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wingspar

668 karma · joined April 18, 2017

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wingspar··on US's big bet on quantum computing may not be legal
I recall this precedent was set previously under Biden (likely sooner).

Biden admin lost CDC eviction prohibitions case and immediately enacted new slightly different prohibition and Biden defended the effort as it would take time to be stopped.

“Whether that option will pass constitutional measure with this administration, I can’t tell you. I don’t know,” Biden said. “There are a few scholars who say it will, and others who say it’s not likely to. But, at a minimum, by the time it gets litigated it will probably give some additional time while we’re getting that $45 billion out to people who are in fact behind in the rent and don’t have the money.”

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/housing/566230-biden-buys...

wingspar··on "Not Medically Necessary": Helping America's Health Insurers Deny Coverage
Well that’s disappointing…
wingspar··on "Not Medically Necessary": Helping America's Health Insurers Deny Coverage
I’ve saved a message that was reposted by Bill Ackman on dealing with denials. Thankfully, never had occasion to use it yet:

>> So, your doctor ordered a test or treatment and your insurance company denied it. That is a typical cost saving method.

OK, here is what you do:

1. Call the insurance company and tell them you want to speak with the "HIPAA Compliance/Privacy Officer" (By federal law, they have to have one)

2. Then ask them for the NAMES as well as CREDENTIALS of every person accessing your record to make that decision of denial.

By law you have a right to that information.

3. They will almost always reverse the decision very shortly rather than admit that the committee is made of low paid HS graduates, looking at "criteria words." making the medical decision to deny your care. Even in the rare case it is made by medical personnel, it is unlikely that it is made by a board certified doctor in that specialty and they DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS!!

4. Any refusal should be reported to the US Office of Civil Rights (http://OCR.gov) as a HIPAA violation.

wingspar··on Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem
My mother had bad knees before dementia took her mentally so always walked slow, we have friends who’s parents had no walking problems and were ‘escape risks’.

A walker might help as slowness is sometimes due to fear of falling.

My mother used a wheeled walker with hand brakes for several years before we switched her to the no-wheel kind.

wingspar··on Slop Terrifies Me
Haven’t followed the recent history of Eddie Bauer, but seems they’ve sullied their brand for a while. Sam’s Club has been selling Eddie Bauer stuff for years. I don’t think a $37 pair of Eddie Bauer hiking boots are going to be quality.
wingspar··on The Problem of Teaching Physics in Latin America (1963)
It’s a thing in the US too, but not common. I always understood them to be expensive to use, as you always have a pump running and hot water cooling down and needing reheating.

Hot water recirculating pump. https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/hot-water-recirculati...

wingspar··on Benn Jordan’s flock camera jammer will send you to jail in Florida now [video]
Those covers in FL are now fully illegal (Oct 1) along with most license plate frames.

Have a friend who got pulled over recently and given a warning for the clear cover on his plate. Apparently, they can be a felony in some cases.

I recall on an old Top Gear episode years ago, in the UK, people were selling mud in a spray can. You apparently sprayed the mud up the bumper and across the plate so it looks like it’s just slung mud, but it just so happens to block the plate. Plausible deniability in a can…

wingspar··on Apple reports fourth quarter results
My understanding is Services includes the billions Google pays for Safari search default, reported to be $20 billion a year.
wingspar··on Radios, how do they work? (2024)
Now I’m interested…
wingspar··on NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
The Mouse on the Moon… watched it with the kids a couple weeks ago. So cheesy but fun…
wingspar··on A few things to know before stealing my 914 (2022)
“ Since there is not a clutch safety switch on the starting circuit, make sure to press the clutch down before you try to crank the engine.”

Growing up, a friends dad would use this as a ‘feature’ on his Datsun to move the car out of traffic when it wouldn’t restart.

Put it in first, release the clutch, crank the starter, and move the car out of the way.

wingspar··on California law forces Netflix, Hulu to turn down ad volumes
I think that is bumping into the standard three-act structure common in fictional narratives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-act_structure

wingspar··on Morgan and Morgan takes Disney to court over 'Steamboat Willie' in ads
Good change it’s all for free press. Morgan and Morgan is huge, and John Morgan is toying with a run for Florida governor. He was a big force behind a marijuana legalization push, first medical, then recreational.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/15/john-morgan-florida...

wingspar··on Anthropic judge rejects $1.5B AI copyright settlement
My understanding is this settlement is about the MANNER in which Anthropic acquired the text of the books. They downloaded illegal copies of the books.

There was no issues with the physical copies of books they purchased and scanned.

I believe the issue of USING these texts for AI training is a separate issue/case(s)

wingspar··on Try and
How would that work for wood?
wingspar··on Someone keeps stealing, flying, fixing and returning this man's 1958 Cessna
No. Many flight types do not require flight plans.
wingspar··on Reading QR codes without a computer
The logo corrupts the QR code. But QR codes can be generated with different levels of error correction.

So a code with a high error correction factor can repair a QR code with a logo obliterating the middle of the code.

wingspar··on Personal aviation is about to get interesting (2023)
MOSAIC is Done! >> Ninety days from now, about three-quarters of the general aviation fleet will be accessible to sport pilots and those exercising sport pilot privileges. One year from now, new and modern aircraft will begin entering the fleet with minimal certification costs.

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/news-and-publications/eaa-news-and-a...

wingspar··on Data brokers are selling flight information to CBP and ICE
Basically a plot line on the show “Black List”. Had an inside guy at the post office who would forward people stopping mail delivery on vacation. Then used homes as safe houses.
wingspar··on Data brokers are selling flight information to CBP and ICE
Honestly asking, How did you validate your results?
wingspar··on Microsoft to Cut 9k Workers in Second Wave of Major Layoffs
Wasn’t the PATCO ATC strike illegal?
wingspar··on Gridfinity: The modular, open-source grid storage system
I don’t recall the specifics at the moment but YouTuber Uncle Jessy showed how to take a custom box in his gridfinity video.

https://youtu.be/TvIvoY013xQ

wingspar··on 2B people don't have safe drinking water: what does this mean for them?
Trees grow, pipes crack. Have irrigation pipe leaks at work. All from trees growing and cracking pipes.
wingspar··on 2B people don't have safe drinking water: what does this mean for them?
Ad hoc distribution… ‘Unauthorized’ distribution…
wingspar··on Show HN: Report idling vehicles in NYC (and get a cut of the fines) with AI
In this age of generative AI, how would a someone defend against a maliciously AI generated/altered video report?
wingspar··on YouTube's new anti-adblock measures
12 days ago, driving thru North Carolina. Several times.

Gas and another restrooms.

wingspar··on US Congress is making more than 250M acres of public lands available for sale
Is it a travesty that 0.8% of New York is owned by the federal government?

80% is inherently too much.

wingspar··on US Congress is making more than 250M acres of public lands available for sale
I’m sympathetic to the view that this is bad, then I recall the 80% of Nevada is owned by the federal government.

80% !!!

Over 50% of Oregon, and over 60% for Utah

https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_land_ownership_by_state

wingspar··on Honda conducts successful launch and landing of experimental reusable rocket
Seems like this test is equivalent to the SpaceX Starhopper which went 150m... https://spacenews.com/spacexs-starhopper-completes-test-flig...
wingspar··on Menstrual tracking app data is gold mine for advertisers that risks women safety
Wouldn’t that just restrict paid endorsements?

General Motors making an ad campaign paying for broadcast does not equate to the station / channel endorsing a product.

How about a plumbing company buys a billboard and puts an ad for their services on it?

Pretty sure the courts would find this plan violates the first amendment too.

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