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7:28 AM
Well, it is technically possible to scan vinyl records: cs.huji.ac.il/~springer/DigitalNeedle/index.html — with appropriate optical equipment something similar might be possible with CDs (after all, that’s how they’re read anyway).
 
 
1 hour later…
8:41 AM
@StephenKitt A CD reader would be a good choice for such a scanner.
 
@Kusalananda someone should invent that! :-)
 
9:43 AM
Does anyone know whether PCR CT values need to be integers or not? The report I'm looking at says 33.51. But since the CT value is a cycle, shouldn't it be an integer? Searches aren't finding anything useful.
One possibility, of course, is that that number represents an average of some kind. But if so, that suggests a lot of work is being done, which seems unlikely for a single patient.
Those slides show fractional values, so there must be some reason for that.
 
10:22 AM
Why are you looking into the number of cycles?
Never mind, understood.
@FaheemMitha the fractions in the pdf you linked look like they're averages of multiple runs: "Serial PCR results over 10 days shown"
 
@terdon Right, averages. Surprised that they do multiple runs, but perhaps it's necessary. Must be cheap tests to carry out.
It's not said explicitly that they are averages, but that's the obvious possibility.
Though it seems these values don't actually mean that much. Especially with no symptoms.
 
By the way, this is a very nice explanation of PCR Cts and covid:
 
@terdon OK. Thank you.
 
 
1 hour later…
11:58 AM
@Kusalananda what tag?
@terdon I removed that tag as it did not seem relevant. — Kusalananda ♦ 8 mins ago
The OP states "I need to extract some values from a file in bash", that's what prompted the question. I assume they don't actually mean bash but "command line".
 
@terdon Ah, ok. I did not see that text in the question. There was a bash tag that I removed as you posted your comment. I thought you referred to that.
I removed my comment.
 
Oh I see, yeah makes sense.
 
 
2 hours later…
2:13 PM
I'm feeling a bit frustrated, because I still don't have a good solution for file transfer from my phone to my computer.
I bought a Bluetooth device that plugged into my computer, but at some point it stopped working. And I haven't tried debugging it.
 
Syncthing
 
I'd prefer a solution which didn't depend on a tiny bit of cheap hardware.
 
USB?
Not a "good" solution, but a solution
 
Seriously, configure Syncthing, it works really well and doesn’t require any hardware.
 
@StephenKitt Does this at any point require uploaded files to unknown computers of doubtful provenance?
AKA the cloud?
I see it's available on Debian, which at least suggests it's not some dodgy piece of malware which will eat my computer.
 
2:16 PM
I'm sure Stephen has a long-standing habit of recommending malware which eats your computer
 
@FaheemMitha no.
 
@StephenKitt OK. Looking at it now.
@AndrasDeak He doesn't. But I still try to be cautious.
It's a dangerous world out there.
 
Perhaps Stephen was eaten by malware which subsequently made the recommendation. They are getting smart.
 
It’s a sensible question ;-).
 
@AndrasDeak SF is full of hostile takeovers of human beings. It usually does not end well.
The way things are going, it's only a matter of time before it becomes reality. Unfortunately.
 
2:19 PM
we must be looking at different things then :P
 
Personally I'm rooting for Facebook bots that eat your face.
@AndrasDeak Hmm?
 
I don't see "things [...] going" in the direction of human-hijacking malware or aliens.
 
@AndrasDeak The way things are going, generally.
More technology, less control.
 
I've yet to be lethally threatened by my toaster
 
@AndrasDeak It's only a matter of time. The first step would be when your toaster starts talking to you.
Of course, being a toaster, it won't have anything interesting to say. It happened on Red Dwarf.
 
2:25 PM
To be clear I wouldn't bat an eye if we were exterminated by one automated system or the other. But specifically "invasion of the body snatchers: cyberpunk edition" seems like a stretch
 
In other news, the Guardian's front page currently has the death of Prince Philip.
 
and I guess self-driving cars can hijack humans in the non-traditional sense
 
Nice to know some people have their priorities straight.
Well, dinner time.
@AndrasDeak Wait a couple of hundred years, and you will be eating those words.
 
2:48 PM
two years -- that's a good run for today's technology!
Jan 29 '19 at 9:10, by Stephen Kitt
@FaheemMitha I use Radicale for contact/calendar/todo synchronisation, and SyncThing for pretty much everything else.
 
3:00 PM
@FaheemMitha look at nitrosync if it's still around. The author used to be very active on SE and is a very nice guy and I remember testing it for him and being very impressed by the simplicity.
notroshare, sorry:
This is the author:
 
3:29 PM
@terdon OK. An important consideration is whether it's available in Debian.
But as a seal of approval, and practicality considerations.
Doesn't look like it.
 
@FaheemMitha ?
 
@terdon Doesn't look like nitroshare is in Debian. At least currently.
 
According to the webpage, it's on Sid. But I don't know if Nathan is still working on this. It did work like a charm last time I tried.
 
Yeah, looking at the git repo, it seems he hasn't touched it in three years.
What kind of files do you want to transfer? I admit this happens very, very rarely to me so when I need it I usually just email whatever it is to myself. For larger things, I use scp or copy over adb
 
3:41 PM
From the ITP, it was updated to Debian in 2016.
 
... and removed in 2020 (it uses Python 2)
 
Ah
 
it was only released in Debian 9, it didn’t make it into Debian 10
 
@terdon Most commonly photos from my phone. But other things are possible. Like PDF files.
 
@FaheemMitha Oh. Why don't you just connect over usb then?
 
3:43 PM
@terdon You mean plug my phone into USB? I used to do that. The interface that I was using, which just exposed my phone as a mass storage device, went away and was replaced by something harder to use. The name now escapes me.
I'd also prefer not to plug in stuff if I don't have to.
 
Interface? You can just use a regular file browser.
 
@terdon Can you elaborate?
 
@FaheemMitha Not really. You plug it in. You open a file browser. You copy your files.
I'm not trying to be clever, I just don't know how to elaborate, it's such a simple process.
 
So the package was in Python 2, and the author didn't want to convert it to Python 3?
@terdon If you are using a file browser, that means the device is mounted as a storage device, presumably.
 
Yes. Or a camera even
 
3:46 PM
The last time I checked, which was a while back, that wasn't happening any longer. Unless things have changed again.
The existing packaging would probably work, if I wanted to try it. But Python 2 is going away quite soon, at least in Debian. So I'm not sure if it is worth it.
 
I just plugged my phone into my Arch system. I got this popup on the phone:
 
Hmm, last commit 2019, Jun 18.
 
In the time since you first started today’s conversation on this topic, you could have set Syncthing up and be done with it, just sayin’...
2
 
Or you could just plug the thing in and use it just like any other usb device.
 
3:49 PM
@terdon That looks like something that has been set up already.
 
Or that, yes
 
I've never seen that myself.
 
@FaheemMitha If only there were an easy way to find out...
 
@StephenKitt I'm going to look at Syncthing, yes.
 
@FaheemMitha there’s a default handler in that style on all Android phones; not necessarily identical, but providing a similar feature
 
3:50 PM
But plugging it in to try is apparently too complicated.
 
@terdon Is that the same cable as the charger?
 
@terdon we’ve only been discussing this for two years or so, give it time ;-)
@FaheemMitha yes
 
Hold on - that popup is on the phone itself? I.e. it's an Android thing?
 
@FaheemMitha yes, it’s on the phone
 
@StephenKitt Ah. OK. I missed that. What version of Android? OK, I'll try it.
 
3:51 PM
some phones will pick a default for you, and you’ll only get a notification
 
If it "just works" on Arch, I really doubt that it will be more complicated on Debian.
 
4:23 PM
@terdon phrasing
 
4:49 PM
@AndrasDeak But plugging it in to do or do not try is apparently too complicated
 
@terdon debian does that too
the protocol it uses is weird (mtp?), so I can only easily access files via nautilus (ugh, mouse), but it "works"
I depends on the phone too. My older samsung phones gave such a popup, but more recently there's a default which you can change with the notification, as Stephen said. If one moves their gaze from the navel to the devices at hand it is surely something that can be figured out with ease.
 
5:06 PM
@AndrasDeak that's an Android thing, not a Debian/non-Debian
@AndrasDeak I am confused... did I say something rude?
 
@terdon I think I figured it out, many milliseconds later. A homonym of "but" makes it a different statement
 
Ok, looks like they've automated the mtp thing. Before I didn't get any popups.
 
@JeffSchaller Oooh. That would be butt plugging though. And it wouldn't parse.
 
@terdon we have a bunch of creative parsers around here, I guess :)
 
5:11 PM
@terdon would make a lot of sense in the circles I run with
 
gets awkward when ed is around
 
@jesse_b No, fair enough. it can be parsed, @AndrasDeak was right. For certain values of right...
:P
 
 
1 hour later…
6:34 PM
@jesse_b to the rescue!
I apologise, this is what passes as humour for me these days :P
 
 
4 hours later…
10:15 PM
Oh, syncthing looks nice
Although I'm more looking for an scp drop-in.
 

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