Catherine Clase @cmclase@qoto.org

Fun facts about masks:
They're inexpensive compared to getting sick.
They're a minor inconvenience.
They protect you from #COVID19 PLUS other viruses.
If you're ill and don't know, your mask protects people around you.
If more people wore them, we'd not only prevent death and disability, we'd also limit the mutation of COVID.
If you're worried about your privacy, masks also make it more difficult for facial recognition software to track your movement.
#WearAMask - It's a win-win-win-win-win.

thinking about JK Rowling ripping off many other, better books for her series got me remembering just HOW MUCH she stole off the excellent Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrestomanci

What if #RoeVWade was not overturned last year? A judge in DC is considering the question and says the right is protected under the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-questioned-by-judge.html

Don't be an ageist prescriber when it comes to #flozins. They work equally well in older v.s. younger individuals for all outcomes (Heart Failure - HHF, Major cardiovascular events - MACE, or composite cardiac/renal -CRC)

Making Satanic Eggs for Turkey Day. I leave out mustard & just mix mayo & yolks. In some I add green onions or BBQ sauce between the mixed yolk & white & top w/Hungarian paprika. I might put cheese in some this year. I'm a kitchen rebel. Follow me for more recipes. #Cooking

View of Mount Jefferson while standing on the Timberline Trail on Mount Hood. I took this photo in September 2022 while backpacking the Timberline Trail.

#ThrowbackThursday #PNW #Oregon #photography #hiking #nature #outdoors #camping #backpacking

New server so now seems like a good time for introductions. After 14.5 years on that other site, it feels odd to start over.

I lead technical teams by day, I read transit reports by night, and I curl on the weekends.

I’m a #computers #transit #elections #publichealth nerd, an amateur contributor to #curling #cycling #politics #cities #urbanism #sustainability, and a #science #data #democracy #lgbtq #gaydad #publictransit #equity advocate.

Anti-fascist, anti-racist, feminist. He/him

Hi!

So an #introduction live in the UK, born in #Ireland spend the last 25 years in #Learning for work. On /off involvement with #theatre most of my adult life, mostly as a hobby, did Edbinburn Fringe a couple of times, a great way to burn money!. Would like to #write more has an unfinished novel ,so can't claim to be an #author but would like to be. Interested in #green issues, local democracy, try to be involved with community projects occasional Fun Palace Maker.

Bird of the Day - Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Arizona 2022
Perky

#birds #photography #wildlife #nature #SkyIsland #woodpecker

@cmclase Welcome, we have plenty of doctors here on QOTO so I hope a few of them can help you out. I shared in the hopes some of my followers might pick it up.

If you ever need anything please feel free to reach out to me.

@cmclase I already like you....

Rain Again
By Ludmila Kovalenko

#art #painting #mastoart #london

@Kidney_boy @MGKatz036 arguably livers are way more scarce than kidneys - you are going to transplant only the fittest people - which is the third argument to consider here @mike_johansen (less important for kidneys I guess)

James Forten was born a free man in 1766 in Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War he was a powder boy on a sailing ship, only to be captured and then released by the British. He resumed employment as a sailmaker, going on to own the business and employ 38 people. He invented a new type of sail and made a fortune. He funded #abolitionist causes, purchased freedom for enslaved people, opened his home as an Underground Railroad depot & started a school for #Black children.

#BlackHistoryMonth

@mike_johansen @Kidney_boy @MGKatz036 sort of.

Allocation of scarce resources from a societal perspective is not easy.

These are older Canadian g/l https://www.cmaj.ca/content/173/10/S1

These are our current criteria (PDF) https://www.cmaj.ca/content/173/10/S1

Lots of hoops. In US with OPOs and metrics and stuff, I suspect it’s even worse.

@rami @emilymbender @danmcquillan
Two of their main starting points for their data were Wikipedia and Reddit. So if they had just wanted to use higher-quality sources, they could have done that. Use Wikipedia. Don't use Reddit.
The model becomes more fluent (but not more truthful) when you increase the size of the data, and the training becomes incredibly expensive (~$10^8-10^9) when the size is large. They wouldn't have spent all that money if the large size hadn't been necessary for fluency.

"We come to bury ChatGPT, not to praise it." Excellent piece by @danmcquillan@twitter.com:

https://www.danmcquillan.org/chatgpt.html

I suggest you read the whole thing, but some pull quotes:

"ChatGPT is a part of a reality distortion field that obscures the underlying extractivism and diverts us into asking the wrong questions and worrying about the wrong things."

>>

There are 193 member nations in the United Nations.

All but 11 guarantee some form of paid sick leave.

Guess what? The U.S. is one of those 11.

As a result, 33 million American workers have no paid sick leave from their employer.

This is deeply inhumane. Paid leave. Now.