just like the rush on buying ammo, would you prefer to have "the likely treatment" before the problems comes to you - - or, would you prefer to fail to find it after all the shops and stores are completely sold out and the unemployed "zombies" are all over your property and smashing down your door while your family is cowering under the table screaming and crying for help ? I already got my supply of it, best of luck for all the naysayers.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/florida-man-with-coronavirus-...

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6143849011001

BTW, what is your Gov't offering you right now in the way of proven drugs ? Nothing. All the while the rich in NY are reported in the news media as cashing in on favors to secure reservations for hospital beds in case they need them - - and buying ventilators . . . under the counter.

stevespang··on Liquid metal renaissance points to wearables, soft robots, and new materials
The catalytic reduction of CO2 using cerium loaded liquid metal at room temperature in a single step process is quite novel, really exciting . . . .
stevespang··on Covid-19’s stop-gap solution until vaccines and antivirals are ready
"It seems pretty obvious that medicine as a business is not the right setup to tackle a pandemic" . . Hospitals have already put a virtual "lock" on the supply chain of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to make sure they get the bulk of it and you have to come to them to get the drugs . . they are sharpening their teeth and their billing offices are humming. I bought my chloroquine before all the independent pharmacies got raided, with medicare and suppl. insurance it cost me 70 cents for the entire prescription - - what do you think hospitals will be billing for that same 'script ? From what billing gouging examples that are posted on the 'net likely $700.00

"I find it deeply worrying that people started to buy guns" . . . Look at history, what do you expect when you have 20% or more of the lowest tier of the working population laid off for months or more (60 million people) . . . crime will definitely increase and there won't be adequate police to control it. It could get real bad - - real fast. Only liberal Dems want to take away all our guns and then risk our families to be raped, robbed and plundered . . . buying guns and ammo and 99% a defensive, preparatory, and protective reaction - - not offensive. It is completely within the rights of Americans to protect their families and their property from criminals.

stevespang··on New drug alleviates CoV by 90 percent (German)
Google translate to English:

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u...

Apparently one drug is an intravenous chemo drug administered only one time.

stevespang··on Chloroquine, past and present
Derek's column does not ever post my responses (censorship ?) so here it is:

The side effects of chloroquine are modest for most, especially on a 10 days or less regimen. Approx. 5% or higher risk of NOT taking it when ill from coronavirus it is you could end up in ICU on a ventilator, on the other hand, the risk of taking it and getting serious side effects is minimal, like at about 1.5% in the study below.

Google this title: Reported Side Effects to Chloroquine, Chloroquine plus Proguanil, and Mefloquine as Chemoprophylaxis against Malaria in Danish Travelers

Summary: 85% of Danish travelers reported no side effects

minor side effects are:

Diarrhea, stomach pain (take only with a full meal), dizziness

the depression / anxiety incident was ONE person - - we don't base science on what happen to ONE person.

severe side effects in only 1.5% of cases

Only LONG TERM USE for many months or years can have retina involvement.

So all those who want to bash the multiple recent published research results showing good results with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for COVID19 - - - maybe I'll read about you in morgue statistics somewhere soon. I have already got my 'script for chloroquine (cost me 70 cents total), I am ready and prepared - - - instead of being a naysayer with my head in the sand.

stevespang··on Bubonic Plague Strikes in Mongolia: Why Is It Still a Threat? (2019)
35 years ago I dated a Continental airlines stewardess who told me as a young girl she was diagnosed with the bubonic plague and treated. They never discovered where she picked it up as a young girl in Texas.
stevespang··on Lunch with Freeman Dyson
Appreciate you posting that archive version.

NY Times article will not translate to other languages via Google itools for more than 2 seconds, it is blocked.

stevespang··on Trader Joe's founder Joe Coulombe has died
Trader Joe's ain't a health food store, that's for sure . . .

Miles of Aisles with processed sugar in everything . . .

stevespang··on Cancer medicine generates enormous revenues but marginal benefits for patients?
Hope that you put your home and all your assets in a trust for your kids before you got treatments. You can declare bankruptcy in Texas or Florida and still keep your house, but I guess that only works if you are still alive . . . after you die the medical community just files suit to steal all your assets.
stevespang··on So Long, California? Goodbye, Texas?
Property taxes in my smaller town in Texas are ~$3,700 for a $180,000 property
stevespang··on The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets
Vegetarian on diet: I eat at Golden Corral, only salad, watermelon, cole slaw, stir fried veggies (lot's of red bell peppers and some fresh pineapple), little rice, unsweetened tea - - and I only go from 2 pm to 4 pm weekdays when the price as $8 or $9 for senior, no charge for drink. It's pure torture to stay away from the dessert bar.

I cannot buy that variety anywhere for that price.

stevespang··on Why today’s young men are terrified of sex
I cannot figure it out. My son is still a virgin at 22 yrs, never has even dated a girl, not afraid of them, just does not seem to be interested in the drama and the games they want to play. Oh well, as years progress I figure he will become sought after by women since he is tall, thin, stable and a software engineer. Just hope he is meeting them at church rather than at bars. When I was 16, in 1970, myself and all the guys I knew were chasing girls like crazy all trying to get laid, by any means possible.
stevespang··on Why Physics has made no Progress in 50 Years
Oh no, it's Hossenfelder again.

What about superconductivity at progressively higher temps through the decades ?

What about 2D, like graphene ?

What about Weyl semimetals and topological insulators

https://phys.org/news/2019-03-chirality-yields-colossal-phot...

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