Day: July 3, 2020

OpenStreetMap, a global map for worldwide insight – maps for developers

I like OpenStreetMap. I think theirs maps are prettier. The response time is quick and the details are amazing. They do not have satellite view and “Street View” but for real mapping usage they are great.
They have the best rendering of rivers in my view (with the Transport Map).
There is also a OpenSeaMap that is getting very good. It is more popular in Europe than North America.

>>>
“Its unparalleled global coverage — from roads and rivers to pharmacies, forests, and much more — makes OpenStreetMap a vital resource for building high-quality visual maps and navigation services for every part of the world.”
blog.mapbox.com/openstreetmap-a-global-map-for-worldwide-insight-4e041cbf1ec1

Henry Ford says their study found hydroxychloroquine helps lower COVID-19 death rate | FOX 2 Detroit

What I found the most frustrating about this whole COVID thing is that some government got between us and our physicians by banning the use of this hydrochloroquine. The pretext was that if we start using it for COVID, patients that really needs it for other diseases would miss it. That is absurd. That thing cost almost nothing to produce and if you can afford to pay everybody some money to “stay at home”, you can certainly afford to boost production on that stuff.  If it does not cost much it should not be very difficult to make.  There is no proof that it is working. Come on!! For a while it was the only thing that had a CHANCE of working.  If I am dying I will take that chance, specially if my doctor can prescribe it to me legally.
That is the real problem with socializing medical care, doctors are no more in control. The same when you let a group of insurance company control medical care.

>>>

“What we found is that of those patients treated with hydroxychloroquine there was a 13% overall mortality; in the patients that were not treated with hydroxychloroquine there was a 26% mortality,” said Dr. Steven Kalkanis, CEO of Henry Ford Medical Group.
www.fox2detroit.com/news/henry-ford-says-their-study-found-hydroxychloroquine-helps-lower-covid-19-death-rate

Things You Should Never Do, Part I – Joel on Software

I will generally use exiting code to complete a task. I am able to create new code but I am also very good at understanding existing code. With the years, I find that using existing code is very often the best economical (read least effort) way to go.  I have also used whole systems of software to accomplish something it was never designed to do. With success. It is just a matter of how you look at things. I you can picture the stock market as general store, you might be able to use a sophisticate inventory replenishment system to pick up what stock to buy and what to “put on sale”.

Lately I have been using a trick I call “encapsulating”.

Say I am frustrated with a program like “vlc” that is not doing what I want. Instead of trying to change the source code and spending multiple hours of study, I would just call it from a script (or even another program) and then I can do whatever I want before and after that program (again, say “vlc”) executes.

It is working 90% of the time currently. In other words, with very little work, I am able to get what I want.

This guy is saying that deciding to rewrite from scratch is the worst idea.

>>>
“The idea that new code is better than old is patently absurd. Old code has been used. It has been tested. Lots of bugs have been found, and they’ve been fixed.”
www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-never-do-part-i/

Crypto Use-Cases in Africa on the Rise, According to Luno

It looks like this continent will lead the way into REAL use of cryptocurrencies.  I mean the use of cryptos as money to exchange goods and services.

>>>

““Africa is one of, if not the most promising region for the adoption of cryptocurrencies. This is due to its unique combination of economic and demographic trends. While the overall adoption is relatively low, the potential is enormous, the growth is rapid, and the development is likely to become defining for the cryptocurrency industry going forward.””
news.bitcoin.com/crypto-use-cases-in-africa-on-the-rise-according-to-luno/