dualmindblade [he/him]

In the US at least, a bunch of the common VPNs are apparently really just one company owned by an Israeli national or something. Unfortunately some if these are probably the best in terms of features and performance. The alternatives that I’m aware of each have some downsides, Proton is considered pretty fast, I think there are some allegations of shadyness, don’t know much about it. I don’t think piracy will get you in trouble regardless of which one you choose, make sure you can do port forwarding if you’re toerenting.

The very first paragraph of the final report from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, a PDF that took 3 years and presumably millions of dollars to create

Americans are already familiar with how the Chinese government conducts economic warfare with crucial technologies such as semiconductors: corner the supply chain, then choke it to weaken the United States. But this is not the last time Beijing will run this play, and it is not even the most dangerous version of it.

Imagine a not-so-distant future where researchers in Shanghai develop a breakthrough drug that can eliminate malignant cells, effectively ending cancer as we know it. But when tensions over Taiwan reach a breaking point, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the strategic apparatus of the Chinese government, hoards the treatment under the guise of national security, cutting off supply to the United States. After years of access, this lifesaving drug is immediately in shortage, requiring doctors to ration it while American biotechnology companies scramble to reconstitute production in the United States. The streets and social media overflow with people demanding that the United States abandon Taiwan. The Administration faces an agonizing choice between geopolitical priorities and public health.

This scenario is fiction. But something like it could soon become reality as biotechnology takes center stage in the unfolding strategic competition between the United States and People’s Republic of China (China).

Since bowling pins are made from maple I assume the milk is just maple syrup

Divorce yourself from the self.

Yes, it is then and only then that one comes to realize what a toxic piece of shit they really are.

(sorry it’s good advice actually, I can’t help it)

Indeed, but if I could somehow revert to infant level neuroplasticity while retaining all my current knowledge it would be super useful

Agree. Some smaller also good ones:

Thomas Kern Really good at making some advanced/less mainstream topics accessible, careful to build up lots of necessary background and thoroughly explain details, so a bit like 3B1B except 0 fancy animations and slightly more rigorous. Covers a variety of topics but with a focus on automata and theory of computation.

Sheafification of G The opposite of Thomas Kern, designed for people with extreme ADHD. No slowing down, very little explanation, borderline silliness, you learn by osmosis. Half of the videos are him trying to incept category theory into your head. I still haven’t learned category theory, but I’m old and my brain is starting to calcify, I did learn some stuff though and it’s always entertaining.

I have been boycotting them since about 2021 since they tricked me and a bunch of vegetarians into eating their fries, which are fried in vegetable oil but contain “beef extract”. I don’t miss the fries but I do sometimes miss the hash browns. How else are you going to consume 1100 calories and like 3g salt in 20 seconds?