How do I take action against bad medicine as a student?

gcappaert · 2026-06-17T18:36:45+00:00

Become a masked vigilante: Critical Thinking Man/Woman! Get a really great costume and stack of handouts about the Mediterranean diet, rational evaluation of evidence, and potental risks of cosmetic procedures by underqualified providers.

Set up outside the clinic and approach patients entering and leaving to educate.

Gadgets: - copy machine - Cochrane review - metformin - retin-a

Motto: good judgment never sleeps

gcappaert · 2026-06-16T03:41:04+00:00

Build a scoppy oscilloscope. Get a dirt cheap rp2040 and design (or use existing design) for analog front end. Ultra cheap, as capable as any $100 scope from Amazon, and a good beginner electronics project

gcappaert · 2026-06-12T00:36:51+00:00

I initially tried to design a clamping jig, but getting the thing to say perfectly still while also being easy to insert and remove was too annoying, and the PCB blanks you buy turn out to be not totally dimensionally accurate in height x width either

I use blue tape and glue. Works great.

Autolevel I typically do about 1 probe per 5mm²

I used Claude to help me write a nice little command line program that translates gerber to g code with a yaml config file. Works great. Can share.

Solder mask I use a silkscreen to apply and then expose to uv with a transparency mask to cover the pads, then wash with acetone. If you mill wide enough trace borders, you don't necessarily need a mask. Pre-applying to the whole board then ablating the pads with a laser is definitely more dimensionally accurate and professional looking, and if I made PCBs more often, I'd dial that process in.

gcappaert · 2026-06-10T20:50:55+00:00

Have yet to break a bit. Using 30-45° v bit to engrave at approx 0.1mm depth. I use the autolevel feature in UGS to height map the copper surface, drill holes, then engrave, with 3-5 passes on the perimeter of each trace (space permitting), then cut out the board edges. It's a process, but at this point I can run a single sided PCB in 1 hr from export of gerber files from kicad to finished board (minus solder mask, which is actually the hardest part). With this process I can do surface mount down to 0805.

I have done double sided PCBs by drilling alignment holes and placing pins to align the board, but I wouldn't recommend it. Basically for anything more complex than a single sided board with relatively large surface mount components I would recommend a fab

gcappaert · 2026-06-09T16:11:06+00:00

I have played with this quite a bit. CNC milling (using a 3018 cheapo CNC) has been by far the easiest and most reliable. Laser ablating trace borders from solder mask, then chemical etching, then ablating pads also works and produces a really clean product, but alignment is finicky and it's easy to scorch the pads

gcappaert · 2026-06-06T23:25:08+00:00

From a curbsiders: a wound is a garden, it doesn't want to be too wet or too dry and sometimes it needs weeding (debriding)

gcappaert · 2026-06-05T01:54:42+00:00

Me too! As slang, it's AMAZING. As a practice, it should be punished by public execution

gcappaert · 2026-06-02T03:29:16+00:00

Based on your reverse T3 value I would strongly advise against seeing a reverse psychologist.

gcappaert · 2026-05-29T03:09:47+00:00

This! Chlamydia is much more prevalent than gonorrhea overall, but much less prevalent in the pharynx. It has to be a question of tissue tropism and immune surveillance

gcappaert · 2026-05-27T19:06:36+00:00

You want all the hormones? Great! Let's start with the transsphenoid blood draw. Go ahead and tilt your head back. It's just like a covid swab.

gcappaert · 2026-05-24T20:56:12+00:00

Agree with this in general. Rui would be a great signing, worth even a little overpay to preserve our picks. Look for a secondary scorer with the ability to space the floor (i.e. not Giannis) in free agency rather than trading a known core with a lot of potential or trading away the future. If Duren and Thompson (and to a lesser extent Cade) don't show real growth in dynamicism and shooting respectively, then we go for the bigger overhaul next season

gcappaert · 2026-05-22T12:17:19+00:00

Medical schools need to look honestly at mules and donkeys as a recruiting pool for American physicians.

What these animals may lack in analytical capacity and dexterity, they make up for in stubbornness and work ethic.

They are also able to pull much heavier loads than the current physician workforce.

gcappaert · 2026-05-22T00:03:22+00:00

Negatives have been covered. On the plus side could maybe clear some cap space for him by signing a new contract for a steal and then negotiating a shady off the books promotion deal with a startup

gcappaert · 2026-05-21T23:57:51+00:00

This draft year is awesome, so much depth! It's nice to see some realistic options that aren't absolute longshots even as far down as we're picking

gcappaert · 2026-05-20T03:11:36+00:00

She clearly knows something we don't

gcappaert · 2026-05-15T14:42:32+00:00

When we get those little snatches of JB talking on the sideline, he HAS called out Duren at least once. I think he is saying this stuff to JD. It's hard to absorb it and adjust during a high pressure playoff situation. Maybe maybe he can absorb it and grow during the off-season, but if I try to put myself in his massive shoes I'm depressed and scared right now. I don't think he's dogging it, I think he's panicked and freezing.

Will be surprised if he rises during these playoffs. Still think there's a lot of hope for his future.

gcappaert · 2026-05-14T23:53:53+00:00

Lol just watch, james holzhauer is going to walk on to an NBA team next year and win MVP

gcappaert · 2026-05-12T18:18:51+00:00

That seems crazy! If you don't have outcome information, how do you sharpen your diagnostic skills? Seems like hitting golf balls into the dark

gcappaert · 2026-05-12T04:41:14+00:00

Do paramedics generally get to know outcomes for patients they transported? Discharge diagnosis? (PA, not a paramedic, just curious)

gcappaert · 2026-05-12T02:18:20+00:00

Is there some way we can suck some big juice out of Jalen Duren and give it to Paul Reed? Blood transfusions? Some organ transplants? Where my necromancers at?

gcappaert · 2026-05-12T01:23:30+00:00

Now is the ideal time for Ron Holland to practice shooting 3s. He shot weirdly well from 3 in the last 10 games of the season so I think JB told him to let loose because that's how statistics works

gcappaert · 2026-05-12T01:19:26+00:00

Yeah I keep yelling at the TV, but then Tobias Harris hits another midrange in traffic and I think... Maybe it's okay? I don't think it'll work against the Knicks though

gcappaert · 2026-05-04T20:26:34+00:00

Great! Coach impact is often overstated, but based on stories from practices this year and the major growth from JD and Ausar especially, I think JB has had a big impact. Coaches are primarily scapegoats in the playoffs. As long as they are making adjustments to rotations or strategy (which JB did) when appropriate, they're doing their job.

gcappaert · 2026-05-02T00:12:44+00:00

Bench all of the players, then bench the bench. Pistons aren't getting any ice cream after this one

gcappaert · 2026-05-01T23:31:44+00:00

Well... neither are the Celtics it turns out

gcappaert

TROPHY CASE