Where You Shouldn't Be Caught Dead - The Deadliest Places in the World

With some effort, El Salvador could get Gold, Silver and Bronze

Murder rate per 100k people:

1. San Salvador - 193
2. La Ceiba - 131 (Honduras)
3. San Pedro Sula - 113 (Honduras)
4. Tegucigalpa - 90 (Honduras)
5. Soyapango - 82 (El Salvador)
6. Belize City
7. Guatemala City
8. Cali - 65 (Colombia)
9. Santa Ana - 64 (El Salvador)
10. Kingston - 54 (Jamaica)
11. Salvador - 48 (Brazil)
12. Portmore - 47 (Jamaica)
13. Escuintla - 46 (Guatemala)
14. Bambari - 46 (Central African Republic)
15. Belmopan - 34

Elon Musk, by Walter Isaccson

For two years, Isaccson shadowed Musk - attending all of his meetings - even making sure to take the urinal next to him whenever Musk had to go.

When Musk was a kid, he had to attend Veldschul or Veldskul in South Africa where bullying was not forbidden. It was like the Spartans sending their boys out to survive in the woods. In his first camp, Musk lost 10 pounds. The next time, he figured that if he punched the bigger kid in the nose, at the start of the contact, that same kid, even if he got the food and gave Musk a sound thrashing, wouldn't trouble Musk again.

In school, Musk was politically incorrect to the point of calling another kid, who did have some sort of handicap (I don't remember what exactly) "stupid." The kid and his buddies later cornered Musk and gave his face and head such a beating that Musk was in the hospital a week. Upon returning home, he had to endure hours-long tirade from his Dad - "how could YOU be so stupid as to call THAT kid stupid. I'm not surprised you got your comeuppance!" Kimball, Musk's brother, only watching, felt the pain of this parental antipathy. Says Isaccson. And, to this day, Musk has issues with his vision arising from that violent incident.

The design process : https://modelthinkers.com/mental-model/musks-5-step-design-process

A Fundamental Poker Principle

To win a big pot, your opponent has to have a strong hand - at least a strong starting hand 😊

Pride, Or Do You Have a Better Explanation?

Raise to 35c with big blind at 10c means he's not serious :) So I figure he'll fold like a gent. But..

Congratulations Espana - You Never Saw Higher Quality in the Women's Game

England never had a chance.. Surprised I could watch it for free..

https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup-women-spain-vs-england-aug-20-2023-game-boxscore-NUMBER

Listen for free : https://www.radio.net/s/abcgrandstand

Askida Ekmek : And You Thought Paying it Forward Was Invented Yesterday

How we got here:

Relentless self-improvement → Endlessly growing book list → Coders at Work → Peter Norvig → Teach Yourself Programming → "Practice" → Searching for titles with practice → Seth Godin's "The Practice - Shipping Creative Work" → Amazon.com → Barnes and Noble (because I couldn't find the Table of Contents on the Amaazon.com site) --> Askida Ekmek

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20191125-turkeys-ancient-tradition-of-paying-it-forward

In Turkey, the seemingly modern idea of paying it forward goes back centuries. It’s called askıda ekmek and relates specifically to paying it forward with bread.

Lisa Morrow: Amidst the constant flurry of customers, I’ll sometimes see the owner give someone a loaf of bread without any money changing hands. At other times a customer will pay for two loaves of bread but only take one. Askıda ekmek, which means “bread on a hanger” or “suspended bread”, has its roots in Islam, the dominant religion in the country. It works like this: you go to a bakery and pay for two loaves of bread but only take one. On paying for the bread, you tell the person who takes the money that one of them is askıda ekmek. Your contribution is bagged and hung together with others so when people come in throughout the day and ask, “Askıda ekmek var mi?” (“Is there bread on the hook?”), they can take a loaf for free.

One Way You Can Build Up a YouTube Following - Pirating Copyrighted Content

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACh9BkIs5Nk&list=PLez3PPtnpncSZlFWQje0LDyY1LiJMrqmJ

Keep it up Jody Bain 😊 Me encanta.

Here's another treasure trove :)

Eric F Data Analytics - Business Intelligence Cincinnati, OH 45243 - exxx@gmail.com - 513-

Experienced Architect and Full Stack BI Professional with background in delivering complete enterprise reporting and data analytics solutions. Direct hands-on design, architecture, and application development experience. 

How does he do it? By feeding a trove of pirated books into a Andrew Ng's LLM of course. Just kidding chums. But, thanks.. Saved me some time :)

What You Can Learn from the American Sherlock

Writing maketh an exact man - Francis Bacon

“It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize, out of a number of facts, which are incidental and which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead of being concentrated.” - Sherlock Holmes in The Reigate Puzzle, 1893.

The Hemmingway app sure ain't impressed with his opening paragraph in "Checkmating the Forger in Court" (published in the Coast Banker Vol 23) :

The foundation furnished by modern experimental psychology, supported by the scientific advances in the chemistry and physics of photography and optics, as confirmed in their application to the investigation of handwriting and typewriting, by abundant experimentation and experience, have provided the scientific worker with data and standard instruments yielding results in the search for objective truth in dealing with forgeries that speak for themselves to the layman as well as to the expert

Readability : Post-graduate (Poor. Aim for 14)

As a happy result, many of the obstacles in the field of disputed documents in law have been cleared away that were chargeable in the past to the dogmatism of many really competent experts, the obvious limitations of the empirical conclusions of amateurs, the extravagances of graphologists, and the unhappy overexaggeration of over-technical rules of evidence in many jurisdictions. All of these operated to preclude the use of succinct data on which to base sound conclusions.

Precedent has yielded to fact. Until recent years, the scientific investigation of disputed documents would have served no useful purpose for the reason that the subject was so hedged about by restrictions in court that it was not allowable to prove many of the most evident facts. Today, the progress of science and the modernizing of legal procedure have operated to permit the presentation of many of the hidden truths in such investigations along logical lines, enabling the righteous client and his attorney to go into court and, in most cases, prove the truth as to the point at issue or promote a speedy and economical adjustment.

The retreat of precedent has been gradual and stubbornly fought. In the earliest cases admitting testimony as to writing, eye-witnesses only of the actual act of writing were deemed competent. Then followed expression of opinion by those only who were said to have a 'knowledge of handwriting,' although restricted to cases involving 'forty shillings or less.' This was extended to 'comparison of hands' by experts in civil cases only, but not by other witnesses and restricted to documents 'in the case for other purposes.'

Such were the limitations under which investigators of a few years ago were compelled to work. The fact, however, that handwriting is so individual as to be accepted as the proof of common or obligation throughout the business world gradually forced the next step—the admission of genuine writings for purposes of comparison. Modern perfection in scientific instruments and appliances claimed recognition in due course, which has been extended in permitting the use of magnifying glasses, microscopes, and other scientific aids in court.

The demonstration under these limited conditions that the truth of a disputed document could be made to prevail opened the way for the most recent developments. Enlarged photographs were admitted in evidence and followed by the permission to use diagrams, charts, and blackboards in court. In consequence, comparison of writings and the giving of detailed reasons for opinion have been permitted on direct examination in both criminal and civil cases. In the most recent practice, a witness has been permitted to give a connected presentation of grounds of belief without unnecessary interruptions and trivial objections by opposing counsel.

With these new precedents and practices, a practically new profession has arisen, devoted to the scientific investigation of documents and the photographic illustration and proof of such cases in court. It is a profession that draws freely on the applied sciences for its demonstrations of fact, particularly chemistry, physics, microscopy, photography, and criminal psychology. It is one in which a logical and defensible reason for every opinion or belief advanced is of fundamental importance.

In the writer’s work, the application of broad scientific training to the solution of the many problems of disputed ink, handwriting, typewriting, and paper is the natural evolution of studies originally pursued in connection with the application of chemistry to the detection of crime, including poisons, blood and other stains, hair, threads, etc. Even here precedent is of interest. The courts of Europe have long known the 'Gerichtschemiker,' and one has but to refer to the classic works of Gross, Bertillon, Dennstedt, Schoepfl, and Jesserich, of the European writers, and Osborn of our own country and hour, to obtain a clear perspective of the passing of empiricism in the examination of writing and writing materials.

It is true that there are still cases in which it is impossible to prove with sufficient force what are undoubtedly the facts, but in very many cases involving disputed documents, the old despair has passed away. There are still abuses to be corrected, and unfortunately, there may continue to be frauds and charlatans among the specialists who testify on these technical subjects, and buyers who may exploit them and keep them in business. But there need be no despair about it. With the enlightened procedure now almost universal, thorough preparation by the attorney on the right side, and the use of the information on the subject now available, the ignorant and vicious pretenders as well as the record of corrupt or ignorant witnesses can usually be exposed. This cannot be done, however, when it is assumed, as was usual a few years ago, that any 'conflict' of such testimony of any kind discredits the good as well as the bad.

With such prejudice prevailing, it is easy to understand how a 'conflict' will always be brought about by the attorney against the fact, in order that the argument may be made that none of the testimony on the subject should be considered. 'Conflicts' of this kind are still secured and may accomplish their evil purpose if prejudice prevails and it is assumed that all testimony of the kind is of equal value and force. This is just what those against the facts want the courts, public, and press to assume. Too often, a portion of the press snatches at and magnifies the news value of such incidents, and thus intentionally may help promote injustice.

The unthinking often say: 'Of what use is such testimony when witnesses always disagree,' not knowing that the 'conflict' is brought about, not to prove the point, but solely for the purpose of appealing to this common but erroneous notion on the subject. The periodical press, in numerous technical articles on the subject, reprinted here, shows a decidedly changing point of view and a correct understanding of the facts.

The modern court, conducted under enlightened rules, asks that testimony be carefully weighed and that all prejudice be eliminated, and promptly accepts every proper help that will throw light on the inquiry. Objections to accepted scientific aids are promptly overruled and argument on the subject is hardly tolerated. Not often now, than once in fifty times or less, are photographs, microscopes, and charts excluded. In some jurisdictions, such exclusion, like the exclusion of reasons for the opinion given, is actual reversible error.

The presentation of the facts along scientific lines takes the questions out of the field of opinion testimony and makes of them simply the observation and interpretation of physical facts that are within the view and understanding of anyone of average intelligence. The interests of justice are always promoted when means are provided that even in the slightest degree assist in discovery and showing the facts in a court of law, and the path of the forger is made increasingly hard.

CLEVER FORGERY PLAN

The Iowa Bankers' Association describes in its bulletin a very successful plan being used to forge against banks that are so careless as to pay checks presented by unidentified strangers. A gang made a clean sweep of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and is apparently moving south and west toward the Pacific Coast or Southern states. 'Signatures are secured from letters stolen from private or apartment mailboxes and duplicated so perfectly that the true depositor cannot distinguish the forgery. The forgers present their checks in an easy, offhand manner calculated to allay suspicion, so successfully that checks were paid in amounts from $100 to $500, and one check was raised from $5 to $500. The telephone was also used to find out the depositor's credit, the question being whether a check for a certain amount was good. Between ten and fifteen checks were paid within three days in the two cities.

Burning a body with lime refers to a method historically used to dispose of human remains, particularly to accelerate decomposition and reduce the body to skeletal remains. Lime, specifically quicklime (calcium oxide) or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), was sometimes used in combination with burial or other methods to aid in decomposition and prevent the spread of disease.

When lime is applied to a body, it can serve several purposes:

1. Decomposition Acceleration: Lime is highly alkaline, and its application can raise the pH of the environment. This can speed up the decomposition process by creating conditions that favor the activity of bacteria and other microorganisms that break down organic matter.

2. Odor Reduction: The strong alkaline properties of lime can help neutralize odors associated with decomposition, making the process less unpleasant.

3. Pathogen Control: The high pH of lime can inhibit the growth of pathogens and reduce the risk of disease transmission from the decomposing body.

4. Drying: Lime's ability to absorb moisture can help dry out the body, which can further accelerate decomposition.

If You Smell Fish at Home and that's Fishy - Suspect an Electrical Fire!

For a change, good stuff from Quora (Ian O'Grady) :

What trivial knowledge might save your life one day?

Here’s some facts that could save your life.

If your house ever smells like fish for no reason, 9 times out of 10 its usually a electrical fire.

If you’re in a foreign country and you need to call for help, but don’t know the emergency number, dial 112 and it will automatically connect you to the nearest help line.

If a tornado looks like its not moving, it means its moving towards you.

If you wake up and smell gas, don’t turn on a light switch, the spark might cause an explosion.

Lying flat on your back is the best way to survive a falling elevator.

If your hair ever stands up on its ends, find cover, because your about to be struck by lightning.

If you ever fall off the edge of a platform on to the tracks, don’t try and crawl back up, there’s a crawl space built underneath in case this happens.

If a deer runs onto the road in front of you while your driving, its better to hit the deer then swerve into a ditch. If a Moose runs onto the road its better to swerve into a ditch, Moose's are tanks.

Even if you have no service you can still dial 911, in an emergency your phone will connect to the nearest tower.

If you ever get kidnapped and put in the boot, disconnect the brake lights and there's a chance the driver might get pulled over, given you a chance to call for help.

So You Want to Ditch Evernote. Who Can Blame You?

Fair warning : haven't tried this out myself. I just hear people complaining that they're locked into Evernote and they want to stop paying for it, but don't know what to do.

Can you tell me how to pull my data out of Evernote?

1  Export Notes from Evernote:

• Open Evernote on your computer or access the web version (www.evernote.com).
• Select the notes you want to export. You can hold down the "Ctrl" key (or "Cmd" key on Mac) and click on individual notes to select multiple ones.
• Right-click on the selected notes and choose "Export Notes..." (on Windows) or "Export..." (on Mac).

2 Choose Export Format:

• Evernote allows you to export your notes in two formats: "Evernote XML Format (.enex)" or "HTML" format.
• The ".enex" format is specific to Evernote and will allow you to import your notes back into Evernote in the future if needed.
• The "HTML" format is more generic and can be easily opened in web browsers or imported into other note-taking applications.

3 Save the Exported File:

• Choose a location on your computer where you want to save the exported file.
• Give the file a meaningful name that reflects the content or purpose of the exported notes.

4  Repeat for Other Notebooks:

• If you have multiple notebooks in Evernote, you will need to repeat the export process for each notebook you want to back up.

5  Check the Exported Data:

• Once the export is complete, you can open the exported ".enex" file using Evernote (if you chose that format) or use a web browser to view the exported HTML files. Make sure the data is intact and organized as expected.

6  Alternative Export Options:

• If you are comfortable with coding and programming, you can explore Evernote's Developer API (Application Programming Interface) to export your data programmatically. However, this option requires some technical knowledge.

7  Explore Third-Party Tools:

• Some third-party tools might offer features to help you export your Evernote data. You can search for such tools online, but be cautious and ensure that they are reputable and safe to use.

Can you give me a python script to do that?

pip install evernote3 # click in the code to select

import evernote.edam.userstore.constants as UserStoreConstants import evernote.edam.type.ttypes as Types import evernote.edam.notestore.ttypes as NoteTypes import evernote.api.client as EvernoteClient # Replace these values with your Evernote developer tokens sandbox = False # Set to True if you are using a sandbox (test) account auth_token = "YOUR_EVERNOTE_AUTH_TOKEN" def export_all_notes(): client = EvernoteClient(token=auth_token, sandbox=sandbox) note_store = client.get_note_store() # Retrieve all notebooks notebooks = note_store.listNotebooks() for notebook in notebooks: notebook_name = notebook.name print(f"Exporting notes from notebook: {notebook_name}") # Create a NoteFilter to fetch all notes from the current notebook note_filter = NoteTypes.NoteFilter() note_filter.notebookGuid = notebook.guid # Specify the result spec to include content result_spec = NoteTypes.NotesMetadataResultSpec(includeContent=True) # Retrieve the list of notes in the notebook note_list = note_store.findNotesMetadata(auth_token, note_filter, 0, 250, result_spec) for note_metadata in note_list.notes: note_guid = note_metadata.guid note = note_store.getNote(auth_token, note_guid, True, True, False, False) # Save the note content to a file file_name = f"{notebook_name}_{note.title}.enex" with open(file_name, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f: f.write(note.content) print(f"Note '{note.title}' exported to '{file_name}'") if __name__ == "__main__": export_all_notes()