!Five Answers
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agk's phlog
20 Feb 2021 @ 0143
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written on OnePlus 2
at kitchen table
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I like Christina's questions.[^1] In an attempt
at interactivity, I present answers.
> 1. Share your favorite evil/unethical hack.
Jeremy Hammond's hack of Stratfor--I don't like
Pinkertons. The ransomware attack of the hospital
where I work left me grateful we chart on paper.
I wish I understood the SolarWinds Orion hack.
> 2. Do you have a preferred O'Reilly Hacks guide?
I don't know about those.
> 3. What hacks do you recommend for the barely
computer-proficient who are keen nonetheless?
Work: Work in two half-screen windows side by
side. Use zim or ikiwiki to write and stay
organized. Get comfy with the terminal. Use the
middle mouse button a lot.
Play: Get on a shared unix server with friends.
Use classic social tools like talk and wall.
Play terminal games. Make and fix things.
> 4. What time management hack(s) do you have?
Pocket paper calendar and to-do list. At work I
write my schedule on a paper scrap and highlight
items as completed. I nap on lunch break, and
write a poem or draw when 1:1 with a sleeping
patient. Both conserve paper.
> 5. Are you a biohacker? What biohacks have you
tried?
No. I've played "country doctor" for many people
in austere circumstances though. I reintroduced
Ricinus communis L. into limited clinical usage
in the southern US for relief of acute spasmodic
pain, did sharps and high-pressure water debride-
ment of staph-infected blisters on my palms
3x/day for a week when I couldn't get antibiotics,
stopped tough bleeds with cayenne powder,
pressure, and patience, and learned to ID common
wound and fecal bacteria by smell.
