Notices by Koen Hufkens, PhD (koen_hufkens@mastodon.social)

If someone needs to backup all USDA SNOTEL data (as climate adjacent) and therefore "reasons", here is gist using my {snotelr} #rstats package.

https://gist.github.com/khufkens/b13b28068ddfd8a20d130abe2c95d49a

#USDA #opendata #openscience #climatedata #snow #hydrology #data #archiving

That "bug" desperately wanted to be a feature it seems.

https://9to5mac.com/2025/02/11/bug-in-macos-and-ios-updates-re-enables-apple-intelligence-for-some-whod-opted-out/

@ryanc They host a fair share of code with a strong DEI footing, not to the liking of far-right goons.

@ryanc This summarizes it well. After which it seems they were DDoS'ed.

https://blog.codeberg.org/we-stay-strong-against-hate-and-hatred.html

`Are PhDs losing their lustre? Why fewer students are enrolling in doctoral degrees`

In many countries a PhD ends you with: poor pay, poor mentoring, poor work-life balance, no noticeable edge on others in the job market in the end (and about >200K in lost income - see poor pay).

Personally I don't (fully) regret my research career, but I made sure to have fun on the way. Many are not in this privileged position.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00425-4

@academicchatter

#AcademicChatter #academia

Codeberg.org is under attack by right wing trolls over diversity, equity and inclusion. This is what you get when you enable the goons. They will spoil public resources.

This is a good illustration of Popper's paradox on why one should not tolerate intolerance.

https://blog.codeberg.org/we-stay-strong-against-hate-and-hatred.html

#opensource #DEI #facsism

@gamingonlinux Haters gonna hate, don't pass the purity test or whatnot.

Even if the election was fairly won this still smells like a coup or "hostile takeover" (i.e. you don't dismantle a system you do not plan to destroy or abuse).

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/

No new roads or bridges, just AI slop, brown outs and water shortages due to data centers. The future is here.

Bambu Labs DRM firmware reverse engineered days after the release. What did they expect; that the maker and hacker community would just roll over to not own their hardware? Bad case of not being able to read the room.

https://hackaday.com/2025/01/19/bambu-connects-authentication-x-509-certificate-and-private-key-extracted/

#3dprinting #bambu #drm

@ai6yr @pluralistic God damn people read them for inspiration, not as a warning, it seems.

@aral It's a pyramid scheme isn't it.

"Some customers will happily accept a lettuce that's a little gross and liztruss if it means a discount." @pluralistic takedown of public choice theory and surveillance pricing on anything from lettuce to nurse's wages.

Also, liztruss lettuce, oh my...

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/11/socialism-for-the-wealthy/#rugged-individualism-for-the-poor

#surveillance #surveillancecapitalism #advertising #wagetheft #

@pluralistic @Greengordon I meant as: the story line has been explored. And indeed, well written and researched. Lived near Zurich when I read it and some Swiss references were on the nose.

@Greengordon @pluralistic Different author, that's in "The Ministry for the Future" by Kim Stanley Robinson.

There is something very liminal about this place where people fear a theoretical AI apocalypse while collectively ignoring a very real and ongoing climate crisis.

#climatechange #climatecrisis #AI

The most profitable patient is one with a chronic (highly functioning) illness, not a cured one.

When I lived in the US I was always amazed by the amount of ads for painkillers and other fixes. I came to the understanding that healthcare for many was not about curing people, but about making people able to work. I've never seen so many people with chronic illnesses poorly addressed as in the US.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/goldman-asks-is-curing-patients-a-sustainable-business-model.html

#healthcare #business #LateStageCapitalism

@ai6yr I should do a blog post on these, as a lot of science is run like this. Shining example of this attached. In hindsight this probably was way over thermal limits, and would give any fire chief a heart attack.

@ai6yr Lessons were learned, although space often comes at a premium on top of these tower based measurement platforms.

@pluralistic @academicchatter The parallels with the worker abuse in big tech industry are no coincidence. I've often joked that doing academic research as a Phd/post-doc is like being a part of a startup without the option to cash out on stock options.