rotexo

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181.
by rotexo 8y ago
Seems like that's an assertion begging for an experiment. Take the software that manages experiments in Avida or Tierra, but don't supply pre-written organisms. Bit-flip randomly and see if something develops. Unfortunately I don&
182.
by rotexo 8y ago
My understanding of Tierra and its successors like Avida are that the "digital organisms" are written beforehand and then systematically (pseudorandomly) mutated. Because the initial "organisms" are written, it would be
183.
by rotexo 8y ago
Once I got doxxed by bloggers from one end of the political spectrum who thought I was a blogger from the opposite end (we have similar names, but the doxxers put out all of my info). Even after I got my info taken down, someone archived it
184.
by rotexo 8y ago
You make good points. I just don’t think we have the luxury of leaving ourselves in a position where burning fossil fuels might remain more economical than carbon-neutral alternatives. A carbon tax seems the only way to get around that. I a
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by rotexo 8y ago
Honestly, I don’t even like nuclear power. I just see it’s track record in expanding availability of carbon neutral energy sources. To me, going all in on solar and wind and potentially running into scaling issues down the line after abando
186.
by rotexo 8y ago
My bet is on pursuing everything that gets us closer to decarbonization, but it appears there is the most potential in the immediate future for fission. The challenge there is of course economics, which is why I think we need a carbon tax t
187.
by rotexo 8y ago
Take a look at the consumption of various forms of energy globally in figure 1 of this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_consumption#cite_... (sourced from BP's Statistical Review of Wo
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by rotexo 8y ago
I was just thinking about this in reference to organizations like the Citizen's Climate Lobby. The real technology that needs to be developed here is a politically feasible way to levy taxes on known carbon emitters.
189.
by rotexo 8y ago
Based on what I've read (in particular, this blogpost: https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2012/03/space-based-solar-power/ ) space-based solar power (SBSP) is not as easy or promising as it might appear. Getting
190.
by rotexo 8y ago
Kind of reminds me of the footage in William Gibson‘s ‘Pattern Recognition.’ Hearing this also made me more curious about phone scams than anxious, which is a nice change.
191.
by rotexo 8y ago
SPOILER ALERT in my mind, a sequel to They Live would pick up ~30 years after the events of the first film, where it becomes obvious that everyone saw the ghouls in their midst and responded by essentially shrugging. it seems to me that&#x2
192.
by rotexo 8y ago
In no particular order: Aimless bike-riding and urban exploration that takes up the entirety of a weekend day (depending on your area I suppose—definitely doable in Austin and the Bay Area, in my experience). Time with family and friends. M
193.
by rotexo 8y ago
With you 100% on acceptance. Just to add to the record: in my experience, medication (at its best) hasn’t numbed me, more that it gives me a window to recognize what I’m feeling, which has helped me to continue pursuing the things that I va
194.
by rotexo 9y ago
I am currently on mirtazapine, and this article is prompting me to look into tapering off the drug. I would much appreciate any advice you would give on the process, and any other considerations you can think of that I should be aware of.
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by rotexo 9y ago
YES to that LBJ quote. I seem to recall also reading a similar observation backed up quite thoroughly with statistics in Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.
196.
by rotexo 9y ago
I observe that the article starts out talking about closing coal mines and the decline of manufacturing jobs. As a white person, it sounds to me like the white people interviewed for this article face declining economic prospects (understan
197.
by rotexo 9y ago
Im intrigued by your second paragraph about prices going up. I’ve often wondered if the availability of cheap computing is somehow related to the turnover in consumer electronics due to a fast upgrade cycle, but I don’t know enough about ec
198.
by rotexo 9y ago
Alternate interpretation: people are slightly interested in the puzzle and make an internal decision that they would prefer to take the time to learn to solve other problems (in work or life) rather than to spend the effort on what is expli
199.
by rotexo 9y ago
Also as a biologist by trade and an audio dsp nut by hobby I loved that they were using algorithms initially developed for music information retrieval to extend the capabilities of a sequencing instrument.
200.
by rotexo 9y ago
The computational barriers are definitely an issue. I thought I had read rumors on twitter that ONT was trying to implement read-until on one of their larger-scale sequencers (one of the ones with compute integrated). Barring that, the Cas9
201.
by rotexo 9y ago
One thing I'm excited for here is targeted sequencing using read-until. In this method, you monitor the current trace coming off of individual pores, and if you determine that the DNA in that pore is not part of your sequence of intere
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by rotexo 9y ago
I think data terrorism is a good term. I say that particularly because, from personal experience, collateral damage is a part of the phenomenon. Recently, some bloggers from one polar end of the American political spectrum mistook me for a
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by rotexo 9y ago
+1 for Mulholland Drive. I used to love these movies that attempted to be mind-bending, and seeing that film made me realize that I mostly loved their wish-fulfillment/power fantasy elements. I think Mulholland Drive was such an effect
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by rotexo 9y ago
It is true that simple software can generate interesting audio effects. However, I think the parent comment underestimates the appeal of modular synthesizers. I really believe that there are sounds that are achievable most easily with a mod
205.
by rotexo 9y ago
I definitely agree that developing critical thinking is a life-long struggle. (Lack of thought: the original sin of the rationalist?)
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by rotexo 9y ago
I don't think I was forced to develop critical thinking in a systematic way until my PhD, where I actually had to produce ideas that would withstand scrutiny by both professional scientists and experiments. I went to a magnet high scho
207.
by rotexo 9y ago
that's interesting, I always got the feeling that hens were more aggressive when broody. When one of my family's chickens was broody, I made chirping noises after forcing her out of her nesting box, and she made a loud clucking no
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by rotexo 9y ago
you can also do some fun stuff with image averaging in ImageJ. here is a python script for ImageJ I wrote a while back that takes the standard deviation of several frames at a time and averages them onto a background ( https://pas
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by rotexo 9y ago
Absolutely. Another added bonus: it is really easy to use Ardour as a mixer and effects plugin host for experimental synthesis software like Supercollider or PureData
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by rotexo 9y ago
Another plus one for the Border Trilogy. The ending knocked the breath out of me.

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