Joe Chou
@incidentalfindings.org
Data geek, coder, hacker, ex-student pilot, foodie, Disney fan, neonatologist (MD), PediTools developer, ex-molecular biologist (PhD), snarky nonconformist, and annoying dad (+spouse)
So there’s this suspicious looking spot on my loaf of bread. I think it’s mold. Wife thinks it’s just a bit of ash.
Good thing I have access to a clinical grade microscope.
The truth will be known.
Good thing I have access to a clinical grade microscope.
The truth will be known.
January 22, 2026 at 8:28 PM
So there’s this suspicious looking spot on my loaf of bread. I think it’s mold. Wife thinks it’s just a bit of ash.
Good thing I have access to a clinical grade microscope.
The truth will be known.
Good thing I have access to a clinical grade microscope.
The truth will be known.
I'm tired of feeling helpless, so here's a first pass of a project I've been working on: trying out different 3D-printed whistles to distribute along with informational cards (front and back shown)
January 22, 2026 at 7:03 PM
I'm tired of feeling helpless, so here's a first pass of a project I've been working on: trying out different 3D-printed whistles to distribute along with informational cards (front and back shown)
Just installed #LibreOffice for use on MacOS — any tips or suggestions?
It’s a bit janky with intermittent app hangs on saves (which I’ve seen previously reported but without solutions) and odd UI issues, but I want alternatives to M$ Office and Google apps.
It’s a bit janky with intermittent app hangs on saves (which I’ve seen previously reported but without solutions) and odd UI issues, but I want alternatives to M$ Office and Google apps.
January 21, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Just installed #LibreOffice for use on MacOS — any tips or suggestions?
It’s a bit janky with intermittent app hangs on saves (which I’ve seen previously reported but without solutions) and odd UI issues, but I want alternatives to M$ Office and Google apps.
It’s a bit janky with intermittent app hangs on saves (which I’ve seen previously reported but without solutions) and odd UI issues, but I want alternatives to M$ Office and Google apps.
Reposted by Joe Chou
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
January 20, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
Reposted by Joe Chou
January 18, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Uh, Denmark? Massachusetts is also pretty nice — maybe a two for one deal?
Danish petition to buy California from Trump signed by thousands
A satirical petition urges Denmark to "buy" California, poking fun at Trump’s Greenland plans amid U.S.-Europe tensions and tariff threats.
www.newsweek.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Uh, Denmark? Massachusetts is also pretty nice — maybe a two for one deal?
January 9, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Here's an annoying behavior that resulted in a hard to find bug:
Our build of SnowflakeSQL returns queries in R with:
- datetimes as POSIXct (yay!)
- time in local (yay!)
- timezone in UTC (boo...)
It'd be great if I my hospital was near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, but it isn't.
Our build of SnowflakeSQL returns queries in R with:
- datetimes as POSIXct (yay!)
- time in local (yay!)
- timezone in UTC (boo...)
It'd be great if I my hospital was near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, but it isn't.
January 7, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Here's an annoying behavior that resulted in a hard to find bug:
Our build of SnowflakeSQL returns queries in R with:
- datetimes as POSIXct (yay!)
- time in local (yay!)
- timezone in UTC (boo...)
It'd be great if I my hospital was near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, but it isn't.
Our build of SnowflakeSQL returns queries in R with:
- datetimes as POSIXct (yay!)
- time in local (yay!)
- timezone in UTC (boo...)
It'd be great if I my hospital was near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, but it isn't.
This is a wonderful and extraordinary YouTube series.
While it's not "actually" Richard Feynman speaking, it's inspired by him, and the joy and wonder comes through. The explanations are at a low enough level for me to understand, so much as quantum mechanics can be "understood".
It's inspiring.
While it's not "actually" Richard Feynman speaking, it's inspired by him, and the joy and wonder comes through. The explanations are at a low enough level for me to understand, so much as quantum mechanics can be "understood".
It's inspiring.
Physics The Feynman Way
The principle of science is that the truth of any statement becomes a matter of experiment and observation, not authority. - Richard Feynman
This channel explores the life, work, and ideas of Richard...
www.youtube.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:07 PM
This is a wonderful and extraordinary YouTube series.
While it's not "actually" Richard Feynman speaking, it's inspired by him, and the joy and wonder comes through. The explanations are at a low enough level for me to understand, so much as quantum mechanics can be "understood".
It's inspiring.
While it's not "actually" Richard Feynman speaking, it's inspired by him, and the joy and wonder comes through. The explanations are at a low enough level for me to understand, so much as quantum mechanics can be "understood".
It's inspiring.
Reposted by Joe Chou
Thanks GlobalTV Canada! 🇨🇦
BREAKING: WATCH the full 60 Minutes CECOT segment here. This was sent to me anonymously. It appears to be the segment CBS' Bari Weiss killed. www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...
WATCH: The 60 Minutes CECOT Segment
I was sent the CECOT segment anonymously in a group chat.
www.muellershewrote.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Thanks GlobalTV Canada! 🇨🇦
Reposted by Joe Chou
> We archived around 86M music files, representing around 99.6% of listens. It’s a little under 300TB. This is the largest music metadata database that is publicly available.
Many interesting 📊 charts on this page that can only be made by having this scale of data.
annas-archive.li/blog/backing...
Many interesting 📊 charts on this page that can only be made by having this scale of data.
annas-archive.li/blog/backing...
December 21, 2025 at 11:05 AM
> We archived around 86M music files, representing around 99.6% of listens. It’s a little under 300TB. This is the largest music metadata database that is publicly available.
Many interesting 📊 charts on this page that can only be made by having this scale of data.
annas-archive.li/blog/backing...
Many interesting 📊 charts on this page that can only be made by having this scale of data.
annas-archive.li/blog/backing...
Came across a bad joke: What do you get when you cross Cookie Monster with Cthulhu?
I’m generally against AI-generated images, but I needed to visualize it:
I’m generally against AI-generated images, but I needed to visualize it:
December 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Came across a bad joke: What do you get when you cross Cookie Monster with Cthulhu?
I’m generally against AI-generated images, but I needed to visualize it:
I’m generally against AI-generated images, but I needed to visualize it:
Reposted by Joe Chou
Become ungovernable
December 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Become ungovernable
Reposted by Joe Chou
Nice work by the authors of this MMWR with some good vaccine news!
The report found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines provided significant protection against COVID-19 related emergency department and urgent care visits among U.S. children aged 9 months to 17 years.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
The report found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines provided significant protection against COVID-19 related emergency department and urgent care visits among U.S. children aged 9 months to 17 years.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
Effectiveness of 2024–2025 COVID-19 Vaccines in Children...
This report describes COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among children ages 9 months to 17 years.
www.cdc.gov
December 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Nice work by the authors of this MMWR with some good vaccine news!
The report found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines provided significant protection against COVID-19 related emergency department and urgent care visits among U.S. children aged 9 months to 17 years.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
The report found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines provided significant protection against COVID-19 related emergency department and urgent care visits among U.S. children aged 9 months to 17 years.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
Challenger 650 for X-Plane sim is picky… tried high altitude flight for the first time at 36,000 feet.
I might have accidentally deactivated cabin pressurization + climate control. So, the passengers might have all passed out and the cabin might be at -3°C.
No repeat customers from this flight.
I might have accidentally deactivated cabin pressurization + climate control. So, the passengers might have all passed out and the cabin might be at -3°C.
No repeat customers from this flight.
December 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Challenger 650 for X-Plane sim is picky… tried high altitude flight for the first time at 36,000 feet.
I might have accidentally deactivated cabin pressurization + climate control. So, the passengers might have all passed out and the cabin might be at -3°C.
No repeat customers from this flight.
I might have accidentally deactivated cabin pressurization + climate control. So, the passengers might have all passed out and the cabin might be at -3°C.
No repeat customers from this flight.
Reposted by Joe Chou
I ignored the strip.clip argument in #ggplot2 for way too long 😲
Combined with a small negative margin tweak, you can place facet labels inside each panel. A tiny trick that makes small multiples feel so much cleaner.
🔵 no manual coordinates
🔵 inherits theme styling
🔵 scales nicely when resizing
Combined with a small negative margin tweak, you can place facet labels inside each panel. A tiny trick that makes small multiples feel so much cleaner.
🔵 no manual coordinates
🔵 inherits theme styling
🔵 scales nicely when resizing
December 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM
I ignored the strip.clip argument in #ggplot2 for way too long 😲
Combined with a small negative margin tweak, you can place facet labels inside each panel. A tiny trick that makes small multiples feel so much cleaner.
🔵 no manual coordinates
🔵 inherits theme styling
🔵 scales nicely when resizing
Combined with a small negative margin tweak, you can place facet labels inside each panel. A tiny trick that makes small multiples feel so much cleaner.
🔵 no manual coordinates
🔵 inherits theme styling
🔵 scales nicely when resizing
New levels of geek achieved — for flight sim, I bought the X-Plane Bombardier Challenger 650 by Hot Start.
Wow.
Its systems are so accurately modeled that I’m now going through the real life Challenger’s 1000+ page Airplane Flight Manual to better understand what the sim is doing.
Wow.
Its systems are so accurately modeled that I’m now going through the real life Challenger’s 1000+ page Airplane Flight Manual to better understand what the sim is doing.
December 9, 2025 at 9:51 PM
New levels of geek achieved — for flight sim, I bought the X-Plane Bombardier Challenger 650 by Hot Start.
Wow.
Its systems are so accurately modeled that I’m now going through the real life Challenger’s 1000+ page Airplane Flight Manual to better understand what the sim is doing.
Wow.
Its systems are so accurately modeled that I’m now going through the real life Challenger’s 1000+ page Airplane Flight Manual to better understand what the sim is doing.
My wife has been repeatedly repairing large holes in her knit socks, and I believe she is well on her way to creating the Socks of Theseus.
December 2, 2025 at 5:15 PM
My wife has been repeatedly repairing large holes in her knit socks, and I believe she is well on her way to creating the Socks of Theseus.
Wife has been using the 3D printer at the makerspace a lot. Finally broke down and got one for home.
Meet my Hippo of Disapproval.
Its role will be to sit on my desk and unsuccessfully prod me into being productive.
Meet my Hippo of Disapproval.
Its role will be to sit on my desk and unsuccessfully prod me into being productive.
November 25, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Wife has been using the 3D printer at the makerspace a lot. Finally broke down and got one for home.
Meet my Hippo of Disapproval.
Its role will be to sit on my desk and unsuccessfully prod me into being productive.
Meet my Hippo of Disapproval.
Its role will be to sit on my desk and unsuccessfully prod me into being productive.
Need an article for Journal Club? Apparently people are more willing to be decent if Batman is present…
PubMed: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184421/
#AltJournalClub
PubMed: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184421/
#AltJournalClub
Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect - npj Mental Health Research
npj Mental Health Research - Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect
www.nature.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Need an article for Journal Club? Apparently people are more willing to be decent if Batman is present…
PubMed: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184421/
#AltJournalClub
PubMed: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184421/
#AltJournalClub
Refilling the water reservoir for the NICU coffee maker this morning — mystified by the .XAM label.
Yes, I really need this coffee badly.
Yes, I really need this coffee badly.
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Refilling the water reservoir for the NICU coffee maker this morning — mystified by the .XAM label.
Yes, I really need this coffee badly.
Yes, I really need this coffee badly.
Warned my NICU team to be careful about using the CDC as a source of reliable information.
Hope the AAP steps up, perhaps expanding the Red Book to cover topics I used to go to the CDC for.
Hope the AAP steps up, perhaps expanding the Red Book to cover topics I used to go to the CDC for.
November 20, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Warned my NICU team to be careful about using the CDC as a source of reliable information.
Hope the AAP steps up, perhaps expanding the Red Book to cover topics I used to go to the CDC for.
Hope the AAP steps up, perhaps expanding the Red Book to cover topics I used to go to the CDC for.
At least half a decade later, the bunny is still going strong…
Copy paste the bunny and then put something else in his hand 😃
(\_/)
(°-°)
/>🥕
My kids’ contributions:
(\_/) (\_/)
(°-°) (°-°)
/>🔪 🔫<\
(Bringing a knife to a gun fight…)
(\_/) (\_/)
(🕶️) (._.)
/ \ />🕶️
Copy paste the bunny and then put something else in his hand 😃
(\_/)
(°-°)
/>🥕
My kids’ contributions:
(\_/) (\_/)
(°-°) (°-°)
/>🔪 🔫<\
(Bringing a knife to a gun fight…)
(\_/) (\_/)
(🕶️) (._.)
/ \ />🕶️
From the randomthings community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the randomthings community
www.reddit.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:24 PM
At least half a decade later, the bunny is still going strong…
Copy paste the bunny and then put something else in his hand 😃
(\_/)
(°-°)
/>🥕
My kids’ contributions:
(\_/) (\_/)
(°-°) (°-°)
/>🔪 🔫<\
(Bringing a knife to a gun fight…)
(\_/) (\_/)
(🕶️) (._.)
/ \ />🕶️
Copy paste the bunny and then put something else in his hand 😃
(\_/)
(°-°)
/>🥕
My kids’ contributions:
(\_/) (\_/)
(°-°) (°-°)
/>🔪 🔫<\
(Bringing a knife to a gun fight…)
(\_/) (\_/)
(🕶️) (._.)
/ \ />🕶️
Reposted by Joe Chou
This is a real flight school, teaching people to fly planes!!! Like????
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 AM
This is a real flight school, teaching people to fly planes!!! Like????