Idle/Random/whatever Thoughts of a Demented/Idle/Whatever Mind

1. Self-hosting your location history with OwnTracks : OwnTracks is an open-source alternative to Google Maps Timeline, allowing users to privately track and store their location history. Many are dissatisfied with Google's upcoming changes to location history storage and seek a replacement. OwnTracks involves a server-side component to store location data and mobile apps to report location. The author details a setup using Docker, Caddy, and Tailscale for a private, self-hosted solution. While the initial setup is complex, the author finds OwnTracks promising, with potential for improvement in the mobile app's user experience and the web app's features. My Take: OwnTracks is an interesting alternative. I have not tried it yet, the only thing I am scared of is hosting something which is accessible on the internet.  Source: Florida Museum 2. Sea level rise claims first victim, tree cactus goes extinct : Rising sea levels, linked to climate change, are believed to have cl...

1. Researchers plan to retract landmark Alzheimer’s paper containing doctored images : Researchers are planning to retract a landmark Alzheimer's paper due to manipulated data. The study investigated the impact of a specific protein on memory in mice. The findings suggested that the protein caused memory impairment. However, it was later revealed that the researchers had altered the data, leading to the retraction of the paper. While some scientists believe the amyloid beta hypothesis remains important for Alzheimer's research, others argue otherwise. My Take: It is definitely a black mark on the peer review process for having been duped that long, but I definitely feel that though late it did find the faults and forced to get a retraction on the paper. Often there are researchers who are under undue pressure, no different than engineers working on startups to come up with something. But I guess we as a society fail to acknowledge that finding out that something does n...