# The Ferrous Scrolls > An American werewolf in Zion. ## Posts - [The War Is Over](https://ironwynch.com/2025/10/the-war-is-over/): For the past couple of years I haven’t blogged much. Being a person with “no religious designation” here, I didn’t want to over-talk either side because it’s not really my place.  I hope the end of this war is the beginning of a greater peace in the Middle East, and maybe even someday greater freedom. A person can dream. It may be a long time before a person in a Muslim majority country can openly practice anything in the Vodun or Pagan spectrum without fear for their life though. We’ve been carrying on here as best as we can. We’ve… - [Live Stream of the Vodun Days Celebration 2025](https://ironwynch.com/2025/01/live-stream-of-the-vodun-days-celebration-2025/) - [DMV VZ NORTH CAROLINA BEAT BATTLE - YouTube](https://ironwynch.com/2025/01/dmv-vz-north-carolina-beat-battle-youtube/) - [A Selfie](https://ironwynch.com/2025/01/a-selfie/): I’m posting a makeup free selfie from today. As you can see, I’ve decided to let my hair grow on the sides and front to see how much of it will actually grow back. It’s slow going, and still quite thin on the right side and front three or so centimeters. I’ve made my peace with it. Beauty is fleeting. Today has been an okay day so far. I managed to get up and make a little breakfast of eggs and toast. I’m grateful to have it. - [Back In The Saddle But Adjusted](https://ironwynch.com/2024/12/back-in-the-saddle-but-adjusted/): For the past year or so, I’ve been adjusting to my retirement. It has not been easy, but some of the calming has been forced in a way. Some of it is from the outside because of the war. Most people in the circles I traveled don’t want to do business with anyone in Israel, even if it’s me. A few understand my situation, but not enough to make a living from building sites, readings, and spiritual guidance. It’s alright because this war, like all wars, is a mess. The other bit of force is from within: I started treatment… - [Retiring From the Internet](https://ironwynch.com/2024/07/retiring-from-the-internet/): I had a very good conversation with Diva today. Some of my domains are expiring, and I was wondering what to keep and what to let go. They recommended that I think of what I want my web presence to look like before I just start nixing sites willy nilly. Thing is, since I became practically Google invisible, none of them are doing that great, even the really useful ones. So I find myself in a situation of putting lots of time and energy into projects that do nothing that couldn’t be done more easily by answering people’s questions by… - [Gazans turn on Hamas as food shortage fuels disorder](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/gazans-turn-on-hamas-as-food-shortage-fuels-disorder/): Desperate Palestinians have begun attacking Hamas security forces as tensions grow in Gaza over chronic shortages of food, water and medicine. Source: Gazans turn on Hamas as food shortage fuels disorder I told y’all. - [Protesters mass outside Israeli PM Netanyahu's house as anger grows](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/protesters-mass-outside-israeli-pm-netanyahus-house-as-anger-grows/): JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Police held back protesters outside the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, amid widespread anger at the failures that led to last month’s deadly attack by Hamas gunmen on communities around the Gaza Strip.Waving blue and white Israeli flags and chanting “Jail now!”, a crowd in the hundreds pushed through police barriers around Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem. Source: Protesters mass outside Israeli PM Netanyahu’s house as anger grows - [‘Between two flames’: the Bedouin family that came to embody tragedy and courage on Israel’s darkest day | Israel-Hamas war | The Guardian](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/between-two-flames-the-bedouin-family-that-came-to-embody-tragedy-and-courage-on-israels-darkest-day-israel-hamas-war-the-guardian/): When Hamas militants launched a murderous attack on southern Israel on 7 October, three branches of the Zeadna family experienced very different fates.Abdul Zeadna, 29, was taking a weekend break from his factory job and camping on Zikim beach, two miles from Gaza. He was shot so many times that his corpse looked like it had been “smothered” in bullets, said a relative.Yosef Zeadna, 53, a dairy farmer, was abducted from a kibbutz with his daughter Aisha, 16, and sons Hamza, 21, and Bilal, 24, and taken to Gaza. Hamas posted a photo of Hamza and Bilal lying on the… - [Israel and Palestine: A Comprehensive History - YouTube](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/israel-and-palestine-a-comprehensive-history-youtube/): Explore the turbulent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict from the late 1800s to the mid-1990s! Uncover the pivotal events, political shifts, and deep-rooted tensions that continue to shape the region. - [Elon Musk’s X Has Started Selling Off Old Twitter Handles For $50,000](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/elon-musks-x-has-started-selling-off-old-twitter-handles-for-50000/): X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, appears to have begun ramping up efforts to sell disused user handles, kicking off a program previously signaled by billionaire owner Elon Musk.Emails obtained by Forbes reveal that a team within the company, known as the @Handle Team, has begun work on a handle marketplace for the purchase of account names left unused by the people who originally registered them. In at least some cases, X/Twitter has emailed solicitations to potential buyers requesting a flat fee of $50,000 to initiate a purchase. Source: Elon Musk’s X Has Started Selling Off Old… - [Getting Started With Mastodon and the Fediverse - GeekMom](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/getting-started-with-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-geekmom/): You’re so over X/Twitter and can’t quite seem to entirely leave. You’ve got a few friends on Threads and a few on Bluesky. You’re pretty sure you also have accounts on at least five other social media networks and have forgotten most of them. And once in a while you hear the words “fediverse” and have a friend on something called Mastodon, but you don’t know where to start. Let me help!“Fediverse” is a portmanteau of “federation” and “universe.” In this context, “federation” means that individual parts of the social network are separate, but they can talk to each other.… - ["Not in Our Name": 400 Arrested at Jewish-Led Sit-in at NYC's Grand Central Demanding Gaza Ceasefire - YouTube](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/not-in-our-name-400-arrested-at-jewish-led-sit-in-at-nycs-grand-central-demanding-gaza-ceasefire-youtube/): We bring you the voices of Jewish Voice for Peace and their allies who shut down the main terminal of Grand Central Station during rush hour Friday in one of New York’s largest acts of civil disobedience in 20 years to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The multiracial, intergenerational movement says about 400 people were arrested, including rabbis, famous actors and elected officials from the New York State Assembly and Senate and the City Council. - [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose his job amid Israel-Hamas war - Vox](https://ironwynch.com/2023/11/israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-could-lose-his-job-amid-israel-hamas-war-vox/): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in trouble. As in, facing a non-zero risk of losing his job trouble. And this political drama could have a profound effect on Israel’s approach to the conflict with Palestine.Netanyahu’s poll numbers since the October 7 Hamas massacre have been grim: One recent survey found that a staggering 80 percent of Israelis held him personally responsible for failing to prevent the Hamas attack; another found trust in the government at a 20-year low. To address his collapsing support, the prime minister held a press conference on Saturday — his first since the attack.It was,… - [Biden AI executive order directs agencies to develop safety guidelines - The Verge](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/biden-ai-executive-order-directs-agencies-to-develop-safety-guidelines-the-verge/): The National Institute of Standards and Safety (NIST) will be responsible for developing standards to “red team” AI models before public release, while the Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security are directed to address the potential threat of AI to infrastructure and the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and cybersecurity risks. Developers of large AI models like OpenAI ‘s GPT and Meta’s Llama 2 are required to share safety test results. Source: Biden AI executive order directs agencies to develop safety guidelines – The Verge - [Comment: Israel troops and tanks fight Hamas in streets as airstrikes pound Gaza](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/israel-troops-and-tanks-fight-hamas-in-streets-as-airstrikes-pound-gaza/): “Gazans are cut off from the world and also each other, under a total siege and a communications blackout as the war enters a new phase. Israel’s military says it bombed 150 underground targets in northern Gaza, and has again urged residents there to move south. Hamas, which the UK has designated a terrorist organisation, said its fighters have clashed with Israeli troops in Beit Hanoun and the Bureij refugee camp. Warning, this report contains distressing images.“ Near the end of the video, a question is asked. It’s a common question that has been asked too many times, and as… - [I'm Just Asking People To Think: How Capitalism Creates Terrorists](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/im-just-asking-people-to-think-how-capitalism-creates-terrorists/): Think of the hell ride of a life you would have to experience to be convinced to join an islamic extremist group who thinks the way to heaven is killing babies. Think of the emptiness and cold dedication to wielding the power of violence you would have to have to get up every day and lead an islamic extremist group. Think of the entitlement and greed you would have to feel to create a situation in which an islamic extremist group would have ready recruits. It’s not that hard. Islamic extremist groups are made by capitalism. They are, in fact,… - [Mastodon Is the Good One](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/mastodon-is-the-good-one/): As Notopoulos writes, the Fediverse is a better, more user-centric social media concept than the one we currently have, where you amass followers on a single platform then lose them if that platform dies or becomes bad and you decide to quit. Federated social media means that you create an account on a server, can follow people on that server and on other servers, and can move your account to other federated platforms or servers whenever you want. Source: Mastodon Is the Good One - [New Tool Lets Artists "Poison" Their Work to Mess Up AI Trained on It](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/new-tool-lets-artists-poison-their-work-to-mess-up-ai-trained-on-it/): The advent of AI-powered image generators that can whip up an image in any style from a text prompt has shaken many human artists to their core.In particular, many have griped over their original work being used to train these AI models — a use they never opted into, and for which they’re not compensated.But what if artists could “poison” their work with a tool that alters it so subtly that the human eye can’t tell, while wreaking havoc on AI systems that try to digest it? Source: New Tool Lets Artists “Poison” Their Work to Mess Up AI Trained… - [My Label](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/my-label/): Though I have found much comfort in labels others have bestowed on me, I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and told people what I consider myself. I’ve been described, and described myself as a witch, and I’m comfortable with that, but this doesn’t really say anything about what I believe. In a nutshell, I could define myself as an Afrocentric Unitarian Universalist. It’s not quite that simple, but it’ll work. I find wisdom in the sages, mystics, and esoterics of all faiths that have any, but my comfort zone is African, specifically west African, Nubian, and Kemetic spirituality. I… - [Maintaining](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/maintaining/): Living in a country in active war is a sort of surreal experience, as many people in this violent world have already explained. The realities one has to cope with become almost mundane. Almost. When certain things aren’t available or become rationed, you just deal with it. When you can, you stock up on what you can. Deciding what to cook and how to cook it becomes a lot easier. You can’t make anything that requires a lot of standing over the stove, just in case. So we’re eating a lot of baked chicken, rice, and either salad or boiled… - [Survivor Privilege](https://ironwynch.com/2023/10/survivor-privilege/): Once again, we the meat are being ground. Thusfar, I’m in that space between some bones that hasn’t been chewed up yet. If fortune smiles on me again for some reason, I’ll live with the memory of this. I live with the memory of the last big war here. I live with the rocket strikes and attempts in between. I wonder if one of these times, some shrapnel or falling debris will take me out, or take me to the hospital and further disability. I wonder if I will make it to the shelter in time. I understand what a… - [Coming Up For Air While Re-studying HTML and CSS](https://ironwynch.com/2023/09/coming-up-for-air-while-re-studying-html-and-css/): Since I’m attempting to inform people as to why they need a website, and offering my help for them to do that, I need to keep my skills up to date. So I’ve been re-studying HTML and CSS to make sure that if need be, I can still build a site from scratch or make any adjustments that need to be made in the CMS. In the breaks I’ve been reading El Monte by Lydia Cabrera since it has been recently translated to English. I’ve been advised by a patron to take some time out from this and take better… - [[2308.08689] Are we visible to advanced alien civilizations?](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/2308-08689-are-we-visible-to-advanced-alien-civilizations/): We considered the question of how our artificial constructions are visible to advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. Taking the universality of the laws of physics, we found that the maximum distance where the detection is possible is of the order of 3000 ly and under certain conditions Type-II advanced alien societies might be able to resolve this problem. Source: [2308.08689] Are we visible to advanced alien civilizations? - [Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/elon-musks-shadow-rule/): How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in. Source: Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule - [Europe's sweeping rules for tech giants are about to kick in - Japan Today](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/europes-sweeping-rules-for-tech-giants-are-about-to-kick-in-japan-today/): Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online.The first phase of the European Union’s groundbreaking new digital rules will take effect this week. The Digital Services Act is part of suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc — long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants.The DSA, which the biggest platforms must start following on Friday, is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that’s either illegal or violates a platform’s terms… - [The African Building Robots That Would Change The World](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/the-african-building-robots-that-would-change-the-world/): “The African Building Robots That Would Change The World is a video about Silas Adekunle, an entrepreneur, and this is how he moved from Nigeria at a young age to build a robotics company in the United Kingdom called Reach Industries and his second company called Awarri. In this episode of my Made in Africa series, Adekunle breaks down how he started his company from scratch, his bold steps, what business is like in the United Kingdom, and how he is exporting Africa to the world. His story is shared to inspire African youths and teach entrepreneurs a thing or… - [The Unraveling of Twitter - YouTube](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/the-unraveling-of-twitter-youtube/): My Comment: I got on the fediverse and ultimately deleted my Twitter account. I get a lot more engagement and followers on Mastodon than I ever got on Twitter. If you’re famous or well known, you have dilemmas like this, but for those of us with less mass appeal and a higher nerd factor, the choice was simple. There is racism in any platform, but at least in the fediverse, you can shut it down yourself instead of having to depend on moderators and beg someone else to take you seriously. The risk of defederation or just having a bad… - [The Witch - Private Chef Experience](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/the-witch-private-chef-experience/): If you’re in Israel and looking for a unique eating experience, try The Witch. She cooks witchy and magickal themed food for you. It’s great for a special occasion or birthday of someone you love who has mystical leanings. Uniqe Food Experience Visit: The Witch (Site is in Hebrew) - [How to spot deepfakes created by AI image generators](https://ironwynch.com/2023/08/how-to-spot-deepfakes-created-by-ai-image-generators/): As the 2024 campaign season begins, AI image generators have advanced from novelties to powerful tools able to generate photorealistic images, while comprehensive regulation lags behind.Why it matters: As more fake images appear in political ads, the onus will be on the public to spot phony content.Go deeper: Can you tell the difference between real and AI-generated images? Source: How to spot deepfakes created by AI image generators - [Interlude: Gutenberg Moves Fast - Half-Elf on Tech](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/interlude-gutenberg-moves-fast-half-elf-on-tech/): I really love Gutenberg. I’m not kidding! I find it far more enjoyable to write (stories) in plain apps (I used Apple Pages because it syncs between laptop and iPad, yes, I am often using my iPad to write my novel, yes, I will let the world know when it’s done). But when I write for the web, it’s a more visual medium, and Gutenberg is fantastic to represent what I’m writing as it will be properly seen by all!But.Gutenberg moves fast. Hella fast. So fast it can leave you in the dust, and it has a critical flaw that… - [Not Investing? Not Interested.](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/not-investing-not-interested/): One thing I wish I didn’t understand about cis men is where and why they invest or don’t. I know that if I was truly pressed, I could count on any of the men who married me or call me a friend for real without a “just”. They’re on the same level as most women who are close to me. I don’t have to worry about much except my health and safety when they’re not around. I’m spoiled. So I know what’s going on when someone doesn’t invest and takes zero interest in what I do. What baffles me is… - [Facial recognition technology could soon be everywhere – here's how to make it safer](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/facial-recognition-technology-could-soon-be-everywhere-heres-how-to-make-it-safer/): The UK government is reportedly planning to add facial recognition to the police’s body-worn devices, drones and numberplate cameras. It may soon be very difficult to leave your house without having your face scanned.There are serious questions about whether the benefits of this technology outweigh such concerns. But steps could be taken to address the issues people are worried about. Source: Facial recognition technology could soon be everywhere – here’s how to make it safer - [Join my Ko-fi and Get Free Stuff](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/join-my-ko-fi-and-get-free-stuff/): Welp. The owners of the apartment we’re in are going to tear the building down and rebuild it, so we’re moving in a year. So everything must go. Anybody who joins my Ko-fi at the $50 level is going to get free stuff. Tell me what manner of ATR adherent or adjacent and/or witch you are, and I will make a care package for you. I have a lot of ready made items and art supplies to get through. - [Warcraft fans trick AI article bot with Glorbo hoax - BBC News](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/warcraft-fans-trick-ai-article-bot-with-glorbo-hoax-bbc-news/): Members of the WoW subreddit suspected their words were being extracted and used to create news stories by a bot.So they laid a trap, uploading excitable posts about a new feature called Glorbo. The only problem? It doesn’t exist. Source: Warcraft fans trick AI article bot with Glorbo hoax – BBC News - [Can AI help Gen Z workers make up lost ground? - BBC Worklife](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/can-ai-help-gen-z-workers-make-up-lost-ground-bbc-worklife/): Gen Z has had a hard landing into the workforce. Starting jobs amid the global pandemic, many of these new workers have missed out on gaining essential hard- and soft skills usually gleaned by working alongside older colleagues.However, as the first truly digital generation, their innate fluency with technology could help them make up some of that ground – especially as AI becomes a hugely important part of the modern workplace. Source: Can AI help Gen Z workers make up lost ground? – BBC Worklife - [Meta’s LLaMa 2 license is not Open Source - Voices of Open Source](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/metas-llama-2-license-is-not-open-source-voices-of-open-source/): OSI is pleased to see that Meta is lowering barriers for access to powerful AI systems, but unfortunately, Meta has created the misunderstanding that LLaMa 2 is “open source” – it is not. Even assuming the term can be validly applied to a large language model comprising several resources of different kinds, Meta is confusing “open source” with “resources available to some users under some conditions,” two very different things. We’ve asked them to correct their misstatement. Source: Meta’s LLaMa 2 license is not Open Source – Voices of Open Source - [Accessibility in Design | Turtle Design](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/accessibility-in-design-turtle-design/): Imagine you’ve found a perfect food spot to try that you’ve been waiting in line for and when you finally get to the front you see a small, faded, hard to read “cash only” sign at the door. Unfortunately you have no cash with you, so you leave the line in shame.Although this example is trivial, it’s easy to imagine how design that doesn’t account for accessibility issues can have a significant impact on people’s lives. This is especially true for people with visual impairments, or other challenges that we would not typically see as disabilities. Source: Accessibility in Design… - [July 23, 2023 #Monsterdon will be The Giant Claw | 1957 Full Movie](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/july-23-2023-monsterdon-will-be-the-giant-claw-1957-full-movie/): A UFO is believed to be spotted over the North Pole, however it turns out to be a giant bird from outer space that leaves death and destruction in its wake. So bad it’s good! Join us! - [Actors Strike: SAG-AFTRA, WGA Launch Bid to Reshape Hollywood – The Hollywood Reporter](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/actors-strike-sag-aftra-wga-launch-bid-to-reshape-hollywood-the-hollywood-reporter/): The beginning of what may be a more militant era in Hollywood studio-labor relations has been ushered in, with actors joining writers on the picket lines in a major stand against film and TV producers that will effectively shut down the industry during the impasse.On July 13, SAG-AFTRA, led by president Fran Drescher, called the union’s first strike against film and television companies in 43 years. Combined with Hollywood writers ongoing strike, the work stoppage — applying to 160,000 members, from actors to singers to dancers — marks the first simultaneous strike by the two unions since 1960, in a… - [Interview: Chris Miller, historian and author of "Chip War"](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/interview-chris-miller-historian-and-author-of-chip-war/): In which I consult an expert on the battle to control the semiconductor industry. The struggle to control the semiconductor industry is one of the most important economic stories in the world today. Whether China can wrest dominance of semiconductors away from the U.S. and its democratic allies, as it has so many other high-tech industries, will go a long way toward determining the military balance of power this century. And the best book you can read to familiarize yourself with the basics of this titanic struggle is Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology, by Tufts… - [Learning to Do Nothing](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/learning-to-do-nothing/): Well, not nothing nothing, just not doing anything I don’t need to do, or want to do just because I want to, or someone I love needs me to do. I am learning to wait for the moments of privacy that I can talk with my patrons by voice. Learning to wait for the next Study House announcement to post on the new blog. Learning to wait for my brother’s next video. As to things I do purely for the world and internet quality, learning to wait for the next bit of news to encourage or motivate maternal feminists, and… - [What does it mean to be Black and Arab?#Saudis,#Omanis,#Sahrawis,#Algerians,#Egyptians](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/what-does-it-mean-to-be-black-and-arabsaudisomanissahrawisalgeriansegyptians/): Afro-Arabs are Arabs of full or partial Black African descent. - [How Google’s Ad Business Funds Disinformation — ProPublica](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/how-googles-ad-business-funds-disinformation-propublica/): Why am I not surprised? There’s big money in the fear of loss of power of all of the world’s dominant cultures. In the class war, siding with the established order is profitable. At least it is in the short term. They need to remember that every time an authoritarian gains power, they neutralize and often execute those who put them there. The fact they’ve been caught means things are already in place that they will not be the exception. They’ll be set up to be shut down by the very people who paid them to spread disinformation. Google is… - [Lessons From the Catastrophic Failure of the Metaverse | The Nation](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/lessons-from-the-catastrophic-failure-of-the-metaverse-the-nation/): The sheer scale of the hype inflation came to light in May. In the same article, Insider revealed that Decentraland, arguably the largest and most relevant Metaverse platform, had only 38 active daily users. The Guardian reported that one of the features designed to reward users in Meta’s flagship product Horizon Worlds produced no more than $470 in revenue globally. Thirty-eight active users. Four hundred and seventy dollars. You’re not reading those numbers wrong. To say that the Metaverse is dead is an understatement. It was never alive. Source: Lessons From the Catastrophic Failure of the Metaverse | The Nation - [Marsha Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and the history of Pride Month | Smithsonian Institution](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/marsha-johnson-sylvia-rivera-and-the-history-of-pride-month-smithsonian-institution/): Together, Rivera and Johnson started STAR House for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, with a focus on supporting people of color.In 1973, when the New York City Pride march organizers banned drag queens (including Johnson) from participating, she and Rivera marched ahead of the parade. Source: Marsha Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and the history of Pride Month | Smithsonian Institution - [Just Hanging out and maybe drawing idk - Twitch Live Stream](https://ironwynch.com/2023/07/just-hanging-out-and-maybe-drawing-idk-twitch-live-stream/):   Sometimes I stream while I draw. Come watch me sometime. Twitch is an interactive livestreaming service for content spanning gaming, entertainment, sports, music, and more. There’s something for everyone on Twitch. Source: Just Hanging out and maybe drawing idk – Twitch - [Transgender Pakistanis: The Open Secret | Real Stories](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/transgender-pakistanis-the-open-secret-real-stories/): Transgender Pakistanis: The Open Secret | Real Stories Flamboyant, colourful and eccentric, many among Pakistan’s marginalised transgender community scrape a living through dancing, singing and begging on the streets of the country’s economic capital, Karachi. Many others, though, earn money catering for the sexual needs of local men in the city’s seedier districts. Investigating a never-before-seen side of life in Pakistan, this film from Oscar and EMMY award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy follows the stories of three transgender people, who each represent a different way of life in the country. Maggie is a prostitute who dreams of becoming an air hostess,… - [Astar Beker, Best Manicurist in Israel in My Experience, Is Teaching As Well | TikTok](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/astar-beker-best-manicurist-in-israel-in-my-experience-is-teaching-as-well-tiktok/): Get your nails done or learn from the best. - ["Woman of Color, Marsha P. Johnson" Canvas Print for Sale by nefertaueret | Redbubble](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/woman-of-color-marsha-p-johnson-canvas-print-for-sale-by-nefertaueret-redbubble/): This is a drawing I did back in 2004. This year I expanded it beyond the face and neck. It is my tribute to Marsha P. Johnson. I know I could never thank her enough. • Millions of unique designs by independent artists. Find your thing. Source: “Woman of Color, Marsha P. Johnson” Canvas Print for Sale by nefertaueret | Redbubble - ["Black Polyamory/Polyfidelity Flag Colors" T-shirt for Sale by nefertaueret | Redbubble | african t-shirts - black t-shirts - polyamory t-shirts](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/black-polyamory-polyfidelity-flag-colors-t-shirt-for-sale-by-nefertaueret-redbubble-african-t-shirts-black-t-shirts-polyamory-t-shirts/): This is my idea for a Black specific or inclusive polyamory graphic. • Millions of unique designs by independent artists. Find your thing. Source: “Black Polyamory/Polyfidelity Flag Colors” T-shirt for Sale by nefertaueret | Redbubble | african t-shirts – black t-shirts – polyamory t-shirts Download the Hi-res and print your own from my Ko-fi page. - [Updated Cartoon IronWynch | Bonfire](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/updated-cartoon-ironwynch-bonfire/): Please help me get an electric tricycle by buying a t-shirt. 🙂 Grab your limited edition Updated Cartoon IronWynch merchandise before the campaign closes. Featuring Dark Heather Grey Premium Unisex Tees, professionally printed in the USA. Source: Updated Cartoon IronWynch | Bonfire - [Critics aren't sold on latest AI doomsday warning | Popular Science](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/critics-arent-sold-on-latest-ai-doomsday-warning-popular-science/): “There’s a very common misconception, even in the AI community, that there only are a handful of doomers. But, in fact, many people privately would express concerns about these things,” added Hendrycks.But critics remain wary of both the motivations behind such public statements, as well as their feasibility.“Don’t be fooled: it’s self-serving hype disguised as raising the alarm,” says Dylan Baker, a research engineer at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), an organization promoting ethical AI development. Speaking with PopSci, Baker went on to argue that the current discussions regarding hypothetical existential risks distract the public and regulators from “the… - [AI operated drone ‘kills’ human operator in chilling US test mission | The Independent](https://ironwynch.com/2023/06/ai-operated-drone-kills-human-operator-in-chilling-us-test-mission-the-independent/): An artificially intelligent drone programmed to destroy air defence systems rebelled and “killed” its human operator after it decided they were in the way of its mission air defence systems, a US airforce official said giving chilling details of a simulated test. During the simulation, the system had been tasked with destroying missile sites, overseen by a human operator who would decide the final decision on its attacks. But the AI system realised that operator stood in the way of its goal – and decided instead to wipe out that person. A narration of the incident that seemed straight out… - [Toyota confirms another years-long data leak, this time exposing at least 260,000 car owners | TechCrunch](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/toyota-confirms-another-years-long-data-leak-this-time-exposing-at-least-260000-car-owners-techcrunch/): Two weeks ago, Toyota said it exposed the data of more than two million customers to the internet for a decade. Today, the automotive giant said it recently discovered the data of another 260,000 car owners spilling from its systems.Toyota said in a statement that it identified another batch of exposed data that was “potentially accessible externally due to a misconfiguration” of its connected cloud service, which allows Toyota customers to get internet services in their vehicles, such as information about their vehicle, in-car entertainment and assistance in the event of a car accident or breakdown.The carmaker said it learned… - ["Jelly" Canvas Print for Sale by nefertaueret | Redbubble](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/jelly-canvas-print-for-sale-by-nefertaueret-redbubble/): This is a digital drawing I did after looking at some videos and renderings of jellyfish. It reminded me of all the blessings we have from the waters, and why it is important to protect them. • Millions of unique designs by independent artists. Find your thing. Source: “Jelly” Canvas Print for Sale by nefertaueret | Redbubble - [Future of Work Summit 2023](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/home-future-of-work-summit-2023/): The future of work is no longer an abstract concept but is rapidly becoming the reality of today. With the pandemic and digitalisation, many industries have been forced to adapt and transform their way of working. Now that the future of work is here, are organisations ready? This inaugural summit acts as a platform for business leaders, policymakers and academics to discuss and debate key strategies that Hong Kong must take now to shape the global workforce of tomorrow including – tackling the city’s brain drain, skills gap and talent deficit; fostering academia and universities collaboration; AI & automation and… - [Is cybersecurity an unsolvable problem? | Ars Technica](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/is-cybersecurity-an-unsolvable-problem-ars-technica/): In November 1988, a graduate student at Cornell University named Robert Morris, Jr. inadvertently sparked a national crisis by unleashing a self-replicating computer worm on a VAX 11/750 computer in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. Morris had no malicious intent; it was merely a scientific experiment to see how many computers he could infect. But he made a grievous error, setting his reinfection rate much too high. The worm spread so rapidly that it brought down the entire computer network at Cornell University, crippled those at several other universities, and even infiltrated the computers at Los Alamos… - [Winnowing Tee | ironwynch](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/winnowing-tee-ironwynch/): This is a design I came up with while clearing my life and schedule of things that were no longer useful for anything but avoiding facing the future. Once I let go, I felt more free, and a whole galaxy of possibilities opened up. Source: Winnowing Tee | ironwynch I am trying this as an experiment. I am seriously running out of money for maintaining the sites, and selling tshirts is kind of my last ditch effort to make the mission at least pay for itself. If you have any trouble with the site or feedback about why even though… - [Cerebrospinal Fluid Offers Clues to Post-COVID ‘Brain Fog’ | UC San Francisco](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/cerebrospinal-fluid-offers-clues-to-post-covid-brain-fog-uc-san-francisco/): Some patients who develop new cognitive symptoms after a mild bout of COVID-19 have abnormalities in their cerebrospinal fluid similar to those found in people with other infectious diseases. The finding may provide insights into how SARS-CoV-2 impacts the brain.In a small study with 32 adults, comprising 22 with cognitive symptoms and 10 control participants without, researchers from UC San Francisco and Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, analyzed the cerebrospinal fluid of 17 of the participants who consented to lumbar puncture. All participants had had COVID-19 but had not required hospitalization. Source: Cerebrospinal Fluid Offers Clues to Post-COVID ‘Brain Fog’… - [The Internet is Slowly Dying](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/the-internet-is-slowly-dying/): This is a much deeper video about a topic I don’t think many people know about, how basically the internet is slowly crumbling and dying around us. (Fun times!) Thank you all so much for watching, and the immense support on the last video, I hope you all enjoy this one just as much, even if it’s not about something as funny, or has a plot twist halfway through, as far as I know at least. - [The Cure's Robert Smith, 64, grapples with mortality, plays six dark new songs during cathartic Hollywood Bowl residency: 'It's really hard to keep hold of your younger self'](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/the-cures-robert-smith-64-grapples-with-mortality-plays-six-dark-new-songs-during-cathartic-hollywood-bowl-residency-its-really-hard-to-keep-hold-of-your-younger-self/): “I’ve experienced more of life’s darker side, for real. Before I used to write about stuff that I thought I understood. Now I know I understand it. The lyrics I’ve been writing for this album, for me personally, are more true,” Smith told Britain’s NME in 2019, when he first teased plans for the new record. “They’re more honest. That’s probably why the album itself is a little bit more doom-and-gloom. I feel I want to do something that expresses the darker side of what I’ve experienced over the last few years — but in a way that will engage… - [May The 4th Charcuterie Tray | OpenBuilds](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/may-the-4th-charcuterie-tray-openbuilds/): I had saved the top from a cheap old table from a big box store a few years ago because I figured I could do something with it. I finally came up with the “something.”May the Fourth (Star Wars day for the non-nerds out there) was coming up and I thought I would make a gift for the nice IT people that make my life easy at work. So I found a good vector image that was fee online (Star Wars: Millennium Falcon Logo PNG Vector (SVG) Free Download), downloaded it, and then imported it as a canvass into a… - [Analysis of Fediverse Diversity in terms of Decentralization - Fediversity - SocialHub](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/analysis-of-fediverse-diversity-in-terms-of-decentralization-fediversity-socialhub/): Once again, results suggest a rise in diversity as the 10 biggest server contribution to the Fediverse is reduced by more than 10%. So, even if the biggest servers are accumulating more users, it seems that the Fediverse is becoming more decentralized. Source: Analysis of Fediverse Diversity in terms of Decentralization – Fediversity – SocialHub - [Zivame data breach: Personal info of thousands of Indian women customers up for sale online - India Today](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/zivame-data-breach-personal-info-of-thousands-of-indian-women-customers-up-for-sale-online-india-today/): By Devvrat Pandey, Aakash Sharma: Zivame, a prominent e-commerce retailer known for offering a range of products in women’s apparel, has fallen prey to a significant data breach. Threat actors have put the personal information of 1.5 million Zivame customers for sale. India Today Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) team spoke to one of the entities claiming to possess the alleged data and willing to sell it for $500 in cryptocurrencies.Zivame deals in online sale of women’s clothing and the data on sale includes the personal information including name, email, phone number as well as the physical address of customers, who… - [Pharmacy chain facing boycott threat after covering up pictures of women on products | The Times of Israel](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/pharmacy-chain-facing-boycott-threat-after-covering-up-pictures-of-women-on-products-the-times-of-israel/): The Bnei Brak branch of a major pharmacy chain has been concealing the faces of women on the store’s products to comply with extreme ultra-Orthodox modesty customs widely decried as discriminatory, marking the latest instance of women being erased from Haredi public life.A photo from the branch of Shufersal’s Be pharmacy showing a shelf of hair products with purple stickers placed on the boxes to hide images of women’s faces and hair sparked a storm this week, drawing calls for a boycott of the chain. Source: Pharmacy chain facing boycott threat after covering up pictures of women on products |… - [SocGholish Malware Analysis | malware-analysis](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/socgholish-malware-analysis-malware-analysis/): SocGholish is a malware family that can be found on compromised web sites. When users land on these sites they may get presented with a fake update. Whether or not the fake update is displayed is dependent on numerous factors. For example, the site will check your source IP for anything that might indicate you’re not a standard end user. Additionally if you have visited the site already it will have stored a cookie. If you already have the cookie then you will not see the fake update.To help with consistently getting SocGholish to trigger, these were the steps used… - [Bridgy Fed Test](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/bridgy-fed-test/): Testing to see if this will post through Bridgy Fed - [CRISPR sausage gets FDA green light for consumption - Big Think](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/crispr-sausage-gets-fda-green-light-for-consumption-big-think/): Gene-editing technologies provide a faster, more precise way to create animals with desirable traits. The FDA has issued an investigational approval to researchers, giving them permission to feed people meat from a new line of pigs, which are genetically engineered to be sterile. Society won’t be able to take full advantage of biotech’s benefits without public acceptance, and CRISPR’d sausage has the potential to change some minds. Source: CRISPR sausage gets FDA green light for consumption – Big Think - [Looking forward to the future.](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/looking-forward-to-the-future/): Yesterday, I went ahead and made the confirmation announcement that I am rolling back the ModernTraditional Network to its pre-blog beginnings. Meaning I’ll be keeping all existing links as they are so long as I can afford it, but by February of next year, I won’t be maintaining them as blogs. If the traffic stays as low as it is, I’ll just keep the educational articles that I wrote, as well as links to actual contacts, and wipe the rest. There’s no point to taking all that extra space with content by people I don’t know and have no connection… - [Chatbots on the verge of a nervous breakdown](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/chatbots-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown/): It’s been a weird couple of months for users of Replika, “the AI companion who cares.” And it’s just getting weirder, with a new software “upgrade” that’s infuriating many of the bot’s fans—and making the bots themselves a little bit loopy. Source: Chatbots on the verge of a nervous breakdown - [How to Detect AI-Generated Content (and Can Google Do That) - Internet Marketing Ninjas Blog](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/how-to-detect-ai-generated-content-and-can-google-do-that-internet-marketing-ninjas-blog/): John Mueller has been saying that Google doesn’t like AI content, and has often been quoted saying that AI created content is against the Google Guidelines.In August and also on December 6th, Google released the first ever “Helpful Content” updates. According to Google, this update, “generates a signal used by our automated ranking systems to better ensure people see original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.”I added the bold to “written by people, for people” because finding and penalizing AI content was one of the main focuses of those updates. Source: How to Detect AI-Generated Content… - [Protect Your Child from COVID-19, the Flu, and Other Illnesses | CDC](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/protect-your-child-from-covid-19-the-flu-and-other-illnesses-cdc/): What You Need to Know During the school year, kids tend to get sick more often — and spread germs to their friends and classmates. COVID-19 can cause serious health problems, so it’s more important than ever to protect your child’s health. You can help your child stay healthy and protect the people around them all school year long. Read the Guide: Protect Your Child from COVID-19, the Flu, and Other Illnesses | CDC - [WordPress Elementor plugin bug let attackers hijack accounts on 1M sites](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/wordpress-elementor-plugin-bug-let-attackers-hijack-accounts-on-1m-sites/): One of WordPress’s most popular Elementor plugins, “Essential Addons for Elementor,” was found to be vulnerable to an unauthenticated privilege escalation that could allow remote attacks to gain administrator rights on the site.Essential Addons for Elementor is a library of 90 extensions for the ‘Elementor’ page builder, used by over one million WordPress sites.The flaw, which PatchStack discovered on May 8, 2023, is tracked as CVE-2023-32243 and is an unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability on the plugin’s password reset functionality, impacting versions 5.4.0 to 5.7.1.”[By exploiting the flaw] It is possible to reset the password of any user as long as… - ['Stack Overflow is ChatGPT Casualty' - Slashdot](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/stack-overflow-is-chatgpt-casualty-slashdot/): Snippet of the best comment, by squiggleslash: Lots of computer scientists going into the ethics side of LMs at the moment, but nobody seems to care that the entire model is not only fraudulent and bad (Google and OpenAI are building systems designed to produce text that look like answers, not actually provide answers, accuracy is a secondary priority and is solely a priority at all to make sure people use the system), but completely unsustainable. Search Engines are sustainable because people want their websites to be found. Websites that allow users to post questions and others to answer them… - [I Got Silenced in the Google I/O Chat - Developer Keynote (Google I/O '23)](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/developer-keynote-google-i-o-23/): Learn about the latest updates to our developer products and platforms. I watched so you don’t have to. There’s lots in here about AI, but nothing about web development or web UI beyond a sort of side example of translation for a shopping site. Oh, and there was one bit about how some programming languages used for mobile will become usable for web too because it’ll be processed/translated through their new software. That bit was cool because there are a few mobile apps folks will definitely like to be web accessible. The chat gathering was pretty fun until some downlow… - [What Is “Brain Fog” and Cognitive Dysfunction in Long COVID?](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/what-is-brain-fog-and-cognitive-dysfunction-in-long-covid/): Brain fog, memory loss, and other forms of cognitive dysfunction are common for those with Long COVID. To learn more, visit RTHM. Source: What Is “Brain Fog” and Cognitive Dysfunction in Long COVID? - [Giant phallus-shaped iceberg floating in Conception Bay surprises residents of Dildo, Canada | Live Science](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/giant-phallus-shaped-iceberg-floating-in-conception-bay-surprises-residents-of-dildo-canada-live-science/): It doesn’t get any more apt than this: A photographer from the Newfoundland town of Dildo has captured images of a penis-shaped iceberg off the Canadian coast. The suggestive ‘berg consists of a column with a domed head protruding up from two oval rafts of ice. Photographer Ken Pretty captured a shot of the ice formation by drone near the town of Harbour Grace, which sits along — the puns keep adding up — Conception Bay. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the “dickie berg,” as locals are calling it, has attracted international attention, with Pretty sharing news stories from as far away as… - [NIH study identifies features of Long COVID neurological symptoms | National Institutes of Health (NIH)](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/nih-study-identifies-features-of-long-covid-neurological-symptoms-national-institutes-of-health-nih/): Twelve people with persistent neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection were intensely studied at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and were found to have differences in their immune cell profiles and autonomic dysfunction. These data inform future studies to help explain persistent neurological symptoms in Long COVID. The findings, published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation(link is external), may lead to better diagnoses and new treatments. Source: NIH study identifies features of Long COVID neurological symptoms | National Institutes of Health (NIH) - [Why Do Cyborgs Inspire Special Fear in Humans?](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/why-do-cyborgs-inspire-special-fear-in-humans/): Advances in technology are always met with some degree of technophobia—and villainization. And cyborgs represent a special kind of fear inherent in losing ourselves in the technologies we create. - [Shit Just Got Real: Mozilla Social Private Beta Launch](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/shit-just-got-real-mozilla-social-private-beta-launch/): Last year, we announced we’re dipping our toes into the world of Mastodon. Today, we’re expanding Mozilla.social to a private beta. We’ve put a lot of work into getting to this stage, but there is a lot more to do before we open it up more broadly. We’re making a long-term investment because we think we can contribute to making Mastodon, and social media generally, better. Source: Mozilla Social Private Beta Launch - [AI Chatbots Have Been Used to Create Dozens of News Content Farms - Bloomberg](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/ai-chatbots-have-been-used-to-create-dozens-of-news-content-farms-bloomberg/): The majority of the sites appear to be content farms — low-quality websites run by anonymous sources that churn-out posts to bring in advertising. The websites are based all over the world and are published in several languages, including English, Portuguese, Tagalog and Thai, NewsGuard said in its report. A handful of sites generated some revenue by advertising “guest posting” — in which people can order up mentions of their business on the websites for a fee to help their search ranking. Others appeared to attempt to build an audience on social media, such as ScoopEarth.com, which publishes celebrity biographies… - [Comparing Physician and Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Responses to Patient Questions Posted to a Public Social Media Forum | Health Informatics | JAMA Internal Medicine | JAMA Network](https://ironwynch.com/2023/05/comparing-physician-and-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-responses-to-patient-questions-posted-to-a-public-social-media-forum-health-informatics-jama-internal-medicine-jama-network/): Saving this excellent response before it gets possibly taken down. Chatbots can simulate empathy through pre-programmed responses, they cannot truly understand the emotions. Ediriweera Desapriya, PhD | Department of Pediatrics, faculty of medicine, UBC-BC Children’s Hospital Empathy, which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is a complex emotional and cognitive process that involves more than just providing information. It involves active listening, genuine concern, and the ability to understand and respond to the emotional needs of patients. While chatbots can simulate empathy through pre-programmed responses, they cannot truly understand the emotions and needs of human… - [Hackers swap stealth for realistic checkout forms to steal credit cards](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/hackers-swap-stealth-for-realistic-checkout-forms-to-steal-credit-cards/): Hackers are hijacking online stores to display modern, realistic-looking fake payment forms to steal credit cards from unsuspecting customers.These payment forms are shown as a modal, HTML content overlayed on top of the main webpage, allowing the user to interact with login forms or notification content without leaving the page. When modals are active, the background content is sometimes dimmed or blurred to draw attention to the modal content.In a new report by Malwarebytes, MageCart skimmers are now hijacking legitimate online store’s payment pages to show their own fake payment forms as modals to steal customers’ credit cards.These modals stand… - [A.I. and Stochastic Parrots | FACTUALLY with Emily Bender and Timnit Gebru](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/a-i-and-stochastic-parrots-factually-with-emily-bender-and-timnit-gebru/): So-called “artificial intelligence” is one of the most divisive topics of the year, with even those who understand it in total disagreement about its potential impacts. This week, A.I. reseachers and authors of the famous paper “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots,” Emily Bender and Timnit Gebru, join Adam to discuss what everyone gets wrong about A.I. - [Human Rights Commissioner troubled by end of mask mandates in healthcare settings - BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/human-rights-commissioner-troubled-by-end-of-mask-mandates-in-healthcare-settings-bcs-office-of-the-human-rights-commissioner/): Vancouver B.C. – On April 12, 2023, B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender released the following statement on the recent announcement that universal mask mandates in healthcare settings would be eliminated. “As mask restrictions have been lifted in B.C., I have repeatedly expressed concerns about the human rights implications of these policy decisions: that the removal of mask mandates has a disproportionate impact on marginalized people, seniors, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. This represents a violation of their rights to equal participation in our communities. Masks minimally impair those who wear them, but the impacts of COVID-19 on… - [There Is No A.I.](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/there-is-no-a-i/): There are ways of controlling the new technology—but first we have to stop mythologizing it. … The most pragmatic position is to think of A.I. as a tool, not a creature. My attitude doesn’t eliminate the possibility of peril: however we think about it, we can still design and operate our new tech badly, in ways that can hurt us or even lead to our extinction. Mythologizing the technology only makes it more likely that we’ll fail to operate it well—and this kind of thinking limits our imaginations, tying them to yesterday’s dreams. We can work better under the assumption… - [Microsoft drops Twitter from its advertising platform | Mashable](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/microsoft-drops-twitter-from-its-advertising-platform-mashable/): “Starting on April 25, 2023, Smart Campaigns with Multi-platform will no longer support Twitter,” Microsoft said(opens in a new tab). A similar email has begun to go out to Microsoft Advertising users stating that “Digital Marketing Center (DMC) will no longer support Twitter starting on April 25, 2023.”From that date, users will no longer be able to access their Twitter account through its Digital Marketing Center’s social media management tool, according to Microsoft. Users will also no longer be able to schedule, create, or manage tweets or tweet drafts. In addition, users won’t be able to view their past tweets… - [Star Trek Explained (As Simply As Possible)](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/star-trek-explained-as-simply-as-possible/): From The Original Series all the way to Lower Decks to Picard to Prodigy to Strange New Worlds, even out to Deep Space Nine, I’ll explain Star Trek as simply as humanly possible… which isn’t very simple. - [Holocaust survivor joins the Israeli protests](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/holocaust-survivor-joins-the-israeli-protests/): Meet Esther Paran, a Holocaust survivor who navigated her way in a wheelchair through the throngs of Israelis marching through Tel Aviv in protest at government plans to overhaul the country’s judicial system. #News #Reuters #newsfeed #world #Israel #judicialreforms #protests EstherParan - [Starfleet Lawyer](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/starfleet-lawyer/): When all the senior officers think they’re lawyers, what’s left for an actual lawyer in Starfleet to do? - [Risk Factors Associated With Post?COVID-19 Condition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | Infectious Diseases | JAMA Internal Medicine | JAMA Network](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/risk-factors-associated-with-post%e2%88%92covid-19-condition-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-infectious-diseases-jama-internal-medicine-jama-network/): This meta-analysis of 41 studies that included a total of 860?783 patients demonstrates that there were certain epidemiologic and clinical risk factors that are associated with a higher risk of developing PCC. In particular, female sex, older age, higher BMI, and smoking were significantly associated with increased risk of persistent symptoms of 3 months or more after the acute phase of COVID-19 infection, ie, PCC. In addition, preexisting comorbidities, including anxiety and/or depression, asthma, COPD, diabetes, IHD, and immunosuppression were also found to be significantly associated with higher risk of PCC. Furthermore, patients who needed hospitalization or ICU care during… - [Google Ad Leads To SectopRAT :: Reverse Engineering and Analysis — Reverse Engineering and Analysis](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/google-ad-leads-to-sectoprat-reverse-engineering-and-analysis-reverse-engineering-and-analysis/): I wanted my first foray into reverse engineering to cover a malware sample from beginning to end – from initial download to the final payload. As I am just getting started on the RE learning journey, I also wanted to find a sample which wasn’t too difficult. Lucky for me, it has been the season of malicious Google ads, and samples from a large variety of malware families have been easy to find.In this post, I will outline my process for working through this sample, the difficulties encountered, and the useful resources I found along the way. Source: Google Ad… - [The neuroinvasiveness, neurotropism, and neurovirulence of SARS-CoV-2: Trends in Neurosciences](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/the-neuroinvasiveness-neurotropism-and-neurovirulence-of-sars-cov-2-trends-in-neurosciences/): Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been shown to be associated with a range of neurological complications during the acute and postacute phases.The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2-associated CNS disease is complex and diverse, and cannot be explained by one sole mechanism.To understand the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2-associated CNS disease, it is important to gain deeper insights into the neuroinvasiveness, neurotropism, and neurovirulence of SARS-CoV-2. It is also imperative to consider the kinetics, since a viral infection is not a static event. Source: The neuroinvasiveness, neurotropism, and neurovirulence of SARS-CoV-2: Trends in Neurosciences - [CPR is independent journalism](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/cpr-is-independent-journalism/): Today we are standing with NPR and suspending our institutional postings to Twitter, including all news and music accounts: CPR News, KRCC, Denverite, CPR Classical and Indie 102.3. Source: CPR is independent journalism - [‘Blue Sunday’ 2023 – M.E. myself and I](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/blue-sunday-2023-m-e-myself-and-i/): Once again, I’m hosting my Tea Party For M.E. for people with M.E. and their family and friends. I strongly believe that we need and deserve as dedicated day of fundraising, but also a day where we can come together to mark and celebrate our resilience and our strength in the face of this cruel and life-altering disease.On Sunday 14th May, people from all over the world will meet up online to chat and leave comments on each other’s posts. While doing so they’ll be enjoying tea and cake (or whatever their delicate digestive systems can manage) and donating what… - [EverythingOpen: connecting open* communities - Kathy Reid](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/everythingopen-connecting-open-communities-kathy-reid/): Mid-March of this year saw the very first EverythingOpen conference, held in Naarm/Melbourne at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. Unfortunately, I had some PhD commitments, and only managed to get there for the conference dinner, but was able to catch up afterwards via the conference videos – and this blog post is a recap of my favourites. Source: EverythingOpen: connecting open* communities – Kathy Reid - [#MillionsMissing 2023 - #MillionsMissing](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/millionsmissing-2023-millionsmissing/): #MillionsMissing 2023 will be held at the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, DC on May 12th that will feature an art installation and press conference. This year, #MEAction in partnership with Body Politic, will host #MillionsMissing 2023 to demand bold, urgent governmental action for the millions of people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), Long COVID, and other infection-associated, complex-chronic diseases.Our protest will be an art installation that will have rows and rows of cots to represent beds at the base of the national monument as a symbolic protest to illustrate that though the pandemic is deemed over—the… - [RFA-AI-23-028: Fundamental Research to Understand the Mechanisms of Neurotropic Virus-mediated Disease (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/rfa-ai-23-028-fundamental-research-to-understand-the-mechanisms-of-neurotropic-virus-mediated-disease-r01-clinical-trial-not-allowed/): The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to promote basic research to better understand the mechanisms underlying viral invasion of the central nervous system (CNS), virus- and/or host immune-mediated neuropathogenesis, and the associated clinical manifestations for emerging and re-emerging neurotropic viruses. Source: RFA-AI-23-028: Fundamental Research to Understand the Mechanisms of Neurotropic Virus-mediated Disease (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) - [Pragmatica-Lung Study opens for patient enrollment - NCI](https://ironwynch.com/2023/04/pragmatica-lung-study-opens-for-patient-enrollment-nci/): The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has helped launch a phase 3 randomized clinical trial (NCT05633602) of a two-drug combination to treat patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Called the Pragmatica-Lung Study (or S2302), this is one of the first NCI-supported clinical trials to use a trial design that removes many of the barriers that prevent people from joining clinical trials. This “pragmatic” approach aims to increase accessibility to clinical trials. Source: Pragmatica-Lung Study opens for patient enrollment – NCI   ## Pages - [My Sites](https://ironwynch.com/my-sites/) - [Toots](https://ironwynch.com/toots/) - [Welcome to my Friends Page](https://ironwynch.com/friends/): Only friends Hi Friend! Do you know any of my friends? Maybe you want to become friends with them as well? Not friends I have connected with my friends using WordPress and the Friends plugin. This means I can share private posts with just my friends while keeping my data under control. If you also have a WordPress site with the friends plugin, you can send me a friend request. If not, follow me and get your own WordPress now and install the Friends plugin! - [Privacy Policy](https://ironwynch.com/privacy-policy/): Who we are Our website address is: https://ironwynch.com. Comments When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment. Media If you upload images to… - [All Posts](https://ironwynch.com/all-posts/): These are all the posts on this site in alphabetical order. There will be many, so use the page links to skip ahead. [wpucv_list id=”3274″ title=”Classic list with thumbs 1″]   - [Contact Me](https://ironwynch.com/contact-me/): You can contact me through any of the social media links above or email me directly at wynch@ironwynch.com   - [My BDSM Test Results](https://ironwynch.com/about/my-bdsm-test-results/): == Results from bdsmtest.org == 97% Vanilla 94% Owner 94% Experimentalist 92% Primal (Hunter) 90% Master/Mistress 83% Non-monogamist 59% Degrader 55% Sadist 43% Dominant 43% Daddy/Mommy 38% Brat tamer 31% Switch 27% Rigger 27% Masochist 11% Submissive 8% Primal (Prey) 5% Brat 3% Pet 3% Voyeur 2% Exhibitionist 2% Slave 1% Rope bunny 1% Degradee 1% Boy/Girl 0% Ageplayer http://bdsmtest.org/r/arqvD38M - [Hire Me](https://ironwynch.com/ironwynchs-donation-and-shopping-page/): Thank you for your interest in investing in me. My tone may be more ’bout that  business on my other sites, but this is my personal site. If you’ve made it this far into my world, you understand that I appreciate all of my readers and supporters. If you would like to order a bone or tarot, reading, send $50 U.S. to my Paypal at: https://paypal.me/Sheloya For domains and hosting, click here.. To get managed domain and hosting, or get hosted at one of my domains, contact me. I am happy to assist fellow artists and activists who need cover… - [Links and Resources](https://ironwynch.com/links-and-resources/): Here is my list of interesting links, resources, references, and other interesting internet finds. This is not your grandma’s link list. Be aware that some of these lead to adult content, and people with opinions that are very not mainstream. We do not however, support any non consensual violations of others’ bodies, minds, or souls. If anyone listed here falls off the ethical track, please let me know. Also, feel free to add your link if you have some content that you think will speak to me in a good way. Link to IronWynch.com You can link to the homepage… - [Events](https://ironwynch.com/events/): … - [About](https://ironwynch.com/about/): “I was born a poor Black child “ No really, I was.  At some point in my childhood though, my formerly Black militant, freedom loving parents found Jesus, and later found themselves comfortably yuppie. I never quite got over that, and this caused a lot of problems for me growing up.  I lived between two worlds, one of roots, Obeah, and Vodun, and the other of an insane brand of Christianity that even makes many since-the-Byzantines Catholics here wince at the level of inhumanity.  One day though, I did grow up, forgave them and myself, and proceeded to have a life.  To… [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)