Hacker News: viciousvoxel

New comment by viciousvoxel in "CRISPR fungus: Protein-packed, sustainable, and tastes like meat"

viciousvoxel — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:19:26 +0000

Once a desirable sequence modification is identified through artificial means, what is often done in practice is to simply expose samples of the organism to UV until the desired sequence appears "naturally." The output of this process is not typically considered GMO, at least for regulatory purposes.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Unexpected things that are people"

viciousvoxel — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 02:04:03 +0000

Doh, thanks. I even googled to check my spelling but the first article that came up was from The Guardian which also misspelled it :'(

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Unexpected things that are people"

viciousvoxel — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 17:39:19 +0000

The Whanganui river is in fact only the second of three geological features to have been granted personhood in NZ, the others being Te Urewera and Taranaki Mounga (mountain).

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Trump pardons convicted Binance founder"

viciousvoxel — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 21:18:49 +0000

There was a No Kings protest just a few days ago, millions of people across nearly every state demonstrated against the administration.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Mathematicians have found a hidden 'reset button' for undoing rotation"

viciousvoxel — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 21:33:34 +0000

If you use an ad blocker, just disable inline scripts

New comment by viciousvoxel in "At Least 13 People Died by Suicide Amid U.K. Post Office Scandal, Report Says"

viciousvoxel — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 19:00:43 +0000

Minor correction, but in the book the act of asking to be discharged on account of insanity is taken as proof that one is sane, because no sane person would want to keep flying bombing missions day after day with low odds of survival.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Endometriosis is an interesting disease"

viciousvoxel — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 11:09:53 +0000

There's been conflicting information about this over the years. The latest research suggests that it may increase cancer risk when combined with other behaviors that themselves increase risk, but it probably has little to no effect on its own.

https://www.mskcc.org/news/burning-issue-truth-about-hot-dri...

New comment by viciousvoxel in "1,700 year old egg never broke"

viciousvoxel — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 12:45:39 +0000

It's usually just called archaeology or perhaps biomolecular archaeology. Forensic archaeology is a bit different, and it usually pertains to humans and their crimes.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "1,700 Year Old Egg Never Broke"

viciousvoxel — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 12:41:32 +0000

This is actually my wife's job/area of research, except typically they use the eggshell proteins to determine taxonomy. It's extremely rare that DNA survives in these types of samples but the proteins are preserved in the eggshell's mineral matrix.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "American academic faces years in jail after charged with insulting Thai monarchy"

viciousvoxel — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 09:52:40 +0000

Except as it mentions in the article, the accused denies that he wrote or published the material in question.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Operationalizing Macaroons"

viciousvoxel — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:05:25 +0000

Reminds me of the time I suggested to my cousin's new girlfriend (gentile) that she bring macaroons (a standard kosher-for-Passover dessert) to our Passover seder and instead she brought macarons (delicious but not kosher for Passover). We all had a laugh.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "All clothing is handmade (2022)"

viciousvoxel — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 11:25:10 +0000

You're right that modern work and military boots are generally better for their specific purpose -- they are certainly much lighter and usually cheaper than their older equivalents. They can also be more ergonomic and breathable while still being water-resistant due to modern materials and processes. But I will say that the durability of leather, metal-hardware, stitched/nailed-sole boots is unmatched. They can be re-soled and repaired unlike (most of) their modern counterparts, and will last generations if properly cared for. And there are still jobs out there for which they are the best option.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Write to Escape Your Default Setting"

viciousvoxel — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 10:59:54 +0000

I'm not sure what you deem as "sufficient", but there certainly are studies suggesting that handwriting has some benefit over typing w.r.t. learning and memory [1].

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-writing-by-ha...

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row"

viciousvoxel — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:07:36 +0000

Counterpoint: when web communication was unencrypted it was before we did our banking, tax filing, sent medical records, and sent all other kinds of sensitive information over the internet. The risks today are not remotely the same as they once were.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec empire"

viciousvoxel — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 15:05:11 +0000

Sewage was taken out of the city by boat via the system of chinampas, i.e. canals cutting through the man-made patches of reclaimed land within the lake. Almost all of this was destroyed/filled in under Spanish occupation and is likely one of the major factors in the spread of disease and decimation of the native population.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec empire"

viciousvoxel — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 14:54:24 +0000

Parent is probably thinking of Teotihuacán which is nearby. We do know who built it but there is relatively little know about them (compared to the Aztecs). The ruins of Teotihuacán were discovered by the Aztecs and they were mythologized, for instance even the name "Teotihuacán" is the Aztec (Nahuatl) name for the city meaning "the place where gods were created."

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Google Maps in the US Will Change to Gulf of America and Mount McKinley"

viciousvoxel — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 21:47:02 +0000

I disagree that it is close enough to "most". When I read/hear "most" in conversation I think a super-majority. Even if it was a simple majority at 51% I'd think using "most" is a bit pedantic but I wouldn't argue the usage.

I completely agree with your later points -- my point was that that is not only who we are, and Trump winning doesn't mean everyone else now has to hold their tongues.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Google Maps in the US Will Change to Gulf of America and Mount McKinley"

viciousvoxel — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 21:40:47 +0000

No, GOP is the party that received the most votes but most Americans did not vote GOP. The way you are using "most" implies a win by majority but this did not occur (49.8% < 50%); Trump did win the popular vote but it was a plurality.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Google Maps in the US Will Change to Gulf of America and Mount McKinley"

viciousvoxel — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 11:30:45 +0000

This is actually not true: just under 50% of votes went to GOP. Additionally, only 64% of the voting-eligible population voted, so it was more like 32% of the adult population voting GOP. "Everybody else" represents a larger population.

New comment by viciousvoxel in "Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port"

viciousvoxel — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 08:42:16 +0000

I'm American and I have heard "super senior" and seen it used in print. Go figure.