I say ye Aretha Franklin. Damn. And so it goes.
A Delilah S. Dawson tweet-storm on setting up blinders as a way to get the writing done. Yep. (Also, I miss when blogging was big)
Just in case you thought the fires in California really didn't affect you. "New images made with data acquired by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite show the high concentrations of carbon monoxide emitted from the fires (in orange/red) between July 29 and August 8. As the time series progresses, carbon monoxide high in the atmosphere is shown drifting east -- with one branch moving southward toward Texas and the other forking to the northeast."
"The Florida public school teacher figured he needed at least 20 additional sick days to deal with more chemotherapy, days he just didn’t have. So on July 23, right there in a room at Tomsich Health and Medical Center of Palm Beach County, Goodman took a selfie, posted it on Facebook and appealed for help… Within four days he had enough sick days to cover an entire semester… Teachers, staff members, administrators and even lunchroom workers who pay into the Florida retirement system transferred 75 sick days to Goodman." We had a similar event at the union shop I worked at. There was no mechanism to transfer PTO between employees. We worked with the company to make an exception, even though it cost us. Fuck cancer.
"Here's how it works: Humans and other animals carry one copy of a 'master tumor suppressor' gene. Elephants have 20 copies. Scientists found that gene can trigger a 'zombie gene' to come back to life with a new purpose: killing cells in damaged DNA." Most cells have self-destruct mechanisms. Some change the surface membrane of the cell to signal the immune system to remove the cell. Another function is the lysosome. These are organelles inside the cell which contain proteins which will destroy the cell itself (to "lyse" something is to cut it apart). For this later function, when the copying enzymes detect an DNA error (such as "rapid reproduction") they will cause tRNA to make a new enzyme which specifically erodes the membrane around the lysosome. Part of cancer mutations that survive deactivate that self-destruct mechanism. Or in radiology, as I've explained to patients, in the rare chance we have a direct DNA strike that alters a pairing, 99% of the time your body corrects the DNA error before the cell divides. If that fails, 99% of the time the cell can no longer survive or reproduce. If it is able to survive and reproduce, 99% of the time your body will destroy the cell that has the faulty DNA. It's only when all that fails that you develop a tumor.
Who needs to fully fund the CDC? "For the first time since Kentucky declared a statewide hepatitis A outbreak last November, Northern Kentucky is now under outbreak status for the virus as well… There have been 56 cases so far. One case in particular has officials especially concerned as it involves a food worker."
"Lots of people out there have moved from normal cigarette smoking to puffing on e-cigs or vaping as it’s commonly known. The thought by many of these folks is that vaping is safer than smoking cigarettes. New research conducted by scientists at the University of Birmingham has found that e-liquid that is vaporized in an e-cigarette has a similar effect on the lungs and body as seen in normal cigarette smokers." Next up, water is wet.
"After holding out for a few weeks, Twitter joined the chorus of social media and tech giants that have punished conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for questionable content. Twitter suspended Jones from his account on Tuesday after he tweeted out a link to a video in which he calls for his supporters to get their 'battle rifles' ready for the media and others." But just for a week for inciting violence.
"A storage safe manufacturer is reportedly planning to shut down two Illinois factories and move to Mexico in response to President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese metal imports." Are we winning enough yet? Also note, this could also be like companies blaming "Obamacare" for making dickish decisions (when it had nothing to do with it). (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"A furious judge scolded the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday for publishing confidential but legally obtained information about Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz… Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said the newspaper flouted her order that portions of a school district report about Cruz should remain shielded from the public. In the future, she declared, she will consider listing exactly what the newspaper can and cannot print." Yeah, prior restraint, it's unconstitutional. The judge will learn that. Does she have a right to be pissed? Certainly. But she and the school board fucked up. The newspaper did its duty. And what it really appears to be is that this information wasn't actually "confidential", but instead was just embarrassing and potentially actionable. So here's the thing, this isn't new (getting around redaction). This isn't the first time. You print out the material, redact it with a fresh dark black marker (or better, ink brush), then make a copy of that redacted print, and then scan in the copy to disseminate. And at each step you make a visual inspection to make sure you can't see the redacted copy. There are other ways to do it in the original PDF, but let's not force people to be software experts. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Prosecutors urged jurors in the trial of Paul Manafort to focus on financial records and Manafort’s 'lies'— and to set aside personal feelings about a tainted star witness—as they offered their closing argument on Wednesday."
"Paul Manafort's fate -- and possibly the future of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election -- is now in the hands of 12 men and women from Northern Virginia." This is news media hype. There are other charges filed against Manafort. This won't be his only trial.
"The White House was forced to backtrack this week, after wildly misstating the level of job gains by African-Americans under President Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama." So we know they can recognize when the lie, now the question is why do they do it so often.
I see you shiver with antici… "Giuliani tweeted that the Department of Justice (DOJ) 'should require Mueller to submit his report before September 7.'" …pation. Because then they think people will have forgotten about it by the election. And here we'll just remind everyone that Giuliani is not in charge of the investigation, or the DOJ, but is just the president's lawyer. It's another example of how nervous they are about what may come out of the investigation. And if the rumors are true about Manafort trying to do a plea deal with Mueller's team, that could spell trouble for the president (and Giuliani who was a part of his election team). Also the president's team only has the leverage to fire people and appoint others (who most likely would have to privately pledge) to end the investigation. If that comes to pass, the 32% staunchest republican base would cheer, and a majority of the population would see it as an indication the president is guilty as sin.
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