SENAITE progress; Bluesky; home server; AOC; Shiny app; Python apps from R; old blog; LibreELEC; Pop! OS Linux distro and new desktop computer; causal inference course

  • My main global health focus is still on setting up SENAITE open-source laboratory information system for a provincial lab in Pakistan; I wrote up the post-installation steps; partners are engaging well, we are adding more and more metadata, and we are hopefully nearing the stage where it can be used in production; I did a presentation on the work at a conference, which generated some interest; I found and reported a bug in the senaite.patient add-on; I was slightly worried that not all of the SENAITE API would work but I haven’t had any problems yet, and I’ve written some useful R functions to query the API; I treated myself to the Senaite Starter Package to help me understand SENAITE internals and add more functionality, though haven’t played with it yet; I’ve also worked out how to add Urdu subtitles to recordings of my training presentations on SENAITE, though it doesn’t work perfectly.
  • I now have a social media presence! on Bluesky and have abandoned my RSS feeds for the moment; you can find me as @paulcleary.net; I like it so far - it is like Twitter in the good old days; I made the mistake of following too many people at first and then found this tip for doing a mass unfollow; I somehow have over 1,000 followers but my geekery, occasional inanity and absolute avoidance of political commentary will hopefully have led most of them to “mute” me; at the moment I only follow a restricted number of people, such as people I know or particularly interesting people, and also follow a “list” of interesting but prolific accounts, and a “feed” (constructed in SkyFeed) based on various keywords
  • I have set up my own home server now; I like the Nextcloud All-In-One version; it does use a lot of RAM but it is great for updates and backups (I am now using BorgBase as my offsite backup)
  • I enjoyed doing some Advent of Code last year, all using R; I only got part way through day 9 before running out of spare time, but think I could get further next time; I have put my solutions here and here.
  • I have uploaded the most useful and used Shiny app I ever did.
  • I have also been playing with running Python apps from R.
  • Also uploaded the text of an abortive previous blog.
  • I have a few old laptops which were discarded by my wife; I have installed LibreELEC on one of them (a very old laptop with no functioning battery, that even refused to start until I changed some BIOS options) and connected it to the TV; it’s great! I can now watch my collection of old ripped DVDs and YouTube downloads, and easily transfer video files from my phone or other computers on the local network via Samba
  • My home Linux desktop machine, an old Intel NUC running Elementary OS, is dying; I’ve pulled it apart multiple times over the years to clear out dust; wi-fi and Bluetooth don’t work anymore; the system flickers and Firefox frequently crashes; printing and Ethernet networking work variably; I just installed Pop! OS by System76 to see what the fuss is about; it has a great GUI, possibly the best I have seen on Linux, but I do need a new computer and have just ordered a cheap replacement mini PC from alibaba.com (if it is any good I will do a review)
  • I now have a passing grade on my course: Causal Diagrams: Draw Your Assumptions Before Your Conclusions | edX and I’ll finish it soon (might add my notes to the blog) and then might start to learn about ethical hacking from Hack The Box: The #1 Cybersecurity Performance Center
  • I have also altered the format to use a new theme that became available; not sure I like it, but it is fine for the moment