Short Takes – 3-8-24

Prefer eSIMs. WHMurray.blogspot.com blog post. Pull quote: “This is where the eSIM comes in.  Instead of storing the IMSI on an IC, in late model phones it can be stored in a High Security Module (HSM) on the phone.  Instead of being provisioned by support personnel at your wireless provider, it is provisioned by you either by running an app on your phone or scanning a QR code”

The blood holds clues to understanding long COVID. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “Today, in many doctors’ offices and clinics, homing in on a diagnosis means first ruling out other conditions. For example, after months of feeling wrung out and faded, with unexpected pain in my legs following a COVID-19 infection last year, my doctor ordered a slew of blood tests. She was looking for signs of rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, thyroid hormone abnormalities and a handful of other conditions. Everything was negative. It’s called a “diagnosis of exclusion,” Morgan says. “You test for everything else, and when nothing comes back positive, you say, ‘well, it must be [long COVID], then.’””

Internal Senate GOP earmark war renews shutdown threat. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Senate conservatives could attempt to stretch the debate into the weekend to protest the earmarks and force a technical shutdown of some federal departments and agencies. But no senator had yet threatened to do that as of Thursday evening.”

SpaceX adds tests to next Starship flight. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “SpaceX said March 6 it was projecting a launch of Starship/Super Heavy vehicle on its third integrated test flight as soon as March 14. The company noted that date is pending regulatory approvals, although officials with the Federal Aviation Administration, which closed Feb. 26 the investigation into the second flight, said last month they expected to have an updated license ready in time to support a mid-March launch.”